9-23-10

The first quote I chose to respond to is, "We ought to expect of ourselves is to figure out what we hope for in this life."
As I decided to take this quote a bit out of context and relate it mainly to the classroom I realized that there must be a great deal of organization not only in the classroom but in the way that we teach. I know that I am not yet a teacher but already I do know that I will include morning meeting in my daily routine. I've come to understand that structure is what will help not only management issues but help students to feel OK from day to day shifts in the schedule as well.
"Perhaps those teachers who are successful in forming bonds with students remember the dreams of the novice teacher clearly enough that they inhabit those dreams daily."
I absolutely love this quote because sometimes I find myself dreaming during certain parts of some classes. I think about how I will use my personality to make them laugh and enjoy being in school because they hopefully will have fun. I think about how I will create a safe environment for them to feel free to come and talk to me about anything they need, fun as well as serious topics. I remember being young and dreaming about all kind of things whose to tell me I can't now?
"You are unique and valuable as individuals, and we are important as a class."

I think it's important to remember the salad bowl concept. Each item is delicious and when combined together are phenominal on your tastbuds. A classroom is just like this, each indivudual has there own talents that they bring to the classroom but we are also stronger so to speak when we come together.

Reflect on what you learned about creating community in your classroom from visitor Sylvia Long.

One of the major things that is reinforced several time throughout the year is to get to truly know your students. I feel that regardless of whether or not I have morning meetings, as a teacher I must create a relationship with each student to know them and earn respect from them. I also liked the "burden" Sylvia placed upon us as students to always try and make them solve their own problems and take accountable actions. I feel that I'm going to be working every day at making the classroom a community because to have a goal like that is going to take time but will definately be worth it.

What does the following phrase mean?..... "Emotions trump learning"

This phrase in my mind makes me think about how children learn. Some students aren't going to run into the classroom sit like robots and demand that u "feed" them knowledge especially if they come from a hard home. I feel that if we come to know our students, then we understand that their emotions sometimes drive how they learn. If a student comes from a particular home where dad beats m0m and spends money on drugs, that student is going to be emotionaly attached to the idea of being physically safe not multiplication or division. Our student will respond well to us as educators once we show them how much we care about them and not just curriculum standards and requirements.

differentiation post #1

On page 10 of this reading assignment, Tomlinson says, "we teach responsively when we understand the need to teach human beings before us as well as to teach the content with which we are charged. It is important to begin with the conviction that we are no longer teaching if what we teach is more important than who we teach or how we teach". What does this mean to you?

This specific question made me think of the quote that was given on the first day of class. "Differentiation is about teaching teachers how to teach children not just content". This thought stayed in my head all week because to me it is common sense. From day one in the program we have learned that in order to be an effective teacher we need to know our students and accomodate to all of their needs not just "stuff" their heads with curriculum. If you have a student who is constantly wondering when their next meal is going to be, they're more focused on that and aren't going to worry too much about school but instead, surrviving. Our student will respect us and be willing to do well in class if we in turn respect and care about them. The day that the content becomes more important rather than the student should never happen. I'm not saying content isn't important, just that lives are molded and changed through guidence and love not curriculum.

second field blog

Our lessons i found were better with each try. Toward the end we got the hang of using primary sources and transforming the lesson material to become interesting for the students. It was also really nice to see different management skills played through out our observation. That really helps especially when teaching lessons and the teachers needs to have control of the class. I found that our teacher had a very well behaved class and in a way it can set our expectations for us to think that all classes will be just as well behaved. I felt that i connected with all of the students by the end of our field. They caught glimpses of our personalities and wanted to talk and get to know us. I really tried to show them that i cared and i thing that was a big part of them connecting with me. I look forward to next semesters field.

field experience 1

Having been out in field for a week and a half now i absolutly love the classroom. There's an excitement and energy within these kids that you don't find anywhere else. Learning and explorieng is not a chore they want to impress their teacher and are eager to recieve postive attention.
My field partner and i have taught 2 lessons so far and let me just tell you, the teacher makes it look easier than it is! I find it is very easy to loose the class. I have to be on my toes and find different management techniques that will work for these kids. They don't respond to every technique and i find that fasinating. Some kids will behave with a pull a card or warnign system and others work better with a count down technique. The most important thing, i found, was to know their names and use them. Being able to call a child by name helped my field partner and I to manage the class better. Not perfect but were not expected to be perfect in our first time. I love the classroom environment. This makes me that much more anxious to finish school to accomplish my career goals.

Visual Arts

I have always had a passion for visual art. Although I have other priorities now I remember exploring my artistic ability and having fun with being creative. I loved relearning about the elements and principles of art, and watching how many of these elements are combined to create a masterpiece. It amazes me to see artists that have mastered these techniques and enter into a world of unseen talent. I believe that true artists have the ability to move and shape your feelings and emotions through their work. In my mind i never would have thought that tear art is a form of creativity. After seeing our author/illustrator i thought, "how perfect for the younger children to look and explore with". I believe there are no limits to art except feeling and oh yes the basic knowledge of the priciple and elemements of visual art.