Reflection #4

In my experience, I haven’t seen anything that stands out as much as David’s case in “His name is Michael” but I have seen teachers who rely on the schools systems and, both in others and sometimes myself, witness passive racism. First, we’d all like to think that there are mainly two categories of schools: good schools vs. bad schools. In bad schools, with poor or little equipment and conditioned students that are disruptive and trained to not care, I feel that it would be generally known that the school system would not be the best. For those teachers (good, bad, or otherwise) they’d be somewhat left to their own devices. Ideally, most people would like to choose the good schools, those that are embracing technology, learning styles, the diversity of students. In those schools, the expectation is higher for the school system; we expect it to work and be accurate. In this story, this wasn’t the case. (Logically, I know there are many different types of schools between good and bad, and as the quality rises, so does the expectations.) My second point is passive racism. This isn’t something that is overt or sometimes even a conscious effort; it’s something that happens unintentionally but still wrong. Our society, despite our learning or intentions, tends to make us think certain things about race. One example is I’ve had with close friends of mine is assume that they can speak or understand Spanish based on their race. I may not state this in any obvious way but it is still passive racism. I think one of the best ideas from the story is “I have learned that being a good teacher is as much about rapport and relationships as it is about progressive curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment.” This express that in order to educate and touch student’s lives, we must learn and know them as people first. I encountered a transfer student, ELL during my observations. I was lucky to have a great teacher to observe, she worked on knowing this student as an individual and expected the same level of work effort from him as any other student, though her approach may have been different. During a journal prompt, she saw that he was not working, though she knew he had the ability to. She found a way to motivate him using his own ideas to complete the assignment. This was done my asking him question of his interest.

Reflection #3

I've learned of inclusion in my other courses and I actually got to see it in action during my observations. As I learn more and witness this concept, my option does not change. Inclusion is a great concept and should be utilized in schools. I think it creates a sense of normality for students with special needs; forming a level of equality that I feel is important. I think that as teachers, we should always strive to reach the needs to all our students. That's why we modify and adapt lesson, to ensure that students are learning. We practice techniques of using auditory, visual, and kinesthetic methods to teach information from different perspectives to reach all students. I think the process of inclusion is along those same lines; creating, modifying, and adapting lessons to included students with special need into a normal class room settings. Though these students will need other instructions and possibly one-on-one help, they'll still receive time in a classroom like other students. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to practice inclusion this semester but I have seen variations of it during my observations. One occasion occurred in an English courses I observed. This particular student would spend the first portion of the class period with his mentor, working one-on-one to complete his lessons. The second portion was spent working on whatever the class was worked on at that time. The first of the two articles I found focuses on creating an enabling environment for inclusion. The ideas of communication and teaching methods stood out to me. I think communication is important inside the classroom. This article states that inclusion students should be able to share their experiences, capabilities, and accomplishments inside the regular classroom. Chidindi, Joseph. "Creating Enabling Environment for Inclusion of Students with Developmental Disabilities." ERIC. N.p., 7 May 2012. Web. 4 Apr. 2013. . The second article I choose discuss the pros and cons of inclusion. I think can be a topic of debate in the offices of many schools; should they create programs of inclusion in their facilities? Overall, I agree with the authors that the advantages of inclusion for all students outweigh the disadvantages. Chidindi, Joseph. "Creating Enabling Environment for Inclusion of Students with Developmental Disabilities." ERIC. N.p., 7 May 2012. Web. 4 Apr. 2013. . P.S. I'm sorry if the formatting is weird, I've done this assignment on my phone :)

Success Journal: Reflection

I think this experience is really unique for me. During my hours, I worked to find a balance between observing and student teaching. Overall, I feel I’ve had a great opportunity. I felt that doing this time, I met a few of my personal goals, such as learning the students’ names and faces. I was also able to see and put into practice some of the ideas I’ve learned about over the last few semesters. There are a few areas I’d like to improve on, such as interacting more with the students. This opportunity was a little limited, I couldn’t interrupt while my cooperating teachers were actually teaching their lesson though I was able to step in when the students were completing group and individual work. One thing I’ll definitely take from this experience is how important classroom management is. Both my cooperating teachers had different styles but their classrooms flowed smoothly. Students knew what was expected from them and what was not. I’d like to have this level of classroom management in my own classroom.

Success Journal: Day 5

Teaching a lesson in small groups: As part of my requirements, I have to teach 3 lessons in small groups. The topic I was assigned was fragments and run-on sentences, identifying and correcting mistakes. I was nervous but overall I feel it went very well. I used worksheets and brief notes I typed up as an aid. With the groups of students I worked with, I had to change my approach so that I could keep them engaged and motivated. I think this stood out to me the most, showing me, though I have learned this in my classes, that students learn at different rates and may need more explanation before they fully understand what is being taught.

Success Journal: Day 4

Day #4: Observing Co-teach I’ve learned and studies about co-teaching in previous courses but not until now have I had the opportunity to see it in action. I know to students the thought of having two teachers can be daunting but this experience was anything but that. The energy both teachers created way positive and upbeat and easy to feed off when I worked with the students as they completed their group work. The students also responded to both teachers very well, showing them both respect. It’s interesting to watch as the teacher’s feed from one another, giving the students different perspectives to view the information. Overall, I think this is a huge educational experience; one that I think will help me in the future.

Success Journal: Day 3

Engaging specific students: In each of my observation classes, some students stand out more than others. One of my accomplishments of the day was engaging and keeping one student in particular on track. In general terms, he’d be considered the “class clown” but overall he’s really smart and, when disrupting the class to ask questions, he has quiet intelligent inquires. For an 8th grade class, satire is a particularly hard topic but I was able to help him work which I’m really proud of. I think this experience is helping me to establish management skills.

Success Journal: Day 2

Establishing my role: I think this experience is a little different from my observations before. I’m not strictly student teaching or just observing so my time is spent doing many different things (talking to my cooperating teachers about the lessons, observing what practices work with different students, working with the students, and presenting my lessons). Getting into a rhythm took awhile but I feel now that the students and cooperating teachers are comfortable with me being in the classroom. They aren’t afraid to ask me questions and interact with me. If I don’t know the answers or need help my cooperating teachers are, as always, more than willing to help.