Summative Field Blog

While looking back on all my blogs and the experiences that I have had at the schools we have visited, one thing has become apparent to me and that is the relationship with the student and teacher and how the administration has such an impact on teaching.  First hand I have been able to see the role of the teacher not only as a teacher, but as a mentor from grade school all the way until high school.  In elementary school the teacher is looked at as another adult figure that provides comfort and care, but also discipline as well.  In middle school we see the development grow more as the teacher becomes a coach as well or a group leader and then the personal relationships begin to develop slowly as we grow into ourselves.  Once we hit high school that is when we develop strong bonds with teachers because of how much time we spend with them.  This is where whether we are in an after school program ranging from sports to academic teams, we spend nearly two thirds of our weeks throughout the school year with these people and begin to develop a trust with them that does not just happen overnight.  As time passes, some bonds grow stronger and stronger, this not only helps with a relationship stand point but also on the educational level as well.  The student is able to trust what the teacher tells them is correct and therefore the student will listen to what he or she has to say in class which we hope results in better grades and results.
  The administration also plays a role in that they subject the teacher to a certain way of teaching and teaching things that are state tests.  In reality, how likely is it that these assessments are going to prove anything for the student in the long run.  I feel as if schools try to hide children form the real world for so long that it effects their potential in actuality.  Being able to experience what is happening at a young age is good for a person.  It makes them start making their own decisions at a young age.  While going through one of the clinical's, one of the authors said it best in that we only know the text, meaning we only know what the text says because everything besides that is not correct information according to schools today.  When it comes down to it, I believe that teachers should have the ability to be able to say what they please to a certain extent on a subject, whether or not it involves what they are teaching or not.  Certainly, it would only go so far to just get the students to question what is right or wrong and have then make up their own solutions to problems instead of always being told what to do in situations.

Philosophy Paper Proposal

  For my paper I will be looking at how teachers need to be good mentors for our students, not only from a educational aspect, but from a peer stand point as well.  Students today look up to teachers more than most people think.  The philosophy behind it is knowing that teachers spend most of their lives being around kids thinking that whatever they tell them, goes in one ear and out the other.  When in reality administrators, parents, and even the teachers do not know that there are those select students who really engage with what the teacher is saying actually has an impact on that child's life.  Everyone in school had that teacher that we all looked up to, but for what reason?  That is it, is that there are endless reason why we looked up to a teacher because of the way they taught, if they were a coach, possibly even helped you with an out of school problem.
  Teachers too how become unaware with how much of an impact they have on a child's life as well.  Even if it is something as simple as  asocial media site, if a students sees one thing that they could misinterpret, it could totally fracture the image they had of that person.  This is why there must be a limit to what and who teachers let view their social media sites, if they even have one. Especially in todays world where anyone can view anything on the internet, once it is on the web it will always be there.
  For me the need for teachers to still be the role models that the younger generation looks up to is because teachers, for the most part, are who children should look up to.  Many young teens idealize star athletes but with all the money and fame comes heart break and to much power to handle for some.  Some athletes we see today get into drugs or alcoholic problems because they just do not know how to deal with the fame and fortune they have possessed.  Even though today there are more cases of teachers who have ups and downs whether with alcohol or even some have affairs with underage students, these are rare cases tat should not be taken out on all parties of the teaching profession.  Teachers to me are the one people who are able to get into a child's head when parents and no one else can.  They have something about them that lets a student trust them more than anyone else and we as teachers must remember this and not give them a reason to doubt us either.

Blog Post 10

As the semester comes to a close, I really wonder what it is we have been blogging about this whole time.  To me it has all come down to the best possible way to become a teacher and have your kids learn to their full potential via activities and subjects that they actually want to learn.  Students have to want to be able to learn and the only way I think students will want to learn is by if teachers actually teach want students find interesting.  The only reasonable thing that I think will work for future generations is if we use this idea of evolving schools so that they appeal to the students more.  If we develop our schools so that they make the student feel as comfortable as possible and teach them what is really going to help them later on in life.  The activity that really opened my eyes to this was when we had created our own school to present in class.  After being able to combine many different features of what the best school would provide we were able to come up with the best possible environment for students.  Overall in the class I have really enjoyed talking about how the teachers should act in order to become the best possible teacher they can.  The way a teacher teaches I think is the way to be able to tell how the students will learn from that teacher. Teachers who really care for students and have a more developed sense of what their students needs are have a more likely ability to get more out of their students as well.  The hardest part I believe is being able to bend but not break the rules and regulations of the school that you teach at as much as possible.  Teaching straight from the book at all times is not beneficial to the students learning or the teachers teaching method either, the classroom then becomes toxic.  Once the classroom becomes toxic is the moment that you lose your students all together.  The most important part of becoming a teacher I think is being able to relate to each students on a personal level and on a educational level as well.

Blog Post 9

After being able to read about the SummerHill school and the different type of techniques that it allowed its students to use, it really opens my eyes on what a good school should look like.  After doing the group design project, being in a group with three different cultures was very helpful.  We were able to distinguish differences from one another cultures and take what we thought what was best from both and combine them into our school.  The reason that I had chosen relationships was because it sounded as though teacher/student relationships in Niko and Kevin's were not as strong as I have witnessed in the States.  Which is why we choose our school to be in a impoverished area because we wanted every student to have the chance to have the best education that they could possibly get, depending on whether or not they wanted to.  The biggest thing that really stuck out to me while designing our school was the sense of it being a boarding school on the weekdays, and the eating a meal together at least once a week.  The school would be the home away from home for the students and what other way to make it feel like home and a family than eating a meal together with one another.  As Kevin had explained in class, in France, having a meal with someone shows that you have a special connection with that person or peoples.  I also think that if a school wants to be the "best", it has to change every single year because each year students are changing and the only way to survive is to adapt to their students and their abilities.

Blog Post 8

While readings Ayers' chapter 7, I really involved myself with his topic of many of the things that teachers should know in order to be successful.  Some of these were self-criticism, finding allies, authentic friendship, and balance and clarity.  The one that really stuck out to me though was the Authentic Friendship section which is the single most important thing to understanding their students completely.  Teachers have a hard time finding a good medium between being sociable with students and then being able to be a mentor and guide students as well.  Everyone wants to be that favorite teacher that no ones likes, but sometimes that can be taken to far and you could not only lose control of your students because of your reputation, but your colleagues as well. All of these, in a way, correspond with one another because having allies in the teaching profession can lead to balance and more clarity in what should be done, but not without a little criticism on the way.  It all just depends on how you can handle the criticism and how you put it to the best use possible.  Being able to balance all the challenges that come along with being a teacher is not only going to make someone a more likable person, but a better person as well.

Field Blog post 3

While at Orange High School, it was a very different experience compared to when I was in high school.  While observing a Honor Pre-calc class made mostly of Sophomore students, it was interesting in how the technology had developed from my school.  When i had walked in the students were very interactive with one another and the teacher was walking around the room helping students individually when they needed help.  She had given me a paper of their lessons for the day and new formulas that the students would be learning that day.  She had also shown me shown me the calculators that the students used for the class and they blew me away.  They were Ti-Nspire calculators and were basically hand held computers for the students to use and it was just a small token showing the direction that the school was going in and that they were technologically advanced in the resources that they had.    The class had started with two bell work problems that the students would do by themselves and then answer them as a class and if anyone had any questions they would ask Mrs. Rudolph.  In the classroom it was different compared to what I was used to in high school in that all the walls could be moved through a sliding system and they each wall except for the wall that was connected with the windows were actually chalk boards.  This to me was something that may have been creative five years ago but now smart boards and white boards have almost outdated chalk boards all together.  She used the space well though and had many posters of formulas and signs all over the classroom which is smart because it is something that the students would be learning in the class through out the year so with them seeing it everyday, it helps engrave it into their heads and helps them learn it and retain what they learned.  Mrs. Rudolph was very involved with the class always interacting with them even if she was just talking to them about something other than math.  She knew when to get the students attention and be serious and when she could joke with them.  Her balance of lecturing and conversing was spot on and I think this is a reason why the students enjoyed her so much and could be taught easily by her.  She had explained how she had all these students the previous year and how it was amazing and somewhat confusing as to why the could understand what they were learning now and to where the struggled with being introduced to these things the year before.  Like, what was it that had clicked in the students brains and made it easy for them to understand what was being taught and apply to their work and tests. That is the main question that I asked myself while sitting in that class room, how come one year students can go from now having a clue about one thing to completely understanding it the next?  What is it that clicks in their brain to make them get it, is it the constant pressure from their parents, teachers, or just self satisfaction of doing good?
  A small point that was brought to my attention was that students were allowed to carry their book bags around into the classroom which at my school was something that was something that was not tolerated at all and disciplinary actions would be assessed if the students had refused to return their bookbag back to their locker within a given time period.  The only exception that was given is if the student locker was broken and they could not access it.

Blog Post 7

  In schools today it seems that every teacher feels that they need to get as much as they can while the time is right.  Buying in bulk for school teachers is equivalent to power lifting for weight lifters.  Whenever teachers see something that they think they will need for the future, they buy as much as they can.  Ohanian says "Most of us never use 80% of the materials jammed into our classrooms, but we cling to them "just in case."", showing that the reason that most school teachers do this is because of fear I think.  Many schools, financially, are not stable enough to be able to provide necessities that their students need so many teachers will buy them and use the many out of their own pockets to get what is needed.  For instance, when the winter months start rolling around many teachers go out buy tissues for their students or encourage their students to bring boxes for extra credit that way they do not run out during the sniffling season.  It has become a shame that most teachers have to cherish such little things now because they do not know if they will need that at some point in their teaching careers later on, but they may not be supplied them by their school or district.  I believe that this is one of the reasons why so many people fear the area of going into teaching because they are so unsure of what or when they will need to provide for their classroom because their school superiors can not due to budget circumstances.