“Students at risk,” so that’s what they called me. I had my daughter when I was 15 years old, I guess that puts me in that category. As far as strategies to help students at risk like myself, I believe prevention should be at the top of the list. It makes sense right? If we as a community do everything we can to prevent teenage pregnancy, or anything for that matter there would be no need for or a lesser need for any other strategy such as transition programs, alternative schools, intervention & compensation programs & so forth. I believe that we should tackle these issues early on at the elementary level rather than waiting for kids to reach middle school or high school to teach them about sex education. We do that with drug abuse but not so much teen pregnancy.
I’m not saying that we should teach a five year old how to properly put on a condom but we should allow our children to be comfortable about talking about their bodies and any concerns they might have. When children hear the word “sex” they give this funny look or they’re embarrassed to say it. Not in my house! In my house, I teach my children that sex is a beautiful thing but when you’re ready of course. Otherwise, none of us would be here right? I just pray that they’re not ready until they’re at least 70 years old! But anyway, the point is… I want my children to feel comfortable talking to me about anything: sex, drugs, boys, whatever! Our kids are going to have questions eventually, if they can’t feel comfortable talking to us parents, they’ll seek answers elsewhere: friends, strangers, the media, etc.. I don’t know about you, but I want to be the primary influence on my children when it comes to those sorts of things!
Prevention!.. As with everything else, it all starts at home!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Ch.4 - Teaching Diverse Students
I think that it’s important for teachers to be multiculturaly aware of their students and the different backgrounds that they come from. It’s important to take the time to really get to know your students, their families & the community they live in so that you can better provide for their special needs in the classroom or to better understand their points of views as it may conflict with your teaching. Take a look at Ron Clark, going the extra mile by visiting with families & working with them for their students’ success.
Reading through this chapter made me realize just how complex teaching in a single classroom can be, especially on Guam where we have so many different ethnicities here. But it doesn’t stop at ethnicities. As a teacher you have to be aware of the different socioeconomic backgrounds, family structure, sexual orientation, primary languages, & also what genders your students identify with. Here on Guam, you get a little taste of all of that!
Check out this video clip of the movie, "Freedom Writers" based on a true story of one teacher's journey in bringing her classroom of diverse students together.
Reading through this chapter made me realize just how complex teaching in a single classroom can be, especially on Guam where we have so many different ethnicities here. But it doesn’t stop at ethnicities. As a teacher you have to be aware of the different socioeconomic backgrounds, family structure, sexual orientation, primary languages, & also what genders your students identify with. Here on Guam, you get a little taste of all of that!
Check out this video clip of the movie, "Freedom Writers" based on a true story of one teacher's journey in bringing her classroom of diverse students together.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Ch.3 - How Schools Are Organized and Linked to Society
Chapter three goes on to explain the purposes of schooling and how they are linked to society, how they are organized and structured to meet the demands of the times they are in. For example, in the fifties after the Soviet Union launched the space satellite Sputnik, national defense became a top priority and educational organizations shifted towards science and teaching students how to think. Today, the focus of education is for students to achieve high standards in an effort to make the United States more economically competitive.
Chapter three also mentions looping, a nontraditional approach to learning in which the teacher moves from grade to grade with the students. I’ve never experienced or seen looping for myself but I can see one major advantage to this program. At the beginning of the school year, the teacher spends less time getting to know the students and the students spend less time getting comfortable with the teacher and his or her classmates because they already know each other. This allows for more time and more productive instruction because the teacher is already accustomed to each student’s individual learning styles and can better prepare lessons.
Chapter three also mentions looping, a nontraditional approach to learning in which the teacher moves from grade to grade with the students. I’ve never experienced or seen looping for myself but I can see one major advantage to this program. At the beginning of the school year, the teacher spends less time getting to know the students and the students spend less time getting comfortable with the teacher and his or her classmates because they already know each other. This allows for more time and more productive instruction because the teacher is already accustomed to each student’s individual learning styles and can better prepare lessons.
Ch.2 - Teaching as a Profession
Is teaching a profession? Yes! The professionalization of teaching involves certification, accountability, ethical practice, high practice standards, collaboration and shared decision making, increased knowledge base, and challenging teaching. Chapter two introduces the various educational organizations dedicated to ensuring that every teacher candidate progresses to be highly qualified by setting high standards for maintaining certification.
For example, The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards lists it’s five core components as follows:
Teachers are committed to students and their learning.
Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.
Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.
Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.
Teachers are members of learning communities.
I believe that it’s important for any profession to maintain a set of standards that is relevant to the times and to the society they live in. Things change, people change, therefore standards must change.
Ch.1 - What It Means to Be a Teacher
I really enjoyed reading through chapter one, it gave us all an overview & a general idea of what it means to be a teacher & what it takes to be a teacher.
It was interesting to read the teacher profile on Beverly San Agustin, the Guam Teacher of the Year. Not only was it interesting to see a teacher from Guam make it into a textbook such as Teaching in America but she makes some very good points on the essence of being a teacher. She states that a good teacher is passionate, resourceful and innovative, encouraging and optimistic, flexible, entertaining, humorous, compassionate, a leader and a mentor. I like how she stresses that a good teacher is entertaining, creating lessons that allows students to make a connection from the classroom to the outside world.
A good teacher is committed to her students, taking advantage of all available resources to meet the needs of the students.
I wanted to include this video clip that Heather refered us to because I think it's awesome! Check it out!...
It was interesting to read the teacher profile on Beverly San Agustin, the Guam Teacher of the Year. Not only was it interesting to see a teacher from Guam make it into a textbook such as Teaching in America but she makes some very good points on the essence of being a teacher. She states that a good teacher is passionate, resourceful and innovative, encouraging and optimistic, flexible, entertaining, humorous, compassionate, a leader and a mentor. I like how she stresses that a good teacher is entertaining, creating lessons that allows students to make a connection from the classroom to the outside world.
A good teacher is committed to her students, taking advantage of all available resources to meet the needs of the students.
I wanted to include this video clip that Heather refered us to because I think it's awesome! Check it out!...
Monday, June 8, 2009
The Ron Clark Story - Movie Commentary
In the film, The Ron Clark Story, teacher Ron Clark demonstrates a lot of positive behaviors towards his students. Not only does he attempt to teach his students but he goes far beyond the walls of the classroom to gain a better understanding of his students, their families, and the community they live in. Mr. Clark shows his students that he genuinely cares about them and believes that they can learn and achieve big dreams by taking risks.
There are many events that took place in the movie that inspired me as a future educator. I can honestly say that at the moment, being as I am still in training, I don’t know if I have the confidence to volunteer to take on the challenges that Mr. Clark has taken.
Mr. Clark takes several steps towards reaching out to his students. He visits with their families in attempt to involve them in his students’ learning. He related their learning material with their interests, the “President’s Rap” and the chocolate milk event for example.
Before being able to do that. He had to first manage his classroom. He set basic rules. One, that they are a family which means that they don’t leave each other, they look out for each other & stand up for each other. Two, that they respect each other. Anytime that something happened in the classroom that conflicted with the basic rules, Mr. Clark had his student’s come up with additional rules of their own.
He puts effort into reaching out to his students to inspire them to believe in themselves. He shares personal stories with his students then has them light a candle as a symbol of their faith in themselves and their commitment to try their very best to succeed.
There are many events that took place in the movie that inspired me as a future educator. I can honestly say that at the moment, being as I am still in training, I don’t know if I have the confidence to volunteer to take on the challenges that Mr. Clark has taken.
Mr. Clark takes several steps towards reaching out to his students. He visits with their families in attempt to involve them in his students’ learning. He related their learning material with their interests, the “President’s Rap” and the chocolate milk event for example.
Before being able to do that. He had to first manage his classroom. He set basic rules. One, that they are a family which means that they don’t leave each other, they look out for each other & stand up for each other. Two, that they respect each other. Anytime that something happened in the classroom that conflicted with the basic rules, Mr. Clark had his student’s come up with additional rules of their own.
He puts effort into reaching out to his students to inspire them to believe in themselves. He shares personal stories with his students then has them light a candle as a symbol of their faith in themselves and their commitment to try their very best to succeed.
Teaching Standards - Commentary
Alignment of Objectives with Standards and Assessments
As a result of taking this course (Intro to Teaching) the student should be able to:
1. Describe what it means to be a teacher; identify teaching as a profession; & describe how schools are organized and linked to society.
2. Understand how students, families and communities affect the culture of a school.
3. Describe the influence of historical, philosophical, political, economic, and legal issues on education.
4. Identify current trends in teaching and learning related to standards, assessment, accountability, curriculum & instruction, and technology.
5. Describe the reasons they have chosen to enter the field of education.
Education based organizations have come together to form a set of standards for teachers. The standards identifies specific knowledge, skills, dispositions and beliefs that support accomplished teaching. The University of Guam’s School of Education, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), Guam Teacher Professional Standards, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards are just a few of the organizations that have put together a detailed listing of teaching standards. They are organized in different ways but they all cover the core objectives listed above. As more and more research is conducted, the standards are often updated to represent modern teaching strategies.
Setting standards for what certified teachers should know and be able to do does many things for teachers and their professions. It sets the foundation and gives the teaching career a professional image. It acts as a guide for teachers throughout their practice to take responsibility towards their students, their families and the communities that they serve in.
As a result of taking this course (Intro to Teaching) the student should be able to:
1. Describe what it means to be a teacher; identify teaching as a profession; & describe how schools are organized and linked to society.
2. Understand how students, families and communities affect the culture of a school.
3. Describe the influence of historical, philosophical, political, economic, and legal issues on education.
4. Identify current trends in teaching and learning related to standards, assessment, accountability, curriculum & instruction, and technology.
5. Describe the reasons they have chosen to enter the field of education.
Education based organizations have come together to form a set of standards for teachers. The standards identifies specific knowledge, skills, dispositions and beliefs that support accomplished teaching. The University of Guam’s School of Education, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), Guam Teacher Professional Standards, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards are just a few of the organizations that have put together a detailed listing of teaching standards. They are organized in different ways but they all cover the core objectives listed above. As more and more research is conducted, the standards are often updated to represent modern teaching strategies.
Setting standards for what certified teachers should know and be able to do does many things for teachers and their professions. It sets the foundation and gives the teaching career a professional image. It acts as a guide for teachers throughout their practice to take responsibility towards their students, their families and the communities that they serve in.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Why I Want to Become a Teacher
Why do I want to become a teacher? Well, why not? I do it everyday. I have two children, my oldest being seven years old and my youngest being two years old. Everyday with them is something different. Everyday is a learning experience on both ends. We learn different things from each other. Just when I think I'm teaching them a valuable life lesson, they turn around and teach me one.
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Let me take you back to when my daughter was about two and a half years old. I held a crayon in her hand and wrote her name on a piece of paper. We did this all the time to leave her mark on her art work as all great artists do, even the ones that somehow ended up on walls and doors. I eventually invested in a dry erase board to save our walls. I told her that it was time to sign her name. I helped her out, of course, but afterwards she did something that moved me. She wrote her name, each letter very carefully all on her own!
I can't begin to explain to you how "cool" that felt. I went on teaching her how to write different letters, different words then on to how to count from one to ten, her colors, shapes and so on. Every time she mastered something new it felt just as good as the first time. It was exciting to see her learn new skills. It made me want to teach her more. This was a feeling I grew to love.
To this day, she still remembers that her mommy was the person that taught her all these things. She still acknowledges and gives me credit for teaching her various skills. That is why I initially wanted to become a teacher, to have the opportunity to teach and influence other children just as I did for my daughter. I wanted to invest myself in a career that will allow me to change lives, doing that through the diverse challenges of the classroom will not only be fun and exciting but extremely rewarding for me.
.jpg)
Let me take you back to when my daughter was about two and a half years old. I held a crayon in her hand and wrote her name on a piece of paper. We did this all the time to leave her mark on her art work as all great artists do, even the ones that somehow ended up on walls and doors. I eventually invested in a dry erase board to save our walls. I told her that it was time to sign her name. I helped her out, of course, but afterwards she did something that moved me. She wrote her name, each letter very carefully all on her own!
I can't begin to explain to you how "cool" that felt. I went on teaching her how to write different letters, different words then on to how to count from one to ten, her colors, shapes and so on. Every time she mastered something new it felt just as good as the first time. It was exciting to see her learn new skills. It made me want to teach her more. This was a feeling I grew to love.
To this day, she still remembers that her mommy was the person that taught her all these things. She still acknowledges and gives me credit for teaching her various skills. That is why I initially wanted to become a teacher, to have the opportunity to teach and influence other children just as I did for my daughter. I wanted to invest myself in a career that will allow me to change lives, doing that through the diverse challenges of the classroom will not only be fun and exciting but extremely rewarding for me.
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