Chapter 6: Social Context of Schools

Bullying, harassment and intolerance are happening all the time in schools everywhere. In order to stop this from happening in my classroom I made a plan. Attached to this blog is a brochure explaining my plan as if I was already a teacher dealing with harassment.

Symposium

On Symposium day I went to see the presentation Tattoo: Self Expression on the Surface by Nicole L. Schoppee. I learned that tattoos are present in many cultures and represent many different things to different people. I think the most interesting thing I learned was that people felt differently about tattoos on middle or upper class members of society then on people of the lower class. The presentation was overall informative and interesting but nothing was conclusive.

In the future if I was included in symposium day I think I would like to present some of my writing. I don't really like doing research. I would have a lot more fun creating my own piece of writing and presenting it to an audience.

Chapter 5: The History of Schools in the United States

Over the last 300 years there have been many debates about what should be taught in schools. These debates have changed the curriculum. In the beginning it consisted of reading, writing, spelling, arithmatic, and the religious catechism were the first subjects taught. Later on a moral catechism and a federal one that stressed nationalism and patriotism was added. By the end of the nineteenth century the curriculum became geared more towards helping immigrants became literate and disciplined workers as well as "preparing young people to contribute effectively to the industrial revolution". Although the things being taught had changed with time the way things were taught was still in the past where lecture and recitation were the only way to go. In the early 1900s a movement began to try to engage students and to address students individual learning styles. These last movement was called the progressive movement and has spanned more than 50 years and is the current ideology in many schools.

Many of the same debates that were waging around schools 300 years ago are still being fought today. The three catechisms that were included in the first schools have been removed but many feel that religion should be included in school. Others feel that is wrong because by teaching one religion in schools we are discriminating against many others. There are also still debates around how students should be taught. Although many advancements have been made in the school system there are still people who feel that lecture and recitation is the best way to teach.

Things I Need to Know

I read about three important things that UMF Secondary Education major should know.

• 1) They do offer a fee waiver for the Praxis I exam. This does impact me because I wish I had known that before I took it. My family is very low income and if I'd known of the fee waiver I could have saved myself some money.
  
• 2) Former Practicum students highly advise that if you can afford it at all, don’t take any other classes in the same semester as Practicum. This impacts me because before I read this I was thinking about taking another class. Now I may reconsider it depending on the class and when it is offered. Practicum sounds pretty intense.
• 3)This last page doesn't really impact me at all because I'm already in the major. This would be really great information for students who want to transfer in but I'm already in the major.
  

Chapter 4: Schools as the Workplace for Students and Teachers

Comparing and Contrasting New View High School with The United States

New View High School is in Exit, Missouri making it a fictional American high school. This means that in terms of school district relationship with the state, the role of the federal government and how it is paid for is exactly the same as any other high school in the United States.

However, my build a school team did make some changes in our school to the staff and how the school is organized. We decided that New View would be broken up into 4 sections, humanities, math, science and other. Each teacher would specialize in one of the four groups and the students would pick which group they wished to be in based on their strengths. This means our teachers and our students are organized into these 4 clusters. Then out of all of the teachers a few from each group would be chosen by the principal to serve on a board of teachers. This board of teachers would meet regularly with a group of volunteer students to discuss curriculum and policy within the school. They would come to a conclusion together and take it to the principal to be reviewed. After being reviewed and discussed with the principal it could then move on up to the superintendent and the school board where it would be voted on and made official.

Usually in the United States students are not involved in any of the decision making processes. In fact in our book they are not even listed on the chart on page 135 to show how the school is organized but the book does list the students as "workers" at the school. New View High School believes that as part of the school's work force students should be part of the lines of communication among staff.

Chapter 7: Thinking about Teaching and Learning

1) On pages 272 to 273 there is a short discussion on the role of values and ethics in the classroom. I think it is very important to know, and understand different beliefs, values and opinions. As a student on her way to becoming a teacher I'd like to incorporate something about understanding and tolerance into my philosophy. I feel that my students will have no respect for me, the subject I'm trying to teach and my ideas if I show no respect or understanding of their values, beliefs and opinions.

2) Pragmatism is discussed on pages 276-277. I liked this idea. I think it's important for a teacher to have under their belt. The essential idea here is that individuals need to be flexible and capable of dealing with change. As a teacher I will see a lot of change in rules in the school I teach, in teaching styles and ideas, in legislation and in people's beliefs and ideals. I must be able to cope with a world that will constantly change.

3) I may also tie in progressivism from page 277 because I like that it puts more importance on the role of the learner in the acquisition of knowledge. Students will do better in their if they are interested in what they are learning. I want to make my lessons as interesting for my students as possible.

Chapter 3: Families and Communities

Principle #4- All Students can achieve at high levels regardless of their families.

Fifty years ago the world was a very different place. Men and women graduated from high school, got married shortly after, had children and mom stayed home to look after them. Now things are different. Although most children do live with two parents one of them may not be their natural parent. Also, according to our textbook, The Joy of Teaching, on page 98 it says "single mothers, single fathers, grandparents and other guardians raise approximately one of three children in the United States." Families are different but we can see by the number of successful professionals still in the work force that it has not held students back from achieving at high levels.