The Preview to The Finale

This class has been a great preview in what is yet to come for me as a teacher. I am getting ready to take the Praxis this summer, and I applying for the program in the fall. I am half way there and can't believe how far I have come. There is finally light at the end of the tunnel.  I can't wait to enter the teaching program. My family comes from a long line of artists, and although I have the talent I don't have the desire. My creativity will come in my methods of teaching.

The Finale will only come on the day I decide to retire. Graduation will be the beginning of great new journey. I will have accomplished part of my goal. Later on down the road I will go on to get my masters, and then my PhD. All my life it seems that I have had obstacles to overcome, and by now I would have quit. This not to say that I still have anxiety about certain things, but now I have the tools to overcome some of these fears.

I just want to say Thank You Dr. Rasmussen for his encouragement and his great teaching methods. I hope someday to be a great educator like him. His class has been one of my favorites thus far, and I hope to take more classes from him in the near future. Until next time my journey will continue, and maybe even this blog!!!

A Student's Choice

After just watching the documentary, "Waiting for Superman", the question arose: Should students have a choice on which school they attend, or should it be mandated by where live? Why?

I really had to think about this one. Yes, in an ideal world I do think students should have a right to choose where they attend school because all students should learn in environment where they thrive, feel safe, and desire to learn. We live in a state where the average class size is quite large and students don't always get the attention they need or deserve, so seeking a better option of different school would be great. However, student's choice is not clearly possible unless their parents are willing to pay for private school or hope they get picked in the lottery for the local charter school. Student's choice would cause for major reform, and as we know that reform is not possible with our current teacher's union.

Students shouldn't have to want to attend another school. They should love their current one. The improvement needs to begin with schools, so students don't want to leave. Teachers need to begin asking themselves what is their motivation? What are their goals? How do they achieve success? How do they engage students? Is their current teaching methods effective? And how can they be the best teacher they can be?

The change begins in the classroom. Students should not want to leave their current schools, but take pride in their school, and know that this school is providing them with the BEST!

Motivation

When it comes to school most children are not to ecstatic that they have to go, and then are a few who love learning. I loved learning when I was growing up but to be quite honest most of my teachers were not real motivators. They lacked passion, heart, and drive for career. Why would anyone want to be in a career they are not passion about?

 First and foremost make sure you love teaching because you will not be a great motivator if you do not love it. Second, you must love young people and want to build relationships with them. When a teacher builds a relationship with a student and gains their trust the student is more likely motivated to participate and achieve in that teacher's class. Think of yourself as a coach. What do coach's do? They motivate their team, and they design a plan to help their team score or even win!

Instruction can be a key role in how a teacher motivates their students. The teacher who gets up in front of class in that boring, monotone voice, and just starts lecturing with no engagement from her class, will likely be the one who has students that are not motivated to flow. Then we have the teacher who starts Spanish class wearing a sombrero singing La Bama and is very excited about class. The students may think your a dork but you know you have got their attention. This teacher keeps the gain rolling by a little bit a of lecture, discussion, and then role playing. If you don't use the language in everyday life how can the student learn it?

How teacher's apply learning to everyday life? This a question that must be constantly asked and reviewed. There are so many resources teacher's can use, and today technology is a big one. More and more classrooms have I-pads and are using interactive learning. The majority of standardize testing is all done on computers. Technology can also have its draw backs. It can be very distracting for some students, and it can be used for Cyber-bullying. The way the teacher motivates her classroom will determine the success of how technology is used.

Teachers have so much to take from to motivate their students. I want to be remembered for that teacher that taught me to love school and our education is a privilege. I want students to know I have rules but within those rule learning can be fun and engaging. My motivation to be a great teacher is that someday I want my students to come back to my class and say you influenced me by........ and that will be more rewarding than anything.

Curriculum Who? and What?

When it comes to school curriculum who has the final say on what is taught in the school system? The State Superintendent along with school board and school offices set the standards and applies them. Then they form committees to help decide what the core curriculum should be for the state schools. Do teachers have a say in the process? The teacher gets to teach the curriculum according to the subjects that are being covered.

Let's clarify what curriculum and instruction are. Curriculum is what you teach, your arrangement of curriculum and planned educational experiences. We discussed the four types of curriculum, but here is better clarification on the types of curriculum. Explicit curriculum is the content, the objectives, and lesson plan. These are the things that are directly taught. This is used more in Junior and High Schools. Here in the state of Utah we have a website that helps with lesson planning for explicit content, it called Utah Education Network (UEN.org). An example of Explicit curriculum would be Math and Language Arts. Next we have Implicit "hidden" curriculum. These are the attitudes and values students take from school. The types of learning children gain without formal instruction in a particular area. Teacher's actions influence the Implicit curriculum, for example by the posters they hang in their classrooms, or they may spend more time on particular topic. Then there is Null curriculum this is where things are left out of Explicit curriculum, and they often include controversial subjects like Evolution. Finally, there is Extracurricular, which is the activities outside of the classroom, such as clubs, sports, etc. Studies have shown that low-ability and at risk students are less likely to participate in extracurricular activities.

Now instruction is how you teach and deciding what practices are best. Pedagogy is the art and science of teaching young people. The art is the design of teaching and the creativity behind teaching. It can allow for wiggle room. The science of teaching is based off of practices that are effective tools that help students learn. These are the strategies that have been proven and always used in college and method courses of teaching.

School Curriculum

When it comes to school curriculum we as teachers need to decide what is valuable for our students to grasp. The components of school curriculum are explicit, integrated, implicit, null and extracurricular. Explicit curriculum is the formal material usually found in textbooks, curriculum guides, and standards. Integrated are the concepts and skills from various disciplines that are combined and related. This type of curriculum is very popular in Elementary Schools. Then we have implicit curriculum which is the way a teacher presents content. It can be in hidden messages, and often implied rather than voiced. Null curriculum is where teachers decide what is most important to cover in a short amount of time. Finally, there is extracurricular, which is the learning experience from the student's formal studies.

The things that have an influence on curriculum are textbooks, standards and accountability, the Federal Government, and the teachers philosophies and professionalism. The idea of "What gets tested gets taught" is the norm in most schools today. Textbooks are used as outline for most classes, but the majority of textbooks cover more than twice of what is going to be taught. The Federal government plays role of making sure that curriculum is accessible to all. This can be seen in the NO Child Left Behind Act, IDEA and National Defense Education Act. Philosophy and Teacher Professionalism reflects our learning goals as teachers, and what do we want our students to learn from this subject. Each philosophy will vary from grade to grade, and subject to subject.

There have been many controversies over school curriculum in the 21st century. There have been the controversies over essentialism verses progressivism, how math should be taught, intelligent design, and censoring. A big topic of debate is sex education in the school system. Sex education is very important whether it is being taught in the home or at school. We as educators need to provide our students with the no how when it comes to protection, pregnancy, and prevention. In ideal world I would love to see parents talking with their children about sex, but the truth of the matter is it just does not always happen. Schools need to be well equipped when it comes to Sex Education.

The classroom we must teach core curriculum but make it applicable to the real world. We need to teach pathways and not just memorization. We need to teach our students as Seth Godin puts, "To care enough to be not afraid of being criticized  for their ideas".  Teachers need to do the same and not be afraid of teaching in an untraditional way. When we take a little of the old mixed in with the new we can create amazing pathways of learning!

Multiplication and Organization

Multiplication and Organization go hand in hand. Today's presentation was on how school's are organized. Before the 1800s teacher's taught all subject to every age group they were in a one room school house. Today teacher's teach one specific grade, and the upper level grades the teacher's have an area expertise. Elementary educations included the reorganization of the alphabet, cursive, multiplication, and understanding mass and inertia. It was fun to have a timed test on multiplication it took me back to the fifth, and literally I visited some fifth graders today who had to complete the same test as we did. In middle school there is focus on organization. This is the key component for success. In elementary school students had more supervision from the teachers. When it comes to middle school they are more on their own. They must learn to manage their time, organize for classes with binders and planners. Teachers need to be time oriented as well and use interactive strategies when they teach. In middle school the student should have mastered studying and time management preparing them for high school. The comprehensive high school is where the basic classes are taught and each class is around fifty minutes long. The other alternative is block scheduling where classes are 100 minutes long. There are different college courses that are offered such as Advanced Placement and honor classes. There are also virtual schools that are offered online, distance education and career tech schools. The organization within the classroom and from the school will allow all students to succeed.

Today I saw first hand how and organized school and classroom can help students thrive. I visited Nick Baker's fifth grade classroom. First, Nick is a master when it comes to letting his students know his expectations, and they follow very well. The students were learning about the constitution of the United States. They were highlighting the important facts, then filling in blanks in their workbooks. All students were engaged and having fun. Then it was time for Math, multiplication timed test. The students excelled. They repeated back their answers by not moving their teeth or plugging their ears. The experience was great and I learned a lot about the writing process for fifth graders, and how to prepare them for written exams.

Today!

Today, my group and I gave our group presentation on School Law. It was so much better being up in the hot seat than being a spectator. There is a definite rush that comes from being in front of entire class. You can see excitement, boredom and no expressions at all, but these help gauge how effectively you are doing you job. For the most part my group and keep the audience pretty engaged. They probably thought I was a little crazy, but I don't mind because I got their attention and their brains ticking. I can't wait till I get the opportunity to teach for real, and look out into the audience of my students. Peace out!

School Law

School Law can be seen as the protection for the teacher and the student. It is like an umbrella that covers both parties. There are two amendments from the constitution that are the central focus when it comes to School Law. The first and the fourth amendments both are dealing with the freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Teacher’s roles are to be professionals. They have the rights and responsibilities when it comes to dealing with child abuse, how they handle their private lives, their job as a teacher, copyright laws, and their own liability. When the students are under a teacher’s care, they are in place of the parents or what is called in loco parentis.  Teachers are to remain neutral when it comes to religion. Prayer in schools is prohibited by the law, but students have the right to pray as long as it does not affect those around them. There can be religious groups that use the school building for clubs, etc. Religious curriculum may be used as long as it for historical purposes. Student’s rights are just as important as the teachers. Students have the freedom speech. There is permissible search and seizure, where school officials may search student lockers if they have probable cause. They have the right to privacy of their records. In some states corporal punishment still exists, and this still can be a very tricky matter. The issue of AIDS is not as strong as it was in the 1980s, but today there cannot be the discrimination of someone with an illness or disability.

            I believe the majority of educators don’t know about the laws that exist to protect them and their students. What if part of the Educational Degree it was required that the future educator had to take a class to cover this core curriculum of School Law? The knowledge that is gained could save many people a lot of time, frustration and heart ache. The teachers who decide to engage in sexual activity with their under age students might think twice about proceeding with that following action!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The U.S. Historical Roots of Teaching

I believe teaching has been around since the dawning of time, but in a formal sense in the United States in began in the colonial era. School was seen as an institution of elite young men of the society. There education was paid for my their rich fathers. Girls were seen as keepers of the home and why would they need education to expand their minds. Early curriculum focused on the three R's: Reading, Writing and Arithmetic. The teachers focused on dictation and memorization. It wasn't until John Locke, an English philosopher stated that there should be an emphasis with first hand experiences in helping children learn about the world.

The Constitution of the United States helped shape education. It did so in three ways. First, the law of separation of church and state, second, giving education to the state, and then the Law Ordinances of 1785, where land was sectioned off to become schools.

The Common School movement was the turning point in American Education in that it was an idea that schools were supported by taxes. Then there was and still is the issue of teacher quality. What makes a good-qualified teacher?

Education has change quit a bit since the colonial days. In this great country education is available to all. We still struggle with the issues of religion and racial issues, but there is more equality than in the past. We have a better understanding of how the institution of learning works within a state, but still struggle to find funding for programs and pay raises for our teachers. Students today are taught to ask questions, and think more critically. When we teach this way the learning process evolves and new things are discovered. There is a great quote out there that states. "To know one's future, you must understand one's past." The past was yet a foundation for the future so we could evolve and continue to grow in this great country!

MONEY, Money......

Money is playes a vital role in the way schools operate. The majority of the funding for schools comes from local income and property taxes, then the state and about 8.5% percent from the federal government. The tenth amendment of the Constitution assigns the legal responsibility for education in all fifty states. Each state has the State Board of Education which consists for politicians.  Then the State Superintendent and they are appointed by the State Board of Education, and they work in the State Office of Education where they approve licensure, curriculum, and all school building sites. There are also Local School Districts and Boards which are elected by the citizens. These Local Boards are  responsible for the disbursing of funds, district services such as transportation and lunch programs. They also make budget decisions which effect the class size. These decisions take up the majority of the school board's time. Like the state there is District Superintendent and the District Office, and under the Superintendent lies the Principal. The Principal is given the ultimate authority over the school. They are ones who hire and fire, and set the tone for the school. The Principal sees that the school is running smooth and effectively.

Today we watch a video,"A Tale of Two Schools", it was very effective in showing how money does play a huge role in the quality of the school. Should children have to suffer because of the area they live in? Funding is based off local property taxes, and of course lower income homes are going to have lower income taxes. Utah is the second lowest state for funding of each student. Is it because of the amount of child per class? Or our districts using the funding properly?

The governing and financial roles in teaching can have a huge impact on teachers. It comes down to time, money, quality and the support the teacher receives from their principal and school board. Where do I want to teach? I want to teach where I am challenged and children need my help. Don't get me wrong money is a factor, but lets face it we don't go into teaching for the MONEY, Money......

Inspiration

“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.” -William Ward. I can still remember the names of the great teachers in my life who have inspired me. I hope one day to inspire one of my students. In order to inspire I firmly believe we must know who we are as people. What are our interests? Our strengths and weaknesses? The effectiveness of our teaching will be in how well we are in tune with ourselves, but much more in how we inspire our students.

My interests have always lied in the arts. My dad and brother both are artists, and I posses the talent but that is not what I am passionate about. I'm passionate about children and teaching them in new creative and innovate ways. I am a very visual person, so my class room will have a lot of pictures, paintings, and music posters. Music surrounds my life. I would rather listen to music than do anything else. I know music can help stimulate learning. Children can relate to popular music and when used in the classroom it can get any students attention. Creativity is not just held for art and music. It can be used in Math applications. For example, let's take story problems, a mundane task for some, and make it come to life. The reciting of the problem is important, but let's act it out with actors, music and props. As a future educator it is my duty to make sure students learn but learn so they are inspired to learn more and go into the world and inspire others.

My Philosphy of Education

My philosophy of education is that a student will learn to explore their own thoughts and ideas, with the guidance of a teacher. My role is to give them a foundation to build from and then take what they have learned and explore, think critically, and apply it to real life. I just recently watched a clip on teaching our students more about civic duty. It is so much more than knowing who the President is, and the three branches of government. This will also be part of philosophy that students must understand the role they play in this great country. They have a voice and joined with others they can achieve great heights.

In today's presentation we learned about the four philosophies of education. My group had Perennialism. The best way to think of this is comparing it to a perennial, it is permanent and teacher focused. It was based off of our founding fathers, and used the intellectual skills of math, science, and literature. The next group discussed Essentialism. This philosophy is based off curriculum changing with the times, and helping the students to develop basic skills. Then we discussed Progressivism, where the student is well-rounded and learning real life problem solving skills. Finally, we discussed Social Reconstruction where schools, teachers and students should take lead when it comes to addressing issues. The students learn to work together for the better of mankind. This one is my favorite because it goes back to the civic role that everyone can play in and outside of the classroom.

I leave you with this quote or even philosophy:

The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think—rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with the thoughts of other men.

John Dewey

The Melting Pot

Diversity stirs the melting pot. It creates individuality that makes each one of us unique. The face of diversity is the face of an individual. We as future educators need to embrace diversity and develop teaching patterns that work for all our students. The expectations must be set high, but set differently for each individual student. We must also consider students with physical and mental challenges, and how we do not single them out. Teachers are faced with many challenges, and there is no such thing as a perfect classroom setting. It is how we deal with these challenges. How do we create environment where all students culturally and ethnically feel comfortable? How do help a child who has AHD or ADD overcome their stigma, and see themselves as individual? They are not AHD or ADD, they have these disabilities and are not defined by them. Teachers must avoid stereotypes and gender bias. Taking all this things into consideration teachers will be able to adapt to the diversity in their classroom. The next challenge in diversity is English being a second language for a student. How do we adapt when half of our class does not speak English?

There is now a greater need for assistance for students whose first language is not English. We call these English language learners (ELLs). Schools have now responded to this great need for assistance in four different programs. There is Bilingual Maintenance program where the first language is maintained through reading and writing first language while English integrated. Next, is the Transition program where student first learn to read in native language and then given some instruction in English as Secondary language. Once they have mastered English they are placed in English speaking classrooms. Then we have the Immersion program students learn English by being "immersed" into classrooms where English only spoken. Finally, the program called English as a Second language (ESL), where students are pulled out of the classroom to have supplementary English instruction. All programs work in some shape or form but ESL seems to be the most favored program because it is easier to administer to all students.

How does a great teacher develop?

In the profession of teaching a teacher must constantly be evolving. Teachers are held to higher standard because they are teaching the next generations. The question posed is how do great teachers become great? There was a news story that was given: What made a great teacher? A great teacher will make sure their students are keeping up, they will change their lesson plans if they are not working, and they set high expectations for ALL students. In today's discussion there will be a look at how great teachers become great through the development process. There will be the look at the beliefs teachers have and how they influence how they teach.

The beliefs teachers have play a huge role in how they teach. The majority of prospective teachers have great confidence and are optimistic. Then the classroom shock hits, and they claim no one prepared them for this. These teachers usually end up quitting. The ones that don't end up quitting usually will gain more confidence with time. In the beginning prospective teachers believe they have to tell or explain the content. Teaching is definitely more complex. The experience is the classroom is one of the most vital tools a teacher can have, but it is not really enough. Prospective teachers think they will learn teaching when they are in the classroom. Teachers must have the experience, research and theories that they can  apply to the classroom. The knowledge the teacher gains in a subject does not always mean that they will be able to translate it to their students. In all these beliefs there is a hope, but as prospective teachers there must be the realistic look at what lies ahead.

The first year of teaching is the real awaking for most first year teachers. The teachers face the chaos of students and the teaching environment. There can be loneliness and isolation. Often there is focus more on non-teaching duties, leaving little time for planning, and no time for themselves. The first year can also be a great adventure, and so rewarding. The beliefs teachers have about themselves and what they can do realistically will evolve with time as long as the teacher is willing to evolve.

Do I want to be a Teacher?

The answer for me is yes, but there are definitely days when I question becoming a teacher? What is the trigger that gets me questioning, the teachers that are jaded and do nothing but complain. Then I realize that complaining gets you nowhere. I am realistic enough to know that teaching can be hard, sometimes there is frustration, but it is all worth it when you have a student come back to you ten years later and tells you as teacher had a huge impact on their lives. In this section we will look at the rewards and challenges, the teaching profession, diversity in the American classroom and the modern reform movement in Education.

The rewards of being a teacher can be satisfying for emotional or intellectual reason, which we call intrinsic rewards. Extrinsic are the outside rewards, such as job security and vacations. The majority of teachers enter the teaching field because of intrinsic rewards. In a survey conducted 8 out of 10 teachers said they "love to teach". The emotional aspect that is receiving letters, hugs, high fives, and laughing from students makes it worth while. Teachers also look at the intellectual aspect as the opportunity for self-growth, and this kind of stimulation keeps teachers going. The extrinsic rewards are another aspect that teachers look for in teaching. Job security, receiving tenure, family having the same schedule, and salary increase with each year that you teach, or increase with the more education you receive.

The challenges in teaching can be the complexity in the classroom, and always having to make decisions. The characteristics of the classroom that make teaching more complex and demanding are defined in the following areas. The multidimensional, the large number of events that happen in a classroom. The simultaneous, events and tasks that happen at the same time. The immediate, the events that occur rapidly or sometimes to rapidly. There is the unpredictable, the classroom often takes unexpected turns. Then finally, the public watching your every move, referred to the "Fishbowl".

The teaching profession has the characteristics of professionalism. These characteristics include the specialized body of knowledge, knowledge of learners and they learn, extending training for licensure, autonomy, the emphasis on decision making and reflection, and ethics. In the four forms of knowledge content there is the pedagogical content knowledge, which the science and art of teaching, the teacher has the ability to illustrate abstract concepts, such as nationalism in history. Then general pedagogical knowledge is order in teaching. There is the knowledge content of understanding how people learn and develop. The teacher must have bachelor's degree, clinical experience and internships. There must be a demonstration of autonomy, control

Nicholle Ann Miller

"The best way to know life is to love many things." -Vincent Van Gogh

 

 

The quote above has been mantra for as long as I can remember. Life is full experiences good and bad. The bad times have definitely made the good worth the long journey. My journey begins in the "exciting" town of Bountiful, Utah, where I was born raised. I grew up in a crazy family. My Dad was an artist, and to this day this how he makes his living. My Mom helped managed the business end of my Dad's career, which allowed for her to stay home with my brother and myself. Both my parents encouraged creativity and a love for the arts. Music was a part of our everyday lives, and to this day I would rather listen to music than watch T.V. any day. My childhood was pretty great. It was only my brother and myself, and we were pretty spoiled, but my parents instilled good working values in us. I started my first job at the age of fifteen, and have been working ever since. Now I joke that I am retired because school is my new career, as I pursue my degree in Elementary Education at Weber State University.

 

When I'm not in school I love being with my beautiful boy Henry James. I love going to concerts at the Depot and Red Butte Gardens. I love to workout. It keeps me sane when life gets crazy. Part of the reason I workout is so I can eat. My boyfriend calls me a food snob. I love trying new restaurants all over the valley. I have a boyfriend named Scott, and he keeps me grounded when I get too emotional or when I want to give up. We have been together for over two years now, and we are considering marriage, but Scott knows that school is my number one priority.

 

 

Now the question of why I want to be a teacher? My son's first grade year was not a very good experience. I helped a lot in the classroom , and the teacher was a "hot mess". She was very disorganized, and there was no real disciplinary system in place. Eureka, it hit me I should become a teacher. I love kids, I'm organized, and I know how to run a classroom. I was a preschool teacher and I ran summer camps for a local preschool. What was stopping me? The answer was Nothing. The following fall I enrolled in classes here at Weber, and here I am now. I have a great support system, and they cheer me on when I want to through in the towel. This blog is here to give you some of my personal experiences and lay the foundation for what I learned on the road to becoming a teacher!