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.