THE END....

Wow, it’s hard to believe that this is the end of another semester. Only one more semester (PSIII for me) and then I will once again be finished my post-secondary career (hopefully this time for good…unless in the future I decide to do a master’s program). I can’t wait to see what the future holds and where I might be teaching next year.

This blogging assignment was pretty interesting. It was definitely a different type of assignment than what I thought I would ever complete in university. I used a blog a few years ago to keep my family and friends up to date on my travels around New Zealand and Australia but have never written about my classes or readings so this was definitely a new experience for me. I really enjoyed writing the blog as it helped me develop my opinion regarding certain subjects and helped me to see what other people thought about the same subject. I thought it was really neat that we were able to read and respond to other classmates blogs. I tried to comment on at least one person’s blog a week and enjoyed that it led to some conversations in our class or in other classes. I really enjoyed reading everyone’s blogs and thought that I learned more about each individual as the semester went on. The blog also helped me learn about some of the current issues in education that some classmates read about in the paper or heard about in other classes.


Overall I really enjoyed writing this blog and reading everyone else’s blog too. I hope everyone enjoyed blogging as much as I did and I wish you all the best in the next semester.



Merry Christmas!

Relationships

Brandie had this quote on her blog that I thought was so great I had to steal it.

"They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel” – Carol Buchner

In PSI, we were told to “beg, borrow and steal” from other teachers and I just couldn’t let this one slip by. I think it is fundamental part of teaching but sometimes people forget about it. We teach children, not robots and how we make them feel could impact them for the rest of their lives. I find it amazing what people remember from their early school years. I don’t remember much of what we learned but I sure do remember my teachers. I think I remember the nicer ones more than the ones I did not like too much. This semester one of my prof’s asked us to remember a teacher that made you feel bad. She said “I’m sure you’ve all had that experience” but I could not think of a teacher that said something to me that make me feel bad. I’m sure that would be one thing that would stick with someone forever. I’ve recently heard that when my dad was in school his teacher said that no question was a dumb question. So my dad asked a question because he wasn’t sure about something and that teacher made some comment about his question and basically really embarrassed my dad. This memory has stuck with him forever and impacted his life. I think for a long time he did not want to ask a question for fear that his teacher would make fun of him again. It also impacted how he treated his kids in that he made sure we knew that we could ask him anything and he would never consider it a dumb question. I know people say things sometimes that they don’t mean to be hurtful and end up hurting others but I think it is really important to consider other people’s feelings when you make comments.

I think this quote also shows how important it is to establish relationships with the students. Students that know you have an interest in them outside of the classroom walls often show more interest in you as a teacher and often show more respect as well. I think it is really important to spend the first few days of school learning about the students and finding out about their hobbies and interests. That information can be used in the classroom to make lessons more meaningful to the students.

I’d like to thank Brandie for sharing this quotation and reminding us that teaching is not only about the “stuff” but more importantly about the individuals we teach.

We can make a difference!

I was thinking about that school that a group of U of L grads went to teach together that Robert mentioned the other day in class. How great would that be? For a group of graduates that have formed a bond in university being able to teach together. I think that school would be a great place to attend as a student. Sure the teachers wouldn’t have the experience that older teachers would have and they may not know how to deal with every situation that might arise but they would be full of new ideas and an excitement of their first job and first time being on their own.

I think the students at this school would benefit enormously. There would probably be a great feeling of community in the school, I’m sure the teachers worked together and collaborated on ideas and strategies to improve their teaching and improve the school. Robert said that this school had a lot of school spirit and I can see why. I think it would be great to go to work with your friends every day. Yes, you can get that at any school. You can develop those relationships over time but in this environment you wouldn’t have to work to start those friendships. You already have the beginning and you just have to build on it. I have to say that I think that would be fantastic! There are many fellow classmates that I have gotten to know over the past year and a half and I would love to work with them. I think having someone else at the same stage as you to bounce ideas off would be very beneficial. I’m a little disappointed that I’m the only one at my school for PSIII for this very reason. I really like talking to others on my drive to and from school and discussing the school day and what classes went well and what didn’t. I guess I’ll have to pester people when I get home instead.

This also made me think about Robert’s brother who was a very eager teacher out of university and was given the class of “left behind” students. He taught those students and they learned. He gave his students the desire to learn, not only in his class but also in their other classes. I think this is an inspiring story of how one teacher can make a difference. The only problem was that the other teachers in his school did not like what he was doing. They did not like that they actually had to teach this group of students. It’s hard to think of teachers not wanting to teach but that was the case for these teachers. I would think it would be difficult to be in this type of school environment. If you let the negativity in, your desire to teach could be affected. I was inspired that he kept teaching and did not listen to the rest of the staff at the school. I’m sure it would have been difficult for him not to have support from the rest of the staff, however I also think it would be incredible to see the difference he was making in the lives of those students. I think making a difference is one of the most important roles of a teacher, however you do it. It does not have to be an academic difference at all, it could be increasing self-confidence or helping with some personal issue. Whatever it is, I think it is important that the students know that you believe in them and are there to help them in any way you can. This is why I think new teachers could make such a big difference if they are grouped together. The new teachers could feed off each other and inspire each other to make a difference in their students lives rather than been told to forget about a certain group of students. I know I don’t have years of experience behind me to know how difficult it might be or how over time you get worn down, but I just hope that I am able to keep my spirits high and remember that I can make a difference in the lives of my students. I never want to be that teacher that says there is no hope for a child to learn something. If I ever get to this point (which I hope I never do) I hope someone tells me to get out of the profession so that some new, young, eager grad can work their magic.

IQ tests and intelligence

In Tuesday’s class we discussed IQ tests and their accuracy of testing intelligence. I do not think that IQ tests can accurately test intelligence, or rather they test one form of intelligence, book smarts and that’s about it. We’ve all heard about Gardner’s multiple intelligences which shows that there are a variety of different abilities and talents that can constitute intelligence, such as bodily-kinesthetic, those that are good at sports and dance; visual-spatial, those that are good at art or solving problems; and musical, to name a few. These kinds of intelligences cannot be tested by a simple paper and pencil test, so what are IQ tests really testing? They test book smarts, people that are well read, and that’s about it.

In class, we looked at a couple examples of test questions from an IQ test from the 1920s. To begin with it appeared that the first question was related to harvest and farming, which I thought was appropriate for the time, however the question really had nothing to do with farming and was once again testing book smarts. So are IQ tests created to make those in the upper class and read literature have high IQs and those in the lower class have low IQs? Is a farmer that can grow his own food and fix machinery any less intelligent than a lawyer? I actually think the farmer is smarter because he would be able to survive on his own; grow his own food and fix things when they break. The lawyer would be able to argue that he deserves the food more than anyone else but would he actually be able to do anything to successfully acquire his food? But mostlikely the lawyer would have a higher IQ than the farmer. As mentioned in class, the IQ tests may be creating the differences that they are pretending to measure. I think it would be interesting to see an IQ test that a farmer created and to see how someone with a “high” IQ would do.

I think one of the most important things for us as teachers to remember is that everyone is different and is intelligent in a different way. This is very important when we create our own methods of assessment. I think most of us have been taught that we should create different types of assessment for the different types of learners in our classes, however I wonder how many of us actually know how to do this. I was thinking about this for my PSIII. I am mostly teaching math and wonder how I could differentiate the assessment methods. Traditionally for math, tests are written and students are expected to show their work for how they arrived at their answer. I suppose I could have some students explain how they would answer the question orally but it could be tough for students to create a dramatization for math…or maybe I just need to think a little more outside the box. We’ll see what I come up with. Any suggestions?

Teacher Preparedness

Last week we had a presentation on the correlation of post-secondary grades to teacher success. One of the interesting parts of the presentation was the questionnaire of preparedness felt by student teachers. I thought that for the most part I felt quite prepared to teach but there were definitely a few areas that I felt could use a little more focus in our school. I found it interesting that many of my classmates did not feel that they were prepared with technology. I did not find this to be of too big of concern for me. Before starting my Ed degree last fall I had never heard of a smartboard but both my PSI and PSII had smartboards and I simply played with the program and figured out how to use it. My PSI TA had been to a seminar on using it so she showed me how to do a variety of different things. I suppose if I had not had the opportunity to work with the smartboard, I would probably feel fairly under-prepared to use one. But I think the biggest thing with technology is not to be scared of it. Simply try different things and see what happens. In one of my classes this semester we had a brief introduction to Imovie or Windows movie maker and we were allowed to play around and create a small movie. One of my classmates mentioned that she would have liked the instructor to have provided a little more instruction about some of the features that may have been a little more obscure because what he had us doing, we probably could have figured out on our own. So I guess for technology, it all depends on how comfortable you are with playing and trying new things.

One of the areas that I thought possibly could receive more attention would be working with parents. I know it would be hard to teach such a thing but it would be nice to receive some tips or suggestions for how to approach or talk to parents. I sat in on parent-teacher interviews in my PSI and saw how my TA interacted with the parents, and how she addressed the parents with concerns she had with certain students. It was very helpful but I think until we are in that situation, it’s hard to know how we will react. So having some suggestions for terms to use could increase our confidence in this area.

Related to the topic of parents is the changing nature of families. I think it is important for us to remember that not every student will have a mother and a father at home. Some of the students will come from single parent homes or some might live with their grandparents. I think it is important to get to know your students and their backgrounds and know if certain subjects are touchy subjects.

I know the Ed program can’t teach us everything we need to know because some things have to be learned on the job. I think the U of L programs gives us a pretty good opportunity to experience the real world of teaching with all the practicums and internship. I think I will be much better prepared once I set foot in the school…..but I know I will learn more and more every day of my career.

The Homework Debate

I read this article over the weekend about a family that has created a contract between the children, parents and teachers stating that the children would no longer have to complete homework. The article stated that the family spent years struggling to get their children to complete homework and were finally fed up. Mrs. Milley joined a homework committee for the school but after no changes were made, Mr. And Mrs. Milley took matters into their own hands. This article on the same story show’s the Milley’s Differentiated Homework plan in which the children must read, practice their musical instruments and study for tests, however they are not required to complete any additional schoolwork. After I read the article I saw that Eric had also posted a blog on the issue too.

I find it very interesting that such a contract would be approved in schools. Although I agree that there shouldn’t be homework in Elementary school, other than reading and perhaps spelling words, I don’t think cutting out homework in upper grades altogether is the answer. I think that there may need to be some additional work completed outside of school. This provides opportunity for review of the material learned in class. My PS1 mentor did not assign homework to the students but did expect them to read for minimum 15 minutes and review their spelling words every night. Depending on the amount of time they read, this may only add up to 20 minutes of work each night. And there was no consequence if the students did not read, but there was a reward if the students had their agenda signed to say they had read the night before. So I agree that in young grades, children should no be given additional homework and I think there should be ample opportunity for students to complete their work in class. In elementary, the students are still young and should be able to play and release their energy after school. This should also be a time when children partake in extracurricular activities to promote social skill development and spend quality time with their families.

In older grades, however I think there should be some homework. This could be simply finishing a couple of math problems that were not completed in class or reviewing material from class. I wonder if students know they will not have homework, will they actually work efficiently in class? This contract says that the students will work efficiently and if they do not, the portion of material completed will be graded for the whole assignment. Does this encourage quality work? I also find it interesting that in the parents responsibilities is states that they will provide time to discuss class work and help prepare and study for tests and quizzes, provide opportunity to practice math concepts, assist with editing writing that may by choice be taken home. Isn’t this homework? I guess the parents just want to support reading, writing and arithmetic skills, and not all the other frills that can make school interesting. Fair enough. But I think sometimes there are just not enough hours in the class to get everything done and some things need a little extra time. I wonder about all the other students in the class? Do they still have to complete homework or is the entire class exempt from homework?

I also think that students need to develop the ability to review important material and complete assignments on their own. If they don’t learn this through high school and then go on to university, I think the students will struggle in university. Generally all assignments and readings are completed outside of class in university. I wonder how successful these students will be in university or on the job. Many jobs also require some form of work to be completed at home. It would be interesting to know how these children succeed in life.

But an interesting question, how much homework should kids be expected to complete? When should homework start?

The Up Series!

This week we started to watch a video series called “Up.” It is a documentary of the lives of thirteen British children of various social classes. The series starts when the children are 7 and then continues every seven years after that. So far there are seven videos in the series and have captured the individuals at age 49 but they are in the process of filming 56Up which shows the individuals at age 56. I think it is really neat that one director has spent the time to stay in contact with these individuals so we can see how their life progresses and how it changes depending on their circumstances.

The first video, which we watched on Tuesday, shows the lives of the children at age 7. At this age, the children were in a wide range of social classes from upper class to working class to a lower class orphanage. I found it very interesting to see the differences between the children. The boys and girls from the upper class spoke proper English and really articulated their words. In comparison, when the children from the lower class spoke, I found they were hard to understand and tended to mumble their words together. Even the manner in which they spent their free time was extremely different. The children from the upper class would come home from school and have tea with their parents, watch television or read the newspaper. Their evenings appeared to be very structured with a definite bedtime. The lower class children would play outside and watch t.v. and would go to bed much later than the upper class. I thought it was really interesting that when the children were brought together, the lower class boys were a lot rougher in the way they played than the upper class boys. The upper class children had already been taught to act proper and “civilized”.

In addition to differences in the way the children spent their free time, the children also had different aspirations for their education and careers. The majority of the children in the upper class already knew which prep schools they would attend and which universities they wanted to go to. I found the children of the lower class had greater dreams and aspirations than those of the upper class, however some of them already knew that it would be too hard or that they would never get into university. For example, Paul wanted to be a policeman, however he knew it would be too hard for him. This made me wonder if he would still try or if he knew that since he was in the lower class there was no point in trying. I find it difficult to watch children with that have big dreams for their life but their dreams are squashed because of the class they were born into. I see this as a big problem with the sponsorship system. Unless children are born into the upper class or succeed on their 11+ exam, they are restricted in the careers that they can have.

In yesterday’s class we watched a portion of the 28Up video. We saw how the lives of three of the individuals, Paul, Suzy and Nick, changed from age 7. The video also showed segments from the 14Up and 21Up videos.

Paul – at age 7 he wanted to be a policeman but thought it was too hard for him. He went to a Charity boarding school and did not seem to know much about the school system. At age 28, he is a bricklayer living with his wife and two kids in Melbourne, Australia. He stated that he was able to have a better life because he left England. By moving from the sponsorship system to the contest system, he was able to use his talent and effort to move into an upper-middle class. At age 7, Paul was shown building a house at the playground and then he becomes a bricklayer. It makes you wonder if what you do at age 7 impacts where you become later in life.

Suzy – at age 7, she was in a private girls boarding school and definitely knew she was “above” other people. Although she did know say what she wanted to be when she was older, she thought she would go to university. At age 16, she left school and went to Paris where she took a secretary program. At age 28, she was a house wife but had married someone of upper class so had remained in the same class. What I thought was really interesting was hearing about all the things she did not want at 21. She did not want to marry or have a family, and then at age 28 she was married and had two children. The other thing that I thought was interesting about Suzy was that she hated prep school but would still send her children to private school around age 13.

Nick – I think Nick is a really interesting individual. At age 7, Nick went to a rural one room school and did not have much interaction with other children. In his spare time he would explore the countryside and he wanted to “learn about the moon and things” when he was older. At age 28, Nick was in America and was a nuclear physics assistant professor. He was able to succeed in the sponsorship system due to the 11+ test. He wrote the test and was found to be gifted so he went to boarding school and university. However, leaving England and entering into the top of the contest system has allowed him to further succeed. I wonder how Nick’s life will continue.

So far it seems that what the children do at age 7 or what they desire to do becomes a relatively accurate portrayal of how their lives turn out. I wonder then what I was like at age 7. I can’t remember what I wanted to do or what I was really interested in. At one of my friend’s birthday parties when we were around 6, her dad videotaped all the kids and asked us what we wanted to be when they grew up. I said I didn’t know. Apparently I didn’t have any dreams of a specific career at that age, or at least that day. I have seen the video a few times since then and I would be curious to see what the people on that video are actually doing.