Social Reconstructionism in the classroom

Social Reconstructionism in the classroom.

Social reconstructionism essentially says that people are responsible for social conditions, whether good or bad. I decided to choose this theory because I wanted to learn more about why and how these changes in the social community are approached. I found this great website that talked a lot about social reconstructionims in schools. (http://www.examiner.com/x-5448-DC-Public-School-Teacher-Examiner~y2009m4d4-Social-Reconstructionism) It says that schools single handily should shape or reconstruct society. Social Reconstructionism also can start off as deconstructing and putting the boring information policy makers and politicians down because of what they say we have to teach. I think that it is important to develop change in the society and in the text book it states that social reconstructionists were provocative in advocating immediate change from top to bottom. It was based on the faith that the power of science with solve human problems. Social reconstructionists wanted to build the "perfect society". They believed that everyone should be created equal and no one should be extremely well off when another person was suffering. The ultimate goal was to bring the less fortunate situations into positive results. I like the idea of this theory in being concerned about the less fortunate, I don't like to see other people suffer and I think its great to try and solve the problems that caused these people to get in the situations they are in.

Inclusion in the classroom

Inclusion In the Classroom

Inclusion in the classroom is very important that it is handled in the right way. I am very interested in this topic because I believe that it is an important issue that students need and it needs to be handled properly. Inclusion is when a the support services are brought to right to the child to cater to their needs rather than taking the child out of the classroom. There are different issues to both sides of this topic of inclusion. I found a great website that really explored the pros and cons on inclusion. (http://www.weac.org/Issues_Advocacy/Resource_Pages_On_Issues_one/Special_Education/special_education_inclusion.aspx) also, (http://techinclusion.tripod.com/)
They say that inclusion really does benefit for everyone if the right materials are used and available. Advocates believe that inclusion will increase individual achievement. I agree that if the right tools are available for the students and teachers, inclusion will be very beneficial. On the other hand, if the classroom is not organized, I believe that inclusion can have a negative impact on some children. Although it is a very beneficial thing for those students who do need the resources because they wont be taken out of the classroom for help, the help will be brought to them. Therefore they wont miss any big assignments or announcements that the teacher presents while they were out of the classroom getting help. This is the biggest reason inclusion is so popular now, the students who have learning problems tend to achieve more because they are getting the help they need without missing class time. Also, when students were taken out of the class room for extra help during the school day, their friends may have wondered where they were or other students in the class may have teased those students. Now, even though they have a aid with them at certain points during the day, they are not fully taken out of the class where the other children can notice completely.

Racism In The Classroom

Is Racism in the classroom improving or getting worse?

Unfortunately racism in the classroom does take place but there are ways to get past this. I see it all of the time especially with younger children, they don't really know how to react to other children of a different race. I feel as though it is not their fault at an early age because they should be taught about the subject and be involved in different activities that will make them comfortable with different situations. I do remember when I was younger there was a lot of racism in school. Some children would be very mean to other children of a different race and make fun of them and exclude them from all different activities. I feel as though this can be changed though. I found a great website, (http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers/racism_morgan.html) that really caught my eye in dealing with some of these issues. There are many different ways a teacher can deal with the issue of race. They can do different activities in small groups so the children can get a better understanding of other peoples background. They can create posters and present them to the rest of the class, therefore other students can start asking questions about the different cultural backgrounds. I know that racism is a tough subject but if the right connections are made with children then they can have a completely different view on culture than they do now.