Final Blog- reflection on the course

Final Blog

During this semester in Premise of School, I really enjoyed learning about the concept of blogging. I never knew how to use this tool until this class and I think it was something great to learn that I can use other than just within this class. It was a great way to communicate with my classmates and learn from the subjects they researched on. Even though we had set assignments for these blogs we still had a variety of different things to write about so I feel as though all of the topics I wrote about were very interesting, I enjoyed doing the research. It was good to be able to research a topic and not only learn about that but read other students assignments and learn about a completely different subject as well. I think that is where I learned a lot, being able to read other peoples blogs on different topics other than just mine. If everyone had the same topics to study then we wouldnt get a varity of information to learn. I felt I got a lot out of this class and have a great understanding of the Premise of School. I was a little bit nervous because it was all online but it ended up working out really well and I got a lot out of it.

Howard Gardner

Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences:

I decided to research Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences. I think that this theorist is inspiring and all of the different intelligences really interest me. Gardner viewed intelligence as "the capacity to solve problems" or to "fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural setting". He viewed this through seven different areas of intelligence. These eight intelligences are, Linguistic Intelligence, Logical-mathematical Intelligence, Musical Intelligence, Bodily- Kinesthetic Intelligence, Spatial Intelligence, Interpersonal Intelligence and Intrapersonal Intelligence. Gardner really believed that people learned in different ways and the most common ways were through these ways in particular. In order to be a good teacher, you have got to know how to teach to all of these different intelligences. Not every student will have the same intelligence or learning style than you do. Therefore, in order to meet the students needs the teacher needs to teach not only to just her area of expertise but all of the other areas also. After doing some research on Howard Gardner, I found out that his theory of multiple intelligences has not been most popular for academic psychology, but a great deal of educator are in favor of him. (http://www.infed.org/thinkers/gardner.htm)
I really like the theory because I agree that not all students can learn the same way. There are many different ways to approach a way of learning and as a teacher I will teach to all of these different intelligences whenever possible to the best of my ability because I think it is very important for all students to be successful. In order for the students to be successful, they need to be able to learn the way they are most comfortable.

Educational Metaphor

When I think of a pyramid it reminds me of the education process. There are many different levels to a pyramid as there are different levels in education in all different ways. Education has many different levels of learners. Students do not all learn in the same ways. Some students learn really well by visually seeing the information they need to learn. Other students like to hear the lectured words come out of the teachers mouth and they learn better that way by hearing the information rather than viewing pictures or diagrams. Also, there are different levels of school. A student in 1st grade clearly doesn't know as much as the students in 5th grade. Just the in the pyramid, it takes time for the pyramid to make its way from the first level to the very top. Once you do make it to the top level, it is a great feeling because they have came all that way and accomplished so much. I see that being relevant to accomplishing each grade in schooling, from when you start elementary school in first grade to when you are graduating in 5th, by the end it makes you feel so good when you look back at the earlier years. I think the purpose of education is learning as much as you can learn and working towards that certain goal that you know you can get to. Weather it be achieving that goal within one grade range or achieving that goal from the beginning of your education career to the end of it. It is important for students to learn about social problems as well. Students should be taught about things that are going on around them, they should have intelligence on civic education. If this is taught in schools, in the future there will be more people getting involved in different issues that are taking place such as voting. In this course I have learned that there are many different approaches to teaching. Not all students learn well with all the approaches that are out there. Also, there might be multiple different learning's in the classroom but the teacher needs to find a way to fit everybody's needs. I also learned that teachers really need to make a connection with their students. They cant treat them in different ways because they can really affect other students in the classroom. Students today need a lot of discipline to focus on what they need to get accomplished. In my experience, I think that it really helps the students and also the teacher if the students have a set of objectives that they are expected to accomplish. All students are bright in their own educational way, and they will achieve their own goals in their on way, at their own speed. In education I also this that there should be a lot of enforcement.

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.

Are dress code regulations necessary?

Are dress code regulations necessary?

When I was in high school and middle school I would always wonder why there was such a strict dress code. Now that I am becoming a teacher I see it in a completely different way. I agree that there should be a dress code. If there wasn't, the things that students might wear to school might be absurd. The logos on the shirts could be insulting to some people. Students should be going to school to concintrate on school and not what other people are wearing.
For example I found a lot of information on http://educationalissues.suite101.com/article.cfm/dress_codes_and_school. They say that if their are a group of people who wear baggy pants and bandanas, other students might be very intiminated by them and think its some sort of gang. Students should feel safe in school not intiminated and scared. Also, if students dress in a seductive way, this can really draw the opposite sexs attention any from their studies. The reason students are at school is to learn not look at the opposite sex all day. In my opinion, I think that uniforms will solve the whole problem of the wrong dress code. I dont think there is anything wrong with uniforms, I actually think it is a good idea for most schools.