Illinois Teaching Standards

Today in class, we talked about the state of Illinois’ teaching standards by first reading each other’s articles from the ISBE website. While we had the opportunity to understand some of the standards that the state has, this assignment also introduced me to technology, improved my research skills, and caused me to collaborate with others. Each of these skills are important to develop before becoming a teacher. We began our class discussion by defining what standards are and the four different types of standards. Our discussion quickly moved to the No Child Left Behind Act and tracking in the classroom. Although the No Child Left Behind Act was mean to keep teachers and schools accountable for the success in their students’ learning, it has been unsuccessful thus far and the gap between middle-class students and minorities and low-income students is growing. Whenever this act was brought up in my high school classes, our teachers discussed it with a negative view. This is because most educators (in fact, all the educators that I’ve talked to) believe that the No Child Left Behind Act interrupts learning in the classroom. Because schools must meet certain requirements, teachers prepare students for standardized tests rather than taking time to teach other important lessons. Teachers are motivated to train students to perform well on testing instead. Just like tracking, students are put into groups in order to observe their improvement. During today’s State of the Union Address, President Bush briefly talked about the act and how it has been successful, which surprised me because I have heard little praise about its results. I understand what legislators are trying to achieve, but I feel that they are going about the wrong way to do so. It is my hope that one day creative learning and the assessment of the quality of learning in a school can be combined.

Observing a Substitute Teacher

I walked into class today to find that the teacher was gone and there was a substitute. This gave me the chance to observe the classroom when the teacher was missing. It takes a special kind of person to be a substitute teacher, because it is a really tough job. The students thought that since their teacher was gone, they had the opportunity to misbehave during class. The students began class like they did each day, taking their daily map quiz. Then they went on to read about South America in their atlases. Early on, I realized that this was more of a lecture style class, in which the students read the text and the teacher talked more about what they had read. The students were having a hard time paying attention throughout the lecture. They were used to being vocal in class through discussions, which created problem early during the class time. The substitute was having a difficult time disciplining some of the students, which is understandable. This isn’t the students’ teacher, so they feel as though it doesn’t matter how they act. This causes me to wonder: How do you discipline as a substitute teacher? Or as a teacher? How do you manage the classroom without having to stop your lesson to ask a student to behave? This lack of respect escalated to the point in which as student told the teacher that he was singling him out for bad behavior because he was black. This was clearly not the case, as the teacher had disciplined other students that weren’t black. What bothered me most was that many of the students found this comment to be funny- especially the student who made it and his other African American peers. I’m not sure if that is because these students were a little more comfortable with the topic of racism, but it still bothered me because I don’t think that racism is a humorous topic. This situation in class also causes me to ask: Do kids today think that racism is funny? With comedians like Chris Rock (although I’m not sure seventh graders should be old enough to listen to or watch his comedy) racism is funny rather than depressing. After this incident, the students watched a video on South America. While I used to look forward to watching videos in class, these students seemed uninterested and didn’t pay attention. I could see many of them writing notes and even getting up and walking around the classroom. Although today’s class was a little less exciting for the students, the activities they did were classic plans that are left for substitutes. In my experiences with having substitutes, many times we did the same. It may not be as interesting, but it is a plan in which the students still learn that day.

The Structure and Organization of Schools
In this chapter of Affirming Diversity, Nieto focuses on organizational issues in the school, such as tracking, retention, standardized testing, disciplinary policies, and family and community involvement in the school. Before reading this chapter, I had thought of tracking as a good way observe a student’s performance throughout their educational career. Like many others that do not hear about its negative effects, I thought that tracking was a good way to see how different groups were performing in schools. When I was a sophomore in high school, I even did a research project on my school district in which tracking statistics was used as data. I had never considered the negative consequences of tracking. I found the experiment involving the kindergartners being placed into three groups and seeing where they were in three years very interesting. It is clear that where you are placed early in life has a huge effect on how you evolve. Nieto says that tracking is largely related to racial and social differences, but it is hard for me to see that from my previous education. In my elementary and junior high schools, there were very few minorities and we all were in the same social group. I can, however, see how tracking has a lasting effect on a student’s academic life. In fourth grade, we have a reading and writing test that some of us took to see if we were accelerated learners. If a student performed exceptionally well on the test, they were put in the Project Idea Program and were taken out of the classroom for many of their classes. When they reached junior high, they were in the same classes together, as well as in high school. Their performance on one test took them on a different track than they could have been on. I’m not sure if they ended up graduating more successfully than those who weren’t accepted into the Project Idea Program, but their grouping was clear throughout their education. A horrible consequence of tracking is the perception the student has of themselves and how that affects their performance in the classroom. I can agree that when I am in a more advanced class when more is demanded of me, I work harder because I feel that I’m meant to be there. Nieto goes on to talk about the negative aspects of standardized testing. Through learning about the No Child Left Behind Act last year, I already knew how standardized testing can be unhelpful and harming at times. These tests put students into groups once again and narrows the teacher’s curriculum. I agree with the alternative methods of testing, such as portfolios and performance assessments in order to document a student’s improvement. Through this chapter, I am able to see how the structure of the school, which isn’t always thought of as important, has a huge effect on students.

Inequality in the Classroom

Nieto’s chapter on racism, discrimination, and expectations opened up my eyes to racism in the classroom, which even occurs with some teachers that mean well. Looking back on my years in school, I can see how different groups were treated in certain ways. What surprised my most was the differential treatment of girls in school. I had never noticed the different ways in which my teachers interacted with both boys and girls, but the descriptions that were written are familiar to the ways in which girls and boys were treated in my classrooms. Recently, there have been news reports about the possible benefits of separate classrooms for boys and girls because of their differing traits. I feel that this is an uneffective way to educate students because educators cannot make the assumption that all girls learn a certain way and all boys learn a certain way. I think that the way in which boys and girls are taught and treated in school had a huge effect on the way in which they act. If boys are expected to be more vocal in the classroom throughout their entire education, they will be. Another important point that was discussed in the chapter was teachers’ reluctance to discuss race in the classroom. I must agree, that whenever I have discussed race in classes I have felt a little uncomfortable, and I’m not sure why. I know that as a teacher, I am going to need to be able to face this issue and be comfortable with it in order for my students to feel comfortable with it. The saddest fact about discrimination and expectations was how strongly it affected certain groups in a negative way. Nieto describes "self-fulfilling prophecy," in which students perform in ways according to teachers’ expectations. As an educator, it is a teacher’s job to encourage their student to strive to do the best that they can. Teachers that acknowledge a student’s race or social status may lower their expectations for that student, which in turn only hurts them. Now that I have read about how a persons’ race, gender, and economic status affects their education, I can see dozens of examples from my high school experience. I hope that now that I am aware of these differences in which students are treated, I will be sure to manage a classroom in which everyone has an equal opportunity to excel in the classroom.

¡Viva Mexico!
Today was Mexico culture day in class. The students spent most of the class time learning about Mexican music, clothing, and food. The teacher was fortunate to know a lot of information about Mexican culture because his wife is Mexican and they have visited the area many times. He modeled a surabe, a traditional outfit worn by Mexicans. He also brought in musical instruments from Mexico and showed a video of mariachi band that he saw. It was exciting and refreshing to see junior high students actually interested in a subject and continue to ask questions. The class spent the remainder of class looking at slides of their teacher’s trip to Mexico and its architecture and unique culture. Once again, in order to help the students understand some of the more complex ideas, he used examples that the students understood, such as comparing the town plazas in Mexico to the downtown area of Bloomington. I had never experienced a lesson about any culture like I did today. By bringing in artifacts and personal pictures, the teacher made the lesson interesting.
On a more negative note, I had a horrible realization today that I do not always enjoy being surrounded by junior high students. After the first two days of observation, I had thoughts of possibly teaching junior high students rather than elementary school students, but today my mind was changed. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people talk when others are talking, and that is a huge problem in the classroom. That didn’t seem to be a problem when I observed an elementary school classroom. I think when the children are that young, they respect their teacher a little more and listened to them if they are being disciplined. While I understand that the students were excited about today’s lesson, that didn’t give them the right to shout out comments or talk to their peers every time the teacher moved to a different topic. It was frustrating to sit there and hear students talking to their friends or playing with skateboards on their desks while the teacher was talking. I know that every teacher has frustrating days, but I feel like I’d go crazy in a week of teaching at a junior high school. I can’t believe that students could have such little respect for a teacher that treats them very well. Today was a good experience and I plan to observe the teacher’s methods to quiet down the class more closely next week.

Today’s Discussion on Nieto

Today’s discussion in class helped me to better understand how Nieto’s position about diversity in the classroom. I knew little about the three different cultural shifts that the educational system has gone through. It is strange that the methods of teaching in the 1800s still have an effect on the educational system today. I thought that it was interesting that during the industrialization era, teachers tried to produce students that were obedient, efficient, and predictable so that they would be successful working in factories later on in life. I also didn’t know about how the classroom has changed over time, including the decline of majorities and the increase of minorities in the classroom. I have, however, had experience with differently-abled ‘mainstreaming’ in schools. In my high school, I volunteered in my special need classroom, and many of the students in the special needs program spend some of the school day in classes with other students, such as speech, physical education, and drawing. Inclusion for these students is very important because it gives them the opportunity to work with other students and students with abilities different from theirs. I found it surprising that while the number of African American students has increased in schools, the number of African American teachers has decreased. I’m not sure if there is any reason for that. Although a more diverse classroom can cause some tension with different cultures and religions coming together, but I envy the opportunity that students have today. Although I’m not much older than students in junior high and high school, my school wasn’t very diverse, and I have had very few experiences and knowledge of other cultures and ethnic groups. With all of these changes causing so many problems in the classroom, I was a little discouraged; that was until we talked about one of the major positive effects of a diverse classroom. These changes will create a lot of tension in the classroom, but along with this tension comes opportunity. This gave me hope and motivation to understand the needs of each of the students in my classroom (whenever I have my own classroom) and use their differences to create a successful learning environment.

My Second Day of Observation

Today was my second day visit my seventh grade geography class. Now that I was a little more comfortable with the teacher, students, and classroom, I was able to sit and observe the way in which the class is lead. The first ten minutes of my observation time is during supervised study. Each group of students rotates classrooms and teachers during this hour each week so that the teachers can make sure that the students have an understanding of the week's lessons and can go over important ideas that the students might have missed. I thought that this was a very good idea because it gives students the opportunity to focus on each subject rather than having to get a pass to visit a teacher whenever the student is having difficulty understanding a certain concept. I am also lucky because I can use this time to work with my student that I am going to profile (as soon as I can figure out who that student is going to be). I'm not sure who to choose- a boy or a girl, a student like me, or one completely different. I know I need to decide soon though. Each day at the beginning of class, the students begin with their daily map quiz. A certain place or landmark is written on the board, along with the latitude and logitude of that place. The students must find this on a map, and then must answer a question about it using their atlas. This exercise helps them to practice using latitude, as well as become familiar with atlases. Today, the students started a new chapter in the unit. Before reading the chapter, the teacher went over each main idea and asked the students what they knew about the topics. When students didn't know what a word or idea meant, such as ethnic diversity, they voluntarily looked it up in the glossary. In this example, the students were using their tools in order to find the answer, rather than the teacher giving them the answer. Instead of the teacher telling the students information about the region, he treats the class like more of a discussion group. He does so by asking the students questions and asks them to give examples to support their ideas. I felt that this helped them to understand the ideas better than just reading the chapter. After the class discussion, the students read the chapter and then answered questions that helped them to learn more about the regoin, as well as practice reading charts and graphs. I enjoyed the class discussion today and I hope that one day I can involve students in their learning as much as this teacher did.

My Reaction to Multicultural Education

Coming from a public school system in Naperville, I know little about diversity in the classroom, so I was excited to read Sonia Nieto's "Affirming Diversity." I had put little thought into the effects the culture and language have on a person's education. My experience with diversity in the classroom is only from students who just arrived in the United States and then were put into the ESL program at my school. As described in Neito's introduction, many of my classmates had family members that arrived in America long ago and had little connection or knowledge of their heritage. Needless to say, we learned little about other cultures throughout school. The class that I am observing at the moment is a geography class that also focuses on the culture of whatever region they are learning about. Looking back on when I took geography in seventh grade, I feel as though we learned very little about any culture during that class. The teacher I am working with for my observation said that if I ever wanted to share some of my knowledge or experience with another culture in a region of the world that they are studying. It was then that I realized that I knew very little about any culture other than than my American culture. Not only is multicultural important for ethnic groups, but also vital for the complete education of all students. As we have been reading, it is important for students to learn and question to society, and in order to do so, they must know about all of the cultures involved in their society. I'm very excited to continue to read about Nieto's feelings about multicultural education. One of my favorite quotes about the importance of this type of education is when she writes, "Abandoning one's cuture and language is too high a price to pay for academic success and social acceptance." (xxvvii). I hope that as I continue to read this text, I will learn how to create a classroom that opens students' eyes to the many different cultures in the world.

Class Discussion on "Pedagogy of the Oppressed" by Freire

Today in class we discussed "Pedagogy of the Oppressed," a selection written by Paulo Freire. When I first read this selection, I thought that Freire’s views on education were very extreme. Although I agreed with some of his points, I didn’t feel that banking system type of learning created students to be oppressed. I did, however, agree with many of Freire’s points about how this system of teaching limits students’ learning. Like many of the student in our class, I believe that the most effective way for a student to learn is a mixture of both systems. In some cases, memorization is necessary, such as when learning basic facts, but after learning these facts, it is beneficial to discuss what they learned and how it applies to their lives. What I liked most about Freire’s essay is his view on the relationship between teachers and their students. According to the banking system, "knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing." (58). I completely disagree with that entire statement. First of all, everyone has the right to learn, and students aren’t completely unintelligent. They may not know about a certain object, but they have had prior experiences that have helped them to understand the world. In addition, teachers are not all-knowing. Already from my experiences working in the classroom, I have learned important lessons from students. A teacher should always take time to listen to what their students have to say- they never know when a student might surprise them and teach them something. Most importantly, the problem posing system of education creates curiosity for students, furthering their learning. This causes me to wonder what would happen if students learned purely through memorization. If we don’t question or take interest in what we are learning, why would we question or take interest in the world? Problem posing education helps students to understand the society in which they live and how it changes, prompting to further improve it. These two methods of teaching help to pose the question of what the purpose of education is. I hope to answer that question by the completion of this course.

My First Day of Observation

Today was my first day observing a seventh grade social studies class. Before I arrived at the school, I was a little nervous about my experience. Although I had some experience with working and observing a classroom, I was worried about working with junior high students for the first time. (And to be quite honest, I was a little worried that I would be mistaken as a student there.) Junior high-aged kids have a reputation of being hard to work with, so I wasn't sure what I was going to expect. My only interaction with junior high students since I finished eighth grade is in my church youth group, and they can be difficult at times. I started my observation during study hall, so the teacher had time to explain how the school worked and what the class was working on. He was very helpful and informative, which eased my nerves a lot. The school I am observing at has block class scheduling, which means that I will meet with the same students on Monday and Wednesday of one week, and then with another class the next week. I have never gone to a school with block scheduling, so this will be a good way for me to better understand that system. Every student in each grade is divided into three different teams in which there are different teachers for each class. This allows each team of teachers to decide the students' schedule of classes. Since each team has a different schedule, no bells are used during the day to dismiss students from each class. After I was introduced to the class, I took some time to look through the texbook that the class was using and read through some of the unit in which they were studying. I spent the majority of my time observing how the teacher interacted with the students. I was very impressed with the amount of participation that the students had during discussions. The teacher tried to involve the students by asking questions rather than telling them facts, and many students also asked questions to better help them understand the lesson. While the students began working on their maps, I walked around and observed how each student worked independently and tried to answer questions if a student had one. I had a lot of fun seeing the classroom from a different perspective and working with the students. I'm very excited about returning on Monday.

Our Class Discussion Over "Dewey on Education"

Today’s discussion over "Dewey on Education" really helped me to understand Dewey’s main idea. Although his essay did support relating classroom lessons to everyday life, I failed to take notice of Dewey’s thoughts on moral values and how morals are instilled upon a child. Dewey stated that moral values first come from the home and should be continued in school. Some of the students in class questioned whether all homes provide a child with good moral values. We discussed that while every home may not instill all important values, the community in which the child lives would also influence the child. We also concluded that all people have an idea of what is right or wrong, although each person may have different ideas of what is right and wrong. We looked deeper into Dewey’s thoughts on the purpose of schools and how it relates to moral values. Dewey believed that schools should "simplify existing social life" (23) by taking a small part of social life and simplifying it. Our example in class was the debate over saying the pledge of allegiance in the classroom. Through Dewey’s belief, students should discuss the issue in class in order to better understand society. During the time in which Dewey wrote about his thoughts on education, women began entering schools, along with many immigrants. While some educators believed that they needed to completely ‘reteach’ these students, Dewey felt that teachers should help build upon these students’ previous experiences. I strongly agree with all of Dewey’s ideas regarding education and will definitely remember them as I write my philosophy of education.

My Reflection on "Dewey on Education"

This week's assigned reading by John Dewey illustrates education in a way that I have never looked at it before. Dewey describes education as a "social institution" in which education "is a process of living and not a preparation for future living." (22). I had never thought of the importance of schools in developing a social human being. I always looked at my education as something that I would need for later use, rather than something to help shape my morals and interests. I do realize that my experiences in school has had a large affect on my social life. It was at school where I learned to interact with other people through making friendships, to playing on the playground with my classmates, to working in groups of students in my class. Many times, my teachers would also ask me to find a connection between the subject that was being studied and the world in which I live in. During my senior year in physics class, my class would be assigned to write a reflection after ever chapter in which we would describe how the topic we were studying was present in our lives. I found this exercise helpful for me to better understand the topic I was studying, as well as look past the scientific aspect of it.
I also liked the idea that "school life should grow gradually out of the home life." (23). I think that this is a very important idea when first introducing a young student to the classroom and learning, because the home is something that they are very comfortable with. I agree that while the home is where a child first forms their morals, the school can then help to build upon them. I also found it interesting that Dewey believes that the purpose of a teacher is "to select the influences which shall affect the child and to assist him in properly responding to these influences." (25). While I do agree with this statement, I also believe that a teacher is a role model for their students, especially for elementary school students who are very impressional. I feel that part of the responsibility of teaching is to display morals that are important to our society. I do agree, however, that teachers have too much to do with students' learning. I feel that teachers should help facilitate experiences so that the students can become accustomed to learning independently. This goes along with Dewey's idea that "ideas result from action." (28). It is also the responsibility of the teacher to observe a student's interests and encourage those interests.
I was happy to read that Dewey also believes that studying skills such as sewing, cooking, and mechanics should be taught in schools and should be treated like all other subjects taught in schools. As Dewey goes on to say, I also agree that in order for a school to successfully teach its students, the community must articulate moral behaior through its laws and actions. What is being taught in the schools must be supported by the community in which the students live.
Finally, I felt empowered by the way in which Dewey described the responsibilities of teachers. It is the duty of teachers to shape students into successful members of society. I especially liked one of his last sentences in which he writes, "I believe that every teacher should realize the dignity of his calling; that he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of proper social order and the securing of the right social growth." (32). That excerpt was especially motivating for me and has helped me to realize the importance of my future profession. I am excited to have such a huge affect on society.

My Experience Observing a Classroom

As I stated in my first post, during my fall semester of my senior year of high school, I spent three days a week observing a second grade classroom. Preparing to begin observation hours once again this week has prompted me to look back on the experience I had. When I first walked into the classroom I was a little intimidated. The closest I had ever come to observing a classroom was going to one of my former teacher's classrooms for a career shadow day. As soon as I got into the classroom, the teacher I was working with introduced herself and then brought the students over to the rocking chair to introduce me. It was a scary but exciting experience to see all of the kids sitting down with their attention on me. During the first few weeks, I spent most of my time walking around to see what the students were working on and sat in on small reading groups that their teacher led. While some students were working in small groups with the teacher, others were working on their free writing. When they finished their free writing, they went on to work on free reading. I found the categories of reading levels to be very interesting. Each book was given a letter from A to Z, with the easier books labeled A, increasing in difficulty to Z. The students knew what letter they were able to read up to, and they could go over to the window and choose a book from their letter bin. This system allowed the students to work independently. Many times, the students would read books related to important upcoming holidays and then can write a reflection on them. Over time, I received more responsibilities in the classroom. I worked with students on their writing, listened to them read, and led a small reading group. Later in the semester, I was assigned to create a lesson plan for the entire class. Since it was close to Halloween, I made Halloween the subject of my lesson. I began by reading a story about student who had an embarrassing experience by switching his Halloween costume with his sister. Throughout the story, I would stop and ask the students what was going on in the story and how the characters were feeling to help them to better understand the story. After the story was over, I asked the students to write a sentence about what they were going to be for Halloween and draw a picture to accompany it. After the students completed it, I put them all on the classroom's bulletin board. Towards the end of the semester, I spent two full days at the school in order to have some sort of understanding of what the life of a teacher is like. Both days were so much fun, but also a lot of work. I never knew how much teaching required energy, and I went home both days exhausted. Looking back on my experience, I am so grateful to have had the opportunity. Observing my future career only strengthened my aspirations to become a teacher. I can't wait to begin my observation hours again this week.

Second Day of Class

Today in class we went over the course's syllabus and discussed the projects and expectations we will have. I was a little overwhelmed by everything because this course seems to involve a lot of hard work, but I think that most of it will be fun because I will be doing something that I enjoy. I am, however, a little imtimidated by the amount of reading scheduled and the expectations for the course. I understand why these high expectations have been set and feel that in order to become a successful teacher in the next four years, I must work hard and exceed in this course, as well as the others to follow. I understand that teaching involves a great deal of work, and I think that through this course, as well as observation hours, I will have a small idea of it. Many of the projects that we discussed in class sound very interesting. I'm very excited to start working on the student portrait. I looked through the discussion starters and portrait resources earlier today and I think that many of the exercises will help me to better understand my student. I think that this assignment is a wonderful idea because while I will be observing the classroom from a teacher's perspective, I will also have the opportunity to see the classroom from the student's perspective. Today's class was a little intimidating, but I am really looking forward to all of the important information I will be learning this semester.

Why I want to teach... like many of the students in our class, I have wanted to be a teacher for a long time. I love working with kids, and I find them to be very entertaining and honest (I think their honesty is what makes them so entertaining most of the time). I guess I really knew that I loved teaching when I started volunteering to teach Sunday school and Vacation Bible school for preschoolers at my church. I enjoyed planning each day’s lesson, and I found it very rewarding when a student understood the lesson and shared it with their parents. During my senior year of high school, I took a class called Introduction to Teaching, in which I learned a little more about the profession and spent three days a week teaching at an elementary school for an hour and a half. I was assigned to a second grade class during their reading and writing time. While I was there, I had the opportunity to lead one of the small reading groups and help students with their free writing. It was a lot of work, but I had so much fun talking to the students and helping them understand the stories and connect them to their lives. They had a completely different perspective of many of the stories we read, and I actually learned a lot from them during our meetings. I know that being surrounded by seven year olds everyday is very tiring, but it is something that I have enough energy for. I know that when I become a teacher, I will look forward to going to work everyday because I will be helping kids understand the world a little better, and they will do the same for me.