Caring in Schools Presentation

Thursday in class we were given a presentation on the book, The Challenge of Caring in Schools. The book had some very interesting and important ideas, although I'm not sure that all were fully presented. In this book, there are many controversial ideas, such as allowing students to pick their teachers and for students to only take classes that they are interested in and will need for the future. I'm not completely sure how I feel about both of these ideas because there are positive and negative aspects of both of them. Although it would be beneficial for some students to be able to pick who their teachers were, elementary and junior high school students, as well as most high school students, don't know what they need from a teacher. I do, however agree with her idea that students should learn about what they are interested in and will use in the future, to some degree. I feel that in elementary school, junior high school, and at least half of high school, students should learn all subjects. Most students don't know what they want to do for the rest of their lives until high school, if not later. It's important that students are well-rounded and can make a decision about what they are interested in after studying many different subjects. Mainly, I just agree with the idea that schools shouldn't just stress that importance of the basic subjects; math, reading, writing, and science. Doing so doesn't allow students to focus and learn more about what truly interests them. The most important thing that I learned from this presentation is that in order to be a good teacher, you nees to be involved with your students and their lives. Know what's going on and take an interest in each student. I believe that by doing this, the classroom will be a place where students will feel safe and be able to learn.