Eisner Article

I really enjoyed reading this article. One of the main reasons I was so pleased with it was because it helped me in my Philosophy of Education paper, so that was awesome! Otherwise though, I really liked what Eisner had to say about nearly everything. One of the main things I liked was that he commented that not all children are developmentally the same, and to have the same expectations of them is ludicrous. Some children are better in math, some in art, others in reading & writing, etc. These differences don't make any one student better than the other, it is just a difference in talents and passions.
Another topic that I agreed with, was that pointing out that tests aren't the only way to measure a student’s progress. There are countless students who are intelligent and motivated, yet simply are not good test takers. So why is it that these students get labeled negatively just because they don’t take standardized tests well. It doesn’t make sense. That being said, I liked how he made it known that just because a school has higher test scores does not mean it is a better school. There are lots of good schools with good teachers, who genuinely care about the students. They shouldn’t be judged as a bad school or bad teachers, just because there students didn’t meet a certain standard. It makes the teacher motivated to teach for a test, as opposed to teaching the students so they become more educated.
This Eisner article has been my favorite thing I’ve read so far in the class. He really seems to encompass all the assumptions about teaching, and clears them up for those who would not know better. I really wish that the creators of NCLB read this article.

Shadowing

I went on my shadowing yesterday, and I was really happy with how it turned out. I was initially really excited about it because I saw I had Mrs. Gonzalez and she seemed really fun and energetic when we were at the orientation. The day didn't start out that great because I got really lost and ended up being 10 minutes late, but she was really understanding. It was interesting seeing the classroom dynamic because it was such a small class at first, with only about 7 students. These students were just learning English and didn't speak it or write it very well. They seemed to comprehend most of what they were hearing though. I loved how Mrs. Gonzalez ran her classroom. She was both attentive to the children's needs but had high expectations for them. After their class she switched with the other half of ESL learners, and they were able to speak and write English much better. When they were asked to write about what they liked most about this country, I was really happy to see that most of them said they liked it because they were able to learn a new language. Obviously they really enjoyed learning English and had a desire to learn more. After their lesson the other students came in and Mrs. Gonzalez taught them with the help of the other ESL teacher. After that she did with them math, history, and science. When they were working on their history lesson, they were making posters, so I got to talk to Mrs. Gonzalez for awhile. She talked a lot about difficulties of the job, such as teaching students with such a wide range of English ability all four subjects, to problems such as lack of funding, and finally the infamous consequences of NCLB. I was really happy with how everything turned out and can honestly say it was a really rewarding experience. 

Who Knew Teaching Could Get You Into So Much Trouble

The title for my blog is meant to be a joke, but until class today I never really sat down to think about what a teacher is liable for. The story about the substitute teacher from Connecticut really put things into perspective for me. While it seemed that this teacher did nothing wrong, she was still held liable for the pornography that the students brought up on her computer and eventually saw. She did not act with common sense in the classroom, which led to her being blamed for corrupting the morality of the students she was there to teach. For instance, she should not have left the classroom open for students to walk into. Also, she could have put something over the screen to prevent the kids from seeing it. While all of these issues seem like common sense, when put in that kind of high-pressure situation, it's easy to see why she made these errors.
Another thing brought to my attention was the mention of myspaces and facebooks. While I made sure to untag myself in any unflattering pictures, that still may not be enough to prevent a principal from finding me on the site and eventually finding something that he does not like. The second we left class, I made sure to change all of my settings to private, which is defintely for the best. As said in class, as teachers we are supposed to be role models for our students, and we need to act accordingly. Being a teacher is a job that one must uphold 24/7 because you never know in what environment you can see a student in. So far, this class was both the most informative and most interesting one we have had this semester.

Blog on Ch. 2

After listening to last class’s headlines it really got me thinking about what I wanted to do with teaching. I always wanted to make a difference for children, but after our discussion in class and reading CH.2, it made me realize that all these kids who get labeled as “stupid” or “unmotivated” are usually kids who don’t have the same opportunities available to them. Just because their test grades aren’t as high as the grades of students who are from higher economic statuses, it does not mean that they are at a lower level of intelligence. All they need is someone who can believe in them and give them the tools that they need to succeed.
That is what I really like about First Ave. school. They have a goal to help students who would normally not be given the means to succeed. The teachers and the staff really want to have an environment for the students that allow them the ability to think and question and really be able to have the same chance for achievement that any other student would have. I think that if more teachers were willing to try and help these students from lower socio-economic statuses, then a difference could really be made. All children are extremely valuable and should be treated as such, no matter where they come from. If each child has the same opportunity for success then we can finally see diversity in big corporations and government officials. With that, maybe these powerful people would be able to create a change in the environment that they came from and put an end to this vicious cycle.