Teaching is like baking a cake.....

Teaching is like baking a cake because with the right ingredients you can create a wonderful masterpiece. The foundation of education correlates with the cake mix. Without a foundation there is nothing for the cake to build upon. Things like being able to read, creativity, and the ability to right makes up the foundation for a students school career. Then by reading the instructions, following the directions, and adding the right ingredients it will create a cake. Just as students need instruction, must learn how to follow direction, and need to be taught the correct things in order to grow and learn. The cake will not bake if you don't turn the oven on and heat it up. Students need someone to turn the light bulb switch in their head and grasp their interest. In order for the cake to taste good and the student to learn you should follow the instructions.

The main ideas I took away from this class to help better me as a teacher is learning how to teach every kind of student. Equality is important and each student, regardless of size,race, mental ability,should receive a fair education. It is crucial to teach students more than one way to solve a problem. Everyone's mind works differently and comes from different homes, so therefore it is important to know your students' strengths and weaknesses. Mostly I learned that learning should be fun! The first thing you need to do in a classroom is grab the students' interest and then get the ball rolling, encouraging them to think on their own. Creativity and uniqueness are going to be the main criteria in my future classroom. I learned an amazing amount of stuff from each of my classmates and their blogs. Being able to see another students point of view, or how they attacked the subject/ felt about it, really helped me to get a better understanding on most assignments. I learned ways to teach multicultural classrooms, I learned about famous educators and their theories, and mainly I learned how to teach about holidays. I was struck the most by how much I loved the online class and how well I excelled in it. This class really helped me to "put my foot in the door" of education.The blogs and each of the assignments taught me to have patience, encourage students to be different and creative. I hope to be a great teacher in the future!

Froebel's Theory on Education

"who laid the foundation for modern education based on the recognition that children have unique needs and capabilities."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedrich_Fröbel

I chose Friedrich Froebel to do my research on because his methods of teaching are most similar to mine. The first thing that struck me and really hooked me to do my research on Froebel was the first article I looked up,http://www.froebelweb.org/web2002.html, which quotes, "Froebel believed that stimulating voluntary self-activity in the young child was the necessary form of pre-school education. Self-activity is defined as the development of qualities and skills that make it possible to take an invisible idea and make it a reality; self-activity involves formulating a purpose, planning out that purpose, and then acting on that plan until the purpose is realized." I think that it is crucial that we teach young children to seek out learning on their own and to learn that their ideas can become realities. Once they have come to this realization learning will be much more fun for them. Froebel's education theory involved working very closely with the family unit. He believed that parents are the most apparent and consistent influence in a child's life. I agree with this immensely. Parents shape a child into what they are going to be like. If a parent teachers their kid that school is not important, the child is most likely going to have little interest in school. I believe that parents should be greatly involved with a child's education. Froebel believed in enhancing a child's creativity and abilities. I could not agree with him more on any of the points that he has made. It is crucial to ensure that a child's abilities are improved and worked upon. Also creativity is what I believe to be one of the most important aspects of pre-k and elementary school. Creativity leads to better learning, more fun, better social skills, and a better easier way to cope with emotions. I completely agree with everything that Froebel portrays and thinks should be eminent when teaching young children. His methods are not only affective but efficient. He places stress on family, creative, and children being unique, which are all things I find to be very important when teaching young children. I think that his learning theory is very popular, widespread, and smart. 

The Truth Behind Columbus Day & Thanksgiving

I am very excited that this topic was brought up because for the longest time I have been against Thanksgiving and how we teach students about these holidays. I understand that the truth might be too graphic but that has got to be better than lies and false information, right? When I was younger, just as "What not to teach about Native Americans" states, I learned the famous saying in "1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue." It was not until I was much older that I learned what actually is celebrated on these holidays. In my research I found a great idea for a Columbus Day lesson plan,This article advises to simply teach students the truth. I plan to teach my future students that America was already inhabited by the Native Americans but that other countries did not know it existed until Christopher Columbus. And just as we teach children about African American slaves, I will teach them how the Native Americans were enslaved. Teaching the truth does not mean I have to teach violence or graphic images to young kids.  I am not attached to the tradition at all and am actually completely against it. By forming my own lesson plan and incorporating students' heritage and their own knowledge about this events I will help them to understand the actual events that took place.

The topic of Thanksgiving is a very interesting one. For years I have been infuriated that it is even a holiday. In my opinion it is a celebration of the evil things we did to America's native people. In elementary school I was taught that Thanksgiving is this big,happy holiday in which we sat down at a table with the Native Americans who helped us to survive the harsh winter and were thankful for them and everything else. Most of the articles on Google only teach this version of Thanksgiving. If it were up to me I would use primary sources, images, arts and crafts etc. to paint a picture of what happened. This doesn't mean gruesome images of the horrors we did to Native Americans, but in a way a child could understand what actually happened. Incorporating children's heritage, what they already know about the subject, amongst other things will help me to teach them. However, I do not want them to completely dismiss the holiday because it still exists, so a fabricated version of the truth is necessary. Students should respect the holiday as being thankful for what they have and that is the main point I plan on stressing. I don't think the headdresses and pilgrim hats is discriminatory or racist, I think they are cute and fun. Students don't look as far into these things as we are. Although maybe a turkey with feathers saying what the child is thankful for or one that the turkey's feathers is an outline of the students'  hand might be a better project to do.

A hot topic in education today is how to create a socially just classroom.
Think back to elementary school, what kind of group projects did you participate in ? Did everyone participate ? Were you both mentally and physically active? 

More often than not the answers to these questions are no. Classrooms today fail to properly engage students, thus producing students that do not understand how to think critically,how to question,  and how to make real decisions.  According to the article "Rethinking our Classrooms","In a “rethought” classroom, concepts need to be experienced firsthand, not just read about or heard about. Whether through projects, role plays, simulations, mock trials, or experiments, students need to be mentally, and often physically, active."

 In order to create a classroom in which students are both mentally and physically active a teacher must ensure that every student is included, questioned, and often pressured to achieve higher goals. By assigning students to sit in groups or pairs it might help to engage more students. Mostly a teacher should assign projects that get students to experience things first hand. I remember in first grade doing "dress-up book reports" which really helped to get me to read the book I was assigned and to feel as that character felt. Dressing up as the character not only got me involved but helped me to understand what being that character felt like. 


As I continued my research, http://www.simteach.com/, helped me to better understand how to create a classroom such as this. They go on to say that it is all about "creating a balance" between having fun and getting the work done. Another method I found could be helpful was asking students to read aloud and even act out what they're reading. This helps the students that are listening and the student reading to better understand their reading and also helps them to imagine what they are reading. I can remember my teacher having us stand up and do jumping jacks just to get our blood pumping and our minds to refocused. Methods such as these greatly advance students to be both mentally and physically involved with their school work.

I think that creating a school environment that students can participate and be active in is a great thing for teachers and students. It will make class more exciting and beneficiary to all members of the class. Mostly it will make learning more fun for everyone! 
 

Politicians and their views on education

Going into the profession of teaching, it is imperative that we pay attention to what our governors, senate, and president think about education. It is obvious that we all want a politician who is going to support and improve our school systems. The subject of politics is hard to wrap your head around and even harder to believe what any politician has to say. But by doing research and reading articles from multiple sources can prove to be very informational. 

The politicians running in the election today that have positive platforms in favor of advancing our school systems include but are not limited to, President Obama, Elizabeth Warren and John Tierney. I chose these three because they're beliefs are coincide with mine so I find it easier to discuss them with you. Along with the NEA I support President Obama in today's election because compared to Governor Romney on the topic of education, Obama blows him out of the water. 

President Obama's has enacted a reform on the student-loan program, the increase funding in pell grants, and the new income based repayment on federal loans,which greatly effects us who are in college today. As stated by Obama himself "We Democrats have focused on making sure that taxpayer dollars support high-quality education programs, but Mitt Romney is a staunch supporter of expensive, for-profit schools—schools that often leave students buried in debt and without the skills for quality jobs and that prey on our servicemembers and veterans." Obama is a huge supporter in the subject of higher education which is why he earned my vote today. He goes on to attack Mitt Romney once again and says "Tuition at public colleges has soared over the last decade and students are graduating with more and more debt," the platform went on to say, "but Mitt Romney thinks students should 'shop around' for the 'best education they can afford.' And he supports the radical House Republican budget that would cut financial aid for more than one million students while giving tax cuts to the rich." According to www.http://uffingtonpost.com/2012/09/05/dem-party-platform-college-education_n_1858987.html, the democratic platform also mentions support of tax credits for families that have children in college.President Obama has and continues to make great advances in education.

Another current politician who supports higher education is Elizabeth Warren, who wants to create a bigger focus on public schools and public universities. In her own words she describes her platform on education as "Good public schools, good public universities, and good technical training can give us a workforce better than any in the world. Well-trained workers are cost effective, and they can give us a powerful competitive advantage in world markets. Investments in our people pay the highest dividends." Voting those who want to advance our education system until office can only improve our country. 

http://www.johntierney.com/issues/Education states that John Tierney has been seated on the Education and Labor committee where he has since worked tirelessly to educational opportunities for Massachusetts' families. Being from Massachusetts this holds great meaning to me. 

From my research I can deduct that democrats place a much greater priority on education that republicans do. Reading on this subject and doing the research made me realize that I'm a democrat. It also gives me better insight into who I should vote for in future elections. Knowing about your politicians platform on education amongst other things is important to me seeing as I am a U.S citizen.

What is perennialism and how is it relevant today ?

Behind every school and teacher is a set of beliefs, or philosophy of education, that determines what will take place in the classroom and how students will be taught. Perennnialism is a philosophical approach to the subject of teaching that places much emphasis on ideas that are everlasting and history. Perennialists believe that studying the great ideas and faults of Western Civilization will help us as modern humans to progress, if we can understand how to solve problems are our past, we will be able to solve them in the future. According to http://www.hccs.edu, "teaching unchanging principals is critical. Humans are rational beings, and their minds need to be developed."

This philosophy focuses mainly on teaching, preserving the past, cognitive development, and conformity. Through my research I found that perennialism is a very popular, effective approach to teaching. I agree with the beliefs of this philosophy because it only makes sense to learn from the past and from our mistakes. I think most learning is done through experience, whether good or bad. It is crucial for us as a society to learn from our successors and to build/grow from them. The world would not exist today if this had not been done in the past. Perennialism is essential to learning, civilization and society.

A quote I liked explaining pernnialism from http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com says "Perennialism gives teachers the power to choose the curriculum, organize the school day, and construct classroom activities. The curriculum reinforces a predominantly Western heritage while viewing the students as vessels to be filled and disciplined in the proven strategies of the past. Essentialists focus on cultural literacy, while perennialists work from the Great Books." I think it is important that the teacher has an input on the curriculum and is able to organize his or her own school day. Although I do concur with this belief I think it is also important to have structure and to learn about things happening in the world today. I think a combination of many approaches will bring forth the best results in a classroom. It is most important to be well rounded and address all topics in a variety of ways in the classroom. So, despite the fact the I agree with this philosophy I think it needs to be altered and expanded upon.

What are some pros and cons of inclusive school programs ?

Inclusive school programs are defined as providing general education classes/programs for students who suffer from educational disabilities. Whether these programs work or not has been debated for years. One side argues that it is a great and wonderful opportunity for those who have disabilities, while the other side says that teachers should be better trained to suit the needs of these students. So the question remains, should students with disabilities be integrated into general education classes or not?


Research on this topic concludes that segregated special education services are not only inefficient, but are also too expensive. It is thought that students that are disabled are better off in a general education classroom because

• "teachers who have only low-ability students have lower expectations;
• segregated programs tend to have "watered-down" programs;
• students in segregated programs tend not to have individualized programs;
• students in segregated programs tend to stay in segregated programs"

• most regular education teachers are willing and able to teach students with disabilities; and
• the law supports inclusive practices.
• "http://www.sedl.org/change/issues/issues43/underlying_assumptions.html

These points make it very easy to side with the fact that inclusion is a good thing. Although most teachers are willing to teach students with disabilities and the law supports these practices, there is still an opposing side to this argument.

On the other hand, people argue that canceling the segregation problems is just to save money and that it is not in the best interest of the student at all. It is argued that disabled students are far different from those students in general education classrooms and therefore they deserve different services. 

• "special education teachers have higher expectations for their students;
• special education curricula are appropriate for their intended students;
• individualization is more likely to occur in smaller classes with specialized teachers than in the regular classroom;
• regular teachers do not want special needs students in their classrooms; and
• students with disabilities have never been well-served in regular education, and there is nothing to indicate that teachers are any more able to deal with them now than they were previously."

Having researched both sides of the argument I find myself siding with neither argument. Although both sides make good points, I wonder if these points are true to every student. The way I was taught is that every student is a unique individual, regardless if they are gifted or if they have disabilities. I think it is up to the student how they would like to learn. If the student is not capable of making this decision on their own I think the parents should be the successor to making this decision. Some students with disabilities are not capable of being integrated into general education classes, while others fit in perfectly. I think that schools should continue moving forward with inclusive education programs because it is important for students, no matter what their abilities may be, feel included. If a student is not fit to spend an entire day in a general education class room, then a plan should be devised so he/she can spend some of their time in the class room. Inclusive education programs are a great idea but it is not so easy as to say it is right or wrong. With more time, thought, and dedication into the program I think it could be a great opportunity, not only for disabled students but for all students. The most important ideal is to treat each student equally, offer them equal opportunities and ensure that all feel like they are a member of their class.