Third Day: Child Abuse

Since it was my third time taking a child abuse reporting course, there wasn't much content in today's class that I haven't seen.  However, it never ceases to surprise me how knowing the laws and signs and whatnot doesn't make many situations easier to determine whether there is an issue of child abuse or not. I plan to always err on the side of caution, but it's interesting how one case, of say not getting a child needed prescription glasses, can be completely different from another due to context, history, and even due to lens of observation. I know as a teacher I will always have support of my fellow teachers and administration to figure out what to make of situations, but from my experience I know it is still unnerving to always need to be watching for signs of child abuse regardless of support systems.

Second Day: Intro to Lesson Plans

In class today I learned about important things to think about and record when creating a lesson plan. One included section was academic language required for the lesson, and this was something I hadn't ever considered when thinking about lesson planning. It makes quite a bit of sense to draw attention to the terms and language that the students will be using during the lesson so that the teacher doesn't forget to emphasize new vocabulary and its meaning. Furthermore, it also draws reflection on whether there is fairly vocabulary being used that students may or may not have been exposed to yet in their lives. What an interesting thing to consider.

First Day: Initial Thoughts

We started out our class today creating a flowchart of important topics of health education. As our group started off, we initially thought of each topic and relationship linearly. We came to figure out fairly quickly that every topic and subtopic within health education is connected in an all encompassing way rather than branching linearly like we had initially thought to represent them. Physical Health cannot be completely separated from Emotional Health because things like physical exercise affects endorphin levels which directly affect ones happiness and energy levels for future exercise. One facet of health education cannot be separated without also talking about connections or effects each facet has on another. I think this will be an important idea to keep in mind for teaching topics in health.

Reflection on Community and Inclusion

I have come to understand some of the true meanings of community and inclusion throughout this quarter and particularly through reflecting upon these readings within the last week. Christenson (2007) and Lyman (2001) both taught me that sometimes the toughest topics are the most useful to creating and strengthening a classroom community. They also gave me quite a bit to reflect upon and contemplate ways I may be able to use death, violence, or other challenging topics to advance education rather than try to keep them hidden. Sapon-Shevin (2001) brought about a fuller reflection upon all-level student integration within the classroom, and how it could bring about positive environments and change in educational settings. Finally, Harris (2001) and Beaton (2001) opened my eyes to the toll traditional discipline takes on classroom communities and feelings of inclusion. I know that I still have much to continue to think about and reflect upon, but I am glad I read these articles to give me a foundation for my thoughts as I move forward.

Teaching Metaphor

Teaching is a jigsaw puzzle.

The parents, the principal, the volunteers, the superintendent, the curriculum, the other teachers, and the community; these are the exterior pieces. The ones who help frame and hold the puzzle together.

Each student is an interior piece in the puzzle with its own unique picture and shape. Each piece has its own unique interaction/fit within the puzzle that can be replace by no other piece, yet its fit may change with wear and time.

The teacher is the puzzle master, trying to figure out where each piece goes, how each piece interacts with the others, and how the pieces fit together to make a beautiful picture.

The entire picture/finished puzzle is a collaborative, functioning classroom. The pieces are interacting in their optimal capacity. Each child is learning and growing through the help of one another. The teacher can see the whole picture, see how the pieces fit together, and adjust the pieces if the picture or optimal fit needs amending or adjusting.

The puzzle is incomplete without any one of the pieces and will never be complete without a competent puzzle master.

Standardized Test

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I stumbled onto this picture quote while I was wondering around the internet today, and it immediately linked to thoughts I've had about standardized testing. The tests assess kids in such a particular way that it could be related to simply testing on their mental ability to climb a tree. Kids who do generally do well on standardized tests come from a certain demographic in which the questions are written for, and  the way in which the core subjects are tests do not correlate with the way many kids understand and think about these topics. Furthermore, the scope and methods of the tests do not cover many topics and abilities important for becoming a critically thinking, problem-solving, functional human being. Even further still, each child learns, thinks, and communicates differently than other children, yet they are tested in the exact same way as all other children.

So, if a kid thinks creatively but grows up speaking something other than proper English, how do you think they will do on a test that is written in proper English, does not take into account creativity, and has incorrect answer options which would make sense in this child's mind? It's like trying to test a fish on climbing trees, who has grown up learning how to move and communicate in a way different than squirrels. This child will not do well on the test and spend years thinking that it is somehow worth less than other due to a score that shows nothing of what they are actually capable of doing and thinking.

I think that we need to do away with standardized testing and come up with more relevant, more complete, and more human ways of assessing children.

Be Prepared

Just as the teachers of the Oklahoma tornado demonstrated, the lives of children are safely entrusted in to the hands of teachers every single day. If parents are entrusting the lives of their children to teachers, why can’t teachers be entrusted with making the decisions regarding curriculum and how they will teach? If teachers have already fully committed to making these students productive adults, why would they sabotage their own ability to teach with shotty curriculum and teaching methods? The community and nation needs to trust in the emotional connection and entrust the curriculum to the teachers just as they entrust us with the lives of the children.

How can we ensure that each teacher is prepared for this kind of responsibility? In Monday’s class, we were talking about creating a uniform, nation-wide standard for teaching certification. Rather than basing teaching performance on standardized tests after the fact, why not ensure that every teacher is fully competent and prepared to teach to a high standard before they even get to the classroom? We should funnel the money spent on standardized testing in to teacher education and enrichment. What better way to make sure teachers are up to par than actually making sure they have the tools and the education to be up to par? After they become teachers, we could have inspecting programs rather than testing; trained professionals who come into classrooms to observe and give feedback to the teacher about their ability and curriculum. Why can’t we focus on what the teacher is actually doing rather than on test scores that may of may not accurately represent what students are learning and are capable of learning? It’s time to change from unemotional paper interaction and assessment to a more appropriate, human interaction way for teachers to be held accountable and for students to be assessed.