"Chalk"

This past monday I was introduced to the movie "Chalk". When I first began watching, I was reminded of the Office, the filming is similar and the characters are all exaggerated representations of teacher dispositions in real life. I was struck by the character of the young History teacher. As I watched him in front of the class, I thought, did he have any instruction in teaching at all? He knew what he wanted his class to know, but he did not truly understand his students, how could he on the first day? I believe his teaching could have been much more affective had it been engaging and differentiated for students in his classroom. I had hopes for him until he blew up at one student. This was a serious case of lack of self-efficacy. I am intrigued by the interactions between the staff in the school. Teachers lounges have always been a mystery to me, but I think I am most nervous about getting along with my co-workers. I have never really thought about the importance of a cohesive staff in the making of great schools. When staff can motivate one another, the entire school will strive to learn and acheive at higher levels. Hopefully this movie is not an accurate depiction of real schools, but the sad truth is that there are similar teachers out there educating our students. Regardless, I think the movie has provoked me to think seriously about how to conduct myself in a professional manner, yet friendly manner within school.

Collaboration through discourse.

As I sat and Listened to Charles Amjad-Ali speak about the religion of Islam last we week I noticed one thing going through my mind. It occurred to me that his thoughts were uniquely his, that from his discourse I was gaining a new perspective of the world of Islam in relation to Christianity. Now this is not an extraordinary thought, it does however make me think of the important role of discourse in learning. By communicating with one another and sharing our perceptions of the world we begin to construct new and different ways of approaching the world. How can I as a future teacher connect this concept of discourse to the classroom? In our psychology text we are reading about collaboration, which by definition is, a philosophy about how to deal with people that respects diferences, shares authority and builds on the knowledge of others. Group work can be an extremely important tool in my future classroom. By encouraging my students to collaborate, to listen to one anothers ideas and to share their thoughts with one another then collectively they will become better cooperators as well. Cooperation, the working together with others to reach a shared goal can be accomplished without collaboration, but I believe it would be more fulfilling for the children if they have the capacity to collaborate. One of the things that Charles Amjad-Ali pointed out about beliefs among Christians is that they tend to be about a we are right, therefore they could only be wrong. Through collaboration we (Christians) can begin to understand and develop an appreciation for our cultural neighbors. I understand this to mean that once we know the true beliefs of Islam it is our job to guide others to the same understanding, which I think relates to his personal philosophy that "One cannot be passive in the face of injustice".

Parent Perspective

I wish I could here from more parents about their impressions of their childrens schooling! What a wonderfully insightful forum to have been a part of. For the most part I found the parents perspective to be relatively congruent with what I would have thought them to feel about school. The idea that grades are an indication of how their children are doing was reaffirmed last night. All their thoughts on what good teaching to them was reflected what they valued most for their children. In Mary Kay's case she said that the teachers she thought were most effective had expectations for her child. Additionally teachers who are up-to-date on the research and development in their field, teachers that constantly seek new strategies and methods to enhance their professional development. They also saw teachers who are active in the community to the one's who really had their childrens best interest at heart. The most valuable point I believe I will take with me from them was the strong feelings of wanting to have open communication with teachers. I believe all three of the parents felt that if their child was misbehaving, or struggling they would want to be told. If as teachers we can start and maintain open communication with all parents this will significantly reduce our stress and the possibility of confrontation if the situation is allowed to progress.

Virtual School?

Over fall break one night I was watching the news on Fox. They had a story about the increasing popularity of virtual schooling through the use of "second life". Second life is a virtual representation of your life in the real world, you play yourself, which is known as an avatar. This was the first time I had ever heard about this. What shocked me about this news caster were his final words, "The schools of tomorrow wont even need a building to exist, just a big pipe hooked up to teh internet". While I hope that this world never comes to that, I do believe that it would be prudent to remain informed about the changing world of education, especially when it comes to technology. I have posted a new video which is an online news report about virtual schooling, I found it extremely informative.

A Word from the Teachers

Last evening our Educational Psychology classes heard from three teachers in the Decorah Public School system. We had the chance to ask them many questions about teaching. It was wonderful to hear the opinions of a variety of teachers at different stages in their careers. I fully appreciated their honesty about the amount of work that I will be puting into my career, that I may need a second job to pay for bills, that I will feel consumed by my job. These are all scenarios that I have anticipated, knowing that I too am going to want the best for my students and that first year I will have much to learn. We heard these teachers opinions about all the testing now required for students, the impression I recieved was that while they may be a bit of a hassle, they do for the most part accomplish what they are supposed to. Teachers can and are required to analyze the results and make adjustments in their curriculum accordingly. I also appreciated their advice about getting along with your coworkers and maintaining good relationships with everyone in the building. After having had the chance to observe my old elementary school and the cheerful, friendly atmosphere I know that is the kind of place I want to work. It is not only best for your sanity and will make your life easier to be on good terms with the variety of people who work at the school, it is also better for the children. Again, more great advise was to never be discouraged by those teachers who are reluctant and even defiant of change. We must be continually assessing our students and making instructional decisions based on their needs not on the basis that "it has worked" for the past twenty years. Great teaching definitely involves the use of many different strategies and there are always new methods and theories out their which can enhance the learning in your classroom.