When it comes to parents being involved in their child’s education, I am all for it! It’s hard for me to make general statements in regards to parent involvement because depending on the school, culture, or local socioeconomic status of the classroom, parent involvement can vary drastically.
What is science?
I believe science is questioning the world around you and trying to make sense of phenomena through observations, research, experimentation, and inquiry. As humans, we have a natural desire to learn. We are curious creatures and can’t help but try and make sense of the world around us. Children ask questions constantly. Their brains have been compared to sponges, soaking up information quickly in a short amount of time. Science is a way to communicate those wonderings that students may be having and for learners to communicate their findings back. I was once told that math is a language; that it was just another way that ideas are shared. I like to believe that science is also a language. The conversation doesn’t necessarily have to be between two people, however. We can have a conversation through observations we make and discussions based on the situations that we encounter. Children have many experiences that they come to school with. It is important for us as teachers to recognize what their understandings about the world are before we can apply it to their science learning. It is also important for teachers to understand what science is not. Science is not simply memorizing words from a page given to you by the teacher or reading countless amounts of text on a particular subject. Science is not doing science activities but rather connecting science to science concepts intentionally. To support my beliefs of what science is, I found a quote from one of my readings that I really agreed with and thought that it summed up what science education is: “Children need to understand that science is a human endeavor and that people of all ages, races, sexes, and nationalities engage in this enterprise. They also need to know that science is based on evidence - not faith or logic.” (Weinburgh, 2003). This week I ran into a few situations that I carefully reacted to and discovered a secret super power that they don't teach you in the books. To yell or not to yell? Is raising your voice effective? Some have told me that with boys, yelling may help motivate them whereas with girls, they shut down and yelling is not as effective. I believe that this is false. I believe that both boys and girls shut down when an adult scolds them; I don't buy the gender differences. After my recent read of Out of My Mind by Sharon Draper along with some personal experiences, I feel it is necessary to talk about this great but highly unnoticed topic: The R-word. Retarded. Let's begin with the basics. Where did this word come from? What does it even mean? When used as a noun to describe a person it means "a person who is stupid, obtuse, or ineffective in some way: a hopeless social retard." The term mentally retarded was brought to the medical fields around the 20th century to label those with severe cognitive abilities. In technical terms, those with the IQ score of below 70 would be labeled as such. These "patients" were labeled, sent home with care instructions and cared for by their parents, nannies, siblings, or other family members, almost like toys from a factory. Times have changed on how this minority group was treated, but we'll get to that. So I ask the bold question: Would you like the label of being “mentally retarded?” There is no positive stigma attached to such a term which states that you are stupid and hopeless. Would you like your brother or sister to carry that same stigma with them wherever they may go in life?
Let's not be too hard on ourselves; I fully admit that I have used the R-word in the past. (The recent past, to be specific!) What changed my thinking? In the spring of 2013 I was introduced to an ESE course that was required by the TRPP. I was introduced to Person-First Language: putting the disability after the person to eliminate the disability from labeling who a person was. Sounds great in theory, but at the end of the day, that girl is still autistic. Right? No, she is a girl with autism. That disorder does not have to run that girl's life. There is so much more to people than just the disability they may have. This pseudonym girl I keep referring to may be insanely in love with soccer, baking, SpongeBob Squarepants, or birds. Why do we have to define her as merely the autistic girl? In all honesty, my first reaction was that Person-First Language was overplayed, dramatic, and people were being overly sensitive. My thought process was “that it is what it is,” let's get over it and work together. But it wasn't until that following summer that the Person-First Language hit me head on. The R-word was thrown into the match and I didn't have a single reason to argue it's placement in my vocabulary. In my opinion, retarded is an umbrella term; there is no specific diagnosis other than having an insufficient score for an IQ test. There are so many reasons that someone could meet this standard that it isn't even fair to call them this. So why, all of a sudden it seems, is it not okay for me to use this word? I used it all the time with my friends when they are being silly or crazy or to describe something that works insufficiently. My answer to that is simple: the word is politically incorrect and it hurts people. Remember when I said people were being too sensitive? Remember when I asked if you would like to have a brother with a disability who carried that negative stigma around? Who do people with disabilities directly affect? Their parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, grandparents, their kids, husbands or wives. They are PEOPLE. They are just people... And no matter what thought may be provoked by our visual judgment of them, they also have feelings. Moving forward with this sanction of feelings, it pairs flawlessly with my teaching philosophy. I believe that all people have feelings capable of being hurt, broken, or disregarded. I take feelings very seriously in everything that I do. I have disciplined myself to always put myself in other's shoes before I make negative assumptions about them. We've all experienced this at one time or another. The bank teller was rude to you because her dog is sick so you leave the bank with a bitter attitude about the bank in general. The waitress ignores your request for ketchup because she has seven other tables to tend to because her co-worker called out, so you deduct from her tip. Haven't we all done this - judged before we tried to understand the other person's side? The R-word is the same scenario, in my opinion. We judge those who are different; who don't fit the model of the “social norm.” If I can pass these beliefs on to my future students, I truly believe I can make a difference in how people treat each other. Adults, do you remember your minimum wage job when you were just trying to get by? And do you recall having to deal with rude, stubborn, and unfair-fighting costumers? You know the ones who would come in right as you were closing and demand you wait until they are finished. And do you also recall the costumers who smiled and said to take your time because they realized that you are balancing four things at once, all alone? That common courtesy can take people so far in life and I hope that I can share that view with my students. I hope that I have a terrible day where I get in trouble with my boss and the kids see that I am stressed. I also hope that they see me react positively and without taking it out on those around me; always with a smile on my face. I hope to pass that on to them. Lastly, the use of the R-word degrades those who are targeted by it. Those who use the word to describe a person with an exceptionality, once again, may not even realize that what they are saying is hurtful but, they are also absentmindedly creating and "us" vs. "them" mindset. For example, when a Red Socks fan refers to a Yankee's fan, they are usually viewed as the enemy or the "wrong" person in any given situation. The same effect happens when Person-First Language is not used and replaced by the R-word. Is this something that I value? Absolutely. By teaching youth that it is okay to believe that you are better than someone else because you can read faster, jump higher, or wear more expensive clothes, an extreme disconnect forms. This disconnect, I believe, is the reason for many misconceptions and ignorance of differing groups. The disabled population may be a minority but they are not invisible. Just because someone uses a computer to talk or a wheelchair to give them mobility does not give the speaking or the walking any power over them. These "mute" or "immobile" people still have FEELINGS that should be respected and cared for. I will leave you with one of my favorite quotes to wrap up my beliefs on the R-word. Hopefully it will challenge you as much as it did me to convert to Person-First Language and be extra cautious about what ears may be listening in everyday conversation. "If not us, who? If not now, when?" Robert F. Kennedy References: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/retarded?s=t While I struggled to understand before, I now see the point in creating a test, designing a rubric, and formative/summative assessment. While I did not think I would be making tests because they are written for me, I see the tests that my collaborating teacher is given and personally, I would prefer to create my own tests.
I also found a rubric not as difficult to organize once I found out each objective must be stated in each row. From there, you grade the students based in the amount of items they did turn in. with a rubric, I find the emotion a teacher may feel that day is no longer swayed as long as they abide by the rubric they made. While emotion may play a role into grading as well as favorite students, rubric help to lessen these biases within a classroom setting. Lastly, I found the activity portion better suited as part of my lesson plan. I thought of the project as more of an extension than a completely separate project. I think by doing the project this way, it will be a smoother transition than dropping the lesson and starting the project another day. First and foremost, I believe in enjoyable reading and my unending goal is to instill the love of reading in every child that passes through my classroom. I believe in choices. My students will be able to choose what books they want to read. If I see that a child isn’t jumping out of his comfort zone, I will try that much harder to find exciting read alouds that may spark a new interest. I want to meet my students' needs and wants. I plan on taking interest inventories consistently and constantly throughout the school year to make sure I am on top of my game for read alouds and book suggestions. As you can tell, I love read alouds. I think they are a vital part in sparking new interests in books students never thought of as an option before. I also think read alouds unite people. This goes along with my classroom management philosophy of community. I have experimented with different models of read alouds and found that when the students are actively participating rather than mindlessly hearing, this is where the love of reading and books comes in! “Show me what a smirk looks like.” “Stomp your feet like Amy when she’s having a tantrum.” This works with all ages and they love it! While read-alouds may be fun and enjoyable, they also expose children to text that may be higher than what they could read independently. I, as the teacher, can model expression, fluency and pronunciation of those tough vocabulary words students may stumble with while reading alone. Read-alouds also open the door for class conversations about the text. Students can ask questions about unfamiliar vocabulary or ask for clarification of a concept being discussed in a text that is being read aloud to the class. In Principals of Classroom Management by Levin & Nolan-Chapter 5, they talk about prevention of behavior rather than disciplining the behavior. I never thought of viewing behavior, or more specifically, misbehavior in such a way before. Students may or may not behave when they know there is an award or punishment as the end result. I do believe that by laying out the classroom rules and specifically stating the outcomes for behaviors, students will act accordingly or to the teacher's liking. In When Children Make Rules by DeVries & Zan, they highlight the value in the class agreeing on a set of rules. I have seen this done only once before in a 4th grade mainstream class and it was hard to tell if it worked or not. The teacher had a wonderful connection with her student the relationships went so far beyond discipline so it was as if there was no need for rules because the teacher was so well respected by her students. I will use this rule making method in my classroom, but adopt certain aspects of Canter as he states to make some rules permanent to your liking as a teacher. I may give my students two rules which I will not be flexible on and the rest they are up to decide or, I may steer the class into the direction I want to get them in. Manipulation of the rules by the teacher is not cheating, in my book; sometimes the rules just have to be stated differently for the student to agree with them. For example, ‘be respectful’ verses ‘keep your hands to yourself’ send two different messages. Yes, if you are keeping your hands to yourself you are being respectful, but there are so many other things that fall under being respectful. I do think being respectful is a good rule, but only if it can be specifically defined before adding it to the classroom rules. Secondly, I will let my students be kids. Even if they are in 6th grade, they will still get the opportunity to be read to, occasionally talk to their friends about something non-academic, and share personal stories with the teacher so they know that the teacher cares about them as a person and that they are appreciated. I will do community-building activities such as calling on a friend when you are stuck on an answer, tutoring each other, saying good morning to fellow classmates, and encouragement instead of putting down for a poor performance. This does not mean that all of my students have to be best friends, but they will learn to get along with others, even if they dislike them and be respectful of other's differences. |
AuthorMy teaching philosophies and formal views on education in general. Archives
July 2014
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