Group Seven Presentation

Group seven presented on chapter ten, School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching. The group started out with a news video on Facebook and how there has been problems with Facebook in the sense of students friending teachers and getting access to photos and teachers being fired for what is on their Facebook page. I thought this was a very interesting video because this is whats happening now, teachers in the St. Cloud area were fired for the same thing. The group also talked about teachers being protected by tenure and how that can be a good and a bad thing. Good because if something comes up where there job could be on the line, they are protected. But it can be bad because instead of getting rid of old teachers, its the new fresh minded teachers that get their position cut. Overall this group did a very good job and they had really good discussions with the whole Facebook video and about the tenure.

The Finland Phenomenon

This video compared education and schools in America, and than showed what schools are like in Finland. Finland is #1 in every education category in the world, while the US is ranked #26 in the world. Schools in Finland give every student the same proper education regardless of income, as opposed to the US which is all about income with what education you get. If you don't have money, you won't get the same education as someone who has a good family income. What I thought was cool about school in Finland is that they sometimes keep the same teacher for several grades. I like this because the teacher knows your style of learning and knows what works for the students. So instead of just sending them off to a new teacher the next year, they just bump up a grade with the class. Another thing I liked about the schooling in Finland was that you can choose from either the "academic track" or the "technical track". I like this because if you know what you want to be, and language arts may not be your thing, you can base your classes around engineering and or more hands on work.I think we can learn a lot from schools in Finland being that they are #1 in every category. Very cool video.

Group Six Presentations

Group six did their presentation on School Governance. I felt that this group new a lot about what they were talking about and had a genuine interest in their topic and it made me interested in what they were talking about because I felt what they were talking about was dead on with the examples they were using and the scenarios they were giving. They passed around a booklet of the Anoka-Hennepin finances and it was broken down to every penny. What I thought was pretty shocking was that 96% of school districts are run by school boards. I had absolutely no knowledge of the way schools are budgeted and they gave a lot of information on it. I still feel a little lost by it all, but its not due to their presentation its just something I never have really learned before.

Detroit to close some schools, convert others to charters

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/30/michigan.schools/index.html?iref=allsearch

This article talked about how schools in Detroit are being converted to charter schools or are closing. Over 18 schools in the area closed due to a large budget deficit. As a teacher this isn't good because they are getting their job cut and therefore have to find a new job position in the schools that aren't closing, and that would be very hard because one of the reasons for the schools closing is because a lack of students in the Detroit area. I would hate for this to happen to me, to get a job in the school and be settling in and than have your position cut, or school shut down in this case. Also, for those schools turned to charter schools is a change for the teachers because it will change their schedule, and style of teaching which can be hard for a teacher that is older and is tenured to change the style they have been so used to.

Group Five Presentation

Group five did their presentation on chapter 8, Organization of American Schools. They went over major goals of an American school, and they were: academic, social and civic, vocational and social. To me that covers how a school should be and that I can't even think of anything that it is missing. Something I found very interesting about their presentation and they had us discuss as a class was if we would like a four day school week as opposed to the regular five day school week. They went over the pros and cons of it and I feel that there are equal pros and cons. I didn't really realize there are a lot of cons to it, like: three day weekend can cause you to be sluggish, teachers would get lower pay, sleep cycles of students would be off, and parents would need to spend money on babysitters being that they will be at work when they will be off on that fifth day where they would be in school. Overall I really enjoyed their presentation and felt they did a very good job covering it.

Can computers replace teachers?

http://amfix.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/11/can-computers-replace-teachers/?iref=allsearch

This article was very interesting because I have taken online classes and obviously regular classes. I feel that I need the interaction of a teacher to genuinely understand what is going on in the class and I hate having to interact via email. I think online classes are a good idea, but teachers should never be replaced because the interaction needs to be there with student and teacher, and it has to be face to face. It sort of scares me to think that this could happen in the future with technology fully replacing students. But I honestly don't think computers can fully replace a teacher.

Group Four Presentation

Group four did their presentation on the Philosophy of Education. They gave us the Philosophy of Education test to see where we are at in our beliefs in education. The four categories it reflected on were: Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism, and Social Reconstruction. What I really liked about their presentation was how they showed movie clips of each example. The movie clips they used really incorporated with what they were talking about and they had my attention throughout their whole presentation. To me this would have been tough for me because this topic was one that I knew nothing about.

High school students earn more credits than those in the past

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/12/high.school.credits/index.html?iref=allsearch

The article talked about how students now are taking harder courses and are taking more courses. As a future teacher this could be good for our students because it could speed up the process of high school, and get them to college quicker and eventually into their major quicker. I like the idea of students having the choice of post secondary education so they can go to college quicker and eventually into their field of work quicker. To me this shows that we want a change in education and that students want to get into their field of work and thats great for our future.

Group Three Presentation

Group three did their presentation on the History of Education. They went through the stages of how our schools started, and where they have gone over the years, and how they have become what they are today. There presentation had a lot of information and it seemed like it was more of a report than a presentation to future teachers. But than they got to their interview and I feel like that was a strong part of their presentation with how they incorporated the interview into the presentation.

5 plead not guilty in Philadelphia sex abuse cases

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/15/5-plead-not-guilty-in-philadelphia-sex-abuse-cases/?iref=allsearch

This article talked about a number of priests, and one teacher at a parochial school are facing sexual harassment charges for assaulting two different boys over the course of the last few years. To me this is a scary thing as a student, and a future teacher. Scary on the student side because this can happen to me being a student still, and its something that nobody should have to go through, and scary for me on the teacher side because I could someday be a co-worker with someone this could happen to and working in that kind of environment where your school is sort of looked down on for that could reflect bad on you, even if you aren't even a part of it. It still looks bad on the rest of the faculty and principal for having that happen in your school. As a future teacher I hope something like this never comes up at where I end up teaching.

Group Two Presentation

Group two did their presentation on Student Diversity but went into detail about the development, and how we except student diversity. I liked how they got us involved with the questions they asked and if it was something that was about us we would stand up. I felt that they really did their research and had good feedback on the video they showed which was about a student with special needs, and what their day is like with the struggles they endure every day. It really made me realize why I am getting into this field.

Schools and students face uncertain future in Japan

http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/asiapcf/04/06/japan.schools/index.html?iref=allsearch

This article talked about students in Japan starting their new school year, and how they have to deal with the problem of the tsunamis and the nuclear power plant. Some schools are being delayed for weeks, but for kids going back to school its a very emotional and scary time for them being away from their families. To me this would be very hard to focus on schoolwork with all of the problems in Japan going on around them. People are wondering if the schools are even safe enough for students to be going back to. To me all of this would be distractions for me as a teacher or student and would be hard to focus on the school aspect.

Group One Presentation

I was a part of the first group presentation along with Tori and Stefanie. Our topic was Student Diversity in the Classroom and I found doing research on this topic was very interesting. I feel that our presentation went very well and we got really good participation and good feedback from the class. We found two very good videos to show the class that they seemed to like, or at least have good feedback on, and we got a great interview from my cousin Molly who is a fifth grade teacher at a school in the cities. Overall I think the presentation went well and I felt very good about it!

Philosophy of Education

During class we took a 16 question test that examines are beliefs in education. There are four categories at the end that you add up to see where exactly you match up. The four categories are: Perennialism, Essentialism, Progressivism and Social Reconstruction. The highest I scored on was Social Reconstruction, I feel that this is pretty true because I want to find ways as a teacher to help the students improve and to make critical decisions. I guess I didn't really learn much off of this test because I don't really think its these tests that helps us see where we are at, but through experience is where we see where we are at.

Two Million Minutes Reflection

Two Million Minutes was a pretty interesting documentary that I found to be pretty shocking. It compared how schools are in America, and how schools are in India and China and how we are competing for the same jobs. It showed American schools focusing more on athletics and how Americans scored the highest in "Confidence" and  much lower in academics. To me this shows that we think we are doing a lot better than what we actually are, and to me I feel that there needs to be changes in the education we have. On the flip side it showed schools in India and China are more family based and have a strong support from their family in their education. It also seemed that Americans seem to have more homework than the schools in India and China, but there classes seem to be more vocal and have more interaction, and that seems to be working for them. Overall I don't think its bad were number one in confidence, but I would like America to be higher in education also.

Ideal Teacher Prep Program 3 Ideas

I feel that as a future teacher I think it would be a lot better to get into your major courses quicker and to not spend so much time on general studies. Doing my field experience was such a good practice for what I want to be, and talking with the teacher I worked with she said that she learned to be a teacher not through school, but through experience. I totally agree with that, that to do more field experiences and to spend longer time with student teaching to prepare you to be a full time teacher. Something we talked about in class is to have a foreign language taken, or sign language taken because I feel that in Special Ed, you will need to be prepared to be able to sign to the certain student. All in all I feel that more time dedicated to student teaching and field experience hours are the most important thing to prepare for our future teachers.

21st Century Skills/Tony Wagner Reflection

Tony Wagner is the author of the Global Achievement book and was on the video 21st Century Skills. He is a very interesting man and genuinely cares about where America is going in terms of children's education. He gives a list of seven survival skills for future teachers. They are: 
1.Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
2. Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by influence
3. Initiative and Enterpreneurialism
4. Accessing and Analyzing Information
5. Effective Oral and Written Communication
6. Curiosity and Imagination
7. Agility and Adaptability

I feel that these seven are very broad and break it down very well at what we need to be as future teachers. I think it takes all seven to be a successful teacher. Tony Wagner seems like a very smart man and I trust in what he is saying.

Waiting for Superman

We watched the movie Waiting for Superman in class and I found it to be pretty shocking seeing these families struggling to find a good school for their kids. Throughout the movie I felt super sad for the families because you don't really think about this kind of stuff and I guess it makes me think that I took my school for granted. The fact that teachers are protected so well by the tenure is kind of a unsettling thing for me. Knowing that new and fresh teachers who are "in" with the times and technology are the ones who are getting the boot. Two quotes that really stuck out to me was  "our schools haven't changed, but the world around them has." The other quote was "It all becomes about the adults." Meaning that the older teachers are protected by the tenure and it seems like the school system is fine with keeping them around and don't have problems with it when they really should. Overall the video really opened up my eyes and made me think about what is going on in the school system.

IDI Reflection

Looking over the IDI (Intercultural Developmental Inventory) I realize that there is room for improvement. I scored in the Acceptance Percentile in the Perceived Orientation and in the Polarization/Defense/Reversal Percentile in the Developmental Orientation. I don't really see myself on the defensive side, but I feel like the results of the test is pretty accurate so that is something I need to work on.