Philosophy of Education Blog #6

I haven't read many education books aside from this class, but I think this chapter was eye opening. The thought of "banking" is one I never bothered to break down or even take notice, but now that it has been pointed out to me, I am in awe that this is the relationship some teachers take with their students. I know when I was in high school, I had many teachers that just taught facts and we were expected to regurgitate it when needed (test). But I never really retained much information, nor did I really care as to what I as learning. I wasn't invested as a student, and after reading this chapter, the analogy of the teacher making "deposits" and students "accepting" it all comes together.

I don't believe this is a way that I'll teach. I want to be more invested in my students' opinions, and open discussions to get this across. In the area of literature, sometimes there isn't a clear cut right or wrong answer. The idea of teachers talking and students listening doesn't mean there is quality teaching/learning happening. I hope to bridge the gap more of fully knowing what my students are retaining by doing different typed of assessments that show their knowledge in the are, and not their skill for memorizing.

I'm happy to see that others are realizing that some teaching ways need to change, the same way our students are changing. There are so many more distractions no a days for students (even from when I was a high schooler in the late 90s), and we need to figure out ways to keep them interested and involved. "Banking" doesn't work (at least not so much in my area of English and Theatre), but it might still be slightly relevant in areas such as science and history. But it would be up to those teachers to really keep the students engaged and maybe have different ways of assessing other than recalling facts and memorizing.

Assessing and Evaluating Student's Learning AND Secondary Standards Blog #5

While reading the assessing student's learning, I found myself agreeing with a lot of the different ways that assessments words with literature. These are the systems that I know I enjoy best as a students, and will hopefully be able to administer to my students.

I whole heartedly agree with the statement that what it means to learn literature sometimes can't be assessed based on yes or no question, or as the essay calls it, "correct answer" quizzes and tests. So much of literature is based on how it made you feel, how you connected with the passage/story/poem, and how it may relate to your life. Those feelings can't be summed up in a yes or no...it has to be summed up by an essay or summary from the readers point of view. Everyone will have different connections to different types of literature, and all their answers may be correct AND different. It doesn't necessarily means one is more right than the other - just different.

I also liked the thought of portfolio work. I know as a student, I prefer to write everything down on a physical piece of paper (the old school in me, I guess), but  enjoy it because it is easy to go back and review what I've leaned throughout the class. I know when I took Children's Lit from Valeo, she ad us write down any take away thoughts or feelings after every class, so that we could go back and reflect on that day. I think this is important because it sort of documents your learning. Something you may not have known at the beginning of class might make more sense by the end. I think portfolio work (whether formal or informal) is a great idea, and definitely something that I will try to use in my classroom.

As far as the article about grading, I found this very interesting. Normally, as a high school student, you don't really think about how you get graded - just that you hope for a decent grade. I was never really presented with rubrics, or reasons why I was graded a certain way. I feel that this would be something very useful and encouraging to my students - showing them exactly what I'm looking for and how I'll be grading. This way no one is set up for disappointment if they done get the grade they were hoping for. They can actually see where I was coming from, and hopefully learn form it to do better next time.

Another thing I found interesting is the whole "grading with a zero" concept. It is crazy to me that a zero can make such a huge difference. I obviously know that a zero can bring an average grade down, but never thought about it as discouraging the student to see that bring their average down. The example with the weather mead it really obvious how a zero can effect the average. I think that if a student truly has a zero, then maybe it is time to show that student the lack of work they submitted with drastically reduce their grade, and maybe give them a chance to either change that, or not. It is ultimately up to them, but by giving hem the sneak peak of the potential damage it an cause is maybe a good idea too.

Alignment to California's Common Core State standards for ELL and Literacy Blog #4

While reading this, I was interested to find that my lack of knowledge in this area is severe, but that the way this way laid out gave me a better understanding for what to expect as far as common core standards and what I can expect.

 With not being in a classroom yet, it's hard to try and see how these will and can be used. But the template was really helpful. Right off the bat, it wants you to use a reading assignment that the students can make a person connection to. I think this is important for many reasons - number 1 is that it will hold their interest better. If they can write about something from an experience, or something they can relate to, then it will make the assignment more enjoyable, and will probably proceed a better quality paper/result in the end.

I also really liked the post reading section. I think it is important to read the guided text, but also to think about what it was you read. It's important to analyze and respond to what was read, to fully understand what was read. I like the part about annotating in the margins about what they read. I seem to do this with books I read that aren't educational, simply because I like certain points, or wanted to remember this part on the book. I can see myself having students do something similar in my classroom, as it works for me. I think it will help them to organize their thoughts better, too. And they will have an easier time going back and referencing their points if they make them along the way.

Team Teaching: Benefits and Challenges AND Some Approaches to Team Teaching Blog #3

I really liked reading the approaches to team teaching, but I feel that maybe some teachers have this help without another teacher. At least, this is my experience with my daughter's classroom.  I volunteer twice a month in my daughter's room as part of the SPACE program, and a lot of what I do it small groups, or individual work that the teacher doesn't have time for. There are so many benefits to small group lessons, and having two teachers co-teach. Kids have less stress when trying to do individual work...especially those who need a little extra help.
For the benefits and challenges, I thought it pointed out a lot of good points. I feel it is really important to be respectful of both teachers and their styles. One might not be "right" or "better" than the other, but has equal value in the quality of what is being taught. I liked the part that says that there is always something to say, even if you aren't in charge. I liked the thought of the non-leading teacher sitting in the middle with everyone else to model and show good behaviors and examples.
Overall, I believe that co-teaching, or team teaching is really important not only for the teachers (to bounce ideas off each other and support one another), but also for the kids who are observing the two teachers. They are learning to different, but equally valuable education, which is pretty cool.

English Language Arts Common Core Standards AND The Common Core Standards for English Language Arts Blog #2

*While reading the 6-12 common core standards online,  it was interesting to see the breakdown of what is expected/taught for those grade levels and why. I was interested to read that in the 9-10 grades, common core is already trying to teach about college ready courses and what to expect. I didn't take a writing for college class until my senior year, and that was an elective credit. While reading the standards, I feel that this is a good thing in prepping kids for the future. I know that a lot of what it laid were things I didn't really learn until college. Like when it talks about at the end of 9th grade the students should have a sense of scaffolding if needed. I feel that these are skills that help in everyday life, like building a professional resume, or even being able to hold an educated discussion with someone. I am excited that these are the types of things that I will be able to teach in the future. In the 11-12 standards, I was excited to see Shakespeare and an American dramatist as some requirements. There are so many things we have learned from Shakespeare, and as a theater geek, a lot of his books and sonnets are essential to our growth as an actor. I feel the same way as far as the literacy end of it. We, in today's days, use a lot of phrases and words from Shakespeare's times. Here is a fun list of those things!

*I enjoyed reading the handout, The Common Core Standards for English Language Arts.There were many things in there I liked, but a few really stuck out to me. Basically, I enjoyed the stories and experiences of other teachers and what they learned from this. For instance, the P21 framework encourages a focus of different themes; global awareness, financial literacy, etc. It was a really good idea to take a teen novel and then make a youtube channel PSA for these issues. I feel like this is something that could really capture the attention and interest in high school kids, since they are all so tech savvy (I'm slightly jealous). This incorporates the teacher's goal or thinking (all while following the common core state standards) about the social issues and blends it with the teens interests (youtube, internet, group work). This is something that I would even want to do in a future class of my own! I also enjoyed reading the story of the teacher who thought her first year would be fun and exciting as she was able to take the common core curriculum and make it her own, but come to find out she was barely trying to survive her first year as a teacher. I think this is so important because it shows that we all have good intentions in how we want to teach and what we want to teach, but that we need to stick to the state standards, and have that even as a fall back while we try to figure out our own teaching style. I am not, nor have I ever been a huge fan of common core (mostly because I feel my daughter's 2nd grade math is more difficult and confusing for her), but while reading the standards for english language arts, I'm glad to have a plan already.

"Discussion in a Democratic Society" Blog #1

I found this chapter interesting, in that it had many different example about how to discuss, and sort of the rules associated with it. Basically, everyone needs to respect a speaker when they are contributing to a discussion, but there can and probably will be differences of opinions. I really liked the line "He believes that discussion is more serious than conversation in that it requires the participants to be both “mutually responsive” to the different views expressed and disposed to be “affected by opinions one way or another in so far as (on some criteria) they merit acceptance or approval” I feel that this is important because it is saying that in order to have a decent discussion, all participants have to be willing to fully engage in discussion. It also explains about the hierarchy of a discussion and how someone can seem more privileged in their discussions. I tend to find this is true when someone disagrees with another person. There is this sort of pull, or need to convert them to their side of thinking. According to this chapter, this is not a good thing, and is actually detrimental to a good discussion.