Do you think standardized testing should play
such a significant role in assessing students? Why or why not? Do you think the
emphasis on standardized testing has gone too far? How do you think the
emphasis on standardized testing has affected the curriculum? Do you think
standardized testing is a fair and accurate indicator of how a student performs
in a classroom setting? As a future teacher, do you have concerns about having
to “teach to the test” to ensure your students meet a certain benchmark?
Discussions About Education: Fall 2013_ED449e
It is here that we will all have the opportunity to share our observations about teaching.During your hours of observation in your respective classrooms, think in terms of the theory you have been learning in each of your education classes. How do you see that theory being applied in the classroom? What questions do you have to share with us? What observations have you made about teaching and the education of our young students K-6? Share those thoughts here.
Sunday, December 8, 2013
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Jennifer has a concern about parent-teacher conferences
It is that time of year again when parent teacher conferences are taking place! I recently had the opportunity to observe a parent-teacher conference and was left generally unsatisfied with this experience! The entire conference between the parent and teacher took a total of 10 minutes, the parent only had one opportunity to ask questions and the teacher appeared to be rushed!
I understand that there is not enough time in a day for a teacher to sit with a parent for a long period of time and touch upon every detail of the student’s education. My question for you is this then, do you think that 10 minutes is enough time for both parent and teacher to discuss everything about a student? Do you think that the time given for parent-teacher conference should be lengthened?
When I observed this meeting, the teacher touched upon the student’s progress in writing and math. Do you think that each subject should be discussed during this meeting? Finally, are there any other alternatives teachers can utilize in order to stay in touch with parents? As a future teacher what method of conferences do you prefer and how does this method benefit parent, teacher and student?
Thursday, November 21, 2013
Kristen Wagner and differentiation question
I
am currently observing in a very differentiated classroom. I will be student teaching in this classroom
in the spring. This particular second
grade class has 20 children--four of the children have IEPs and two are
classified as "gifted." The two children who are classified as
“gifted” are finding second
grade very easy, especially in math. These children started the school
year at a third grade level and use the third grade math books. It
would be a huge help if I could get advice from my fellow classmates because my
concern is how to incorporate a wide variety of differentiation into my lesson
plans when I student teach. I have incorporated differentiation in classrooms
that had children with IEPs and children who are "above average," but
I have never had a class in which there were two children who were classified
as gifted. What are some "tips" you have that I might incorporate
into my lesson plans (specifically math)
that will allow me to focus on all learning levels while keeping the gifted
children still engaged and part of the classroom?
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Amelia and Danielle and who has the responsibility to teach values?
In light of the recent natural disasters, both globally
and locally (i.e. the typhoon in the Philippines or Hurricane Sandy here in New
Jersey), do you think elementary school teachers should be discussing these
disasters and their consequences in the classroom? Should teachers be the
ones to start a discussion of values and “helping thy neighbor” or should this be left to the
family? Is it the teacher's
role to broach discussions that address value systems or is the role of the elementary teacher one
that just addresses content ? In
essence, should we teach our students about being empathetic, or should we
focus only on the subjects we are required to teach and on which the students
will be tested? Does school play a
role in teaching children how to be sensitive toward the plight of others or is
the role of school to teach reading, writing, arithmetic, sciences, music, art
and physical education leaving that other "stuff" to the family? We would like to have your input.
*
*You may wish to reflect upon some of the chapters in the
Ellis text.
I
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Kim and Christina and our overweight children
Everybody from Michelle Obama to the
Naked Chef Jamie Oliver has turned their attention to that kid who can’t quite
fit behind his desk in the back row. According to the federal government,
nearly one in five children and adolescents are obese—nearly triple the rate of
a generation ago—putting them in great risk of diabetes and heart disease. Bills
are being passed to mandate that children are provided with healthier options
in the cafeteria, but without learning about the benefits of choosing healthier
alternatives, how can we expect them to know what to eat? What exactly is our
role as teachers in helping the children in our classrooms to “get healthy?”
Some
teachers might take on an active position on the issue. These teachers believe that teaching children
about balanced meals and about why it is important to fuel our bodies with
healthy foods is just as important as teaching any other subject. Other
teachers might feel that it is more realistic for teachers to avoid involving
themselves in the health of their students.
The belief her is that, as
teachers, there are so many subjects that need to be covered within a given
day! There are standards waiting to be met and tests waiting to be prepped for!
As teachers, we can only do so much.
Our
question to you is this: Which teacher are you? Do you
identify more with the teacher who believes it is important to take an active
role in helping students to “get healthy,” or do you identify more with the
teacher who does not feel it is the responsibility of the education system help
children “get healthy?” Perhaps you
agree with certain ideas from each of the extreme points of view. We are
curious to hear about your position on the topic, and about why you feel the
way you do!
Saturday, November 2, 2013
How can teachers stay grounded? Christina and Tiffany want to know.
In the past, we have both witnessed teachers
being overly negative toward their students. Most teachers have a classroom of
students that are at all different levels. If the teacher already has a
negative attitude it will reflect on her students. When teachers with a negative attitude teach a
lesson, they expect for all the children to understand the objectives right
away. Most of the time the teacher teaches in one way and doesn’t take
into consideration the different learning styles of the students. When
the children do not understand, they blame the parents for not raising the
child properly or helping the child or they blame the child for not paying
attention. Instead of making excuses as to why the students don’t
understand, the teacher should reflect on her/his teaching and find a way to address
all of her/his students’ needs.
Having students go up to the board to solve a
problem can be very rewarding for a student or very embarrassing.
If a child makes a mistake on the board, some teachers don’t give
the child enough time to correct himself/herself before the teacher begins to criticize the student, making
comments like, “if you were paying attention, you would know this.” Also,
when a student who never understands the lessons fails a test or a quiz, the
teachers automatically say that they are not surprised and move on with the
lesson. When teachers read test grades out loud to prove that some
students are failing, doesn’t make the students learn from their mistakes. It
makes the students even more scared to ask for help and makes them feel ashamed
that they may not understand a specific lesson. The teacher puts in
requests for students to be aided by the child study team, but tells the
students and says, “I’ll see you next year.”
In our opinion, patterns of this type frequently
come from those that have been teaching for many years and implement the same
lessons year after year without changing any content. These types of teachers are constantly yelling
and become stressed out when they realize their children aren’t understanding
the lessons. These teachers are never calm and because of that, their
classrooms are very hectic, resulting in their students acting out of control. Do you agree?
Have you seen this type of behavior on the
part of some teachers? Where? Do you think that these teachers
affect students negatively or
positively? Do you feel that their age or years of teaching are affecting their
ability to be compassionate towards students? What are some ways that these
teachers can go back to the mind set they had when they just began their
teaching career, or can’t they? How can teachers stay grounded?
Friday, October 25, 2013
Lauren and Avonte
We have now reached week three in the search for Avonte Oquendo. If you not are aware of
who Avonte is and what happened to him, here is a brief explanation. Avonte is a 14 year old boy who is severely
autistic. He is unable to speak or use
language. On October 4th he went missing from his school in Queens
NY. Since then, there has been a search going on around the city to locate the
missing boy. Police and search teams have been paying close attention to
the subway, because his family says that the boy loves the train system. Since
he is also non verbal, he is unable to tell someone that he is lost, hurt, or
needs to get home. The police are also trying a new approach to help locate him,
which is playing a recording of his mother speaking to him. They play this recording out of an
emergency response vehicle hoping he will hear it and follow the sound of the
voice. Since he is autistic, the authorities
believe that Avonte might respond to his
mother’s voice rather than to the voice of a stranger.
My concern is more with the school at which Avonte was a student. How could this have happened and how could it have been prevented? The special school that Avonte attended was part of another regular middle school. The school did not house just special education students. Avonte’s brother had met with a Manhattan civil rights attorney who specialized in special education litigation. Gary Mayerson, the attorney, outlined three layers of protection that should have been followed:
My concern is more with the school at which Avonte was a student. How could this have happened and how could it have been prevented? The special school that Avonte attended was part of another regular middle school. The school did not house just special education students. Avonte’s brother had met with a Manhattan civil rights attorney who specialized in special education litigation. Gary Mayerson, the attorney, outlined three layers of protection that should have been followed:
·
First is the IEP. Mayerson stated that a student who is non-verbal, as is Avonte,
and a student who is a known wanderer and who has been found in subway tunnels
in the past, should have had goals and objectives on his IEP to deal with that
issue. Instead Avonte was in a
classroom with one teacher, one aide and six students.
·
Avonte’s IEP should have had a behavior
intervention plan that would tell the teachers what to do if he began to wander.
·
There
should have been better security measures in place in the school that Avonte
attended. It is suggested that there
should have been specific protocols in place for when people/students left the
building and those reason for leaving needed to be stated.
Do
you think that the school administration was negligent in this case? What better security measures should the
school have implemented knowing that there were special education children within
in the building? Do you agree with the
attorney in this case and why?
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