Reflection # 9

            I would like to be a principal one day because I would love the opportunity to run a campus and guide my teachers to the directions that will benefit my students. Also being a principal makes you always involved and aware of what is happening on the campus. I want my students to get the best curriculum, the best teachers and the best support staff that the whole district could offer. I don’t mean to be mean or anything but some principals don’t have any clue on what is going on at their campus. The campus is being run by the teachers or by the assistants. I know that when I do become principal in the future I look forward to serving the students, parents and faculty from our community.

Reflection # 7

The first time I used a computer was in the 4^th grade. Our class was taken to the computer lab, once a week. I recall my computer teacher showing us how to use the mouse, how to start the computer, and how to log into the computers. I was not familiar with computers at the time because my family did not have a computer at home. I looked forward to going to my class every week because we would do assignments that contained typing on the keyboards. Our teachers would implement rewards when we did assignments. The class would play races against each other to see who could finish the assignment fastest and correct. Whoever would win would get extra time to play frogger on the computer. It was a great experience for me and I am grateful to have been introduced to computers. The first time I was introduced to the internet had to have been in middle school. My parents finally got a computer that ran super slow because it was on DSL because the technology was not as awesome as it is now. AOL was the internet browser that I would use. Within the years computers started becoming my life and I learned of many new programs and software’s. I am a computer information systems major and I enjoy using computers very much, who knows where I would be, If my teacher would have never showed us how to use a computer. J

Reflection # 6

One of the most important attribute of a good teacher is to be a good communicator. She/he should be comfortable explaining things and enjoy doing the same. At times, a teacher might feel like yelling or shouting at students, but a good teacher is one who knows how to keep the temper in check and act calmly in such situations. A good teacher must have good time management skills and always value the importance of time. In fact, wise utilization of time is the hallmark of a good teacher. A teacher should always adopt a fair attitude, when it comes to making any form of evaluations. He should be fair to his profession and assess students on their performance, instead of personal rapports and likings. A good teacher should have the necessary command over the subject matter he teaches. This way, he can be comfortable while explaining things. Besides, a teacher will be equipped with answers of any possible questions that might crop up during the lecture sessions. A teacher should be dedicated towards their work. He/she should not waste their time in the classroom and wait for the school bell to ring. Instead, taking out time and engaging in after-school meetings and activities is what suits a great teacher. As a teacher you have to be able to listen to the students and understand where they come from. You need to implement your structure and disciplinary skills in order to push your students to thrive and reach their goals.

Reflection # 5

Differentiated instruction strategies are different teaching techniques and approaches applied when teaching different students. These strategies have been there since time immemorial but it was done without knowledge. Both formal and informal education systems use this approach only at different degrees. In today's world, extensive research has been conducted on human anatomy and psychology. This has led to the better understanding of the human species. From these research works, we have come to understand the human brain and how it acquires knowledge. This understanding has led to scientists realizing that human thinking and understanding vary on different humans. Teachers therefore are required to assess their individual students personally and determine the level of ability of the different students. Understanding of their abilities will enable grouping of students with similar ability. The grouping will ensure teaching students depending on their abilities. Those who learn fast will be taught at a different speed as compared to slow learners. Instructors should use a method of learning that engages the students. This ensures that students don't get distracted and if they do the instructor will note it in due time. Engagement teaching also helps the instructor to discover the abilities of individual learners. The learners too do not get bored quickly. Differentiated instruction strategies will vary from educational system and whatever the system the instructor should make sure there is use of authentic assessing based on what is taught, observed and probably what is learned in the teaching sessions. The assessments test should have clear instructions that will not confuse learners.

Chapter 11 Notes

As a result of the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which reserves all powers to the states that are not specifically designated to the federal government.  Each of the fifty states has legal responsibility for the operation and administration of public schools within its own boundaries.  Although legal responsibility for school governance belongs to the states policy decisions and administrations have usually been delegated to local school boards, which exist because Americans have come to insist on control of schools at the local level.  Recently, however states have been reasserting their policymaking prerogatives.

Influence on American Public Education is through professional education organizations, such as NEA and AFT.  There is also influence from parents, business, standardized testing, the courts, and the federal government.

 Schools are financed through the total amount of money available to a school district for education is the sum of locally raised revenues, state aid, and miscellaneous revenues.  Currently state governments contribute about 50 percent, local governments offer about 2 percent, and the federal government provides almost 8 percent toward the financing of public schools.

Chapter 10 Notes

In early colonial days, most education took place in the home, in the church, and through apprentice programs, with instruction dominated by religious teachings. While today's public school systems hardly resemble their colonial roots, many of our current controversies are rooted in the past. We continue to dispute the role of religion in schools, differences in state government education policies, and inequities in educational opportunities for women, people of color, and the poor. In 1647, Massachusetts passed the "Old Deluder Satan Law," requiring that every town of 50 households appoint and pay a teacher of reading and writing, and every town of 100 households provides a Latin grammar school. This law offered a model for other communities and made the establishment of schools a practical reality. Colonial Latin grammar schools prepared white boys for a university education. In the 1700s, academies were established; they were more secular and practical in their curriculum and were open to girls. The Constitution has helped to determine the shape of modern education in two ways. By omitting any mention of national education as a federal responsibility, the Constitution left the issue to the states as each state government set-up its own policy, practice, and means of funding schools. During the nineteenth century, the public began to feel that schools should serve the poor as well as the wealthy. As leader of the common school movement, Horace Mann is sometimes called the father of the public school. By the time of the Civil War, the concept of the elementary public school had become widely accepted. Public high schools caught on much more slowly than elementary schools. But, as the country moved from agrarian to industrial and from rural to urban, resistance to public funding of high schools decreased. Eventually, high schools came to represent democratic ideals of equal opportunity; later, many believed that education could be a panacea for societal problems. From the Committee of Ten in 1892 to the 1983 publication of A Nation at Risk, waves of educational reform have become part of the American landscape. While reform movements have not reached a consensus as to the best educational system for the nation, one idea remains key: schools should have a central role in maintaining a vibrant democracy. Over the course of its development, the nation's educational system has been supported by a rich variety of instructional materials, including the colonial hornbook; the nation's first real textbook, New England Primer; Noah Webster's American Spelling Book, which replaced The New England Primer as the most widely used elementary textbook; and McGuffey Readers, emphasizing hard work, patriotism, and morality. McGuffey Readers sold more than 100 million copies between 1836 and 1920. Progressivism, with John Dewey as its most notable advocate, had a significant impact on education in the twentieth century. Its emphasis on learning by doing and shaping curricula around children's interests has influenced many educators to this day. Dewey and others have come under frequent attack, however, first by conservative extremists of the 1950s, who saw progressivism as communistic and contrary to American values. Later, in the wake of the Soviet Sputnik launching, progressivism was blamed for causing U.S. students to lag behind in important subjects. While progressivism has ceased to be the organized educational movement it once was, many of its ideas continue to be debated and re-examined. While the Constitution leaves most of the responsibility for schooling to the states, the federal government has played an increasing role in education over the past century. National programs have included targeted funds for such programs as the National Defense Education Act, as well as legislation and court action designed to fight segregation and other forms of discrimination in the schools. During the 1980s and 1990s, more conservative forces decreased federal funding, but not federal influence in education.

Chapter 9 Notes

Philosophy of education can refer to either the academic field of applied philosophy or to one of any educational philosophies that promote a specific type or vision of education, and/or which examine the definition, goals and meaning of education. As an academic field, philosophy of education is "the philosophical study of education and its problems...its central subject matter is education, and its methods are those of philosophy". "The philosophy of education may be either the philosophy of the process of education or the philosophy of the discipline of education. That is, it may be part of the discipline in the sense of being concerned with the aims, forms, methods, or results of the process of educating or being educated; or it may be multidisciplinary in the sense of being concerned with the concepts, aims, and methods of the discipline." As such, it is both part of the field of education and a field of applied philosophy, drawing from fields of metaphysics, epistemology, axiology and the philosophical approaches (speculative, prescriptive, and/or analytic to address questions in and about pedagogy, education policy, and curriculum, as well as the process of learning, to name a few. For example, it might study what constitutes upbringing and education, the values and norms revealed through upbringing and educational practices, the limits and legitimization of education as an academic discipline, and the relation between educational theory and practice. Instead of being taught in philosophy departments, philosophy of education is usually housed in departments or colleges of education, similar to how philosophy of law is generally taught in law schools. The multiple ways of conceiving education coupled with the multiple fields and approaches of philosophy make philosophy of education not only a very diverse field but also one that is not easily defined. Although there is overlap, philosophy of education should not be conflated with educational theory, which is not defined specifically by the application of philosophy to questions in education. Philosophy of education also should not be confused with philosophy education, the practice of teaching and learning the subject of philosophy. Philosophy of education can also be understood not as an academic discipline but as a normative educational theory that unifies pedagogy, curriculum, learning theory, and the purpose of education and is grounded in specific metaphysical, epistemological, and axiological assumptions. These theories are also called educational philosophies. For example, a teacher might be said to have a perennials educational philosophy or to have a perennials philosophy of education.

Chapter 8 Notes

There are three ways teachers ethically influence their students. First is by personal example, second is by creating a beneficial classroom climate, and last is by the ethical dialogue in which they use.
Two types of due process are mentioned. Substantive due process which has to so with the issue itself and procedural due process is the fairness of the process followed.The authors also discuss what a legal contract is and what happens after the teacher is hired. In most states, the teacher is on a tree year probationary period in which a newly hired teacher can be fired for no reason. After the three years have expired, the teacher gain tenure. With tenure a teacher is less likely to become fired. The most common reasons for dismissal of a tenure teacher include immorality, insubordination, incompetence, and conduct unbecoming a teacher,".Teachers are also considered liable for their students and should ensure the safety and well-being of their classroom, work spaces and in any other activities they oversee. It is the teachers' responsibility to report child abuse. The authors go on to discuss self defense, assault and battery, freedom of expressions, symbolic expression, and academic expression.
Most importantly, the authors discuss what an accepted lifestyle of a teacher is. The authors give examples of personal appearance, private sexual behavior, and conduct with students. At no time are teachers allowed to engage in sexual conduct with a student.The authors also discuss different laws within the schools about religion. One law that I was not aware of, was in 2000, the courts ruled that student-led prayer violates the First Amendment. The authors also give guidelines for educators when it comes to suspension and expulsion. And another thing that I was not aware of is that twenty two states still allow corporal punishment  I assumed that since Kentucky did not allow corporal punishment, that it was a federal law, not state.By far, I think that this chapter has been the most knowledgeable and beneficial chapter I have read thus far. This chapter was crammed full of 'need-to-know' information.

Chapter 7 Notes

Chapter 7 Notes

What should teachers know about Technology and Its Impact on schools?

            Technology in schools is very important and as the years progress, technology will continue to be an issue in education. As the society continues to grow there will be new forms of communication through networks, communication, computer technologies. Schools know that it is very important to keep technology in the schools but as technology advances schools are scrambling to keep it. It is important for teachers to know how to use technology in the classrooms. Some teachers find it difficult to implement the new uses of technology because they are so used to what they are accustomed too. Many teachers are still living in the dinosaur ages. You can say that they are not very computer literates if you ask me. Many districts are enforcing teachers to implement computers and technology into their classroom instruction. But teachers always use excuses like, we’ve always done it that way and they say things like “Their allergic to change.” I always say that change is good for us, especially when it will benefit our students and our future children.