Blog Assignment 8

I definitely would like to use blogging in any secondary class I teach, particularly if it's Language Arts. For example, with  assigned reading, I might ask my students to post on the class blog and respond to other posts. Then I would have one of the more motivated or gifted students summarize the posts and responses for the next day.

L. 7 Blog Assignment

 Would I treat teens like adults in my classroom? In terms of the disciplinary consequences of their actions, no. I would not just say, "If you don't follow these rules, then you are thrown out." Instead, with each classroom disturbance or disciplinary infraction the consequences I would guide them in thinking about the consequences of their actions, and increase the consequences in severity as the disruptive behavior continues.

Math and Music in the Classroom

I have always thought there should be a place for music in the non-music classroom, and watching the U of O video on music strengthened this belief. While I can't hope for a "Mozart Effect" by playing music,  I may be able to use it to up my students' mood and arousal, which should help them learn. Using music though seems like it would be tricky, though, since different types of music evoke different moods, and there are always personal preferences. But if I use music in limited situations, such as before the beginning of class and during bell work, and involve the students in choosing it, I may have some success with using it.

I'm someone who feels "math disabled" so I wish my parents and teachers had linked numbers to real concepts and situations for me when I was young. In an elementary class,  it should not be too hard to find ways to work in math in everyday activities to help them see how math is everywhere in our world.  I can ask students to find  examples of geometric shapes in the classroom and on their way home. I can ask them to count off by 3's as they line up. Or I can ask them to estimate how many spelling words we will have mastered by the end of the year. Whatever I do, I need to help my students realize that math can be fun, and is very much a part of our lives.

Blog Assignment 5

Watching this video on language development made me think of a fellow mother in a playgroup whose child was referred to a speech specialist because he showed delayed language development. She was trying to raise him bilingually in the U.S.--she spoke to him in Japanese, his father spoke to him in English, and he attended a U.S. school. But because he was deemed as having a "problem," I think she gave up trying to speak to him in Japanese. That is just too bad. As was the case with my kids, sometimes it takes time for kids in a bilingual environment to show true fluency in one language, and if the language support is not strong enough, he may not ever become fully fluent in one language. But the cognitive and cultural gifts that knowing a second language are too great, and so as a parent, I will continue to support my children's dual language development. And as a teacher, I will wholeheartedly encourage second, even third language use at home.

Bog Assignment 4 What it means to be relational

Before this program I only thought about how to teach and engage students, but now I realize teaching is so much more--the best learning happens where there is a connection. I see now that I need to get know my students, beyond their learning capabilities and as individuals. One teacher in a teaching video I viewed this summer shared that on a regular basis, he asks students to tell him how they're doing in a private note that he collects. He looks at each note and responds. This same teacher also makes an effort to attend school plays and sporting events. Though time-consuming, these kind of efforts seem like they would pay off immensely in the classroom, and I would like to try these avenues when I become a teacher.

Blog Assignment 3 More money for early childhood development

After watching the videos on Attention and Emotions, I am even more convinced the importance of early childhood development.  The more effort we as parents, educators, and taxpayers put into this critical stage, the more benefit we will see in social behavior and learning capabilities of children. And it seems that "early childhood" should start with prenatal training and extend beyond age three, since the environments in utero and after three still impact the brain. Rather than money put into "No Child Left Behind" I wish the government had funded "Head Start" more and provided money for parent training.....

Bog Assignment 2

Now I better understand why Japanese residents of Okinawa are so against the presence of a U.S. military Air Force base on their island. They complain bitterly about the  near-ear shattering noise that invade their neighborhoods. If I was a teacher on the DOD school of that base and had to deal with that noise, what would I do? It occurred to me to put up sound-muffling curtains, but then natural light is important for the students' well-being, so that's not the answer, even if it were economically feasible. I would need to make sure to change seating arrangements often, so that it isn't the same students sitting by the window with the most noise. More importantly, I would make my teaching not so dependent on my verbal input. I would make sure to use plenty of visuals, and those visuals would be more reliant on pictures, than words. This would also help ELL learners, and those who may have vision problems.  Even more important, however, is my role in helping identify hearing and vision problems. I previously thought these problems would interfered learning the content, but now I understand that they affect brain development. With such high stakes, as a teacher it is my responsibility to observe my students carefully for signs of these problems.