Chapter 4: School as the Workplace for Teachers and Students

In our Build-A-School (Farmington Community Vocational School or FCVS), we had a typical hierarchy of staff; superintendent, principle, teachers/instructors, Ed. Techs etc. this is generally the system used all over the United States and the world. It is much like the staff hierarchy of a more formal business office. At FCVS, we have a close relationship with the local high school (Mt. Blue) which is a public school funded by the state and town. FCVS also receives some money from the state to fund their program. About half of the funding for FCVS comes from the surrounding towns and communities. This is very similar to the way other public schools are run and funded.

Chapter 14: Succeding in Your Teacher Education Program- and Beyond

As a future teacher I am concerned mostly about what happens in the classroom. I am concerned about my image as a role model, that I will do something that is not appropriate (i.e. swearing, not following my own rules, etc.) I am also concerned of my students’ behavior, whether it is physical or demeaning to the teacher, themselves or other students.
1. My concerns are mostly about my behavior as a teacher. This would probably best fit under the category of self, my success in teaching and managing a classroom.
2. I think that my concerns right now are a combination stage 4 (consequence) and stage 2 (personal). I am concerned about the example that I would be setting for my students.

Chapter 6: Social Context of Schools

My hope is that the brochure that I created will help my students become aware of cultural diversities and differences in our school.

Chapter 7: Thinking About Teaching and Learning

1. One of the things mentioned in chapter 7, was that even teachers learn. Teachers learn through teaching, whether something goes well and works for their students or something doesn’t go quite according to plan. I think that it is important that as a prospective teacher, you listen to the experienced teachers. Listen to their stories and their suggestions so you can learn from them and not have to experience these (especially the bad ones) first hand.
2. I really like the idea of a student focused classroom. As stated in the book, student focused classrooms allow students to learn and construct ideas and knowledge “relevant to a specific task or situation through self-interest and dialogue with others.” I think that the self-interest is a huge part of successful learning. If it captivates their interest roll with it, they might surprise you.
3. Even further into the student focused classroom, it talks more on what the teacher can do to help stimulate this way of learning. It is mentioned that teachers should teach and evaluate through the asking of questions and student led discussions. I think that this is a great way, especially in secondary education, to help students transition from the typical teacher-holding-your-hand elementary style learning to more self and peer lead learning that you see in high schools and other higher level learning.

Chapter 3: Families and Communities

7. Partnerships between teachers and families can improve the learning of students.

Interaction between parents and teachers is a very important impart of a student's learning experience. The connection built between these two mentors and role models are vitial to keep parents actively involved in their child's learning experience. There have been many studies done to find supportive evidence for this key concept. A study done by the National PTA states that parents involvement in their child's education can produce “higher grades, test scores, and graduation rates; better school attendance; increased motivation, better self-esteem; lower rates of suspension; decreased use of drugs and alcohol; fewer instances of violent behavior; and greater enrollment in postsecondary education” (National PTA, 1998, p. 2).

Chapter 13: Improving Teacher and Schools and School Reform

By the end of my college career, I hope to be able to be ready to go directly into a classroom and be a successful teacher. I hope to have mastered the material that I will be teaching (Biology). I would like to get several semesters of in-classroom experience under my belt, between practicum and student teaching. I hope to gain the skills that I would be a good leader, role model and educator for my students.

As a future teacher of the United States, I want to be the best that I can be. Learning from your mistakes makes you a much better person. I would like to be a lifelong learner and learn what works for my students as well as what works for me. I would like to be able to expose my students to technology and to familiarize them with tools being used today. I would like to take full advantage of the opportunities and programs that are avaible to new teachers and incorperate these tips and strageties into my classroom.

Chapter 5: The History of Schools in the United States

In colonial times, schools were small and mostly influenced by religious groups. The curriculum in the early ages of this country was mostly the three “Rs” (reading, writing and arithmetic) with strong religious background. Schools were viewed as a way to strengthen children’s religious beliefs, patriotism and moral values. Later, schools became more economical and there were more children being educated. It wasn’t until after the First World War that school curriculums started to educated students in their preferred career choice. Science and Mathematics were some of the courses that did not receive proper attention until later.
Over the years, education has been molded and reformed to fit the components for today’s need. There was a period where the physical set up of the classroom changed to simulate “urban… and large cooperation” jobs. Schools started to have more real life examples in the classroom and there was a back to basics push in the 1970’s. Finally many schools started to incorporate social justice in their school systems providing medical care and other “progressive ideology.” Today, there is a constant ping-pong of what should be taught in schools and how these things should be taught. I think that Thre needs to be more of an emphasis on the outdoor education to help current and future students reconnect to nature.

Chapter 2: Today's Students

America is known as the melting pot and it is quite common for several, if not dozens, of languages to be spoken in a single area of the United States. As future teachers, we need to realize that the number of students with English as their secondary language is constantly increasing and we need to be able to accommodate for this influx. Another rapidly changing aspect of students in the United States is that of their religious beliefs. Because of the free religion belief in the United States, there could be students of multiple religious beliefs in a single classroom. Teachers need to make sure the any specific student is not discriminated against or let behind/alone because of their religion.

Chapter 1: Becoming a Teacher

Chapter 1
Joyful
1. Love of the subject that you are teaching. (p.6)
I think that it is really important to enjoy the subject of your concentration because ideally you are going to be teaching this subject for a few, more like ten or more, years. Therefore before you decide to become a teacher for you profession you should be passionate about a subject of education.

2. The joy you feel when a student finally “gets it.” (p.8)
I can relate to this from my mentoring experience. You feel so accomplished when a student finally grasps something that they were having trouble with before. This tells you two things; 1) you’re doing your job, 2) you are in the right profession.

3. The student teaching. (p. 33)
I am looking forward to being able to student teach. I can’t wait to get into schools and finally work with kids.
Not So Joyful
1. The challenge is to ensure that all students in the classroom meet appropriate benchmarks or levels of performance that show they meet the standards. (p. 8)
I don’t necessarily agree with the idea of having nation-wide and state-wide standards that students have to meet. The way that they test these do not always give accurate results.

2. The process of becoming a teacher. (p. 11)
This doesn’t always excite me. I mean It is a lot of work but I know that schools wan the best for their students and that is one way of doing it.

3. Salaries! (p. 17)
Many teachers and others think that teachers are often underpaid for the job that they do. I think that teachers should get more credit for all that they do. But at the same time the reason teachers teach is because they love it, not for the money.