Day 8

When looking at social class, race, and school achievement, there are a few reasons for low achievement among the low-status students. There are twelve main obstacles in the classroom. Some of these obstacles include inappropriate curriculum and instruction, lack of previous success in school, teacher perceptions of student inadequacy, ineffective homogeneous grouping, overly large classes, and differences in teacher and student backgrounds.  Sometimes curriculum and instruction can expect that the students have a certain level of vocabulary or understanding of concepts when in reality they do not. When they begin to fall behind in subject areas, they have a harder time catching up, and it takes away from learning later on. Once students believe that they are inadequate learners and lose control of their future, they are less likely to work hard to overcome the areas that are behind in their ability to learn. Some teachers look at their classroom and see low achievement and jump to the thought that their students cannot learn. When a teacher questions the students’ learning potential they are less likely to work hard to improve their academic achievements because it could require more of their energy. Sometimes students who are struggling are also put into small groups, but those groups tend to be taught with lower expectations.  There have also been too large of classes and it makes it harder for teachers to provide sufficient help to overcome the difficulties in learning. Smaller class sizes offer the teacher and students more opportunities to work on more critical thinking. Teachers from middle-class backgrounds may have difficulty understanding and motivating their disadvantaged students. It is difficult for the teachers to communicate effectively with their students because of the difference in dialect, language, or cultural background.  

In a blog on edweek.org (http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/futures_of_reform/2011/05/bolder_broader_action_strategies_for_closing_the_poverty_gap.html?cmp=ENL-EU-VIEWS1) titled “Bolder, Broader Action: Strategies for Closing the Poverty Gap”, written by Secretary Paul Reville, explained the recent ideas of school reform. Reville referred back to his thoughts claiming that education reformers should realize that “closing achievement gaps is not as simple as adopting a set of standards, accountability and instructional improvement strategies.” He continues with his arguments as he points out that,

“it is now clear that unless and until we make a more active effort to mitigate the impediments to learning that are commonly associated with poverty, we will still be faced with large numbers of children who are either unable to come to school or so distracted as not to be able to be attentive and supply effort when they get there.”

This blog explains lots of the injustices of the education system and how it is affecting all of the students. There needs to be a new way of doing thing within the school districts to help the lower-achieving students end up having success in the classroom. It is important to look into the classroom and see how things can be changed to give the students the best learning environment possible.  

                It is sad to see how the struggle of low-status students is a continuous struggle because nothing has been done to step in and fix it. I do not like reading about teachers giving up. I feel like some of the things described in the text about the teachers feeling frustrating and just setting the standards lower can relate to the situation I am witnessing at Nathan Hale Middle School. I have grown up with my mom’s stories from her experiences and she has always been one to reach out to those struggling students. Yes, that extra energy can be draining, but in reality I find that the extra time spent helping a student can be very rewarding. It is important to remember that God has an upper hand on these situations and he has a plan for each one of His children. Even if they are in poverty now, they might be able to change the outcome of their future through something in the classroom that gave them the confidence to find greatness. It would be hard to know when to keep moving and when to slow down and help a few students catch up but there is time to find a balance. It is hard hearing teachers speak negatively about their students because I know that if the student continues to hear something about them, one day they will begin to see that comment or thought as true. While being at Nathan Hale, I have seen and heard things done by the teacher that I was not too happy with, but it has helped me think about my actions in the particular situation and plan for similar future encounters, going about addressing them in a God honoring way.

Levine and Levine provide an intermediate viewpoint, in midst the revisionist view and the traditional view that realizes that not all “low” students fail, and not all “high” students have success. However, many kids tend to “freeze” at their parents status because they might not know any other way or have the resources to get out more. Schools do not continue the existing social-class structure into the next generation, nor do they provide sufficient opportunity to break the general pattern in which many working-class students perform at a low level. As stated in chapter 11, “social and demographic trends have also concentrated many children in low-income urban and rural communities in schools extremely low on achievement measures” (350).  Some students are placed in schools that reinforce their disadvantages through ineffective instruction, and other students attend schools with “teaching and learning conditions more conductive to high performance” (350).

There is such a high focus on standards and improvement of the instruction in education. In the blog on edweek.org talking about closing the poverty gap, the author realizes the importance helping those students stuck at a lower socioeconomic level. I think the ideas behind the blog noted the ideas in the intermediate view in the sense that not all “low” students fail and not all “high” students experience success. Reville states that, “we must create a healthy platform in the lives of all our children if we expect them to show the learning gains expected to result from optimized instructional strategies.” There need to be strategies with measurable outcomes to guarantee success in the schools. Some of the strategies might include transforming the lower performing schools and looking at their teachers and administrators.

The biggest thing for me to remember is to push kids toward success no matter what. I find that while looking at the Christian worldview, God wants us to love everyone and He created everyone in His image and loves all of us. With the organization “By the Hand” they take the students struggling in areas at their school and they offer them an afterschool program with many benefits. They offer students a meal, and help them grow in their faith with God and tutor them in the areas in school they need help with. The organization has had a lot of success stories coming out of their program and I think they do a great job helping the students see something greater for their lives. A lot of the students in this program seem to gain the right mindset that they can do something greater than their parents or siblings and they refuse to be frozen on the socioeconomic status that their parents are at. I think that this organization is a great thing for these students and if they really commit to what the program is offering, it could change their lives forever.

Day 7

Peer culture normally does not help the academic goals of the school. Many school aged students gain confidence through the acceptance of their friends, their athletic ability, and how they look and what they have. When students were asked what the best thing about their school was, almost 40% of the students answered “My Friends”. It is important to have a way to promote peer relationships in a way that will not hinder on the learning. One way that this can be done is through teaching the students to learn cooperatively. It is important to teach interpersonal and small-group skills along with encouraging the students to interact with other aged students and to watch out for the wellbeing of others in their classroom and school.

Recently there has been a new movie out called “American Teacher”. I have not seen the movie yet but I have seen some clips from it after reading a blog posted on edweek.org from Anthony Rebora. (http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2011/05/the_struggles_of_the_american_teacher.html?cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2) Rebora gives an overview of the movie and explains that the central theme of the movie is money. The movie also talks about five k-12 educators from around the nation and what they have to do on a day to day basis for their profession. Rebora said that there was a panel discussion after the preview of the movie and one of the teachers there said “I think it’s about time there’s a film like this.” I think that teachers across America would be able to talk about the effects of peer culture on their classroom but also the peer culture in the workforce. Teachers are special people and they are preparing students for the world and for whatever career they decide to pursue.

Yes, I think that teachers in America have a hard task, and yes, I do think that their job is very important, but I do not think the focus can be money. A lot of teachers have a heart for helping their students, and that is how it should be. In my experiences with watching my mom in her classroom and hearing her classroom, I have grown to have a passion for helping kids and for getting through those harder days to reach the ones that are the most rewarding. Challenges in the classroom are expected but I have the highest outlook on it all because I know that God will help me through any situation. I know that there is a reason I have been called to this profession, and I strongly believe that I will be placed in each one of my student’s lives for a specific reason and I hope to be a light in their lives. It is important to have cooperative learning in the classroom to help the students learn about loving one another and they can be honoring God in that way. God will provide for the teacher and the student in whatever way is needed. I believe that teachers can be seen as angels in the lives of their students, and if they take the time to care about the students as people, and guide them towards the right decisions in and outside of the classroom, they can have the greatest impact on the lives of many.

Philip Jackson studied the classrooms in elementary schools and he found a diversity of specific subjects, but in terms of the activity in the classroom, there was not much difference between the schools.  He saw the usual structure of things happening not because students wanted them to, but because it was time for them to happen. There were a lot of rules such as no loud talking and raising hands if there was a question. The “rules of order” were implemented in order to prevent disturbances. Further studies were done by John Goodlad and they found a similar pattern with five main points. The group is treated as a whole, and the emotional tone is flat or more neutral. In this type of classroom culture, there is a great stress on order and obedience and the enthusiasm is controlled. Most of the work done includes listening to the teacher, taking notes, and writing responses. He concluded his studies by presenting the information that instruction never seemed to go beyond simply the procession of the information, and there was no effort mad to emphasize thinking or further curiosity.

In the blog previously mentioned, the author, Rebora talked about the recent film that came out and talked about the struggle that teachers have. I am not sure how much the film focuses on the positive effect the teachers had on their students but in one of the clips I saw, the student was contacted by her old teacher years down the road after her dad had passed away. If teachers simply focus on the standards and the specifics in the curriculum, the students will never be able to reach their full potential. As Goodlad explained that students “scarcely ever speculate on meanings” (303), I see a greater problem in the educational systems. It is not just how teachers are being treated in terms of their salary and long hours worked; it also needs to be what they are doing for the students. Maybe teachers do not make that much, and maybe they do work a lot of hours, but it could be those teachers who are taking the extra steps to help their students grow. I think I want to see the film for myself to see where the emphasis is really put, but I do know that there are teachers who have the right idea about helping their students and who refuse to get stuck in that “rules of order” classroom culture.

At Nathan Hale Middle School, there are a lot of struggles in the classroom because of situations occurring outside of the classroom. However, I do think that there can be a different culture and community within the classroom. One thing that I want to do when I am a teacher is have a set community and “rule of order” for my classroom. I want my students to feel comfortable and not judged in my classroom and I plan on allowing my students to think critically and beyond what the curriculum is requiring. I hope I can be that teacher that lots of students remember for more than just their 3^rd grade teacher and I pray that I will be able to impact my students in a way that they might see the light in me and find their ways to Christ. God has called people to their profession and we have to remember to live each day honoring Him. I think that holding students from experiencing greatness is not what God intended for their lives. I plan to be fully committed to my classroom and the success of my students not only on the standards and tests but with their dreams.

Day 6

One philosophy of education is Pragmatism or Experimentalism. Within this philosophy, reality is based on experience. This experience comes from interaction with the environment, and it is always changing. Knowing comes from those experiences as well and there is a focus on the scientific method. The values in this philosophy are situational and relative. There is a great focus on problem solving in the instruction.

The way we decide to teach things is based in these types of educational philosophies. I read an article on edweek.org (http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/05/26/33kiner.h30.html?tkn=PQXFH115XKNxD6%2FjhyctrlwcfYNmJqr4JtbM&cmp=ENL-EU-VIEWS1) about Booker T. Washington School and their philosophies behind their education. They focus on love and really raise the expectations of their students. The author and principal of the school, Alisha Coleman-Kiner, said it right when she said, “After all, children rise to the expectations we set for them; they thrive on the support we give them to meet those expectations. But before we set high expectations for children, we have to love them.” This school found great progress in implementing more leadership opportunities, and they grew to realize that their jobs were to develop human beings. Pragmatism philosophy shows education through experience and for some kids, experiencing things is the best way for them to learn and remember specific information.

While looking into the details of the Pragmatism philosophy, I was reminded of the worldview questions. In the Christian worldview, we know what we know through the experiences and the faith that we gain in those experiences. However, for us, the ultimate reality of it all is God and that cannot be proven by use of the scientific method. I love the idea of the experimental process and I see great benefits in having the kids actively learning rather than taking down notes and memorizing information for test. I would rather give them the opportunities to get hands-on experience to be able to have recognition later of their senses during that particular experience or activity.

The theory behind the philosophy of Pragmatism is known as Progressivism. The goal of progressivism is to educate people based on their interests and needs. The schools that are rooted in progressivism have a lot of activities and projects for their curriculum and they have more group activities including problem solving. The teacher plays a more passive role and stands back during a lot of the learning process and they practice more progressive teaching. The idea of progressivism education is to focus on the readiness, interests, and needs of the students.

At Booker T. Washington School, they really took a step back and looked at how their school was being run and they made the necessary changes. Coleman-Kiner said, “We spend a great deal of time in education focusing on inputs and outputs as if we were monitoring a manufacturing process. Yes, I monitor student data. Yes, I try to stay on top of research to provide the best instruction and programming for my students.” The school realized that many of their students may not have been receiving a lot of love and they took an approach to give them the chance to receive it at school. With love, they support them by acknowledging the challenges in school that come from homelessness and they help them heal from abuse through the love as well. The school realizes the needs and interests of their students and they do everything they can to fill their desires to learn and get help in all areas of their lives.

I find a lot of the ideas of the Progressivism theory beneficial in the classroom. I like the idea of natural development and the experimental learning. I am not sure how much of a role the teachers should have but I do think that they should still be in control and have the respect of the students. Being too passive in the teaching could have a negative effect. I just really find a lot of benefits in focusing on the students and their needs rather than what the curriculum is demanding. I want to make sure they learn the information that they need to within the year but I think there is room for their input in what we do and how it would be done. I loved reading about the passion behind things going on at Booker T. Washington School. They really seemed to have the right mindset about the root of their problems and how to help their students. God calls us to help others and to love one another. I think that no matter the background of the students, there is a place to love them and guide them in their education and help them strive for greatness.

Day 5

There are two options of schooling for the transitional period between elementary school and high school. There are Junior High Schools, grades 7-9, and Middle Schools, grades 6-8. In the curriculum at the Junior High Schools, students were introduced to more “vocational and commercial courses” (139). The Middle Schools are known for their “learning centers, language laboratories, and arts centers” (140). These schools focused a lot on the development during the early adolescent period.

In a blog found on edweek.org, “On Time Horizons and Education Outcomes”, written by Jeffrey R. Henig. (http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/futures_of_reform/2011/05/on_time_horizons_and_education_outcomes.html?cmp=ENL-EU-VIEWS2) The blog really focuses on making sure that the education reformers are aware of the actions they are taking and that they might be short term “fixers” rather than solutions to ongoing problems. Whether it is changes in the curriculum, class sizes, or subject matters studied it is important to see the grand picture and that maybe the “money-saving-way” would not be what is best for the students. During the adolescent period in a person there are a lot of changes going on in your life and they could really use some sort of stability, and maybe that could be found at school.

Before this year, I have not had much experience in a Middle School classroom. I have helped in my mom’s classroom at our local Middle School for a few hours during my time home on break from school, and I am aiding at Nathan Hale Middle School now. The experiences have taught me a lot and I have seen similarities and differences between the two. In terms of the teaching style, my mom tends to be drawn towards the struggling kids and the teacher I have been helping with here at school tends to want to push the struggling kids instead of taking a few moments to re-explain. It is important to remember that the adolescent years are a crucial period of growth. I would say that it is one of the most challenging times for students and they can go through a lot in their lives. It is important for people to be in their life, maybe outside of the house, guiding them towards making wise decisions that are, in reality, God honoring. Encouraging kids in their studies and praising them for their work is a great way to build those relationships that could lead to life-changing moments for the students. Teachers can really have an impact on the lives of students. During Middle School or Junior High, it is essential to really care about your students and build them up to be God honoring citizens and work towards the shalom  we all desire.

Native Americans went through a lot of changes in their history in terms of their education. Before the Columbian influence there was a very informal education and any knowledge was simply learned and shared within the tribe. Once European colonists arrived they tried to “civilize” the Native Americans by using their religious beliefs and Mission schools taught the basics of reading, writing, and religion. Finally, in the nineteenth century, the United States Government took control and pushed the Native Americans to reservations west of the Mississippi River. The goal was to instill the “white” values on them. The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs used boarding schools to put this assimilation education into place. While at these schools, they were not allowed to speak their native language and they were taught the basic curriculum of reading, writing, math, and vocational training. Some kids inactively accepted, accommodated, or completely resisted the routine of these schools. Eventually, the boarding schools were discontinued but the children who still lived on the reservations, and did not leave, went to private or public schools, BIA schools, or tribal schools. There was also an act, The Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975, which took away the assimilation ideas and used a self-determination idea instead. They now promote the Native American’s right “to control their own education activities” (146).

Going back to the blog written on edweek.org, the author talked about view things through a “near-term” lens rather than “long-term”. I think that the United States might have thought that they were helping the Native Americans by introducing our culture and ideas so that they would be welcomed into our society. However, just as Henig was concerned about the education reformers not looking at an idea to fix things for good, I think the United States forgot to think about the emotional stress and loss of identity this forced education could cause.

I have had many lessons taught on this topic of assimilation of different groups and especially Native Americans. I do not think it is good to change people and want to have them conform their culture to be more like that of the United States. Even in thinking about teaching in a Spanish class one day, I might have native speakers, but I would encourage them to embrace that part of who they are and not try to take that away from them. In my hometown, many of the native-Spanish speakers do not take pride in their culture and they tend to accuse people of racism when the slightest thing is mentioned. God created us all for a purpose and we were made in His image. It is important to embrace everything that you are as a person and realize how beautifully each person was made in God’s eyes.

Day 4

While looking at the pioneers of modern teaching, I felt as though I could relate to the principles of teaching and learning they each supported. The three that stood out to me the most were Jane Addams, Maria Montessori, and Jean Piaget. Addams is known for her push for equal rights for minority groups and for women. She did not believe war was the right answer and she believed that technology could really play a role in advancing communication. Addams chose to focus on broadening the experiences of her students and she urged them to look at the social change and justice in the country. One thing that I want to take away from her ideas was the fact that she wanted her classroom to be connected to the community in which it served. I think that is a great reminder for all teachers to connect the classroom to the surrounding community outside of school. Finally, Addams really pushed for cultural diversity and she wanted an education that was socialized to help her students who were immigrants. I really think that Addams did God honoring work. To take the minorities and bring them up for success in America is very impressive. I liked reading about her integrity in the United States to promote equal rights and challenge the views of her fellow citizens. I think it is important to remember to treat everyone with the love of God and to not put stereotypes on them. I do believe that each child has the desire to learn and if I was placed in a diverse classroom situation, I would make sure I embraced it with the Christian worldview in mind.

Maria Montessori looked at her students and created more structured work depending on their desires. She thought that kids have great concentration and in my experience, they really do. I have seen kids sit and work for hours on a project that they are really passionate about. Montessori schools use materials that will teach them basic and hands on activities. They emphasis activities rooted in practical, sensory, and formal ideas. I liked her belief that children are “capable of sustained self-directed work in learning a particular skill” (112). To give students the opportunity to have an input in what the class offers could be very beneficial in the long run.

There are many Montessori schools in my area back home. I helped in one this past year for a few days in the semester. This particular school was initially a home at one point but they changed some areas around to offer space for other learning. Each room had a different theme and a different focus of learning such as language, kitchen, art, cooking, etc. I found it interesting to see how much knowledge the children had on basic things and life skills that maybe would not have been an emphasis for learning in the usual school focused on testing. It is important to remember that God created everything in this world as perfect and educating children in the basic and hands on experiences will help them to see and be involved in that creation. Through this learning style the children might be able to develop the special gifts that they were each given and there is room for them to grow in their own directions, not being directed by a certain curriculum.

Finally, Jean Piaget is known for his stage-learning theory of development. He started with a clinical observation of children and then developed his stages of development. There are four main stages of development; sensorimotor stage, preoperational stage, concrete-operational period, and formal-operational period. I agree with Piaget’s thoughts that children view the world differently than adults. I also think the stages offer good check points for students and give them a way to progress their own learning and take some ownership in all of it.

The sensorimotor stage is the time in a child’s life when they are just beginning to explore things and mainly through their senses. They have a great nonverbal intelligence and they use their senses to “construct simple concepts of space, time, and causality at the visual, auditory, tactile, and motor levels” (114). The preoperational stage is when speech and more operational thinking begin to improve. Children tend to group and name objects in this stage and they use symbols and signs to represent their ideas. This stage is a little more complex and higher-order thinking compared to the first stage. The third stage, the concrete-operational period, is when children start thinking in more logical and mathematical ways. They also develop more reasoning practices and experience cause and effect skills. The fourth and final stage, the formal-operational period, develops the logical thinking. They use the scientific method to explain reality and they use multivariate thinking to process plans of action. Overall, Piaget really thought that through interacting with their environment, children could build their knowledge. He urged teachers to encourage the students to experiment and explore and to make a learning environment that was filled with materials that the students could touch and use in different ways.

The article titled “State Lawmakers Make Curricular Demands of Schools” found at edweek.com (http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/05/11/30curriculum_ep.h30.html?tkn=YPUF%2BgdN5hT3AFvvZ15e6HxF0z8J3cII%2BJgY&cmp=clp-edweek) discussed the debate of what public schools were required to teach in their curriculum. There are concerns that with the curriculum already being crowded, adding more to certain sections such as issues with sex education and anti-bullying in health classes. There have also been specific lessons given to states from the Statehouse. I can understand the need for a universal curriculum; however, I see many more positives with each district doing it as they please. These positives would include:  local issues being address more, focused learning, and community input on what they would like their students to be learning. I think that if there were the main points each school was required to cover, that would be more reasonable. More and more history has to be added to the learning of the upcoming generations and changes will always need to be made, but I wonder how much the federal government needs to get involved or if these issues can be solved on a local level?

Day 3

There were three major philosophers that impacted the educational development throughout history. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle were all “characters” discussed and unpacked in my philosophy class this last semester as well. Socrates believed in the idea of self-examination and moral excellence. He defended the academic freedom to think, question and teach (68). Plato viewed reality as universal and eternal and claimed that the knowledge theory was reminiscence. This is the idea that a person can recall ideas present but buried in their minds (70). Finally, Aristotle saw reality as objective and he thought that humans had the ability to think and reason. He viewed knowledge as concepts based on objects (72). In philosophy we studied the idea of what is knowledge and where does it come from when we looked at the worldview questions. As Christians, we know what we know through interaction with the world whether it be through experience, reason, or faith. We place a priority on faith in our lives and that might be the best way to explain how we have knowledge. I think that I would agree with a lot of what Aristotle believed because we do have the ability to think and reason. However, the arguments that Plato and Socrates present are also true to the extent that we do have the freedom to think, question and teach and we can recall ideas in our own minds.

The ideas of education have changed a lot throughout the periods in time. During the Medieval Times the foundations of the university were established. The use of math and science were also brought into the Western world. The Renaissance Classical humanist educators developed a more, well-rounded, liberal education. During the Protestant Reformation there was a greater emphasis on literacy and vernacular education. This emphasis influenced many Colonial American Schools. The Enlightenment Period shaped the American political and educational institutions. The purpose of education was viewed as the process of transmitting and preserving the culture from one generation to the next. While that can be an underlying theme in my purpose for pursuing education, I really feel as though I have been called to be the light in certain schools and certain lives one day. I know that God has a purpose for me and that even though the world is a fallen place, he has saved me and now it is my duty to go out and share His love with others.

For the duration of educations history the view of the role of women has changed and their presence in the classroom as developed as well. Starting out, women were not allowed to be educated and their roles were to be a mother. As time went on women began to play a larger role in educating their children. Around the time of Martin Luther, during the Protestant Reformation, there was a lot of stress put on the education of all people, children included. They were to be educated with the proper religious doctrine. There were young men and women who were able to attend school and Luther stressed that everyone should read the Bible, men and women (86). While reading this it dawned on me once again how lucky I am. The fact that in the past women were not even allowed to be educated themselves and now I am at an institution where I can gain the knowledge to one day educate a group of students on my own is such a blessing.

The world is a fallen place and the entire world needs redemption. However, as claimed by Plantinga “godly obedience liberates people and helps them flourish” (85). He also quotes Calvin in saying, “until we grown into one body with him.” Plantinga points out that Calvin is talking about union with Christ (81). I think it is very important for Christians to remember this union and state of shalom as an entire body of Christ.  Though the world is fallen, God also displays great grace for all of us. He accepts sinners and does so through sanctification and justification. We are not defeated in this sin and we can rise above it to the best of our abilities with the help of God. Just like the “cure” to the longings is God, the “cure” to redemption from the fall is God also. I thought that Plantinga’s statement, “A person needs to attach to Christ by prayer, sacraments, and listening to the Word of God. A person needs to trust Christ, to lean on him, to surrender to him, to shape his life to fit inside Christ’s kingdom” (91). I found that statement quite powerful while reading the chapter. I think he nailed it. As a Christian it is important to remember all of those things and I hope to shape my life to fit inside Christ’s kingdom and be a great example of that to my students. Plantinga goes on later and says, “By opening his heart to the grace of God and by striving to obey God’s will, a Christian may acquire the virtues that fit a Christian life and may begin to perform the good works that flow from them” (92). These two claims by Plantinga are really things that I want to remember and strive to meet as a Christian in this world and as a teacher in whatever classroom I end up in.

Day 2

There has been an argument about teaching as a profession for many years. Some characteristics of a profession are considered to be a lengthy period of specialized training, a sense of public service and a lifetime commitment to a career, control over licensing standards and/or entry requirements and a defined body of knowledge and skills beyond that grasped by laypersons. Out of the characteristics listed above, a defined body of knowledge and skills beyond that grasped by laypersons and control over licensing standards and/or entry requirements are seen as parts of a profession that teaching tends to miss the mark in compared to the professions such as law and medicine (31). The problem with the defined body of knowledge is that there is no agreed-upon knowledge. With controlling the requirements for entry and licensing there is a variation in certification and a bigger debate about alternative certification. This is the idea that teachers would be recruited from college educated retirees, industrial workers and experienced people seeking a second career. Many teachers see this action as a threat to the profession because they do not think that just anyone can teach just because they have this greater knowledge of a subject. I have always thought of teaching as a profession and it is weird that it is only looked at as a semi profession.  I understand that there is a “definition” for a profession but I am glad to read that the teaching profession is changing things and possibly making its way towards having a successful professional title.

Staff development is a strong focus for many teachers and administrators. It is further education and training for the entire school district’s teaching staff. Some states require teachers to participate in the development programs in order to maintain their teaching certificates. Other staff members, such as younger teachers, tend to use staff development programs to pursue new degrees, such as a Master’s degree. Staff development programs are also used to improve the knowledge and skills in using educational technology. This helps the teachers expand their thinking from simple word processing actions to teach the use of internet resources (39). With my mom being a teacher, I have a great understanding for the idea of staff development. Our district always has training days and seminars about this or that. My mom also went back to school so that she could be certified in reading and now she teaches reading in a Middle School classroom. However, she has never had the desire to get her masters, but there have been a lot of teachers more recently that have decided to pursue that.

There are two major organizations. One is the National Education Association (NEA) and the other is the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).  The NEA includes both teachers and administrators at the national level and they oppose teachers going on strike. The research division of the NEA conducts annual studies on the status of the profession. The AFT has a wider range of members such as nurses and nonprofessional school personnel such as cafeteria, custodial, maintenance, and transportation workers. They have not supported as much research as the NEA and they require that their members join at the local, state, and national organizations together. A copy of the publications from both the AFT and the NEA are sent to my house on a normal basis. While looking through the magazine for the AFT I saw a lot of things about action and democracy. One of the articles that I read was about the retirees taking on the battle of collective bargaining. These retirees still wanted to be a part of the union family. They have been speaking out and demanding living wage, good health insurance, and secure retirement pension for all ( “It’s our fight, too, American Teacher, May/June 2011, p. 17).  In the NEA magazine, I read an article titled “Educators Must Not Be Silenced”.  The article talks about teachers being concerned with the politicians having an unchecked power to make decisions for the educators and the students. They talked about the action in Wisconsin when the governor dismantled collective bargaining and didn’t allow anyone to have a say in the class size, funding, and vouchers and claimed that it was to save money. In reality he took away the voice of the middle class and crushed the unions. The article talked about merit pay and collective bargaining, both terms that were used in the chapter from today’s reading. The article is urging people to sign a petition that will maybe get the politicians to stop the power struggle and to be more negotiable (Educators Are Under Attack, NEA today, May/June 2011, p. 28-30). I have not had a lot of prior knowledge about these two organizations but I think that it would be beneficial to stay more up to date in everything going on in education. It is easy to let it all slip by and ignore it when I am just starting out. I am interested to see how the unions and government policies will play out over the next 5 years. Their decisions could really affect me one day when I am out in the working force.

Day 1

Chapters one of “Foundations of Education” by Ornstein talked about the motivation, preparation and conditions for the entering teachers. The main focus of the chapter was exploring why people get into teaching in the first place. For me, I want to teach because I have a love for children and I think that there is a way that I can impact their lives for the better. I also enjoy the idea of challenging myself in teaching in a public school or high needs situation and to be the light in the children’s life. The first chapter talked about the salaries of a teacher and how it varies from state to state and improves with more experience and more certifications. In my first day at Nathan Hale Middle School I was able to pick up on some of the professional teaching standards my teacher was using. She seemed to have a great understanding of diversity as this classroom each hour was very diverse. I liked to see her interaction with the students and that respect that had been built within just a short period of time. Overall the first chapter was just a big introduction into teaching and it concluded with an outlook for teaching stating the ideas that there will always be a demand for educators  and that this profession is very important to society.

The seventh chapter of the Ornstein book talked more about the governing and the administering of public schools. I did not have much prior knowledge to school boards before reading this chapter so I enjoyed digging into what their role really was. I feel as though my school board back home has a negative name and there always seem to be more debates or problems with it rather than positive outcomes, but that might be just because people only speak about the negativity. The chapter talked about the election of the board and what types of people actually serve. The number of female and minority board members is less than 50%. The chapter also talked about the three types of board meetings. Two are open to the public, the regular and special and then the third, the executive is usually closed to the public and deals with “personnel issues, acquisition of property, or problems related to individual students” (203). The board is responsible for eight main things. They set the general rules about what is done in the school and who does it and how. They also hire all school district employees and they are responsible for employee relations, including collective bargaining with teacher unions. The board is responsible for getting the most out of every tax dollar and addressing the questions of student rights and responsibilities. The school board also develops curriculum and responds to parents and other members of the community. Finally, the school board is responsible for carrying out the requirements established by the federal and state agencies. The chapter also talked about the State Board of Education and the State Department of Education. Minnesota does not have a State Board and it just has a State Department. I am not sure why our state has it set up the way it does and I wonder what the benefits of either or would be to the education within a particular state? The end of the chapter talked about the nonpublic schools. They account for more than 10% of total enrollments in U.S. elementary and secondary schools with Catholic schools encompassing almost 46% of those enrollments and nonreligious, independent schools at 16% (221). This thought about the Catholic schools reminded me of what I read today from edweek.org. There was an article about parents receiving vouchers for their students to attend Catholic schools and some of these families were not even religious they were just getting governmental aid. This is the link to the article: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/05/18/31choice.h30.html?tkn=LNRFe4QBxhv%2FIyPKsCSNu6rEdUZa0FzgQnV3&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS1 I just found it very interesting that even the text said that Catholic schools were at the top of the nonpublic enrollment and how ironic that I had just read about the controversy with the vouchers.

Tonight I was able to go to my first school board meeting. It was interesting because it started off with honoring the students within the district for young authors or grades or athletics. Also, I would like to point out that the districts are set up very differently in IL compared to MN. In MN there is one district for an elementary school (or set of them) a middle school or two and then a high school or two. In IL however, there might be a district for the elementary schools or the K-8 schools and then there is a different district for three high schools. Therefore, there is a break between the different age groups and there is a different school board and there really is not much help in that transitional period because a lot is changing between the schools. During the board meeting I could make a lot of connections to chapter 7 in our textbook talking about governing and administering public education. It was interesting to see that there were a majority of women on this board; in reality the only male on the board was the superintendent. The meeting did not have much in in but they did talk about the students, the community, the staffing a little bit and the curriculum and assessment. I was able to see the roll of a superintendent demonstrated and I was able to hear what he had to say about a recent consolidation plan that the state of IL is exploring. It was interesting to hear that in reality for their school this consolidation could cause costs to go up. He also stressed the importance of local control and his fear of losing curriculum and losing kids to other districts due to the consolidation. I really enjoyed seeing the active roll the superintendent seemed to play in the school district. It seems like it was a very agreeing board and they had a great direction and desired goal for their schools. Finally, at the end of the meeting they were going into an executive portion of their meeting which was closed off to the public.

For today I read the first few chapters of “Engaging in God’s World” by Plantinga. Within the first few chapters the author really wanted to stress the reason of why he wrote the book and what he wanted the readers to get out of it. The first chapter was about longing and hope. Right away Plantinga talked about how these longings that we tend to have will never be able to be fulfilled unless we are rooted in Christ Jesus. While reading this I was able to recall discussions in my Philosophy class this past semester. We dug into the ideas of faith doubt and reason and what it meant to believe. We discussed the same ideas of the fact that we will always have questions and wonder different things and whether or not we get those answers does not mean we’ll stop asking them. There will always be more that we want to know and we will continue to search for answers. However, we can find hope in God and that will help our longing to have a different direction. Plantinga pointed out that in “Confessions” by Augustine, Augustine prays, “you have made us for yourself, and our heart is restless until it rests in you” (6). Plantinga also goes on to talk about the idea of living together as humans and creation in “shalom” or peace. I think that it is important to realize that much of the world longs for material things and emotional fulfillment. Many people see their goals as being at the top of their businesses or having a large house or a family. We as Christians can really find our deeper meaning in God. I think it is important that I start looking at my vision of the “good life” and what I want to portray that as to my students. Whether I teach in a private school or a public school I think there are ways to show my students the importance of education and introduce good values and morals without shoving the Christian faith down their throats.

                In the second chapter of “Engaging in God’s World”, Plantinga talks about creation. I thought it was interesting when he pointed out that self-giving love was important. He states “The persons within God exalt each other, commune with each other, defer to one another” (20). Our world today tends to be focused a lot on the individual and he talked about the idea of hospitality which is something for me, as a teacher to remember for my students and also something that I want my students to be examples of. Plantinga says, “Hospitality means to make room for others and then to help them flourish in the room you have made” (21). Once again that is drawing on the idea that each human being was created in the image of God and that they are unique. As a teacher it is important to realize that no two of your students will be alike. The chapter also goes on to talk about how we image God when we are living in a community together. It is important to remember that the school is a community but also each class is a community and how we live with our peers is a way to “worship” God.  Plantinga also talked about the importance of silence and rest. As a teacher it is easy to get caught up in everything and to forget to take time to reflect and really look at your work. I think that reflection time would be really beneficial for myself as a teacher one day to look at how I could better my classroom but also just some time to reflect with God as to what my purpose of a particular job is and how I can honor Him through my word and deed.