Chapter 12 - Your First Classroom

Before becoming a teacher, one should ask themselves a few key questions: Will I like this life in the classroom? Will my fellow teachers like me? Will I be able to get through the curriculum?Is there a particular school development that I like? What salary and benefits am I seeking?  In order to teach to ones full capability, they must develop detailed responses to these questions to know if they are ready to become a teacher.  A teachers responsibilities are numerous, and standing in front of a class isn't for everyone.

Teachers go through many developmental stages throughout their careers.  In the beginning, the biggest concern is criticism from their principal and classroom management. In a teachers first year, they are provided a mentor, or consulting teacher to provide professional and personal support. It is in these first year where teachers will figure out if teaching is really for them.  Learning student's names, developing curriculum, dealing with a lot of paper work, and not having a lot of prep time during the day are just a few of the challenges that new teachers face. After spending a year or two in front of the class, teachers usually become more involved in educational issues, such as school strategies that could enhance student learning.  It is in these years that many teachers begin to observe different approaches to curriculum development.  By observing behaviors and academic progress as every class enters and moves on, teachers will alter curriculum and raise different issues.  

Chapter 9 - Financing and Governing America's Schools

As a teacher, one might wonder why it is important to know how their school is being financed.  A teacher's concerns should involve only classroom concerns.  Is this true? As teachers, we must be aware of every area of our school.  How can we make a difference if we don't know everything about what we are trying to change?  Most of America's public schools are funded by local communities.  This poses a problem to low income families that live in poverty stricken areas.  The schools in their communities will not have as much funding as a school in a wealthier area.  This is a very unfair fact for students.  Why should the quality of education differ according to communities?  This only continues the cycle of poverty in these areas since it is proven that when people are educated, they usually strive for a better quality of life for themselves and their loved ones.  A school's performance also impacts funding.  Schools that have received an F rating usually receive less funding, and are usually closed if they do not show any academic improvement.  

Superintendents and school boards have an impact on both school and curriculum development.  They develop policies that they feel are appropriate to manage schools.  Boards of Education develop policies that serve the interests of their entire community.  They can also act as trustee representatives, giving them the opportunity to fight for local rights.  One must also remember that as a teacher we have an influence as well in curriculum development and in some school decisions.  If we want to make more of a difference, we need to make ourselves heard, and the everyone needs to hear us.  We know where most of the change needs to happen since we witness it first hand.  Before we can change things in our school, whether they be financial or not, we must educate ourselves on our schools personal situations.  

Chapter 8 - The Philosophy Of Education

Philosophy of Education is unique to every teacher.  All of us have our own philosophy on how to teach, how to manage behavior, and how to develop our curriculum.  There are two teacher centered philosophies:  ESSENTIALISM : Strives to teach students the accumulated knowledge of our civilization though core courses in the traditional academic disciplines.  Teachers who follow this teaching philosophy focus on the 'Back to Basics' style.  Curriculum is referred to as 'core curriculum', and is developed to focus on reasoning, and to help ensure a common culture amongst Americans.  These teachers usually strive to keep as many electives out of the classroom as possible.  PERENNIALISM : This teaching style is very similar to the essentialist teaching style, but perennialists strive to teach students everlasting information.  They believe that the goal of education should be to develop rational thought and to discipline minds rigorously.  Perennialists try to separate their classroom by classifying the 'gifted' students who have shown academic excellence, and the rest of the class who have shown normal comprehension.  The 'normal' students are taught more vocational skills, while the 'gifted' are shown more leadership training information.

There are also three student centered teaching philosophies:

PROGRESSIVISM : A 'progressive' school focuses on the concerns of their students.  A teacher who follows a progressive teaching style encourages students to formulate questions, and to do the research to discover the answer.  Small groups are norm in the progressive classroom as well. Students are encouraged to work together to find answers.  

SOCIAL RECONSTRUCTIONISM :  This teaching style encourages teachers to focus on the wants and demands of modern society.  Students focus on social issues and formulate answers and plans to implement social change.  Teachers who follow this style create lessons to inform and stir students about issues in their society.  Long term social projects (food drives, adopting poor families) are usually focused on for the better part of the year.

EXISTENTIALISM : This teaching style asserts that the purpose of education is to help children find the meaning and direction in their lives.  Exsistentialists believe that adults should not direct meaningful learning for children.  Teachers focus more on students understanding and appreciating themselves.  These teachers also believe that teaching cannot occur until after a student feels confident enough in themselves to learn.

Out of all the teaching styles discussed in this chapter, I would consider taking the

social reconstruction view. Even though I believe that core curriculum is still very important,

especially in the primary grades, students in our modern world should be better prepared to solve the social problems

that are very real in our world. What better way to change the future than to start in the classroom

by educating students HOW to change things.

Chapter 5 - Life in Schools

In the classroom, students experience not only academic lessons, but life lessons as well.  Life in the classroom should be kept up to the standards of what a home should be:  A strong, solid foundation, and a trusting and safe learning enviornment where compassion and understanding are important factors.  Unfortunatley, as teachers, we will sometimes have students that do not have this type of experience in their homes.  I believe that it is our responsibility that in the classroom, every student feels safe and able to learn to their full ability.  It is these students who in most cases need more of this kind of classroom lifestyle.  

When students leave school, their home life has an effect on re teaching, or their ability to concentrate on homework.  It is not a surprise to meet students who when they get home, are there by themselves for a few hours until mom and/or dad get home from work. What kind of effect does this have on a students academic goals at home?  It has been proven that the more the parent or parents are involved, the more effective the lessons are on students.  Re teaching at home is a way to involve parents in what their child is learning at school.  

I believe it is important for teachers to foster a sense of security, trust, open-ness, and love into their classroom and school.  Students should feel comfortable enough to express themselves creatively, and to share certain parts of themselves with their teachers and peers.  Students should also feel confident in giving responses to teacher proposed questions and to questions that their classmates also raise.   

This chapter is very important because it puts the responsibilities of schools in a different perspective. What are the responsibilities of our schools? Some agree that institutions are responsible for preparing students for the vocational world after graduation. Others may argue that school is responsible for preparing students to move onto higher learning institutions. I believe that a schools' main goal should be to prepare their students for the real world. After graduation, students should know what it takes to be positive members of society and they should be properly prepared for their careers. Ultimately, schools are responsible for 'passing on society's baton' (the knowledge and values of our society) to growing students and for preparing students who will be capable of changing what our society has become.

As diverse as most of America's students, so are the schools and how they are organized. The Choice Concept allowed parents to decide what school they saw fit for their child. This gave way for schools to strive for better test results and student behavior. It also called for teachers to become better prepared to teach their classrooms. Parents were considering all of these factors and more when deciding on a school. Magnet schools were ideal for students who had exceptional talent or huge interest in a certain subject area. For example, students who were interested in music had the option to attend a school where the core curriculum is based around music. Open enrollment closed the doors on the restraint that students must attend the closest public school. This allowed full free choice to parents to decide where to send their child to school in the public school system. Vouchers allowed parents to 'shop' for schools. The school would turn over the voucher to the government, and the school would then receive a fixed sum back. Charter schools are given permission to be open for a fixed period of time. If the school is successful, the charter can be renewed. Online schools are on high demand. Many Americans are now finding it much more convenient to do things from home, and the internet gives way to a whole new realm of learning. The internet has also given teachers more freedom in choosing resources for their classrooms.

The evolution of America's schools has boomed in recent years with the technology age. I believe that schools will continue to change with the times, as they should. In the end, freedom of choice in where to attend school should remain for all students and parents. As schools change with the times, so should the curriculum used in the schools. I will be discussing curriculum next class. See you then!

My name is Nicole Westmoreland and I am working towards a BA in Education. Teaching has always been my ideal career choice because I believe teachers have a huge impact on society, and I want to be a positive part of that movement. I hope to take from this class a better understanding of what it takes to be a great teacher, and of the different school systems in our country.