First off- I don't know how to double space. So, this is a single-spaced blog.
Thoughts after meeting classmates and first week of class- I wouldn’t say that I’m usually a nervous person, but I feel like I possess a different emotion than everyone in the class. I am looking forward to pursuing a career in education but I am not so openly excited or inspired as it seems my peers are. I am more limited in expressing myself in the early stages of a relationship. I do not want to throw it all on the table, tell my life story and have a new best friend during the first week of school. I am hesitant to use the word “reserved”, because once we are familiar I am right out wild and crazy. Maybe “cautious” is a better word.
Feelings about chapter one myths- The myths discussed in Chapter one of To Teach really peaked my interested. Ayers stated the myths but seemed to partially agree with them in some of his descriptions. For an entry level teacher, management and organization seems essential to stay grounded, however this is his Myth 1. I have been a coach for about 5 years and when I first started I assessed the player’s ability, made a plan as to what I was expected to cover and what I felt we needed to really work on, and we went from there. Still now, I go to practice with a plan for the day. I like organized chaos but it still involves management. Ayers explanation of why Myth 1 is an actually myth doesn’t seem to clearly explain it for me.
What’s wrong with myth 5?- Good Teachers Begin With the Curriculum They are Given and Find Clever Ways to Enhance It. It seems like a teacher has been given some expectations as to what they are supposed to teach but they are able to adjust the material to their student’s needs and interests. I need more evidence to convince me that these are myths. Myth 4 states that: Good Teachers Always Know the Material. Shouldn’t a teacher know the material? Looking back at my education, I went to teachers for direction and stability; I would have been so disappointed if I knew at the time that my teachers didn’t always know the material. I looked up to them as a body of knowledge and wisdom.
Myth 8 is not really a myth; Students today are Different than ever before. Children today really are different. I grew up in an age when technology was booming. We surpassed our teacher’s technical ability at a very early grade. With the way our society is going, this generation has more pressure to stay in control and more desire for a quick efficient lifestyle. Kids are now on the go with overbooked day planners and attention duration issues. I’m not saying all kids have ADHD but overall our society is always going going going. I think to teach and keep the attention of today’s children requires more tact than before. With blogs, myspace, facebook, etc. educators need to stay more on top of interests and technology in order to keep up with this generation.
Myspace- Should teachers and administration be able to use a myspace or facebook account against a student? My aunt is the principal of a local high school and they suspended a student based on gang references on his myspace account. They did not have any proof or evidence he was related to the gang besides some comments on his page. I have heard employers check websites before accepting a potential new hire. Is that obstruction of privacy or free information since the individual posted the data online? When is it crossing the line?
I have always thought about this topic. Really, if a person has private information, why publicize it and why not just block your site from people who are not your friends? I have a myspace and a facebook but I am cautious about what I post or gets posted because I know other people are going to have access to my site. That seems like common sense.
This being the first journal entry, first week in the class, and first week in the program there is a lot of unknowns and new beginnings. I will continue to initially observe a lot as I like to do. We will see what this next week brings.
1 comment:
Hello, Mira,
There isn't an option to double space, but it can help a lot to do a double return between paragraphs and to make paragraphs short. It's usually easier on screen to read dark text on a light background, too.
Those are all skills we'll have be teaching kids now!
Take a look at what Ayers says in Myth 1 again -- is he arguing against management? Or against particular ways of thinking about how to get there?
I'd like to see more here about why you disagree with what he says (and the disagreement is fine, but reflective writing goes beyond pointing out points of disagreement). He says much more in his explanations than he does in his initial statement of the myth, but I'm not seeing you talk about his reasoning here, so I'm curious about what you think about his explanations.
It certainly made sense when you were in school that you went to teachers to wisdom, but that's a different question than about whether teachers can learn along with their students. You mention what your reaction might have been if a teacher didn't know something, but how will you know if all kids will feel that way if you say "good question. I don't know. How can we find out?" What if, in this age when kids can find out so much more than any teacher can know with simple google searches, wouldn't we begin shifting to teaching not just "Stuff" but how to learn?
The question of whether schools can discipline students for things done outside of school is a legal question, and I don't know the answer, but how could you find out?
But yes, we do have to be teaching kids new things about privacy and protecting one's identity on line.
So- - beyond stating what you think about lots of things, I'd like to see journals in which you do a bit more "thinking out loud" as you write in more depth about fewer things...
More next week.
Jane
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