Language

F*ck F*ck F*ck F*ck F*ck F*ck F*ck F*ck F*ck F*ck F*ck F*ck F*ck F*ck F*ck

Tell me that, that word is not obnoxious and I will tell you that your F*cking crazy. I am SO mad. Why in the world would a teacher say this word in a classroom setting? Talk about unprofessional. I don’t care what his motives were: “Trying to connect with the students,” “being cool,” “getting their attention.” I wanted to throw my shoe at him as soon as he said it.

Another thing that mad me really made was how he introduced the poet Walt Whitman. He happens to be one of my favorite poets. I was excited to see that during class we would read portions from his poem, “Song of myself.” But how does the teacher open up the class? Well he says—“Walt Whitman was a drunk alcoholic and liked sex, therefore, everyone will enjoy reading his poetry because he is just like you.” Excuse me, but I am neither a drunk, nor am I obsessed with sex. He went on and said that literature that had death and sex in it was the only thing that would interest students. HELLO!

Thus, the students only thought about sex when reading Whitman’s poem. Sure, there are a lot of sexual innuendos, but the whole core meaning of the poem goes way beyond the dick.

For example, my favorite line

“A child said What is the grass? fetching it to me with full hands; How could I answer the child? I do not know what it is any more than he.”

There could be so much done in those couple of lines. Do you hear the word dick in it or sex? No, but still its pretty mind provoking—who would of thought?

WHAT ENGLISH 10 AGAIN!

Schedule is on the black board—which allows students to know what they need to do.
The teacher checks hw, and allows students to hand in the hw late, as long as they bring a note in saying it is done.

I don’t know if I agree with allowing students to hand work in late. Nevertheless, at the same time I remember having to hand my work in later, and I was very grateful that the teacher didn’t take off points. I have not decided how I am going to handle this in my class.
One student has his head down—teacher asks if he is okay and shows genuine concern.
Teacher reads out loud while the students fallow.
She walks around the classroom while reading allowing her voice to travel around the room.
Some students are fallowing along—others decide to take a nap.
Maybe she should have different students take turn reading out loud? This might cause the students to get nervous and not like coming to class. Then again, reading out loud is a good skill to have—to be able to articulate the language.
After the teacher is done reading she reinforces what has been read thus far. Instructs the students to continue reading silently—I never really understood why teachers had students read silently in class. Small amounts are okay, but over 15 minutes students appear to lose interest, or just don’t care to even start reading.
Nevertheless, to make sure that the students are reading the teacher has a series of questions that they must answer before they can good to lunch.
Some student have to leave for extra help—its is good that the school provides for their needs.
I think it is hard to get students “wanting” to read a book. I understand that questions are a key way to asses a students understanding of a writing, nevertheless, doing it with every assignment may get very boring—causing the student become unengaged.

English 10 carbon copy

Same teacher different class, same grade. This class is a carbon copy of the last. There is almost no deviation from what she says and how she conducts the class.
+ She is structured and fallows the course outline
- This might be a sign that she is losing her enthusiasm for teaching and has not imagination.
I understand that the same material is suppose to be taught for each class, but it would be nice to see some personality.

During the test the students are allowed to keep their head-phones on. I DO NOT AGREE!!

Academically it is clear what the teacher wants done, because she writes it down for the students to see.

One student cheats on the test—she either acts like she doesn’t see it nor does nothing about it. I will not tolerate cheating.
Class is silent: Student throws something across the room—teacher does nothing about it.
She has to regain/demand control of the class room by changing her voice, but does not yell. Instead of switching back and forth between doing nothing—then doing something (in reprimands) I feel that the teacher should always have control of the class and be consistent.
She ends the class with a speech on the importance of grades and how two students used their time wisely in the class
I do not agree with singling out students in front of the class for good or bad. If you want to praise a student do it in private.

English 10

The Book Night by Elie Wiesel: Introduction—Students appear to really enjoy the teacher. The class is very respectful of her and the order of the classroom.
The teacher demands authority. She has the class schedule written on the board—allows the students to know what is going on and what is expected for that day.
Schedule:
Start with movie
Final exam
Check and go over vocab list
Start Night

The students just finished the book Monster by Walter Dean Myers—are now watching a movie on the book. It is important to implement technology in the class room as long as the teacher supports it with instruction. The students are not paying attention to the movie but are talking to their friends. This negates the purpose of using technology.

The students are allowed to eat in class. First impression: that the students respected the teacher is now being changed for the impression that the students feel the teacher is more their “friend” then instructor. This can have good and bad benefits (How do I want to run my class room?? I def. want authority—but I also want to establish a friendly relationship. There has to be a happy medium).

Before handing out the test after the movie, the teacher goes over questions (which are basically the same questions on the test) and had the students answer them (in preparation to the test). I do not agree with this at all! It is basically giving the students a cheat sheet.

She goes around the class room and grades if the students did it. She does not make a big deal if the they don’t have their hw but records it
--this is the end of the school year. If the students are not doing the hw there is really nothing she can do to promote/motivate them. I wonder how she acted in the start of the school year. I will have consequences to not having ones work done. By allowing students to feel that they do not have to do their work teaches lazy, and does not hold them accountable.

Went over vocab list one:
Decree
Cabbala
Emigrate
Convoy
Encumbered
Expel
Synagogue
Ghetto
Aryan
Truncheon

She goes around the class room and grades if the students did it. She does not make a big deal if the they don’t have their hw but records it--this is the end of the school year. If the students are not doing the hw there is really nothing she can do to promote/motivate them. I wonder how she acted in the start of the school year. I will have consequences to not having ones work done. By allowing students to feel that they do not have to do their work teaches lazy, and does not hold them accountable.

I want ORDER

Interview

Question: “Do you find me intimidating?”
Answer: “I don’t find many people intimidating—maybe if you stood on a step stool I could take you seriously.”
Question: “If I was to start off my class really hard core, for example, if you dropped your pencil you would have to ask to pick it up, because it is MY Class room. Do you think that is a bad way to start off a class?”
Answer: “I would laugh at you.”

I really feel that being strict is a good way to structure a class room. Many of the students that I interviewed disagreed and I honestly can say I don’t really care. I feel that too many teachers are trying to be the student’s friend. Teaching will be my job. I am not the babysitter.

Idea of School uniforms

I can’t help but be totally disgusted with the way students dress. Where has the sense of self worth gone?

From an academia perspective, there is no conclusive evidence that school uniforms increase positive behavior and achievements. There are many reasons why schools may choose to adopt school uniforms. For example, some districts feel that school uniforms help integrate students. Instead of seeing a certain type of clothing, that may categorize a particular student, school uniforms “allow students to see the importance of character” (Johnson USA Today). I think that too much energy is being put into what should our students wear, instead of what should our students learn. Nevertheless, I do see some validity that school uniforms might “level the playing field” (Johnson USA Today). Realistically, no matter what type of clothing students are thrust into, social and emotion prejudice will still exist. Poet Gwendolyn Brooks writes: “If prejudice is native and it is you/ Will find it ineradicable”; a simple change of attire will not all of the sudden level the playing field and make the jock sit down with the nerd. On the other hand, in defense of school uniforms, it maybe a simple action that schools can take to diminish social tension and prejudicial judgment.

I am totally for school uniforms

From a rational stand point, I would have loved having school uniforms. There have been days where I would run around my house yelling, “I HAVE NOTHING TO WEAR!” Maybe it is just a “girl thing”—but I always felt like I had to look just right. If I decided to wear, heaven forbid, sweat pants to school it was because “I felt sick,” not because I felt like being comfortable. Instead of squeezing myself into the jeans—
that I had to lay down on the floor to zipper up and do a little dance just to get them on all in the name of fashion because they were the cool things to wear— I would have much rather opened up my closet door and taken out a uniform. Instead, my mom would hear the all amazing statement of, “Do you think this makes me look fat?” I would say that 85% of my energy was wasted in the morning trying to find what I needed to wear. When I had a wrestling match, I always experienced less stress. I think that directly connected to the fact that I knew what I had to wear: Dress shirt and a tie (even though I was a girl, since I was on a guy’s team, I had to wear the same uniform as everyone else). The idea behind wearing the same attire was designed to create team unity. Being the sentimentalist that I am, I really do believe that it created unity and sparked a sense of pride. This idea of unity could be applicable to school uniforms as a whole. Nevertheless, there are always going to be the rebels that say, in the words of the band

Green Day:
I want to be the minority

I don't need your authority

Down with the moral majority

'Cause I want to be the minority!
I can see through my observations that being an individual is an extremely important aspect of being an adolescent.

"To be or not to be"

I am really interested in creating my own personal philosophy of teaching and how my classroom should be structured. From observing different teachers, there are three questions that come to mind. Firstly, the main question that I can’t help but want to ask the students is, “Do you enjoy English class?” I feel that my first objective as a teacher will be trying to get the students to enjoy English. I am excited about English, but most likely my students could care less. That leads into my next question, “Do you think English class is pointless?” I feel that to many students don’t understand the importance of English classes, or any class! This isn’t the students fault, but I feel it is the fault of the instructor. My next question is, “would you prefer portfolio work compared to testing?” I want my students to feel that English can be fun! I remember doing portfolio work in high school and in college. Maybe the students feel the same as I do and would prefer portfolio work? My next question has to do with school uniforms. THE SCHOOL THAT I AM OBSERVING IS SO CAOTIC! The one thing that came into my mind while observing a particular class as SCHOOL UNIFORMS! I really think that would make a difference.

First victim: Likes English, but the classes can be pointless. She didn’t use to like English, but the teacher that she has this year changed her mind. She feels that portfolio work is a good idea! She is also for school uniforms because it would diminish the stress of having to find something to wear every day.
Second victim: Likes English class and feels that he learns from it. He prefers testing to portfolio work. The questions on the test should ignite knowledge. He is for school uniforms.
Third victim: Likes English class. Does not think that it is pointless. Would totally prefer portfolio work because she likes to be creative. She is also for school uniforms.
Fourth Victim: Doesn’t like English class and thinks it is a waste of time. He doesn’t like to read. He likes sports. Would prefer to do portfolio work, because he hates testing. He is against school uniforms but is not really sure why.
Fifth Victim: Doesn’t like English class or school. English class is pointless and a waste of time. He already feels like he knows how to read and write. Nevertheless, he likes the idea of portfolio work. He likes the idea of school uniforms because he thinks that he looks good in a uniform and it would get him more dates.

Those are just examples of some of the students that I interviewed. I think that I will do portfolio work, but I will not make that my only way of assessment.
I really want to be a great teacher. In the words of Shakespeare’s Hamlet “ To be or not to be, that is the question.”

I hope that I will be able to see each student as a wonderful individual

"There never was in the world two opinions alike, no more than two hairs or two grains; the most universal quality is diversity"

--Michel Eyguem

High school. It is a place filled with diversity. In the classrooms that I am observing, by "normal" definition--it isn't diverse.

I am white. I am a woman. I am 21 years old. I want to be a teacher. I love English and I have a sincere desire to convey my love to students. It would be nice to say that diversity in classrooms does not matter, and that it does not directly affect school atmosphere. Not necessarily unfortunately but more so realistically, diversity is real and should be taken into consideration when presenting any information in any content area.

Marva Collins gives a great answer to the question of “Can Anybody Teach These Children.” She simply states that she “deal[s] honestly with children.” Honesty is such a powerful tool that if implemented correctly can cross over barriers. I feel that another important aspect of teaching is to see students as they are: Human beings, little boys and little girls. We can get caught up in Kathy is black and John is from Japan, but if teachers first took a deep breath and saw each of their students as equals, it would be a lot easier to then addressing their differences. This might appear conflicting, and maybe a little backwards, but the idea is actually very pragmatic and easy to fallow through. For example, when I was younger I had a hard time seeing people, girls particularly, in a positive light. I always prejudged them according to how they looked, dressed, talked and acted. One day I was really getting frustrated with myself for being so judgmental, so I decided to change. Instead of seeing one girl as a “snot” or seeing another girl as “popular” I decided to look at them differently. I would try to picture them like myself: A teenager, a daughter, a friend, someone who feels pain and happiness, someone who might have cried at the same movie, and who might also like pizza with pineapple. By taking away their apparent differences, I was able to bring those that I prejudged onto neutral ground. Once everyone is on neutral ground, inhibitions can be let go and walls can be taken down. I really believe that the mind change that I experienced can be applied on multiple levels and that it is a perspective teachers could really embrace.

Diversity in the classrooms is more likely to occur in urban schools. It is almost impossible, once thrust into these situations, that student’s extracurricular lives will not directly affect classroom attendance and instructional retention. For example, students are not only ethnically different but their home lives may set them further apart from each other. Some parents might be drug addicts, many may come from single parent homes, and some may have a parent who is in jail. All of these differences and diversity will affect how a student learns. Unfortunately, knowledge is not always measured fairly. A student’s performance may only be determined by standardized testing. If one does not do well on these tests they are often coined as “disabled;” another diversity issue to add to the table. Therefore, the question is what can be done? I really believe that teachers need to be educated on the importance of understanding multicultural education.

It is imperative to make sure that multicultural educations are not being “shoved down” the student’s throats. For example, in the movie Freedom Writers, an AP English teacher singled out a student because she was black, saying: “What is the black perspective of this story? I am excited to see what your type has to bring to the discussion board.” The student did not particularly care for the way the teacher addressed the situation in singling her out and categorizing her as a “type.” Pedagogically, this was a horrible way of addressing diversity into the class room. I believe that the purpose of education should be in instructing the students on a variety of content and allowing them to bring in their personal experiences, beliefs, and desires. By promoting an open classroom where differences are expected and accepted programs like the TFD—“a program designed to prepare teachers to teach effectively in a multicultural, social-reconstructionist ways—may help teachers create a multicultural pedagogy, and help teachers feel comfortable in supporting and highlighting differences appropriately.

Michel Eyquem, born in 1533, once said: “There never was in the world two opinions alike, no more than two hairs or two grains; the most universal quality is diversity.” It may appear contradictory to call diversity a universal quality; for if something is universal it would negate that chance of it being divers. Nevertheless, by looking at the fact that every student is different, in some way—then the every student is brought under the collective cohort of being divers. Not just anybody can teach children. It takes someone who is aware that there are important differences. It also takes someone who can address the differences in a careful, understanding way. Being honest with ones self and also with the students is a recipe for success.

It is also vital to understand that the best teachers supplied with the best teaching tools are not going to reach everyone and anything. No matter what measures are taken there are going to be children left untouched. I have learned this through my observations. This realization makes me really sad. In the words of Thoreau “I hear beyond the range of sound/ I see beyond the rang of sight” and no matter what differences may occur, I hope that I will be able to see each student as a wonderful individual.