Teaching Hope Part IV

This section in Teaching Hope was called Disillusionment and this section was about how teachers also go through rough patches just as students do. What we sometimes forget, well I know I did in high school, is that teachers are also human beings and that they too have outside lives that affect them. After reading this section, the only thing I could really think of was the teacher I had in middle school, she was also my soccer and basketball coach for many years; she was young, just out of college, and still immature in the sense of being professional. She would constantly tell me and other students her relationship problems. It's great to have a close connection with students and to be able to share certain things, but when is too much crossing the line? I'm hopeful I'll be able to find that balance between closeness and professionalism. But this was a good section because teachers shared their stories have how students have "saved" them. A reverse of roles.

Teaching Hope Part III

This was a great section to read after reading the terribly sad stories in the previous section. When reading this section I felt as though I had hope that I too could have the impact on my students that these teachers wrote about in these stories. The positive impact these teachers described was uncanny and something that no one else has any idea about except a teacher. That's a feeling I want. The story about the Indian Reservation talked to me the most. The teacher taught these students with fun and innovative lessons, however the students did not respect her or like the class because they had always been put down by other people, so how was this teacher any different they thought. Well, when this teacher then gave them readings about how groups discriminated against fought through and overcame this discrimination, the students changed their minds about this teacher. They gave her respect because of who she was not because she had great lessons. That is one thing I would really like to focus on: is earning my students respect.

Story of Schools Part III

This episode of Story of Schools took place from 1950 through 1980 in which many changes occurred during this short time period. During the fifties blacks, any other minorities and women were not given the right to participate in athletics. Minorities were also not allowed to take certain classes because there was an overlying thought that they were too dumb to do well in harder classes. In 1954 Brown vs. The Board of Education ruled that every student should be given the same/equal education. This meant segregation in schools was out the door. In 1972, Title IX passed and women were given the right to participate in school athletics. It took a long time for schools to actually desegregate. With the help of Lyndon Johnson, the government was able to give schools funding in order to complete this desegregation. He enforced the Civil Rights Act which was a huge component in the desegregation movement. Hopefully as time continues to pass, we will continue to stop discrimination against all different types of people.

Story of School Part II

Part II of the film Story of School was based from 1900 through 1950. Schools during the beginning of that time period were considered inhospitable by students because they were dangerous, dark and cold. Educators tried to respond to this thought of school by making it more student-centered. They did this by designing lavish buildings that served all students. They tried to provide rich school experiences that got all students involved in something that interested them. They also posed the idea of "work, study, play." Despite schools changing for the better, immigrated students were still hindered. They were not allowed to speak their native language in school. Essentially, immigrated students were Americanized and taught patriotism and American citizenship.
Towards the end of the period the IQ test was invented. This was developed to organize students in an attempt to unify students and acquire Utopia. They used this test to determine the quality of people. They also used this test to track students and spot future leaders. Although schools have changed drastically over the last sixty years, some of the same thoughts about how they should be run are still the same: tracking.

Teaching Hope Part 2

This was a really tough section to read of the book because it was filled with horrible stories that were really sad to read. All of these stories provided controversy that most teachers will be faced with one time or another. The story that effected me the most was the one about Kate. Kate was an over-achiever. Always turned assignments in that were brilliant according to her teacher. Although Kate was one of the most unbelievable students, she lacked social skills and was constantly the target of ridicule but many of her peers. At the end of Kate's senior year, she quietly hung herself. As I read this story silently, then out loud to my roommates the one thing we both agreed upon was that we both could think of people exactly like Kate that we went to high school with. Quiet, shy, great student, but with zero friends. It was hard to think of how those people we went to school with could have been another Kate.

Generation Article

Abstract:
This article was about how people from different generations are now being forced to work more and more together. They called it the “Power of Four” which is basically how this is the first time in American History where we have had four different generations working together. This raises issues because each generation comes from different lifestyles, communication, behaviors, etc. It is sometimes tough to collaborate with someone of a different generation because they have different views based on the generation they come from. We are constantly forced to accommodate for the different views sometimes producing issues in the workplace.

Reflection:
After reading this article I began to think of the workplace I will be in and the different people from different generations I will be working with. I've heard horror stories in the past of friends who have become teachers and how they have had difficult times working with old raggedy teachers who work with only traditional methods. I will obviously be faced with the same issues, and I am unsure of how I will react. If I can I think effectively communicate with these old generation teachers, then hopefully some of the problems will not be prevalent.

Teaching Hope Part 1

After reading the first section of Teaching Hope, I became really intrigued with the stories each teacher wrote about. Each teacher had a unique experience as to why they became a teacher. It really made me appreciate the occupation much more by just reading these stories. So far, my favorite story was of the teacher that was assaulted by one student and the teacher then recognized that the system actually failed the student and the student was the victim not the teacher. If all teachers thought that way then we would be able to recognize these failures and fix them before it gets to the point where a student feels violence is the only option. I really do look forward to continuing to read each story as the book continues.

Diversity Article

Abstract:
The article we read for assignment was called Diversity, Learning Style, and Culture and it was written by Pat Burke Guild. This article mainly talked about diversity in all aspects of students and learning in the classroom. Students are not only diverse racially, or economically, but also by different learning styles. We are all different by which we learn, think, behave, and conceptualize. In order to accommodate for these differences we must, as teachers, be willing to have diverse styles of teaching. Not every student is the same, thus teachers must not treat every student the same. This is the best way to maximize learning for every student.


Reflection:
After reading this article, I began to reflect on the multiple things my education professors have preached over the past three years about diversity. This article did a good job of summing up what they’ve been saying in each and every education class. We, as teachers, need to be able to reach all students, and we must be able to do that in different ways. This is so because there is so much diversity in every classroom as the article spoke upon, that for every student to reach their full potential teachers must be willing be diverse themselves. This was a great article to re-enforce the ideas my education professors have instilled the past three years.