Subject: Curriculum and Instruction
I believe that Curriculum and Instruction handled by powerful educators can lead to a life changing experience in which all students are empowered to become learners and leaders in their lives.
I believe this because (relate to personal/professional experience): I had the opportunity to be apart of an organization that helped me as a student to feel empowered to change myself and help to improve my world. I was in high school and went to an accelerated learning program that taught me character, leadership, communication, academic strategies. It was a complete personal development, and when we can implement that into a classroom we can provide learning that inspires our students to become more than they thought they could.
Lots of issues/aspects of designing an engaging and empowering curriculum: For example: implementing brain based research into lessons, building positive rapport with students, focusing on character as well as academics, having students feel as if they a part of the curriculum not detached, making learning fun and implementing a progressive approach which allows for students to learn not just theory but application.
I’d like to talk about: Implementing application as well as theory into the classroom. We need to provide more then lectures, we can provide so much more then lectures. We as educators have the chance to give students a way of connecting the learning.
A common mantra that is heard by math teachers everywhere is “When am I ever going to use this”. I think that this question is one that we should be able to answer at anytime as an educator, we and our students need to know how the learning is going to help them in their life. Yet how can we use the new platform that common core has given is to show students how to produce, how to connect the learning in the classroom to the reality outside the classroom? Learning for the sake of learning is a wonderful thing, yet if we want students to feel engaged and passionate about their work we need to show them it matters.
If every student was aware of how to use their learning and then we as educators provided them a chance to produce, make, display, act, use, showcase, develop, or apply the learning then we can provide them not just an education but an experience in application. We have the opportunity to connect math, science, history, english, technology, and art into students everyday lives. We can design projects, schedule internships, hold exhibitions or performances, anything that will allow the students to submerge into the learning.
Subsection template: School Culture/Discipline/Climate
Subject: School Culture, Discipline, Climate
I believe that school culture, climate and discipline are the interactions that will set the tone for academics, student interaction with staff and peers and how effective the learning is.
I believe this because I have seen many schools in San Diego, elementary, middle, high, and K-12. Each one of these had a specific and unique culture that gave a glimpse into what each school determined important for student interactions, student learning and what behavior was considered appropriate.
I was able to spend a few days within XYZ elementary school and my time there was amazing. The staff were all very polite to me, they smiled and introduced themselves. They also treated the students with the same level of politeness, saying good morning and inquiring about their day. Inside every classroom there is a chart full of stickers, that when a student does something good they get a sticker for their class. The result was the class working together to get stickers, which once filled would result in a reward of some kind. The learning at the school was impressive; every classroom was organized, station learning and technology were effectively implemented, students could work and concentrate on their work very well. After a few days of observation I learned that it was due to school culture, the students knew when they had to work, what behavior was appropriate and how they were safe at school and had nothing to worry about other then their work. After visiting other schools who did not have these expectations in place, it was clear to see how culture makes a big difference.
Lots of issues/aspects of School Culture : For example making sure that every student feels welcomed and safe at the school, positive behavior is encouraged by staff, positive behavior is modeled by staff to students and visitors, negative behavior is dealt with compassion and care, clear expectations are given for behavior inside of class and during school and staff uses restorative behavior techniques for re engaging students back into positive culture.
I’d like to talk about positive behavior is modeled by staff to students and visitors. I was lucky enough to work at a middle school called ABC middle. While I was only here for one day I had a clear glimpse into school culture, discipline and climate before I even met a student. I was told by 4 different staff members that I was going to have a rough day with these students, every teacher believed that these students were hard to work with and seemed agitated.
This is a clear sign into a dismay or implementation of a negative culture. When students, staff, visitors, parents, come into our school they need to feel welcomed and accepted. If we design and build a school culture that perpetuates a negative feel that everyone is a problem and every student is going to be a challenge, then that is what we will see a challenge. We have to build a place where if someone makes a mistake we look to help them, we seek to understand them, we are trying to do no harm. School culture affects and builds the infrastructure on which our instruction stands upon. Through restorative practices and seeking to make school feel like it is a welcoming place where students are accepted is and must be one of our top priorities.
Subsection template: Parent and Community Involvement
Subject: Parents and Community Involvement
I believe that parents are the first teachers in our lives and they have a profound effect when they engage in their child’s learning.
I believe this because, growing up as a child my parents used to read to me every night. I was a very early reader and have always enjoyed reading. When I entered high school I took a reading assessment to see where I placed, at 14 years old I had a college reading level. Being able to be literate at an early age and also having a high level of literacy really helped me excel in my academic career. It is due to my parents that I can attribute this success for reading with me every night.
Lots of issues/aspects of parent involvement : For example parents at an early age of their children can start to read with them to help them develop literacy skills needed to perform in school, parents can connect the learning by working with their children at night to show them connection and relevance to life, parents can volunteer at the school to help build school culture though events and activities, and parents can join SSC or PTA to stay involved in the leadership and direction of their child’s school.
I’d like to talk about: Parent involvement in school culture. I was working at a charter school that was just getting started, we were coming to the last six weeks of the school year. One of our main pillars was that student work was to be showcased and displayed for students to be able to exhibit their work. We invited all of the students parents and families to come to see the work, we wanted their to be a level of professionalism shown by the students and to help create a sense of pride in the work that they had made. When we held our first exhibition the school was full of families and parents watching their students present and show their work and their learning through the semester. That night every student in our school was presenting and taking questions from an audience about their work, overall the night was a huge success. This night helped to define and build our school culture, students knew that their work was relevant and important and now they had the platform to tell an audience why it was important. Our exhibition helped to build a culture of student pride in their work and it could not have happened without the involvement of our parents in building our school.
Subsection template: Technology
Subject: Technology
I believe that: Technology will allow for a more comprehensive individualized instruction that leads to more relevant learning about real world learning and applications. Technology is a tool, a tool that can help us to make education blended with traditional teaching methodologies more effective.
I believe this because, having technology in a room as an educator can make a world of difference. When I was in elementary schools we did not have a lot of electronic technology, we had a VCR and a TV for when it rained, which in San Diego is about 3 times a year. As I work in all different grade levels I see so much technology getting used in the classroom and it is amazing on the learning that can be acquired. In one week I observed an elementary school where students use iPads to use apps like Razkids and STMath to help boost their skills, I also watched a class of 12th graders in Economics determine market value and profitability of their faux stock portfolio using their classroom laptops. This is all possible due to the technology that we have been able to implement into our classrooms.
For example use of online apps that can help students boost reading or math scores (math for all grades, reading mostly for primary grades), have students due research in class to instruct them on how to perform quality research, use sharing forums like google suite where they can access a common document, perform projects that have them collaborate outside of school, and learn how to use the internet in a safe way.
I’d like to talk about using apps for sharing work like google suite (gmail, google drive, etc.). We are coming to an age where we can share things instantly in the workforce. As documents and files start to become more and more obtainable through intranets and cloud drives we need to prepare our students for the world that they will be entering and helping to create. We as educators can help them by incorporating more sharing in our classroom; release a prompt on google drive, have a class discussion on a forum, create group presentations and require critique and feedback from other students. The list is endless on the ways that we can start to have our students to share their work that they have done with their classmates. What this will do will require students to put more effort into their work knowing that someone else other then the teachers is going to be looking at it, make sure that we have collaboration in our teaching so that our classrooms resemble a cohort or group of learners not 30 individuals learning the same thing with no sharing of idea.
We are at a stage where we can start to transform our education system to be more productive and effective. More then anytime before we have resources that can be obtained for every classroom to have technology, for every classroom to learn these skills.