Blog # 10 The good, the bad, and the ugly!

Hey Dr. Peterson,

I hope that things start getting a little more simple for you! My field experience has been great! I have learned a lot and am way excited to learn more. I would say that my bad experience would just be certain little 6th graders attitudes, and the uneccessarily low shirts they are deciding to wear at such a young age, BUT truthfully I would say that is more on the the ugly side of things;) The actualy bad is the stories I hear of what some of these students have as a home life. I really pray that they make it through! On a happier note I am learning so much. Tonz about classroom management, and I am very grateful for a teacher who still loves what she does and does it fully. Honestly the one thing that my heart does yearn for in this classroom of at risk kids is some real quality time with them that I feel could be accomplished through morning meetings. I yearn to see these kids open up, share, explore, and laugh. It is a good class they work hard and they work together, but I often day dream about what it would be like to have that insight into their spirits and get a little more of a taste of who they really are. As cheesy as that may sound it is very true.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Kelly

Blog #8

Which of one of the "differentiate-able" strategies shared in class this past week will you be most likely to try out, not including the one you presented? What about this strategy appeals to you? What do you understand about differentiating it rather than applying it in a general way?

I really liked the Journal ideas that were presented in class because I can really see myself wanting to have my students spill their hearts out to me, but not having it happen. Even though the journal won't make this happen for every student every day. I feel like if I focus on the student's needs enough and scaffold them in how to do it I may just strike the gold (that every child posses) at some point. I like the different ways of doing journals and I think that the way that they would do it for a book that we read as a class will not only be helpful for me to understand their thinking but also for them to begin to analyze and make connections to the text. Through the journal they will be able to express ideas that they may not even realize that they had.

I think that most people have experienced journal entries in many ways that were not differentiated but it can be differentiated instead of generalized by carefully planning the prompts, and by making the prompts meaningful and personal. I am excited to use this to help to differentiate learning in my classroom.

Blog #6 What I learned...

I chose to look at Heidi's blog. I found it interesting because she used the same differentiation idea that I did which I felt would benefit me because I was able to already know how the task worked and be able to see what she had caught about differentition that I had missed. I liked how she emphasized that this activity would help students look for heros in our every day life instead of ones like Superman. I believe this is important because it makes the project more meaningful to the individual student which is definitely part of differentiating. I also liked that she showed how she would differentiate in three different tiers. Planning plays a huge role in differentiating. If we as teachers are willing to take the time to plan our activities out to our students needs then both us and the individual students will benefit greatly.

Heros Unit Blog #5

As I was looking at the different unit ideas for differentiation I found that I really liked the "Cube It" idea. Even though this could be used as something to do with math or spelling, I also felt like it could be very applicable in this activity with Heroes. I thought it would be really fun to have them do this as maybe a follow up activity. I think I would first use one of the reading character activities and then as they come to see why the person they have researched is known as a "Hero", they can find their own real life hero. By doing this they would realize that heroes aren't just a thing of the past. They aren't just found in history books or during wars, but they are created all around us. We can choose to be a hero as we think outside ourselves and conquer our own hard things that may happen in life.

I think the kids would also think that this is an engaging and respectful activity because it's not just something that they write on a piece of paper, never to be looked at again. but it has engaging questions that are presented in a creative way. It is something that applies to them, and therefore it is something to be cherished and respected.

Blog #4 I'v got a golden ticket;)

5. Shared responsibility for the classroom is between teacher and students, in the goal of making it work for everyone.

A Non example- The teacher makes up 15 rules, places them on the board, and has the students recite them. She then tells the class that there will be consequences for not following those rules.

Example- The teachers asks the students to write down what a good classroom looks like (what is expected of the teacher, what is expected of the students, what does it feel like, etc.). Then after all students ideas are posted on the board they are discussed and then together as a class they decide what to make the classes own set of rules.

Help Students Realize Success is the Result of Effort
This is an area in which I would like to learn mor to be able to implement it. I think that so often we as a society get in our head that those people are smart, and those people are not, or those people succeed and those people fail. If you are in the group classified as being a failure then it is hard to get out of that and feel like you can ever acheive the goals that you desire. I want that to not be present in my classroom. I want students to understand that even though success may seem to come easier to some students, all can do it. All can succeed based upon what they are willing to sacrifice for it.

Blog #3 Metaphors

What do these metaphors tell you about differentiation?

Metaphor 1:
"We teach in our classrooms like hamsters in a wheel. There is more infromation in our disciplines to "cover" every year. We move as fast as we can, but we can never finish. The faster we move, it seems, the greater the expanse of information- the greater the expectation that we should be able to make the wheel turn faster yet." (pg. 58)

This metaphor, as stressful as it sounds, is very true of the educational system in which we teach. It seems like no matter what you do there will never be enough tim to cover all that is asked of you. If you ARE covering all you are supposed to then your students probablly aren't reataining 90% of the knowledge you are conveying to them. Either because you have gone over it too quickly, or because you have not had time to give life and meaning to the materials at hand. If either of these are the case then you definitely had not had time to get know the students as individuals and therefore there is no way that you are differentiation. That is what we signed up for as teachers, and the only way to even try to obtain the ambitious goal that we have set for ourselves is to differentiate. We must attempt to meet our student's needs as individuals. Eve the best teachers are going to leave some students behind if they are not taking the time in their "hamster wheel run" to differentiate.

Metaphor 2:

"Just as the teacher is primary architect of the physical attributes of the classroom, so he or she initiates the affective climate of the classroom." (pg. 38)

I love this metaphor because it is so tangible. I can see myself putting up the posters, pictures, and bulletin boards that will decorate my classroom. I see decorated name tags securely taped to each desk with every individual child's name neatly written. I will be the architect of such a physical atmosphere. I will be the sole creator and designer. Just as this metaphor suggests, I will aslo be the independent variable in the architecture of my classroom climate. If I choose not to know my students they will know, and any other person who walks into my classroom will also feel that void. The void of unity, of understanding, of friendship, and of fulfilled needs. At the same time if I choose to empower my students then it will be evident through the climat that I structure in my class. They may not know the word for it, but they will feel whether I have differentiated in my classroom. I think that some of our biggest problems in the world today comes frm individuals not realizing their impact upon those around them. I believe that I don't fully comprehend my personal impact. I think much damage is done when individuals resolve, "What does it really matter... Who cares what I say?...or think?... or the way I act?" The list goes on of things that people say or do because they are carelessly hurtful, damaging, or just negligent, becaue of their ignorance to realize their impact on the world. At the same time, much good can come from those that resolve to make a difference in the world despite obstacles that stand in their way. Some may face economical challenges. Others may be fighting their own personal weaknesses and fears. No one makes it through life unscathed. We do make a difference. From smiling at the person next to you in the check our line, to the climate you set in your class for 24 elementary aged students. If we are willing to step up to the possibilities that lie within each of us, then we can do great things.

Blog #2

Emotions trump learning... What does mean?

- From the book specifically it means... "If a child feels unsafe, threatened, or insecure, the brain blocks off the pathways to learning and attends to the more basic human needs instead. If a teacher connects learning to a child's emotions, she is more likely to learn thatn if what is being taught remains remote to her emotions."

Humans are amazing creatures. We don't just learn and grow, BUT we feel, and we connect. We connect with what we see, we connect with what we hear, and with people we encounter. In fact our strongest learning experiences, for good or bad, come from learning that connects with us more than just mentally, but emotionally. Because this connection is so powerful we will naturally protect ourselves from having these connecti0ns until we have proven it to be a safe environment around safe people. If we determine that the environment is unsafe then not only will we refuse ourselves those fulfilling connections but we will shut ourselves off from learning completely.

My Father is an extremely smart man. He could help me with any homework that I needed guidance on. Most of the time this was a good thing, but occasionally the teaching came with frustration and impatience. If that was the case, if I was already confused and then he started getting irritated, or began to yell at me there was no hope at all in the homework area, I would just shut down completely. On the other hand I know that I have done the best learning in classrooms where I felt safe in voicing my opinion and asking for help.

Other quotes that I connected with...

"Much of growing up has to do with increasing the dominion one has over one's world."

As I reflect over my life I find this to be very true personally. The more you grow and begin to find the real you the more you desire to take control of your life. Being the youngest of five kids it seems like gaining that power over my world has been harder for me to claim then most of my siblings because they will always view me as the little girl of the family. I have noticed that I am drawn to things and people who help me to feel empowered. Sometimes this occurs in a classroom, sometimes this occurs with a close friend who believes in me, and sometimes it occurs through venturing to a different country;) I want my students to always feel empowered. I want them to know that i believe in their abilities to do hard things. To fulfill what they thought they couldn't do, or what they have always wanted to do.

"There is something transforming about taking a risk to attain a goal that seems out of reach and discovering that we can extend our reach to grasp what seemed elusive."

I feel bad for continuing to talk about China so much but it really was one of the biggest (if not THE biggest) learning experience for me. Going abroad to teach children just seemed like something that other people could do, but not me. Taking the steps to get there were really hard, but not because of the actual process. Simply because I had to transform into someone who took challenges and succeeded in the face of people telling me I couldn't do it. I am still learning that I can do hard things, but those challenging things that require us to reach inside of us and take strength from where we didn't know we had it are often the most poignant and dear.

"Classrooms are places designed to forge democracy, dignity, and diversity... schools exist to prepare young people to contribute to their world as informed thinkers, thoughtful citizens and decent human beings- that we are entering a moral contract between ourselves, our students, and our society to contribute in every way to those outcomes."\

Wow! I have a such a huge responsibility as a future teacher! If you look at the world that we live in today it is easy to see that we really do have our work cut out for us. Students keep coming to school with less and less already being learned and less and less support from home for what they learn at school. This can't thwart our striving to give the students the kind of education we would want for our own child. I think so many problems in the world come from not realizing the power and influence that we have as individuals. If we only understood the ways that we could make a difference for the better we would live very different lives. We must realize this as we enter our own classrooms because we can be the difference in these children's lives.