Chapter 11

This was a very interesting and informational chapter. There is so much to know about standards, testing and grading. As it says in the chapter administrators, teachers and students have different perspectives about standards. Administrators and teachers are concerned about performances on tests so it is good to have standards for students but students are concerned with the learning being meaningful and interesting. Thats why i believe that administrators and teachers should create standards based around information that is actually useful and fun to learn for the students because then they will more likely reach those standards set by the administrators. I also like having standards because its a goal to meet and you should always have a goal your trying to reach in your life at all times. It said in the book that in the past some students from poor families or minority groups were held to lower standards and expectations than other students. Now though we have standards that everyone should be meeting no matter your social status or ethnicity basically everyone is capable of acheiving the same goals as others when it comes to education. It is the teachers job though to make the learnig interesting and fun and to push the students to learn and remember things.

Chapter 10

I do find it important how a classroom is set up and the climate it has. If students feel unsafe or uncomfortable they are not going to pay attention and learn. Thats why it is important to make your classroom fun, safe, and comfortable for your students so that they can feel comfortable. Also i understand how important it is to be the authority figure in the classroom your usually the only adult so its your job to watch all the students and make sure things are going along smoothly. There are times when im sure it will be really hard to do that for example if you have two students fighting you need to go seperate them but at the same time another student is pouring glue all over the floor. Thats why i feel it is important to establish a relationship with the students one that says im your friend but im also in charge. You dont want to rule over the kids like a dictator because the students and you will end up hating that classroom. But at the same time you need to be firm when you talk to the students about rules and regulations so they understand they are there for a reason and are important. Also how the classroom is set up is important, if everything is smooshed together the students and you will feel clustered and frustrated. Thats why it is good to really take time to think about the best way to set up your classroom. Also time management is key especially with young students it is important to keep them on task becuase when they start getting crazy it can be hard to get them to focus but again thats where your authority comes in if you have good relationships with the students and they know to listen to the teacher then you should not have a problem. I really enjoyed this chapter it is definitely information i will be using.

Chapter 9

I really enjoyed this chapter it gave me really good insight into childrens minds and behaviors at certain ages. The figure on page 293 of Erikson's eight stages is very interesting it reminds me of Freuds stages of development. Also the figure on page 292 was and will be very helpful when trying to get an understanding of children at certain ages. I also found the eight intelligences interesting i didnt know there were so many types. It is so important for teachers to be flexible with their teaching methods so that all the students with or with out disabilities can understand and learn. Im very happy to know that there are laws for the disabled which allows them to attend school for free and still get an equal education. Im still nervous about having to teach classes of all different abilities and disabilities but im excited for the challenge.

Chapter 8

I enjoyed this chapter for the most part. It is interesting but not surprising that the U.S. will be half white half minority by 2025. I was kind of surprised though that they said white and minority i guess i didnt think about it that African Americans are minority. Also probably by 2050 there will be no majority of a single group which im actually looking forward to. Hopefully people will stop saying minorities i mean i know it is to describe a group of people that are less in number than the majority but in some ways i feel it is racist i only hear people use the word minorities to describe bad behaving people. Im glad that schools are promoting equal education opportunities it is very important for all the student to feel like they are welcome and part of the class even if they are the only African American in the class. All teachers should become familiar with their students culture, linguistic background and learning styles. Even if you have a whole class of white children does not mean they all believe in the same thing or practice the same traditions. It is so very important to reach the kids and let them know "hey i get where your coming from, i understand why you might feel a certain way". It would make kids feel so much more safe and secure in their classroom if they feel like they can be themselves and not have to worry about being different. I think teachers should teach kids about their differences and how it makes them all unique and special and important to that class, if you make them feel as though they are a part of that class and not an outsider then they will become involved in class and enjoy it.

John Dewey

I found the beginning of this article hard to follow im not sure if it was because of the words he used or just how he explained his beliefs but i think i agree with him in the first section about educational process has two sides, psychological and sociological. I do though definitely agree with him when he says that, "education, therefore, is a process of living and not a preparation for future living" because its true i mean we may think that the puropose of school is to give us an education for the future but really its to teach us how to learn so that we can learn everyday. Even after you graduate highschool or college you still are learning new things everyday. He also says, "I believe that interests are the signs and symptoms of growing power. Accordingly the constant and careful observation of interests is of the utmost importance for the educator". I agree with that also because if we as teachers want our students to pay attention we need to know what their interested in so we can somehow incorporate those interests into the lessons. John has a lot of beliefs when it comes to education and schools a lot of which i couldnt follow but some of which i was able to interpret and understand.

Chapter 7

I enjoyed reading this chapter because it had a lot of important and helpful information in it. I also liked how with each subsection there was a short story of a teacher or student who has dealt with a problem dealing with that subsection. I'm glad that teachers have legal rights like tenure so that you cant just be fired for no good reason like financial cut backs. I didnt know there were so many laws dealing with copyright but i'm glad they outlined the laws of copyright materials. It talked about how some schools allow certain religious activities in the classroom. I dont think this is a good idea especially now a days because as it said earlier in the chapter, your going to have many students with different religious background in your class and it would not be fair to practice christian religion but not hinduism. I think that religion should just be left out of the classroom and practiced outside school on their own time. I also liked how they give you a table of physical and behavioral indicators of child abuse and neglect.

Chapter 6

This chapter was very informational about funding and influences when it comes to schools. I think it is a good thing that the majority of schools have a state board of education. We need people to keep things going financially and make sure schools are performing their duties. When i first found out that when you live somewhere you paid school taxes even if you dont have kids going to that school i thought it was bogas. But now i dont feel that way i mean it stinks for people who dont have kids in the school system but with out their taxes the schools around them would have only the revenues they get from the state and federal levels. Which is not enough for all that a school needs so its harder for schools where there is an insufficent tax base. So i think it is imporatnt for poeple to keep helping fund schools s that the generations to come can have the same education opportunities or more as the generations before.