Why I'm Majoring in Education

I chose this article, mostly because I've stumbled upon it multiple times and I also wanted to bring back The Odyssey from my first paper on the digital age. 

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/why-im-majoring-in-education

I also figured a light, enjoyable read would be a nice touch to end the semester with. A reminder of why we are going into this field.

It may not be the highest paying salary and it may be tough being "stuck in school", however the rewards from working with the students is amazing. This article especially speaks to you elementary majors working with the young kids, but this can also apply to the secondary ed teachers. I mean, I'm in college and I still love arts and crafts- so high school students definitely will too!

Working in a school also gives your the opportunity for endless learning. As we get older, I see it more and more as technology advances, the older generations begin to fall behind. Being in schools, the students you teach will always be up to date. You will always be able to learn from them. They will teach you whats new, they will point out a different interpretation of the book you're teaching in class, or they will share the most recent gossip that is going around the school. Whatever it is, you will always be learning.

The feeling of helping a student find their passion, reach a goal or just helping a student get through a break up. It's the little things that happen daily in a school that is truly rewarding. You may also say that you get dealt a hand that you may not be sure about. Well, the students that are always appreciative and well behaved make up for the few that may give you a hard time.

The summers, the holidays, the weekends.. they make up for all of the hard work you put into your lessons every day. Although you may be continuing to work on those lessons those days, at least you can do that from the couch or your beach chair.

This also leads to an article my friend wrote, that I could've easily written about a few of my teachers in the past, too.

https://www.theodysseyonline.com/thank-you-to-the-best-teachers-ever-had

The students that recognize your hard work, the students that are impacted by a simple "how are you?" in the hallway, and the students that look up to you as a role model are the students that make your job worth it. The students you build bonds with over tears or over a disagreement because they skipped your class. You build relationships with students, sometime closer than anyone else. You push them to be their greatest, to reach their full potential. These are the students that make teaching the best job in the world.These are the good things that make the low salary, the long days and the hard work put into lessons worth it all. 

My First Education Conference #justteach

Front row for Linda Christensen (Left to Right: Frankie, Sarah, Kelli, Jessica, Caitlin) (PC: Dr. Johnson)

Hey everyone! I am so excited to share my experience from the RI Writing Project conference, especially for those who weren't able to make it. We missed you!!

The day started off with breakfast and the keynote speaker, Linda Christensen. As you can, expect those were both enjoyable to me! Christensen played a video:
https://youtu.be/qtOXiNx4jgQ
In this video, Denice speaks in her own accent mixing both Spanish and English to discuss her mother's accent. She says, "My momma hold her accent like a shotgun, with two good hands". Her mother uses English and Spanish together, to work with each other to keep her heritage alive as well as be able to communicate and embrace the life she has with two languages. I love the final line also, "her accent is a stubborn compass always pointing towards home". We discussed at the conference in our group the different accents in America. A question arose that really stuck with me... Why are some accents thought of being attractive and intelligent, while others are discouraged?

Another activity that I found amazing was called a Tea Party! I love this idea or a classroom activity also! We were all assigned a role and we were to share our stories with the other people. While listening to these stories, I looked into the common themes among the roles. These people were all forced to assimilate to the dominant culture and suppress their native language. The students we got to see in a video were students of Linda Christensen.... I wish I was in that class!! Anyways, these students completed the same assignment and they were able to make so many connections, including their own lives. I thought I loved Christensen while reading her book, but being able to listen to her speak to us on the issues of power and privilege, share her own teaching experiences and lessons and answer questions was something I will never forget.

Changing gears now.. moving to small workshops.
First up, The Importance of Putting Down Roots: Greek and Latin. Here, the two speakers had three stations of activities set up to teach the meaning of the roots and using a variety of words to students. We made riddles to reveal our words with specific roots, we played a game similar to go-fish to create words made with roots, bases and suffixes and we completed revising student work just by looking at overused and oversimplified words that could be expanded on. This workshop was very helpful in providing lessons that I will keep noted for a future classroom! Not to mention the fun I had while engaging in the activities!!

#selfie #meaningfulwriters #justteach

Last, and unfortunately my least favorite part of the day was Miracle Minis: Small Lessons to Teach Effective Narrative Writing. At first I thought I was just jealous I wasn't in Christensen's workshop, but I then continued to be disappointed. We went over a few lessons and examples of how to help students but the majority of the workshop was revolved around writing our own narrative.. actually the teacher was writing out a narrative. I would have liked to have a lot more focus on how to teach writing narratives and on the little lesson worksheets we were given because I already went through high school, college and have taken extensive English courses where I know how to write an effective narrative, but I had never seen the handouts for the lessons that we received. It was nice of the speakers to plan and take their time to share their knowledge with us, after the first two amazing sessions, I was expecting a little bit more from this one.

Overall, this was a wonderful first experience at an education conference. I am so happy I was able to share this experience with a few of my classmates. This made the day even more fun, while I learned a ton! I can't wait to look into more conferences and I will be keeping an eye out this time next spring for the annual writing project conference!

6+1 Trait Writing Model

The 6+1 Trait Writing Model

1. Ideas 
2. Organization
3. Voice
4. Word Choice
5. Sentence Fluency
6. Conventions
7. Presentation 

A model for effective writing that isn't limiting or overly specific in terms of standards to be met, but rather a more passive, more personal set of qualities for a paper.

I love this because I think it is a perfect piece to give to students after writing a first draft. When revising I think students can look at this list and see if they have these in their writing. It is just enough to where it isn't overly powerful, but it can pull the writers best work out of them. It can also highlight the student's personality in their writing and allow the student to have power in their writing. It is important for students to feel like they have some power and and are able to express their individuality. Meanwhile, the student also has enough direction that they can learn and improve their writing skills.

English As Another Language

Pahl and Rowsell, Artifactual Literacies
This chapter focuses on the significance of personal objects and/or artifacts. Attached to the objects in someones life are experiences and memories. As stated by Pahl and Rowsell, "we have found that eliciting stories about objects from students opens up their home experience and enables teachers to access communities that may not be visible within schools" (1). I think this relates to many of the readings we have done in class regarding narrative writing.

It is important to have students write about what they are familiar with and enjoy so you can get to know them better as a person and a student. You may also get an insight as to what they experience at home, their cultural backgrounds and practices and you can then offer more personal assistance to help them meet their needs. As you get to know the student, it will be easier to understand what they are doing during class time and why.

The chapter then goes into discussing literacies, as we have discussed in class over the course of the semester. I think that Pahl and Rowsell explain literacies perfectly when he states, "The word literacies signals that literacy is multiple, diverse, and multilingual and spans domains of practice, from home to school to community, and in each domain there are different literacies"(4). Students can use their object and then tell their story in different ways. Poetry, music, videos, narratives, or drawings are all different types of texts that can be used in the classroom to tell the student's story.

It was also mentioned in class that objects can be used to learn something new. If an object is unknown, a students can use their imagination to write about what it may be or what it reminds them of. This may be challenging but can also improve writing and help the students learn about and unfamiliar object.

Fu, Chapters 2-4
Students who's native language is different than English, should be encouraged to speak their native language often, while learning the English language. Students are often told to speak English in class and at home, however taking away the native language may just set the student behind academically instead of moving them forward. Fu discusses the set backs students may face when trying to write only in English. They may get a serious form of writers block and their ideas may not translate over the same way. This could take away from how a student thinks, the topics they develop, organizing their thoughts and many of the important details that would contribute to the story. Fu states, "Letting them continue to write in their first language gives them the opportunity to further develop these skills"(29).

I think it is important to encourage the students to keep their native language and use it often at home. I loved reading and looking over all of the examples Fu provides of the student's work throughout the stages  of writing development. Despite how I fully believe in what I read this week and I understand how important and helpful it is to learn to be bilingual, I am concerned for myself going into teaching these students. I do not know how I will be able to help and assess the student when I do not fluently speak any other languages, most of which I do not have the slightest background in learning.

I'm sure we will discuss this in class, but if anyone has any feedback, I would love to hear it!

Quick Write 3/14

2. Of the many strategies that Gallagher introduces in chapters 2 and 3, they all are centered around the ideas of (a) giving plenty of time for students to practice writing and (b) modeling writing practices as a teacher. When do you think each can be used most effectively in your classroom? Can you think of a time where you found success after plenty of practice time? What about a time when you learned the best by watching someone model the activity?

"Good things come from hard work!" --Dad 
The one thing I love about classes is having a writer's notebook. Just like in many math classes, having a "warm-up" each day helps students get ready for each class. A writer's notebook also allows students to use their own creativity and get the grade for the effort they put in rather than what they write. I enjoy our quick writes in class where it isn't graded so much on what we write or how much we write, but the effort and participation. In our class, our awesome professor, also writes with us and shares her entries. This is a great example of modeling. 

Modeling is important when teaching a student how to do something for the first time, when giving directions that could be difficult to understand for one or more students, and for encouraging participation in class. It is also important to model imperfections. Students should feel comfortable sharing their work with you, even if it isn't perfect. Which leads to revising and editing. These two need to be taught and modeled. I remember one class I was in in Jr. High School we were asked to peer review. We had no idea what to do.. so the only editing we did for each other was look at spelling errors and missed capitalizations. Students need to be show examples of good revising so they are able to make their work better and help their classmates when peer reviewing. 

I learn best through my own practice after watching someone else complete the task. When playing sports my dad would always say "Good things come from hard work". And he was right. Without practice, you will never reach your full potential. It is important to encourage students to not only practice their hobbies, but also what they are learning in school. I also used to watch videos for softball of other teams. I learn best by writing things down to remember so I used to watch and write step-by-step what they did in the video. I did this mostly for pitching and hitting in softball. Over time after watching many videos on how to though different pitches, and practicing all year round, I became a much better pitcher. 

I love the similar relation between practicing hobbies and work in school. It is important to make these relations when explaining to students or else you may never connect. The student may think of the practice work as extra work that is just a time filler. It is also important to model both the imperfect and the revised work so your students can see what to do and how to do it better. 

No One Rises To Low Expectations

The Politics of the Paragraph, Michelle Kenney
I began to read this article and thought.. "I think I've read this before." Turns out I did... Sarah had posted it on twitter at the beginning of the semester using our hashtag .  I continued to read for a second time because it just hits home and is relevant to what we will be discussing in class.


I found the story about Erica and her writing experience extremely relatable. I also remember we briefly discussed the structuring of graphic organizers when discussing the different literacies. The graphic organizer is an example of functional literacy. Like discussed in this piece, it limits the writer to thinking they can only write a certain amount and in a certain way. The final writing piece should exceed this expectation and allow the student to express themselves and use their own creativity.

The structure of writing is often taught so intensely using different graphic organizers rather than teaching the writer or recognizing the amazing writing the student has in their work. Like Kenney says, some of the best writers get tied up in trying to fit the format they are expected to write in that they can't think creatively and write as best as they can.

I definitely think there needs to be a type of organizer as an introduction to writing, but throughout the year it should be used less and less. Like Kenney, I think that writing templates are like training wheels and they do help many students along the writing process. However, I also agree that sometimes students can write better and should be excused from writing according to a specific template. As a teacher, I am looking forward to recognizing when a student understands what should be in a paper and letting them go free to write their paper without a given direction.

Chapters 2-4, Kelly Gallagher
WOW! This reading holds a ton of information and resources as a future teacher.

To start, I love how Gallagher compares teaching writing in the classroom to coaching basketball. You cannot expect a player to go out on game day and win without plenty of practice. Students need to practice writing often and different variations in order to write well. One thing he also writes about is the writers notebook, which I full believe in. It is a place for students to practice writing, have an outlet to express themselves, and also see their own development as a writer.

I also enjoyed looking over the in class writing activities. He not only tells about them and the advantages for the students and the teacher, but also gave examples. I think it is important for students to view examples, just like I do.

This leads into the next chapter. Similar to Kenney using her own writing as a model for her students, Gallagher writes about the different ways to model for your students. Modeling can be done to show students that first drafts are just a draft. First drafts shouldn't be perfect and the best way to show this to student's is for them to see your imperfections. Modeling throughout the writing process is also important and I enjoyed this chapter.


The 4:1 Grading stuck out the most to me in this chapter. I often was graded in math on or science on the completion of my homework for effort. Then we would go over it in class to check our answers and go over any problems we had trouble with. I think this is also important in English classes. A student who has everything they write graded with notes all over it will potentially get discouraged. It is important to give credit for the effort they put into writing as well as some assignments that are assessed and gone over.

Finally, using other outlets for modeling was discussed by Gallagher. He discusses using restaurants, movies and magazines as pieces for reviews. These are important to use because students will be personally reviewing these on their own throughout their lives. I love bringing real world elements into the classroom, especially to help students become better writers and more familiar with literacy outside the classroom.

Personal vs. Personalized

Let's Get Personal

Personalized learning and personal learning are defined differently, but can both be intertwined in the classroom. Julie Coiro discusses the concerns and the resolutions regarding personalized learning. From what I understood, Coiro mentioned how she is against the most intense versions of personalized learning and more supportive of a balanced classroom setting. She quotes "that building deep conceptual understanding and higher-order thinking requires intensive student-teacher interactions, and technology sometimes distracts from this valuable human engagement".

Now that I've looked more closely into this article, I agree with this statement, because as a student on my own, I use technology often in class but also find advantages in meeting with teachers in person and taking notes on pen and paper. I also would motivate myself often instead of just learning from a teacher in the classroom and I think that should be encouraged for everyone. As an example, I would play with a multiplication leapfrog toy before I even learned all the multiplication tables. I also played many games as a kid, where I would pass certain levels with ease and other levels I would need more time and help with. Sometimes I would even ask a friend or family member help me with it. This relates to personalized learning in the classroom.



Think about it. What if you were stuck playing a video game at level one until the rest of your class was at the same level. And then level two, three and so fourth. You had no other way to play higher levels because you were restricted to that level. How boring.

I understand that there are classes that are separated by grade and into lower and high level classes, however still not all thirty students are learning at the same rate. With personalized learning, teachers can create lessons that fit the needs, interests and level of each student. The teacher can then still meet with students, still create a personal relationship with students, but the students can move along the lessons at their own pace and not be left behind, while the lower level students can feel more comfortable asking for individual help and they can actually learn more.

Netflixing Human Capital Development 
The article by Roberts-Mahoney compares personalized learning to Netflix Amazon and Pandora. When someone is watching a show, Netflix uses the type of show to suggest other similar shows based on the genre of show or the main plot. Amazon and Pandora also do something similar, suggesting other items to buy or other songs to listen to, based on what you have searched and bought in the past or the genre of music that is being listened to most often. Students can also get this through personalized learning. The computer can generate what level the students are at and display other lessons that relate to where they are.

Assessments can also be designed online to fit the best way to show understanding of the content. Not to mention, depending on the student, they could also meet with the teacher to complete an assessment because personalized learning does not completely cut out the teacher's position. I think that this was a good point to make, although it is creepy that the computers can tell what we are most interested in based on the click of a button. However, I do think this customized learning plan would be beneficial in the classroom and the analogy stood out as a great description of what it should look like in practice.

Developing Teacher Candidates in a Networked World
The first point was striking to me. I never even thought about how even before you are born nowadays, you have a digital footprint on some media site. Seeing as how they are though, they enter the digital world very young and it is true that technology impacts every aspect of our lives now. Technology can be used to improve the classroom and really get students engages.

I also like the next point made, that there does need to be models of appropriate usages of how to learn online. I thought of our class twitter hashtags we have going #meaningfulwriters and how are all teaching one another a small lesson every time we share something. Students can also learn how to find accurate research and information to share with others. The teacher can then look at these posts online, look into the students posts and make connections and assignments based on what they are interested in learning more about.

Technology has become a huge part of our world and I think it is important to bring this into the classroom to meet each student. I also believe in making personal connections with each students as well, but so far from what I've researched on personalize learning, they can both be applied in the classrooms.

Poetry---> "Thoughts From Me Right To Your Heart"

Chapter One: Writing Poetry 
 
"We don't build communities instead of working on academics. We build communities while we work on academics" (Christensen 14).

As mentioned before, I am a firm believer in student centered learning. I would like to reach every student and build a positive community in my classroom. I am not someone who wants to only build community, or I would be more interested in topics such as psychology, sociology or something else. However, I chose education. I chose to be a person to also focus on academics. To better not only the student as a person, but also to educate them to succeed in school and in life. It is our job as teachers to find a way to intertwine these two.

Through poetry, I believe this is a great way to merge building community while also focusing on academics such as vocabulary, similes and metaphors, and structure. The different structures of poems is important, but there are also many different types of poems or even free verse that can be practiced.The many different types of poems is important to be reaching all students. While some students may be better and enjoy haikus, others may practice slam poetry better. Especially students who are highly interested in music. I like the idea of building community, reaching every student, while also focusing on education.

"She said, "It helped to know that I wasn't the only one with problems. When you shared your stories, I could see a teacher who made it out." Students--  and teachers-- who don't face these struggles gain compassion by listening to their classmates' stories."

I also loved this passage by Christensen. I think it is important to show your struggles. I remember in high school, I was in 12th grade-- I was struggling with family at home, I had senior project, I had a terrible break up, I wasn't getting along with one of my teachers, and I was stressing about colleges. I walked into my English class and my teacher had no makeup on, puffy eyes and just was not her cheery self. We could all tell something was wrong. So she told us her situation... she was telling her high school class her adult life situation. And at first, I was confused. Why would she be telling us this? Of course, we were there for her. Most students thought of her as their favorite, I did too. But this not only let her vent to us, but also let us understand that not everyone has a perfect life. But you get up, you go to work, you move forward and its okay not to be okay once in a while. It's important to be yourself and it's even more important to let your students know you aren't perfect.



Forgotten Items
Similarly to Christensen, Macaluso discusses how poetry can tell about an experience. The poem Forgotten Items draws a picture in your mind of the couple she saw in the supermarket, it uses descriptions that could not just be accurately told in a conversation. The analogy with the orange juice really puts you in the shoes of this elderly woman to feel how she feels. I think the best part of poetry is that the writer can show their experience using the sounds, lighting, scents and it can be beautifully written and spoken out loud.

"Poems can alter the way you see the world"(Macaluso).
This quote stuck out to me and really reminded my of Christensen's reference to gaining compassion. Even if you have not experiences this lonely feeling that this old woman felt, after reading this poem, I felt this weight. The references were also memorable. After reading this, pouring my glass of orange juice was completely different. The effect a poem has, is typically much more sentimental, much more meaningful than an average essay. The language used and developed will not only create better writers, but also create a compassionate classroom community.

Meaningful Writing and Co-teaching

Co-teaching. So two teachers working together? 
Yes, but Emdin writes about so much more than that. 
He discusses that students can also be teachers.
Students... teachers? Yes. Working with students to not only teach them the content, but also teach them to be teachers. Most of the time when teachers do so, the students don't even pick up on it. Working in groups and partners can help so many students learn. Especially if there is a student that can interpret the content to another student in a way that is easier to understand. In high school I always seemed to know what I was learning or I was able to pick up on it quickly. However, my first semester at CCRI I was completely overwhelmed and the workload was more than I had ever experienced. One of the classes I really struggled with was General Psychology. I tried so hard, but continuously felt like I wasn't progressing. I ended up getting a D, for the first time in my life. I was devastated and knew it wouldn't transfer over so I decided to retake it. This next time, after going over the chapter my professor would have us work in partners and review. I would sit down with a partner or a group of students and we would discuss what would be on the next exam. When talking it over with my peers, they seemed to make a lot more sense and make more relatable analogies so I could relate to the content and understand it on a more personal level. I think it is important to be able to make time for your students to work together and help one another for instances where you may just not have the right words to teach a student and someone else does. I like even more that Edmin looks at it as another example of co-teaching placing the students at the same power level as the teacher.


Both Christensen and Gallagher discuss the most meaningful writing.

Specifically, Christensen writes about Narrative Writing. Being able to write about your own life, your own situations or something that is most meaningful to you is important. Narratives may seem like informal writing pieces to some, but the student is able to develop the same writing skills as if writing an essay. One of my favorite high school writing pieces is my college essay that I wrote my senior year. This was all about my life and goals as a student. I think the reason why colleges ask for these personal writing pieces, not only to see what your background is, but also so they can see your best and most meaningful writing skills.

Similarly, Gallagher discusses "The Power of Choice". I immediately thought of our everyday quick writes in class. We are given two questions with the option to write about something else.I also thought about our first writing assignment, we were all able to write about our personal histories. Like Gallagher states, two benefits of choice are:
1.) ownership in the writer, which in turn creates a stronger work ethic and
2.) Drives revision because the student is more likely to care about the paper
I have to admit I am definitely more likely to carefully revise a paper that I am interested in than a paper I know nothing about and will never use again in the future. If I would not take the time to revise it, why would any other student?
It is important to give students the choice of prompts to help build them as meaningful writers, allow them to share about their life, and build a trusting student-teacher relationship.

"My Child Is Not Common"

I took an ideology test in my SED 406 class and I "passed" as learner centered. (If you'd like to take the test, here you go! https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oWzwLDM4w_SL55xo-iGUEytNYrcLySiFoFa4A0GYjLA/edit?usp=sharing ) 

To start, I can somewhat agree with the NCTE and Common Core Standards for English/Language Arts, however they do not come first to me. I am all for the student. Each individual student.  

Don't get me wrong, I think it is important to have guidelines and requirements so teachers have an idea of what the students needs to be taught, and they are able to be held accountable for what they teach the students. I also like how in the NCTE Standards Book, Defining the Standards, it is said, "Although the standards focus primarily on content, we also underscore the importance of other dimensions of language learning. In particular, we believe that questions of why, when, and how students grow and develop as language users are also critical and must be addressed by those who translate the standards into practice". It is important that these standards mention this because the students can not just be thrown the content and expected to memorize for testing. Each and every student is different and will learn and understand the content being taught at different times and through variations of teaching. 

Regarding the Core Standards, I learned in my SED 406 class it is easier to write the lesson first, then pick the standards that follows along. I had to write these standards in my lesson plan for this class for the first time, it was basically just like picking out numbers and letters. Lesson is meaningful and to help students succeed, standards are just what happens to be in the lesson designed.

I think it is important to look at the differences between the 9-10 grade levels and the 11-12 grade levels. Like I said I agree with setting guidelines, maybe the word "goals" would fit better because each student is different and their goal should be set, but if not everyone completely reaches their goal at the exact same time, that's okay. Also, a student at the 12 grade level, if their reading level is at a 9th grade level, their standards are not going to be the same. Despite whether they are in the 12th grade, does not mean they should be expected to mirror the student sitting next to them. Their are many different learning disabilities, different mental illnesses and different home environments which effect learning. Therefore, the "standards" should not be the same for each and every student.

And of course, I've saved the best for last.

PARCC SUCKS!
And I don't have many other words for that.

If I were a student, I would opt out. Parent- Opt my child out. Teacher- Under the radar, urge my students to opt out. However, I've heard from my sister and her friends that they don't allow students to opt out anymore. I am working on looking in to this, but I find that crazy.

I enjoyed reading Rhode Island Teachers Respond to PARCC and I was able to connect with how the teachers felt obligated to urge their students to take the test. I completed my field work for the CCRI version of FNED at Shea High School during test week. The teachers there were stressed. As much as they tried to prepare the students and put some food in their stomachs, they had been told that their jobs were at stake depending on these tests. While half of the students in the classes I was in had some type of IEP. I worked alongside a Special Education Teacher who floated in and out of classes to work with the teachers so her students were at a high risk of failing. Especially, since like this article states, they could barely even read the test questions properly, never mind answer them correctly.

More than 50% of the students went to the library or computer lab during the test times, but the other students were stressed, coming in to grab a granola bar from the teacher for breakfast and on the verge of tears for fear of failure. The students I observed and worked with were in grades 10 through 12 and all of the students I talked with were against it, some upset that their parents never got around to signing the opt out form.

Most of the charts and graphs in this article, I was not shocked by. However, I was surprised by the comparison between the rural and urban school student responses to PARCC. It seemed that more students in the urban schools agreed that there is a positive response. It did not seem to me that Shea High School, an urban school, had any positive responses. The only thing I can think of is if the school is trying to create a more positive environment during this time and trying harder than usual. I'm not quite sure I've figured this out or have any ideas on it. Do you have any ideas? Anyone that has been in an urban and rural school during testing? I would love some feedback on this!

 

"I ain't all bad"

 The Deficit Ideology

"As a simple but representative example, most of us have taken a paper-and-pencil test in our schooling, one on which the teacher marks answers wrong with an X and then calculates our grade at the top of our papers- as in '100-30=70.'" -P.L. Thomas

Thomas discusses how this is the deficit ideology, where it focuses on the weaknesses rather than strengths. Although the specific term is new to me, this idea takes up half of my heart. I once watched a Ted talk "Every Kid Needs a Champion" by Rita Pierson and it came to my mind as soon as I began reading about these different ideologies. Pierson makes a similar remark to her audience, "I gave a quiz, 20 questions. Student missed 18. I put a +2 on his paper and a big smiley face." At first I laughed at this idea... because how can a plus two actually be taken seriously? I certainly wouldn't take that serious. I'd be like "UGH. I failed..... WTF!" However, her attitude towards it was positive, "you ain't all that bad" and a simple 😊 on the top of the paper can keep the students confidence going. Focusing on what the student has already learned and understood can also help you as the teacher to work on the areas that still need progress. In order to help the student work to get a better grade, it is important to keep their levels of confidence and motivation at a high.

Just because I think every one who will ever encounter a child should watch this video, here's the link! https://youtu.be/SFnMTHhKdkw

Literacy

Reading. Spelling. Grammar. Full Sentences. Run ons. Punctuation. Writing.
Is that all there is to Literacy?
That's what I thought until my last SED 445 class.

 I quickly realized during this class that I had been so closed minded the the definition of the word literacy. I'm assuming this is because of my love and interest in reading and writing, or maybe I was just never taught? I guess I don't really know. Do you know how full the word literacy is?

Karen Cordeiro-Kaplan discusses the  different Literacy Ideologies in the schools and society. A new literacy that I learned about in particular is Cultural Literacy. This literacy focuses on the teaching of culture, beliefs, values and the classic books. I learned that making connections between your own life and the society around you with the text read is an example of a cultural ideology. Not only is the reading and writing involved in this ideology, but also a component of discussion. The students can then create a network of knowledge and see the relations between the texts and the different cultures in society.



Practicing Writing

 Often when thinking about past writing assignments, I can see that the assignment was more-so for the teacher to verify I completed the reading assignment and evaluate understanding.There are so many other types of writing, not only reflective papers.

 The NCTE discusses that writing grows out of many different purposes, not only an evaluation of knowledge. Different writing assignments that are important, for example, are notes, resumes and cover letters, business reports, interpretive statements, lab reports, etc. Learning these different types of writing is not only important for the students education to prepare them for future classes and careers, but to prepare them for effective social networking, improving society and getting to know who they are as a person.


"The future of the world is in my classroom today." -Ivan Welton Fitzwater

Ongoing learners

 "Resist teaching so that students acquire fixed content and instead foster students as ongoing learners."-P. L. Thomas, EdD

Students should be taught more than one citation in secondary schools. Were you exposed to more than one way of thinking? More than one way to write? More than one way to cite your work? I know in high school I was taught MLA. MLA only.

 

In the library there was one version of MLA, probably about 5 years old. Don't quote me on this, but MLA changes almost every year and a new version is released. This led the entire student body to be falling behind. As mentioned by Gallagher in Chapter 1, I was often told to practice using MLA but never formally taught it. Student's should be taught the material they need to learn more, rather than having them practice without instruction. Too many times I was told "Go to the Library, there's a form with examples and instructions".

 "Recently one of my teacher candidates attended a course in which fellow English teachers were adamant they needed students to learn to cite using MLA by memory."-P. L. Thomas, EdD

In addition to the constant changing of format, there are also many different types of citations. For example: APA, Turabian and Chicago. Only being subjected to one version of citation limits the knowledge that should be being taught for the future. 

 Because of this lack of knowledge, I went into my first college science, looked at the syllabus and thought to myself, I'm screwed. All of my lab reports and papers were to be in APA format. At that point I had to teach myself how to do it... believe me, when you teach yourself how to do something, it doesn't come out very well.

Teachers need to start teaching the material students need to succeed in order to expand the students' growth of knowledge.