Saturday, October 30, 2010
weblog in response to chapter 9
Chapter 9 dealt with how many schools and school districts deal with the limited resources that they have to deal with and how some teachers even state that they are only given $300 to use for the entire school year. Some teachers cannot deal with this financial strait and worse yet some teachers refuse to keep teaching under these conditions. Many teachers on average only last about 5 years as a teacher. Schools have to handle the frustrations of parents and students alike and are under constant pressure to live up to the standards of the school district. There will always be problems in the school system and no matter what happens, students will have to pay the ultimate price.
Service blog for october 26th
This past Tuesday, October 26th I did not go to my service site because my son Antonio was sick with a cold and cough. Instead I spent my morning dealing with my sick son and hoping that he would be okay. This week on Tuesday, November 2nd we will not be having service because the school I do my service at will be used for the voting elections. Unfortunately I will not get to see my girls in the pre k class for another week, but when I do see them I will be so happy. And I cannot believe that the semester is almost over and the service will be coming to an end.I will miss the girls terribly when I am done with my service.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Using Chapter 6 for My Blog
When I started reading chapter 6 in our textbook, I saw that this chapter dealt with the measures that were used back in the early days up until now. Some of those measures included: report cards, written examinations, oral examinations, and many others. When I started reading about the recitations part of the chapter, it brought back a memory of when I was in grade school.
This memory that I had triggered by the "Recitation" section brought me back to 3rd grade when I was in class and the teacher told the class that everyone would have to get up and recite the lesson. Now the lesson had to do with science facts, which when I look back should have seemed easy to remember, but as a 3rd grader, the last thing I wanted to do was get up and say a bunch of facts from memory. This "recitation" from everyone in the class was supposed to show the teacher who was actually doing their work and paying attention and who wasn't. When it was my turn to get up, I immediately froze and coudl not remember any of the science facts we had been learning about. So the teacher made me sit down and she sent me home with a note saying that I was not paying attention in class. I was so mad when I read it, but I still had to give it to my mom because the teacher required the note to be signed by a parent to make sure I had given it to her.
When I got home, I explained to my mom and dad that I was scared and I did not want to get up in front of the class and say a bunch of stuff about science. Luckily they understood and they did not punish me like I thought they would. They just told me that the next time I had to do somehting like that, I should ask the teacher to maybe give me some time before I had to get up and recite.
This experience of recitation was not one of my best performances in class, to put it subtly. I knew that I never wanted to have to get up again, but as time went on I was not as nervous anymore because I knew that I would not be the only one that had to get up....everyone did and that is what made me less worried about it all.
This memory that I had triggered by the "Recitation" section brought me back to 3rd grade when I was in class and the teacher told the class that everyone would have to get up and recite the lesson. Now the lesson had to do with science facts, which when I look back should have seemed easy to remember, but as a 3rd grader, the last thing I wanted to do was get up and say a bunch of facts from memory. This "recitation" from everyone in the class was supposed to show the teacher who was actually doing their work and paying attention and who wasn't. When it was my turn to get up, I immediately froze and coudl not remember any of the science facts we had been learning about. So the teacher made me sit down and she sent me home with a note saying that I was not paying attention in class. I was so mad when I read it, but I still had to give it to my mom because the teacher required the note to be signed by a parent to make sure I had given it to her.
When I got home, I explained to my mom and dad that I was scared and I did not want to get up in front of the class and say a bunch of stuff about science. Luckily they understood and they did not punish me like I thought they would. They just told me that the next time I had to do somehting like that, I should ask the teacher to maybe give me some time before I had to get up and recite.
This experience of recitation was not one of my best performances in class, to put it subtly. I knew that I never wanted to have to get up again, but as time went on I was not as nervous anymore because I knew that I would not be the only one that had to get up....everyone did and that is what made me less worried about it all.
No Service
Well this past Tuesday, October 5th because of standardized testing in the school district. Overall, I have enjoyed my time here at my service site. This school seems almost out of place because it is such a beautiful school, but at the same time when you look out the window, all you can see are dilapidated buildings and rundown neighborhoods. Unfortunately, many schools inside of the Cleveland Municipal School District are falling apart and rundown. These types of conditions are the everyday struggles that these children deal with. This is one of the main reasons why I want to become a teacher because I want to help as many children as I can excel and be all that they can be. And I understand that this may sound cheesy to some people, but I do what I do in life so that others may benefit. I am your shoulder to lean on and all of the children I have ever met know this and they know they can talk to me about anything. I look forward to seeing my class of preschoolers next Tuesday and hope they are as happy to see me as I am to see them.
My Fourth Week of Serice- Service Blog This Past Tuesday
This past Tuesday, my service learning teacher, Mrs. Jackson at Warner Girls Leadership Academy, had me do an activity with all of the girls in the classroom that involved M&M's and predictions. What she had me do was sort out six different colors of the M&M's and place no more than 10 of each onto the different plates labeled with the color: red, yellow, green, blue, brown, and orange. Then she gave me two number lines to help the girls point to the number of M&M's that they thought were on each plate for each different color. This was what we did for the whole class and their predictions were relly good...and they are just pre-k students....and that to me is amazing! I am so thrilled that the girls are so eager to learn and please all of the "big people" as they call us.
I also just wanted to mention that in a room full of girls, it can be overwhelming, but at the same time, I have never had to scream or yell and shout at them to let them know that I was in charge. All I have ever had to do with children, who want to do different activites all at the same time, was to redirect their attention and show them that we all were going to do an activity together and it has worked for me every single time. I understand that for some people, small children are not their forte', but just like Dr. Shutkin said in class yesterday, "You have to love all the children, not just the ones who behave well, but the ones who don't behave well either." There is no reason to have to stand on a soapbox and yell at these young children because THEY ARE CHILDREN AND THEY ARE GOING TO ACT AND BE CHILDREN WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! A LITTLE BIT OF PATIENCE AND EFFORT GOES A LONG WAY WHEN YOU ARE DEALING WITH KIDS...
I also just wanted to mention that in a room full of girls, it can be overwhelming, but at the same time, I have never had to scream or yell and shout at them to let them know that I was in charge. All I have ever had to do with children, who want to do different activites all at the same time, was to redirect their attention and show them that we all were going to do an activity together and it has worked for me every single time. I understand that for some people, small children are not their forte', but just like Dr. Shutkin said in class yesterday, "You have to love all the children, not just the ones who behave well, but the ones who don't behave well either." There is no reason to have to stand on a soapbox and yell at these young children because THEY ARE CHILDREN AND THEY ARE GOING TO ACT AND BE CHILDREN WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! A LITTLE BIT OF PATIENCE AND EFFORT GOES A LONG WAY WHEN YOU ARE DEALING WITH KIDS...
Proposal Commentary
I have read over both of Rachel's and Britney's service proposal and I really think that they have good proposals. I know that we will definitely need to get together and work on more indepth perceptions on all of our papers, but for now I do feel that they both have viable paper topics. I like how they both wrote about something that is meaningful and important to each of them because in what they wrote I can also relate because the three of us have been through some of the things that we are writing about. It is very easy to relate to many of the problems that the students and school systems face to day because faced them when we were in school as well. Having the voices of the children who are affected by all these conditions that prevent them from learning and acheiving higher has always been and will always be a struggle. Not knowing what the future holds for some individuals is a daunting reality that many face.
Writing Circles Blog
My writing circle in ed 253 consists of two other young ladies, Britney and Rachel. I have known them for some time before this class and I enjoy working with them. Since we are now a group, we have responsibilities to one another. Each of us signed a contract yesterday before class ended stating the following:
1. We would give positive criticisms of our writing styles to one another and be willing to give feedback.
2. We would contribute equally to one another and make sure that any additional resources needed would be found to ensure the writing assignments would be completed to the professors approval.
3. We wanted to make sure that if we are stuck with writer's block, that we would all brainstorm ideas and help each other develop a good paper.
I am happy that we have writing circles because I used to have the same in my English 111 and 112 class which were called "peer editing groups." These groups much like our own in this class really helped us to see the flaws of our paper and how we could make it better. It was nice to get feedback from others as well because you cannot write a paper on your own and feel that it is complete. Everyone needs help and shoudl not be afraid to ask for it if it is readily available which it is.
Our groups are meant to be a support system for one another not just in writing, but for anything else as well. I look forward to working with my group and seeing what wonderful ideas we can come up with.
1. We would give positive criticisms of our writing styles to one another and be willing to give feedback.
2. We would contribute equally to one another and make sure that any additional resources needed would be found to ensure the writing assignments would be completed to the professors approval.
3. We wanted to make sure that if we are stuck with writer's block, that we would all brainstorm ideas and help each other develop a good paper.
I am happy that we have writing circles because I used to have the same in my English 111 and 112 class which were called "peer editing groups." These groups much like our own in this class really helped us to see the flaws of our paper and how we could make it better. It was nice to get feedback from others as well because you cannot write a paper on your own and feel that it is complete. Everyone needs help and shoudl not be afraid to ask for it if it is readily available which it is.
Our groups are meant to be a support system for one another not just in writing, but for anything else as well. I look forward to working with my group and seeing what wonderful ideas we can come up with.
My Third Week of Service- A Fun Day at Service
This past Tuesday at service was really exciting. When I arrived I was able to join the girls in their Spanish lesson and it was nice to see them all engaging in learning a new language. I sat dow next to the educational aide, Ms. Jackson, and I started conversating with her. We spoke of all the things that were taking place in the classroom since we had no service last week. She told me that the girls were beginning to decorate the classroom with pictures they had drawn or painted for the fall season.
When we got back to the class, I found myself cutting out cards that had pictures of things that began with the letter "M" because that is the letter they were on this week. Mrs. Jackson, the teacher, asked me to practice enunciating the M sound and practice saying the words with the girls in my group. So we started making M sounds and I had all the girls say what the picture was. After that, we started playing the Memory Game with the cards to see who could get the most number of matches. As my time came to an end at 11:10 am, I asked Mrs. Jackson if she would not mind having me come in to do my service with her class next semester, and she told me that she would be thrilled to have me back. It made me feel quite good to see that just my presence really meant a lot to both the girls and Mrs. Jackson. I finally feel that I have found my ideal service site and I plan on continuing to work with Mrs. Jackson at Warner Girls Leadership Academy for the duration of my time here at John Carroll University.
When we got back to the class, I found myself cutting out cards that had pictures of things that began with the letter "M" because that is the letter they were on this week. Mrs. Jackson, the teacher, asked me to practice enunciating the M sound and practice saying the words with the girls in my group. So we started making M sounds and I had all the girls say what the picture was. After that, we started playing the Memory Game with the cards to see who could get the most number of matches. As my time came to an end at 11:10 am, I asked Mrs. Jackson if she would not mind having me come in to do my service with her class next semester, and she told me that she would be thrilled to have me back. It made me feel quite good to see that just my presence really meant a lot to both the girls and Mrs. Jackson. I finally feel that I have found my ideal service site and I plan on continuing to work with Mrs. Jackson at Warner Girls Leadership Academy for the duration of my time here at John Carroll University.
My Second Week of Service
Well this past Tuesday, October 5th because of standardized testing in the school district. Overall, I have enjoyed my time here at my service site. This school seems almost out of place because it is such a beautiful school, but at the same time when you look out the window, all you can see are dilapidated buildings and rundown neighborhoods. Unfortunately, many schools inside of the Cleveland Municipal School District are falling apart and rundown. These types of conditions are the everyday struggles that these children deal with. This is one of the main reasons why I want to become a teacher because I want to help as many children as I can excel and be all that they can be. And I understand that this may sound cheesy to some people, but I do what I do in life so that others may benefit. I am your shoulder to lean on and all of the children I have ever met know this and they know they can talk to me about anything. I look forward to seeing my class of preschoolers next Tuesday and hope they are as happy to see me as I am to see them.
Reading on Service Learning
1. How does service learning differ from country to country?
2. Do people have different definitions of the words "service learning"?
3. How can people who participate in service learning help those less fortunate feel like they have options and choices in life?
4. Do you think that service learning is beneficial to both parties?
5. Can service learning really make a difference in someone's life?
2. Do people have different definitions of the words "service learning"?
3. How can people who participate in service learning help those less fortunate feel like they have options and choices in life?
4. Do you think that service learning is beneficial to both parties?
5. Can service learning really make a difference in someone's life?
My First Day of Service Learning
So today was my very first day at Warner Girls Leadership Academy. It was absolutely amazing. I selected to be in a pre kindergarten classroom. The unique aspect of this school is that it is an all girls school. The young girls ages 5 to 7 were so anxious for me to do activities with each of them and were so happy to meet me. I am estatic that I will have the opportunity to work with these young girls because pre-k to 3rd grade is what I want to teach. I am looking forward to connecting with the girls and developing friendly relationships with all of them.
I also want to point out that I was supposed to do service at this site last semester but my schedule did not allow me the flexibility to accommodate this service site. I am upset though because the school is so nice and the people there are wonderful that I'm hoping that I will be able to return for the rest of my years at John Carroll. I know it is only been one day that I have been there, but I feel like I finally found the right fit for a weekly service activity. I can't wait to go back and see the girls again. I hope everyone else has a great experience at their service sites as well.
I also want to point out that I was supposed to do service at this site last semester but my schedule did not allow me the flexibility to accommodate this service site. I am upset though because the school is so nice and the people there are wonderful that I'm hoping that I will be able to return for the rest of my years at John Carroll. I know it is only been one day that I have been there, but I feel like I finally found the right fit for a weekly service activity. I can't wait to go back and see the girls again. I hope everyone else has a great experience at their service sites as well.
service learning blog- WARNER GIRLS LEADERSHIP ACADEMY
This semester I have three service requirements for this education class, psycology and development, and my OAI requirement. I have done service every semester since I began here as a student at John Carroll. My service site this semester will be done at Warner Girls Leadership Academy in the culturally diverse neighborhood on Cleveland's east side. Every time I have done service, I usually take on service sites that have to do with tutoring young children. I really enjoy helping the children that I am fortunate enough to tutor because it allows me to go back week after week and develop a relationship with that child or children when we work in groups. I feel that being able to come back and see the actual progress that you have made with a child really means something to me and the child as well.
One experience that I would like to share would be when I was at a previous site last semester and it saddened me to see how young children who had so much potential were being let down by the amount of damage their school had. I mean there were not enough chairs or paper. And the teachers tried their very best to give the children the upmost care and when I had to go up there for service I made sure that I gave every student my undivided attention. Do you know why I feel that this was so important to the children? It was because they felt that because the school was in such a bad condition that they were not as smart as other children and they were not worth much. I find it amazing how in every chapter I read in our text for this class, how many of the same things they speak about in other teachers situations with their classes, it is very much the same all over the Cleveland Municipal School District. It is going to take a very long time before our school systems will even measure up to the health and safety standards that the government insists on having for schools. If we could all take responsibility for our actions, and help others who are less fortunate than ourselves, we can come up and beat all these obstacles against us.
One experience that I would like to share would be when I was at a previous site last semester and it saddened me to see how young children who had so much potential were being let down by the amount of damage their school had. I mean there were not enough chairs or paper. And the teachers tried their very best to give the children the upmost care and when I had to go up there for service I made sure that I gave every student my undivided attention. Do you know why I feel that this was so important to the children? It was because they felt that because the school was in such a bad condition that they were not as smart as other children and they were not worth much. I find it amazing how in every chapter I read in our text for this class, how many of the same things they speak about in other teachers situations with their classes, it is very much the same all over the Cleveland Municipal School District. It is going to take a very long time before our school systems will even measure up to the health and safety standards that the government insists on having for schools. If we could all take responsibility for our actions, and help others who are less fortunate than ourselves, we can come up and beat all these obstacles against us.
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