Now that you have created your own blog and used it through the previous eight lessons, describe in detail how you will use your blogging skills in your classroom.
I could use blogging as I teach high school English in multiple ways. I will first be guided by the policies and procedures of my school district regarding social media and websites. If allowed, I would create a blog for each class. Each student would be required to post entries and respond to entries made by others. Extra credit could be offered for statements that provoke intelligent and respectful debate.
I could also use a blog to keep parents up to date on what we are covering in class, homework, study guides, and tips for how to succeed in my class. I could have the students take on the personalities of characters we are studying in literature and write journal articles describing one of their days. I could also encourage them to make their own blogs as a creative writing outlet. Blogging is fun, especially when people take the time to read and thoughtfully respond to my writing. My students will love it.
Tuesday, June 16, 2015
Lesson Seven
After reading and pondering the debate about teens lacking adult reasoning capacity, yet being held to adult consequences, what do you think this means for you as a teacher?
I think one of my jobs as a high school teacher will be to model appropriate behavior and show them how to make good decisions. I want to be a role model, but also someone they can ask advice from. My 9th grade English teacher was such a mentor for me. The literature is packed with good lessons for teens as well. Romeo and Juliet died horribly because they didn't take even a few hours to ponder the wisdom of their impulses. I want to use the stories we talk about to start important conversations about real life. I want their journals to be places where they can work through thorny issues and complicated questions. I want them to think, and to understand that their first thought might not be the best one, especially when the consequences of their choices will affect their entire lives.
I think one of my jobs as a high school teacher will be to model appropriate behavior and show them how to make good decisions. I want to be a role model, but also someone they can ask advice from. My 9th grade English teacher was such a mentor for me. The literature is packed with good lessons for teens as well. Romeo and Juliet died horribly because they didn't take even a few hours to ponder the wisdom of their impulses. I want to use the stories we talk about to start important conversations about real life. I want their journals to be places where they can work through thorny issues and complicated questions. I want them to think, and to understand that their first thought might not be the best one, especially when the consequences of their choices will affect their entire lives.
Lesson Six
After watching the videos on Math and Music, how does this information impact you as a teacher?
What stood out to me the most was the conclusion drawn based on the Mozart research. The students who listened to Mozart music for ten minutes before a test did 8% better on the test than students who sat in silence before the test. This led some people to believe that Mozart makes you smarter. Further research showed, however, that listening to almost anything that uplifts, calms, and brightens your mood before a test will help you give a peak performance. This could be a short story, or any fast paced, happy music.
I need to give serious consideration to whether it would be a good idea to incorporate this into my High School English class time. Would my students do better on their assessments if I gave them ten minutes at the beginning of the class period to calm their hearts and minds, rather than jumping right in to working on their examination? Would I get a better understanding of what they do and do not know if I made the assessment shorter so that it could fit into a 40 minute time span, rather than the full 50 minutes? Would this experiment be successful if I played one piece of music for the entire class, or should I let them choose what they wanted to listen to on their own with headphones? I am really curious about these questions. What do you think?
What stood out to me the most was the conclusion drawn based on the Mozart research. The students who listened to Mozart music for ten minutes before a test did 8% better on the test than students who sat in silence before the test. This led some people to believe that Mozart makes you smarter. Further research showed, however, that listening to almost anything that uplifts, calms, and brightens your mood before a test will help you give a peak performance. This could be a short story, or any fast paced, happy music.
I need to give serious consideration to whether it would be a good idea to incorporate this into my High School English class time. Would my students do better on their assessments if I gave them ten minutes at the beginning of the class period to calm their hearts and minds, rather than jumping right in to working on their examination? Would I get a better understanding of what they do and do not know if I made the assessment shorter so that it could fit into a 40 minute time span, rather than the full 50 minutes? Would this experiment be successful if I played one piece of music for the entire class, or should I let them choose what they wanted to listen to on their own with headphones? I am really curious about these questions. What do you think?
Friday, May 15, 2015
Lesson Five
After watching the videos on Language and Reading, how does this information impact you as a teacher?
I have wanted to teach High School English ever since my own freshman year at Bloomington High School. Throughout that year, I developed a serious case of hero worship for my teacher, and wished and wanted to be exactly like her when I grew up. She showed me that language could be beautiful. She inspired me to read things that made me think about life in a way that I never had before. She made Shakespeare seem easy!
I want to do those things for my students. I want to help them to increase their speed, fluency, and comprehension when they read great literature. I want to excite their minds, and get them pondering the big questions, the ones everybody asks but nobody can ever truly answer. In order to do that, I will have to use language. I hope to build on the skills they already have. I will introduce new vocabulary, help them find ways to make those words their own, and encourage them to independently explore the richness of the English language.
I have wanted to teach High School English ever since my own freshman year at Bloomington High School. Throughout that year, I developed a serious case of hero worship for my teacher, and wished and wanted to be exactly like her when I grew up. She showed me that language could be beautiful. She inspired me to read things that made me think about life in a way that I never had before. She made Shakespeare seem easy!
I want to do those things for my students. I want to help them to increase their speed, fluency, and comprehension when they read great literature. I want to excite their minds, and get them pondering the big questions, the ones everybody asks but nobody can ever truly answer. In order to do that, I will have to use language. I hope to build on the skills they already have. I will introduce new vocabulary, help them find ways to make those words their own, and encourage them to independently explore the richness of the English language.
Thursday, May 14, 2015
Lesson 4
What does it mean to be relational as a teacher? How will you interact with your students to accomplish this?
A teacher is being relational when they are relating to their students. In other words, when a teacher seeks out things they have in common with the student, and uses those things to build a cordial, friendly, welcoming relationship with the student, they are being relational.
I have seen some teachers go out of their way to connect with the students in their class by decorating their room with their favorite sports team memorabilia, funny sayings, or posters of fuzzy kittens and puppies. It's nice to take a few moments before and after class to connect with small talk, and to greet each child with a smile and eye contact when they enter the classroom. I want them to know that I am happy they are there, and that our class would not be the same, or as great, without them.
A teacher is being relational when they are relating to their students. In other words, when a teacher seeks out things they have in common with the student, and uses those things to build a cordial, friendly, welcoming relationship with the student, they are being relational.
I have seen some teachers go out of their way to connect with the students in their class by decorating their room with their favorite sports team memorabilia, funny sayings, or posters of fuzzy kittens and puppies. It's nice to take a few moments before and after class to connect with small talk, and to greet each child with a smile and eye contact when they enter the classroom. I want them to know that I am happy they are there, and that our class would not be the same, or as great, without them.
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Lesson 3
After watching the videos on Attention, Emotions and Learning, describe how this information impacts you as a teacher.
I have three children, all of whom have either a learning difference or an attention deficit diagnosis. I have spent years learning about special needs children, and I love when I get the opportunity to substitute teach in a self-contained special needs classroom. Because of these experiences, I already knew most everything in these videos.
I view my job as a teacher as one where I first need to set up an environment where a child is capable of learning, and second need to teach them what they need to know. Helping them to be physically and emotionally ready to learn comes first. No matter how much they want to be a "good boy" or "good girl" if that Cortisol is pumping through their brains, they can't pay attention and they can't learn.
There are hundreds of exercises I can try to help my special children in my classes to focus better and learn more. My obligation is to build a toolkit of those helpful methods and break it out every single day.
I have three children, all of whom have either a learning difference or an attention deficit diagnosis. I have spent years learning about special needs children, and I love when I get the opportunity to substitute teach in a self-contained special needs classroom. Because of these experiences, I already knew most everything in these videos.
I view my job as a teacher as one where I first need to set up an environment where a child is capable of learning, and second need to teach them what they need to know. Helping them to be physically and emotionally ready to learn comes first. No matter how much they want to be a "good boy" or "good girl" if that Cortisol is pumping through their brains, they can't pay attention and they can't learn.
There are hundreds of exercises I can try to help my special children in my classes to focus better and learn more. My obligation is to build a toolkit of those helpful methods and break it out every single day.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Lesson 2 Response
I've been assigned to write about how the videos I watched on vision and hearing will affect me as a teacher. I have to say, as a secondary school teacher there will be little that I can do to help affect the development of my students' brains. They will come to me after most of the sensitive learning periods have passed.
I will design my room in such a way as to make it visually interesting, colorful, and welcoming. I will play appropriate music to set the tone for the day, and will make an effort to have plants or a good quality air cleaner in my room to help my kids be at their best. I will also provide them with interesting and useful activities that engage their senses whenever possible. In short, I want to be a whole brain kind of teacher, I just think that high school students are already 75% who they are going to be.
I will design my room in such a way as to make it visually interesting, colorful, and welcoming. I will play appropriate music to set the tone for the day, and will make an effort to have plants or a good quality air cleaner in my room to help my kids be at their best. I will also provide them with interesting and useful activities that engage their senses whenever possible. In short, I want to be a whole brain kind of teacher, I just think that high school students are already 75% who they are going to be.
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