Let me first mention that the problem in the beginning of the article, 14,000 minus 99, gives some adults a lot of trouble. This strategy of using tens as the “magic number” is genius. In fact, so much of this article seems so perfect, it’s almost too good to be true. Everything works so well for Ms. Barker, and she writes in such a simple, UNfussy (is that a word?), matter-of-fact way. It’s…refreshing. And yet, academically, hard to buy. Is this enough fence-sitting for you? =)

When they mentioned the Chinese number system, I actually screamed, “YES!!” IS there indeed a correlation between Chinese students’ firm grasp of numbers and this naming system? What a fascinating subject. And even more fascinating and enlightening that 2nd graders would remark upon the sensibility of this system. Children are so smart.

(So much of this article reminded me of Dr. Piel and Dr. Polly’s intro class. “I wish she had responded [to the 14,000 minus 99 question] with a question of her own.” and the discovery learning theories. Increasing students’ confidence in and love of math…)

Speaking of, the passage below seems to epitomize the entire math camp (pun intended) at UNCC:

Griffin (2004) believes that

teachers must see mathematics as a set of concep-

tual relationships between numbers and number

symbols rather than as numbers that are manipulated

by rules. The questions we ask, the tasks we design,

and the discussions we prompt can refocus students

on discovering such relationships themselves.

I really enjoyed the article by Reys and Long, Teacher as Architect of Mathematical Tasks. (In fact, I wish I’d read it fully before I finished my own math task assignment. I might have missed the mark on the Doing Math task…Argh.)

It was a well-written article, clear and concise with plenty of examples. Short and sweet, too! It admits that good mathematical tasks aren’t going to be simple to create, but the good teacher takes advantage of every “teachable moment”, as Dr. Piel has called them. I’m not as intimidated after reading the examples.

“Authentic tasks” is a great and kind of “duh” idea. Of course you can create a problem using student questions! You simply have to train yourself to pay attention of every opportunity. I love the idea of counting your age in months; I might even use it for my fourth graders! They’d be so excited. It could segway into many other topics, as well. Calendar time! Compare and contrast in math or even language arts! A sense of community! (I’m really coming down off the great social studies class last night, so community is really big on my mind right now. Sorry.)

Bascially, the article provided me with the confidence and real-life examples I need to teach my math lessons this semester. I look forward to having the students defend their ideas and answers with other students. Group work is something I’m REALLY interested in. I want to veer away from worksheets, which every teacher at my school uses religiously. They are awesome worksheets, but even I am getting tired of seeing a different worksheet for every subject, every day of the week. I’m going to spice it up! (And the kids will love me for it, AND have fun actually learning! Sweet!)

I can’t wait to be the architect.

Security: Email. (2004). Educational CyberPlayGround website. Retrieved 19:13, May 9, 2006, from http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/Technology/email                                                                                                                                                                                  (By the way, I should have done my website evaluation on THIS website…it’s horribly formatted, doesn’t seem to be updated all that often, and possibly – and ironically – a lesson in copyright itself.)

9. Follow Netiquette Rules listed in your school’s Internet Use policy, but this YouTube video can also help.                                                   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dRoclqDJh0

8. Vandalism includes viruses and hacking. DO NOT do it, or else you will incur the wrath of the school.

7. Realize that anything you do on a school computer, including email, is not necessarily private. Someone is watching, so behave accordingly.

6. Keep network security and filters up-to-date. This will protect both the school and the students.

5. Students: ALWAYS ask if you have a question about plagiarism, copyright, or anything else related to proper internet usage. Teachers: ALWAYS be willing to answer, and make sure you KNOW the answer before giving one.

4. Be extremely protective of your personal information, and NEVER give anyone else’s personal information out to anyone or post online. Identity theft is rampant and easy to do on the internet.

3. ABSOLUTELY NO Cyber-Bullying will be tolerated at any moment. To learn more, teachers, students, and parents can visit this site, separately or as a group:     http://www.stopcyberbullying.org/index2.html

2. Plagiarism should be well-understood before computer usage is granted. Not only applies to print, but to internet material as well!

1. Almost ALL schools list Internet use as a privilege, NOT a right. I mentioned this before, but it’s worth mentioning again as a conclusion.

Today’s kids come out of the womb knowing how to use a keyboard. Perhaps a graphic image, but it’s a hyperbole used to make a point (as they always do): they are friends with technology from an early age. It’s a part of their day-to-day lives. My cousin used her laptop to play games, but also to type notes to her girlfriends. She was learning! It was a tool!

And that’s what technology is for the classroom. It’s not introducing something new to the students. They already know what a computer is, a dvd player, an interactive smart-screen. I’m not overlooking the low-income students either. They have seen cell phones, TV’s, computers at libraries. Some sort of technology.

So it’s only natural for us as teachers to use this technology to teach and learn. Students are often more comfortable with it than the teacher is!

Students are so familiar with the medium that the tend to focus more on the content. This allows us to use fun technology-based games and projects to present information, without the worry of distraction.

Computers alone open the world up to students; there are countless software, interactive websites, specialized search engines, and more. Technology lets us teachers be sneaky once in awhile, slipping the learning in while kids think they have a day off!!

Little do they know…

Their first rule points out that school internet use is a student’s privilege, not their right. Many students may believe that they deserve their internet time no matter what. We have to make it clear, as teachers, that the internet is available at school to help them learn, and if they don’t want to use it for that express purpose, then they won’t use it at all.

Many sites are blocked on school computers; sites such as YouTube and Facebook. In the instance of YouTube, however, students could lose out on opportunities to find important educational videos used for research or papers. The school has to find a delicate balance…should we block all searches for the word “breast”, when a student could possibly be working on a book report about breast cancer? Students should always be aware that in addition to blocking certain sites or placing filters on web searches, the school may be monitoring their computer usage at any time. The general ed. teacher or resource teacher should always be making the rounds, helping out lost students while keeping a keen eye on screens.

I found an interesting site while floating around on the net:

http://www.wiredkids.org/educators/problems.html

It discusses some of the known issues about internet use in schools. For instance, a school’s entire computer system can be ruined by a virus inadvertently let in by a student. I remember sitting next to a classmate in 8th grade, watching him open a link in his email, and suddenly, the computer screen was flooded with pop-ups of pornography sites. He was embarrassed, was harshly punished, and that computer’s hard drive had to be wiped. Teachers should warn students to think before they act, and that this includes behavior on the internet. Many students can believe their identity to be hidden behind a computer, but they are often sadly mistaken. Much as Dr. Gardner pointed out in the video excerpt, a “sense of identity” is in flux for students using digital media.

Depending on the school and its resources, there may be a time when students have a 1:1 ratio with laptops. Lucky students! Some schools are even giving every single child a laptop once they begin school. This opens the doors for many problems. Teachers and administrators should lay out the ground rules and responsibilities from day one: the use of a personal laptop is more a grown-up gift of responsibilities AND fun than a huge electronic PSP. Or Game Boy. Depending on what generation you fall into. =)

Dr. Gardner of the film excerpt is apparently the theorist behind multiple intelligences. So he’s a smart dude. And he teaches at Harvard. Another point for his side.

His research is extremely interesting. The “Good Play Project” studies the ethics of the young people using digital media. He lists 5 issues that they focus on:

1. Sense of Identity

2. Sense of Privacy

3. Sense of Ownership/Authorship

4. Sense of Trustworthiness

5. Sense of Community Participation

These divisions seem to make sense. There’s also a lot of overlap. Identity on the internet is never a rock-solid thing. Do we have ANY privacy, using these social networking sites, these blogging sites, personal websites, etc.? Ownership and authorship are important ones; plagiarism is HUGE on the internet, AND in a learning environment. Sometimes we don’t even know who to cite if we could. Trustworthiness…kids have a hard time nailing this down. Wikipedia is NOT- I repeat, NOT- a trustworthy source of all information that is good and holy. Back when, you could go to the library and cite any information you found in a book; the thought process being, anything that was able to get published was trustworthy.  And participation in the community…this may be a bit of a stretch, but my mind goes to World of Warcraft here. Those online role-playing games suck the life out of so many people, including children and young adults, and they excuse their reclusion by insisting that they are interacting with other people. It’s a game, people. Interacting means actually being face-to-face with other human beings, not animated orcs.

This was a tiny rant, but the points Dr. Gardner highlights are:

The internet has such a wealth of information available to anyone who wants to access it. It’s overwhelming in its scope. But digital media is not evil by name. I love the way he puts it: “You can use a pencil to write a sonnet, or to poke someone’s eye out.” It’s all in how you use it.

As teachers, we should USE technology for the powerful learning tool it can, and WANTS! to be.

And as teachers possibly become “more coaches than didactically-interactive,” the student becomes smarter, and we, the teachers, have to race to stay ahead of the game.

Let’s address special case #1, shall we?

“Back to Square One”

Thomas is the 4th grader with learning disabilities and ADHD. I picked this case because it seems all too familiar to me.

I remember using the behavior-card system in elementary school. I was always one of the first girls in the class to have to flip my card to the next color for the week- painful, embarrassing memories. I was a good student, grade-wise…and yet, I sometimes had trouble controlling my conduct. So this student and his case are near and dear to my heart.

Thomas’ parents are an integral part of his behavior problems. Ms. Moore and Ms. Reynolds recognize and address this, and yet, despite all their best efforts, they can’t control what goes on at home. This part of the job is probably what I am most intimidated by. The parents. We’re teaching the children- we can do all we can to control that part of the equation…and the other part, our actions. But the parents are the wild variable. Thomas’ parents cannot agree on a parenting style to discipline their eldest child. IS there anything that we as teachers can do about this? Moore and Reynolds sent home their seemingly effective “Choices” sheet with Thomas, and it did work for awhile. But when Thomas started to regress, could Moore and Reynolds do anymore? Should they try and explain to Thomas’ father the effectiveness of the sheet with Thomas’ individual case? How can this be handled delicately and respectfully, so that it won’t sound like the teachers are telling this man how to raise his son?

Angela, Thomas’ mother, seems to be on the right track. Not because she is more “mothering”, more nurturing, but because she seems to recognize that negative consequences, or punishments, don’t work with Thomas. His father’s way did not work, and this needs to be brought to his attention somehow.

In our class, we’ve discussed the effectiveness of positive and negative reinforcements as opposed to punishments. Rewarding Thomas for every small accomplishment did foster progress. But his mother’s surgery threw everything into upheaval. Perhaps the two teacher’s could involve the school counselor? I remember spending some time with the counselor when I was in fourth grade and my parents were in the middle of their divorce. It did help me. This would be a temporary “solution”, a stepping stone for Thomas until his parents could get their act together.

These special education cases are very tough. I can’t wait until we address these in class.

That about sums it up. It was painful getting through this first direct lesson plan.

Why? It seems simple at first, very straightforward and clearly categorized. Just fill in the blanks, right?

Now I seem to think that there’s too much redundancy, and even overlap, in the direct lesson sheet. But you know, I’m notorious for over-thinking papers and projects. 

And as many other students have mentioned in their own blogs: we’re really supposed to do this all day, every day, every subject? I was almost thinking that it was for the substitute’s benefit, but a close friend of mine insists that her subs don’t even use a lesson sheet; she calls them (the subs) “babysitters.” Since they often don’t have teaching degrees or certification, is that not true? 

Alas, it will be a difficult but necessary process for me to adapt to the many aspects of lesson planning. Perhaps we use these sheets to get a firm grasp on the process, so that one day we can depart from it with sufficient knowledge and confidence. 

Maybe?

Please?

I’ll get it done no matter what, don’t get me wrong. This class is finally speeding up to the level that I had originally expected, which is good. It’s going to be a fun ride…and quite a learning experience.

That’s the point, isn’t it?

Let’s think long-term. What impact does it have on the child when they don’t reach those higher learning planes? It’s not only about teaching the material at hand, people. It’s about stretching the brain! I can look back at my education- as far back as Elementary school- and think, Wow, I really wish some of my teachers had provided me with more of a challenge, more opportunities to really use my brain-power to its utmost potential. Because THIS thinking- this Creating, Evaluating, etc.- this is the thinking that prepares us for life. Real life. I wish I had gotten a little more of that.

I mean, yeah, I’m great at memorizing and cramming; I remember things I wish I didn’t! But I believe I’ve developed that ability over time. It was necessary to adapt to that way of “learning.”

It sounds like I’m knocking all my past teachers…and I’m not. I’ve had great ones. But they are few and far between. I went to school in Stafford, Virginia, an hour below DC, and Virginia has a great public school system. North Carolina, unfortunately, doesn’t have the same reputation.

I’m getting a bit off-topic here.

No Child Left Behind/EOG’s make it more difficult to reach some of those higher-order thinking benchmarks. But as we discussed in class, these standards are minimum. Teachers are expected to surpass these requirements. We need to realize that Bloom’s Taxonomy is based on research by educational psychologists who know their stuff. Bush? Far from an educational…anything.

And so we end on a semi-political note.

And now I’m joining because of school. Different? I’m not sure. But here we are! I’ll have fun, and try to be professional at the same time.

Why do I want to be a teacher?

This is a loaded question. The easy answer would be that I love kids. But here’s a secret: I DON’T love kids. 

Now, as you’re gasping in horror, let me explain: I DON’T hate kids either. But I enjoy interacting with a certain age level more than others. I want to teach 9 or 10 year olds. I have a certain, oh, dare I say it, “communicational rapport”-haha- with that age. I remember being that age. My sister’s fourth grade teacher was an amazing teacher- and it was her first year. I admired how she ran her classroom: she promised her students that if they won every spirit day for the year, she’d dance on her desk. She even kept that promise, and her students loved her for it. Now yes, I know being a good teacher does not necessarily mean being loved by every one of your students. But if they love AND respect you, and you have the energy and the drive to keep them interested and learning, then you’ve succeeded. 

This may be cheating a little, but I’m going to borrow from my grad application’s statement of purpose here.                                                                                                     I want to teach because I’m a storyteller. I always have been. In fact, around that magical age of 9, I won an in-class contest for storytelling.  The joy and excitement of sharing an interesting story has stuck with me over the years. My background is in English and Motion Picture studies; a great degree for me, because in my classes, I was allowed to talk about films, write about films, and create films all day long. This means that I’ve been studying a visual version of storytelling for the past 2-3 years. Visual Media is such a powerful and effective learning tool today, and I know how to use it. 

I may not have a lot of experience in the classroom, like some of our classmates who are TA’s. But I’ve volunteered at an after-school program, helping elementary school kids with math homework and reading assignments. I met a girl there- we’ll call her Trish- who was a hurricane of personality. She was all over the place. The staff didn’t want to work with her. They warned me of her constant rambling, how she was easily distracted during her reading. I offered to read with her anyway. She was ecstatic, so excited to work with me. After a VERY friendly hello, we sat down and began to read together. She was indeed distracted; by the kids talking 10 feet away, by the door opening and closing, by the way my watch caught the sunlight. But we plowed through it. She’d often get baffled by a word and look to me for help. I’d encourage her to sound it out by herself, and once she did, she’d almost ALWAYS solve it on her own. And she was overwhelmingly happy to overcome these word-bumps. Trish is just one of the reasons that I know I want to work with kids…reading is one of my loves, and I can’t wait to share that love (sounds very Kum Ba Ya) with young children. 

I’m not sure if I’ve communicated my reasons as clearly or as eloquently as I’d have wished, but in the spirit of the blog, I’m not going to edit and edit and edit until it’s perfect. These are my thoughts, flowing from my (odd) brain to my fingers to the screen. I hope you’ve gotten to understand me and my thought processes and philosophies; just a taste, mind you, because if I let it all go at once, I don’t think many could follow. And this blog is pretty long already. Thanks for hanging in there.

Extra Credit:

Does anyone know what my blog title is a reference to?