I was at a party last night and met a lovely 16-year old who told me that she wanted to be a teacher. A high school teacher. My response was simply "Ew.". I have never had any desire to work with older children for a number of reasons, which, I would imagine, is probably similar to the reasons most middle/high school teachers don't want to work with the little ones. However, the reason my new young friend gave me was such:
"I want to teach high school because I want them to actually be able to do the stuff I want them to and to understand. I just don't want to give them, like, worksheets and be a babysitter."
My initial reaction was to scream (mostly because I had just survived my first week as a first year teacher). Instead, I just smiled and stated that she might be surprised at what little ones could do.
With the implementation of the Common Core State Standards, many elementary teachers (myself included) are finding what works and what doesn't in real time. Many of the counties in Maryland are just now beginning to fully implement these new standards into elementary schools. In my opinion, CCSS are a good idea. Why shouldn't the standard be universal for what students need to learn? We, in the 21st Century, are a global economy and we need to begin teaching students in a way that is reflective of such. 46 states and the District seem to agree and have adopted the Common Core as the new standard they will follow.
The main focus of the CCSS seem to be to emphasize more real-world scenarios and applications. Students are taught the skills needed to succeed in both college and the workforce. There is a heavy emphasis on critical thinking, problem solving, non-fiction texts, and using an 'evidence-based' approach to learning. This isn't the same 1st grade I was in. This is a much deeper and investigative classroom in which I act as a facilitator rather than a lecturer or (cringe) babysitter. I hold ALL of my students to the same high standards.
With new standards, the need for reformation of assessment becomes blatant. The Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Career (PARCC) is coming down the pike. This new assessment is to align very tightly to the CCSS. The focus is shifting to applying the skills rather than the content learned through school. Can you reason? Can you deduce? Can you find evidence based from the text?
After all, these are the skills used in the workforce.
While there is still a place in education for memorization in order to fully understand a concept and rely less on technology, students no longer need to carry around a dusty old primer. Or even a shiny new iPad. Instead, students should be able to solve their problems using the tools they have around them in a real-world setting. School should not be isolated and the skills needed to navigate this ever-changing world should be taught explicitly.
This week, I taught my students about collaboration. And manners. And comparing and contrasting. And predictions. All much needed, real-world skills. I'm changing those small people into people who know how to think and problem-solve in real time. I'm doing this so that when my new friend does become a high school teacher, she will receive students who understand what she's saying and how to do 'stuff'. Because I wasn't just a babysitter and we did a little more than worksheets in 1st grade.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Tuesday, June 25, 2013
Water of Life
In the story 'Water of Life', a young prince completes the tasks of saving his father and marrying his one true love by being true to himself and thinking of others first. The story begins with the young prince attempting to save his father, the King, after his two older brothers had failed. He does this by going to an enchanted castle and finding a magic elixir called the 'Water of Life'. The water will refresh the king and provide him with a vitality that will keep him alive.
In teaching, it is also important that we have a certain refreshment and vitality. To do this, rather than search for a magic drink, we must turn to a philosophy that embraces why we became a teacher and what we hope to accomplish through the practice. For some, this may be in the form of a single text. Some site Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed or Dewey's progressive education or even Herbart, who focused on the connection between society and the individual. For me, there is no one text that embodies my ideal philosophy on education. As a new teacher, I am still searching. This means that it will be important for me to continue to delve into educational/philosophical texts. (I am open to suggestions.)
While I don't have a text that I turn to, I do know which direction I am headed. I value equality. I value it in the classroom, in my home, and anywhere life can be found. I have always been this way and the fact that it spills into my classroom is no surprise to me. As a child, I wanted things to be fair between my brothers and myself. As an adult, if I give one of my dogs a treat...well you know. In The Red Pyramid, Riordan states "Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same. Fairness means everyone gets what they need." This is the kind of fairness I strive for in the classroom. This fairness is the reason that some kids get extra books and some don't. It's the reason I take away recess so a child can complete unfinished homework. It is not:
I am especially interested in implementing the idea of equality and fairness where technology is concerned. For many, access to the internet can provide a new learning experience that has not been as available to future generations. (I do believe that the internet has the potential to be a great equalizer, but that's another blog for another day.)
The piece of 'Water of Life' that resonated with me was the fairness of it all. While that may not be a pronounced theme of the story, the youngest prince was always fair and true. In the end, he had the happily ever after. He was fair with his brothers, with the huntsman, and with the king. He knew that others had made mistakes, but gave more chances to rectify situations because he knew that it was fair to do so. He was kind. For me, fairness starts with kindness. If you can be kind, you can be fair. If you can be fair, you can be equitable. If you can be equitable, justice has been served and the world will be a better place.
Please be kind.
#MCERT #PaoloFreire #ProfessionalDevelopment #fairness
In teaching, it is also important that we have a certain refreshment and vitality. To do this, rather than search for a magic drink, we must turn to a philosophy that embraces why we became a teacher and what we hope to accomplish through the practice. For some, this may be in the form of a single text. Some site Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed or Dewey's progressive education or even Herbart, who focused on the connection between society and the individual. For me, there is no one text that embodies my ideal philosophy on education. As a new teacher, I am still searching. This means that it will be important for me to continue to delve into educational/philosophical texts. (I am open to suggestions.)
While I don't have a text that I turn to, I do know which direction I am headed. I value equality. I value it in the classroom, in my home, and anywhere life can be found. I have always been this way and the fact that it spills into my classroom is no surprise to me. As a child, I wanted things to be fair between my brothers and myself. As an adult, if I give one of my dogs a treat...well you know. In The Red Pyramid, Riordan states "Fairness does not mean everyone gets the same. Fairness means everyone gets what they need." This is the kind of fairness I strive for in the classroom. This fairness is the reason that some kids get extra books and some don't. It's the reason I take away recess so a child can complete unfinished homework. It is not:
Instead, fairness and equality are:
I am especially interested in implementing the idea of equality and fairness where technology is concerned. For many, access to the internet can provide a new learning experience that has not been as available to future generations. (I do believe that the internet has the potential to be a great equalizer, but that's another blog for another day.)
The piece of 'Water of Life' that resonated with me was the fairness of it all. While that may not be a pronounced theme of the story, the youngest prince was always fair and true. In the end, he had the happily ever after. He was fair with his brothers, with the huntsman, and with the king. He knew that others had made mistakes, but gave more chances to rectify situations because he knew that it was fair to do so. He was kind. For me, fairness starts with kindness. If you can be kind, you can be fair. If you can be fair, you can be equitable. If you can be equitable, justice has been served and the world will be a better place.
Please be kind.
#MCERT #PaoloFreire #ProfessionalDevelopment #fairness
Sunday, June 23, 2013
Making Meets Professional Development
I've been doing a lot of making. I made an avatar of myself (see http://wilsonedci690.blogspot.com/2013/06/clmooc-making-me.html). I've made lots of dinners, including my own version of no-bake tuna-noodle casserole. I have been making things for my class and for next year's classroom. And I've been making plans about when my family is coming to visit for graduation this week. I have been making my garden look nicer by weeding and adding some spicy new pepper plants. These are all things that I have enjoyed doing because it has been a much needed break from the craziness of the past year. To be honest though, it isn't like I just think about making something and then it happens. I often feel the need to be truly inspired with my makes. Take the casserole for example:
I was hungry and I didn't want to leave my house. I was also tired of the same old boring meals and I realized that I had a can of tuna in the pantry. The lazier part of me thought 'Eh...tuna sandwich', but the part of me that wanted a nice hot meal remembered how my best friend's mom used to make tuna noodle casserole. I could smell it drifting throughout her house and how warm and creamy it always was. Now I was hooked. I NEEDED that casserole, but I had never made anything with canned tuna other than the aforementioned sandwiches and occasionally Tuna Helper (like Hamburger Helper, but more tuna-y). So, I grabbed my Good Housekeeping cookbook. It had a traditional recipe that required me to bake. It was 80 degrees outside and I was not going to bake. Period. So, I started looking online. There were some good options and some bad ones, but in the end, I decided it was best to remix everything I had seen. I took my memories from when I was little and combined the 20 recipes I had just looked at. Somehow, it turned out amazing!
I realized as I was enjoying the deliciousness that ensued, that this was exactly how I teach. I take memories of what worked when I was a kid, look online for about 20 different takes on that same idea, and then remix it all together to create a lesson that usually turns out to be pretty good. With teaching, it is a different kind of hunger that drives my instruction. I want kids to learn and enjoy doing so. But I don't want to force them. Rather I want them to want to learn. This is the passion that fuels my teaching and it is what pushes me each day to be a better teacher. Passion drives professional development because it gives us the insight to know where our kids are coming from and how true inspiration can motivate those same children. It makes us want to be better teachers, better people, better examples. When children see their teacher is passionate about something, it makes them want to be passionate too. It is important to make. It is more important to be passionate about what you make. So, don't make for make's sake. Make what inspires you and will inspire others.
#MCERT #CLMOOC #HamburgerHelper #passion #ProfessionalDevelopment
I was hungry and I didn't want to leave my house. I was also tired of the same old boring meals and I realized that I had a can of tuna in the pantry. The lazier part of me thought 'Eh...tuna sandwich', but the part of me that wanted a nice hot meal remembered how my best friend's mom used to make tuna noodle casserole. I could smell it drifting throughout her house and how warm and creamy it always was. Now I was hooked. I NEEDED that casserole, but I had never made anything with canned tuna other than the aforementioned sandwiches and occasionally Tuna Helper (like Hamburger Helper, but more tuna-y). So, I grabbed my Good Housekeeping cookbook. It had a traditional recipe that required me to bake. It was 80 degrees outside and I was not going to bake. Period. So, I started looking online. There were some good options and some bad ones, but in the end, I decided it was best to remix everything I had seen. I took my memories from when I was little and combined the 20 recipes I had just looked at. Somehow, it turned out amazing!
I realized as I was enjoying the deliciousness that ensued, that this was exactly how I teach. I take memories of what worked when I was a kid, look online for about 20 different takes on that same idea, and then remix it all together to create a lesson that usually turns out to be pretty good. With teaching, it is a different kind of hunger that drives my instruction. I want kids to learn and enjoy doing so. But I don't want to force them. Rather I want them to want to learn. This is the passion that fuels my teaching and it is what pushes me each day to be a better teacher. Passion drives professional development because it gives us the insight to know where our kids are coming from and how true inspiration can motivate those same children. It makes us want to be better teachers, better people, better examples. When children see their teacher is passionate about something, it makes them want to be passionate too. It is important to make. It is more important to be passionate about what you make. So, don't make for make's sake. Make what inspires you and will inspire others.
#MCERT #CLMOOC #HamburgerHelper #passion #ProfessionalDevelopment
Sunday, June 16, 2013
CLMOOC: Making Me
So I've just spent some time recreating a digital overview of myself in the form of a South Park character. I had other choices. I could have been a superhero or a Simpsons character. To be honest, I don't feel like a superhero and I don't watch the Simpsons, but I love the politically charged, over-the-top, in-your-face hilarity that is South Park. It was an easy choice, really. While my avatar slightly resembles me (I love wearing bright colors, and I do have brown hair), it's the idea that I am a South Park character that is interesting to me.
I feel like I'm from a small town where ridiculous things always happen. Everyone knows that kid whose dad is way out there, just like Randy Marsh. Everyone knows that really annoying fat kid. Really though, it's the idea that I could imagine myself nestled in a quite mountain town where strange and mundane collide. In an alternate universe...this is me.
I feel like I'm from a small town where ridiculous things always happen. Everyone knows that kid whose dad is way out there, just like Randy Marsh. Everyone knows that really annoying fat kid. Really though, it's the idea that I could imagine myself nestled in a quite mountain town where strange and mundane collide. In an alternate universe...this is me.
Surely though, I am not the only person who has imagined themselves as part of South Park, for the show has garnered thousands of fans from all over the place. South Park is a cult artifact because it gives us a completely furnished world into which it is easy to plug ourselves in and the work is encyclopedic, just as Umberto Eco states it should be (Convergence Culture, 2006). I can give quotes like 'Hello, children!' or talk about throwing snowballs at rabid, mutant turkeys and true fans will know what I'm talking about. Hopefully, the culture created by this quiet, little, (fictional), podunk mountain town inspires other makers across the web.
Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide
Recently,
I’ve become enamored with the new #XboxOne due
out by Christmas. The idea that I will be able to walk into a room, declare
that I want to watch the newest Glee
episode, and it pops up on my television seems so futuristic and unreal. This
new technology has been in the works and buzzing around the digital water
cooler for quite some time now. I find myself googling, reading technology
blogs, and chatting on Facebook with friends about what to expect from this
new, shiny box of wires. Simultaneously,
I find myself delving into Convergence
Culture by Jenkins which focuses on how discussion online has created an
age where people ‘chat’ in a digital format, thus creating a new culture.
Jenkins wouldn’t really care about
the new Xbox, but he would be interested in next week’s E3 conference which
will be streamed live over the net and will create more buzz and speculation
that will be discussed and dissected for weeks to come. He might also be
wondering why the introduction of the Xbox is slated for this Christmas, rather
than sooner. The answer can be found in various forums spread across the web,
in which the hype for the new PlayStation has forced Microsoft to act now after
its 8-year hiatus from the console wars.
This integration of the different
media formats has spilled over into classrooms everywhere. At Emma K. Doub ES,
students of all ages are configuring technology in a way that focuses on
integration and active participation. The focus is shifting from a personal
online environment to an educational one. For my generation, some know how to
manipulate the internet and seek out information that is useful to our own
amusement while others are still working to figure it out. In the generations
to come, this convergence upon social media will be automatic and natural, with
a collection of fans who influence the culture based solely on instantaneous
opinion. This driving factor makes me think ahead as I anticipate what even the
Xbox after this one will be like.
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