Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Educational Philosophy-

I believe that each student is unique in regards to learning. With each having individual needs where no two students are alike. It is my goal as future educator to fabricate the most conductive learning environment for students. This environment will breed the natural curiosity within the students to direct there self learning and discovery. It will also provide them with the proper guidelines of self respect and and respect for all living things. With such an emphasis put on the individual needs of the learner it places a lot of responsibility on the teacher to meet all the individual needs of each student in the class. I agree with the thought of differentiated instruction and in a perfect world there would be one teacher for every student but that is far from the case. Unfortunately due to budget cuts and lack of resources the services that should be provided to students aren't being applied. The only ones who really suffer here are the students who aren't getting the services that they really need. It places a lot more stress on the teacher as well because instead of being able to evenly distribute there teaching efforts, it makes each student get less and less attention that way each student gets just a glimpse of attention. I think this is the problem with education of today the lack of support from administration which directly means funding of programs.It is the job of the modern day teacher to make lemonade with out the lemons. Meaning that funding of your curriculum is going to be tight no matter what subject field you are in. It is the job of the teacher to be resourceful and to find alternative cost effective ways to teach and convey the content being presented. I believe that the ideal school includes a vast curriculum that incorporates all styles of learners. Which means that it has all the latest advances in technology and pedagogy this way students are presented with the best opportunity to learn. Unfortunately education is misconstrued as a business for some, but to me it is not a job it is an opportunity for me to guide young minds in the right direction not tell them what roads to go down but present them with the proper knowledge and resources they will need to live a long successful healthy lifestyle. I think teaching has such a great deal to do with how you carry yourself as an individual. as an educator you should be confident, knowledgeable, humble, and sociable towards your students. You never know what day you could have a impact on a student where it was long lasting, this is the power of teaching. I will be a role model of society and most importantly i will be working towards the greater good of man kind molding young minds.

Monday, March 21, 2011

The sport of wrestling has provided many opportunities to those who have been dealt a different set of cards in regards to those of the non impaired population. For example recent national champion Anthony Robles a senior at Arizona state university. Won the division 1 125 lbs wrestling national championship with 1 leg. Anthony's story is truly remarkable watch these following videos of success. Remember to never give up and follow your dreams.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Its how you find the answers even if you don't know them

It is this tough economy that has bred a competitive job market, some even will say it is cu throat. Others will argue that it is all about who you know. Yes that doesn't hurt that you may know people in high places but are you truly qualified for the position available? A lot of times people take on jobs or task that they aren't 100 percent sure that they will be able to complete the job or task at hand. It is that persons ability to make themselves knowledgeable about the content at hand. It is equally just as important to realize that you may not be qualified at all meaning that you are way out of your league. In a situation where you may feel out of your league it is imperative to realize this and address it. Notify the person in charge and be honest. " I am not able to complete this duty at hand but i am willing to do my research and find the best solution possible." In my future when I am seeking an entry level position in physical education I will do my best to make myself knowledgeable about any content in my field. If I am not aware of anything I will catch myself up to date with the new content and then present it at a later date to the administration. This may hurt you Sometimes but we aren't always qualified on paper to perform a certain task or job but it is our ability to be resourceful and knowledgeable in finding the correct answers or best course of action. In my opinion teachers should always be reflecting upon themselves. A lesson shouldn't go by without reflection of the material and procedures to see the pros and cons of the class. A teacher must make themselves aware of new philosophies, methods, ideologies or anything else that will improve their student learning. This resource management is something that I hope to develop over time, i believe that 80% of teaching is preparation. That preparation starts with reflection followed by research

Monday, March 7, 2011

Snow Days


As a student you always wondered who had the final say in the glorious snow day. Some kids said it was the bus drivers, or the snow plow men, other kids said it was up to the weather man/woman and others said it was up to the rotten principle. Well now that I am towards the end of my schooling career and have done my 100 hours of pre-student teaching observations. I have seen a glimpse of the procedure of what actually goes into having an actual snow day. Fist and foremost it is a cooperative decision between the local weather authority, the transportation authority, and the schools administrator. These people will deem it safe for the students and school employees to travel out to school. Even if the roads aren't bad in the morning the meteorologist must take into account projected forecast for the afternoon, because it is just as important to get them home safe as it is to get them to school in one piece. It is also based on the schools resources if they have the ability to clear the school grounds and make it safe for arrival of personnel and students. Once a storm is projected than the transportation manager will consult with the administrator of the district, once a decision is made by around 5 am than they will notify the local news station and radio stations to notify of the cancellation or about the delayed opening. With every school having a home web page now a days the cancellation will be posted on the website as well. On be half of the teachers there is a chain list that everyone must follow. Some schools districts actually have automated services that call all the school employees. If A county or district experience a harsh winter and uses more than their allotted snow days. They will then Dip into the spring breaks. It is necessary that students get a 182 days in the school year which is state mandated. If the school has a harsh winter than the school board will then decided which days to take away from spring recess. Now being on the other end of a snow day you realize that there is much more to it that the snow plow man.

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Women in american education

For nearly two centuries women have been discriminated in many aspects of life. Mainly higher education, in colonial America women very rarely attended school and if they did it was only at the elementary level. Those women who were able to attend a school usually came from money this was the only way a female would be able to attend higher education. In the later years of colonial America secondary schools started called female seminaries. Families with the financial means now had the opportunity to send their daughter to get a secondary education just like their sons. These female seminaries would be the start of normal schools for women, which are schools of teaching. Where women like Emma Hart Willard and Catherine Beecher wrote text books on teaching but not the typical teaching methods of the time. During this time period around the turn of the century the corporal punishment method was in effect. These women wrote text about more humanely methods. They viewed the classroom as an extension of the home life, where cooperation was emphasized these were the views and methods that developed from these female seminaries. Until the turn of the 20th century women and sports weren't even put in the same sentence. Prior to Title IX(1972), women sports were controlled by societal expectations. Caution about a potential overemphasis on competition or on unladylike behavior led to modified rules in several sports. To say that women had any form of freedom or individuality in sport would be an incorrect statement because women had nothing close to that, they had to conform to what society thought was appropriate for a proper women. In the early 1900’s mass participation in class exercises’, field days, play days, and sport days, rather than just competitive athletics became the norm. These play dates were all a form of competition for women. In all the events the emphasis was on fun, and social interaction. The first resemblances of a competition for women were telegraphic meets these were events that women participated in and were timed in; thereafter they compared scores with other institutions. The sports that allowed this were swimming bowling, and archery the times would be compared with females from other institutions. TO this day females have made tremendous gains but some feminist still think there is much room for improvement and we haven't reached total equality.