Best in the World (435):
I have been thinking a lot about these four words recently and what they mean to me and I think that I have decided that these words are a lie. Nobody can be the best in the world at something for the simple reason that there is always something more that they can do to further themselves at what it is that they do. For example, Babe Ruth had 714 home runs in his career and was arguably one of the best baseball players of all time, but going just off of the record, you would have to throw in Hank Aaron and Barry Bonds who have both passed Babe Ruth's milestone.
Let's look at a classroom now. How do we judge our students as the best? The simple answer is look at their test scores, but in reality, that means nothing. Test scores do not reflect how much the student has learned or how they react to the opportunities to learn presented in a normal school day. So the simple answer is that its nobody's job to judge students on who is the best, but instead to encourage that everybody does their best.
Unfortunately, the teacher must judge what is the students' best and I feel that there is a bit of a gap here based on the skills of everybody that the teacher has seen in their years of work. A teacher can see a good project and can really tell how much a student put into something. A test really can't do this because students do not have the ability to put in what would make a brilliant project truly brilliant: themselves.
Lionel Messi is currently the world's best soccer player, and if you look anywhere, there are articles that support this. What I think makes him the best is his will to keep going. If you watch a Barcelona game, you can see his want to keep playing, even after the referee's award a free kick to his team. His drive to play on in the game that he lives and breathes instead of taking the easy way out with the free kick makes him the best.
To tie this to the classroom, why shouldn't we encourage our students to just find something that they love and get really good at it? School is the catalyst for students to receive the basic tools (such as math, reading and writing) and run where ever they want with them. I feel that if I get any of my students to follow their dream, then they really can be the best in the world, no matter what measurements or studies about students say.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Thursday, April 26, 2012
A Thought (435):
One thing that I have started to pick up on this semester is that I, as a teacher, will have a lot of expectations of my students depending on their comfort level of the materials and how I will present it to them. There is a trap that I feel I have fallen into as a student many times where the teacher gives a guideline as to what to do for a unit and I use that as a guideline to do the least amount of work possible to get the grade I want. What I have noticed with this class is that the tasks are so open that they leave room for me to do whatever I want in a way that I want to do it.
Now as a student who has been trained in following a guideline, this is terrifying. Not knowing what there is out there on a topic and having to discover it by yourself is what drives education forward. As an educator, I must push students in a general direction in order for them to discover new ideas in a way that will be memorable for the student.
Math is interesting when it comes to what I have said. Students should be guided to the unknown; but to get there, they must follow ideas and logic in a set path to understand it. I feel that this is like a traveling. Some will want to take the quickest way they can to a vacation destination (end result) by flying, others will want the experiences that the road can offer, and even some will run like Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump. How do I get students to not fly and take the quick way to finding out new information? It will not be easy, but I will work to have them get the experience of road and different ways to getting to where they, and myself as a teacher, need to be.
One thing that I have started to pick up on this semester is that I, as a teacher, will have a lot of expectations of my students depending on their comfort level of the materials and how I will present it to them. There is a trap that I feel I have fallen into as a student many times where the teacher gives a guideline as to what to do for a unit and I use that as a guideline to do the least amount of work possible to get the grade I want. What I have noticed with this class is that the tasks are so open that they leave room for me to do whatever I want in a way that I want to do it.
Now as a student who has been trained in following a guideline, this is terrifying. Not knowing what there is out there on a topic and having to discover it by yourself is what drives education forward. As an educator, I must push students in a general direction in order for them to discover new ideas in a way that will be memorable for the student.
Math is interesting when it comes to what I have said. Students should be guided to the unknown; but to get there, they must follow ideas and logic in a set path to understand it. I feel that this is like a traveling. Some will want to take the quickest way they can to a vacation destination (end result) by flying, others will want the experiences that the road can offer, and even some will run like Tom Hanks in Forrest Gump. How do I get students to not fly and take the quick way to finding out new information? It will not be easy, but I will work to have them get the experience of road and different ways to getting to where they, and myself as a teacher, need to be.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
A Math Blog (325):
Click here to go to Kiss My Asymptotes Blog
First thing, awesome title. Now, the blog itself is an interesting site where a teacher gives ideas and reflects everyday classroom situations. JT, the author, posts about some things that he has tried and his reflections about how they work in the class. This blog is a great source for learning about things that teachers have tried and how they have worked to perfect their methods. This is a great place to learn new ideas to try in my own classroom and to learn from other teachers from past experience. Blogs are a great way for other teachers to learn from other teachers. I feel that this particular blog shows some interesting ways to teach students. Unfortunately, JT's last post was last January, and this blog is a little out of date, but that does not mean that there are no good ideas here to still be found.
Click here to go to Kiss My Asymptotes Blog
First thing, awesome title. Now, the blog itself is an interesting site where a teacher gives ideas and reflects everyday classroom situations. JT, the author, posts about some things that he has tried and his reflections about how they work in the class. This blog is a great source for learning about things that teachers have tried and how they have worked to perfect their methods. This is a great place to learn new ideas to try in my own classroom and to learn from other teachers from past experience. Blogs are a great way for other teachers to learn from other teachers. I feel that this particular blog shows some interesting ways to teach students. Unfortunately, JT's last post was last January, and this blog is a little out of date, but that does not mean that there are no good ideas here to still be found.
Tech in the Classroom (325):
Click here for a link to Skype Video Calling Technology for Classrooms
Skype is a video calling system created through the use of computers and the internet. Users create a free account, download some software and get access to contacting many different people across the world. How can a teacher utilize this technology in the classroom? Connection is the key. Skype provides a way to connect classrooms across the world. With this ability to connect anywhere in the world, I can use this to connect with other math classes, combine lessons, and show students different ways of experiencing math. This technology allows me to give students another way to reflect their skills with another class from around the world. This opens the doors to so many different ways of communicating in a classroom through the use of video.
Click here for a link to Skype Video Calling Technology for Classrooms
Skype is a video calling system created through the use of computers and the internet. Users create a free account, download some software and get access to contacting many different people across the world. How can a teacher utilize this technology in the classroom? Connection is the key. Skype provides a way to connect classrooms across the world. With this ability to connect anywhere in the world, I can use this to connect with other math classes, combine lessons, and show students different ways of experiencing math. This technology allows me to give students another way to reflect their skills with another class from around the world. This opens the doors to so many different ways of communicating in a classroom through the use of video.
Teaching Philosophy (325):
I believe that students need to be an active part of the lessons that we as teachers present. Students need the opportunity to to engage in the class not only as an audience, but as a part of the presentation. Now this doesn't mean that as a teacher needs to avoid lecture, but I believe that as a teacher, I should be trying many different ways to present my lessons to my students. I want my students to learn in ways that encourage them to want to go out and learn on their own. The goal of a teacher is to encourage students to go out on their own and learn about whatever interests them. We are here to provide the tools necessary to be ready for the future, and we should present them in a way that sparks interest to the students. We want them to continue learning after their time in school, and we do not want the school experience to hinder that. We should make it memorable, so that learning is a positive experience.
I believe that students need to be an active part of the lessons that we as teachers present. Students need the opportunity to to engage in the class not only as an audience, but as a part of the presentation. Now this doesn't mean that as a teacher needs to avoid lecture, but I believe that as a teacher, I should be trying many different ways to present my lessons to my students. I want my students to learn in ways that encourage them to want to go out and learn on their own. The goal of a teacher is to encourage students to go out on their own and learn about whatever interests them. We are here to provide the tools necessary to be ready for the future, and we should present them in a way that sparks interest to the students. We want them to continue learning after their time in school, and we do not want the school experience to hinder that. We should make it memorable, so that learning is a positive experience.
Friday, March 23, 2012
About Me (325):
I'm from Rice Lake, WI and now live in Oshkosh and attend the university there. I went to Rice Lake High School and graduated in 2009. I currently am a math edu. major at UW Osh. and a Radio TV Film minor. I big into video games like FIFA, Call of Duty, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, Assassin's Creed, Halo and many others. I also enjoy soccer and football, and just recently was certified to be a soccer referee. A few of my favorite bands include Emery, Avenged Sevenfold, Skillet, Senses Fail, etc. I also enjoy watching Psych, Doctor Who, Top Gear, House, Archer and South Park.
I'm from Rice Lake, WI and now live in Oshkosh and attend the university there. I went to Rice Lake High School and graduated in 2009. I currently am a math edu. major at UW Osh. and a Radio TV Film minor. I big into video games like FIFA, Call of Duty, League of Legends, World of Warcraft, Assassin's Creed, Halo and many others. I also enjoy soccer and football, and just recently was certified to be a soccer referee. A few of my favorite bands include Emery, Avenged Sevenfold, Skillet, Senses Fail, etc. I also enjoy watching Psych, Doctor Who, Top Gear, House, Archer and South Park.
Just a Head's Up:
I am currently in two classes that require blogging as an assignment. Instead of using two separate blogs for each class, it is much easier to just use the same blog for two classes. All future posts for the rest of the semester will be labeled for what class I am posting for by either a 325 or 435.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Assessments
As this class progresses, I am finding myself asking how have I been taught Literacy throughout my life. I realize more and more that teachers may not have directly taught the subject, like in the area of math, but some of the same techniques described in this class are reflecting how some of my teachers taught throughout my years in school.
So what does this mean? Should a teacher just take information and present in a way that the teacher understood the material? The simple answer is no. A teacher needs to take material and present it in a way that is for his/her students. Teachers must include the students in creation of presenting material as more than just the audience. We must consider the students as an active part of the presentation. To create a lesson based on this, teachers must be ready to adapt the lesson based on how the class reacts to the materials presented and be flexible when we present.
Assessment is the key to staying flexible. As a teacher, I need to always be assessing my students, not just formally, but informally through activities and the questions asked by students. There is no real way to prepare for what I think that students will do, because every teacher that I have had has told each class I am in that we are always different each day. There is no real way to prepare for this, so I just look to be ready for anything each day.
As this class progresses, I am finding myself asking how have I been taught Literacy throughout my life. I realize more and more that teachers may not have directly taught the subject, like in the area of math, but some of the same techniques described in this class are reflecting how some of my teachers taught throughout my years in school.
So what does this mean? Should a teacher just take information and present in a way that the teacher understood the material? The simple answer is no. A teacher needs to take material and present it in a way that is for his/her students. Teachers must include the students in creation of presenting material as more than just the audience. We must consider the students as an active part of the presentation. To create a lesson based on this, teachers must be ready to adapt the lesson based on how the class reacts to the materials presented and be flexible when we present.
Assessment is the key to staying flexible. As a teacher, I need to always be assessing my students, not just formally, but informally through activities and the questions asked by students. There is no real way to prepare for what I think that students will do, because every teacher that I have had has told each class I am in that we are always different each day. There is no real way to prepare for this, so I just look to be ready for anything each day.
Monday, February 20, 2012
Literacy in Math
Taking a reading class this semester seems a little surprising for this math major. My concern heading into this class was the question: How does reading affect my students? To me, math and reading only share language together, so the start of this class was a little surprising to me. Literacy in math seems like a weird combination, but over the first few weeks, I feel like I have started to open up to the idea.
Literacy is something that I really do not know how to describe, really because I have never thought about it before this class. As of right now, I am really looking forward to learning how literacy affects not just my subject, but all subjects. From what I have gathered so far from this class, each subject has its own literacy. These separate Lits. are all built upon the same basic blocks that allow for development across all areas.
Since this is a reading class, we are reading books that relate to our content areas. Since I am a part of the math group, I get to read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I really look forward to reading this book, and from what I've heard about it, it is a classic. I'm a fan of Sci-Fi, and from what I've read from the first couple chapters, it's going to be a good book for me.
Taking a reading class this semester seems a little surprising for this math major. My concern heading into this class was the question: How does reading affect my students? To me, math and reading only share language together, so the start of this class was a little surprising to me. Literacy in math seems like a weird combination, but over the first few weeks, I feel like I have started to open up to the idea.
Literacy is something that I really do not know how to describe, really because I have never thought about it before this class. As of right now, I am really looking forward to learning how literacy affects not just my subject, but all subjects. From what I have gathered so far from this class, each subject has its own literacy. These separate Lits. are all built upon the same basic blocks that allow for development across all areas.
Since this is a reading class, we are reading books that relate to our content areas. Since I am a part of the math group, I get to read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. I really look forward to reading this book, and from what I've heard about it, it is a classic. I'm a fan of Sci-Fi, and from what I've read from the first couple chapters, it's going to be a good book for me.
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