Internet Filtering

Everything has its own controversy now and it gets kind of tiring, but at the same time it is understandable because most of it has to deal with the well-being of our youth. Internet filtering does have some legitimacy, no matter how badly people want to argue the freedom of speech right. There are just some areas of the internet that are not necessary for the students to be visiting for research. If their parents don't mind them looking at certain things at home that is their right and personally business. But it is definitely inappropriate in the school setting. What I do think needs to be done is the filtering software needs to become more sophisticated and I am sure it will. Then the sites for Breast Cancer and the History of Nevada and even the Declaration of Independence can be accessed. I do think that filtering can be taken to far and the above are perfect examples. But I do think some type of filtering is necessary because students are curious and they are going to try and skip out of what research they are supposed to be doing to try and look up things that are inappropriate.  

Instructional Planning

       No one teaching method is absolute for Language Arts, especially at this level because of the wide range of concepts to be learned. I use a variety of methods including traditional, self guided discovery and Socratic discussion. I also incorporate hands-on methods for students who haven’t developed higher thinking skills, as well as peer guided instruction where the students form groups and discover concepts together. Together these methods facilitate a learning environment where students feel comfortable to stretch their minds and water their ever-growing knowledge.  

            I also make sure in my traditional teaching that I help the students apply these concepts to everyday life. This not only reinforces the concepts that they have already learned but also provides valuable information for the students, who at this age are discovering who they are as well as setting up a concrete belief system of their own. 

1st paragraph teaching philosophy

Teaching needs to be more than standing in front of a room pounding facts into students and expecting them to enjoy and learn the content. As an English Teacher, my goal is to connect the content to real life situations and to enhance the students’ knowledge and comprehension of the subject. To accomplish this goal I will show an enthusiasm and a love for this subject that will overflow from me to and excite the students as well as guide them through learner-centered instruction so they can reach their highest potential. I will ignite them by showing  them the relevance of the material and how it is prevalent throughout their everyday life while they discover how knowledge of English content can fill them with joy. 

Take your position pg 405

  This issue is really hard for me to decide on between to the two. I think that students need both teacher and learner centered instruction. There are certain things that are better learned from both ways of instruction but, with my inexperience there is a chance that I might change my mind later. 

  I am not an advocate for all teacher-centered instruction, I do not think that students will learn anything from solely sitting and reciting what they have been told. But I am not all for student lead instruction either. If students could learn everything they needed to on their own what would be the point of having teachers at all. I think that the teacher needs to be there as a guide and to explain certain concepts and principles. Then the student should be able to expand on the key concepts and principles through their own exploration. I also believe that learning depends on experiences and teachers need to be there to connect the content to life experiences that students have had or might have to help them enhance their learning. Teachers are also their to guide practice and give feedback, this also enhances learning. 

    There is a point where the teacher needs to step back and let the student take the reigns and guide their instruction. As it was pointed out in the book, learners construct knowledge to help them make sense of what they experience. Students have to do this themselves, teachers just might need to help connect certain experiences. 

I also think that a lot of learning is done in groups and if students are given concepts and then sent to expand on those in groups and bounce ideas off of each other, then this can lead to a very productive learning environment. If students are given concepts and principles in a teacher-centered manner and then given opportunities  to expand their knowledge in a learner-centered manner it will help enhance their comprehension and create better learning environments. 

Take your position pg 361

This is the part about teaching that I am nervous about. I have been in some subbing situations where the students have just gotten completely out of control because I didn't know how to maintain or get back any kind of order so that anything productive could go on. I don't want to run the classroom with an iron fist and never let anyone talk and never let anyone have any fun, but I do believe that there has to be some sort of order for productive learning to take place. If I am understanding Assertive Discipline correctly I do think that it will contribute to a productive learning environment. I don't want the students to feel contained but they should know that there is a line that they should not cross. It's not only about being able to have a good learning environment but it's also about being respectful towards fellow students and your teacher. If one student doesn't want to learn and another does and the other acts up it can be distracting and disruptive to the rest of the class. A productive learning environment doesn't mean that all the students and sitting quietly in their desks listening to everything that the teacher is telling them, it just means that they know how to act appropriately in a classroom setting, I think that assertive discipline can have the potential to help with their social development as well. Knowing that rules has consequences is not just something that takes place in the classroom, it's a fact of life. If we break laws their are consequences, if the students disobey their parents, if they break rules at work there will be consequences. I don't think that it should be such a controversial subject. The students should know what they can and cant do in the classroom and what will happen of they do do those things. This applies to any situation. I do believe that there will be less tension and the students will have a productive learning environment if Assertive Discipline is implemented.

Take your position pg 203

I can't really say that I completely agree or disagree with the emphasis on essential knowledge and standards. There are so many pros and cons to this situation. It does seem like the students now know less then the students 10 even 20 years ago. So I have to ask is because we are not teaching the essential or is it the way teachers are forced to teach the essentials.
I think that every student should have a database of essential knowledge and I think standards help teachers keep on track. I don't think that some students can function productively in real life situations without a mastery of the basics. And I do believe that it is the teacher's responsibility to guide the student in this mastery. But i also think that education officials have taken essential knowledge and standards to an extreme. I believe that standards are a good guide but everything has to be connected to them know. All we are doing is pounding information into the students and hoping that they will be able to regurgitate the information in order to raise percentage rates so that the country will be able to congratulate themselves on good education system. Then when those percentage rates aren't high enough we punish everybody by essentially taking away educational resources.
In this new "standards based knowledge" we have forgotten to incorporate real world education that all students need and that is frankly, more relevant to some school communities, especially those of urban schools. Most of these students are not interested in a bunch of facts whether they need to know them or not. They are concerned with other problems, like if they are going to have anything to eat or if there is going to be enough rent money. We need to not forget life skills in our teaching. We need to show students how to succeed and teachers may be the only persons in some of these students lives who can help them succeed and survive. We need to equip students with essential knowledge and essential life skills by putting equal emphasis on both.

exercise 2.1B

For an icebreaker and a personal info gatherer, to reach all the modalities, I would have everyone stand in a circle with a ball. I would start by telling my name and about myself then I would throw the ball to another student and they would have to tell something about themselves including their name. I would make sure I specified to make the information PG-13.