Class

Talking about current events in class today was very interesting. I was actaully proud of myself for paying attention to the news these past couple of days. I was actually aware of these crazy events going on in our county. I had received an email recently with a good summary of the new immigration bill. If it is passed, so many of our freedoms will be taken away. Many people might think that this will not affect them because they are not immigrants, but that doesnt matter. If someone commits a crime and cannot prove that s/he is a legal citizen, depending on the severity of the crime, the person can be deported back to his/her homeland, or whatever homeland they think the person is from. Even worse, the person may or may not be able to call for help, withdraw money for a bank, etc. Everyone's freedom is in jeapordy.

There are about 11 million immigrants in the US right now. If the bill is passed, they will become legal as long as they hold a job, pass a criminal background check, pay back taxes and fines, and learn English. This may sound like a good deal, but if the slightest thing goes wrong, the immigrants will be deported.

In relating this to our class, this bill can have a great effect on the education of immigrants. Children who are coming over from other countries will need an education. If something goes wrong with their parents citizenship, say they are unable to hold a job, the family may be deported. This stressful situation of going back and forth can cause great damage in a childs education, as we saw in "Of Boarders and Dreams." If this bill is passed, imagine how many students we could have going in and out of our classrooms. Prof. mentioned in class how schools are educating children even though they may not have the right legal papers. It is not the childrens fault if they are not legal. Most likely their parents faced many hardships in order to provide their children with a better life, so why should we deny them an education? I understand that people pay tax dollars and such, but how could we turn away innocent children? How else are they going to get an education. One of my goals is to get my ESL endorsement so that I can help students struggling with English and help them receive an excellent education, regardless of whether or not they are legal. I know this is a hot issue, but we need to take some sort of stand on it. I know its hard to get lost in our bubble =) but there are a lot of scary things going on in our government right now that are going to have a great effect on our future, so we need to pay attention.

wow i sound like an activist! but a lot of my profs have drilled this into my head lately...so im trying to pay more attention to the news =)

Great Class!

Ok so our last class before break might have been my fav yet. I really enjoy the Lit presentation Of Boards and Dreams I thought our class discussion went really well. The group did an excellent job presenting and getting the class involved. I guess it was easy for me to talk about certain issues in class today because I grew up in a highly Hispanic community and have witnessed many of these situations firsthand. Ok, so I personally did not physically cross any boarders, but I know people who have. Since my mom also taught in a mostly Hispanic school, I saw the challenges she faced as a teaher, as well as the challenges her students faced. Because the topic was something I could relate to more, I gladly participated. I realize that I should participate more, and Im trying to hop into the discussions more. Hopefully after break we will continue to have great class discussions that I can comment on.

I had been meaning to blog about this class the day of, but of course I got busy and now cant remember all I wanted to say =) I will make up for this later!

Observations before Spring Break

So the week before Spring Break was somewhat interesting. On Monday, the class was finishing the movie The Wizard of Oz. It tied in with their Great Depression chapter since it was made during that Era. The students had to write about why the movie was made during such a time. The students understood that the happy movie was made during a time when people were obviously not so happy. They needed something to brighten up their lives. I asked the students if they had ever seen the movie before, and, thankfully, all the students had. I like to check on things like that because I forget how much younger the students are then me.

After the movie, the students began taking notes on the next chapter. Some broke into groups, while others worked alone. I walked around to see what type of notes the students were taking. The next chapter is World War II. Most students said they had learned about WWII before, while others did not know much information about it. This was a little surprising. I noticed that the ESL students did not take notes out of the book. Instead, they had a seraprate packett with pictures that was easier to read. It seemed to help them out greatly.

That Monday I was observing by myself. I tried to communicate with my teacher more; she seemed a little less standoffish, but there wasnt a great improvement. I asked her if she received my email, but she hadnt yet. We talked a little bit, but it still felt forced.
The next observation day, I was with the other IWU student. The teacher didnt really communicate with us at all. She seemed to go back to her usual self. We both tried to be more involved with the class by giving out Cav Cash and trying to take more inititive. That day, the teacher was explaining to the students was a Japanese Internment camp was. She used a song by Mike Shinoda of Linkin Park to help the class relate. It was a great way to bring the past into the present, and LP is one of my FAVORITE bands =) I thought this was very creative.

The next time I came in, the school had ISAT testing. I was observing with the other IWU student again. The class was in the computer lab since they dont test for social studies. They were working on a web quest about the bombing of Pearl Habor. They were on the National Geograhpics website interacting with photos and actual video clips and stories from survivors. It was the most interesting site I have ever seen! The students were also very interested in it and worked quickly. Our communication with the teacher that day was minmal. We walked around constantly, helping the students if needed, but the teacher barely acknowledged us. This just keeps getting more and more frustrating. She still has not replied to my email. Right now I am remaining professional (as always); I can still learn much from this teacher, but I want to be an integral part of the classroom, and I dont feel like she wants to cooperate. After their spring break, hopefully something will change, if not I guess I will just have to keep trying.

Nieto 4

Wow. So much in these chapters!!
Ok lets start with Chapter 4. This first thing that really catches me is tracking. Tracking is putting students into groups of similar ability, same classes, or similar subject area or study area. I have mixed feelings about tracking. In theory, tracking could really benefit students, but the way it is executed causes many negative effects. According to Nieto, "tracking is frequently linked with racial, ethnic, and social- class differences" (Nieto 93). This is a huge problem with tracking. Tracking could work better if students were just grouped based on need and/ or interests. Race, ethnicity, or social status should not come into play at all. Tracking begins at a very early age; students are making decisions in first grade that can change the rest of their lives. It seems ridiculous! Tracking also causes labeling. Students are grouped into categories and assume the roles placed on them. I think that students of similar of similar abilities should be grouped together in order to get the attention and teaching that they need. What bothers me the most is that students in the lower level classes usually have teachers with the least experience, thus learning through "banking" and memorization. This is HORRIBLE!! I know, personally, that one of the MAIN reasons I want to teach is to help students in need. Experienced teachers need to cover a broader range of levels in schools so that they can help everyone.

Tracking also occurs in upper level/ honors courses. I am a product of this tracking system. In high school, I was always on the Honors track; the only regular classes I took were requirements, and I thought of them as blow off classes. The honors classes were challenging; I would find it hard to take the regular classes seriously and I was never really asked to help the other students out, but we did work in groups often. Everyone was aware of who the honors students were, and it was almost expected of me to do more work or take charge because of the label I had. I feel that if all our classes would have been combined, I would not have learned as much or been challenged. Then again, I never experienced tracking until I got to High School. I went to a Catholic grammar school and we did not have tracks. I was self motivated and also received a lot of support from my parents. But I also feel like we left some students behind. Tracking- good or bad? I still cant answer it! But I agree that the schools need to change something and not base tracking on race, ethnicity, or social status. This would also decrease the drop out rate.

What would have happened if I had been tracked at an earlier stage? Would I have still been in honors classes? I guess i have always tested well, and standardized tests are used to place students in tracks. I hated testing. How can one test determine the rest of your life? (Like the ACT). Testing also detracks from learning other material that isnt necessarily on the test. Over the summer, I taught in a third grade summer school class. The students need to pass the test in order to move on to the fourth grade. We never once veered off course; we had to teach what was on the test so that the students could pass it. This limits EVERYONE- students and teachers. The students are just learning what they need for the test and not retaining anything. The teacher knows everything and they students just need to absorb it all. This isnt learning! The students were not happy because 1) they were in school over the summer 2) they knew they had not done well over the year 3) most of them expected to just repeat the 3rd grade again. Some students had good parental involvement, while others barely had any. It was easy to see that those students with little parental involvement were not very focused or motivated. It was heartbreaking to see these students already giving up before they even reached 4th grade.

I want to teach so that I can be that positive influence in students' lives. I want to make a different and motivate my students. O wow I sound like a Golden Apple Cheerleader! ha ha
Wow Nieto gives you a lot to think about!

MONOPOLY!!!!

What a sweet way to wrap up the Great Depression! I swear, this teacher is full of ideas! Tuesday the students learned about the history of Monopoly (Yes the board game!) since it was invented during the Great Depression. Today, the students were asked to bring in Monopoly games so that they could play in class. The classes split up into groups of 4s and went at it!

**Daily geography was interesting this week because it was a map of NBA basketball teams across the USA. The questions were all about team locations and such. It was strange because these kids did not grow up during the Age of THE Chicago Bulls & Michael Jordan. Sure, they know hes great, but they never really got to witness it! They were born around 1991/1992. This makes me feel so old! ha ha. I guess its comparable to my generation missing out on the '85 Bears =( Anywho, the students were interested in the map because they like basketball!**

During first hour, I joined 2 girls who needed more people to form a group. The three of us played Disney Monopoly (so cute!). The students had to pay some attention to how the game related to the Great Depression and write a couple of sentences for the next class. The game also teaches students how to give change, manage money, and become rich! ha ha. It was also nice to work more one on one with a couple students. I got to know their personalities a little better.

In second hour, I joined 2 boys who needed a group. We set up the board and had a lot of fun. Again, it was nice to work in smaller groups with the students and relate to them better. The boys had a good time, especially buying property and such. It was too bad that our time was limited because the students were really getting into it. Of course Monopoly could last for days, but another half an hour or so would have been fun =) The students get along great and are capable of working independently. The ESL students worked in one group with the teacher. I thought maybe they could have been split up and included more with the other students. They seem to have a descent grasp on the game, and it would have benefitted them to be with fellow classmates instead of the teacher. I didnt like that they were grouped together. I also heard the same change in the teachers tone of voice as she worked with the students. It was slower, higher pitched, and it just seems demeaning. Maybe its just me...but after knowing how it feels to be separated and talked down to on Tuesday, I can imagine how those students felt.

We only have a few more hours of observations left, so it was nice to end on a fun note!

Who knew the Great Depression could be so fun

This week was a wrap up of the Great Depression for the 8th graders. Monday they were presenting the projects to the class that they had been working on in the library. First hour was pretty dull. The students presented their power points or webpages. It was nice to see how creative the students were and how much knowledge they have of the technologies. Most students stuck with the power points, but there were a few brave souls who came up with some creative webpages. The content was also very informative. As expected, the students were somewhat nervous to present, but not as much as I thought. It didnt seem like they had much practice presenting power points. All the students read right off the screen and had their backs turned away from the class. After they were done presenting, the students then talked about what other projects they worked on in the other categories.

Second hour was much more entertaining. Instead of presenting the technological projects, they presented their speeches, skits, interviews, or fire-side chats. It was amazing to see how confortable these students were in front of a classroom. One girl did a campagin speech and a skit that was so enthusiastic and interesting; the whole class got a kick out of it. These students feel comfortable with each other and are able to fully express themselves in their classroom. One student interviewed his great grandparents who were alive during the depression. I was amazed at how detailed his questions were. His interview was very intense and was very informative. The students were interested and impressed. One student also did a fire-side chat which he taped at home, then played for the class. It was very realistic. The teacher was also enjoying the presentations. Since the students had so many projects to do, they were given two days to present. Too bad we didnt get to see the rest of them! =( I was happy to see how much the students learned and how well they were able to apply their knowledge. They also had a lot of fun! It was a great way to end the chapter.