Sunday, March 30, 2014

The Union:
                I understand that the teacher’s union is supposed to be there to protect my job in the future but I am not sure I like it. The idea that the union will stand up and fight for my position is great. However, the union is also fighting for the jobs of some teachers that should just be fired. When we were talking about the teacher that drank with her students, let them drive her car, and then invited them back to her place it made me sick. As a teacher we are in a very powerful position because the students in many cases spend more time with us than their parents. The influence we have over our students should not be abused. No teacher should ever do what that teacher did with her students. The problem was that the union fought for her and against the administration that had every right to fire her. This is where my problem with the union is starting. I do not feel comfortable with being part of a group that would defend such horrible actions. In many ways the union connects with the way the teachers act in school because they know it would be really hard to be fired with the union in their corner. I do not want to be one of the teachers that does whatever I want whether it is good for the students or not. The most important thing to me as a teacher is my students and doing what is best for them. Even if I have to sit alone as Kim spoke about; I will not change the way I feel about teaching. I am sure that I am not alone in this thinking but the test will be when we finally enter the situation. Who will speak up, who will just sit by, and who will join the other side?


 

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Sunday, March 23, 2014

Chapter 9:


Book clubs in a classroom as part of the curriculum is a great idea. This book has stated over and over to add outside reading for the students. The hard part with this idea is that there is never enough time in a school year. The use of the book club gives students the opportunity to read a narrative about what you are teaching and it does not take too much time away from class. The only thing as a teacher is that in order to pull this off successful you have to be extremely prepared. During the course of the book club the teacher’s job is to just facilitate but this only works if the teach comes to the club prepared. That means knowing the each book option, having read the books and then know what the desired outcome from reading is. The major idea that the students should take from the book. This is the one thing that if I did a book club as a teacher I would have trouble with. I want to be truly honest here and say that I don’t know if this is something I would do. I believe it is a great idea and excellent for the students but I cannot say for sure I would prepare enough for it. As a teacher I want to give the students the best opportunities but I am scared that I will drop the ball more than once for assignments. The idea that there will be classes I enter without any prep and completely fail the lesson and the students. I can say over and over that it will not happen but the truth is it most likely will.


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Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Chapter 5 and 7:
In the past chapters the book talked about textbooks and the importance of outside readings. Chapter five expanded on this by giving us different strategies to help the students read the material. It is one thing to find outside reading that is relevant and another to know the students really understand it. While reading the chapter I realized that I do many of these strategies in college but I taught myself in many ways. I cannot remember a teaching showing me how to take notes on a reading. It is such a helpful tool that takes minimal effort that it confuses me that it was not taught. Our job as teachers is not just to teach our content but to show the students how to get the most out of the material in front of them. I know that I am going to keep this book close as I teach to make sure that I don’t forget to teach these strategies.

Chapter seven in many ways tries everything we do in the classroom into a bundle. The idea of using the right textbooks, bringing in outside readings, and even teaching reading strategies do not mean anything if the students do not trust you. A teacher can have the best lesson plans and the most interesting material but if the students do not trust that teacher they will not learn. The idea of listening to students seems so simple but is not done often enough. The best way to teach your students is to know them.  
This would be a great poster for the classroom as a reminder for the students and the teacher.
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Sunday, March 2, 2014

Chapter 6:
Last week we read a chapter that stated textbooks were not enough and that different types of readings were helpful. The chapter did not say to eliminate textbooks completely and in many cases the book a teacher has to use is out of their control. Therefore, it is important to make the textbook reading easier for the students to understand. It is important for the students not only to read the information but to understand what information is important to remember. I know many times that I have no direction for reading assignment I tend to skim the text. When I do this there is a lot of information that I ended up missing. The techniques that are presented in Chapter 6 are great to help students pick thru the reading and reach a deeper understanding. The jigsaw method had each student concentrate on a certain topic in the reading. This allows for a lighter reading and a deeper understanding of the information. This method also allows the students to work with their peers because the class is working as a team to cover all the information in the class. If a teacher must use a text that is require and a tough read for students it is very important to help the students through it. Even something as simple as a premade outline for the students will give them a guide to make it thru the reading. In high school I had such a hard time with all the reading it would have been nice to have some more direction from my teachers.
Here is a link to a website with more information about the jigsaw teaching:
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