Brockton High School Reflection

Teachers shape the minds of students to realize what their purpose is in life. Lately, because of certain educational reforms, it has been hard for teachers to say what they need to say. “In 40-plus states, the math and English guidelines determine the knowledge students have to master by the end of each grade, what they’ll be tested on this year, and in many cases, how teachers and principals will be rated at their jobs once those test scores are released” (Strauss). Most educational reforms are adopting standardized testing and should be reconsidered. Statistics even show that since we have taken part in reforms like No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, and Common Core State Standards math and reading are declining. These standards tell teachers what to teach and what the students should know by the end of the school year. The reforms also evaluate teacher performance by how well the students learn the information. Some people believe educational reforms should not be telling teachers how to teach their students, and others believe that the reforms are absolutely fine the way they are. However the truth is educational reforms are yet to be perfected.

As an educator, Stuart learned the values of getting the students involved in activities and competitions using the form of games or play. As a principal he learned that it takes the parents and members of the community to be involved in with the learning environment in the student’s home and in their community and school. When he was a superintendent, he found out the negative impacts on teaching and learning of wrong interference, lack of money, and of course the political conflicts always seemed to get in the way of educating the students. Mr. Stuart wanted for all students to have a great education by good and dedicated teachers. By having well taught teachers in the classrooms, the students would thrive in the best ways toward their education. He tells of how he handles situations and how situations handled him.

Teachers may sometimes feel like that boy on the beach, as if we are fighting a losing battle against cultural diversity in the classroom, learning difficulties, standardized testing, resistant parents, and

As minority students increased in urban public schools, they have now become the majority of the school population and have brought difficult topics to the surface; race and ethnicity. In Another Inconvenient Truth: Race and Ethnicity Matter, Hawley and Nieto published their beliefs on how cultural differences are not to be tucked away and hidden in an educational setting, but embraced and celebrated to promote education by the teacher in an academic journal: Educational Leadership. Their appeals and claims provide various instruction to guide professional educators to overcome the achievement gap.

If they all work together the classroom will not only be a positive environment, but the goals that have been set will be achieved. High-quality teachers are important to have in any school district because they can really make a difference on our student’s life. We need to realize that our students are our future and it is important that they use what they have learned so they can learn to face the world properly with the different type of skills they have learned in school. Some students face complications, but educators are their to help students get through anything. It is always important to ask questions and to ask for help. This is something we encourage most at the Rolla Public School

Rendon was discussing a teacher’s class that was in the meeting and reviewing the teachers data, noticed there were many students who had dropped on their last STAR reading test. She informed the teacher that she was concerned and ask her what she could do to help in the classroom. I was shocked that the new teacher wasn’t offended or embarrassed, and accepted the help. I then realized there was a great amount of trust that the teachers had with Mrs. Rendon. The teachers felt supported and understood when Mrs. Rendon asked what the teachers needed, she was genuinely concerned and wanted to help. Research on group processes in schools has shown that leaders who trust and believe in others and model these traits accomplish far more and develop devoted followers (Martin, Danzig, Wright, Flanary, & Brown,

According to the University of Michigan, the average student grades 1st through 12th goes to school for approximately 32.5 hours per week, additionally spending 4 hours per week on homework outside of the classroom (Swanbrow). When considering those numbers it’s without a doubt that school makes up the majority of a child's life. Therefore one can see the potential for a teacher to be a hugely influential force on adolescents. In the story "Bodega Dreams" by Ernesto Quinonez portrays the extremes of the student/teacher dynamics with two very different teachers. On one hand, there's Mr. Blessington, a mean-spirited, tough teacher that is constantly putting the kids down and telling them they'll never be more than criminals. On the other, Mr. Tapia, a nice, gentle and motivational teacher who is building kids up. After Mr. Blessington pushes a kid to the edge and there's an assault, Mr. Tapia helps to cover it up because he doesn’t want anyone to hurt their futures. Even though both these teachers were extremes on both ends of the spectrum, it raises good points about teaching styles and how to handle children/students. When it comes to teaching and fostering children's learning after seeing both sides that a happy medium of positive and negative reinforcement, nurturing and tough-love is needed to create a healthy compromise in classrooms.

After almost 12 years in the Napavine School District I have had many different experiences. I think the Napavine High School is a pretty good school, although I don’t have experience with other schools. I do think there is some changes and improvements that the Napavine High School could use. One of the main issues I think the school has is the amount of core classes required and the total number of credits required.

As a student in the Education Department at Saint Mary’s College, I have been assigned a set of eight standards to fulfill before graduation. Having these standards guides all students in becoming the necessary well-rounded teacher candidates needed to go into the field of education and ultimately becoming a successful teacher in the future. Each standard relates to a different area, including having a broad and comprehensive understanding of learning processes, the professional environment, and content. Throughout the last two years, I have had a number of opportunities, both in the field and in my classes at Saint Mary’s, to meet these eight standards.

Being a teacher is one of the most difficult professions in the world. We are responsible for the education of all the future citizens. As teachers, content will always be a major component of what we do but it should not be what drives us. Kottler, Zehm, and Kottler (2005), authors of “On Being a Teacher: The Human Dimension”, believe that the “goal of education is not to teach subject matter but to promote the development of productive and positive human beings.” In order to accomplish that,

Seton High School has blessed me with countless opportunities that have helped me to develop my character. My favorite opportunity that I was able to participate in was the Hugh O’Brian Youth Leadership Seminar. At HOBY, I met over 200 other high school sophomores and spent the week with them learning how to improve my leadership skills and work as a team.

As an educator and knowing educators on all spectrums of the field, the curiosity of when Melanated people are going to start becoming more accountable for OUR children is in full effect. The teacher who was completely way out of line in Baltimore is only a pin in a haystack as to what some teachers really think or say when they go home. Wenger (1998) wrote, “The focus on the social aspect of learning is not a displacement of the person. On the contrary, it is an emphasis on the person as a social participant, as a meaning-making entity for whom the social world is a resource for constituting an identity” (p. 2).

“that an effective classroom, must create a sense of belonging, foster mutual respect and trust and that the classrooms must be absent of fear. According to Rafe, “Level 1 thinking is based on fear. Eventually we want our children to behave well not because they fear punishment but because they believe it is right” ( 15).

This book will discuss how schools do not trust themselves enough, now they rely on standardized tests with standardize curriculum based lessons by the United States for our misguided trust. Meier believes that the schools must win back their faith in our educational system by showing what teachers are capable of. With that being said make the teachers challenge by making the comparison between schools that rely upon standardized tests, versus small, self- governed schools. Meier focuses on her theory that schools thrives when classes are smaller, personal, and when parents

I consider and know that children are the future of our world; we have to know how to teach and educate them adequately so they could be prepared to lead future generations. I consider that each child has its own way of learning; there are multiple ways in which a person could be intelligent and capable of completing tasks. I want to be able to help children with everything they need. I want to motivate them to do and be the best in every task and area, everything that they dream and think about, to persuade their dreams and never give up no matter how hard they think it is or how difficult becomes trough the way. I don’t want to be the type of teacher that goes through the school year teaching what I have to and limit my capabilities to show them things and lessons useful for their lives, I want every child that goes to my classroom, leave it at the end of the year with instructions or lessons that make them better persons. Additionally, think that it’s important to have a good balance between discipline and kindness with students, it’s important to have a good relationship with the students because in that way is easier to communicate with them; if they have any problems or trouble learning a lesson or something in the content, if they have a good communication and relationship with you, it will be easier for them to tell you about what is causing them trouble. In some cases, when the educator is strong and teaches with hard discipline, the students tend to evade them and