High school math teacher Mark Biller is an inspiration and ultimately the reason I decided to become a teacher myself. He has taught at multiple schools over his teaching career, but ultimately found his place at Polaris Expeditionary Learning School in Fort Collins, Colorado where he has been for the past 4 years. Teaching is not an easy thing, but it comes naturally to Mark as he shares his love of numbers with students in an engaging way. Although I only had the opportunity to be in 2 of his classes as a student, I was able to observe Mark’s teaching style more in-depth as a teacher’s aide for all of the classes that he offered as well as receive guidance in my own budding teaching style.
The most important part of leaning to be a
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And when other new teachers act like they know everything, call them out. Do not be afraid to stand up to them and help them to be better teachers or realize that they are not meant to be in education.
Because Legal responsibilities are a daily occurrence, there are many things you need to look out for. Mark thinks one of the most important things to look out for special ed students or students with either a 504 or an IEP. It is critical to make sure to meet their accommodations, no matter how irritating or pointless you feel they might be. Ethical situations are also commonplace and a multitude of situations occur that need to be dealt with in a timely manner. Some hard decisions Mark has had to make include deciding when to tell a punk kid to stop being a macho idiot and when to stand up for a kid when they’re being mistreated, but not bullied by someone else. Also, when to give a student extra time when no one else gets it, but they’re trying their hardest and it’s still not good enough.
Mark Biller describes the educational system like a delicate ecosystem, all parts of it need to work together if things are going to last. If the community does not support a school, odds are the school will have to close-down. If the teachers don’t work with parents, then kids will not get the support they need. If parents do not support teachers, students loose an
Young people wind up neglecting high school for various reasons. In this circumstance, a number of students either don't have the aspiration to remain in school or they simply cannot stand to pay the tuition. In a couple of cases, the students dropout, as a result of low quality teaching. According to the article, Let Kids Rule The School by Susan Engel, she states “I recently followed a group of eight public high school students, aged 15 to 17, in Western Massachusetts as they designed & ran their own school within a school.” This quote shows that in our society today, its critical to consider who our 'associates' are in a peer learning group & how they don’t have a part like an educator.
Parent and Community involvement does not occur overnight. I feel that schools must make parent and community involvement a priority, valuing and accepting each other’s differences. Schools, families and communities must work together to support all students in a learning environment to ensure every student is a successful learner. Positive family and school involvement fosters a partnership among my school encouraging students to reach their highest potential academically and in life. Parent and community involvement does not mean stay-at-home mothers coming to school to help as needed, or a businessman stopping by to see events occurring on campus. The role of school, family and community involvement is a partnership incorporating goal-oriented activities for all grade levels linked to academic success and student growth.
Schools frequently cite a variety of social problems like poverty, broken homes, and bad parenting as excuses for their own poor performance (Greene, 289). In the article of The Myth of Helplessness it touches on a few reasons why it is believed that some schools have great reviews and others don’t. Greene talks about what others believe helps the school systems and what is believed that causes students to fail in school. I agree with author Jay P. Greene that, yes poverty, broken homes and other social problems pose a significant challenge but the evidence simply does not leave room for the conclusion that these challenges are insurmountable (290).
It is said that “Most families want to know what is going on in the school and would do a better job of parenting and educating if they knew how.” (MORRISON, 2009, p. 491)
It is essential for child of any age to get a form of education. Private or public, school is a necessity for children to expand their knowledge and learn from their mistakes. But, how will a vast eighty-seven percent of the US's children learn if there is not money to invest in their public schools? Mothers Jessica Blatt and Lizzie Scott in their editorial argue that Public schools are not receiving the affection they need. First, Blatt and Scott incorporate emotional diction into their editorial to appeal to the audience's empathetic emotions. Second, Blatt and Scott integrate specific details into their editorial to emphasize the change that needs to happen in the public schooling system. Third, Blatt and Scott manipulate the syntax of their editorial to mirror the how the Public School Watchdogs need supporters now. These establish a passionate devoted tone. Blatt's and Scott's editorial is significant because it enlightens one about the problems happening behind the doors of public education.
Evans Clinchy contends that it is the role of public schools to remain solidly connected to the “will of the citizens of our local communities” (Koonce, 2015,
In Underfunding for Public School by Marcial Macias, he specifically addresses how are schools going to provide the proper education to students if schools don’t have the proper funding? This question prompts a wide variety of answers and opinions due to the fact that everyone has their own opinion on this query. This question seems to interest the majority of people in the American society. Therefore, I can see many people such as parents reading Macias’s essay.
When a school receives a negative or unsatisfactory rating it will be important that as an administrator we do not hide but rather face the problem head on. If we try to dodge those who are concerned it will only lead to more anger and fractured relationships. It is important that we focus on maintaining and improving upon our relationships. We need to capture the communities and parents trust through our actions toward improvement which can be supported by data. Per, Maze of Mistrust Parents, Educators, and the Challenge of Public Engagement business groups, local government officials, taxpayers, and civic organizations were sometimes clamoring for change and often mystified by what the schools were up to. Now is the time that we must
Understanding the importance of a family-school partnership is essential in order for school districts and families with children to grow and strive. If an imbalance occurs within any of the various parts that play a key role, difficulties will rise to the surface. Several of these roles include: communication, decision making, volunteering, and learning and parenting at home. All of these factors must work together in order to create a successful school environment in which children are able to learn and strive. When a school is successful in fulfilling each of these roles, there are several benefits. These benefits include: better positive attitudes toward school, higher achievements, better attendance, higher graduation rates, an increase in enrollment rates in post-secondary education, and overall better schools to attend (University of West Virginia).
Today, however, it seems as if the public has lost track of the importance of a great educational system. The main issue today’s public schools faces are funding problems. There is not enough money allocated to support the growing needs of school across the nation.
Although it is important for families to be involved with their child’s school, school personnel should also strive to create a positive interaction with families of students. Carl Dunst (2002) states that school and parent collaboration is necessary, and if schools take on a more family-centered approach, it will help create a supportive environment and help to strengthen a family’s capacity to enhance and promote a child’s development and learning.
Without question, Curtis is one of the four or five most outstanding students I have taught at Cheyenne-Eagle Butte High School in eight years of teaching. With a strong determination and a deep interest in mathematics, Curtis has a curiosity and an inquisitiveness that is rivaled by few of his peers. While studying my courses, Curtis demonstrated tremendous effort and brought a great energy to the class. He truly displayed a growth mindset. Having the combination of a positive attitude and the belief that he can always improve is essential to the learning process.
Public school systems need to be more sensitive to their students. Parents play the major role in determining a child’s academic outcome, but the school system needs to notice children who don’t necessarily acknowledge their gift. These children need guidance -- I believe it is the schools’ responsibility to provide it to them. I have been through a situation that makes me feel strongly about the subject. My example is an indisputable case in point.
In today’s economic environment even the wealthiest states and districts are having to cut funding for education, while districts which were already teetering on the edge are now in an even worse position. In some schools children have to face not having enough books, paper for copies, severe overcrowding,
In addition, insufficient funding of schools along with quality teachers that are retiring are some of the problems we encounter in the education system. In some parts of the United States, there is a lack of adequate access to materials for reading and writing due to budget constraints. In Allen D. Kanner’s article, “Today’s Class Brought to You By…” he mentioned that with the baby boomers retiring, and a high turnover among new teachers, who are asked to teach subjects they are not properly trained for, are causing difficult classroom situations (280). Similarly, Governor Jerry Brown’s statement last January 11 pointed out that K-12 education has ‘borne the brunt’ of the state’s budget cuts with more than $18 billion in cuts over the last three years. This resulted in larger class sizes, programs are cut, and over 30,000 educators laid off. These teachers are very valuable in our society because they provide our youth with the knowledge and social experiences that they will use to better their future and the future of the entire world. As a student, I have suffered the consequences of triple digit fee increases and the lack of available classes offered. The high cost of education has put the burden not only on the students, and many of their parents, but educators, as