I Am My Thinking About Education By Gary Fenstermacher And Jonas Soltis

In most affluent schools, parents have the expectation that their kids are being offered a full liberal arts curriculum that will allow them to further their creativity and curiosity. However, many schools have been only focusing on the subjects that are being tested on standardized tests set by the state, because they receive more school funding if they achieve higher test scores. In her article titled “The Essentials of a Good Education”, Diane Ravitch, utilizing direct examples of schools, and policies that limit student’s knowledge of the arts in order to have more time preparing for tests, points out that this shift in focus is causing students to suffer academically and is killing their curiosity and creativity.

Ashlyn Edwards is an elementary school grades teacher and is licensed to teach grade levels K-6. She currently resides in Texas and has taken some time off from teaching to be with her family. Before taking the time off, Ashlyn worked in two different schools, one of which was in Georgia and the other in Kansas. In Georgia, she taught Kindergarten and in Kansas she taught grade 1. I chose to interview Ashlyn because I had met her several years ago through another friend and I found out she was a teacher at that time. Even though I had not got to know more about Ashlyn before this interview, I was hopeful that she would be able to provide me some insight into what it is like being a teacher and the ups and downs of the job. I asked Ashlyn five questions related to her job and she provided answers that not only guided me but also helped me to understand ways that I can become prepared to teach.

In the year 2001, the United States government passed and established a law called the No Child Left Behind Act. This law created a set of standards for public schools to follow to prepare their students for college. For that to occur, schools must have their students to meet the minimum testing score in Math and Reading. If students do not reach the minimum requirement, that school would not receive federal funding. Diane Ravitch was an original supporter of this law but later changed her mind after realizing that schools became more focused in basic skills like Math and Reading and started to ignore other subjects that were deemed irrelevant since these subjects would not help a school recieve federal funding. In her essay, The Essentials of a Good Education, Diane Ravitch uses effective reasoning and pathos to persuade her audience that there is more to education than just the quality of test scores and that incorporating other subjects can be crucial to a student’s participation in society.

Students are rewarded for co-operation, achievement and progress and are frowned upon or punished for acts of deviance or misbehavior. The positive reinforcement of the skills that are developed in the early years of a child are further enhanced in the education system since it helps prepare students for interacting with other members of society and conducting themselves according to normal societal standards within the framework of societal roles. Durkheim's (1958-1917) theories were founded on the concept of social facts, defined as the norms, values, and structures of a society. According to Durkheim, society should be analyzed and described in terms of functions. Society is a system of interrelated parts where no one part can function without

When I was gaining my Bachelor’s Degree, the key statement throughout my journey through the education program was “I will continue to be a lifelong learner.” As I finalized this program I have reached this goal, and this will continue throughout my journey as a teacher as I become involved with more and more school and district based county activities through which I can use the theories, methods, and strategies I have learned throughout this program. In general, it is best, as Goldhammer (69) stresses, to avoid critical dissection of teaching. Too much criticism and

In order for me to meet the requirements of “the maximum for each question is one page,” I must first share how unique my situation is and how beneficial Fundamentals in Methodology and the book “Excellent 11” are to me at this time. I am pursuing teaching as a second career, after spending over a decade in corporate American and over 12 years as a stay home mom, school and church volunteer. I was encouraged to become a certified teacher by a friend who an educator and entrepreneur in her own right. It was my friend, Sheila Newton-Moses, who took me to Saint Peters University, introduced me to Dr. Doria and encouraged me to do this. I am now finishing the second semester in the program and am very excited at the prospect of teaching.

Inger has met leaders that have had a great impact on her teaching style and the type of teacher she wanted to be. She remembers her first experience in teaching, a time when she was assigned to a seasoned

The teacher candidate has always felt she puts more pressure on herself than her external factors. She is not as nervous to teach to students, but teaching in front of Maercker Intermediate School staff members. On top of putting pressure on herself, she become anxious worrying about what her cooperating teacher and other Maercker staff think. The teacher candidate knows she is not qualified teacher, and can make a few teaching errors along the way, but she worries if she not demonstrating the right teaching strategies and methods. At times, she did not feel confident to teach, but over time, she learned to not focus on what staff members think of my teaching, but focus on how I will impact student learning. Miss Butzen has communicated with Mrs. Corcoran on effective teaching strategies, which she suggests have students work in cooperative learning groups and have students participate during teacher-directed instruction. She has taken this advice, and prefers to use the interactive teaching instruction. Ashley has discovered she does not want to do the majority of teaching a lesson in lecture, teacher directed style, but have students engaged in the lesson by having students volunteer to model the measureable learning target and have students work in cooperative learning groups during the practice

While observing during my fieldwork assignment I had the pleasure of speaking candidly with quite a few teachers. It was Chanel Thompson’s conversation that stood out to me most. It seems we are like minded in many ways. Currently she works at Francis Elementary, a school that is currently plagued with the daunting tasks of trying to enrich not only the academic careers but the lives of its students. Francis Elementary is one of the many Houston schools that services children that fall in the bottom of the lower middle class, in terms of socio economic statuses. Like me, Chanel stated that she picked this profession because of the impact she would have on various children that she would teach from year to year. After teaching for just four short years she still feels the same way. She went on to say “Teaching will be the hardest yet most rewarding job you will ever have.”

After hearing Kristina’s background of her road to becoming a teacher, I began to ask her questions about her teaching experience. The first question that I asked Kristina was what influenced her decision to become a teacher? Kristina’s response to this question connected greatly to my own influences. She had known that she wanted to teach from about second grade. Kristina nannied and babysat for multiple kids when she was younger. The experience she had with watching kids had an impact on what she wanted to do in her life. Having the opportunity to relate to children

While getting ready to observe my first class at Upper Moreland High School I was excited to see a new classroom climate through objective eyes that I may not have used before. I would be observing a teacher with fifteen years of teaching experience and is looked at as a prominent member of the music department. Although we have worked together for four years I have never been able to see him teach and was excited about this opportunity. When I approached this teacher he was hesitant, much like the teacher from Reflexive Teaching: Toward Critical Autoethnographic Practices of/in/on Pedagogy , and expressed that he had been teaching the “same way” without any new “fancy techniques” for many years(Warren,139) Before the initial observation I interviewed the teacher. While interviewing him I not only asked about his teaching experiences but about other life ventures and was given some very surprising answers, such as the fact that he was a business owner for ten years previous to teaching. I was curious to see if his business side, as well as, other aspects of his life would show through in his teaching. After three days of observations and shadowing, I have learned a great deal about how life experiences, personal demeanor, among a mountain of other things molds one 's teaching and classroom climate.

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.

What Leonhardt is suggesting is that for our country to help the progress towards eliminating the income gap, our politicians must first see the inequality within these issues and see how they are different in wealthy communities’ vs. poor communities. The more they look at the way money is spent and see the difference in the way schools and people treated within the school, healthcare system, etc. The more they can start to take steps toward solving those problems. However, making changes in education will not be nearly enough to resolve the problem. In other sections of Leonhardt article, he talks about education saying "When a society becomes more educated, many of its less-wealthy citizens quickly acquire an ephemeral but nonetheless crucial

As a future educator an important element is learning from others, listening to a teacher's battle in the classroom from a teacher that has only taught a year to one that has been teaching for twenty years. The fact that we get to ask questions is ridiculously important for our future in the classroom. Although, the teacher that was interviewed was a new teacher, which we can relate to, the fact that he has manage the control of a class instead of just observing. He had a considerable amount of insight, even though the school he teaches in is small. He answered the question surprisingly to the best of his abilities. His insight was great for me because I want to teach in a small school that does not serve many students. This interview helped by the fact that he is not that far from our age and we will be in his shoes sooner rather than later, he was opening our eyes to the real world of teaching and the fact that you may have your heart set on one point , but it will not happen the way you want it.

When I think about teachers that I have had in the past, several different ones come to my mind. Each of these educators stands out in my mind for a variety of diverse reasons. Whether it is their sense of humor, their tactfulness, their love of the subject matter, their fanatical and sporadic behavior, or their yearning to be childish themselves, I can still remember at least one quality of every teacher I have ever encountered. Every one of these teachers conveyed subject material to their students just as they were educated and employed to do. However, I trust that every professional in the world has an abundance of opportunity for improvement; teachers could discover and improve themselves merely by having