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.

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.

Individual Learning Plan: Part 2 Isa Antepli Walden University E-Portfolio Assignment: Transition Point 4 August 1, 2014 Individual Learning Plan: Part 2 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.

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

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

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.

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

“To hell with your career, what is your calling?” It was this quote that led me to the classroom just five years ago. I was convinced that teaching was indeed my calling. I was compelled to make a difference in the world, and felt that there was no better way to do it than by educating young children, that in many ways, whether through life experiences or appearance, resembled me. I knew that this was no easy feat. In fact, it’s no secret that teachers do not make significant amounts of money, and the profession of teaching does not always receive the respect and dignity it is due. But it was that day, in the spring of 2009, after hearing Dr. Joseph E Lowery speak these words, I promised myself to never chase a career, but instead, to always

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

My Ideal Teacher 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

I had the honor of interviewing my mentor and field experience teacher who is a high school teacher. During my interview, I found out some background information about her. She has worked at Seventy-First High for about 10 years. She has also previously worked in elementary and middle schools but enjoys teaching at high schools. She graduated from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. She is 40 years old and has been teaching for the past 16 years. She is an English teacher as well as the school's speech and debate coach. She chose to become a teacher because she truly thought that every child has the ability to learn and to be taught. She strives to make sure that the students she teaches don’t endure the hardships of having a teacher that does not care about them or whether or not they are actually learning. The most common type of family violence she deals with is child abuse.

I am so delighted to have been able to conduct this professional interview- I was exposed to many aspects of teaching such as class management, any obstacles I may face, and stresses I may have to deal with as a teacher. I chose to interview my former, Grade 12 Biology teacher during his break in the science office at my former high-school (my former Grade 12 chemistry teacher was also present in the room). He provided me with a lot of information on my program, his views on teaching, and what he has learned from his experience as a teacher. He has been teaching for around 10 years, however, teaching is not his first profession, it is his third – he has experience working in an office setting as well. During his second career he realized that working an office job was not what he liked to do and so, he decided to pursue teacher’s college. The decision to attend teacher’s college came from his prior exposure to the world of teaching, with his wife and various other members of his family also working as teachers, as well as the realization that he was an effective mentor and trainer toward new members in his office. So far, he says, he enjoys teaching and has no regrets overall that he chose this pathway, however, there are times when he is exhausted and thinks “Why am I doing this?” but says it’s worth it when ex- students visit and tell him how his advice and what he has taught them is turning out to be beneficial for them or when they talk about their achievements- it

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.

In order to be a successful teacher it is important that one gets knowledge from an individual that is already teaching. For me, I chose to interview Ashley Branigan. Ashley teaches at Greenwood elementary school in River Falls Wisconsin. She is a third grade elementary school teacher in general studies. I did not know Ashley until I emailed her on the Greenwood school district website. From there, I found the grade level she teaches and we set up a day for me to interview her. I met her on Monday October fifth at 4:20pm in her classroom to discuss the questions with her and to learn more about what it is like to be an elementary school teacher.