Class Update: 2/10/11

Today is SPED 200 our first few minutes of class we found a partner and discussed who our favorite teacher was and why he or she was our favorite teacher, for one minute each.

We watched a news broadcast on the topic of popularity and social cruelty in schools. In the beginning it explored what makes kids popular, and the power that the popular children have over kids who are not popular. Next, it talked about the fact that kids need friends, and the ones who do not have any are the children that you need to worry about.  Finally, it went into bullying at school, and how they are trying to reduce bullying. I found this to be very informative and I think will help me in the future when I am a teacher.

We broke into groups of 3 and formed our own "Anti Bullying Campaign'. We came up with ideas and slogans and wrote them down in the form of mindmaps. Overall our class had some very good ideas, and it was a great learning experience.

Class Update: 2/8/11

This morning we started class with a listening skill lesson.  We paired up into partners, and then practiced listening to our partner for one minute. Next, we talked about the book, The Global Achievement Gap, written by Tony Wagner, and went over seven survival skills.

We then moved on to the topic of the day, which was Chapter three from our text, Introduction to Teaching: Schools and Society and School bullying and Cyber bullying. Mrs. Johnson talked to us about the importance of this issue in education today, and explained how real this problem is in schools. We watched a movie Bullied, which was about a boy that was bullied at school because he was gay.  I was very sad to realize what this child had to endure at school, at the hands of bullies. School should be a place where every child should feel safe, and receive a safe education.

Local News Article: Mother: Anoka-Hennepin School Policy Contributed to gay son's suicide

http://thecolu.mn/4484/mother-anoka-hennepin-school-policy-contributed-to-gay-sons-suicide
Tammy Aeberg feels that an Anoka-Hennepin school policy helped contribute to her gay son's suicide. Her son was bullied about his sexual orientation, and she blames the school district for not intervening to stop it. She feels that the teachers in the district have their hands tied because of a policy, which states:

Anoka-Hennepin staff, in the course of their professional duties, shall remain neutral on matters regarding sexual orientation including but not limited to student led discussions. If and when staff address sexual orientation, it is important that staff do so in a respectful manner that is age-appropriate, factual, and pertinent to the relevant curriculum.

I can see Tammy Aeberg's position on this matter.  Her son should have been able to attend school in a safe environment.  Every child is entitled to a safe education, and if there is a child who is being bullied, then the district needs to intervene. School bullying is a very big problem and I think teachers and administrators need to know that they can intervene to stop the bullying.

Documentary Review: Bullied

Today in SPED 200 we watched the movie Bullied, and as a future teacher I was horrified to see how Jamie Nabozney was treated at school, a place where he should have been safe. This type of harassment should not happen at school, and it is very sad to think about the length of time Jamie endured it. Every child has the right to a safe education, and the school administration should have made sure that was the case for Jamie Nabozney. School bullying is a real problem, and very relevant in education today. I think this movie has made me realize just how serious this issue really is. It has also made me realize that when I am a teacher, I am going to do my best to make sure that bullying doesn't happen in my class, or anywhere at school. I think children should be taught how damaging bullying can be. Not just to children who are gay, but any child living with harassment. I think this movie will be a great teaching tool to educate children about bullying, and the effects it can have on someone’s life. Growing up is hard enough, but when a child is targeted, for whatever  reason, that is the kind of pressure that can lead to suicide. Luckily, Jamie's story did not end that way. He got the help he needed to fight back, have his day in court, and win. What a wonderful outcome.

National News Article from the International Herald: More German Students are Opting to Study Abroad

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/24/world/europe/24iht-educSide24.html?ref=internationaleducation

In Germany, more students are deciding to study abroad. The number of students deciding to study abroad has doubled from 2000 to 2008.  The increase is because the government of Germany is putting more money into higher education programs, and offering financial incentives for young people to study abroad. I like that the German government is allocating more money to higher education, especially study abroad programs.  The students taking advantage of this opportunity will gain cultural diversity and knowledge, something that has become a hot topic in today's world of education. Thirty percent of the students applying will get government grants to study abroad, which I think is a very good opportunity for the students in Germany.

Class Update: 2/3/11

The first topic on the agenda today was about an organization called Teach for America. Teach for America’s goal is to improve the quality of education in low-income communities.  This organization takes college degree graduates of all academic majors, trains them in a rigorous training program, and in return, they commit to teach in urban and rural public schools for two years. They are working to eliminate educational inequality. This falls under the new concept, alternative licensure. High education schools are collaborating with Teach for America in the hopes to get their employees licensed.

We watched a video presentation given by speaker Tony Wagner, who wrote the book, The Global Achievement Gap. Tony Wagner feels that even the best schools in the United States today do not teach what our children need to survive in the 21st century job market. The seven survival skills are as follows:
1. Critical thinking and Problem Solving.
2. Collaboration Across Networks, and Leading by Influence.
3. Agility and Adaptability.
4. Initiative and Entrepreneurialism.
5. Effective Oral and Written Communication. 
6. Accessing and Analyzing Information.
7. Curiosity and Imagination.

I found this fact particularly interesting, Effective Oral and Written Communication is the number one complaint about recent high school and college graduates, by their employers.

Finally, we read an adapted article from Linda Darling-Hammond's The Flat World and Education: How America's Commitment to Equity will Determine Our Future. This article talks about our current crisis in the education system in the United States today, and discusses changes that need to be made to transform our education system into the 21st century. We broke into our small groups and discussed the article.

I think the numbers speak for themselves; the United States is ranked thirty-fifth out of the top forty countries in math. In Science, we ranked twenty-ninth out of forty. These numbers have dropped since the year 2000 when the No Child Left Behind Act was introduced. These are scary statistics to me, and I agree with Linda Darling-Hammond and Tony Wagner, our Education System needs to be transformed and brought into the 21^st Century.

Class Update: 2/1/2011

Today in class, Dr. Johnson went over the MTLE, which stands for Minnesota Teacher Licensure Examination.  This is a basic skills assessment that every future teacher has to pass before you can enter the junior block of teaching. This test replaces the Praxis test, which I had already taken and passed. The MTLE test only has a 40% pass rate according to Dr. Johnson.  Good luck everyone!

We made mind maps on chapters one and two from our text, Introduction to Teaching. She broke us into our small groups to work on creating our mind maps. We used big sheets of paper and bright colored markers, and then used our creativity to create an educational mind map relating to our chapter. When we were finished, our small group presented our mind map to the other group assigned to us. Andrew, Kirsten and I worked on Chapter 2 - Developing as a Professional. This chapter focused on entering the profession of teaching, the first year of teaching, and professional development. I thought creating mind maps from the text was a very fun, creative way to read and learn from the textbook.