My letter to the Editor: School Reform

I believe that education system in the United States is lacking, and needs reform.
I think one of the most important parts to school reform is to eliminate a policy called "Last In, First Out." (LIFO)  The last teacher hired has to be the first teacher to lose their job, regardless of how good they are.  Their performance has nothing to do with the decision, it is strictly by seniority. Most of the time schools lose very good teachers because of  LIFO. LIFO protects adult seniority, but it hurts the district, the kids, and the teachers.

Michelle Rhee, who is the former Chancellor of the Washington D.C. school district has created a website called www.studentsfirst.org. This website is about school reform, and trying to help in the fight to improve the education system in the United States. According to Michelle Rhee's website, research has shown that when districts layoff teachers based on seniority, they end up firing some of their most effective teachers. The amount of teachers that need to be laid off increases because first, second, and third year teachers make less money, so they have to lay off more of them. It also hurts the schools that are in the highest need of great teachers. The poorer school districts generally have the most new teachers, so their teachers are the first to go.  In contrast, the higher income districts are more stable because their teachers have been teaching longer, so they are not as affected by the cuts. 

If you believe in transforming education through keeping good teachers, go to her website and join the fight against “Last In, First Out”. I recommend this website to anyone who believes in keeping good teachers, and helping reform public education.

Alease Loitz

Class Update: 4/26/11 Science Express

Dr. Johnson provided a special educational experience for us today. Our whole SPED 200 class visited the Science Express. Science Express is a 53-foot long mobile laboratory, which provides hands on, inquiry-based activities meant to inspire students about science. The Science Express is designed to bring hands on experience in science, math, and technology for students of all ages. The Science Express visits 20-25 schools a year in the hopes of exciting students to think about pursuing a career in bioscience.

I found the Science Express to be a really exciting tool, that will inspire children in the field of science. We  learned how to use a tool which is used for collecting DNA and blood samples and then we performed experiments using the tool with different chemicals to see the reactions. I found this experience to be very fun and educational. I can see how it would inspire students of all ages about science because it is hands on learning and fun along the way. I think the Science Express is a wonderful tool for teachers to inspire and excite their students about the world of bioscience.

My Field Experience

I did my first field experience at Madison Elementary in the St. Cloud School

District. I worked with Mrs. Stacy Louis and her fifth grade students. The lesson plans

focused on Language Arts. As I am reflecting back at the time I spent at Madison

Elementary, I realized a couple of things. From the first day of field experience, to

my last, I found it amazing how receptive the students were to me. Even that first day,

when I stood nervously in front of them trying to perform my first lesson plan. When I

had one on one contact with a student in the first couple of weeks, they were a little

tentative, but by my last day of field experience, it was as if I had been there all year. 

They really adjusted well to having me in their classroom, and that was rewarding for me.

I feel so much satisfaction from being able to teach and help them.

 Madison Elementary is a very diverse school, which I found to be very intriguing.

I do not have a lot of experience with other cultures in a school setting, and I am

extremely grateful that I was able to experience it through my field experience. There are

some Somali students in Mrs. Louis’s classroom, and I really did not know what to

expect at first. After spending some time in her classroom, I found them to be very

delightful students. The only trouble I had was interpreting their accents on occasion. 

They were very patient with me when I would ask them to repeat a word. Overall, I think

they spoke English very well. Some of the Somali students had trouble with their

writing and comprehension of what they were reading.  Mrs. Louis had me help some of

them one on one and that was rewarding for me.

One of the hot topics in Education right now is about religion in school.  On my

first day, a Somali woman came to Mrs. Louis door, and all the Somali students stopped

what they were doing, stood up, and left the room with her.  I inquired where

they went, and she responded that they went to pray. This was not a concept that I had

ever witnessed before. I have been a paraprofessional within the Elk River School

District and I had never experience students leaving in the middle of class to go pray.

Every time I was there, at the same time every day, they would all leave class to pray. I

am not sure how I should feel about religion in school.  My first reaction was that school

and religion should be separate if you attend a public school, but after thinking about it, I

came to the conclusion that they have strong beliefs in their religion, and it doesn’t hurt

to respect our differences.

I learned many things in the short amount of time I spent with Mrs. Louis and her

students at Madison Elementary.  Mrs. Louis is very good with her students, and I feel

she had a good student-teacher relationship.  She believes in keeping a quieter

atmosphere in her classroom.  She feels that she needs a quiet atmosphere to think and

learn in, and she thinks that some of her students need the same. I liked her logic because

I am one of those people who needs quiet when I am reading or trying to concentrate.

On my last day, I thanked Mrs. Louis and her class for welcoming me into their

classroom, and I brought cookies to share with the students.  A couple of the students

expressed to me that they were sad it was my last day. I know that I have to be a

professional, and that I am just a teacher, but I was a little sad, as I connected with some

of the students. Overall, I enjoyed my time at Madison Elementary, it was a very

rewarding experience for me.

My Personal Education Philosophy

            My calling to be a special education teacher derived from real, hands on

experience working with special needs children as a paraprofessional. My personal

educational philosophy has formed from these experiences, and has ties specific to the

Philosophy of Progressivism and Social Reconstructionism.  The topics I am going to

discuss in my educational philosophy paper are as follows; the role of the learner,

the purpose of education in society, important attributes that contribute to a highly

qualified teacher, preparing students for the 21^st Century,  and finally I will discuss how

my philosophies will influence how I organize my classroom learning environment and

classroom management.

            In regards to Progressivism, I believe that education should be a child-centered

classroom. I believe the focus should be on the individual needs of every child, and

that students should be involved in their learning. I believe that children learn the best if

they are interested and motivated, and I think that students being able to express their

ideas and experiences in the classroom keeps them interested and motivated. It also

provides opportunities in learning how to work together, to learn from other students, and

also learn to respect their differences.

            I believe that education should focus academically on content that emphasizes

teaching students to think critically and problem solve in the real world. Students need

experience in making decisions and solving problems, and the only way they are going to

learn is by doing.  I think children learn best from experiences that are meaningful to

them, and by seeing how material being taught relates to their own lives. Teachers should

be the guides in helping students explore the world that they live in, and help them relate

their learning to the world outside of the classroom. Students need to be taught and

prepared for the world outside of school.

            I believe that education subject content should focus on skills that will be needed

for future society. I also think that education should not be strictly textbook based, but

structured learning resources. Child assessment should not be strictly based on testing,

but on the students projects and accomplishments.  Social responsibility and democracy

should be promoted.

            I believe that education should focus on assisting students to become responsible

members of society. I believe in instilling values in students and encouraging things such

as tolerance and respecting others. Social skills are necessary and a very important skill

for special needs children to learn. I do not think that teachers should lose sight of

instilling these type of values and skills in our students. Becoming a responsible member

of society involves more than just learning, it involves developing students on all levels.

            The qualities that I feel are important to becoming a caring and effective special

education teacher are;  kindness, patience, and understanding. Although these are very

basic characteristics, I think they are the foundations needed to make a great special

education teacher.

            I think that the basic philosophy for my teaching strategies will involve a more

hands-on learning approach, which is learning by doing. I think it is important for

students to become active learners instead of a passive learner who would just sit and

listen to a lecture. Activity based learning promotes learning by exploring and

experimenting to see how things work. I believe that this will help them apply their

learned knowledge to the world around them. 

            We are living in the twenty first century world and I believe we need to teach

21^st Century skills. The 21^st century reform movement emphasizes the development of

student’s technological, analytical and communication skills, and are all skills needed for

students to survive and succeed in a technological world. Our students today are digital

learners, and I look forward to using the technology available to us to assist my students

in learning.

            As a teacher, I want to provide a safe comfortable atmosphere that enhances

student learning. I think if a student feels comfortable in their learning environment, it is

the first step in helping them reach their full potential.  Walking through the door, I think

students should see a welcoming environment and feel the positive attitude of the

classroom environment.

            I believe that classroom management strategies are essential and should be in

place in order for learning to take place. Deriving from my educational belief which

includes a student centered classroom, I think it is important that instructional or

management decisions be based on characteristics of each individual student which

include; academic, social, and emotional needs, as well as their interests, abilities and

culture. I believe that classroom management should use proactive strategies, which

would focus on preventing the discipline problems.

            In conclusion, it is my belief that my calling is to become a special education

teacher. I believe I will follow a progressivism and social reconstructionism style of

philosophy. My classroom will be a student-centered classroom and I believe the focus

should be on the individual needs of every child. My basic philosophy for my teaching

strategies will involve a more hands-on learning approach, and I think that instructional

or management decisions should be based on the characteristics of each individual

student. It is my belief that every child should not only get a good education, but

also have a teacher who cares and is aware of each students individuals needs. I want to

be that kind of a special education teacher, one who will make a difference in my

students lives.

Book Review: The Global Acheivement Gap: Chapter Six

Chapter 6 of the book, The Global Achievement Gap is titled: Closing the Gap: Schools That Work.
In chapter 6 Mr. Wagner talk about a network of charter schools in San Diego called High Tech High (HTH). It is like a mini school district, but it has gained international recognition for their innovative education, and for their results. High Tech High schools all have a common design principle, which includes; personalization, real-world connections, and a common intellectual mission. They also have a common set of goals; to serve a student body that mirrors the ethnic and socio-economic diversity of the local community, integrate technical and academic education to prepare students for post-secondary education, increase the number of educationally disadvantaged students in math and engineering who succeed in high school and post secondary, graduate students who will be thoughtful, engaged citizens. I really thought that their successful results are wonderful, and I hope other schools can learn from their success.

Mr. Wagner also talked about The Met's Five Learning goals, which I thought made a lot of sense and overlaps with Mr. Wagner's Seven Survival Skills. 
1. Communication: How do I take in and express ideas?
2. Empirical Reasoning: How do I prove it?
3. Personal qualities: What do I bring to this process?
4.  Quantitative Reasoning: How do I measure, compare, or represent it?
5. Social Reasoning: What are other people's perspectives on this?
Thinking about this list, it really makes sense, and I think that education needs model these concepts.

Mr. Wagner also talked about Francis W. Parker Charter Essential School. This charter schools concept is "Less is More" and "Student as Worker, Teacher as Coach". They have an impressive list of principles.
1. Learning to use one's mind.
2.Less is more, depth over coverage.
3.The same intellectual goals apply to all students.
4. Personalization
5. Student as worker, teacher as coach.
6. Demonstrate of mastery.
7. A tone decency and trust throughout school.
8.  Commitment to the entire school.
9.  Resources dedicated to teaching and learning.
10. Democracy and equity.
Francis W. Parker school has very impressive results and the thing that I liked the best is they refuse to teach to a test.

I think education needs to model their teaching and learning toward Mr. Wagner’s final points:
1. Learning and Assessment focus which means the main purpose of teaching is the development of core competencies for lifelong learning, not memorization.
2. Student Motivation. You can hear each student's distinct voice in every discussion, project, and paper. I really liked this one.
3.School Accountability and Teacher Development.

I have enjoyed reading Mr. Wagner's book, and it has given me insights to the crisis in the education system in the U.S.  Mr. Wagner has brought up many good ideas, including the Seven Survival Skills, which I think our education system needs to focus on. It is my hope that one day soon we will have a successful educational system that the United States can be proud of.

Group Eight Presentation: Chapter 12 Creating Productive Learning Environments: Classroom Management

Group 8 gave their presentation to the class on chapter twelve from our textbook, Introduction to Teaching. The chapter is titled Creating Productive Learning Environments: Classroom Management. This very informative chapter will affect all of us as new teachers, and they did a wonderful job in their presentation. They covered material on effective classrooms, a positive learning environment, smart boards, parent involvement, and misbehavior intervention. I felt this was a very important chapter for future teachers. It has a lot of information that is going to affect us on a daily basis, and they us gave lots of little tips along the way which I really enjoyed.  Great job!

Class Update: 4/21/11

Today in SPED 200 group eight gave their presentation to the class on chapter twelve from our textbook Introduction to Teaching. The chapter is titled Creating Productive Learning Environments: Classroom Management. This very informative chapter will affect all of us as new teachers.

Lastly, Professor Johnson went over our final blog for the class, which will be to write a letter to the editor picking a critical issue that we feel strongly about and sending to a paper to be published.  I have never done a letter to the editor before, so this should be interesting.

Class Update: 4/19/11

Today in SPED 200 group eight finished their presentation on chapter 10. They did a very good job on their presentation, and I thought it was very thorough.

Next, Professor Johnson discussed the budget cuts happening in the St. Cloud School District and how they are affecting the district.

Finally, we discussed hot topics going on in education right now, which are:
1.  Teacher Tenure
2.  Religion in Schools
3.  Corporal punishment

International News Article: Amid the Devastation Japan's Hardest Hit Colleges Struggle to Move Forward

http://chronicle.com/article/Amid-the-Devastation-Japans/126940/in
The campus of Kitasato University in northeast Japan was totally wrecked by the tsunami that followed the the earthquake that hit Japan. All 600 students will have to move to the private university's parent campus in Tokyo. Professors will have to relocate, and the main Sanriku building will probably be condemned.
I am still feeling very bad for the devastation in Japan.  Many people are trying to move forward, but it has to be hard when you see devastation all around you.  It is articles like this one that make you realize that they still have a long road back to recovery in Japan.

International New Article: Student suicides may force Elite South Korean University to Dilute Reforms

http://chronicle.com/article/Student-Suicides-May-Force/127155/
The president of South Korea's top science university is trying to save his job after a string of suicides sparked criticism against his controversial reform policies and a government audit showed financial and administrative violations. Nam Pyo Suh was forced to set up emergency committees from the university to deal with the university's worst crisis in its four-decade history. Mr. Suh started making poor performing students pay for their tuition, which was originally free if they passed a rigorous entrance exam.  Some of these students could not handle to pressure. A professor hung himself that was under investigation for misuse of funds.
Some people are calling for Mr. Suh resignation.  I think that I would be in favor of Mr. Suh resignation if he is indeed corrupt in his dealings with the university. 

Website Review: Studentsfirst.org

http://www.studentsfirst.org/
This website is the creation of Michelle Rhee, former Chancellor of the Washington D.C. school district, who formed this website to try and help in the fight to improve the education system in the United States.

I think one of the most important parts of Michelle Rhee's website is where she joins in the fight to try to eliminate a policy called "Last In, First Out." (LIFO)  The last teacher hired has to be the first teacher to lose their job, regardless of how good they are.  Their performance has nothing to do with the decision, it is strictly by seniority. Most of the time schools lose very good teachers because of  LIFO. LIFO protects adult seniority, but it hurts the district, the kids, and the teachers in the following ways:
1.  Research indicates that when districts layoff teachers based on seniority, they end up firing some of their most effective teachers.
2.  LIFO actually increases the amount of teachers that need to be laid off because junior teachers make less money so they actually have to lay off more of them.
3. LIFO hurts the highest need schools. On average schools in poorer districts, have the most new teachers, so they are the first to go, while higher income districts are more stable because they have less new teachers, and therefore are not as affected by the cuts.

I think that what Michelle Rhee is doing for education reform is amazing.  She is a strong woman who fights hard in the fight to better the public education systems. You can join the fight with her and sign up to help in education reform.  I love her website, and her cause, and I will recommend this website to anyone interested in keeping good teachers, and helping in the reform of public education.

Group Seven Presentation: Chapter Ten School Law

Group seven's presentation covered Chapter 10 from the text, Introduction to Teaching. Chapter 10 was titled: School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching. This chapter is important to future teachers because we need to know the legal and ethical aspects of being a teacher. Licensure is one of the first things that future teachers need to obtain.  Licensure is a process, which a state evaluates the credentials of protective teachers to ensure that they have achieved satisfactory levels of teaching competence and are morally fit to work with young people. Once we obtain a job, we will have to sign a teaching contract, which is a legal employment agreement between a teacher and a local school board.

An important ethical point was addressed during this presentation about the private lives of teachers. Social networks such as Facebook have become an issue for some school districts. Should teachers be friends with their students on facebook? I do not think so, and there have been teachers fired for interacting with students on the Internet.  I think that is a very important thing to be aware of when you become a teacher, keeping your personal life seperate from students. I thought group seven's presentation was very informative, and they did a great job.

Group Six Presentation: Governance and Finance

Andrew, Kirsten, and myself presented our presentation on Chapter 9 : Governance and Finance: Regulating and Funding Schools. Andrew covered the topic of how schools are funded and where all the money comes from in a school district. I covered a new concept of school reform called Mayoral Takeovers. Mayors actually take over in the running of the school district.  This has been happening in big cities across the United States and it started as a reform effort for struggling urban schools. Kirsten covered the pros and cons of alternative schools such as charter schools, home schooling, KIPP, and vouchers systems. This was a complicated topic to discuss but I thought we did a good job covering the material.

Class Update: 4/14/11

Today in SPED 200 we talked about the documentary Finland Phenomenon and then discussed important key points as to how Finland teachers and their education system is different from the United States. We talked about some key differences and discussed if we thought they would work in the U.S.

Group 7 gave their presentation on chapter ten from the text Introduction to Teaching. Chapter 10 was titled School Law: Ethical and Legal Influences on Teaching. This was a very interesting chapter because it pertained to the laws and ethics of teachers, an area we need to know as future teachers. Group 7 ran out of time to finish their presentation, so they will finish it on Tuesday.

Book Review: The Global Acheivement Gap: Chapter Five

Chapter 5 entitled Motivating Today's Students-and Tomorrow's Workers, Mr. Wagner asks the question, "What does it take to bring out the best in young people today, both in school and the workplace?" Both educators and business people are worried about the decline in the work ethics of young people in America. Educators complain that they do not read, they do not do their homework, they do not proofread their papers, they have no respect for authority, and they just really do not seem to care. The concerns are the same for business owners who hire young people. They agree that work ethic is not the same as it was 5 years ago.

The first point Mr. Wagner made about young people today are growing up in a very different world from the environment of generations before them really made me think about how different young peoples lives are today from years prior.  According to John Seely Brown, they are referred to as the "Net Generation", they are growing up digital. He made a comparison that I found interesting.  Browns view is that the internet will have as transformative an effect on how future generations learn, work, and play as the introduction of electricity had on daily life in the nineteenth century. He also thinks we are just beginning to see the effect that the World Wide Web and other technologies, especially on the younger people who have grown up with new and different communication, information, and creative tools.

The second point that made a lot of sense to me is that young people today are used to the constant connection to other people. They have all kinds of communicating software to stay in touch with their friends such as; My Space and Face book. I know this is true of my son who is in 8th grade.  The worst punishment I can hand down is taking his I-phone.  He is so used to the constant connection and he hates when I take his connection away.

The third point that made a lot of sense to me is that young people are used to what Mr. Wagner referred to as Instant Gratification.  Young people thrive in the world of ever-changing information, updates, and immediate access to whatever they want.  I think it has made young people more demanding and less patient because they do not have to wait for anything.

The fourth point I found interesting was that the use of the internet has transformed how young people today learn.  They do want to read long passages of text, because they are so used to the multimedia learning experiences. They do not to be taught by lecture style of learning.  They want more interaction and crave class discussion. They want to look up information on-line instead of looking through books. This is going to affect teachers and how teachers need to teach this new generation. I think teachers are going to have to reinvent how they perform lessons.  A lecture and a reading assignment is not enough. Young people get bored and then their motivation is gone.  Teachers are going to have to find a way to make learning a discovery. Young people want to be challenged to think and to solve problems, and teachers and future teachers need to learn how to motivate them.

Documentary Review: The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World’s Most Surprising School System

The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World’s Most Surprising School System. This documentary is about Finland's education system and why it ranks top in the nation. Dr. Tony Wagner, who wrote the book, The Global Achievement Gap, narrates this documentary.  He interviews teachers, parents, students, administration and government officials to find out why Finland is consistently ranking among the top education systems in the world.

Some of the top things that I think were the most apparent differences between Finland's education system and the United States are:
1.  Finland's education is based on trust.  They talked frequently about this topic. Not just the teachers but the students as well.  It is their opinion that students perform better when they are trusted.
2.  They do not rely heavily on testing their students.
3.  Only the top students that do very well in school, and get good grades, will be accepted into a university to become a teacher. You can work hard and get good grades, and it is still not a guarantee that you will be accepted into a university to become a teacher. The result is that Finland has very good teachers.
3.Teacher prep for future teachers.  Teachers in Finland spend a great deal of time being coached and guided. They spend many hours observing and watching. They are assessed, critiqued and mentored along the way. They are trained on how to perform a lesson plan, and also how to improve on it.
4. Their schools are a lot smaller, their class sizes are a lot smaller, and the result is the teachers have more time to work with their students. They are very informal and call their teachers by their first name. They have fewer classes during the day, and longer class times, so teachers can teach  more in-depth.

I think the most apparent differences between teachers in Finland and teachers in the United States were:
1.  Teachers are inquiry orientated. They look at their classrooms as lavatory for learning. Everything is shared and learned together, and they create an online learning environment.
2. Teachers work with children who may be behind, and approach teaching them from other angles, and find ways that are effective for that particular child.
3. Instead of the teacher standing in the front writing on the board all the time, in Finland, the children do the problems on the board, while the teacher reviews.
4.  In teaching math, teachers want the children to understand, not just learn the mechanics.
5.  Teacher's teach vocational skills. The students that pick the vocational path in school are taught vocational skills and are ready for a job when they graduate.

While I was watching the documentary, I found myself hoping that what they are doing in Finland with education will help the United States improve their education system. It is a real concern for me, and I truly want our education system to improve, so we can move forward and compete globally with other countries. I did find the documentary to be interesting and enlightening and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in education reform in the United States. 

Class Update: 4/11/11

Today in SPED 200 Dr. Johnson was at a conference and we watched a documentary called The Finland Phenomenon: Inside the World’s Most Surprising School System. This documentary is about Finland's education system and why it ranks top in the nation.
While I was watching the documentary, I found myself hoping that what they are doing in Finland with education will help the United States improve their education system. It is a real concern for me, and I truly want our education system to improve, so we can move forward and compete globally with other countries. I did find the documentary to be interesting and enlightening and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in education reform in the United States. 

Local news article: Cathy Black is Out as City Schools Chancellor

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/04/07/cathie-black-is-out-as-chancellor/?emc=na

Many people were stunned when Mayor Bloomberg put Cathie Black into the postion of school chancellor to run one of the largest public school districts in New York City, with no previous education experience.  Her time with the district did not work out and Mayor Bloomberg asked her to resign. She had the lowest approval rating, 17%, for someone in Bloomberg's administration.

I like the fact that Mayor Bloomberg and Cathie Black took action, and did the right thing, when they realized her positon was not working. Mayor Bloomberg said he took full responsibility for the fact that it did not work out, but now it is time to move forward.  I also liked that they both realized that it was becoming more about Cathie Black than the kids, and now it is time to put the kids first.

Class Update: 4/7/11

Today in SPED 200 Andrew, Kirsten and I gave our presentation to the class on chapter nine from the text Introduction to Teaching. Chapter nine was on Governance and Fiance: Regulating and Funding Schools. It was a complicated subject, but I think overall our presentation went well and Andrew and Kirsten were wonderful to work with.

After the presentation Dr. Johnson talked to the class about a website called Students First.org. This website was created by Michelle Rhee, and is a non-profit organization.  Michelle Rhee was the School Chancellor in the Washington D.C. school district. Michelle Rhee worked hard to try and transform the school districts. Many things that she tried was voted down my the teachers unions and after all of her efforts, she was fired. There is a section under take action where we can go to support her website.

She also talked about a new assignment in which we are going to assess two other people's blogs. I am going to assess Kirsten and Andrew's blogs. The blog reviews are due on April 19th.

The Kind of Teacher I Aspire to Become

I think one of the best qualities a teacher can have is caring if they make a difference in a child's life. That is what the bottom line is for me.  I still remember my favorite teacher in high school, Mr. Provo. Mr. Provo was an incredible teacher, and his daughter happened to be one of my good friends.  He taught OEA, Office Education of America, and I was in his class. In his class we formed our own businesses, learned how to balance a business checkbook, and many other practical things that you need to know how to do in real life. He had so much confidence in me, more confidence than I had in myself.  He always wanted me to go to college. He would tell me to go to college and make some professor happy. I did not go to college until 20 years later, long after Mr. Provo had died, but I never forgot his words to me. I always wish I could tell him better late than never Mr. Provo.  It is not everyday that a teacher will touch your life in some way, as he did mine, but that is what I want to do as a teacher. I want to touch my student’s lives in some way, and I want to make a difference. I want to display the same confidence in them that Mr. Provo had in me. I want them to know that they can do anything, and help them strive to accomplish their goals.

My education is very important to me, and it is the number one priority in my life with the exception of my children. I am a non-traditional student who did not step foot in a college until twenty years after high school. I was scared to death, to say the least. While I regret not going to college much earlier in my life, I am proud that I took this step. It was a huge step in my life, and now my mission is to get my degree.  I have many aspects of my life that make this challenging such as three sons and work, but I work hard to make it work. I am on my second year of college and I plan to stay the course to obtain my degree. My goal is to learn as much as I can from my classes along the way.

Class Update: 4/5/11

Today in SPED 200 we finished watching the documentary "Waiting for Superman". After the documentary, we went around the room one by one and talked about what part of this documentary affected us the most.  I would have to say that for me, it was hard to watch these children who really want to go to a better school, and it is all determined by the spin of a lottery wheel. How sad, that in this day and age, that children are turned away from better choices to further themselves, their education, and their future as a whole. I think I also learned from this documentary that parents need to be proactive in their childs education and future. If the parents are not stiving for a better education for their child, who will? I like the saying, "Education is a way out", and for many minority children in urban areas, this is reality.