Event Blog: Hair

The production of the musical Hair was an extremely entertaining show and was very well done. It was clear that the cast had spent a large amount of time researching their characters and rehearsing in order to present the best production possible. The show would not have been a success without the cooperation and teamwork of the cast. Much of the interpretive dancing was done with a partner or a group, and the interaction of the characters is what gave the production life. The message of the play was about liberty, freedom and the rights of the people. This production, topped off with an incredible amount of energy was very entertaining, informative, and fun to watch.

Many of the skills seen in the production of Hair could be used in the classroom. Just like researching and understanding a character in a play, it is very important to understand the information being taught in the classroom, become an expert on it, and rehearse it thoroughly before presenting it in front of a class. The teacher should always remember to work with students, listen to them, and not resort to a complete dictatorship in the classroom. Interaction will bring the most success to students and to oneself. Just as the play was about values and rights, the classroom should also be a place where students and the teacher have set, defined rights. This will help with effective classroom management and respect in the classroom. Lastly, the classrooms should be a place full of energy. Energy that motivates, excites, and assists in learning.

Event Blog: Ethnic Arts Festival

The Ethnic Arts Festival was an incredible presentation of diversity, culture, and life. Since the cultural tables in the CFL were set up by people who were either from other countries or had recently visited those countries, they were very well informed on the place they represented and did a wonderful job with presenting and answering questions. They had artifacts on the tables, flags, photos and maps to help one better understand the culture.

Many of the tools the presenters used in teaching about their country could be applied to the classroom. First of all, it was very obvious that the presenters were passionate about their topic/country. They got excited about answering questions and had a big smiles on their faces. I helped work the Mexico table, and between being there for a month and loving every minute of it, I found it was extremely easy and fun to answer the questions people had for me. I found that being well informed and excited about a topic makes presenting come almost naturally. Teachers should use a number of tools in their teaching, which could include: visual aids, power points, shapes or symbols, just to name a few. Lastly, the importance of diversity and the acceptance of other cultures should also be present in the classroom as well.

Event Blog: Vagina Monologues

The Vagina Monologues had a number of very effective presenters. The women that participated had clearly rehearsed their parts various times before the performance. They were also extremely entertaining and engaging. Each girl was able to get in character to represent their monologue in the most effective manner. Each monologue was clear, concise and to the point. All of these characteristics made the monologues easy to listen to and very interesting.

Many of the effective techniques used in the Vagina Monologues could be carried over to be used in the classroom. One of the greatest characteristics of an effective teacher is their ability to speak in front of a group of people. Just like the monologues, a teacher should be clear, concise, and to the point. They should be prepared with lesson plans that they have rehearsed and practiced beforehand. A teacher must also be "in character" when they are in the classroom. The culture of the classroom should be structured towards optimal classroom management in order for maximal learning to take place. This is how the skills presented in the Vagina Monologues can also be used effectively in the classroom.

Event Blog: Black History Month Tallent Show

At the Black History Month tallent show, there were a number of effective speakers and performers. I noticed that the most effective ones were clearly prepared. The MC of the tallent show clearly had a script prepared, which helped keep everything moving smoothly. The tallent show also had a wide variety of acts, displaying the diversity and different cultures present at Luther. It was an effective production, because it incorporated a variety of acts, was clearly organized, and had smooth transitions.

The content of the tallent show can be applied to my futre career as a teacher. Planning and preparation is extremely important in the classroom. While there is such a thing as having too much structure, a teacher should never enter a class period without some sort of a lesson plan. In addition to a basic lesson plan, teachers should be flexible and have a backup plan if a lesson doesn't go as planned. Just as the talent show had a variety of acts, so to should the classroom be fully diversified. Teachers should incorporate a number of teaching styles and subjects into their lessons. Lastly, the importance of performance can also be incorporated into the classroom. Being able to work with other people to effectively present or perform in front of an audience is very important to learn and can be used in everyday life. The content of the tallent show clearly connects to everyday life of a teacher.

Event Blog: Freedom Writers

Freedom Writers was a movie about an incredible young teacher, named Erin Gruwell, who dedicated her life to improving the lives of her students that attended a very rough school. The best qualities this teacher had were love and determination. When joined together, she proved to be a force to be reckoned with. Although Erin had a number of struggles most teachers may never see, the key is that she never gave up, which eventually changed the lives of every single one of her students. Erin formed lessons to fit the interests and needs of her students. She went above and beyond, getting special material approved and bought a number of the texts herself. She worked to make school interesting for her students. Erin's class was about more than just English, it was about life. Through her hard work in and outside of school time, Erin changed relationships, attitudes, and lifelong grudges.

Freedom Writers brings light to the power of education. Just like Erin, it is important to care for each and every student in the classroom. It is also important to adjust lessons to the interests and abilities of students. Erin let her students know that she cared for them by dedicating time outside of class to help them and by bringing in speakers and creating special projects that she knew her students would enjoy. Even when life seems like a disaster, we need to remember, that there is potential in every student, and it is our job to help each student find their unique gifts. It is also important to apply material presented in class to real life, just as Erin so effectively did. This is how the ideas presented in Freedom Writers apply to my future career as a teacher.

Technology in Education: Friend or Foe

Promise of Technology in Education

• Kids are coming out of a technology world – teachers should use it to teach
• Using data and online sources such as SurveyMonkey.com to evaluate and make decisions
• More resources at disposal
• Reach diverse learners with videos, audio, educational websites, games online
• Teachers can keep parents informed about what/how students are doing
• Teachers can research latest improvements in education to improve teaching skills

Problems of Technology in Education

• “Technology... the knack of so arranging the world that we don't have to experience it.” - Max Frisch
• Teachers need to be trained in it for it to be effective
• Make sure information is valid (websites)
• Can be expensive – where does funding for technology come from
• How do all schools get equal resources?
• Needs to be updated frequently

While there are contrasting opinions about integrating technology into the classroom, I believe the Internet and technology offer incredible promise and hope for education. First of all, many kids today are coming out of a world centered on technology. They are experts in video games, surfing the net, and making and watching digital videos. In this age of technology, it is important for teachers to realize the skills that students already have in technology and integrate these skills into class activities and assignments. If students start with something they are passionate about and have interest in, this will help motivate them in their work. For example if students enjoy spend time surfing the web, a possible assignment for a history class would be to produce a personal webpage on a designated topic with pictures, information, historical documents and other useful links. This project would involve the same research found in a research paper, but it would also add creativity to the project and give students important skills in technology and evaluating the authenticity of web pages.

Technology and the Internet can also be used to teach students about topics that would otherwise be impossible for them to understand and offer diverse perspectives on particular issues. Studying in Mexico over J-term, the most useful tool that I observed in the schools was the Internet and SmartBoards. The past president of Mexico, President Fox, worked to bring the Internet and SmartBoards to every public school classroom in Mexico. In the rural communities, many people are so isolated that they have no concept of what a city or what an airplane is, let alone understand different world cultures and places. These SmartBoards, which are connected to the Internet, help students to see pictures, read articles, and better understand the world, something that would be near to impossible without technology.

Technology can also be a great tool in producing more competent teachers. There are so many resources available on the Internet that teachers can use to enrich their classroom, form new skills, and share ideas with other teachers. Sharing and getting ideas from other teachers, is one of the best ways to improve ones own skills. Technology also allows for better communication between students, teachers, and parents. Students can stay updated on grades by online sites and can make a webpage, which shows the goals, expectations, and assignments in their classroom. Overall, technology is a very important part of education and learning today.

Controversy in the Schools: Bilingual Education

Bilingual education is a very controversial issue facing the United States today. There are various forms and categories of bilingual education. These include: Transitional bilingual programs, Immersion bilingual programs, Two-way bilingual programs, Restoration bilingual programs, and Developmental bilingual programs. I will focus on two-way bilingual programs. This is a form of bilingual education in which students study two languages, in order to form literacy and native language ability, regardless of their original native language.

Personally, I have always wished that learning a second language had been part of my education while growing up. Being proficient in another language has been and still is a major goal in my life. If I had been given this incredible opportunity at a young age, I would most likely be completely proficient in a second language by the time I graduated from high school, if not sooner.

One article titled “Bilingual Education” by James Crawford has a section speaking against bilingual education. “Some ‘English Only’ advocates go further, arguing that even if bilingual education is effective – which they doubt – it's still a bad idea for the country because bilingualism threatens to sap our sense of national identity and divide us along ethnic lines. They fear that any government recognition of minority languages ‘sends the wrong message’ to immigrants, encouraging them to believe they can live in the U.S.A. without learning English or conforming to "American" ways.

However, two-way bilingual programs help to eliminate this conflict. Since majority and minority students are all put together, each learning the other group’s native tongue as their second language, “all students have the opportunity to be both first language models and second language learners.” This helps eliminate the feeling of a singled out, minority group in the school.

When a study was done of the Amigos program in Cambridge, MA, the students had a number of positive comments about the program and their experience in a bilingual school.

Spanish Amigos

• "feel equally competent in both languages”
• "are confident that they can understand nearly everything presented in Spanish media”
• "feel comfortable translating "most things"

English-Amigos

• "can get the main idea of Spanish media”
• "feel comfortable translating ‘some things’”
• “feel that they are not at all behind in English but likely ahead”

Both

• “reveal no ethnic or linguistic bias in their choice of close friends”
• "perceive Hispanic Americans as they would other Americans"
• "favor bilingual classes over monolingual classes"

Stephen Krashen’s article, titled “What Works? Reviewing the Latest Evidence on Bilingual Education,” stated that, “Study after study has reported that children in bilingual programs typically outperform their counterparts in all-English programs on tests of academic achievement in English. Or, at worst, they do just as well.”

In addition to performance in the classroom, two-way bilingual programs help to confront the issue of diversity at an early age. By learning another language, one comes to know and appreciate the culture associated with it. Since language and culture go hand in hand, the earlier we learn another language, the better we are at accepting diverse people in the United States and the world. “Claiborne H. Marshall stated, in “Exploring Bilingual Education,” “let us continue to promote diversity by recognizing peoples’ differences and helping them to keep their dignity and spirit alive while continuing to encourage the growth of present and future forms of language programs.” “Children of all ages need bilingual programs to be able to either maintain their own cultures, identities, heritages and languages or explore new ones in this growing global society.”

Why We Teach and Good Teaching

Why do we teach? What is the difference between school “work” and student “learning”? What makes for good teaching?

Teaching is a passion, a vocation, or a desire to give back to the world. One teaches with the hope of improving society and giving children the tools to improve the future in their community. In teaching, one has the ability to reach students in such a way that they can become better citizens, form personal values, be informed and responsible, and create relationships with others through your instruction. In the video we watched on love, a man was reflecting on the situation of concentration camps and stated, the “ultimate act of love - meant saving one life.” This is how teaching should be. It is the job of teachers to attempt to find the good in each student and help them display the gifts they possess. If I, as a teacher, am able to reach just one student, then I feel like I have accomplished something special and have brought purpose to my occupation of teaching. John Dewey stated, “I believe that every teacher should realize the dignity of his calling; that he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of proper social order and securing the right social growth.” This statement explains the reason for teaching and the influence a teacher can have on students and on society.

There is a fine line between school “work” and student “learning”. It is important that the work students do brings about learning, experience, and gives them tools they can apply to their lives. Work that is done but doesn’t expand students’ knowledge base falls under the category of “busy work”. All activities should be planned with a specific purpose in mind for improving the individual and strengthening their skills. I believe that learning done in the classroom should be applicable to daily life. Science and math methods should be applied to understanding everyday events such as weather and why certain things act the way they do, social studies should focus on helping the student become a better citizen, and English classes should focus on improving successful communication skills in both verbal and written forms. Just as David Orr stated, education is the definition of Paideia. “The goal of education is not mastery of subject matter, but of one’s person.” Work associated with learning that improves one’s self is very important. A good teacher creates activities that strengthen skills and don’t appear to be “work” in the eyes of students. It is important to encourage learning in such a way that interest and enthusiasm is maintained, destroying the mental idea of “work” and leaving true “learning” for students to experience and enjoy.

A good teacher is one who accepts all students and has a true love for each one of them, no matter what their background, attitude, or personality is like. A good teacher will find special skills that each child possesses and work to draw each skill out of the student in a way that the student learns to appreciate and use their particular gift in a way that is beneficial to society. According to Aimee Fredette, an effective “teacher will reach all children no matter what it takes.” Good teaching doesn’t necessarily mean perfect test scores and students that can compute math problems quickly and with 100 percent accuracy. A good teacher encourages learning, helps students find meaning in their lives, enables them to form new and enlightened perspectives of the world, and just as Rousseau said, helps students “learn how to live.” A good teacher is one who listens and learns from their students as much as their students are expected to learn from them. In chapter two of the text book, one student talked about a math teacher who turned around the lives of a number of students. “He made learning his subject so much fun.” He “always had a gentile smile, pleasant image, always used objects to illustrate, made the most complicated and abstruse principle seem so straightforward and obvious, and nobody failed his subject in the public state exams.” This is the definition of a good teacher.