Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Limits In The Classroom

In the article, “Setting Behavior Limits in the Classroom”, by Karen Plumley, she shares how effective, important, and beneficial it is to have a set of classroom rules that are able to be followed and are visible to all the students, especially for students with disabilities. Karen states how it is extremely important to have rules that are able to be visually seen by the students and how important it is to go over the rules with the students. This is important because you will be able to refer back to the rules when children are misbehaving and it makes the rules known to the students. She states that teachers should also leave some sort of leeway so if for any reason they need to change or revise the rules they are able too. Karen also discusses the importance of teaching and giving students examples of how they should behave in public places and at home. In doing this she believes that teachers should correct the student’s manners and behaviors and show them what they should have done. Karen Plumley’s article shows how having rules and limits in the classroom will help the classroom run more smoothly.
            I feel as if Karen Plumley’s points are very true because a teacher will not have any control over his or her classroom if the students have no set rules to follow. The room would be absolute chaos and the students would have no respect for the teacher or anything else in the classroom. She does a great job of supporting her key point because she gives examples and ways to solve these problems throughout the article and gives details that are very helpful. Another thing I found interesting was that throughout the article she provide helpful suggestions and advice to help maintain a controlled and organized classroom setting. For example, she shared why it was important to have rules for the classroom and students and also how to handle a situation when a student is not using manners of behaving correctly. I feel as though these small suggestions could be extremely helpful for a beginning teacher.
            After reading “Setting Behavior Limits in the Classroom”, I felt as though I was able to relate to a lot of what Karen Plumley was talking about. I remember many times in high school, middle school, and elementary school where teachers would have no idea how to handle some of the problems in the classroom and times when there was absolutely no control over the students. When I was in fifth grade my teacher had no rules in the classroom and every student did what they could to push her buttons. It was an awful experience because my class that year ended up going through three teachers. When you experience something like that it helped me realize the importance of having rules and being able to handle your students.  If the students respect you and you respect them, it is more likely that they will appreciate you as a teacher and listen and follow what you tell them to do.  Like I had stated before, I learned how important it is to have classroom management. It is beneficial for the students and for the teacher. I feel that the better classroom management you have the smoother the days in the classroom will run. This information will benefit me because I now have an idea of some of the things and behaviors that could, in the future, come about in my own classroom. After reading this I now have a better understanding of how to handle and prevent some situations.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Is Middle School Really Necessary?

    In the article, Is Middle School Bad For Kids?, it shares how many middle schools are starting to be combined with the elementary schools making the elementary schools kindergarten through eighth grade. Officials believe that in doing this it will help students stay focused on academics more as they grow older. Also, with students staying in the same school for a longer period of time they will be more comfortable and know the teachers and other students on a more personal basis instead of jumping into high school not know anyone or any of the teacher. They would have the one-on-one relationship with the teachers for a longer time and keep out of trouble in the kindergarten through eighth grade schools. Officials believe that this is what is best for the students and many school districts have already begun to remove middle schools.
     When reading this article, I believed that the authors did very well with supporting their positions. Before I had even read the article I had looked at the title and was surprised because I immediately thought that there was no way that middle school could be bad for kids. After reading the article I had realized that the authors had very unique facts that I had never thought of, such as when a student would move from an elementary to middle school would be when they were going through puberty and they would more than likely be overwhelmed and nervous with all the changes going on with themselves and the new school. Also, the authors had changed my mind completely about getting rid of middle schools because there statistics about how many incidents had to be reported to the police in middle school compared to elementary schools, the differences in proficiency levels in reading, math, and science, and how parents do not like moving their children around to different schools. With the authors having facts and statistics made many of the key points stand out to me and the article has changed my mind personally because now I feel that we could do without separate middles school buildings to increase the academic standings of all students in grades kindergarten through eighth.
     I feel as if this article, Is Middle School Bad For Kids?, connected to education in many ways. It is important as teachers to make sure that you know your students on a personal level and have a strong relationship with them so they are able to trust you and confide in you for help. With having the kindergarten through eighth grade elementary schools it would make it easier for students and teachers to develop that relationship and bond. I attended a private elementary school that was grades kindergarten through sixth and I had a rough time with the transition to middle school because I had never changed classrooms for classes, I had never been in a class that had more than fifteen students, and I was not used to all of the teachers in the building not knowing me. With having this experience I was able to relate to how beneficial and easier the step from elementary to middle school would have been if it was combined together. Something that I had not realized before reading this article was some of the problems that the middle school students face, such as, puberty, violence, bullying, relationships, and crimes that take place at that age level causing the students to act the ways they do. This article could be beneficial to many teachers of all ages because it will bring the daily struggles that students go through to their attention so they will be more aware of the situations and why their own students may be acting and responding to certain things.

Are social skills important when it comes to learning?

        When beginning my research for my Critical Inquiry Portfolio for my Intro to Early Childhood class I found an article that was very informative about social skills of young children. The article I chose is, “Why Social Skills Are Key to Learning” by Ellen Booth Church (Church, 2010). This article was very clear and beneficial to both teachers and parents. Church explains how The Four C’s, confidence, cooperation, curiosity, and communication, are the first basic skills that a young child must learn (Church, 2010). Another topic discussed in the article is what parents are able to do to make sure that their children are becoming socially developed and how important it is for the young children to interact with each other through play. Church focuses on how at the beginning of school academics are the main focus of the teachers, a variety of skills are what is most important.
            In Church’s article, one of the main things that stood out to me was that Studies show that the most important skills to learn in the beginning of the year are social: cooperation, self-control, confidence, independence, curiosity, empathy, and communication (Church, 2010). I felt that this was very important because these social skills are key characteristics for a young child’s development. Without these social skills a child may feel left out and insecure about themselves because they are unable to interact with other students. At the beginning of school the students start out learning social skills in early childhood education because if they are unable to interact, listen, sit still, and take turns there is no way that the students will be able to be educated (Church, 2010). With that being said many parents worry that their child is not getting educated because they come home from school saying they did nothing but played all day. In reality, that is one of the best things a young child could do because developing themselves so they are able to be educated. It is extremely normal for early childhood programs and schools to slowly introduce academics as the school year goes on, this is not just happening in one or two schools (Church, 2010). These social skills have a key role in a child’s education and have an effect on a students learning.
            Another main point that I found interesting was Church’s First Basic Skills: The Four C’s, which are ways that parents can support their child’s social skill development at home (Church, 2010). The Four C’s consist of confidence, cooperation, curiosity, and communication and each of these are very important social skills that need to be developed in every student (Church, 2010). I feel this is important because if every parent would take the initiative to stress these characteristics a child’s social skills could change dramatically. That little bit of extra motivation, that one little compliment, or letting the child express his or her own idea could have a dramatic impact on a child’s confidence, cooperation, curiosity, and communication skills. Like I had stated before, these little things a parent can do could help encourage and develop their child in a variety of different ways. That little support can make a huge impact and I do not think that many parents realize that in today’s society.
            One topic that caught my eye was a section that talked about what parents are able to do to help with their child’s development and learning. This section really focused on how to make sure your child is involved and has friends at school. One point the Church stated was that it is often easier for children to make friends in their own space, one-on-one, than in school (Church, 2010). I feel that this would be extremely useful as a parent especially with younger children because many parents feel as though it is a nuisance to have their child’s friends come over to play when really it is helping them develop socially and make friends. I feel that these things that have an impact on social development are often over looked because they seem little and unimportant when really they could impact a child for the better in many ways.
            Lastly, in relation to the last topic, Church discusses the importance of play for young children. Many people do not understand how play helps a child grow, learn, and investigate the world through complex activities and that it invites the child to think, problem-solve, and participate in fantasy (Church, 2010). All these concepts of play help a child develop and form their own unique personalities. Many people do not realize how many strategies are used when a child plays, whether it is at school, in their backyard, or at the babysitters. I know that this is very key for the development of the students because in the classroom that I am observing in, the teacher takes out around an hour of the day to let the student do “centers”. Centers are a variety of different activities and games such as puzzles, a sand box, writing, reading, computers, housekeeping, and a science center. These centers let the students use their imagination and also interact with other students. I feel as though this play time is very important for the students because it is a time when they can relax and just let go because they know that they are not getting graded by the teacher on how well they perform but by if they are participating in some sort of play or activity.
            Overall, I felt as though this article was very informative and shared a lot of important details about how young children develop socially and how parents and teachers are able to help with the process. The article brought up many key points that today’s society tends to push to the side, like the importance of play and parent involvement in education. I would like to sum everything up with one of Church’s statements, “The experiences your child receives in the beginning of the year provide the foundation that will enable her to become an enthusiastic lifelong learner…enthusiastic because she has discovered that learning is fun as well as meaningful” (Church, 2010).

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Power Down Day-November 26, 2010

        Before doing my Power Down Day I thought it was going to be extremely easy, but I was so wrong. I did not realize how much technology I used every day. I decided to do my Power Down Day over break so I would have a variety of things that I could do, but I still thought I was going to go crazy without my cell phone and my laptop. It was not until the Power Down Day that I realized how often I will randomly get on my computer to check my email or to check my Facebook. Without being able to do these things I thought I was going to go crazy and I felt as though I was “out of the loop”. Throughout the day I found myself doing a lot of cleaning that did not need to be done and I also went on a walk with a friend to try and pass time. I felt pathetic because I just wanted the day to be over so I would be allowed to use my phone and computer. During the day I ended up getting caught up on homework because I did not have the distractions of the television, music, and the internet to get me off topic. Once my Power Down Day was over I had 9 text messages, 3 missed calls, and 12 Facebook notifications. I did not realize how much I relied on technology on a day-to-day basis. It’s amazing how much technology has impact the lives of society.