As a teacher I will always be a student.  It would be
terribly wrong for me to write about how I have all the answers on how
to motivate students and educate them simply because I will have a
degree from a Big Ten University.  I am more practical than that and
my ability to admit that I will be wrong in the future will allow me
the opportunity to grow mentally on my quest to be an effective
teacher.  After establishing the notion that I will eternally be a
student, I have allowed myself several advantages.  I have allowed
myself to learn from my colleagues and peers, as well as the number of
students I will be teaching.  By defining part of who I am as a
teacher, as a student I in no way plan to be the student’s pal or hang
out with them.  I still will use my teacher voice and demand respect
in the classroom but it is important to consider that I will always be
a student of the world and this every changing culture.  My ability to
recall my several years of personal education allows me to relate
better to the students.  As such, I hope I will be able to be
considerate of their situation but never demand less than their best.
It seems that students who do not apply themselves gather this lack of
motivation from the decreasing demands of students.  Students know the
school game.  They know they need to show up and do the homework.
Often times that is all it takes to receive a decent grade in high
school.  However, I plan to challenge my students.  I plan on creating
a classroom environment that does not hand out answers.  One that is
designed with clearly stated direction and rules so that students are
prepared for what is to come.  Preparing a student to succeed is just
as important as giving him or her the opportunity; give a man a fish;
you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him
for a lifetime.  The saying has never been truer.  Teachers cannot
give students the opportunity to take a test like the ACT and SAT and
be successful if they have never given the student the tools to
succeed.

What classifies a successful tool varies from person to person but
by being aware of learning disabilities, visual, audible, and
kinesthetic learners I will be better able to prepare my students.
Learning about different types of students is not enough.  I also need
to know my students and talk to them.  The best ways to find out about
my students including their knowledge, skill, and motivation is to
interview them.  To speak with each student for 5 minutes during class
and to ask the student what grade he or she wants to get in the class
and what problem areas he or she has in the classroom.  By being able
to identify problem areas both the student and I are better able to
increase his or her chances of success. During the interviews I will
be able to better gage the Expectancy Value discussed by Weinstein,
and be able to understand the student’s expectations and also their
value component (Weinstein, 2003). The relationships I create with my
students will predict my personal success as a teacher.  I must be
able to relate to my students while still being able to run a strict
classroom.

These individual interviews will also allow me to discover what
I know about students.  Even now I consider myself quite young, but I
am fully aware that the high school I knew is different from what the
students are experiencing today.  Additionally, my popularity (or lack
there off) depicts my views and experiences in high school.  As a
teacher I must be able to relate to all students: the jock, the
valedictorian, and even the shy students that may be social outcasts
in their grades.  By creating a comfortable classroom I plan on
pulling out the successful ability of all my students and preparing
them with the right tools so that may succeed at any opportunity if
they wish.  I am aware of achievement situations and how the knowledge
of being evaluate may affect students’ performance (Brophy, 2004), but
I hope through well prepared lessons I can give students a positive
approach to tests.

Teachers rarely step foot into a classroom with an angry
premeditated mindset but through the course of years friendly, patient
teachers sometimes loose their edge.  Their patience is warned thin by
their experiences both inside and outside the classroom.  I plan to
battle this cruel stereotype by not only separating my personal and
professional life but also by making my expectations very clear to
students.  Students have less to complain about if they know the rules
before class even begins.  An organized controlled classroom allows
for higher education and thinking to take place.  An environment
allows students to participate freely in class and allows me the
opportunity to see what my students know.  I will be able to observe
my own classroom and will change my lesson plan accordingly.  The
ability to be affected by my students will benefit and destroy me.
The pro is that I will be able to better help another student and will
learn to try a new teaching strategy in order to help another succeed.
The con is that the sometime frustrated attitude of a student may
cause me to question my purpose as a teacher.  I am fully aware that
teaching is not easy and am more than willing to admit it is hard, but
I feel my recognition of the task will allow me to succeed.  I am
willingly going to prove that I am able to succeed in this difficult
career and have faith that I will succeed.

The success I am talking about will not come in a paycheck or in a
promotion.  The success I am talking about will come from the
improvement of my students.  The raise in grades, attitudes, and
participation levels will allow me to weigh my own success.  Grades
are not the only thing I will weigh my success on, for the ability to
reiterate an answer and the ability to perform the task are quite
different.  This idea of progress vs. ability is also discussed in the
works of Brophy (Brophy 2004).  In class I hope to be able to provide
students the opportunity to show what they have learned.  This concept
that starts to give skill closely relates to Tozer’s thoughts of what
is functional (Tozer, 1995).  I hope that the information I provide
students will go beyond their quest for a grade and actually affect
them, how they see the world, or their own culture.  If a student
leaves my classroom with a greater ability to succeed or with specific
knowledge that will help them in the future I will most definitely
feel successful.
Bibliography

Weinstein, C. S. (1996/2003). Excerpt from Enhancing Student
Motivation. In Secondary Classroom Management: Lessons from research

“,0] ); D(["ma",[0,"

Through my experiences bo.doc 34K View as HTML Download

","10aa926107800298"] ] ); D(["ce"]); //–>and practice (2nd ed., pp. 174-176). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Brophy, J. (2004). Supporting students’ confidence as learners. In
Motivating students to learn (2nd ed., pp. 55-86). Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Tozer, S. E., & Willis, A. I. (1995). Liberty and literacy today:
Contemporary perspectives. In S. E. Tozer, P. C. Violas & G. B. Senese
(Eds.), School and society: Historical and contemporary perspectives
(2nd ed., pp. 247-264). New York: McGraw-Hill.

As a teacher I will always be a student.  It would be
terribly wrong for me to write about how I have all the answers on how
to motivate students and educate them simply because I will have a
degree from a Big Ten University.  I am more practical than that and
my ability to admit that I will be wrong in the future will allow me
the opportunity to grow mentally on my quest to be an effective
teacher.  After establishing the notion that I will eternally be a
student, I have allowed myself several advantages.  I have allowed
myself to learn from my colleagues and peers, as well as the number of
students I will be teaching.  By defining part of who I am as a
teacher, as a student I in no way plan to be the student’s pal or hang
out with them.  I still will use my teacher voice and demand respect
in the classroom but it is important to consider that I will always be
a student of the world and this every changing culture.  My ability to
recall my several years of personal education allows me to relate
better to the students.  As such, I hope I will be able to be
considerate of their situation but never demand less than their best.
It seems that students who do not apply themselves gather this lack of
motivation from the decreasing demands of students.  Students know the
school game.  They know they need to show up and do the homework.
Often times that is all it takes to receive a decent grade in high
school.  However, I plan to challenge my students.  I plan on creating
a classroom environment that does not hand out answers.  One that is
designed with clearly stated direction and rules so that students are
prepared for what is to come.  Preparing a student to succeed is just
as important as giving him or her the opportunity; give a man a fish;
you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him
for a lifetime.  The saying has never been truer.  Teachers cannot
give students the opportunity to take a test like the ACT and SAT and
be successful if they have never given the student the tools to
succeed.

What classifies a successful tool varies from person to person but
by being aware of learning disabilities, visual, audible, and
kinesthetic learners I will be better able to prepare my students.
Learning about different types of students is not enough.  I also need
to know my students and talk to them.  The best ways to find out about
my students including their knowledge, skill, and motivation is to
interview them.  To speak with each student for 5 minutes during class
and to ask the student what grade he or she wants to get in the class
and what problem areas he or she has in the classroom.  By being able
to identify problem areas both the student and I are better able to
increase his or her chances of success. During the interviews I will
be able to better gage the Expectancy Value discussed by Weinstein,
and be able to understand the student’s expectations and also their
value component (Weinstein, 2003). The relationships I create with my
students will predict my personal success as a teacher.  I must be
able to relate to my students while still being able to run a strict
classroom.

These individual interviews will also allow me to discover what
I know about students.  Even now I consider myself quite young, but I
am fully aware that the high school I knew is different from what the
students are experiencing today.  Additionally, my popularity (or lack
there off) depicts my views and experiences in high school.  As a
teacher I must be able to relate to all students: the jock, the
valedictorian, and even the shy students that may be social outcasts
in their grades.  By creating a comfortable classroom I plan on
pulling out the successful ability of all my students and preparing
them with the right tools so that may succeed at any opportunity if
they wish.  I am aware of achievement situations and how the knowledge
of being evaluate may affect students’ performance (Brophy, 2004), but
I hope through well prepared lessons I can give students a positive
approach to tests.

Teachers rarely step foot into a classroom with an angry
premeditated mindset but through the course of years friendly, patient
teachers sometimes loose their edge.  Their patience is warned thin by
their experiences both inside and outside the classroom.  I plan to
battle this cruel stereotype by not only separating my personal and
professional life but also by making my expectations very clear to
students.  Students have less to complain about if they know the rules
before class even begins.  An organized controlled classroom allows
for higher education and thinking to take place.  An environment
allows students to participate freely in class and allows me the
opportunity to see what my students know.  I will be able to observe
my own classroom and will change my lesson plan accordingly.  The
ability to be affected by my students will benefit and destroy me.
The pro is that I will be able to better help another student and will
learn to try a new teaching strategy in order to help another succeed.
The con is that the sometime frustrated attitude of a student may
cause me to question my purpose as a teacher.  I am fully aware that
teaching is not easy and am more than willing to admit it is hard, but
I feel my recognition of the task will allow me to succeed.  I am
willingly going to prove that I am able to succeed in this difficult
career and have faith that I will succeed.

The success I am talking about will not come in a paycheck or in a
promotion.  The success I am talking about will come from the
improvement of my students.  The raise in grades, attitudes, and
participation levels will allow me to weigh my own success.  Grades
are not the only thing I will weigh my success on, for the ability to
reiterate an answer and the ability to perform the task are quite
different.  This idea of progress vs. ability is also discussed in the
works of Brophy (Brophy 2004).  In class I hope to be able to provide
students the opportunity to show what they have learned.  This concept
that starts to give skill closely relates to Tozer’s thoughts of what
is functional (Tozer, 1995).  I hope that the information I provide
students will go beyond their quest for a grade and actually affect
them, how they see the world, or their own culture.  If a student
leaves my classroom with a greater ability to succeed or with specific
knowledge that will help them in the future I will most definitely
feel successful.
Bibliography

Weinstein, C. S. (1996/2003). Excerpt from Enhancing Student
Motivation. In Secondary Classroom Management: Lessons from research

“,0] ); D(["ma",[1,"

Through my experiences bo.doc 34K View as HTML Scanning for viruses...

","10aa926107800298"] ] ); D(["ce"]); //–>and practice (2nd ed., pp. 174-176). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

Brophy, J. (2004). Supporting students’ confidence as learners. In
Motivating students to learn (2nd ed., pp. 55-86). Mahwah, NJ:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Tozer, S. E., & Willis, A. I. (1995). Liberty and literacy today:
Contemporary perspectives. In S. E. Tozer, P. C. Violas & G. B. Senese
(Eds.), School and society: Historical and contemporary perspectives
(2nd ed., pp. 247-264). New York: McGraw-Hill.

I have spoken before about delicate times in teaching and this was another one.  I believe by being passive about the situation may not have been the best idea it still resulted in her using my assistance.  However, for this particular girl a statement of being successful might have made her so determined to do well that she would want to prove me wrong.  Yet again, if the tutor would have gone to the teacher I think it would have created trust issues between the student and the tutor.  A student does not want to learn from someone who is trying to get them in trouble.  Perhaps that is why she did come around and get help from me, because I wasn’t a tattle tale. 

I hope my approach to the situation taught her that although is able to do much of an assignment on her own there is no fault in asking for help.  I enjoyed observing the class as a whole that day and tutoring in something other than Spanish.  I also noticed that working on a math assignment in groups on a Friday rarely works well!

Part of the new program is that students who drop out for reasons not specified will loose their driver’s license and their work permits.  It may seem harsh but I think it is what these students need.  I have seen many instances of students dropping out with months left in their senior year or stating that they no longer feel they need the education that is being provided.  Threaten to take away their driver’s license.  The one thing that most teenagers value more than their whole life and I personally can guarantee that the number of high school dropouts will go down significantly. 

This in no way is a sure fire plan and I am positive there are still aspects of this new law that need to be changed but I am very impressed my Indiana’s determination to give their children a high school education.  I cannot wait until all 50 states have implemented a design of their own.

(Adding on) I feel it is important to also address the my initial goals when starting to tutor.  I hoped to provide opportuniies of learning with the students.  I think that having a new fun activity planned everyday that incorporated their senses,  and showed them that studying can be fun allowed them to view school differently.  I showed them how they can use song, and children’s games (like Memory) to tackle difficult tasks of memorizing several Spanish vocabulary words.  I hope that my time with these students has taught them something.  I hope I have started to become the difference.

I found this portion of article by Labaree to be the most interesting.  There are three different portions represented: democratic equality, social efficiency, and social mobility.  The ideas of the citizen, taxpayer, and the consumer all have an interesting relation in education.  Personally, I feel the roll of the school is social efficiency.  If students were trained for a specific job many of the worries and stress would be taken away.  It is very overwhelming for an 18 year old teenager to predict what he or she will do and enjoy doing for the next 50 years of his or her life.  The social pressures of school and to succeed are enormous.  I thoroughly agree that, “these competing visions of education have resulted in a contradictory structure.”  The school system is a mess.  The sad reality is it will never be perfect.  It will never run smoothly, and sadly someone will always be left by the wayside.  Education is not only in the hands of the educators but also in the student and his or her family.  If education is important it will be practiced in the home.  The idea that education has become a social mobility for the purposes of status attainment it head on.  There is no reason to tell a university graduate that he or she is smarter than someone with only a high school diploma.  The society makes everyone aware of this and paychecks also hold this to be true.

I believe a shift away from the current American school system to one modeled after the Spanish education system would not only improve the interest and interests of students but would also greatly benefit the society.  The European education system is by far more advanced.  “High School” finishes at 16 and students are tracked into trade schools or to universities.  The view of education is even different in Europe.  In America everyone pretends education is important.  That’s how politicians win votes.  They tell the American people they care about education.  They express feelings that may be genuine but they are unable to support them and have no way to fix the current problems that are embedded into the system.  The historical conflicts between the taxpayer, consumer, and the citizen need to end.  The education needs to be completely redone: even if that means starting from scratch.

Either than the concerns listed above, I still feel that Podcasts would be a benefit to the classroom as long as professors remember that the Podcast is no their “Get out of Teaching Free” card.