Happy Teacher Appreciation Day!

Today, May 4, 2010 is dedicated to all of our teachers. This is a great day because it's the one day in the year (other than Christmas b/c teachers get nothing but chocolate and apple shaped ornaments) where teachers are appreciated and thanked for all of their hard work and generosity. Today, I would like to pay tribute to several of my elementary school teachers that have influenced my life and inspired me to be a teacher.

1. Mrs. Dahl: She was my Kindergarten teacher that took time to help me and guide me through this very rough year for me. I started Kindergarten only knowing words like "hello" and "thankyou" in English. All the other words came out in the Romanian language. I remember her coming to my house the day before school started to introduce herself to me and assure me that she was going to be there for me if I needed anything. Mrs. Dahl took the time out of her schedule to speak to me...that felt great!!!

2. Mrs. Britt: She was my fourth grade teacher. Mrs. Britt always used visual aids to assist me in understanding concepts. She allowed me to sit in the hallway and read aloud during silent reading time (this helped me comprehend better). On the last day of fourth grade, Mrs. Britt gave me a dictionary to help me with my vocabulary. In there, was a hand-written note that I still have to this day. I felt very special!

3. Mrs. Crawford: She was my fifth grade teacher. Mrs. Crawford had the coolest songs, games and activities in the classroom...especially for Social Studies. I remember songs, to this day, about the states and where they are. We played team games for our war units. I learned a lot from her and I remember wanting to do better and better with everything we did.

So on this day, thank you teachers who impact lives daily. I cannot wait to do the same.

Community Involvement

Idaho state standards for third grade social studies require students to learn about the community they live in. I was thinking of ways to incorporate students in active learning. Here are some ideas that I came accross:

1. Charity Carnival: Students can organize and put together a family-fun carnival in the school. All the proceeds can go to a local charity that the class chooses.

2. Backpack & Supply Drive: Students can hold a backpack and supply drive to give to those kids that may not afford such items. These items can be donated to kids in the community or even to kids in the school.

3. Visit the nursing home/veteran's hospital to experience local community members that can share stories from the past and how they've seen the community transform, for better or worse.

4. Walk around the school property or neighborhoods (with parental help) to pick up trash and learn about recycling in the community.

Students can keep journal entries (writing) that share their experiences with the functions. Students can also integrate math skills by counting proceeds, graphing the number of supplies earned or plot recycling items on a chart.

I wonder if this is an easy task to achieve in today's (low-budgeting) schools. It's worth a try....I think.

Does a school system make or break a student?

I recently had a discussion with my mom about our school system and how it is so hard for [me ] to get what I want out of it. Let me give you some information about my mom's past:

My mom [and dad] was born and raised in Bucuresti, Romania. She had school Monday's through Saturday every week of her school life while in Romania. She started to learn English when she was in 1st grade...since a second language was mandatory for students to learn. Her parents were not wealthy by any means, but somehow they saved enough money to be able to support their 4 kids as they took private tutoring sessions for math. This was additional to their 6-day a week school. Romania emphasizes on their education system. In order for students to even think about college, they must take an extensive exam that will either let them in or not. Parents were willing to pay more for tutors so that their kids were best of the best. If they didn't turn in assignments or speak up in class, their teachers had the power to hit them with ruler sticks (my dad had a few of those experiences..haha). This education system gave my mom such a strong work ethic that taught her how to not only perform at an almost perfect level, but taught her how to strive in anything she sets her mind to.

Our American school system is so different. I remember when my brother was in fourth grade. He had the best teacher ever. This particular teacher believed in pushing his students conceptually and gave them homework. he wanted his students to strive to be awesome at what they do. Some parents formed a petition to get this teacher fired b/c he was too hard on the kids. This teacher was forced to not give anymore homework for the remainder of the year...he later resigned. Some of my teachers didn't even bother pushing us to achieve harder things. Our education system is lazy and is last on the list of importance. Teacher's salaries get cut, books and supplies get cut, extra curricular activities get cut, homework gets cut, etc. What will be left for our students to get he best education possible? It's such a joke! I had to wait a whole year to even get into classes that were too full... a whole year!!! People in this country are blessed to be able to attend college and our school system deprives us of the best education system. Sadly, I don't know what it takes to change it...

ok, sorry had to vent. Anyone else irritated with our Education dept. at BSU? I sure am...ugh!!!

New Healthcare?

President Obama signed a new policy that changed the health care system in our country.
As I watched this take place on TV, I automatically wondered what is being discussed about this in our schools. I sat in class almost two weeks ago to only hear negative remarks towards this new policy and towards the President. These remarks were coming from future school teachers. That's fine...they are subject to their own opinion...BUT...I wondered what they are going to tell their students about it. It's obvious that they HATE President Obama and REALLY HATE this new healthcare, so is this going to factor into the classroom? Are the students going to get the wrong impression of their current President and the policies that come with it, or is this a great opportunity for the teacher to step up and say..."What do YOU guys think about this? Let's discuss, research, collaborate, interview, analyze, explore, etc." I think that it is important to let our students explore the topics and allow them to form their own understandings and opinions on matter such as this. It would be completely unfair for students to enter a classroom where the teacher says, "Barack Obama is the worst President ever and I really HATE him and his new health care policy sucks." How would the students feel about this...obviously they would be afraid to speak up because the teacher is so persistent on his/her own opinion that he/she didn't allow the students to form their own opinions.

I had to vent about this...and I'm sorry if I offended anyone. I just couldn't believe what I was hearing from future school teachers. I say let's quit complaining and let's start making a difference. Let's step out of our biased little world and enter into our community and make a difference. Let's show our students what it means to stand up for their freedom and rights in this country. Let's allow our student's to be open to change and allow for them to form opinions for themselves. I know I'm ready to tackle this topic with openness and honesty...even I get hated on. grrr...

I "HATE" Social Studies

I fall under the category of "I hate Social Studies." I hated it all through out my education starting in Kindergarten. I never liked reading about it, writing about it, watching black and white movies about it or simply nothing about it. It gave me a headache just thinking about it. Why do I hate this subject so much? Is it because all I did through out my education is read (word for word, chapter after chapter) out of these 7 pound Social Studies text books? I don't remember doing hands on projects or even walking outside the classroom walls to research the community I lived in. Why was it that all I did was read and answer comprehension questions (which I also hated)?

How am I going to change this for my future students? I feel stupid and timid just thinking about what I am going to teach since I don't even have enough knowledge of this topic. I feel robbed and I am not happy about it.

After reading the introduction to the book titled "Lies My Teacher Told Me" by James W. Loewn, I began to understand why kids hate Social Studies so much. Teachers did what they "had" to do...not what the "wanted" to do. This is a HUGE factor that changes all perspectives of teaching. I want to be able to be a part of the community not just in it. I want to explore the state, not just read about it. I want my students to experience voting (maybe I should start some mock trials) not just watch it on TV. I want my students to experience Social Studies, not just read about it, memorize facts, and forget about it.

James W. Loewn has already given me much thought and answers to some of my questions. I look forward to read more of this book. Once again, I hope you all stay with me on my journey of discovering who I am and my understanding of Social Studies.

So many thoughts, where should I start?

We had our first Social Studies classroom discussion last week. The main question was: "What is Social Studies?" It was so interesting to sit back and hear all the different responses to this main question. I've always been really quiet in classroom discussions. I am usually scared to speak up if I don't know the subject well because I may not have back up to support my idea. So, for the first part of this discussion I sat back and listened. I couldn't believe all the different ideas that came up. We started out with one main question and the threads of discussion continued on like a never ending soap opera. Ok, that may be an exaggeration, but seriously, it was intense!!!

I really enjoyed the topics of How to teach Social Studies in the classroom. I was always scared of Social Studies and hesitantly approached the subject. This discussion opened up my eyes to so many different challenges and possibilities that could come with teaching Social Studies and the way you teach it (discovering a pedagogy for Social Studies). Where do we draw boundaries? Or do we? Am I willing to risk my teaching job to provide these kids with the best Social Studies experience? What am I capable of? How can I stray from the state provided curriculum that forces you to teach from the 6 pound text book? These are all questions that I started to think about after this discussion.

I am still in the journey of finding out who I am and how I will teach Social Studies. I hope that many more discussions come up so that I can experience a new appreciation for Social Studies. I want to be passionate about this subject, so I am willing to dig deep within my ability and find this passion.

Hope you stay with me on my journey.