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I believe that curriculum is critical to ensure that students receive a balanced, well rounded education. That curriculum should be rigorous, developmentally appropriate, and should be focused on preparing students for becoming global citizens. In addition to that, I believe that students are entitled to quality instruction of that curriculum and that every student deserves to have a teacher that is committed to excellence. I believe this because I was lucky to have great teachers growing up. I can think of specific life skills that I learned from individual educators. For example, I have always felt comfortable speaking in front of others because my 4th grade teacher taught us how to properly write and deliver a speech and we practiced this skill by giving a speech once a month all year long. My 6th grade teacher taught me to love reading. She read aloud to us every single day while we practiced handwriting and left us on the edge of our seats every afternoon. She also hand picked novels that she knew I would be interested in. From that grade on I understood what a gift it was to be able to read and I became a voracious reader. In high school, my ASB teacher instilled in me what it meant to be a leader, and taught me that I could have a tremendous impact on the people around me. What I am trying to explain with those examples is that quality teachers and quality instruction can affect students for the rest of their lives. Curriculum is the skeleton and teachers are the heart of the study body. Together they can foster critical thinking skills, creativity, collaboration, communication, curiosity, and a love for learning.
I believe that any classroom or school discipline plan needs to be clear, consistent, and fair in order for it to work. I strongly believe this because in my first year teaching, I had to grow a backbone and learn to be firm with my policies, or I would have been eaten alive by parents.
Discipline is a tricky subject and teachers and administrators have a wide view on it. It is believed by some that teachers must be firm in order for their classroom to run smoothly. Others feel that kids are kids and exceptions should be made on a case by case basis. Some educators feel that disruptive children should be removed from the classroom so they do not affect the rest of the class' learning. Others feel that students should suffer consequences if they are late or unprepared for school. All teachers and school leaders have a right to their own behavior management plan, but the important thing is that their expectations are clear, fair, and that they are acting on them in a consistent manner. My first year teaching I was 22 years old, had never taught 4th grade, and had no teaching team to support me. Before the school year started I loosely put together a behavior plan and homework policy and posted it to my website. As the year began, I started to cave in to every excuse a parent or student brought to me. I made tons of exceptions and gave students far too many warnings about their behavior before taking action. By setting up the school year like this, I put myself in a really tough position. If I made an exception for one student, than it wouldn't be right to not excuse another for their late project or poor behavior. Especially when they told me "It is a one time thing, I promise I will do better". Parents quickly got word of the exceptions that I had made for one child, and reminded me of that when they came in with their own request. They even started to question my grading and asked that I "re-look" at their child's assignment from time to time. In a few words, I was being walked all over. I felt like I had no control and that I had lost my integrity as a teacher. Needless to say, the next school year I created very clear policies regarding behavior, homework, and grades and I stuck to them. I had no problems with parents that entire year, and my judgement was never questioned again. It made life easier for me, easier for the students, and easier for the parents because "that was the policy and it wouldn't be fair to others to make an exception for one child and not another". As a school leader you must also be consistent in following school procedures and policies to maintain a fair and orderly school environment. It is widely known that parent involvement is a key factor in student achievement. There are many aspects that contribute to this correlation: help with homework and studies, organizational skills, preparedness for school, self esteem, and student emotions. Today I am going to talk about one particular factor: student motivation. I believe that students are more likely to be motivated to do well in school when their parents are involved in their school life. I believe this because growing up I saw first-hand the impact that parent involvement had on my brother’s life and I see it currently in the lives of my students.
Motivation is connected to student engagement which is another huge factor of student success. I read recently that students have the ultimate choice in how they are going to participate in school. When parents are involved in their child's school life, that student is much more likely to choose to engage in their school work. Additionally, when parents are interested and involved in their child's academics it sends the message to their child that school is worthwhile, important, and should be taken seriously. In my classroom I make it known to students and families that teachers and parents are a team and must work together to support their students. When students know that their parents and teachers are communicating it gives that student extra incentive to work hard and do their best. When I was growing up, my older brother had a really hard time in school. He was the youngest in his class, he had a severe case of ADD, he felt like every teacher disliked him, and school work did not come naturally for him. If my mom had not been constantly communicating with his teachers, helping him with his homework and making sure he had his assignments in his backpack, he may not have made it through. Knowing that my mom was there to help him and hold him accountable pushed him to keep trying. Later, in high school, Alec still had to work super hard in school and decided it wasn't for him and that he didn't want to go to college. He knew that neither of my parents went to college and they were "doing well in life" so why should he have to? With the support of my parents and teachers, my brother not only realized the importance of going to college, but he boosted his GPA enough to get into a 4 year university and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree four years later. Without the support and involvement of my parents to keep him motivated, my brother probably would have dropped out of high school and never would have earned a college degree. He is just one example of how parent involvement can be life changing. In my current classroom I also see a difference in motivation between my students whose parents are highly involved and those who aren't. I remember last year when I asked a student why they did not turn in their project they told me "only my tutor and my babysitter do homework with me and they didn't know about the project". I remember feeling so sad for that child. They knew their parent was never going to see the project, let alone help them with it, so they had this "skate by" mentality. I frequently send letters home to the parents of my students encouraging them to “check out” their child’s latest project, writing piece, or test grade. This is a source of motivation, pride and sense of accomplishment for many of my students. I believe that the use of technology is a huge benefit to education. I believe this because I have personally experienced the benefits that technology has brought to my classroom on a multitude of levels. By using various technology in the classroom I have seen student engagement go up, I’ve witnessed students communicating and collaborating on a whole new level, I’ve seen more students be able to access information at differentiated levels, and share their learning in new and creative ways.
There is always going to be a debate over any new advancement or change in education. In this scenario, some people question the necessity of technology in the classrooms. I’ve heard arguments that children already get too much “screen time” and that they don’t need to be getting any more at school. I’ve heard others say that technology is replacing the importance of learning and mastering handwriting and spelling. Some opposers question whether technology actually adds to student achievement and if it is worth all of the funding that goes into it. On the other hand there is a lot of discussion on that fact that we are educating 21st century learners and that we need to connect with our students in a way that relates to them. The most important thing is that now that so many schools with access to great technology, they need to know how to use it. Today I would like to highlight how technology has improved engagement, participation, and access to curriculum in my classroom. I am in a 1:to:1 iPad classroom, and my first year using the iPads I was fascinated with all of the possibilities for projects using these new learning tools. In that year many of my classroom projects went from posters, dioramas, and brochures to digital presentations, screencasts, stop motion videos, and iMovies. It seemed like every time I introduced a new project or application to the class they could not wait to dive into the lesson with excitement and enthusiasm. Often times I would show the class how to use a new app and explain what the project guidelines were, and the students would go above and beyond and their final products frequently exceeded my expectations. More times than not, the students ended up teaching me new and better ways to use the device. These were really wonderful experiences for students to be creative, work together, and teach one another. It was the next year with the iPads that I learned what an incredible tool they were for differentiating instruction. One example of this was when I started creating math videos and using a modified “flipped teaching” model. During this year my class had a very broad range of abilities in math. I had some students who needed a lot of support, needed to go at a slow pace, and needed to solidify their foundation, while others were eager and ready to be challenged and move through the curriculum at a rapid pace. I developed a math workshop where students rotated through math centers. To support this program the students were required to watch math videos for homework that would preview the next day’s lesson. This front loading technique worked wonders for my students. Some of my students who were much too shy and nervous to ever speak out during math now had the confidence to share their thoughts and ideas. My stronger students were better prepared to dive deeper into a concept. The grouping was fluid. Most mornings, the students would fill out a google form on their iPads that gave me an idea of their understanding of the lesson. From there I could group them accordingly. During this year I saw my students experience tremendous growth in math. Finally this year, I have seen the benefits of technology by giving students better access to the curriculum. I have several students will special needs this year, but two of them come to mind. One student struggles with motor skills and writing is especially difficult for him. He is a very bright boy, but for years has avoided writing. This has been detrimental to his grades in most subjects because he has not been able to clearly articulate what he knows. With the use of the iPads this year, he is now typing for all written assignments. He can quickly take a picture of a graphic organizer and type right on top of it. He is more engaged and participating more than ever. I have another student who is severely dyslexic. With the use of the iPads he is now able to listen to reading and follow along when students are required to read independently. He can also dictate his work as a way of getting his thinking on paper. Before the introduction of the iPads this year, I would often see Theo staring at his schoolwork in frustration with a tear trickling down his cheek. He hated the fact that he always needed someone to help him accomplish the tasks that all of his classmates could do. With the introduction of the iPads, both boys are now producing beautiful work and are more confident and happy at school. These are just three examples of how I have seen technology benefit my students’ learning. Their access to curriculum, engagement and participation are better than ever before. |
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October 2015
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