Teachers Education Program

Today I had my Orientation for the Teacher’s Program. I learned a few things about the different departments realated to the education program at MSU. We did an actitity, but my group was not successful at completing everything we were required to do. Anyway, I did not like that too much because they did not give us enough time to get all the information we needed. Although I did not like that, it was worth going because of five students that just graduated as teachers from MSU had prepared something for us. They each read a story about their experiences in student teaching. The stories were really interesting, and they showed the good and the bad about what they went through in the classrooms. The students had not expected to find a big challenge, but they all had a student that caught their attention; these kids had behavioral problems, or they performed poorly in class. All these new teachers had to face these issues, and with the help of their cooperative teachers, they were able to find a solution. I got emotional listening to these stories, and it just made more clear to me that even though I am embarking in a tough career, it is what I want to do. My purpose in life is to make a difference in the life of kids.

School Meetings

First, I went to my little sister's Parents-Teachers conference at Mc Kinnon Middle School. I went with my sister who is 2 years younger than me. We went instead of my mom because she had to work, and she does not speak English fluently.
It was a good experience because that was the first time going into a middle school in my town. The school was nice, it was clean, and everything looked new. It was very bright in there, and everything looked organized. I am glad my little sister attends such a nice public school. When it was our turn to go in the classroom, me and my sister sat down, and we met my little sister’s teachers. There were four, and they teach Math, Science, English, and Social Studies. It was great to see how these conferences are conducted at schools. It was also interesting to hear what the teachers had to say about my sister. They said she is really loud, and acts like the class clown. I had no idea my sister was behaving like that at school because she just started attending there last September, and this was the first parent-teacher conference. I also learned that teachers talk about students’ grades, but they also tell the parents about the positive things about their kids, and the things the kids need to work on.
I told the teachers that I was an education major at MSU; they were glad to hear that, and I felt proud of my career choice. The Math teacher told me “That is good. There are not enough teachers.”

My other activity at a school was at Arts High School. I went with another girl from my Curriculum class to see a play the students were doing. It was called “The Exonerated,” and it is a true story about 6 people who were wrongly convicted, and sentenced to the death row. Many years later they were found innocent, but had lost a big part of their lives. There were 12 students on stage; the play was amazing, and I really enjoyed it. It was not what I had expected; the actors were not moving around the stage like I am used to; they just sat down, and told their stories. In most cases, it was like a monologue, but they did have some dialogues. It was totally different than other plays I have seen because it was really dark, and the only ones that we could see were the actors talking. The other kids were just sitting still. The dialogues sometimes occurred between a student in the middle of the stage, and another one far away, on the side of the stage. The lighting effect was really good.
I think those kids are really talented. They did a great job acting, and especially memorizing such a long speech, and one that had so many legal vocabulary. They looked really professional, and I think everyone in the audience was impressed with their performance. We talked to the Arts High School teacher who invited us to see the play. She was there to support her students, and was really impressed with what she saw that night. I am going to try to go to the other activities coming up at AHS because students need support, and because it is great to see how talented urban kids are.

My Community Hours

For my hours of community service, I went to Hispanic Affairs, in Dover. It is a nice organization, and they have many programs to help the community improve their lives. For example, they have English classes, workshops for parents and mothers, and so on. One of the main programs they run is Home Energy Assistance. I went to their offices twice, and I helped out with filing applicant's paperwork, and also filing it. Inoticed there were so many applications, and I learned a little bit of everything because people have to fill out their applications, and provide their gas, energy, and other home bills. Some people apply for government assistance to pay their bills because their doctors determined that someone in their household is at risk of getting sick if they do not get heat in the winter, or air conditioning in the summer.
It was a pleasant experience because everybody there was nice, and they made me feel welcome. My schedule did not match the times in which they had English classes, but I am going to go back, and volunteer to help out with the foreign language classes. I am problably going to go back also to help out in the Home Energy Department. It was fun to see a workplace where everybody is Hispanic. All the employees were speaking in Spanish in the offices, and they had Hispanic music on.

Inquiry Project: Notes from the 3 Observers

The two girls in my group and I observed our teachers at AHS, and we asked them some questions about motivation. When we got together and talked about our notes, I realized that the other two teachers were better than mine at motivating their students. I am not sure if it is because they teach subject areas where more motivation is needed (English and History), or because of a limitation with the Spanish language. My teacher did motivate them to learn, for example, she used flashcards, videos and the projector, but she did not try as many different methods as the other teachers. I think the fact that it as a beginner’s class makes it harder for the teacher to have a variety of projects because they children cannot speak in Spanish yet. They just know some words, and basic conversations. I am not sure if that is why my teacher did not seem as great of a motivator as the other educators. Or maybe she was just not good at it.
I think she likes her job, but she is frustrated with some of the problems she faces, and she might have given up a little bit. For example, she told me about a girl in her other class that did not listen to her. This girl ignores the teacher’s instructions, and she always talks in class. The teacher has tried to fix the problem, but the student’s parents have not come in to talk about it. Overall, I think motivating students to learn is extremely important, but it is a challenge to keep everyone interested in the topic.

The Interview

Besides getting my notes from my observation, I wanted to get more information from Mrs. Perez, the Spanish teacher. My inquiry project is “How teachers motivate students” so I asked her about what she does to get students interested in learning Spanish. She told me that the first day of class she makes her students read an article about the benefits of learning Spanish. So, kids realize how useful it is to learn this language because of the amount of Hipanics living in the United States, especially in their communities. For example, some students work, so they feel good about being able to help a customer who only speaks Spanish. By relating learning a foreign language to their lives and making it meaningful to them, she motivates her new students.
To motivate her students she uses “differentiated instruction” because every student learns in a different way. So she uses visuals, audio devices, her body, hands-on activities, and so on, to adjust her teaching to the needs of her students. For example, when she teaches the names of the fruits, she brings in plastic fruits; and to learn the names of objects she uses flashcards. She also uses music to get them interested in learning this foreign language, for example, she has a song that teaches the alphabet, and another one about the months of the year. Also, she uses video tapes, and a proyector to show transparencies.
I asked her about other resources she has. She told me the textbook is outdated, and that she barely uses it because she does not like it. She said they have been trying to get an updated book, but they are still talking about it. She hopes the Newark Board of Education takes care of that soon. Then I asked her about technology: how they use it, and if she thinks it is the best method to teach Spanish. She said that they only have one computer lab in the entire school (with 27 computers), and that it represents a problem because she cannot take her students there often. She tries to take her class at least once a month to the lab, but there are many teachers who want to use it, so there is limited access to it. Moreover, the lab does not have the appropriate program installed. She said her students would really benefit from having a good Spanish computer program because they love computers, and they are already familiar with them. If they had more computers and the right technology to teach Spanish at school, she would be able to get them interested and motivated. There is a chance that Arts High School will buy the Rosetta Stone (language software) next year for Spanish and French, so that every computer can have it, and students can each practice on a computer. Because this software is an interactive approach to learning a language, kids will see learning Spanish as something fun, instead of getting bored reading the textbook.

My Observation at Arts High School

My observation at Arts High School went really good, and I am glad I had the opportunity to do it there. I observed Mrs. Perez’ s class the day before Thanksgiving. She teachers Spanish I to freshman and sophomore students. I sat down in the back of her classroom, and observed two different groups of students. I did a sketch of the classroom, and I noticed that it was big, had beige walls, shiny wood floor, five big glass windows,and the lightning was good. It was funny to see that there was a texbook holding the window open, so I guess it was broken. When I got there, the classroom was hot, and several students were complaining; but soon, air started to come in though the broken window.
Let’s start with the classroom setup: the students were sitting in pairs, and they were facing the white-erase board in the front of the classroom. There was also a chalkboard on each side of the classroom, and the one on the right had the homework assignment written on it. The board on the left had student’s posters hanging from it. There were boards in amost every wall with students’ creative projects. Also, there was a wooden shelf in the corner of the room,and it looked unorganized because it had projects, textbooks, and some stacks of papers. Next, there was a filing cabinet, and on top of it there was a decorative table cloth, and there were pieces of craft work, a piñata, and other objects that looked Hispanic, especially Mexican. In the other corner, there was the teacher’s desk, her chair, and another desk with her computer and printer. Her desk was organized, but a few papers she was working with looked unorganized. In the back of the classroom, there was an old fan (on the floor), and an old TV set. There were four flags from different Hispanic countries hanging from the windows, and the U. S. flag hanging in front of the classroom. There was a phone on the wall, a table, and the bathroom log sheet by the entrance. There was a big yellow poster taped to that wall that said with the class expectations. There was a poster on the door that said “Welcome to our class” in Spanish.
About the resources, they had a Spanish textbook from 2000 (En Español, Mc Dougal Littel), and the matching workbooks. The teacher told me the textbook is outdated, and that that they are working on getting a new one, but the Newark Board of Education is who makes that decision. Students keep their textbooks at home because most them would never bring them to school, and they leave their workbooks at school, so they can practice in class. During my observation, the teacher used the workbook once, but most of the time she handed out worksheets to students.
The teacher is Peruvian, and she looks Hispanic. She is petite, and she has dark skin and brown hair. There were 18 students in her first class (7 were absent), and 15 students in the second one. The students were from different races; there were a few white students, but most of them looked like they were Hispanic, or African American. There were two special education students. One of them had a learning disability, so she needed more time to test. The other one was in a wheel-chair, and she had an aid who sat next to her during class. The aid helps this student around the school, stays with her most of the time, and sometimes takes notes for her. All the students were well-behaved, except for a few that would walk around at times. During class, many students went to the bathroom, but they had to take turns; they filled out a log, and took the pass.
For the two groups of students I observed, they had to do an oral test, but the teacher did a review first. For the test, the teacher sat in the back of the room, in between two students. Each student had to stand in front of the classroom, and he or she had to pick 10 flashcards from the 20 the teacher had on a table. They had to look at the picture, and say the name of that object in Spanish. At the beginning the teacher asked who wanted to go first, and four students were arguing about who was going to be first. The students seemed calm, and attentive, except for a female black student that was sleeping the whole time. When a student made a mistake, the teacher told him/her to pick another flashcard to make up those for those points. The teacher was flexible when grading pronunciation; if they knew the answer but said it wrong, she still counted it as right, and she corrected the students’ pronunciation. Some students laughed when a classmate made mistakes on the oral test, but the teacher did not tell them to stop. When a student had all the answers correct, his/her classmates clapped. After all the students who wanted to take the test went, the teacher started calling the other ones. Then the teacher called the student who had been sleeping. She did not want to go; she stood up, and said she didn’t know what whe was doing. She said the names of 5 flashcards, and then she refused to continue and went back to her seat. Some students who had taken the test were sleeping on their desks. The teacher helped another student by giving him clues. Another student did not want to go, and she told the teacher that she needed more time to review, but she did not get any more time. During the oral test, the teacher talked to them in both English and Spanish.
After the test, the teacher handed out a worksheet to her students, so they had to match the picture to a word from a word bank. The teacher walked around the classroom, and she helped students who had questions. Since they sit in pairs, most students work with their partners; they compare their answer, and answer each other’s questions. Some students said their questions out loud, and the teacher asked the whole class for the answer. The teacher would say the different ways you can say something in Spanish, depending on the country. Then they announced it was time for students to go to homeroom, and they immediately grabbed their things and left.
The second group of students I observed did the same thing: the review, the oral test, and the worksheet. This group was not too attentive, a number of students were talking among themselves. Just like in the first class, students were arguing to go first. A male black student said “Shut the fuck up” to another boy. The teacher got upset, and told him to behave. Then the teacher told a girl who had her feet on her desk to put her feet down (in Spanish). Students were distracted, and many of them were playing. It was the day before Thanksgiving, and they had an early dismissal, so students wanted to go home. Most students were loud, and they were talking in groups,while they were doing the worksheet. They did not finish because it was time to go.

Abbott v. Burke

I had never heard about the Abbott districts or the Abbott v. Burke cases, but I was glad to read about these rulings. The New Jersey Supreme Court’s rulings in favor of students’ rights to receive quality education is very positve and it representas a big step towards equality in our society. Schools are where everything starts and kids and teenagers need to have a good education to succeed when they graduate from high school.
It must have been a real challenge for these students, their parents and guardians to confront the New Jersey’s Education Commissioner. But how often does this happen? How often do students and their parents speak up and demand more? I wish more parents did this because most of them just see their kids go through their school years and do not realize the huge impact that schools have on their children’s future. Unfortunately poor districts are forgotten and their students have to deal with the consequences, so the only way that changes occur is when people get together and decide to fight for their rights.

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

The more that I learn about the NCLB Act, the more frustrated I feel with our education system, and the more upset I get at our government! What were they thinking? How could they do that? How could they pass a bill without thinking about the consequences, and without giving enough funds to school districts?
I don’t know, I feel sad everythime I think about it, and it is discouraging for future teachers. Even though I have the desire to teach, I keep thinking “What am I getting into?” It is going to be a hard road; teachers now have a huge responsibility, but they have limited funding, resources, and support.
Another thing that worries me is that I do not like or agree with many aspects of the NCLB, but as a teacher, I am going to have to follow those politcies anyway if I don’t want to be fired. For example, I do not agree with measuring the quality of schools’ performance based only on students’ testing because there are so many factors that affect those scores, and schools with higher scores are not necessarily the best ones.
The worst part about the Act is that it punishes schools that do not meet its standards. So what happens with these schools? I think the government is supposed to take over, but how are they going to fix things? It seems like the situation in these schools would just get worse. What our government needs to do is fund the NCLB so that schools can invest more in training teachers, buying technology, developing programs for students and teachers, etc. Moreover, I think the NCLB needs to be revised and redone, hopefully by educators and school administrators; this is such an important legislation because we are educating American citizens, so it has to be wellthought and carefully developed.

Newark Arts High School

Well I have not blogged in a long time because I have a crazy life, but since last Thursday I have been wanting to say: I am so excited about doing my observations at Arts High School! It is such a good school, and I know it is a priviledge to be able to do our initial field experience there.
Prof. Goldstein said there are not enough teachers at AHS for all of us, and we will have to split between 2 schools. I really hope I get to go to the school I visited though because it was so nice! The building is really nice, and everything looks in good shape, organized and clean. And the most important thing is that the kids are great! I met two young girls who gave us a tour around their school, and they were really friendly, respectful, and helpful. I got to walk around the school and observe different classes in progress. Most of the teachers were friendly and invited us to come into their classrooms, observe what students were doing, and even ask questions. I was so happy to see that students are well behaved, and that they are corteous and respectful.
In regards to my inquiry project, I like the question me and my group are working on. We are going to observe foreign language courses. We want to find out what are students' reactions to learning a foreign language. Are they motivated about learning another language? And how do teachers engage students in class?
I even had the opportunity to see a Spanish class in progress, and the teacher (I think her nane is Ms. Perez) was so nice, and she answered a question for me. I asked her if her students are motivated to learn Spanish, and she said that at the beginning they were not, but she told them how practical it is, and they are now practicing Spanish outside the classroom, especially those students who have a job. That was something I had not though about. Maybe a majority of students learning Spanish have a job, and because Newark has a big Hispanic population, what a great reason for students to be interested in learning Spanish! I know that French is also taught at AHS, and I would love to observe that class as well.
I really enjoyed the AHS tour because in less than an hour I got a better picture of what the classes are like, and what the students are like. I feel less anxious now, and I am looking forward to doing my observations.
I felt so happy talking to those kids, and walking around the school. Although I am shy, and I thought I was going to feel intimidated by some students (especially because they are so tall next to me!) I felt comfortable around them, and interested in finding our more about them. It was an amazing experience!

My Language Inquiry Project

Last time I blogged I was thinking about doing an inquiry project about the impact of voucher programs on education, but then I realize that it is too broad, and that I would not be able to use my observations to answer it. So, started thinking about one of the requirements for the inquiry question: to choose something meaningful to me. My teaching major is Spanish, so I am interested in the impact of learning languages for students. I would like to find out if learning a new language makes students open up to new ideas and perspectives. Are foreign language students less likely to discriminate, to be judgmental, or to be racists?

Also, I would like to know how students are motivated to learn a foreign language. Do they understand the benefits of speaking and writing in different languages? Do they think it will help them in their future careers? Or do they think it is fun? These are some of the questions I would like to inquire about. I hope I have the opportunity to be in a Spanish or another language course, so that I can see the interaction between teachers and students, and especially how students react to studying a foreign language.

I know the observations will be interesting and very helpful because I will get a lot of information. I know that I have to be careful of not making assumptions, so I am just going to try to record what I see, smell, and hear. I did not attend high school in the United States, so I guess that is good because I do not have any ideas yet of what language courses are like in public school, so I can observe everything as if I were from another planet… just like a Martian coming to an American public school! This is my first field experience too, so I am really excited about it.

Inquiry Project Question

I am not sure of what queation about education I want to address but I have been thinking about the voucher programs. There is a debate about them because it is beneficial to the student who can attend a private school, but it hurts the public school system because those funds are being taken from a public school's budget and put into another school that has more money to improve student's education. The main argument against voucher programs is that it is an excuse for government and state officials to not take care of the real problem: public education needs help! Public schools need more attention, and more funds so that all students have access to technology, experienced teachers, safety, and so on. On the othe hand, some people say that if public schools realize students are switching schools to get a better education, they will try to compete and improve. The problem is that with the students that transfer away from public schools, the hope of improving them goes away too...

There are some states that passed a law to allow students' parents to receive vouchers to choose the private school they prefer for their children to attend, and other states are trying to adopt this program. But the question is: who does the voucher program help? What are consequences of using these programs?

Parker: Teaching democracy in schools

Parker argues that it is extremely important to teach democracy in public schools, and that this eliminates idiocy, a very dangerous attitude that occurs when citizens only care about their own needs, and are not interested in the wellbeing of their society. American public schools are the perfect place to teach democracy because they have a multicultural environment, and because young minds are still being formed. It is the job of education to make sure that America’s youth become democratic people, and active participants in their communities and their country’s future.
In Teaching Against Idiocy, Parker says “The wheel doesn’t need to be reinvented; it is at hand and only needs to be rolled more intentionally, explicitly, and directly toward citizenship.” (2005, p. 3) Schools have been teaching democracy to American children and young adults, but this aspect of education has to be clear and directly targeted. He thinks that teachers and administrators need specific goals, and he suggests three keys: to increase the interaction among students; to encourage public talk; and to teach and use deliberation in their classrooms. Schools’ administrators and teachers must create activities where students can meet and talk to others from different races, religions, socioeconomic backgrounds, and so on. By being in contact with people who do no share the same values and ideas conflicts usually arise; so it is essential that students are encouraged to open up, and talk about it. Furthermore, teachers have to teach students how to deliberate; students have to listen to others’ ideas and arguments, weight the evidence provided, and decide what the best solution to the issue is. Educators need to teach democracy, and develop a sense of cooperation in their students; students need to think about what is best for society, and not just what they need or want.
In conclusion, Parker argues that education has been an important part of forming American society by teaching democracy to the new generations. It still needs to be improved, and there are specific things teachers and administrators can do. If they promote integration, encourage discussion about important issues, and teach techniques of deliberation to their students, Americans will be active participants in their communities and countries’ future. This is essential to fight idiocy which harms society because individuals will only look after their personal interest, and forget that we all depend on one another.

Selling Shoes Haiku

I love selling shoes
but some ladies drive me nuts
Just a waste of time!

Don't know what they want
and all shoes make their feet hurt
I have to be patient!



I wrote this Haiku about selling shoes because I had a really busy and stressful week at my job. I really like being an assistant manager at a women's shoe store, but some customers are really anoying. Some try on a million pairs of shoes and do not purchase anything! This is the first time I hear about Haikus, and I learned that they belong to the japanese tradition. I think they are short and fun to write, and it is an original way to express my thoughts and feelings.

This exercise helped me learn more about counting syllables, and I even had to look up the rules. It is a great way to apply the rules of dividing words into syllables. This can be used in an English grammar class; students would be able to apply in a fun way what they are being taught.
At the same time, they can use their creativity to come up with a short poem. So, they are developing different skills such as applying what they learn, being creative, and learning about japanese poetry.

Group 3's Public Education for Martians

1. What are our schools like, and how did they get that way? Schools in the United States go for 12 years, and schooling is mandatory until the age of16. There are many different types of schools: public, private, home schooling, among others. Our puclic schools teach students to be democratic citizens and mature individuals in a democratic society. Schools were founded by immigrants, based on religion at first. Then Protestants made changes in public schools and they separated church and education. Schools are funded mostly by the state and local taxes. According to the Public EducationPrimer, 9% comes from the federal government, and 43% comes from local sources (more than three-fourths of this local share derived from local property taxes). Our schools offer free and reduced lunch for families that are below the poverty level, and other services such as social workers, psychologists, speech therapists, and after-school care programs, depending on schools funding. Schools are improving, and now schools have counselors that a family may not be able to afford by itself.

2. Who are our students? Our students can range from ages 3 to 19 years old. They come from all types of socio-economic, racial and ethnic backgrounds. Our foreign students have a chance to learn the English language in the form of classes, for example ESL (English as a second language). According to the Public Education Primer on page 25, scores on college entrance exams have increased modestly, in case of the SAT, or held steady, in case ofthe ACT. We are progressively getting better scores.

3. Who are our teachers?Almost half of all public school teachers have advanced degrees, and the majority have more than 10 years experience. The United States requires that all teachers have a degree in the area of their concentration. The majority of our teachers are women (8 out of 10). Our teachers try their best to help the students as best as they can, and they are very dedicated to their work. Our teachers try to prepare students for life after grade school by exercising their students’ creative and critical thinking skills.

The public Education Primer

This is the first time I am trying blogging, so I am not sure if I am doing this right, but if it is space where I can express my ideas it is probably really helpful.
The most interesting thing I found in the reading is that almost all the industrialized countries have a national curriculum and a national exam to exit high school. I think we should have a national high school exam because it would make it easier for the government and the Department of Education to do an assessment of all the school districts in the country. That would help the government identify specific problems, and work to find solutions.