SL Project Response

I am really excited to begin the project. I have a passion for working with students from low income schools and families and it would seem that the YWCA would be good experience for working with these students in the future. Another reason I am excited for it is so I have an opportunity to teach a lesson before I start any of my teaching practicums next semester.

I was brainstorming lesson ideas and I think, if it is okay with the leaders of the YWCA, that I would bring in my guitar and maybe center my lesson around music. I would maybe read the kids a story about music if I could find one and then bring out my guitar and show them the very basics of how I play the guitar. I would then allow each student a turn to strum on the guitar in the lesson, and then we could try singing a couple of simple kids songs together with hand motions so they could interact. I would love to do some Christian kids songs if that would be okay with the YWCA leaders-- I'm not sure what they allow or do not allow there. I know they are a "Christian" organization, but they might have rules about music or something that I do not know about.

The one concern I do have is that I do not have a car. I know we have been talking about getting rides together but I just do not have much contact with the students outside of class. It might be beneficial if the people who are willing to drive sign up for certain times that they can go to the YWCA and then the people who do not have transportation could sign up next to the times that work for them that have drivers lined up. That is just an idea, I am sure it will work out no matter what happens though.

Blog # 10

This topic means a lot to me because I have always had problems talking in a classroom setting; well, for as long as I have been in college since I was home schooled previous to that. It is not that I am too shy or scared to add to discussion in class, it is just that it is hard for me to think of something that is worth saying. I felt like most of the ideas suggested in this chapter to get students to engage in intelligent discussions are all things that would make me shut down in a classroom setting. When I am in a small group discussion setting, it is hard for me to focus on the questions at hand. Usually, there is a short amount of time in group discussions so I tend to give up before I even try to engage in discussion. This is obviously a fault of my own, but I do feel like small group discussions is not the surefire answer like the chapter seems to imply. However, I think that the discussion book idea would be more beneficial to my learning style. Whenever I am asked to create something from my own ideas, I am more apt to want to share and talk about it. I think many students with my learning style would benefit from the discussion book while many other students would benefit from the other options presented in the chapter. That being said, I think it would be wise for me to try all of the things for each of my classes in the future to see what works best for different groups of students.

Blog # 9

I felt like the story that most of the first chapter of the reading was based on was due more to Shannon's socioeconomic status rather than her ethnicity. The chapter made many points, all of which were helpful and applicable, to becoming a more culturally-aware and careful teacher. In my opinion, all of the points suggested could be applied to any child who is slow learning or doesn't have the resources to learn as well as other students. Shannon happened to be African American, but the second chapter talked about a while child who was doomed to fail by his teacher as well. Was the story about Shannon being allowed to not work hard a race issue or was it an issue that can apply to any student that is behind academically despite their race? I just felt like both chapters could have done a better job of getting examples that applied to actual race rather than their economic status, living location, or dialect.

As for the points being made-- that no students should be expected to fail and that all students should be challenged-- I agree wholeheartedly. I intend to give special attention to any of my students that need it. If my student group as a whole does not understand something or does not like to write, like the example in the second chapter, I will try my best to think of creative ideas to get all of my students involved.

Blog # 8

This chapter has been the most beneficial and eye opening to me out of all the other chapters we have read so far.

I tend to have a sort of phobia of technology. The thing is that I am truly not a big fan of change, and technology does and will cause change in my life. I had a cell phone that I payed for by the minute up until a few months ago, I refused to get a Facebook until everyone else insisted I should get one, I still have never owned an Ipod (not even a shuffle), and I am currently adamantly opposed to Kindles in fear that they will completely replace hard copies of books someday. This fear and avoidance of technology, I am coming to realize, is a severe weakness for becoming a teacher in the near future.

I never realized how exciting technology could be in a classroom; moreover, how it allows for me to use my creativity in developing plans to involve my students in the material I will be teaching. The Book Trailer idea is brilliant! As a creative person myself, if I had had this sort of project in high school I would have been so excited to share my trailer after it was finished and would surely never forget the book that I had read for it. I say why not take this idea one step further and create a project where students can group together and create 15-20 minute long movies based on a book. They could either take the more important parts of the story and film those scenes or they could create an entirely new story that could be tied back to the original book. Using technology in this way is now just another reason why I am so excited to begin teaching students in the future.

Blog # 7

ELL seems to be one of the harder issues to handle in the educational field. How do teachers who typically speak English as their first and sometimes only language teach students who don't even know English yet? This chapter is especially effective because it covers all aspects of ELL students; they address language proficiency, specific differences between the linguistics of languages, and even differing cultural aspects of diverse students.

The best ideas that were presented in the chapter which I plan on using in my classroom someday are the "ways that cultivate cultural harmony." Each suggestion not only helped the ELL students and helped them feel more belonging, but they also benefit those who are not ELL students by informing them on how differing cultures work. These activities help all of the students to get to know each other better, learn more about cultures, and help to add variety to the classroom content.