On page 180 when the book talks about recognizing what students do on their own time and their favorite activities, and that way can steer them in a direction that will connect learning with their favorite subject.
I had a couple teachers in high school applied this method and it really worked. Coming from such a small high school all the teachers know who’s in what club and sports and stuff like that, so they could always give examples in class that would relate to our interests or inform us of activities outside of school we may be interested in.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 9 Quick Response
The section of when teachers feel discouraged (167) really interested me. It describes how in the first couple of years teachers really have trouble showing that they care about the kids but still maintaining an authorative figure.
I think we can all relate to this as new teachers and having our own fears about the kids liking us yet still being able to come across as in charge to them. I personally think I would rather have the authority established first because I believe that is more important than being liked. Plus, after I have established my authority I could then work on becoming open and adjustable with the kids, and having them realize that I’m not that bad.
I think we can all relate to this as new teachers and having our own fears about the kids liking us yet still being able to come across as in charge to them. I personally think I would rather have the authority established first because I believe that is more important than being liked. Plus, after I have established my authority I could then work on becoming open and adjustable with the kids, and having them realize that I’m not that bad.
Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 8 Quick Response
“Share our goal to excel academically, not just get by” (151). This was a piece of advice given by the book when trying to look past language mistakes.
This really jumped off the page at me because in my mentor teachers classroom we have 4 foreign exchange students, and all but one speaks English well. As she takes notes she writes vocabulary and numbers in her own language on the paper, and my teacher has taken the time to learn a couple of the words to help her in class. He cares that she understands the material and doesn’t just take notes and squeaks by on tests.
This really jumped off the page at me because in my mentor teachers classroom we have 4 foreign exchange students, and all but one speaks English well. As she takes notes she writes vocabulary and numbers in her own language on the paper, and my teacher has taken the time to learn a couple of the words to help her in class. He cares that she understands the material and doesn’t just take notes and squeaks by on tests.
Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 7 Quick Response
On page 133 and 134 the book discusses teaching kids math and science and making sure they understand the material. One of the suggestions was to “try all different ways to see something” (134) and gives afterward gives an example of teaching a math problem with a couple different methods.
SOMETIMES I don’t agree with this method. If I have a ton of different learners in my classroom and I have to try and teach them all the same concept at least three different ways I would never be able to cover all the material. Sometimes you only have time to teach one way and if the kid has trouble they should come see me for help. We’d only make it through a couple chapters a year if we taught every lesson a couple different ways.
SOMETIMES I don’t agree with this method. If I have a ton of different learners in my classroom and I have to try and teach them all the same concept at least three different ways I would never be able to cover all the material. Sometimes you only have time to teach one way and if the kid has trouble they should come see me for help. We’d only make it through a couple chapters a year if we taught every lesson a couple different ways.
Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 6 Quick Response
Page 103, passionate teachers make a difference. This leapt off the page at me as I was reading. The quote given mentions no matter what you think of the teacher’s subject they still make you want to learn it because the teacher loves their own subject and seem genuinely excited about it.
I think this is absolutely true. If you have a teacher who comes in and talks like their bored and wouldn’t really give a crap if they were there or not isn’t really motivating to kids. But if you have a teacher who comes into class and has a lot of energy and excitement about their subject that will rub off on the kids and really get them into the lesson, even if it is boring.
I think this is absolutely true. If you have a teacher who comes in and talks like their bored and wouldn’t really give a crap if they were there or not isn’t really motivating to kids. But if you have a teacher who comes into class and has a lot of energy and excitement about their subject that will rub off on the kids and really get them into the lesson, even if it is boring.
Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 5 Quick Response
When the book specifies not expecting uniform work out of all your students I really thought it was important. They give a quote of a student who stressed being fair to all the kids and understand the different learning levels in your classroom (97).
I really connected with this bit of information because I see it everyday in my mentor’s classroom. There are kids of every age and learning type in our classes and he realizes that some have better understandings of the material than others. What makes it difficult for him is that it’s a math class and you cant really say, well he got part of the answer just like this other kid, but this one understands better so he should get more points off because in math the answers are so concrete.
I really connected with this bit of information because I see it everyday in my mentor’s classroom. There are kids of every age and learning type in our classes and he realizes that some have better understandings of the material than others. What makes it difficult for him is that it’s a math class and you cant really say, well he got part of the answer just like this other kid, but this one understands better so he should get more points off because in math the answers are so concrete.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 4 Quick Response
On page 66 when Diana is talking I noticed how she says teachers try to push “good” students more than “not-so-good” students. She mentions how they’ll lecture the straight A students but act like they expected it with the slackers.
This stood out to me more quite a bit because even though I know it is important to try and motivate all kids to learn and push them all equally, it is true about some kids. After about 2 or 3 weeks into the school year your going to know if certain kids are going to pass your class, and if they have just totally written you and your class off and don’t think it’s worth their time then yea I’m actually going to spend my time on a student who cares about their grades.
This stood out to me more quite a bit because even though I know it is important to try and motivate all kids to learn and push them all equally, it is true about some kids. After about 2 or 3 weeks into the school year your going to know if certain kids are going to pass your class, and if they have just totally written you and your class off and don’t think it’s worth their time then yea I’m actually going to spend my time on a student who cares about their grades.
Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 3 Quick Response
On page 49 when the student mentioned how teachers sometimes try to keep an entire room quiet was interesting to me. The student said that if the teacher just teachers and doesn’t worry about every kid being absolutely silent then the kids will be quiet on their own. I have really noticed this with my mentor teacher.
This part really jumped out at me because coming out of high school and going into college to become the teacher I was set on the fact that if the whole class was quiet then at least they were paying attention somewhat to what I’m going to be saying. But now as I read this chapter and watch my mentor teacher I realize that if you keep control of the class and don’t let them get totally out of hand with their noise then they will quiet themselves down for you.
This part really jumped out at me because coming out of high school and going into college to become the teacher I was set on the fact that if the whole class was quiet then at least they were paying attention somewhat to what I’m going to be saying. But now as I read this chapter and watch my mentor teacher I realize that if you keep control of the class and don’t let them get totally out of hand with their noise then they will quiet themselves down for you.
Monday, September 10, 2007
Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 2 Quick Response
Something really jumped out at me on the first page of this chapter. When the student was describing their two high school track coaches I really connected with what they were saying. I had a bunch of coaches in high school and I had coaches like both the student described. I truely appreciated the coach that scheduled 3 hour practices on Saturday mornings compared to the one the gave us Fridays and weekends off because I became really good at the sport.
The quote from this kid really made me think back about my own high school experience and relate to the student. I think this is very important. Being able to relate my own experiences with those of my students will help put me on "the next level" with them and hopefully make them and myself more confident in my classroom.
The quote from this kid really made me think back about my own high school experience and relate to the student. I think this is very important. Being able to relate my own experiences with those of my students will help put me on "the next level" with them and hopefully make them and myself more confident in my classroom.
Fires in the Bathroom Chapter 1 Quick Response
In the beginning of chapter 1 what really jumped out at me was some of the students' comments. A couple students mentioned how they don't want teachers to be their friend or try to ask anything personal. This was surprising to me because in high school I liked the teachers that did care enough to ask me questions about stuff going on in my life. This made me feel like they cared enough to be interested in all their students lives and this made me like them more which in turn made me want to do better in their class.
Another thing that was interesting was the suggestion of using a questionaire to gain some insight about the students' lives. If these kids don't want you to be their friend then I don't think they will respond positively to a questionaire asking about themselves. They may just make up anwsers or completely ignore it.
Another thing that was interesting was the suggestion of using a questionaire to gain some insight about the students' lives. If these kids don't want you to be their friend then I don't think they will respond positively to a questionaire asking about themselves. They may just make up anwsers or completely ignore it.
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Copyright and Fair Use LR
#14) The answer for this one really did surprise me. I also think I disagree with the law about this one. For one, you could argue about the point brought up in #19. What if you’re using a Disney movie to “instruct” that group of children a moral or life-lesson? Then would it be okay? Also, there’s the issue regarding rented movies. What if the school rented the Disney movie and showed it? Is it okay then because they haven’t purchased the rights to it yet? I think this question’s answer is based on a very fine line of the law books.
Copyright and Fair Use SR
#7) This surprised me because I didn’t think you could use any copyrighted material without permission no matter what the circumstance.
#8) This question was worded confusingly I thought. Nowhere in the question did it mention the student file-share downloaded the trailer so I thought it was okay as long as the student gave credit to the source.
#13) I always thought you couldn’t use other peoples work you find online as your own unless you give proper credit, and the question never states whether or not credit was given.
#14) The answer for this one I find really shocking. By the explanation given I can’t invite friends over to watch a movie without the producer’s permission.
#15) I got this one wrong because I thought making a video and showing it and just showing a video were pretty much the same.
#16) This is another shocking one I think. I can’t believe they give teachers that kind of privilege to break copyright laws for the classroom.
#18) I thought it was never okay to copy another persons CD due to copyright laws, I had no idea that length limitations mattered.
#19) This question has a really interesting explanation because there could all of a sudden become a very fine line between whether or not your using certain things for instruction or not.
#8) This question was worded confusingly I thought. Nowhere in the question did it mention the student file-share downloaded the trailer so I thought it was okay as long as the student gave credit to the source.
#13) I always thought you couldn’t use other peoples work you find online as your own unless you give proper credit, and the question never states whether or not credit was given.
#14) The answer for this one I find really shocking. By the explanation given I can’t invite friends over to watch a movie without the producer’s permission.
#15) I got this one wrong because I thought making a video and showing it and just showing a video were pretty much the same.
#16) This is another shocking one I think. I can’t believe they give teachers that kind of privilege to break copyright laws for the classroom.
#18) I thought it was never okay to copy another persons CD due to copyright laws, I had no idea that length limitations mattered.
#19) This question has a really interesting explanation because there could all of a sudden become a very fine line between whether or not your using certain things for instruction or not.
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