After reading and pondering the debate about teens lacking adult reasoning capacity, yet being held to adult consequences, what do you think this means for you as a teacher?
As a teacher I am a role model. Part of my responsibility is to help my students achieve the skills needed to increase their reasoning capacity. I need to provide opportunities for my students to practice their reasoning skills. Encouraging them to think through their actions and find out their motivations helps them develop these skills. Instead of just handing out consequences it is more helpful to have them reason out why the consequence is in effect and what behaviors led them to receiving that consequence. Helping them formulate a plan to avoid those behaviors in the future enables them to use those reasoning skills while being guided instead of just relying on them to figure it out on their own. Remembering they lack adult reasoning capacity can help me take a step back and not take things personally. It will allow me to better assess their motivations which in turn can guide my responses.
Monday, August 19, 2013
Saturday, August 10, 2013
Lesson 6
After watching the videos on Math and Music, how does this information impact you as a teacher?
As an English teacher my influence in the area of math will be indirect. I can support my fellow teacher’s efforts in the math classroom by offering assistance or finding ways to come up with projects that can cross the curricula. I can look for opportunities to use math skills the students are learning in our English curriculum.
Music is something I can utilize a great deal in my classroom. Playing happy, upbeat music as the students come in and get ready for the day can set a pleasing and welcoming mood. Using peaceful, calming music before a test can help students relax which can impact their brains’ ability to access the information we studied. Using music in teaching, such as rewriting lyrics, can help students learn information that needs to be memorized. If I notice our attention is lagging or we are getting tired I can use music as a quick pick me up and give students a short break. Relaxing and calm music could also help me reset my mood after a particularly challenging classroom session! Music effects mood and energy so choosing music carefully can help set the tone for learning that day. Currently I am a study hall teacher for the middle school of a small charter school. I allow the students to listen to music of their choice once in awhile as long the volume on their headphones remains low enough that I cannot hear it when standing next to them. I’ve noticed that the students who utilize this freedom actually remain more focused on their schoolwork and are less distracted by the students around them.
As an English teacher my influence in the area of math will be indirect. I can support my fellow teacher’s efforts in the math classroom by offering assistance or finding ways to come up with projects that can cross the curricula. I can look for opportunities to use math skills the students are learning in our English curriculum.
Music is something I can utilize a great deal in my classroom. Playing happy, upbeat music as the students come in and get ready for the day can set a pleasing and welcoming mood. Using peaceful, calming music before a test can help students relax which can impact their brains’ ability to access the information we studied. Using music in teaching, such as rewriting lyrics, can help students learn information that needs to be memorized. If I notice our attention is lagging or we are getting tired I can use music as a quick pick me up and give students a short break. Relaxing and calm music could also help me reset my mood after a particularly challenging classroom session! Music effects mood and energy so choosing music carefully can help set the tone for learning that day. Currently I am a study hall teacher for the middle school of a small charter school. I allow the students to listen to music of their choice once in awhile as long the volume on their headphones remains low enough that I cannot hear it when standing next to them. I’ve noticed that the students who utilize this freedom actually remain more focused on their schoolwork and are less distracted by the students around them.
Sunday, August 4, 2013
Lesson 5
After watching the videos on Language and Reading, how does this information impact you as a teacher?
As an English teacher I have a firm belief in the critical importance of reading daily both as a part of school work and for personal enjoyment. Reading encourages vocabulary development as well as critical thinking skills. I also firmly believe that students should be read aloud to and participate in reading aloud. Hearing the words spoken, especially while following along in their own books, encourages language development, even at upper grades.
Knowing a little bit about how language develops can help me if I have a student who is having difficulty with reading. Being able to identify areas of weakness can help me identify what strategies I can take to fill in gaps in prior education. Because I intend on teaching 7th-12th graders I may not utilize much of the information presented in the video but it forms a foundation for me to utilize when there are students with gaps in their language development. It also encourages me to support foreign language development in my classroom by collaborating with the foreign language teachers to see how we can create projects that will cross the classrooms and engage the students on multiple levels.
As an English teacher I have a firm belief in the critical importance of reading daily both as a part of school work and for personal enjoyment. Reading encourages vocabulary development as well as critical thinking skills. I also firmly believe that students should be read aloud to and participate in reading aloud. Hearing the words spoken, especially while following along in their own books, encourages language development, even at upper grades.
Knowing a little bit about how language develops can help me if I have a student who is having difficulty with reading. Being able to identify areas of weakness can help me identify what strategies I can take to fill in gaps in prior education. Because I intend on teaching 7th-12th graders I may not utilize much of the information presented in the video but it forms a foundation for me to utilize when there are students with gaps in their language development. It also encourages me to support foreign language development in my classroom by collaborating with the foreign language teachers to see how we can create projects that will cross the classrooms and engage the students on multiple levels.
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