Generations Article

We now live in a time where there are 4 different generations trying to get along together and work. Every one of these generations has their own experience and work ethics. There are the veterans, the baby boomers, gen x as well as gen y, in that order goes from oldest to youngest. From my own experience I have witnessed this first hand, where I am a multi-tasking go go go type of person, and the veterans and baby boomers are one thing at a time, and cannot handle doing more than that. It gets very frustrating because each generation is so different. I think that the past 100 years’ things have changed so drastically and there are strict time frames in which people did a lot of work advanced this planet and then something new came along. This is all about technology and emerging things and that’s why it is making such a different between everyone.

            This difference even starts back with family structure and education. Were families used to sit down for a meal with one another, and a college education was almost un heard of. Everyone just went to work, shut up and did as they were told. Now everyone has a opinion of how they should do things and the career path you take, but that does happen without a college education and the cost of that has gone out of this world. Family structures are broken and pieced back together. With different backgrounds, different ways of growing up and views on the world this makes it extremely hard to work with a person like this, but it happens everywhere, and will definitely happen with teachers and the way they teach.

Diversity Article

There is an ever-impeding problem of trying to balance diversity and uniformity all at once in the classroom. For years and years teachers everywhere state how they are changing education and students are getting better and better, yet the mold for education has changed in over 50 years. If people have changed in the past 50 years, how come the education of teaching these people has not? Diversity if the big part of this, we are trying to fit every class and every kid into mold. Instead we should see what the kid thrives at best and teach them to that style. “Students who do not learn through whatever the current "best approach" happens to be are too often labeled "disabled" because their way of learning does not respond to that particular method”. (John Hopkins, Diversity) This is also happening with behaviors where kids may have “ADD” which is only because they are not allowed to use their hands which is their learning style in the classroom. Some of these sort of things can all be avoided with just learning what each child’s learning style is and teaching to that to help them achieve.

There are 4 different examples of learning styles as described in the john Hopkins article being, Cognition: How Do I Know? Conceptualization: How Do I Think? Affect: How Do I Decide? And Behavior: How Do I Act? These 4 categories explain the differences in ways that people can perceive, think, feel and behave. This along with multiple intelligences can ultimately create a classroom that can reach each student because you will be able to understand them. The most successful teachers are the ones that can bring in vary contexts, and cultures into a classroom to get students looking and working from all angles, with this they will become the student you never thought they could be.

Teaching Hope: DISILLUSIONMENT

Without reading anymore of this chapter, the 76th excerpt sums up my teaching goals in one small segment. In this story there is a boy who works hard in all his classes, has set goals for life, and like his family before him wants to be a mechanic, because of his love for muscle cars. This student works hard, yet cannot pass a world-civics exam, or the rest of the standardized tests. In his line of work he does not need a civics test to prove he do mechanics, nor does he need english or other subjects. A student like this should be in a trade school working on what he wants to do in life, rather than be put through all these classes that he will never use, and find use for. Our society tries to get every student “college” ready because that's what we want for every student. Well I can tell you, that some kids can get a trade, not go to college and make as good of money  if not better than students who did go to college.

I am so sick of the stigma that everyone needs to go to college, and everyone playing into it, by going thousands of dollar in debt, for a job that 10 years ago was an entry level job. Our country has made this push for everyone to go to college, because of money and that is the only reason why. If a child wants to be a mechanic and they know that for sure, let them go to a trade school, and learn that, it's better than trying to push them through school where they struggle and don't get their diploma. Now they are left with no diploma, and no trade. They have nothing, and that is the type of person who brings this country in the opposite direction of the push everyone is making.Not a person with a trade who does not go to college. Everyone needs to stop forming this country into something it’s not and driving it to the breaking point, where you will need a doctorate soon to work at McDonalds..

Teaching Hope: ENGAGEMENT

The 50th excerpt was about a small native american school in the desert, where a teacher went to teach there and had his car burned, and the students said they would never respect him, because he was only there for the money. I come from a small town, and I know that it is hard because everyone knows you and has expectations, for a teacher to come from away they must fully immerse themselves in the school and the kids, because if they just go there to teach they will never earn respect from the student's, parents or faculty. It is crucial to fit in to your community and show them that you are there for them, not just a paycheck.

In the 54th excerpt is was all about a deep routed child who grew up on the farm, in a community with nothing but white people. His grandparents and parents had taught him that other races were not the same as him, and he had his strong opinions. When writing he came across very racist. The teacher asked him to think about other people and their perspectives, since this kid has never met someone of another color, why judge them so hard? I do believe in the fact of freedom of speech and opinion and a child can think what they want because they do have the right. At the same time you need to educated the students without trying to push them to one side, because thats your own view. This happens alot in school now, kids are only getting one perspective because that is one of the teachers. They need to be aware of both sides and what happens, take a females, males, black and whites perspective on the civil war, and that is where you truly gain the most information.

Teaching Hope: CHALLENGES

The 22rd story of this book talks about a girl who has suicidal thoughts and has no one to turn to, and completely feels hopeless. The teacher does not know what to do but to tell her to get help which pushes her away. In the end the girl got help and then trusted the teacher and gave her, her journal which she writes in everyday. In this journal she learned about all the heartache that this girl had gone through and why she is the way she is. I think it is so important to know all of your students so that you can relate more to them and gain trust, especially in a situation like this one, where the teacher could help this student a little more.

The 25th story was about a young girl who had grown up in the south, with southern mannerisms, they then had to move due to their dad dealing drugs, she moved to a big city which she describes as the “dark cloud city”. Only being in middle school she was shocked at the fact that all the other kids were having sex, drinking, smoking etc, as she was still saying yes sir and ma’am. Soon she began in this spiral and got pregnant at 14 and had the kid at 15. Having a young child of her own, she is trying to make sure her life does not end up the same, and she also wants to show others that you do not have to follow down that same path. Going back to school and getting an education will show her daughter and others that you do not have to do what everyone else is doing, you can be better.

Story 26 in the challenges section I find to be very interesting, a young girl goes to her teacher and tells her how she is no longer a virgin and her mother found out and started to hit her with a belt. The teacher told her she was a “mandatory reporter” of this incidence, and the girl started to plead not to tell anyone, because it breaks her trust. I find this is one of the hardest things as a teacher, you are supposed to tell, but at the same time you are breaking your trust with the student so that they will never tell you anything again. I feel as though some of this stuff is a pick and choose, if you break that trust and something really does happen they will never tell you about it again.

Teaching Hope: ANTICIPATION

The first day of school can be the most nerve wracking, for both the students as well as the teachers. Neither one knows what to expect, and they never really feel fully prepared, for what they are about to endure. Some of the stories in this chapter are very interesting, as to how anxious the teacher was, in the 3rd story the teacher began to open up to the class and talk about her life, and although we have all been instructed not to, I feel like revealing some of yourself to your students can show them that you are also human. This allows the students to understand and respect you as a person and to trust you with situations especially if they can relate them to you.

After reading excerpt 9, this is a story that I will definitely be taking and using in my classroom, this teacher works with students who are of trouble and cannot be in regular class. He tells them a life story about how you only have 3 birthdays one being at the beginning of high school, the other when you turn 18 and the last on your 21st birthday. He describes to them that in high school you need to learn to be responsible, on your 18th you become accountable and on your 21st you must be both while having unlimited access to alcohol. I have always believed in life lessons, becoming apart of a classroom and I feel as though this is a very crucial life lesson for the children in that stage of their life.

Being a health teacher and reading the 17th story I realized that I need to fully explain my concepts in health as they are so important to life and everything else around. In this kids went through sex ed training and the teachers just passed out papers but never let the children ask questions, so they had all these misconceptions about sex that would have never been answered and if it wasn’t for this teacher taking a class to talk about it, the kids would never know the difference. I know that I need to allow kids to process and ask questions about things, before letting them go out into the world misinforming everyone.