24

I really enjoyed class from this last Tuesday. Geoff enlightened us with information that was more than valuable. No matter what major, or desired career choice, every career-seeking individual is interesting in how much money that specific career is going to offer them. I had a ball park figure in mind with teaching at a secondary level. I knew that it wasn't a wonderful number compared to what other careers can pull in. I didn't know, however, how one is able to move up in pay scale in the teaching world. I didn't know that every school district has steps and lanes. I also didn't know that every teacher's steps are negotiable upon hire; an experienced teacher can loose all of his honored years of teaching (in pay) if he tries to hire on with a different school district. I think that is outrageous and not fair. You know what it seems like to me? Teachers are needed more now than ever, with a higher demand for those who are highly qualified, but they have to continually jump through hoops and blow whistles just to try to earn some kind of a descent living salary. I guess it is all for the passion and reward of teaching. I guess I can't change the politics of it all, all by myself, but I can make sure that I do the best I can for those that I teach.

23

So this teaching class is beginning to rub off on me. On Sunday, I was in front of a group of young Primary kids, trying to give a Sharing Time presentation. I don't know why, but right from the beginning of the presentation out from my mouth came the stupid and open-ended questions,"Does that make sense?" and "Any questions?" As soon as I said those questions, I immediately felt ashamed of myself. I was suddenly hit in the head with my own guilt, labeling myself as a "bad" teacher. From then on I found myself trying to overly concentrate on my teaching style and ability to use good questions. I found myself getting self-conscious and nervous--in the front of a bunch of little 3 to 7 year-olds!! I don't know what got into me, but I learned from that experience that it is very important to some kind of lesson plan, included with prepared questions, even for the Primary.

22

Thanksgiving was great! We ate lots of food and had a good time with the whole family. Vacation is always too short though. It should definitely be longer...

21

Okay, that experience teaching on Thursday was really cool. I think that because we were the second group to teach and that we were able to observe the behavior of the students prior, we were able to create and modify our lesson plan to best suit the class. I think that this was a real plus for our group and made me realize the importance of communication with the students on their level and mine, as a teacher. I was satisfied with the way that our group executed this teaching assignment; of course there is always room for improvement, but that is why we are students. I think it was a good thing to have an attention getter with the familiar media clips at the beginning of class. I think it was a sure connection with the attention of the students, they being at the junior high age. I think it set a precedent. One thing that I would seriously consider taking out of our performance was the issue of discipline. I know that I carried on about it in my previous blog entry because I was negatively observing the students while the first group was teaching. I noticed, however, that the students responded boldly to discipline. When we were handing out candy and the students were excited, one of us spoke out loudly, telling them to be quiet, which was done in a demeaning voice I think. I noticed the immediate response of the students; it wasn't positive. I think that having parameters and class discipline is good to a degree, but I must remember that it will always have an impacting impression on the students. So, if I decide to include it in my classroom, I think it must be done fairly and respectfully and in a teaching way. I think discipline can be a great teaching moment instead of a negative connotation. It might even be able to be fun or funny. Who knows, but I do know that our form of it was not good in our situation; we lost the excitement, enthusiasm, and attention of the students.

20

So, is it illegal these days to discipline in any form in the classroom? I think a couple of us wanted to discipline those students on Tuesday's junior high visit. I think that there are too many teachers that are too afraid to do anything, whether it be an enforcement of a citizenship grade or loss of privileges, to help the students maintain respect and task. It seems, as I was observing the students on Tuesday, that they know what they can get away with, and that there are not going to be any real repercussions for their behavior. I noticed at the end of the lesson, the teacher was signaling to one of his students to turn around and pay attention. The student did not comply. If I were the teacher and visitors were coming to my classroom and my students were rowdy, I would interrupt the visitor's' presentation and readdress the fact that their behavior was not satisfactory. I need to observe more teachers and their students to learn more, but from what I have seen so far, not many teachers stand up and hold their own floor.

19

You know, it's kind of funny that the world tells you to follow your dreams and that it's best to have a career that you enjoy. It's funny because the whole idea is conditional. If one tells you to follow your dreams and then critiques and criticizes your choices, then I guess he or she is not really supporting you. The thing is, everyone these days is expected to become who they want to become, but then when the career path is chosen and it doesn't have a common white collar title next to it, it is looked down upon. The world should appraise those who can become who they want to be and become successful at it. I find this observation to be true for my major. I use to be in the mechanical engineering program. I thought it was boring. It wasn't me. Then I switched to TEE. When I did and people found out, when they asked me what I was going to do and I replied that I was going to be a wood shop teacher, they gave me the,"oh" answer. I realize that teachers don't make a ton of money, especially in Utah County, but it is an important job to have, if not one of the most important. Everyone has to go through school. Everyone has to learn. If there are not any good teachers, then how will we learn and by whom? I think test scores are dropping every year not because No Child Left Behind needs to be stronger, but because there just are not enough teachers with a passion to teach. I think teaching is an important and applicative job; sitting in a cubical for some random company doesn't amaze me. I think teachers should be moved up the social pedestal and get paid more for what they do; teachers go through a lot of schooling and don't get much of a reward financially. I think that my choice to teach people how to become well-rounded, learn about nature, and use their hands is a note worthy job. It is my dream.

18

I normally do not agree with group work. I find that it takes longer to make decisions, ideas clash, there is lack of time to meet, and there is a lack of communication. Anyway, that has been my experience with group work in the past. So, over the years I have become bitter to the whole thing and preferred to get things done on my own. I will tell you that now is different. I am really glad that I was able to study up on some of the STL's and then teach them for our class. In those STL's, I learned about and realized the importance of group work and group collaboration. Even though this semester in my other classes I am still trying to get use to the concept, I find myself enjoying group work more and more in 276. Tuesday's class was beneficial. I think that I wouldn't have been able to come up with a teaching rubric on my own for a communications class; I just don't know enough about computers and videos. However, being able to use the enthusiasm and experience of others in my group, we all came up with an idea that I think will be great. I think that the STL's are more than just number and sometimes boring information. When applied, they are extremely useful.

reflection 17

Even though I wasn't able to make it to class on Thursday because I had to go to work for a special project, I was able to learn a little more about democratic classrooms. Something that stood out in my mind was that "students who are strongly motivated to learn do not need a manager." What I caught from that was that if a teacher promotes individual thinking and student interaction, along with a positive atmosphere, then the students might be more self-motivated to learn. In essence, the students will not need nor want the traditional teacher, or classroom manager, who tells them exactly what to learn, do and expect. From this newer theory of self-motivation, the old authoritative teacher is out and the new teacher allows the students to help govern the way the class is run. I think this promotes the students' will and desire to learn and be a part of the class; they feel like they are part of the class. When I become a wood shop teacher, I am going to have to be authoritative at the beginning and throughout to a degree; I need students to practice safe techniques and behave around heavy equipment. But if I can promote student motivation to want to learn how to efficiently design and woodwork, then I think the students will naturally want to behave and be safe.