I have found all of our guest panels and speakers so helpful in getting a more realistic sense of what students deal with and how teachers can help. The number one point that stands out at me after all of our discussions up to this point in the course is this: Be a relationship builder. The effective teacher actively does more than his or her fair share in order to invest in relationships with students, their parents, their foster parents, paras, counselors, administrators, fellow teachers, staff members at school . . . I'm glad of this because it makes teaching a much more human activity. The teacher is one human having valuable, working relationships with other human beings for the purpose of helping those other people live their lives to the fullest. It's also a two-way street because these relationships are also going to help the teacher to live his or her life to the fullest. The humanity of all this also makes the hard work of the teacher worth it because people are worth it.
Regarding some of these relationships specifically, then, I have learned ways of fostering positive, effective partnerships with people for the purpose of helping students become who they were created to be.
As a middle school teacher, I know that I will come across a lot of "drama" that does not at all seem like drama to my students. And if it's not drama to them, I don't think it should be drama to me. For them, it will be real and sometimes threatening--to their friendships, to their health, to their self-esteem. I am going to strive to build a great relationship with the counselor at my school so that when I can tell that my students are going through struggles, I can either refer them to the counselor or ask the counselor for advice that I can give the students. I am also very open to the possibility of asking the counselor to come into my English class as a guest speaker if we happen to be reading a book that contains teen issues that would be good to discuss with a professional who helps people deal with those issues.
I know that I am going to have a para in at least one of the class periods that I will teach during student teaching. I have met her briefly in the past, but I plan on really getting to know her this semester and on asking her for her insight into how to most effectively engage all of the students in the lessons that I teach, especially those who have trouble paying attention.
Regarding sexuality, I first hope to get to know my students so that they know that I care about their well-being, so that I can assure them of their dignity, and so that I can encourage them to guard and respect their own dignity and that of others. I want them to know that they are worth the wait.
One thing that I am worried about right now in this regard is knowing what to do if I overhear parts of students' conversations with each other and hear them gossipping, cussing, or talking about things that show that they are not respecting their sexuality. Should I interject? Should I pull individuals aside later? What do you all think?
ED460 Personal and Social Well Being is a course taken by college students in education during their student teaching semester. Topics covered include: poverty, child abuse, bullying, drugs, alcohol, and tobacco, counselors' role in school, adolescents and choices, and the use of technology.
Saturday, January 22, 2011
We're all in this together!
Wow! We have discussed many important issues in the past few days. This information is going to help us tremendously for our future experiences as teachers. I feel as if the counselors' panel was very informative for us. I am glad we got the opportunity to hear what they have to say about the issues they deal with. It was great to hear perspectives from the different grade levels as well.
When we discussed Paras, it made me realize how important they really are! I feel like we do not give them enough credit for what they do. Many teachers I have talked to say that they do not know where they would be without their Paras in the classroom. It is important to have a positive relationship with them so everything goes smoothly within the classroom. Communication is a big part of this. If we have Paras in our future classroom, they deserve to be treated with respect no matter what. They are doing a wonderful thing. I feel like it takes a special person to be a Para, even though you do not need the qualifications to be one. They really change students' lives every single day. Maybe that child needs that one on one attention with an adult. They may not be getting that at home!
When it comes to sexuality, I feel as if this was an informative topic to discuss as well. This is a huge issue with kids all over the world, because they are being exposed to many different things through music, television, facebook, and so on. The list is endless. It would be helpful to let our kids know that there is an important time and place for everything. They need to know how to stay safe as well. Our students should know that sex is not this horrible thing, but more as a gift from God after marriage. It would not hurt to have a basic sex education class even as early as primary grades. These issues will be coming down the road shortly for them, so they should be aware of these issues, but broken down for younger grades.
Foster children need our love and support just like every student does. It is important for us to make sure they are connected within the classroom environment. Make sure they are actively involved with the rest of the class. As teachers, these kids need us! We can change their lives tremendously just by the small things we do for them.
I will utilize the services of the Counselors and Paras. These people are in our schools to help our children! Counselors are willing to help out the students with any problems they may encounter. Do not take Paras for granted. Remember they are human beings as well!
As teachers, are are shaping these childrens lives. Our actions will effect their lives forever.
When we discussed Paras, it made me realize how important they really are! I feel like we do not give them enough credit for what they do. Many teachers I have talked to say that they do not know where they would be without their Paras in the classroom. It is important to have a positive relationship with them so everything goes smoothly within the classroom. Communication is a big part of this. If we have Paras in our future classroom, they deserve to be treated with respect no matter what. They are doing a wonderful thing. I feel like it takes a special person to be a Para, even though you do not need the qualifications to be one. They really change students' lives every single day. Maybe that child needs that one on one attention with an adult. They may not be getting that at home!
When it comes to sexuality, I feel as if this was an informative topic to discuss as well. This is a huge issue with kids all over the world, because they are being exposed to many different things through music, television, facebook, and so on. The list is endless. It would be helpful to let our kids know that there is an important time and place for everything. They need to know how to stay safe as well. Our students should know that sex is not this horrible thing, but more as a gift from God after marriage. It would not hurt to have a basic sex education class even as early as primary grades. These issues will be coming down the road shortly for them, so they should be aware of these issues, but broken down for younger grades.
Foster children need our love and support just like every student does. It is important for us to make sure they are connected within the classroom environment. Make sure they are actively involved with the rest of the class. As teachers, these kids need us! We can change their lives tremendously just by the small things we do for them.
I will utilize the services of the Counselors and Paras. These people are in our schools to help our children! Counselors are willing to help out the students with any problems they may encounter. Do not take Paras for granted. Remember they are human beings as well!
As teachers, are are shaping these childrens lives. Our actions will effect their lives forever.
Friday, January 21, 2011
It's all one big package.
One of the main themes that I have been thinking about through this whole course is how IT'S ALL ONE BIG PACKAGE. What I mean by that is that a child is a whole. They can not be separated into who they are at school and then who they are at home, who they are as a friend, etc. Each of our lives is made of a continuous sequence of events and many of these issues will be encountered if not in our own lifethan in someone that we know or in a student that we teach. This is what has motivated me to understand the complexities and symptoms of the topics that we are talking about. As a teacher, we may be the only one that is able to reach out to a specific child. But at the same time, the line from the panel keeps reminding me "there is only one Savior."
A child who is in foster care comes with a lot in his or her package. This is not something that can be left at the current home they are in or that they can disregard from the last one. They make attachments at the old home and if transferred to a new, they may try not to form any attachments in an effort to protect themselves. There are the good homes with caring families and encouragement, but there are also the really bad homes where one would wonder if they may be better off with their original parents. It all comes down to the child just wanting to be loved. They do not chose their condition or circumstances and they are just moved from one place to the next; in some cases school may be their only security. As a teacher I want to provide that loving and stable environment for any foster children that should come into my class. Like I said, all they really need is love. I can show that to them by getting them oriented into the class, trying to build a positive relationship with the foster guardians, and simply taking a personal interest in them as a person.
Also, the panel with the counselors and the paras helped me to realize again the deeply seeded issues and "baggage" that students come to school with. This is their life. The counselors helped me to see that children will face a wide range of needs and I want to be able to utilize their profession by knowing the children in my class. I need to be aware of what is going on in their lives, and what should be mended before they move on from middle school or high school or onto what ever step they have next. The same goes for the paras. They are there to help! What more could I ask for than another adult in the room to support me in my mission as a teacher to help everyone succeed.
Finally on the sexuality issue, this is something that I feel I may still be somewhat naive about. I want to believe that every child understands his or her self worth. I want to be believe that they abstain until marriage. But I also know that the environment that children grow up in is relentless. They are constantly being fed and surrounded with sex. The TV, their peers, the media...the environment tells children to do what is contrary to what they need...they need to be LOVED. I don't know what the best answer is for sex education. I do know that it needs to be addressed. In an ideal world these values and teachings on the beauty of sex and the body would come from the home, from two loving parents who model this and are able to convey it to their children. But the reality is that school may be the only place where they receive guidance that will help them to see the affects of having sex, including the terrible STDs and emotional results of premarital sex.
Altogether there is just so much that a child has to deal with. But school has so much to offer to support them through it. I want to utilize all of my resources and knowledge to make it just a little bit lighter of a package for them.
A child who is in foster care comes with a lot in his or her package. This is not something that can be left at the current home they are in or that they can disregard from the last one. They make attachments at the old home and if transferred to a new, they may try not to form any attachments in an effort to protect themselves. There are the good homes with caring families and encouragement, but there are also the really bad homes where one would wonder if they may be better off with their original parents. It all comes down to the child just wanting to be loved. They do not chose their condition or circumstances and they are just moved from one place to the next; in some cases school may be their only security. As a teacher I want to provide that loving and stable environment for any foster children that should come into my class. Like I said, all they really need is love. I can show that to them by getting them oriented into the class, trying to build a positive relationship with the foster guardians, and simply taking a personal interest in them as a person.
Also, the panel with the counselors and the paras helped me to realize again the deeply seeded issues and "baggage" that students come to school with. This is their life. The counselors helped me to see that children will face a wide range of needs and I want to be able to utilize their profession by knowing the children in my class. I need to be aware of what is going on in their lives, and what should be mended before they move on from middle school or high school or onto what ever step they have next. The same goes for the paras. They are there to help! What more could I ask for than another adult in the room to support me in my mission as a teacher to help everyone succeed.
Finally on the sexuality issue, this is something that I feel I may still be somewhat naive about. I want to believe that every child understands his or her self worth. I want to be believe that they abstain until marriage. But I also know that the environment that children grow up in is relentless. They are constantly being fed and surrounded with sex. The TV, their peers, the media...the environment tells children to do what is contrary to what they need...they need to be LOVED. I don't know what the best answer is for sex education. I do know that it needs to be addressed. In an ideal world these values and teachings on the beauty of sex and the body would come from the home, from two loving parents who model this and are able to convey it to their children. But the reality is that school may be the only place where they receive guidance that will help them to see the affects of having sex, including the terrible STDs and emotional results of premarital sex.
Altogether there is just so much that a child has to deal with. But school has so much to offer to support them through it. I want to utilize all of my resources and knowledge to make it just a little bit lighter of a package for them.
Sex is beautiful!
I think one of the biggest problems with sex education in schools is that sex is generally presented as a bad thing. If you aren't careful you might get life-threatening diseases, get pregnant, lose the trust of your parents. Pre-marital sex has a number of negative consequences. People are quick to point out those consequences, but they hardly ever address the fact that sex is really beautiful.
Some abstinence programs appear to promote the exact opposite: that sex is extremely ugly. When I was a senior in high school we were presented with a long series of disturbing slides that showed the effects of various STDs. I don't know about my peers, but for me seeing those pictures really was a "turn-off" to sex. No one in thier right mind would ever want to have sex if that was all is was about.
Instead of presenting it as something ugly, sex should be presented as extremely beautiful. If it is presented as beautiful, I think people will be more likely to respect its sacredness. Think of it this way: we do not tend to respect ugly things; rather, we throw them away. But if we see something as beautiful we tend to honor it. If we give teenagers the reasons why sex is so beautiful and sacred, I think they would more inclinded to stop and think about it. Maybe I am too idealistic, but surely expressing sex as beautiful won't do anyone any harm.
Some abstinence programs appear to promote the exact opposite: that sex is extremely ugly. When I was a senior in high school we were presented with a long series of disturbing slides that showed the effects of various STDs. I don't know about my peers, but for me seeing those pictures really was a "turn-off" to sex. No one in thier right mind would ever want to have sex if that was all is was about.
Instead of presenting it as something ugly, sex should be presented as extremely beautiful. If it is presented as beautiful, I think people will be more likely to respect its sacredness. Think of it this way: we do not tend to respect ugly things; rather, we throw them away. But if we see something as beautiful we tend to honor it. If we give teenagers the reasons why sex is so beautiful and sacred, I think they would more inclinded to stop and think about it. Maybe I am too idealistic, but surely expressing sex as beautiful won't do anyone any harm.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Where do we draw the line?
The topics of bullying, poverty, and child abuse are obviously sad and difficult to talk about without feeling guilty. I know that the counselor pannel discussed a line that is drawn which separates being a teacher and living your own personal life.
Maybe I am a little bit extreme, (definitely a good possibility) but I know myself and I know that being a teacher is going to be a huge part of my personal life. I totally understand that in order to not get burnt out, I need to not let myself get overwhelmed with working, but being a teacher and being more than a teacher is what I want to do with my life.
On the same note, the conversation we had in class about where we draw the line really made me think of how I feel about the topic. Sam made a really good point to me in class when she said in response to a comment that said something along the lines of: these are all such huge problems that can never really be completely solved, so what can we really do about it? Sam said "Just because it is a big issue that may never be solved does not mean we shouldn't try" This is so so so true. I would much rather go to the extreme and do everything in my power to help kids that need it than not try at all. Now I know that i'm not in this predicament, I do not have to choose between doing nothing or going extreme, but I hope that in the situation that calls for help from myself, I will always do more than less.
Maybe I am a little bit extreme, (definitely a good possibility) but I know myself and I know that being a teacher is going to be a huge part of my personal life. I totally understand that in order to not get burnt out, I need to not let myself get overwhelmed with working, but being a teacher and being more than a teacher is what I want to do with my life.
On the same note, the conversation we had in class about where we draw the line really made me think of how I feel about the topic. Sam made a really good point to me in class when she said in response to a comment that said something along the lines of: these are all such huge problems that can never really be completely solved, so what can we really do about it? Sam said "Just because it is a big issue that may never be solved does not mean we shouldn't try" This is so so so true. I would much rather go to the extreme and do everything in my power to help kids that need it than not try at all. Now I know that i'm not in this predicament, I do not have to choose between doing nothing or going extreme, but I hope that in the situation that calls for help from myself, I will always do more than less.
Bullying is NOT a Right of Passage
Although every topic we have covered has been depressing to say the least, for some reason bullying hits me the hardest and affects me the most. It may be the fact that it doesn't matter how wonderful the parents are, how wealthy the child is or how "good" the school is. There are no stipulations for being a bully or being bullied. It can happen to anyone...and has happened to many. I have seen it appear in many forms and at all grade levels. And the crazy thing, as we all now and discussed, is that more often than not it is pushed to the back burner and often thought of as normal or not a big enough deal. Yet...children have become suicidal or murderers due to bullying. Do we still think it's not a big deal? How are schools not jumping up and teaching their students about the effects of bullying? How are we not bringing in speakers or conducting discussions that tell the children the harsh but true effects of bullying? How are students still going "unheard" when they mention to anyone, whether peers, teachers, parents or administration, that they are being bullied? Children are not naturally evil and bullying is not a "right of passage". Bullying causes serious and life-affecting trauma, and in some cases leads to death(s).
Since I haven't been a teacher and do not know how hard it is to maintain a classroom and notice every problem, it will be my goal to, at least, take everything my students tell me seriously. I know that there will be times when the students are lying for whatever reason but I also know that some of those students who went to extreme measures to try to ease there pain were not believed or brushed to the side. I do not want to experience the death of a student knowing that I could have done something. It is our responsibility as teachers to nurture our students so that they can be successful learners. As a result it is then also our duty to assist our students in creating an atmosphere where this is possible. Since I will hopefully be working in middle school, a place where student emotions run high, I know that I will most likely be dealing with bullying situations on a regular basis. Thus, I am going to go to whatever measure I can, within my means and ability, in order to help my students understand the tragedies of bullying in hope of decreasing its occurence and maintaining the sanity of myself and my students.
Since I haven't been a teacher and do not know how hard it is to maintain a classroom and notice every problem, it will be my goal to, at least, take everything my students tell me seriously. I know that there will be times when the students are lying for whatever reason but I also know that some of those students who went to extreme measures to try to ease there pain were not believed or brushed to the side. I do not want to experience the death of a student knowing that I could have done something. It is our responsibility as teachers to nurture our students so that they can be successful learners. As a result it is then also our duty to assist our students in creating an atmosphere where this is possible. Since I will hopefully be working in middle school, a place where student emotions run high, I know that I will most likely be dealing with bullying situations on a regular basis. Thus, I am going to go to whatever measure I can, within my means and ability, in order to help my students understand the tragedies of bullying in hope of decreasing its occurence and maintaining the sanity of myself and my students.
ED460
The subjects we have covered so far in the class have been pretty depressing. After discussing the few topics we have covered so far in class, I am down right scared to get into teaching. When looking at the big picture. Teaching isn't just going to be lesson planning, singing songs and teaching great kids. There are so many things that we as teachers must be aware of that go under the radar along with everything else we must worry about. I know that teaching won't be as extreme as the cases we have discussed but it has the potential to be that extreme so I am grateful for this class to prepared me for what lies ahead for all of us.
When we discussed the topic of poverty, we discussed ideas for programs that we thought would be an effective way to help families living in poverty. I had an idea I wanted to discuss but there was not enough time. My mother works for St. Vincent de Paul at my church interviewing the homeless and less fortunate to provide them with small things to help them survive whether it be a bag a groceries, help on rent, a fan in the summer or a coat in the winter. This little organization make such an impact on many lives by simply providing something small to make their lives better. My idea stemmed from the fact that St. Vincent de Paul interviews people every Saturday at 2 o'clock so those in need know when and where to come for help. Schools could create a similar program that somewhat resembles a fair for helping the families that are less fortunate. Booths could be created with job opportunites, parenting classes, babysitting help and donations etc. Each week the booths would be set up from people within the community there to provide options for the families to come in and recieve help from the different resources in the community. This will give the families the opportunity to find resources needed and also by having the "fair" on a weekend the families can come in without hurting their pride by coming in for help during school hours. Programs like this can cost little to no money because they will run on the help of donations from the community and volunteers to run the fair every week.
When we discussed the topic of poverty, we discussed ideas for programs that we thought would be an effective way to help families living in poverty. I had an idea I wanted to discuss but there was not enough time. My mother works for St. Vincent de Paul at my church interviewing the homeless and less fortunate to provide them with small things to help them survive whether it be a bag a groceries, help on rent, a fan in the summer or a coat in the winter. This little organization make such an impact on many lives by simply providing something small to make their lives better. My idea stemmed from the fact that St. Vincent de Paul interviews people every Saturday at 2 o'clock so those in need know when and where to come for help. Schools could create a similar program that somewhat resembles a fair for helping the families that are less fortunate. Booths could be created with job opportunites, parenting classes, babysitting help and donations etc. Each week the booths would be set up from people within the community there to provide options for the families to come in and recieve help from the different resources in the community. This will give the families the opportunity to find resources needed and also by having the "fair" on a weekend the families can come in without hurting their pride by coming in for help during school hours. Programs like this can cost little to no money because they will run on the help of donations from the community and volunteers to run the fair every week.
Child Abuse
Child abuse is a topic that deeply saddens me. I had a friend who was abused as a child (sexually, emotionally, physically, and neglected). She made it through her abuse and found a safe place to live away from harm. But the pain and suffering that she endured stays with her to this day. Sometimes it is difficult for her to get up in the morning. A memory is triggered by something and the anxiety from the abuse hits her just as hard as it did years ago. She has been seeing a therapist, has a good job and just bought a house but the pain lingers deep in her heart. She told me that she will always have those memories and the pain that goes with them.
Seeing the struggles that my friend goes through after being abused as a child, I want to do everything in my power to protect my students. I know this will be a difficult task but I will try my best. I will get to know them as individuals and build relationships. I want to educate them about how people should be treated and that it is okay to ask for help. I want to reassure them that they do not need to be ashamed. Shame was one of the reasons that my friend did not seek help. I know that believing these desires will make a difference can be unrealistic but I will do everything in my power to protect students, even if it is unrealistic. You never know when something you do or say will impact a student and create change.
There is a part of me that fears that I may be overprotective and report something that is not abuse. But I'd rather make sure that my students are safe by reporting something I suspect (even if it ends up not being true) than not reporting anything and it turns out to be true. I do not want to be the teacher who let my friend walk out of the school every day into a home that was unstable and unsafe. So, like we have said a million times, we HAVE to get to know our students as well as possible. Being a teacher is very difficult and there is a lot of pressure. We have to educate the future of our country while meeting standards and other criteria, build relationships with students every year (some of us with more than one class), protect students from each other and from other sources, keep them motivated, etc... It is a difficult path we have chosen to take but we have chosen it for a reason. I have no doubt that all of us will be making a positive difference in the lives of many.
Seeing the struggles that my friend goes through after being abused as a child, I want to do everything in my power to protect my students. I know this will be a difficult task but I will try my best. I will get to know them as individuals and build relationships. I want to educate them about how people should be treated and that it is okay to ask for help. I want to reassure them that they do not need to be ashamed. Shame was one of the reasons that my friend did not seek help. I know that believing these desires will make a difference can be unrealistic but I will do everything in my power to protect students, even if it is unrealistic. You never know when something you do or say will impact a student and create change.
There is a part of me that fears that I may be overprotective and report something that is not abuse. But I'd rather make sure that my students are safe by reporting something I suspect (even if it ends up not being true) than not reporting anything and it turns out to be true. I do not want to be the teacher who let my friend walk out of the school every day into a home that was unstable and unsafe. So, like we have said a million times, we HAVE to get to know our students as well as possible. Being a teacher is very difficult and there is a lot of pressure. We have to educate the future of our country while meeting standards and other criteria, build relationships with students every year (some of us with more than one class), protect students from each other and from other sources, keep them motivated, etc... It is a difficult path we have chosen to take but we have chosen it for a reason. I have no doubt that all of us will be making a positive difference in the lives of many.
Blog 1 Bullying
Watching that video on bullying really put some things in perspective and I realized that shootings, bullyings, and any other violence in schools can happen anywhere at anytime to anyone. Yes, that video focused on those people who were bullied and then shot people and killed them. But, not everyone that is bullied is going to shoot up a school. people who are not bullied could very well shoot up a school.
The thing that stuck o ut the most was the kid who shot his ex girlfriend in the cafeteria and one other person. He said he had deliberate people he wanted to shoot and aimed for them. Walking up to your ex girlfriend and just shooting her? Crazy, to say the least. On top of that, before he even went to school he kills his mom? That was just indescribable. I did not know what to say or how to react besides, "Oh my Gosh!" But then again, so did everyone else I think.
It's hard to think of kids that have been pushed that far, to something that drastic. It sucks to think that out of everyone in these child's lives, that not ONE person could see that he/she was depressed or angry or just needed a friend. ONE person is all it could have taken possible. It's harder to think even more about if something like this happened at your own school. What if it was one of your students? One of the ones you tried to reach out to? How would that make you feel? It is just crazy to think about something like that happening at your school, but then again, I'm sure everyone else thought that as well.
The thing that stuck o ut the most was the kid who shot his ex girlfriend in the cafeteria and one other person. He said he had deliberate people he wanted to shoot and aimed for them. Walking up to your ex girlfriend and just shooting her? Crazy, to say the least. On top of that, before he even went to school he kills his mom? That was just indescribable. I did not know what to say or how to react besides, "Oh my Gosh!" But then again, so did everyone else I think.
It's hard to think of kids that have been pushed that far, to something that drastic. It sucks to think that out of everyone in these child's lives, that not ONE person could see that he/she was depressed or angry or just needed a friend. ONE person is all it could have taken possible. It's harder to think even more about if something like this happened at your own school. What if it was one of your students? One of the ones you tried to reach out to? How would that make you feel? It is just crazy to think about something like that happening at your school, but then again, I'm sure everyone else thought that as well.
Bullying
We have been on the topic of bullies and other large threats that children across the United States and world face every day. I think it has been fairly easy to read about these topics, learn the proper technique for recognizing the signs and then put the anti-whatever it may be procedures into action. We are told that if it is a bully/victim situation we should listen to both the bully and the victim and try to solve the situation from the root. Listen to the bully. Find out why he/she is acting the way she is. Help rehabilitate the bully. All in the mean time be sure you are paying very close attention to the victim. Make sure he/she feels safe and supported, and be gosh darn sure they have zero access to weapons! P.S. you also have a classroom of 24 other students who are ready to pounce on any excuse possible to not do their regular work. How on earth is there really time to correctly handle all of this? (this is all assuming that some 2nd grade teacher didn't do her job and stop the bully when he/she was little, and now it is a big problem)
To be honest, I do not think I am going to be very keen on listening to any pleading from a bully if I do witness bullying in action. Emotions are going to well up inside of me and my compassion for the victim is going to take over any thoughts I may have had towards the other individual. I am not sure, but I assume that is a normal feeling most teachers/people feel. It is going to be very hard for me, at first, to not despise the bully for doing things maybe he/she feels they have no say in doing. The bully just hit a student/spread a horrid rumor about someone. Entire school districts are responding with a "Zero Tolerance" campaign. How am I going to not support that movement? This is clearly a weakness of mine, but my immediate reaction is to get that bully as far away from my kids as possible.
I completely understand that sometimes the victim is not innocent. I know I have the know-how to work through the mud and get to the bottom of a situation where the protagonist may also be the antagonist. This I am not concerned about. My concern is that my knowledge of the bully's SES, parental situation, learning abilities, you name it, are all going out the window as soon as a crime has been committed. Am I the only one with this fear?
To be honest, I do not think I am going to be very keen on listening to any pleading from a bully if I do witness bullying in action. Emotions are going to well up inside of me and my compassion for the victim is going to take over any thoughts I may have had towards the other individual. I am not sure, but I assume that is a normal feeling most teachers/people feel. It is going to be very hard for me, at first, to not despise the bully for doing things maybe he/she feels they have no say in doing. The bully just hit a student/spread a horrid rumor about someone. Entire school districts are responding with a "Zero Tolerance" campaign. How am I going to not support that movement? This is clearly a weakness of mine, but my immediate reaction is to get that bully as far away from my kids as possible.
I completely understand that sometimes the victim is not innocent. I know I have the know-how to work through the mud and get to the bottom of a situation where the protagonist may also be the antagonist. This I am not concerned about. My concern is that my knowledge of the bully's SES, parental situation, learning abilities, you name it, are all going out the window as soon as a crime has been committed. Am I the only one with this fear?
Reflection
The past couple of classes have opened my eyes up to a completely new world. Growing up and going to catholic schools throughout my childhood I haven't really seen firsthand many of the topics were discussing such as child abuse, bullying or poverty. The class while being depressing at times is a great opportunity for everyone who most likely came from a differet background to become better prepared for an environment which will be unpredicatable in the future.
The most eye opening topic we went over in class had to be child abuse. From time to time I would witness such things as poverty and bullying but never in my schooling had I ever encountered child abuse. To find out the real statistics and just how prevalent the problem is frightens you as a future educator. To realize that most likely in your time as a teacher you'll have to deal with cases of child abuse kind of leaves a depressing though in the back of your mind. From all of the papers and presentations I think I'll be a lot better prepared now and hopefully I'll be able to both notice and handle cases of child abuse when their present. Before the class I don't know if I would have had the same understadning as I already said I 've really never discussed or seen cases of child abuse. Being able to see bojects outside of my usual protected bubble that has been my education has given me a better preparation for whatver I may encounter and hopefully now I'll be better prepared mentally and emotionally for whatever arises.
What I found to be one of the most helpful things we did as a class was yeterdays counselors panel. There were a couple reasons why the beneficial. First I though the counselors cemented my beliefs and what I hope to complete in my class and thats a strong relationship with each and every student. To really help students out with cases involving child abue a teacher must first gain the trust and confidence of one's students. While teachers don't want to open up about everything with their students, teachers must be willing to show their personality and create an environment in which all students feel comfortable to come and ask for any assistance they may need. Throughout the last couple of days seeing some of the negative world of schools it's shown me that a teacher must become a strong personality inside their classroom. The counelors only reinforced my thoughts that no matter the situation a students will struggle to come for help if a teacher hasn't already laid the strong foundation of communication and trust so it's important to create that strong relationship with your students so you can aid students in any matter which may be troubling them.
The most eye opening topic we went over in class had to be child abuse. From time to time I would witness such things as poverty and bullying but never in my schooling had I ever encountered child abuse. To find out the real statistics and just how prevalent the problem is frightens you as a future educator. To realize that most likely in your time as a teacher you'll have to deal with cases of child abuse kind of leaves a depressing though in the back of your mind. From all of the papers and presentations I think I'll be a lot better prepared now and hopefully I'll be able to both notice and handle cases of child abuse when their present. Before the class I don't know if I would have had the same understadning as I already said I 've really never discussed or seen cases of child abuse. Being able to see bojects outside of my usual protected bubble that has been my education has given me a better preparation for whatver I may encounter and hopefully now I'll be better prepared mentally and emotionally for whatever arises.
What I found to be one of the most helpful things we did as a class was yeterdays counselors panel. There were a couple reasons why the beneficial. First I though the counselors cemented my beliefs and what I hope to complete in my class and thats a strong relationship with each and every student. To really help students out with cases involving child abue a teacher must first gain the trust and confidence of one's students. While teachers don't want to open up about everything with their students, teachers must be willing to show their personality and create an environment in which all students feel comfortable to come and ask for any assistance they may need. Throughout the last couple of days seeing some of the negative world of schools it's shown me that a teacher must become a strong personality inside their classroom. The counelors only reinforced my thoughts that no matter the situation a students will struggle to come for help if a teacher hasn't already laid the strong foundation of communication and trust so it's important to create that strong relationship with your students so you can aid students in any matter which may be troubling them.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Reactions to Poverty and Bullying
Poverty is a hard concept for me to grasp. I went to a school where I did not see a lot of poverty; everybody I interacted with appeared to have anything and everything they needed or wanted. For that reason it is hard for me to know where poverty stricken students are coming from. However, that does not mean I can slack off. Instead it should make me work harder to understand my where my students are coming from.
The saying that keeps coming up in every class is, KNOW YOUR STUDENTS and FAMILIES. Teachers who know their students and have a strong desire to see them reach their full potential have the opportunity to help a child get out of poverty (among many other things). That is a simple, but daunting task. It’s hard for me to believe that I can get a child out of poverty. However, by helping that child set goals and feel apart of the classroom community will help that child have a better future. Knowing your students also goes beyond poverty. Knowing the child can help you help the student. A child needs to know they can trust them and that you are going to listen to them. Knowing the students can also help you determine if a child is being abused or bullied.
Proactive. This simple word can change the life of one child or better yet can change the curriculum of a school. According to the Merriam –Webster dictionary, proactive means acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes. Are schools taking the necessary steps to be proactive in the prevention of bullying? According to the movie we watched, many schools are being reactive. Schools are attempting to fix a problem after it is to late. A school that only reacts to a problem is only going to fix the problem for a short time. They might start a new program, but that does not mean it is going to stick. However, if a school is proactive, bullying ceases to exist. One thing that really struck me was that the students are the main contributors as to if an anti-bullying program will work. If the students are aware of what bullying is and know that it is not allowed in the school. I know it will be hard to implement a program, but being proactive seems like the only way to go so that all our students will be happy and successful.
The saying that keeps coming up in every class is, KNOW YOUR STUDENTS and FAMILIES. Teachers who know their students and have a strong desire to see them reach their full potential have the opportunity to help a child get out of poverty (among many other things). That is a simple, but daunting task. It’s hard for me to believe that I can get a child out of poverty. However, by helping that child set goals and feel apart of the classroom community will help that child have a better future. Knowing your students also goes beyond poverty. Knowing the child can help you help the student. A child needs to know they can trust them and that you are going to listen to them. Knowing the students can also help you determine if a child is being abused or bullied.
Proactive. This simple word can change the life of one child or better yet can change the curriculum of a school. According to the Merriam –Webster dictionary, proactive means acting in anticipation of future problems, needs, or changes. Are schools taking the necessary steps to be proactive in the prevention of bullying? According to the movie we watched, many schools are being reactive. Schools are attempting to fix a problem after it is to late. A school that only reacts to a problem is only going to fix the problem for a short time. They might start a new program, but that does not mean it is going to stick. However, if a school is proactive, bullying ceases to exist. One thing that really struck me was that the students are the main contributors as to if an anti-bullying program will work. If the students are aware of what bullying is and know that it is not allowed in the school. I know it will be hard to implement a program, but being proactive seems like the only way to go so that all our students will be happy and successful.
Save the trees...uh...whales...??
One year for Christmas, my extended family found it in the depths of their materialistic hearts to pool a fund that would be donated to a charity that would be pulled from a hat. The outcome-Greenpeace?? Really?!? Save the trees!!
Every time I hear Sarah McLachlan's Angel on TV, I know that people somewhere are calling the commercialized 1-800 number to give money to the "Save the Abused Animals Fund," otherwise known as the "ASPCA" or "American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals." Save the animals!!
Okay, okay! I'm not really anti-Arbor Day or anti-cute puppy adoption. Sure, the trees and animals are necessary for our survival, but what about those without an adequate home? What about those who are themselves abused? What about our future students? Do they really fall below trees and animals in terms of our care and attention? It is a sad realization, but I think they do. ('They' being the general American public.) If only we paid as much attention, not even money, but just attention as we do to the three legged-schnauzers, maybe we could make an impact on the effect of poverty and abuse in America. ...That, or we could make a nice video that forces the public to pity these children...I'm thinking Enya for the background music...Enya or Beyonce. Other suggestions for music selections??
If we're wanting to invest in something good, why not invest in our own future- our kids. I know that this can come off sounding cliche and ULTRA cheesy, but I really mean it. Instead of "outsourcing" or relying on other's to prepare our students, why not rely on the resources of others, but keep our commitment to the community we are in? This commitment requires our attentiveness to our students and their needs- not just material needs, but social, spiritual, physical, etc. The more we know about our students, the more we know about their needs.
Save the future!!
Every time I hear Sarah McLachlan's Angel on TV, I know that people somewhere are calling the commercialized 1-800 number to give money to the "Save the Abused Animals Fund," otherwise known as the "ASPCA" or "American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals." Save the animals!!
Okay, okay! I'm not really anti-Arbor Day or anti-cute puppy adoption. Sure, the trees and animals are necessary for our survival, but what about those without an adequate home? What about those who are themselves abused? What about our future students? Do they really fall below trees and animals in terms of our care and attention? It is a sad realization, but I think they do. ('They' being the general American public.) If only we paid as much attention, not even money, but just attention as we do to the three legged-schnauzers, maybe we could make an impact on the effect of poverty and abuse in America. ...That, or we could make a nice video that forces the public to pity these children...I'm thinking Enya for the background music...Enya or Beyonce. Other suggestions for music selections??
If we're wanting to invest in something good, why not invest in our own future- our kids. I know that this can come off sounding cliche and ULTRA cheesy, but I really mean it. Instead of "outsourcing" or relying on other's to prepare our students, why not rely on the resources of others, but keep our commitment to the community we are in? This commitment requires our attentiveness to our students and their needs- not just material needs, but social, spiritual, physical, etc. The more we know about our students, the more we know about their needs.
Save the future!!
The discussions we have been having in class relating to bullying, poverty, and child abuse and neglect brings to light topics that many of us can easily remove ourselves from. As someone who grew up in a stable environment and was always rather confident with myself I never had to worry about being bullied or abused, I never had to worry about where my next meal was coming from or if I had adequate clothing for the winter. I would imagine that many of my classmates could say the same.
Aside from the pain and suffering that abuse and poverty causes, this class brings to light another issue. If we consider the responses of everyone in our class, if we look at the posts on this blog, it becomes apparent that there is a common underlying desire for universal justice. This desire is not unique to our class. I am sure we can all think of twenty people outside of our ED460 class to whom we could describe the circumstances of poverty and abuse and all twenty of these people would respond in a similar fashion. These twenty people could then pose the situation to twenty more and so on and so forth. Eventually you would find someone who doesn't care or who thinks that the impoverished and abused some how deserve the life they are living. These people are not the majority.
There is a basic goodness to people and a basic sense of justice instilled in humanity and our class demonstrates this whenever these issues are discusses.
Now that we have been made aware of the situations and have been alerted to the signs of bulling, abuse, neglect, and poverty we can start to bring justice to students through the means we have. We have been presented with tactics -- providing a bag of socks, paying a bill, arranging for the child to bathe, referring the child to the proper authority, and so on. We need to make sure that we act justly and prudently for these students.
ED 460 In General
So I'm not going to lie...this class is kind of depressing. It is really not pleasant to see all of the issues that students have to go through. However, I certainly see the relevancy of this class. Some of these issues are so foreign to me. I have not had to grow up with this reality. That is the main reason why this class will be so helpful. I know that learning about it here certainly will not prepare us for dealing with these sort of things in the future, however getting this introduction now will help to take away some of the shock factor when we do face these issues at teachers.
The most striking issue that we have discussed (at least for me) has been child abuse. It is difficult for me to even imagine how parents can do such awful things to their children. I have always been led to believe that when people have children there is some sort of parenting instinct that kicks in and parents are able to love and care for their children as they should. However, as we have seen, parents do not always do this. It is truly sad when this is the case. This is why we must care for our students in as much as we have the capacity to do this. Unfortunately parents cannot be replaced, so we must do the best we can to give these students every opportunity to succeed.
Another topic that I was struck by was bullying, namely the correlation between suicide and bullying. I guess I have never really stopped to consider how fragile of a time that adolescence is. Many of the students are trying to find their identity and it is clouded so much by negative comments made by others that they are unable to see their worth. I once read a book which defined leadership as communicating another person's worth and potential so clearly that they begin to see it in themselves. I believe that this is our duty as educators. We must see our students worth and potential and communicate it to them so clearly that they are able to move past the pettyness of bullies and truly begin to see themselves for what they truly are.
The most striking issue that we have discussed (at least for me) has been child abuse. It is difficult for me to even imagine how parents can do such awful things to their children. I have always been led to believe that when people have children there is some sort of parenting instinct that kicks in and parents are able to love and care for their children as they should. However, as we have seen, parents do not always do this. It is truly sad when this is the case. This is why we must care for our students in as much as we have the capacity to do this. Unfortunately parents cannot be replaced, so we must do the best we can to give these students every opportunity to succeed.
Another topic that I was struck by was bullying, namely the correlation between suicide and bullying. I guess I have never really stopped to consider how fragile of a time that adolescence is. Many of the students are trying to find their identity and it is clouded so much by negative comments made by others that they are unable to see their worth. I once read a book which defined leadership as communicating another person's worth and potential so clearly that they begin to see it in themselves. I believe that this is our duty as educators. We must see our students worth and potential and communicate it to them so clearly that they are able to move past the pettyness of bullies and truly begin to see themselves for what they truly are.
Mr. Rueb's Presentation
I thought Mr. Rueb's presentation was very insightful. It is one thing to read about student issues and how poverty effects students, but it is helpful to have an administrator actually come in and talk about those things in the "real world".
I think what surprised me the most was how he talked about home visits. I guess I have never thought about making home visits as a teacher. I do not remember if he specified if teachers should make home visits or not, but I know in Dr. O's class we discussed how that is something that should be done either by principals alone or by the teacher and the principal.
I have mixed feelings about such visits. I think it is easier to make those in a smaller community, where people are more likely to know each other. I don't think home visits would be practical in the big city. That, and I still don't know how necessary they actually are. I would almost feel like I was invading if I wasn't invited. At the end of the day, I just want to do what is best for my students, so if that involves visiting the home for some reason, then ok, but if not, I won't worry about it too much.
I think what surprised me the most was how he talked about home visits. I guess I have never thought about making home visits as a teacher. I do not remember if he specified if teachers should make home visits or not, but I know in Dr. O's class we discussed how that is something that should be done either by principals alone or by the teacher and the principal.
I have mixed feelings about such visits. I think it is easier to make those in a smaller community, where people are more likely to know each other. I don't think home visits would be practical in the big city. That, and I still don't know how necessary they actually are. I would almost feel like I was invading if I wasn't invited. At the end of the day, I just want to do what is best for my students, so if that involves visiting the home for some reason, then ok, but if not, I won't worry about it too much.
Proactive Prevention
Of all the topics that we have covered in the past week, I found that of cyberbullying to be particularly troublesome. The thing in and of itself seems so insidious. As teachers, it is difficult to discover whether or not it is happening and do something about it. with this in mind, the idea of cyberbullying leaves one feeling somewhat powerless in the face of such a destructive behavior.
As teachers, how can we do our utmost to prevent cyberbullying from occurring? Obviously, it is important for us to stay on par with the modes of technology that our students are using. We must also keep our students informed on the possible dangers online, such as online predators or cyberbullies. Teachers need to encourage parents to monitor their children's use of online networking or social sites.
In addition to the above, many schools now provide workshops for parents about the dangers of cyberbullying and concrete ways to monitor their children's use of the Internet. These workshops are offered for minimal fees ($5) or no charge at all. Involving the parents seems an invaluable way to fight this dangerous form of bullying.
It appears that ultimately, the more information we can get to students, parents, and other teachers, the more likely it is that we will discover and stop incidents of cyberbullying before they cause irreversible damage in the school community.
As teachers, how can we do our utmost to prevent cyberbullying from occurring? Obviously, it is important for us to stay on par with the modes of technology that our students are using. We must also keep our students informed on the possible dangers online, such as online predators or cyberbullies. Teachers need to encourage parents to monitor their children's use of online networking or social sites.
In addition to the above, many schools now provide workshops for parents about the dangers of cyberbullying and concrete ways to monitor their children's use of the Internet. These workshops are offered for minimal fees ($5) or no charge at all. Involving the parents seems an invaluable way to fight this dangerous form of bullying.
It appears that ultimately, the more information we can get to students, parents, and other teachers, the more likely it is that we will discover and stop incidents of cyberbullying before they cause irreversible damage in the school community.
In Response to Bullying
In Response to Bullying
Teachers everywhere, lend me your ears. Schools in the modern age have a rampant problem that poses so much danger to the lives of our children that as future teachers we cannot be considered responsible people if we do not act. And act with determination. The issue is bullying, and if there is one thing I have learned from this class it is that bullying is a problem just as much as any other, but one that is often ignored.
The danger is real and great. Hardly a week goes by without some new student getting in the news for suicide caused by bullying, and school shootings performed by bully victims retaliating cannot be ignored. The amount of students at the high school level suffering from depression has risen tremendously, and most attribute a cause of this to be because of bullying.
I have sat by and watched as bullying destroyed lives. It starts in grade school, where funny looking students are picked on for looks and students live in the moment. In middle school words get meaner, cliques form, and student’s budding self -esteem either isn’t given a chance to grow or is crushed. It is at this age that the more sensitive students begin a spiral downwards, one that leads to high school, small friend groups, lack of confidence, inability to form or hold meaningful relationships, seclusion, depression, and repressed anger and hate. That anger remains bottled up for a while, usually because the student maintains some form of support group either in the form of parents or a few friends, but it doesn’t go away. Usually it changes from a hate of the bullies, and the teachers that allowed it, into hate and anger at the victim’s self, because they are too weak to stand up for themselves, they are worthless, no one cares about them, and fill in every other thing a bully has ever said about them. Bully victims grow a sense of self-hate instead of a sense of self-worth.
Even if bullying stops at this point, the damage has been done. It only takes one spark after that to unleash the anger and hate that have been building in the student for years. This comes from a student going to college and having no more parental or friend support and then failing (just as the student knew they would), a bully going one step too far. The anger and hate is then released, always in self-destructive forms, whether or not other individuals are involved, because what the victim hates most of all is themselves.
What do we do? We nip it in the bud. Elementary and middle school bullying is how it starts. We need to not just Band-Aid the victims as we see them, we need to teach students about the harm of bullying. We need programs in every school that teach students that bullying is wrong. I consider this more of a threat to our students than drug use, yet every school in America, almost, has anti-drug programs. If we want to stop bullying then teach about it in elementary school and don’t just hand out warnings when it is seen. At least in my classroom, bullying will be considered a zero tolerance event. I have seen its effects destroy too many good people, and I cannot consider myself a teacher if I let it happen.
No more. It’s our generation that can stop it. If we don’t than we will be forced to continue to watch our students fall into despair, and I cannot, in any good conscience, let that happen.
Thoughts on Child Abuse.
I chose to discuss child abuse because it is such a hot button topic these days. And as future educators we are sometimes called to be the voices of the abused children that we teach. But at the same time there is only going to be this line that we as teachers do not know when to cross or to even cross in that fact. I feel so strongly about this topic, it baffles me that these so called "parents" are doing this to their very own children, bruising them not only with their fist but their words as well. I believe that emotional/mental abuses can be much worse than physical abuse sometimes. My thought is bruises and marks can go away, eventually but emotional/mental abuse stays with you forever. Physical abuse does as well; I am not undermining the lasting effects of physical abuse one bit. Sexual is equally as bad as the previous two; I just think of how that type of abuse will affect the victim's future relationship, whether it is with their parents, friends, extended family and future significant others. Once someone has been violated in such a way like sexual abuse, I can never imagine how they could be "normal" again. I am imagining never.
What scares me the most as a future educator is reporting and witnessing all these different types of abuses. I know if I ever see any of my future students coming into class with a black eye or swollen lip and I late find out that it was inflicted by their parent (s) or guardian. Well let's just say I am very passionate person and my first reaction would be wanting to jump down the abusers throat. But obliviously that is not an option or proper way to take care of an incident such as child abuse. What scares me the most is not recognizing abuse going on in my classroom? I am so worried I am going to get caught up within my first few years of teaching; I will not even recognize the obvious signs of abuse. And then when and if I do, I am nervous about going about it the proper way. I am nervous I will report just a minor incident and it will blow up in my face. And on the other hand I am worried about brushing as what seems like a minor thing to me off and having a child suffer even worse.
I just feel like there is such a fine line. But I always follow the approach of rather be safe than sorry. And if that means that in the process of being safe and covering all my own bases I make a few parents upset or mad at me, so bet it. Because I know I could not live with myself if I ignored previous signs of child abuse from one of my students and then one day it escalates to a point of no return, whether that be the child pulled from school, the child living in foster care, the child put into the hospital and I know this really foolhardy of me to say but death is a possibility as well. So I guess a question to post to all my readers is would you as educators take a better safe than sorry approach? Or just make a judgment call that caters to a particular situation you are placed in? What would you do? And really try and approach this question from all different angles of the situation.
What scares me the most as a future educator is reporting and witnessing all these different types of abuses. I know if I ever see any of my future students coming into class with a black eye or swollen lip and I late find out that it was inflicted by their parent (s) or guardian. Well let's just say I am very passionate person and my first reaction would be wanting to jump down the abusers throat. But obliviously that is not an option or proper way to take care of an incident such as child abuse. What scares me the most is not recognizing abuse going on in my classroom? I am so worried I am going to get caught up within my first few years of teaching; I will not even recognize the obvious signs of abuse. And then when and if I do, I am nervous about going about it the proper way. I am nervous I will report just a minor incident and it will blow up in my face. And on the other hand I am worried about brushing as what seems like a minor thing to me off and having a child suffer even worse.
I just feel like there is such a fine line. But I always follow the approach of rather be safe than sorry. And if that means that in the process of being safe and covering all my own bases I make a few parents upset or mad at me, so bet it. Because I know I could not live with myself if I ignored previous signs of child abuse from one of my students and then one day it escalates to a point of no return, whether that be the child pulled from school, the child living in foster care, the child put into the hospital and I know this really foolhardy of me to say but death is a possibility as well. So I guess a question to post to all my readers is would you as educators take a better safe than sorry approach? Or just make a judgment call that caters to a particular situation you are placed in? What would you do? And really try and approach this question from all different angles of the situation.
The Bullying Issue
It seems that the issue on bullying struck many of us in the class, or at least those who I have actually talked with and heard remarks of. Quite honestly I was shocked at some of the things we saw on the video. Even though I had the opportunity to research this topic for the discussion last Friday, I still learned something new from the video we watched the following Monday. Here are a couple of observations that I found or thought of as I watched it:
1. It seemed like teachers didn't really do anything to prevent the issue. It may have been the perspective of the program, but in the later cases of the video (the elementary students and the two boys in middle school) the parents were forced to do something. The two middle school boys were transferred to another school while the later elementary students had help dealing with their issues. I find this quite disturbing going into the profession. Will I be able to spot all of the different signs of bullying even before it happens or will I be forced to hook up security cameras in my classroom with high tech goggles that will display video feed from each cam?
2. I thought it was interesting that bullying was very severe in the two boys who went to public school, but when they transferred to the public school they were more accepted and made friends.
3. My last thought on the video was (or at least a question for anyone to consider and ponder with me) if anyone wanted to know what the outcome of the talk at the elementary school was? Did it have a positive effect on preventing bullying or did bullying continue just as much?
1. It seemed like teachers didn't really do anything to prevent the issue. It may have been the perspective of the program, but in the later cases of the video (the elementary students and the two boys in middle school) the parents were forced to do something. The two middle school boys were transferred to another school while the later elementary students had help dealing with their issues. I find this quite disturbing going into the profession. Will I be able to spot all of the different signs of bullying even before it happens or will I be forced to hook up security cameras in my classroom with high tech goggles that will display video feed from each cam?
2. I thought it was interesting that bullying was very severe in the two boys who went to public school, but when they transferred to the public school they were more accepted and made friends.
3. My last thought on the video was (or at least a question for anyone to consider and ponder with me) if anyone wanted to know what the outcome of the talk at the elementary school was? Did it have a positive effect on preventing bullying or did bullying continue just as much?
Observant
It has been nice to see the workings of a school through every angle, from the principal, to the counselors, and down to the teachers and janitors, to see how a school functions. Sometimes I feel like I don't know how much the faculty actually gets together to talk. It seems like these conversations and meetings are a lot more frequent than what I had envisioned was a reality.
All the guest speakers helped me to see what issues I might be dealing with this coming year. It was especially nice to have the counselor for my school there, which gave me a feel for what I need to be on the look-out for with my students. Although I was not surprised, I thought it was particularly interesting how often "girl drama" seemed to come up in every grade level. I think girls tend to have a pretty high self-awareness at an early age, and knowing how to "fit-in" can be especially crushing. The words or isolation, that total rejection, has always seemed far more psychologically damaging and more long-term than a punch in the face.
As far as bullying, the hardest part for me is looking back on what damage may already have been done that I never stopped in my life. It is so prevalent, and I feel like I often dismiss it as harmless, especially at the elementary level when it hasn't really reached the point of "bullying." However, it can still lead to very serious issues later. Similar to Prof. Bennett, bullying has struck a chord (a special phrase for all you music majors) with me. On that video we watched in class, the little boy with ADHD is a lot like my little sister. Unlike him, though, she freezes up and won't talk about her feelings with her family, even when we pry. She has a condition where she has no remorse herself, and I have a feeling she retaliates, even when we talk about how excluding others is wrong. She hasn't ever grasped the concept of "turning the other cheek." One statistic I read during my research for this class said that a child's moral conscience is virtually established by the age of nine. My sister is nine. I almost feel like I might be too late to do anything about it. This class got me thinking about being a parent someday, and I know all this information will help me to be an observant parent, as well as a good teacher. My cooperating teacher once told me that teaching becomes so much easier once you become a parent. I hope that I can learn to be more observant in every way, now that I am hyper-aware of these issues.
All the guest speakers helped me to see what issues I might be dealing with this coming year. It was especially nice to have the counselor for my school there, which gave me a feel for what I need to be on the look-out for with my students. Although I was not surprised, I thought it was particularly interesting how often "girl drama" seemed to come up in every grade level. I think girls tend to have a pretty high self-awareness at an early age, and knowing how to "fit-in" can be especially crushing. The words or isolation, that total rejection, has always seemed far more psychologically damaging and more long-term than a punch in the face.
As far as bullying, the hardest part for me is looking back on what damage may already have been done that I never stopped in my life. It is so prevalent, and I feel like I often dismiss it as harmless, especially at the elementary level when it hasn't really reached the point of "bullying." However, it can still lead to very serious issues later. Similar to Prof. Bennett, bullying has struck a chord (a special phrase for all you music majors) with me. On that video we watched in class, the little boy with ADHD is a lot like my little sister. Unlike him, though, she freezes up and won't talk about her feelings with her family, even when we pry. She has a condition where she has no remorse herself, and I have a feeling she retaliates, even when we talk about how excluding others is wrong. She hasn't ever grasped the concept of "turning the other cheek." One statistic I read during my research for this class said that a child's moral conscience is virtually established by the age of nine. My sister is nine. I almost feel like I might be too late to do anything about it. This class got me thinking about being a parent someday, and I know all this information will help me to be an observant parent, as well as a good teacher. My cooperating teacher once told me that teaching becomes so much easier once you become a parent. I hope that I can learn to be more observant in every way, now that I am hyper-aware of these issues.
Blog #1
Studying about poor children and all of the different challenges that they go through is very upsetting. I learned so much about all the things that you have to think about and consider when dealing with these students. Poor children need extra support. Since parents can't (because of extra jobs or they don't know how) always give them everything they need, I want to help these students and give them certain things I can. I feel like it is part of my job to supply children with certain needs that they don't receive at home.
When I am a teacher I really want to give my students all the opportunities that I can. I will sit and read with my students, so they get extra time reading aloud to someone. Another thing I want to instill in my poor students is that I will listen to them. I want them to come to me when they need to vent or just have someone listen. Sometimes in these families there is not much focus on the child as the individual. I believe that my role is going to be to give my time and attention to these students every chance I get. I will not take attention away from my other students but, just put some extra in here and there for my poor students.
While studying abused and poor children, I felt like there are a lot of connections between the two. It makes me think that maybe poor children are neglected, and that is a form of abuse. Maybe not on purpose from the parents, but it happens. Even though parents of poor children might want to give their child more, they simply can't. So, even though it isn't on purpose, the child can still feel the neglect and the issues that come with that.
I hadn't put these two things together until I reflected on each topic.
When I am a teacher I really want to give my students all the opportunities that I can. I will sit and read with my students, so they get extra time reading aloud to someone. Another thing I want to instill in my poor students is that I will listen to them. I want them to come to me when they need to vent or just have someone listen. Sometimes in these families there is not much focus on the child as the individual. I believe that my role is going to be to give my time and attention to these students every chance I get. I will not take attention away from my other students but, just put some extra in here and there for my poor students.
While studying abused and poor children, I felt like there are a lot of connections between the two. It makes me think that maybe poor children are neglected, and that is a form of abuse. Maybe not on purpose from the parents, but it happens. Even though parents of poor children might want to give their child more, they simply can't. So, even though it isn't on purpose, the child can still feel the neglect and the issues that come with that.
I hadn't put these two things together until I reflected on each topic.
Poverty, Bullying, and Child Abuse
I found the topics we covered in class on poverty, bullying, and child abuse extremely thought provoking. I think we all know that these cases exist, but I also think we forget about how often they really do occur. During these past couple of classes, I could not help but think about these cases, especially after listening to all the stories, hearing about all their statistics, and watching the videos on them.
I will be student-teaching for Ms. Reddick and was e-mailing her to set up a time to meet with her. In her response she stated she looked forward to working with me and welcoming me into their 2nd grade classroom family. That was exactly the way I envisioned my future classrooms! I was so excited when I read that. I believe that for some of our students in poverty or abuse, the classroom will be a reprieve. I would like to create a classroom family. I believe by creating a classroom family, you also create a safe environment where bullying would definitely be lessened if not non-existent. A family where everyone matters and what you have to say counts. Do families have issues to work through? Of course, and a classroom family will no doubt have theirs, but we can work through them together!
I will be student-teaching for Ms. Reddick and was e-mailing her to set up a time to meet with her. In her response she stated she looked forward to working with me and welcoming me into their 2nd grade classroom family. That was exactly the way I envisioned my future classrooms! I was so excited when I read that. I believe that for some of our students in poverty or abuse, the classroom will be a reprieve. I would like to create a classroom family. I believe by creating a classroom family, you also create a safe environment where bullying would definitely be lessened if not non-existent. A family where everyone matters and what you have to say counts. Do families have issues to work through? Of course, and a classroom family will no doubt have theirs, but we can work through them together!
Helping students become more human
Everything in this class has hit me much harder than I thought. However, I've loved it and even though we are discussing issues that touch us all they are challenging me to become a better person and a better teacher. The purpose of this blog is to challenge myself and you to truly reflect on our role as a teacher and as a human. I want to address some ideas from the class that have been in line with realizations I have had since I got back from a trip on break (ask me about it, it was incredible).
As I look back on my life, I have honestly had everything laid out for me. I have had a great family, great friends, a bed under a roof to sleep in, and three meals a day. I mean we all have our hard times and I did, but it doesn't change the fact that I have had a great life in which I have had the opportunity to live my life to the fullest everyday. However, if I was a student who didn't have three meals provided every day, who didn't know where I was going to sleep at night, or who was constantly worried about coming home and watching my dad beating my mom, or worried that I was going to get hurt again by the bully, do you think I honestly would have time to worry about the math homework due the next day, or the spelling test on Friday? There is no way!! The reason I am able to succeed in school is because I do not have to constantly worry about finding food that night or where I am going to sleep. I have time to strive for A's or time to apply to colleges, I am able to write a two page reflection on an article because I do not have to worry about living in poverty, being abused by my father, or the school bully who is sending me into an emotional spiral downward.
My point is that if we do not do something as educators, than quite frankly there is no room for effective learning. If our main goal is to educate these children in a healthy environment then our first goal needs to be to help these students live a better human life. If we do not help them with whatever they are going through than there is no way that they can even begin to worry about school. It needs to be our priority to help these students become more human before we can help them with their school work. As educators we need to address these issues first; if we have a complete genius in our class, but who is struggling finding a place to shower then they will never be able to reach their fullest potential and lead the best life they possibly can.
If a student is suffering because they are abused, they are homeless, or they worried about walking home in the streets because they might be jumped or shot, or has been wearing the same socks all week then a radical transformation needs to take place in their lives before we can expect them to reach their fullest potential in school.
I have been able to lead a good life, I have been able to succeed and I truly have had the opportunity each and every day to live my life to the fullest a human can live. However, that is because of what I have been given, if a child in our classroom is not given that, then we need to meet them where they are at and help them achieve the next level of living life to the fullest. We need to help them live a better life, a more fullfilling life and help them become more human no matter where they are at no matter what they are struggling with.
Blog #1
I think the part of this class that has stuck out the most to me so far has been the outside guest presenters. Mr. Rueb had quite a background story of moving from a school janitor to principal of Atchison Elementary School. His determination to obtain further education and make effective use of his acquired knowledge renews my belief that any student can succeed. Even if a student has battled the injustices of poverty, child abuse or bullying, he or she can work through and overcome those hardships with the support of figures in his or her life who care, like teachers. I appreciate how Mr. Rueb not only presented the problem of economic disadvantages affecting several of his students, but additionally provided us with possible solutions to aiding students who may be experiencing those difficulties. These ideas included encouraging parents and children to hold family discussions, using storybooks, message reading, utilizing home literacy programs and providing interactions around functional print such as newspapers or magazines. Like he advised, I plan to provide various reading materials for my students in my classroom. Also at his suggestion, I want to look over the student handbook of my school as I prepare to student teach. I may discover some important school-wide expectations and procedures for situations or events that may come up throughout the semester and answer some of my own questions in the process.
Mr. Rueb's talk, the counselor's panel as well as class discussion also led me to consider where children may be coming from at an elementary level. Up until this teaching block, I had never really considered elementary student behavioral characteristics or methods that teachers utilize at that level for helping kids and maintaining order within their classrooms. Although I will not and should not find all of the same techniques effective at the secondary level, I could find myself teaching a sixth grade class or witnessing a child receding back to earlier expectations and should be aware of how a past teacher may have handled or addressed a situation at that age as the student is still transitioning to a higher level of education.
One additional comment: I had not previously considered how bullying behavior is an integral part of a much larger continuum of violence. Professor Bennett's stair-steps of put downs and insults to murder and suicide offer a tragic, but actual visual aid of what may occur in a student's life. Just as we must take note of incidents of children discussing or showing physical signs of abuse before running to notify the SRS, we must keep an eye out for student misconduct that could build up to greater risks and terrifying outcomes for students, which brings me back to the underlying importance of knowing my students.
Mr. Rueb's talk, the counselor's panel as well as class discussion also led me to consider where children may be coming from at an elementary level. Up until this teaching block, I had never really considered elementary student behavioral characteristics or methods that teachers utilize at that level for helping kids and maintaining order within their classrooms. Although I will not and should not find all of the same techniques effective at the secondary level, I could find myself teaching a sixth grade class or witnessing a child receding back to earlier expectations and should be aware of how a past teacher may have handled or addressed a situation at that age as the student is still transitioning to a higher level of education.
One additional comment: I had not previously considered how bullying behavior is an integral part of a much larger continuum of violence. Professor Bennett's stair-steps of put downs and insults to murder and suicide offer a tragic, but actual visual aid of what may occur in a student's life. Just as we must take note of incidents of children discussing or showing physical signs of abuse before running to notify the SRS, we must keep an eye out for student misconduct that could build up to greater risks and terrifying outcomes for students, which brings me back to the underlying importance of knowing my students.
What are we to do?
The topics that we have covered in the past week have been both hard to cover and eye-opening for me. After leaving class each day I feel deeply affected by what we had talked about in class for that day. I did not want to get too emotional about it, but sometimes it overwhelmed me to even look at some of the homes in Atchison while I am driving and think about the lives of the children who live there. Are they suffering? What is their life like? But the most important question I think I need to ask myself is "What can I do to help?" It is definitely not going to help me to dwell on these issues or internalize all of the sadness and helplessness that could result from a "heavy" subject or class period. From what we have talked about it is clear that there are solutions to each one of these issues that have to be dealt with on a daily basis. They are a reality and we are soon to be put into the reality of these children's lives; and WE ARE NOT HELPLESS!
One of the clear themes that has come from each class period is the importance of communication. I mainly want to talk about communication with the parents/ guardians. Like we have learned, many of the students in our classes will be coming from single family homes, parents who are divorced, or even students who live with neither their mother or father. Regardless of what the circumstance is for the child at home, it is essential to set up communication with each child's guardian. This communication should not just start when there appears to be a problem or big issue and should be established for each home, not just those who you know come from troubled homes. Positive relationships are key to prevent and do away with issues that will arise during the school year. The trust that can be built up with help for better communication for when a conflict does arise and hopefully things will go more smoothly. I was shocked to see on the video how many of the bullies had confided information to their parents about being bullied. Many of the parents did not take immediate action when their children would tell them about being bullied at school. Maybe they did not see it as a big deal. Just think of the difference that could have been made if a teacher would have been observant enough to notice the bullying that was going on and then talked to the parents about it. The parents may have realized then the severity of their child's situation and would take immediate action.
While we can't control what is going on at home, we can try and make the most safe and secure environment for our students at school. I like was Mr. Rueb said about the most important role of school is to "engage the students in learning." There are many opinions about what the most important role of school and teacher is, but I do think that this is good insight. If we are truly educators who are working in trying to get the best education and formation for our children, engaging them in the learning process, then we will do everything that we can to help them to be successful. This means that when evidence of child abuse, neglect, bullying or other things that will get in the way of this process are present, we will address them immediately. After meeting with my cooperating teacher she told me the most important thing is to love each student. I think these two goals of engaging to learn and loving go hand in hand.
Also, I found myself saying many times during class thinking about how important the role of the principal and administration is for a teacher. When we would discuss the warning signs of things such as abuse, a lot of times our conclusion would be to tell the principal. If there is any question to whether that bruise is from abuse or really is what the student says it is, let the principal know. This helps to end the helplessness that we may fall into. There are always other teachers and other principals who can support us in our effort to help our students. Also, once we tell the principal or report an incident, that weight can be taken off of us and we do not have to feel the heavy burden of the issue.
I like what was told to us in the panel today "There is only one Savior and as far as I know, you are not Him." This is so true. We are to do all that we can to provide for a loving and safe environment, but at the same time we cannot let ourselves feel helpless or like we are the only ones who can help.
One of the clear themes that has come from each class period is the importance of communication. I mainly want to talk about communication with the parents/ guardians. Like we have learned, many of the students in our classes will be coming from single family homes, parents who are divorced, or even students who live with neither their mother or father. Regardless of what the circumstance is for the child at home, it is essential to set up communication with each child's guardian. This communication should not just start when there appears to be a problem or big issue and should be established for each home, not just those who you know come from troubled homes. Positive relationships are key to prevent and do away with issues that will arise during the school year. The trust that can be built up with help for better communication for when a conflict does arise and hopefully things will go more smoothly. I was shocked to see on the video how many of the bullies had confided information to their parents about being bullied. Many of the parents did not take immediate action when their children would tell them about being bullied at school. Maybe they did not see it as a big deal. Just think of the difference that could have been made if a teacher would have been observant enough to notice the bullying that was going on and then talked to the parents about it. The parents may have realized then the severity of their child's situation and would take immediate action.
While we can't control what is going on at home, we can try and make the most safe and secure environment for our students at school. I like was Mr. Rueb said about the most important role of school is to "engage the students in learning." There are many opinions about what the most important role of school and teacher is, but I do think that this is good insight. If we are truly educators who are working in trying to get the best education and formation for our children, engaging them in the learning process, then we will do everything that we can to help them to be successful. This means that when evidence of child abuse, neglect, bullying or other things that will get in the way of this process are present, we will address them immediately. After meeting with my cooperating teacher she told me the most important thing is to love each student. I think these two goals of engaging to learn and loving go hand in hand.
Also, I found myself saying many times during class thinking about how important the role of the principal and administration is for a teacher. When we would discuss the warning signs of things such as abuse, a lot of times our conclusion would be to tell the principal. If there is any question to whether that bruise is from abuse or really is what the student says it is, let the principal know. This helps to end the helplessness that we may fall into. There are always other teachers and other principals who can support us in our effort to help our students. Also, once we tell the principal or report an incident, that weight can be taken off of us and we do not have to feel the heavy burden of the issue.
I like what was told to us in the panel today "There is only one Savior and as far as I know, you are not Him." This is so true. We are to do all that we can to provide for a loving and safe environment, but at the same time we cannot let ourselves feel helpless or like we are the only ones who can help.
Reflections on Poverty, Bullies, Mr. Reub, and Child Abuse
I found many of these topics down right depressing. And I think what makes them so depressing, is that there are SO MANY students who face these things everyday. There will be countless number of students in my classrooms who need something extra. This mad two big ideas come to mind for me: 1. I HAVE to be diligent in looking for ways to get to know my students. It is not optional, it is absolutely necessary, and it could actually be a life or death situation. I need to try my hardest to get to know students and their families, and what they deal with, so that way I can try to best help them or meet their needs. The reason that I know I must be so diligent about this, is it is really a personal issue that I must monitor. There is no score for this, like a state assessment. There is no percentile that my class will be ranked on for how many formed successful relationships with me. There will be no REAL consequences visible on paper, if i don't do this. There will be no FAIL or PASS for relationship building (although it could be reflected in grades). This is an area, that I myself, must know is important and take the time to act on. I must take time, make time, do whatever to be sure I am doing this. This is MY standard for myself, even if the district, principle, whomever does not require it of me, I know I need to do it. 2. The second thought this brought to mind : How in the world will I separate myself from the job at times, so that I can be successful in my home life? I am a very emotional person, and easily carry other people's emotions even when not necessary. I know that teaching is not a nine to five, where once you close the door, it leaves your mind until the next morning. But, I think that some amount of separation from the job will be necessary for me to be successful in my own family. How will I not take this baggage home with me every single night, if I am seeing these things in my classroom. How will I find that balance and middle ground, on what makes me a good caring teacher vs. someone who is neglectful of my own family, because my mind is always elsewhere.
Bullying. What an ugly, nasty, sad topic that we must learn how to deal with, because it is definitely out there. One of the interesting thing that came to my mind when we were learning about this was the Psychology of a Mob mentality. The psychology of a mob, says that when participants of a large group are doing something "wrong" members will often do things that they would not normally do, because they loose their personal identity to the mob. They may feel invisible or hidden behind the crowd and do not necessarily utilize their own morals and beliefs. I think this could be an interesting thing to understand and talk to students about (probably not in that specific of terms). At ages, when peer pressure and fitting in are important to a degree that it is hard for adults to even remember, students may be more apt to follow a group, or do things that others are doing even if they do not agree. It is this topic, and others like it, that character education could help tackle, and help to possibly prevent bullying. I think that prevention could be so important, although I did like Margret's comment in class, that you can prevent all you want, but there should still be a plan for when it does occur.
I really loved Mr. Rueb's presentation. It was sincere and insightful. I did find a lot of it alarming, and somewhat depressing, but it also made me WANT to be a good teacher. Student's need good teachers. They don's need another friend, or a cool teacher, or just a really nice teacher, the need a GOOD and effective teacher. Especially students who are struggling. I need to care for them, and I need to do anything I can for them, but my goal must remain to effectively teach them
Bullying. What an ugly, nasty, sad topic that we must learn how to deal with, because it is definitely out there. One of the interesting thing that came to my mind when we were learning about this was the Psychology of a Mob mentality. The psychology of a mob, says that when participants of a large group are doing something "wrong" members will often do things that they would not normally do, because they loose their personal identity to the mob. They may feel invisible or hidden behind the crowd and do not necessarily utilize their own morals and beliefs. I think this could be an interesting thing to understand and talk to students about (probably not in that specific of terms). At ages, when peer pressure and fitting in are important to a degree that it is hard for adults to even remember, students may be more apt to follow a group, or do things that others are doing even if they do not agree. It is this topic, and others like it, that character education could help tackle, and help to possibly prevent bullying. I think that prevention could be so important, although I did like Margret's comment in class, that you can prevent all you want, but there should still be a plan for when it does occur.
I really loved Mr. Rueb's presentation. It was sincere and insightful. I did find a lot of it alarming, and somewhat depressing, but it also made me WANT to be a good teacher. Student's need good teachers. They don's need another friend, or a cool teacher, or just a really nice teacher, the need a GOOD and effective teacher. Especially students who are struggling. I need to care for them, and I need to do anything I can for them, but my goal must remain to effectively teach them
In the Face of Helplessness: Child Abuse and Bullying
So far in our class, we have been forced to become more aware of how many students are detrimentally affected by child abuse and bullying. Most of us, because of previous education classes, probably had some idea of how crazy prevalent it is, but every time we research the topic again, it seems shocking to me. In our education classes, we discuss stats, talk about some the warning signs, and learn what to do if we suspect it going on in the classroom. Even though these are all very necessary topics to cover in classes, topics that teach us how to react proactively when abuse occurs and prevent abuse from happening when we see "at-risk" signs, none of the topics address how we as teachers are supposed to stay in front of such a hopeless injustice. The fact that child abuse happens, that some children are forced to go through such injurious circumstances rips my heart out. The need that we as humans have for justice flames infra-red when something occurs that is so obviously and objectively wrong. No child should ever have to go through an event like child abuse. No child should have to live in conditions like those and learn how to cope. And although this fact seems useless to discuss, as if the only discussion we should be having after recognizing this fact is how to stop the abuse, the reason I wanted to talk about it is because sometimes I do not know how continue my day without this information crushing my very being. If I suspect one of my students is being abused by a parent, how can I send them home to be in that environment at the end of the day? Sure, I'll report it to child services, but what happens today? I know.... Christ conquered all hopeless situations. Evil was conquered the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead. I know that. I believe that. And sure, that is somewhat comforting to me. God has a plan, it includes my abused student, and in the end, I know it is possible to for Christ to come through all situations, all circumstances, even ugly ones. However, it isn't faith's role to swallow up emotions. Is child abuse just one of those facts that society tells me I have to accept? It's going to happen, so get used to it? I can not believe that it will be better for me simply to accept that this is the way the world works and become numb to this injustice than to discuss it openly with people who are dealing with exactly the same injustice.
Poverty, Bullying and Child Abuse
Although I found the topics of poverty, bullying and child abuse interesting, they each left me with a strange feeling of helplessness. There are many things that I can do as a teacher to try and stop these things from remaining part of a student’s life, but there is fairly little I can do to prevent them from happening in the first place, except maybe for bullying. The reality of the poverty that some of the children in our schools face was sobering. This is a social problem that I so often regard as something that is far away from me- something that happens in big cities and in third world countries. However after class and especially after hearing Mr. Reub speak, I was really struck by the fact that there are children in every community that live in poverty and this has a profound effect on not only their personal life but also on their ability to succeed in the classroom. This brings many questions to mind, but it especially increases my motivation to take the effort to get to know the families in my classroom and be able to respond to the needs of each child. As Mr. Reub spoke on the fact that even though some children are living in poverty, they still want to be able to dress nicely, etc. so they don’t stick out, I became more aware of how important it will be for me to not only help my students who are in need, but also be sensitive to the fact that they don’t want to be singled out because of their needs. This could be a difficult task, but I think it is well worth it.
I found the statistics on rates of child abuse startling. I had no idea how many children are victims of this! Our discussion in class seemed to leave many unanswered questions. The discussion on what types of things to report especially left me searching for what the expectations of teachers are. As an elementary school teacher, I suspect I will often see children come into class with bumps and bruises, and I can't even imagine trying to follow up on every one of them. However, the thought of the one time a child does come it with an unexplained bruise and this is the child who really does need my help- yet I pass it off as an accident is something that really bothers me. I don't want to be the broken link that keeps a child from getting out of an abusive situation! I would imagine that how well you know the parents, how often things like this happen to the child, and the over all demeanor of the child would also play a huge role in determining if this is something I need to report. I am curious to learn more about what the expectations are for teachers.
I think of all the topics we have discussed so far, bullying is the one that has struck me the most as an area in which I can really make a difference. I think my motivation level for being proactive in this area is even higher because I went through much of what the videos we watched described. I remember well that feeling of helplessness and the painful decisions as to whether or not I should talk to my parents or teachers about what was happening because I was afraid of what the consequences might be. I want so much to be able to be available to my students so that they know that they can talk with me if needed about difficulties they are having with their classmates. However, it still seems to me that, while there are many options for helping the victim, the bullies can find so many other was to attack this student in ways and places that I cannot control. This only solidifies my conviction that bully prevention must be more proactive than reactive- children must be educated at a young age that bullying is not okay and taught other alternatives to handling their anger.
Our discussions of these topics has lead me to a much greater appreciation for administrators, since often our response to what the best course of action is is to talk to the principal about it. This only reinforces my motivation to be as supportive an open with her as I can be.
Laura D. Poverty, Child Abuse, Bullying, and Strategies
Two things really struck me while we were talking about poverty. First, the article that I read talked about research showing that there is a drastic physical difference between the level of functioning in the brain of a child who has been living in poverty as opposed to the brain of a child who has not. The difference is located in the part of the brain that accomplishes higher-level thinking skills, making it harder for students to solve problems, make plans, block out distractions, remember details, and develop literacy. The article also said, though, that this difference can be reversed with intensive, focused intervention.
Thus, especially if we teach in schools that serve a high number of children who live in poverty, I think it would be great to give our students lots of practice (both as a group and individually) with higher-level thinking skills. The issue of poverty seems to put more purpose and meaning behind the way Bloom's Taxonomy encourages teachers to expose their students to higher-level questions and tasks. Doing this can actually help close the achievement gap for children who are poor.
The second thing that struck me in our discussion about poverty is something that Mr. Rueb said in his presentation. He mentioned times when he had personally paid electric or heating bills for families of students at his school and other times when all the teachers had pulled together to pay for Christmas presents for families. That is, to me, a sign of the model educator--a willingness to personally help meet the needs that are right in front of your face. Even if schools lack the resources to offer extensive programs for school families living in poverty, what can keep teachers from meeting some of those needs themselves?
After our "black eye" discussion about child abuse on Monday, I think I've decided upon a rule of thumb for myself: If in doubt, ask the administrator. I have been impressed by the principals whom I have met, both by their knowledgability and their authentic concern for students. They also seem to authentically care for the teachers at their schools. Especially as a new teacher, I don't think it could hurt anything to present a question or issue to the principal and to get his or her advice, and this would make sure that the issue is taken care of properly if it does, in fact, present a need for concern.
Lastly, our discussion on bullying has put a huge desire in my heart to learn how to motivate the large group of students who are neither bullies nor victims. Tom's and my older sister spent the last two years of her time in high school seeking out and pouring love upon her classmates who were left out. Seeing her example helped me to recognize just how much a difference that can make in a person's life (the difference between life and death, as we've seen in those videos). I want so much to know how to help my students make that recognition, too--that they could be the one who saves a peer's life by loving him or her. Do you all have any suggestions? I just watched a pretty new movie called "To Save a Life," which focuses on a popular high school athlete whose ex-best friend shoots himself at school because he had been so shunned by his classmates. The movie follows the athlete's reaction to this and how he ends up befriending another shunned peer at school (and later finds out that this action saved the peer's life). Showing a video like this might be really inspiring for high school students. It might be a little intense for a middle school audience.
Thus, especially if we teach in schools that serve a high number of children who live in poverty, I think it would be great to give our students lots of practice (both as a group and individually) with higher-level thinking skills. The issue of poverty seems to put more purpose and meaning behind the way Bloom's Taxonomy encourages teachers to expose their students to higher-level questions and tasks. Doing this can actually help close the achievement gap for children who are poor.
The second thing that struck me in our discussion about poverty is something that Mr. Rueb said in his presentation. He mentioned times when he had personally paid electric or heating bills for families of students at his school and other times when all the teachers had pulled together to pay for Christmas presents for families. That is, to me, a sign of the model educator--a willingness to personally help meet the needs that are right in front of your face. Even if schools lack the resources to offer extensive programs for school families living in poverty, what can keep teachers from meeting some of those needs themselves?
After our "black eye" discussion about child abuse on Monday, I think I've decided upon a rule of thumb for myself: If in doubt, ask the administrator. I have been impressed by the principals whom I have met, both by their knowledgability and their authentic concern for students. They also seem to authentically care for the teachers at their schools. Especially as a new teacher, I don't think it could hurt anything to present a question or issue to the principal and to get his or her advice, and this would make sure that the issue is taken care of properly if it does, in fact, present a need for concern.
Lastly, our discussion on bullying has put a huge desire in my heart to learn how to motivate the large group of students who are neither bullies nor victims. Tom's and my older sister spent the last two years of her time in high school seeking out and pouring love upon her classmates who were left out. Seeing her example helped me to recognize just how much a difference that can make in a person's life (the difference between life and death, as we've seen in those videos). I want so much to know how to help my students make that recognition, too--that they could be the one who saves a peer's life by loving him or her. Do you all have any suggestions? I just watched a pretty new movie called "To Save a Life," which focuses on a popular high school athlete whose ex-best friend shoots himself at school because he had been so shunned by his classmates. The movie follows the athlete's reaction to this and how he ends up befriending another shunned peer at school (and later finds out that this action saved the peer's life). Showing a video like this might be really inspiring for high school students. It might be a little intense for a middle school audience.
Erin O. Poor Children, Mr. Rueb, Bullying, and Child Absue
We covered a lot of interesting topics this week, poor children, bullying, and child abuse. The discussion on poor children made me appreciate the time we spent at the Boys and Girls Club. I think that's a great place for the children of Atchison to go and have time to interact with adults and other children. Reading to us gave them the opportunity to increase the vocabulary that Mr. Rueb said many of them lacked. To improve the vocabulary of students it would be nice to have an after school program where students can read or be read to everyday. Even if it only goes on for 20 min, that's 100 min a week that the student wouldn't normally read. I also found it interesting when we were talking about what food means to different levels of poverty. The low class sees it as quantity, middle as quality, and high as presentation. I had never heard that before but find it to be very true.
Bullying is something I'm sure we have all talked about growing up in schools. I think if we continue to talk about it in our classrooms and explain the consequences to our students, we may be able to stop some of these actions. Getting through to the bully could be more difficult than we think, but getting through to the other children that this is not OK may be easier. If we make children aware that they do not deserve to be treated disrespectfully and they have the right to tell someone, maybe that can help with this problem.
Something that goes right along with bullying was child abuse. This was my topic for discussion so I got to watch multiple videos and read articles about it. I think the discussion we had at the end of the class about when and who to tell about injuries (black eyes) was very though provoking. When I thought about what I would do, I decided that I would document the injuries, but if it was just once and the story sounded believable, I would leave it at that. If I did think something was going on, I would let my principal be aware of this and then I might talk to the student privately. I think that discussion would be a judgement call whether to have it or not.
All in all I found this week of discussions to be stimulating and useful for my educational career.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Poor Children, Rueb,Bullying, Child Abuse
I feel as if everything we have talked about so far in class has been quite relevant for us as future teachers to be aware of. These topics are recurring issues that happen to our students very often. As a future elementary teacher, I need to be aware of these issues so I know the best way to approach them. Many of our future students may live in poverty, so it is important for us to know how we can meet the needs of these students. Every child is an individual, so we need to be able to gather their strengths. As a teacher, I will help my students in every way I can to strive for success.
Families in poverty should know there is a lot of help that others are willing to give to them. They are not alone. Poverty can really affect our society as a whole, so it is our job to know what we can do to help those in need. Reub shared with us a lot of useful information for families who live in poverty. He has had a lot of personal experience dealing with families who need our help. He works day in and day out with students who come from families who hardly have enough money to survive.
Bullying is a serious issue that happen to millions of students all over the world. Unfortunately, it drives students to violence. As a teacher, I will address any issues of bullying in my classroom and figure out what the problem is right away. If someone needs to go see a counselor about it, then this needs to be taken care of right away. Do not wait, because we have all seen the affects of someone being bullied. Students should be aware that they suffer the consequences of their own actions.
Child abuse is another important topic that we need to all be aware of in our classrooms. As a teacher, I will be very aware of abusive parents. It can happen to the people you would have never thought it would have happened to. If I see anyone who I feel is suspicious to some sort of child abuse, I am going to figure out the problem more in depth. It is best to pinpoint the problem early on, so it can be stopped! These are our children. Our children are the future!
Families in poverty should know there is a lot of help that others are willing to give to them. They are not alone. Poverty can really affect our society as a whole, so it is our job to know what we can do to help those in need. Reub shared with us a lot of useful information for families who live in poverty. He has had a lot of personal experience dealing with families who need our help. He works day in and day out with students who come from families who hardly have enough money to survive.
Bullying is a serious issue that happen to millions of students all over the world. Unfortunately, it drives students to violence. As a teacher, I will address any issues of bullying in my classroom and figure out what the problem is right away. If someone needs to go see a counselor about it, then this needs to be taken care of right away. Do not wait, because we have all seen the affects of someone being bullied. Students should be aware that they suffer the consequences of their own actions.
Child abuse is another important topic that we need to all be aware of in our classrooms. As a teacher, I will be very aware of abusive parents. It can happen to the people you would have never thought it would have happened to. If I see anyone who I feel is suspicious to some sort of child abuse, I am going to figure out the problem more in depth. It is best to pinpoint the problem early on, so it can be stopped! These are our children. Our children are the future!
Virtus -Child Abuse
How many of you have done the Virtus program? If not, it's a program for adults working with children in many Catholic dioceses. The participants learn about the warning signs of child abuse, abuse prevention, and how to react to a reported case of child abuse. There are videos in it with interviews of convicted child abusers discussing their methods. They are disturbing to watch, but I learned a great deal about warning signs to be aware of. The Virtus program kept coming to my mind during class Monday when we discussed child abuse.
My high school students will most likely already know where and where not it is okay to be touched. However, I want to emphasize to them that child abuse is not okay and that it is not the fault of the victim. I debate about doing a modified ( because Virtus can be a bit disturbing at times) form of Virtus for them. At least it would raise awareness for them that child abuse does happen here, even to people in their own school. Maybe it would also open up an avenue for discussion about it.
What do you all think? Would Virtus be appropriate or helpful in educating high school students about child abuse? Could it help abused students feel more comfortable coming to tell me that they are being abused or help friends to disclose that a friend is being abused? I'm not really sure.
My high school students will most likely already know where and where not it is okay to be touched. However, I want to emphasize to them that child abuse is not okay and that it is not the fault of the victim. I debate about doing a modified ( because Virtus can be a bit disturbing at times) form of Virtus for them. At least it would raise awareness for them that child abuse does happen here, even to people in their own school. Maybe it would also open up an avenue for discussion about it.
What do you all think? Would Virtus be appropriate or helpful in educating high school students about child abuse? Could it help abused students feel more comfortable coming to tell me that they are being abused or help friends to disclose that a friend is being abused? I'm not really sure.
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