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.
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.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
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.
What do we do? -Bullying
Wow, those bullying videos really hit me hard. It's easy to forget how strongly bullying can affect our students. I wonder sometimes how many kids were silently suffering at my high school, but I never knew. Also, I think about all the students who I knew were being bullied, but I did nothing to stop it.
As a teacher, I want to stop bullying from occurring at my school. I definitely agree that school-wide intervention programs in elementary school are very important. That one at Graden Elementary certainly seemed to help. As a high school teacher, I plan to speak bluntly to my students about the effects of bullying like SuEllen (I can't remember her last name), the counselor, did at Graden. High school students need lessons to be relevant to them. They appreciate it when adults are honest and real with them about serious life issues.
What do you all think of that method of discouraging bullying? I'm open to constructive criticism.
As a teacher, I want to stop bullying from occurring at my school. I definitely agree that school-wide intervention programs in elementary school are very important. That one at Graden Elementary certainly seemed to help. As a high school teacher, I plan to speak bluntly to my students about the effects of bullying like SuEllen (I can't remember her last name), the counselor, did at Graden. High school students need lessons to be relevant to them. They appreciate it when adults are honest and real with them about serious life issues.
What do you all think of that method of discouraging bullying? I'm open to constructive criticism.
Mayra and family (Poverty)
We all want to help our students as much as we can, but I'm sure a question all of us have struggle with some is how to balance helping our students and keeping ourselves healthy as well. For example, I think about a family my mom became involved with when I was in elementary school. I'm still not sure whether or not she was too involved. The family did definitely need help.
Mayra , a girl in the 3rd grade, was the second of four children. The family had recently immigrated from Mexico. Their mother worked three jobs to support them, which meant that she was rarely able to be home with her children. The children did stay with the mother's live-in boyfriend while the mothe worked, but he was a dead beat and later was accused of abusing Mayra. Mayra's older brother had severe epilepsy and his medicine was pretty expensive. Their trailer home was unclean and the children had few clothes. Since her older brother was mentally incapable of taking care of the family, Mayra, only 9 years old, took care of all her siblings.
My mom tried to help them. She worked with them extensively to improve their English, had them over to our home a few times as an outing. Later, Mayra's mother began calling on my mom more and more for help. My mom babysat a few times, paid for the older boy's epilepsy medicine once, went to their home in the evenings on occasion if the children were frightened alone, etc. It began to take a toll on her emotionally. She feared also that she wasn't being available enough to her own family. My mom really struggled with that question and still, looking back, wonders whether she got too involved in Mayra's family. I know that we will all run into situations like this in teaching, ones where we want to give everything to help the students.
Thus, my question to you is: How do we find the balance? I have been trying to figure it out, but I still don't know and it worries me.
Mayra , a girl in the 3rd grade, was the second of four children. The family had recently immigrated from Mexico. Their mother worked three jobs to support them, which meant that she was rarely able to be home with her children. The children did stay with the mother's live-in boyfriend while the mothe worked, but he was a dead beat and later was accused of abusing Mayra. Mayra's older brother had severe epilepsy and his medicine was pretty expensive. Their trailer home was unclean and the children had few clothes. Since her older brother was mentally incapable of taking care of the family, Mayra, only 9 years old, took care of all her siblings.
My mom tried to help them. She worked with them extensively to improve their English, had them over to our home a few times as an outing. Later, Mayra's mother began calling on my mom more and more for help. My mom babysat a few times, paid for the older boy's epilepsy medicine once, went to their home in the evenings on occasion if the children were frightened alone, etc. It began to take a toll on her emotionally. She feared also that she wasn't being available enough to her own family. My mom really struggled with that question and still, looking back, wonders whether she got too involved in Mayra's family. I know that we will all run into situations like this in teaching, ones where we want to give everything to help the students.
Thus, my question to you is: How do we find the balance? I have been trying to figure it out, but I still don't know and it worries me.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Welcome, SP11 Student Teachers!
Welcome to all Ed460 students! Over the next four weeks, you will be asked to "blog" about your reactions to various topics, speakers, and presentations. It's really quite easy! You will access this class blog, comment on each topic, read your classmates' reactions, and then respond to at least three of them. But don't feel you have to limit yourself! You can blog over and over again, responding to as many comments as you like. The purpose is to have a worthwhile, thought-provoking online discussion on the many aspects of the personal and social well being of your future students. I think you'll enjoy this and hopefully, you can use blogging in your future classes to involve your students in a non-traditional way of group discussing. Or maybe, as one of my former students is doing, create a blog for your group of student teachers so you can stay in touch and support each other! When you go on the class blog, let me know if you can find your way around, or if you need more instruction. We'll talk more about blogging when the first day of class rolls around.
Oh, btw, this IS part of your grade for the course. So blog very well! :)
Oh, btw, this IS part of your grade for the course. So blog very well! :)
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