Curriculum

Curriculum should be covered by all subjects for all grade levels. I really loved the examples in the chapters that we read this week for class, particularly the Brooklyn Bridge example. I loved how that teacher incorporated the basic topic into all the disciplines such as math, science, reading, writing, poetry, communication, ect.  

I am planning on teaching high school science. I am thinking that this model would be hard to achieve in most high schools since it would require a lot of teamwork and communication among most of the teachers in the school. However, I think that it is worth the extra effort because it gets the students involved and connects their classes to keep them interested. I was never a big fan of English and language arts classes in school. If there was some topic that connected my English/lit class to any of the sciences I would have been much more likely to pay attention and maybe even start to like the class.

I am thinking that this sort of model could easily become a school wide program. I think I may suggest it to my group when we do our build our own charter school assignment. Teachers could voluntarily submit topic proposals to the principal who picks the top few that are well developed. Then the teachers and students could vote on the topic for the year or semester. In every class this topic could be touched on throughout the year or semester. In lit classes they could read a book or two on the subject while in science and math classes they could do projects or experiments. In history class they could learn about the subject and how it came about. I think if a program like this could be thoroughly prepared and executed well that it is an excellent way for the students to get engaged and involved.  

My Biases

            I have been thinking about what bias I have a lot since Tuesday. I decided not to just write about one but all of them and how I have attempted to eradicate them. I have seen many biases in some of my family members and have strived to avoid them since high school. It makes me really mad and disappointed when I hear a sibling making very bias comments. Some of the biases I have seen in some family members are religious, socioeconomic, weight, and sexual orientation. I know as a kid I was very bias with all of these and more including race. I probably I learned these not only from family but also my community. For example, I judge people on how they act, what they wear, their hygiene, where they went to school, and the level of education they achieved which often leads to feelings of superiority.

             I grew up in schools that were dominated by white middle class students and teachers. I clearly remember feeling better than other kids because I lived in a bigger house.  I also remember thinking, along with my friends, in elementary school that the one African American kid in my grade was weird. I did not even really know him but I drew that conclusion based on the color of his skin. Although I have strived to eradicate this kind of thinking I know that deep down I still have these biases. They do present themselves but I try very hard not to act on them. I feel like my open-mined demeanor has helped me lessen the severity of my biases. As I gain more experiences and get to know more different kinds of people I feel that many of my biases have become less established.

           

            In college I got to know so many different kinds of people that my biases started to decrease. The university I went to was Jesuit. A large part of Jesuit education is a big emphasis on injustices in the community and around the world. Most classes at least touched on this subject and opened our minds to ways that biases present themselves. I took a class about environmental injustice in America and was shocked at all the toxins that are dumped in primarily minority neighborhoods.

            I know that I have not in any way eliminated any of my biases. I have become aware of them and try not to let them show. I do catch myself about to say prejudice statements sometimes and worry about the ones I am not even aware of. I also worry about my actions and how I treat people certain ways based on a bias I have. I worry that my biases will hinder my effectiveness as a teacher but hopefully my awareness will prevent that.  I truly wish that our society in the near future will be able to celebrate our differences rather than judge people on them.

I apologize for going over the max in length.

Albuquerque Educator named Teacher of the Year

Leslie has taught biology at a Sandia High School here in Albuquerque, NM for the last 3 years. Bob Smith was a struggling student in biology, failing to maintain passing grades at another local high school. His family moved so he transferred to Sandia HS. Lucky for him he was placed in Ms. Christner’s class.

Bob explains how “She took time out of her lunch periods to help me as the new student catch up and actually understand the material I was failing at before. She just had a way of explaining things so the whole class got it and wanted to learn more. We always did these crazy cool experiments and dissections and stuff that make bio so interesting.” Bob is planning on going to Colorado University next year and majoring in biology.

The principle, Clair Benet, of Sandia HS was thrilled that one of her teachers is being given such an honor. Benet said of Christner, “It is amazing how she is able to relate the lessons to the students and get them so excited about biology and science in general.”

Christner started an environmental club at Sandia which gets students involved in educating fellow students and the public about environmental conscious practices. Jane Blair, a member of the Environmental Club, claims that “We have been able to get recycling bins placed in all he classrooms throughout the school thanks to Ms. Christner’s guidance.” Another member, John Doe, said “She really has inspired us to learn more about environmental issues and get involved in the fight for environmental change in our community.”

When we caught up with Christner she said “It is such an honor to receive such a prestigious award. I am so overwhelmed.” She went into teaching to share her passion for science. It is clear from her past students’ involvement and passion in science that she has accomplished what she set out to do and will do so for many years to come.

Why Teach?

           My purpose for becoming a teacher is to share my passion of science and hopefully to have an effect in our society. After college I couldn’t decide what I wanted to do so I procrastinated deciding and planned to get some work experience. I had hoped this would lead me in the right direction. That plan did not work due to the economy.  However, I absolutely loved school and was really bummed when I graduated. During the summers while in college, I worked at a Girl Scout camp. I absolutely loved both school and working at the camp so I figured by entering those two passions into the equation of life teaching seems to me to be the perfect answer.

                                                    

            The aims I have for my classroom is for the students to learn to either love or at least respect science for what it can teach us about the world around us. I also feel learning how to work in groups is an essential tool that all functioning people in our society need to learn. Doctors and lawyers need to know how to work with others just as trash men and fast food workers. However, I feel that the most important thing for students to learn is how to care and respect others. Society needs people who care and respect one another. I know I would not want to be a part of a society with members who lacked these qualities. Hopefully, I will be able to meet these goals and my purpose of becoming a teacher will be met.

As for the last question we are supposed to answer, I don’t know about the point spread, but I am going to predict that the Giants are going to win.

Science Education Blogs

My first few tries at finding a good science education blog didn’t go so well. I was using Google which was shockingly unhelpful. However, I finally tried to search for sites that had education blog links. I found a site that lists the top 100 high school teachers who blog http://www.onlinecolleges.net/2010/05/16/top-100-high-school-teachers-who-blog/.

 On this site they categorize the blogs by subject. Since I am interested in science I looked through the 10 science blogs listed. I enjoyed all of them but these two I enjoyed the most.  

Reflections of a Science Teacher (http://sanmccarron.blogspot.com/)

This blog caught my attention because it gives a few specific examples on how this teacher connects chemistry to real life using some fun experiments (soap and marshmallow making). However, what got me to stay was a particular post about technology and Bloom’s Taxonomy. In this post the author discusses using apps and other digital tools that are associated with the different levels in Bloom’s Taxonomy including Twitter, Blogging, Glogster, and Schoolloop. I have never heard of Glogster before but it sounds like a good substitute for poster projects. I am going to have to check this site out for possible use in lesson plans.

Mr. Cantor’s Biology Blog (http://cantorsbiologyblog.blogspot.com/)

This is a blog for Mr. Cantor’s students. I personally like this blog because I like to follow along with his class and he gives a lot of helpful links for his students. I also think it is an excellent idea to give students different ways to look at the material discussed in class since people learn in different ways. By giving the students links to other sites, he is giving the students valuable resources that they would not be able to get in class.

Thoughts on Kohn's Opinion of Grading

            The Kohn article we read for class this week was very interesting. I would have enjoyed discussing it a little more in class so I will do it on here. Some very good points were discussed in the article about the negative effects of grades on students. Since all of you have read it I will try to avoid summarizing it.

            I feel like my own high school experience had many of the negative effects Kohn described about grading students. I was only concerned about my grades, so I would memorize the material that was going to be on the tests the night before, do well on the test, and then forget all the material in just a few weeks. One of the main arguments for grades is that it motivates students. I was only motivated to get good grades not actually learn the material. I became an expert at memorizing material for short periods of time. I also remember comparing grades with my friends constantly. Some of my friends were competitive to the extreme and would literally have fights over their grades. At the time, I just thought it was annoying, but now I realize how destructive that was for each of us.

            About halfway through college I started to realize just how obsessed people are with grades. People were worrying about their grades constantly. It was rare to hear someone talk about a subject without bringing up what grade they got on a particular test or paper. It was really annoying when people would tell me all about their grades and how they were doing in all their classes. Many times I have told people that they are in college to learn material, not just to get good grades. If they would just spend all the time that they worry and talk about their grades studying then they would probably get better grades.

            Since grades have been a part of our schooling for such a long time, it will be hard to remove them completely. However, the article did bring up some excellent strategies that would probably help relieve students from the pressures of getting good grades. If there is no grade put on individual assignments, then the first thing students will look at is the comments made by the teacher, not the grade. This seems like a simple strategy to get students to look at the material.