Service Learning Project 3

The third part of the project to lead was the hardest part. The times that we spent there were always so sporadic and unplanned that it was hard to organize a time to teach an activity. Despite this, there were a couple of spur of the moment activities that we lead. One day, the teachers of the 3 to 5 year olds were just waiting for lunch time and didn't want the kids to get out any more toys. Because of this I decided to help lead an activity. Every kid got a piece of paper and we glued popsicle sticks and foam shapes on them to make flowers. This proved more difficult than it seemed, mostly because it involved glue. A lot of these kids aren't the best listeners and like to get their way. Many of the boys wanted their way with the glue and made quite the mess. This activity taught me to have patience with the kids because the activity was for them and not for me. Another day I helped play a game with the school aged girls. The game was a dinosaur math game and it was actually pretty complicated. This also taught me patience because the girls like to make up their own rules and play how they see best. Overall, this was a really positive experience and it really taught me a lot about dealing with difficult issues.

Service Learning Project 2

Most of my time spent at the YWCA was spent interacting with the kids. One girl in particular made an impression on me. Joselyn latched onto me the first day I was there. She quickly recruited me to color and draw with her because she didn't want to play with the younger children. After sitting with her for maybe 15 or 20 minutes and talking about some things we like or had in common, she drew me a picture that said "Megan is Awesome" and she wrote "bffs" on there with hearts and smiley faces. It was obvious that she didn't get a lot of attention. I learned that she had a younger sister that was there also. Her sister was very outgoing and rambunctious, the opposite of Joselyn. I think the reason she latched on to me so quickly was because her sister stole the spotlight most of the time and she didn't get much attention. Interacting with all the other kids gave me the same impression. They really latched onto all of us that went there and it really seemed like they didn't get that kind of attention very often.

Service Project 1

Throughout the project at the YWCA there wasn't a lot of time spent just observing. The kids were very starved for attention and because of that they never really let us just observe. But from the few times that we were just watching, I noticed a lot. All of these kids that go to the YWCA have gone together for years. They're all really close and while that may be just be because they are young and have no prejudice, they all get along great. I also noticed how the siblings took care of each other. The older siblings really looked after their younger brother or sister. One girl that I was around one day name Joselyn was very smart. She like playing the harder board games that involved math and critical thinking. There was an interesting diversity among the children.

Chatper 5

I think this chapter, like many of the others, relates back to the understanding and engaging of students. This chapter is all about talking. I thought this was very strange at first. How are we supposed to teach kids how to talk? Do we even need to? It makes the point that everyone can have a short chat about something they are familiar with but a lot of students aren't comfortable having discussions about serious topics or with people they aren't very familiar with. I can attest to this personally. In my school career, the only opportunites we had to talk in class were when we got thrown in front of everyone to give a speech on a topic we didn't even care about. Most students are made uncomfortable by this and it doesn't help them learn and grow. The focus that this chapter has on group work and interractions between students to further their talking skills is really interesting and helpful. I think the student not only benefits from this academically but also socially and its something they might actually think is fun. In my experience as a student, I ususally like small group discussions vs whole classroom discussions. Students are more likely to actually talk when only 4 or 5 other people are listening rather than 25 other people. I think these are all great tools that all teachers should consider so that their students can benefit and maybe actually enjoy themselves.

Chapter 14

I connected this chapter a lot with the chapter about students truly understanding what they are learning. All of these examples of technology used in the classroom are ways of getting students involved so they actually learn. The example the author gave about the class reading The Stranger and making a wikibook to go along with them is a great testament to this idea. One student said that this is the first book he's actually read. This is probably saying a lot because I'm sure this student has had to read books for other classes. Using these technologies engages students and really throws them in to what their learning. Things like the blog or the wikibook give kids the creative control that they desire and keeps them interested unlike just typing up a book report. I think all of these are great ideas and, in this every changing tech savvy world, should be used in every classroom.

Chapter 7

I have always had a problem with remember new things that I had just learned. When I took spanish I would just memorize the meaning of words through flashcards but have no other knowledge of its usage. But this same thing also happens in our native language. When students are reading a story and come across a word they are unfamiliar with, they can always look it up or ask someone what it means but other than that small definition in that one context, they might not actually understand or be able to use the word elsewhere. This goes with the part of the chapter on what does it really mean to know a word. I think knowing a word is knowing all of its different meanings and being able to use it in your own speech or writing not just knowing what is on the back of a flashcard. But I do think that is a good first step in getting a solid understanding. This chapter gave great ideas on ways to get students to better understand words with the different charts and how to work through words. I think I would definitely use the lesson we came up with in class yesterday for future classrooms. This is honestly something I had never thought about in the context of a classroom and for my students.

Chapter 4

I really related to this chapter. Or my high school self did. I think engaging kids just to get them to pay attention let alone fully understand what they're paying attention to is a huge issue for students. All throughout high school and even sometimes now in college, teachers just teach AT us and students are not engaged. The majority of students will not pay attention because they don't feel like they need to. Like the example in the beginning of this chapter, if students were actually forced to be a part of their learning, through discussions for example, then I feel this would help them better understand the material. We have to be involved in what is being taught for us to be able to fully understand it. Taking notes on a subject doesn't mean a student understands it. But if a student can explain it back to someone or voice their opinion on the matter, it shows that they are getting it. The author's "dimensions of understanding" really emphasize this. With steps such as manipulating, exploring, and discussing kids are able to totally wrap there head around a subject rather than just memorizing a few bullet points.

Chapter 6

The part of the chapter that jumped out at me the most was the censorship portion and young kids reading about topics that some people feel aren't appropriate. I personally am very against censorship and believe that children should be exposed to the things they want to learn. The book talks about these "taboo topics" that younger children are starting to read about like drugs, sex, bullying, etc. A lot of people want to censor their children from reading these materials because they deem them inappropriate. I think it is good to read books with hard topics in them because they do portray real life. By reading about these topics, it will give kids opportunities to think about and possibly talk to their parents about them. They could learn how to deal with issues before they are forced into situations with them in real life. Reading books with these "taboo topics" isn't encouraging the kids to do drugs or go out and have sex, but informing them and preparing them for these situations that do eventually enter their lives.

Chapter 10

The reading for today really stressed the need for new ways of teaching to keep up with the new changing world. A lot of the concepts that the author introduces and discusses include classroom involvement and integrating concepts for better understanding. When I think of my future classroom and how I'm going to conduct my lessons I think a lot about student involvement. Not just teaching at the students but involving them in the teaching process so that they are engaged and can learn more. This chapter is teaching kids about being ahead of the game so that they can have a successful future. I love their ideas about group work and involving technology to maximize student involvement. Overall this chapter gave me a lot of ideas that I plan to use in my future classroom.

Chapter 1

I’ve always thought that standardized testing was not all its cracked up to be. I knew a lot of people in high school that were very bright but just could not do well on the ACT. Because of their poor test taking abilities despite their higher knowledge, their options of universities were limited as well as their financial aid. While these tests can be really good for a lot of things, they are quite flawed in many areas.
As the author explains to us, these tests show only the results they want to see. There are kids who are very smart and very literate but they just don’t care what these tests or their teachers are saying. As the reading said, there are many teachers and even principles that don’t know and/or don’t care about these other sides of their students. It is upsetting that these educators only focus on getting their testing up and don’t care about the student as an individual.
I love what the author has to say about transitioning to what literacy means in this new age. Making school about learning in ways the students want to learn and are good at. Helping students prepare for the world they actually live in. I really agree with all the things this author is saying about improving the learning system and helping and caring about the students.