Lecture Blog #1

The first lecture that I attended this semester was actually way back on September 30th. Now, I know what you are thinking... that was a long time ago. 
Okay, while you caught me there... I will assure you that I did take notes on the lecture and as I mentioned in my earlier post about me being a college student, my since of timing is a bit skewed. 
But let's get down to business. 
Michael Sandel, professor of government at Harvard University gave Luther College's Farwell Distinguished Lecture in the CFL. 
While I walked in right on time, I was amazed at how many people were actually at this lecture. I even had to sit up top in the upper balcony because there were no empty seats on the floor to be  found. 
"Why are there so many people here?" I thought. I mean I will be honest and say I was there solely through mouth of word of students on campus because I keep hearing that this guy was legit. I mean I heard that his classes at Harvard are extremely hard to get into and are even booked up for years. Now, the more I think about it, I don't how that is possible but whatever. This guy knew how to generate an audience. 
Which brings me to my first golden star of critiquing this speech... Michael Sandel without even lifting a finger or opening his mouth had a great crowd, which is always a bonus! I mean as a future teacher, I hope to someday have this status. Not that I want to be a popular teacher but can you imagine the type of learning you could get out of students who actually want to be there? I mean, getting students to want to go to class and who want to learn is half the battle. 
As I sat there in much anticipation... I began to leaf through the booklet that I got when i walked through the door. I learned that Sandel's presentation was titled "The Lost Art of Democratic Argument: Can We Reason Together about Values without Rancor and Incivility. The title was very intriguing to me. In terms of education, it was interesting to connect the two. There are a lot of moral dilemmas when it comes to education and in Sandel's basics of his speech has to do with challenging students with different moral dilemmas to help them see how they are and why they choose the things they choose. 
What I found remarkable was that every time Sandel asked the audience to voice there opinion as to why they would choose to do this over this... was that the important moral questions are never black and white. 
Just like in education. NOTHING IS EVER BLACK AND WHITE.. well, expect for the text that we read in class but besides that... there is always a but, and, or, if! For example, when it comes to accessing if a child is "at risk" or not, it's never a usually a straight answer. There are always a lot of components to go over and a lot of over things to access.
Throughout Sandel's speech, he always incorporated the audience, which leads to my second gold star of the critiquing. I found it very beneficial to the speech to ask the audience and hear what they would do. For example, Sandel asked the audience if he you were driving a train that was going to crash and you could go straight and kill five people or curve to the right and only kill yourself what would you do? Instead of Sandel just simply going though each different scenario and stating the different moral dilemmas, he went straight for the participation. There were people in the audience with microphones so you were able to hear everyone clearly and could just listen. 
This was another effective component of Sandel's speech that can be linked to education; PARTICIPATION! Participation is huge in education. It is important to get your students involved in class. By allowing students to participate and letting them voice their opinion, it gives them a voice in their education, which is HUGE! This is one reason why I enjoy Education Psychology as a class because I can voice my opinion freely and so can my classmates. There is something very therapeutic about it, I think. 
As you can see, this lecture was a great one to go to. There were a lot of elements in it that can be linked to education. Through Sandel's lecture, I was able to see his experience shine through. He has been a member of the Harvard faculty since 1980 and has taught courses titled "Ethics, Biotechnology, and the Future of Human Nature," "Markets, Morals and Law," and "Globalization and Its Critics." So he is very skilled at what he does for living. I hope one day I can be as skilled as him and teacher students who want to learn. 

THE FINAL DISPOSITION BLOG!

Okay, so I am jumping the gun here on this final blog business BUT I am first and foremost a college student who has a lot of work to be done!

Any who, Can dispositions be taught in the end? Well, first I think a look into what is a disposition needs to be looked at. To me, a disposition is a standpoint that one holds. It is the driving force behind something. For example, my disposition to do well in Education Psychology is to become the best teacher I can. My roommates disposition to do well in undergrad is to get into a good graduate program for Psychology. 

As you can see, there are many dispositions in life. But can dispositions be taught? Yes, I believe they can BUT I will say this, they are hard to teach because for most dispositions it is a will or want. And as we all know as future teachers, it is hard to teach DRIVE! 

While I was thinking about what write about for this final blog, I couldn't help but relate it to the book that I am reading fro the class right now. Currently, I am reading Daniel H. Pink's: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. In the book, Pink discusses the three elements of motivation which are... 

1. Autonomy 
2. Mastery 
3. Purpose 

The book goes into great detail on examples that support how by letting people come to work whenever they want to and work at their own pace, actually allows them to get more work done and at better quality. 

So when with that notion addressed, some recommendations I have for enhancing the dispositions for the students and teachers is to use motivation in the right way. I would recommend to use what Pink recommends FREEDOM with SUPPORT. As a teacher, we can only do so much. We can't hold the students hands and make them take notes. We can't hold the students hearts open so that they care about their education but we can use motivation the best way we know how as teachers.

Here, I will leave you with a picture of my roommate... she studies more than anyone I know and while she doesn't need any motivation to do well in school, I hope this blog inspires others to do the same. 

A pessimist see the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. -Winston Churchill

Hmm...

A school built in Zambia to teach boys caught up in the choir scandal is now expanding.

CHECK IT OUT! 

Educational ethics at its finest. 

Zambia School

Does resilience define teaching?

As I was visiting with friends and family over Thanksgiving break, after I would tell someone I am going to school to become a teacher, usually their first reaction had something to do with how am I going to deal with the troublemakers in my classroom? While I will admit, I find their reactions historical because it simply furthers the fact that there are several misleading stereotypes in the classroom.

Are these people assuming that my profession is defined by the hard times? Are these people assuming that of my resilience is my savior in my profession? 

I find these questions to all be intriguing! As a future teacher, I know my job is going to be hard. I know that only the strong survive but that is what makes this profession so satisfying for me. Teaching is a challenge. It's one of those professions that makes a difference. If it wasn't for teachers, there would be no doctors, astronauts, or dentists. The world would be a much different place. 

Now, I am not here to argue that teacher is the best profession there is but what I am trying to say is it matters. Teaching is a worldwide concept that thrives off resilience. Teachers need to prepare themselves down the road my taking the mindset that I have. The mindset that I have is simple... SUCK IT UP! 

Yup, that's right. SUCK IT UP. One of my TA's in college, whom I adore named Mr. Gutsche, once told me that no one loves their job completely. He also stressed that there are parts you like your job and then there are those things that you don't like about your job but no job is perfect! What he made me realize I will never forget. Even when I work in the summer as a lifeguard at a country club, I find myself complaining about the little things like how I hate cleaning up after extremely rich people but after smile politely at the members and calm down, I would remember what my teacher had told me. I would then remember that I am getting paid to sit outside all day and get the best food around. 

As you can see, teaching is a bit different than life-guarding but all jobs are same in the fact that it is what you make it. Resilience is the ability to adapt, which is so huge in teaching. No class or year is ever going to be perfect but it's how you deal with is as a teacher. It is how you mental prepare yourself for those set backs in life that separate the good teachers and the bad. 

One statistic states that 50% of teachers change professions less than three years into their career. While that seems shocking, I would love to see the comparison of this statistic to the others because while I believe 50% is high, I am sure there are higher ones. People are funny in the fact that no one likes their jobs. I can't tell you how many times I hear my parents complain about their jobs and some people just can't take it. 

But what I think we can do to help prepare teachers is install a better mindset. I think teachers are going into the classrooms with negative connotations that are effecting their ability as teachers. School districts need to emphasize how important teachers are and allow the teachers to feel like they do make a difference in the district, community, and the child's lives. 

Nobody's Perfect

Ahhh humility. One of my more experienced subjects, if I don't say so myself. My most recent experience of humiliation has to do with me wishing one of my friends happy birthday but calling her by the wrong name. Ouch. 

But humility comes in all forms. I've been humiliated through actions, words, and even test grades. Yikes. As a college student, I feel as if humiliation is added in to my tuition. Basically, humiliation is apart of the college experience and should be. 

Unfortunately for me, I don't deal with humiliation lightly. I am constantly reminded my by my father, and I quote, "No one is perfect. Everyone has their share of problems." Well, duh, dad, but didn't I ever tell you that my problems are more earth shattering than anyone else's? :)

But in reality, as much as a I hate to admit it, humiliation is all apart of life. However, again as my parents are so full of wisdom, after I am completely embarrassed and in tears, I take a step back, look at the big picture, and remember that it's how you handle yourself that makes the difference in the long run. 

For example, it is a fact that every humiliation I could described to you, I HAVE SURVIVED. Yes, despite what Dr. L might believe during some 8 o'clock morning classes when I barely look a wake, I am alive and breathing.

Teachers, like students, have to find that balance between confidence and humility. Like if you are wrong, you are wrong. Own up to your mistake and MOVE ON. I know it is hard sometimes after you mess up on a math problem or one of your students call you out on something but you will be okay. You are not God's gift to earth so I think you ego should still be okay. 

Like my father always said... No one is perfect. 

Collaborating to Success

Okay, Okay. So I will be honest and say that I feel like recently my blog has become more of a promotion of education than anything else but in reality, all the things I am talking about are important in education and are in need of some serious rival in our school systems today.

Collaborativeness is no exception. In order for a school system to be successful it needs to incorporate collaboration between all departments. What makes collaberativeness effective is engaging participants. Every achievement begins with a choice and in order to achieve great things in the classroom, every teacher needs to make a choice to work wither not only the students to their best ability but also with other teachers as well.

It should also be noted that collaboration is different than group work or cooperative learning due to the fact that collaboration involves each person sharing and giving ideas. In group projects and often cooperative learning, not everyone is doing equal amounts of work. Also, during these instances, often times people do their own work and then come together.

For example, for my religion project on the Dead Sea Scrolls, my group was suppose to investigate the community involved in making the scrolls. While we were all suppose to work together on this, every college student knows that everyone's schedules are hectic and finding a time to meet in person is limited. So after several attempts to get together to work on it, we decided that we would just have to do our own separate parts and all come together at the very end of the project to try and present a well polished piece.

As you can see, collaboration is effective because it is rare. If teachers would collaborate with each other people, I think they would find their jobs more enjoyable and easier. However, time plays a huge factor in collaboration and sadly, in this day and age, people simply do not have the time.

But my theory on this is if music artists can collaborate, why can't teachers?

Efficacy: The blue pill or the red pill

Blue pill or red?

After watching this short video clip, I bet you are wondering what in the world the Matrix has to do with education? Well you see, for me, I view this clip as I view education. Education is simple; it's all about taking the red pill! The red pill in education is all about the confidence that is needed in order to be an effective teacher. While the blue pill stands for all the doubters in the world. As I see it, every teacher has a choice; they can wither take the blue pill and coast through everyday without challenging themselves in the classroom OR teachers can take the red pill, challenge themselves and the those around them and trust in their abilities.

Beyond my personal want for a pill that will regulate all the teachers in the world, there is no red or blue pill that teachers can take. Sad day, but I think the use of drugs in schools by teachers would send the wrong message. However, in order to be an effective teacher, no pill is needed, there are just characteristics that need to be present in every teacher's personality.

First, a teacher must have self-awareness or realize his or her strengths. A teacher must also be confident, efficient, persistent, flexible, engaging, creative, patient, and most importantly have a good work ethic. Okay. So I have a good idea of what you are thinking right now... Holy cow; that is a lot of stuff to be. While there are a lot of admirable characteristics that every teacher should be, it is important that every teacher STRIVES towards this characteristics! No one expects teachers to be perfect, okay, I lied maybe every student's parents, but, really, it's all about wanting to be improve.

That's what all these attributes are all about and best developed by that drive inside a teacher that constantly wants MORE from teaching, learning, and their students. Also, these attributes are best developed through practice and experience. Not to advert back to the Matrix again but Keanu Reeves, who plays Neo, has to go through hell and back before he is ready to be in the Matrix. This is how teaching is! The classroom is like the Matrix only it's scarier because it's real life and it deals with real people's futures.

As you can see, teaching is all bout faking it to you make it. As bad as it sounds, it's true. Life, like education, is about trial and error. However, it is about educated trial error. Basically the take home message from is trust in your abilities and dare to be bold.

So what's it going to be? You've made your career choice to become a teacher, so now comes the easy part...What color pill would you take?

"Remember all I am offering is the truth, nothing more..."

Study: Half of high school students admit to bullying

Not only does this study show that half of high school students admit to bullying but one in 10 students admit to bringing weapons to school! Check out this study to learn more about bullying in schools.

BULLYING!!!

Inventiveness

How important is inventiveness?

In the 21st Century, it seems as if inventiveness is a huge aspect of our society. I will be honest and say I hate buying any kind of electronics because I know the very next day, some updated version of the product will come out and I will be left with the out dated version yet again. I believe it is a good thing that our society has become so inventive. Being inventive makes education thrive. Not only should students be inventive but the teachers should be as well. For example, teachers should constantly be looking for new ways to help students learn and never settle.

In addition to teachers being creative, teachers should encourage, teach, and reward creativity. It is important for teachers to encourage creativity because sometimes it is challenging for children to be different. It is almost important for teachers to teach creativity because it will spark creativity juices to flow in the child's brain. For example, when I was in the 3rd grade, I remember my teaching giving us directions to make the United States our of clay but those where the only directions. It was exciting to craft the country I lived in and see all the other interpretations of it.

I also feel it is imperative to reward creativity because it is so crucial to survival. The best memory I have of creativity was when my whole 4th grade class was required to participate with Invent Iowa. For this project, every student had to come up with an invention. For my project, I took my regular bike tires and painted them with glow and the dark paint to make "Glow in the Dark Tires." It was a huge hit with the judges and I remember competing in the Regional Finals. However, unfortunately I did not win but that wasn't what was important. I remember I was so excited to have used my own idea to construct something and then be rewarded for it. For this reason, I feel it is important to acknowledge creativity and support it as much as we can as teachers!

Why we reflect?

Reflection is an absolute must between students and teachers. This sort of communication relies heavily on self-thought and self-worth. I think that it is hard for teachers and students to reflect because it is not something human beings feel comfortable doing. It is hard to reflect on your own life without judgement and negatively. You are always your worst critic. Also, for some, it is scary to speak your mind or look back on your own work, and assess the situation.

Reflection is an important part of any functional relationship.

For me personally, I am a big reflector. I enjoy talking with my teachers and expressing my interest in the matter. But unfortunately, not every student cares about reflection as much as I do. Reflection must come from the heart. A student must want to reflect and want to learn how to better themselves as a learner. 

This is why some people consider reflection to be the heart of the teaching process because reflection comes from a very deep place. In order to learn something entirely, one must reflect. It is especially important for teachers to reflect in order to learn how to do the exact same thing better. Reflection is merely a tool used to add depth to learning. It enriches it and puts another element into teaching that has several benefits. 

I see the most benefits from my reflection throughout college with my professors. I believe college is very special and unique learning experience. College has a loud me to not only reflect as a student but also as a human being. Every day I am able to reflect and learn just because of the environment that I am in. 

And for this, I feel very blessed to be and have the ability to reflect. 

Stay tuned... More to come.

Passion

Passion to me is one of the most important words in the entire dictionary. It is a word that speaks volumes to me and anyone who knows me. I am a very passionate person. Everything I do, I do it with passion. I am an athlete, a student, a employee, a friend; I am all these things and more but the one thing that makes these things the same is that I do it with passion.

My obsession with passion actually started in school. I had wonderful teachers growing up, especially in the schools. All the way through grade school, I have been blessed with passion except for one year. My 6th grade year was a rough year. It is funny looking back on the year now and realize that you don't know how important passion is in a classroom until it is not there.

During this time in 6th grade, I fell in a state of vegetation. My teacher was extremely old, unmotivated, and plain lazy. She was clearly there merely because she had to be in order to make ends meet. Day after day, my classmates and I were forced to sit threw her class and it began to wear on us.

The thing that bothered me the most was that my teacher didn't value my education. Teaching this class to her was just another year and to be it was a huge year in my elementary education. I began to resent her for this. I began to resent her lack of passion and ugly sweaters.

As you can see, for me passion was essential. How am I suppose to get excited about learning if the teacher them-self's are not even excited? Teaching is all about passion. Teaching is all about get excited to learn. When someone lacks passion, it is hard to get motivated. Motivation thrives on passion. Passion is something I am extremely passionate about. Without passion, teachers are nothing. They need to be passion cheerleaders who are the most important advocates in their students lives.

Authenticity

• Real. Genuine. Truthful. These are all words that come to mind when I think of authenticity. While being authentic is important, there are also limits to being authentic. When being authentic one must be original but not too original. Now while that sounds silly, but basically what it comes down too is your authenticity cannot effect other people in the process. Especially in a school setting there are lots of opportunities for children to be authentic. However, there are also many chances for children to not be authentic by cheating, bulling, and other malicious activities.

Teachers also need to limit their authenticity by staying true to themselves. What I mean by this is that teachers should never force authenticity. They should never do all sorts of original and crazy activities or learning methods just to say that they did. It needs to come naturally and should never seem fake.


Which leads into the next question that should be addressed. What are the ramifications for learning if a teacher is seen as a "fake" or not authentic with students? There are a lot of ramifications when it comes to learning. If a students feels like their teacher is not being genuine, then the students learning will be effected. The student will shut down mentally and it will put the child's learning in jeopardy.


I remember one time in the fifth grade, my teacher Mr. Strobbe was not genuine to our class. He was trying to discipline a couple of kids who were caught making fun of another classmate. However, while Mr. Strobbe was trying to discipline the students who were putting small x's on people's hands to protect them from this other student, Mr. Strobbe was not taking the situation seriously enough. I remember him joking with the young boys about their cult against. He was constantly making jokes about the situation but still trying to make these kids apology to the class.


From then on this girl, I just remember this girl having more and more problems in school. While this girl was already social awkward to begin with but after this incident when Mr. Strobbe did not show authenticity things for her seemed to go downhill and she eventually left our school district. 


Since then I have always wondered what happened to Kimberly Council. I wonder what would of happen if Mr. Strobbe would of took the bulling more seriously or if I would of stood up for what was right. 


All in all, authenticity is important in our schools but like everything else in the world, it is good in moderation and should be done with caution. 

T0-GET-HER

"Compassion is contempt with a human face." John McCarthy

I have seen compassion make a difference not only in my life but in the lives of others. However, if it wasn't for one compassionate teacher in my life, I don't know where I would be today.

Early on in my childhood, I was a free-spirited kid who loved being myself. I was extremely out going and exceptionally bright for my age. I did anything and everything my first grade teacher, Mrs. Langtom, wanted me to do. If she wanted me to add numbers, I did it... no problem.  If she wanted me to follow directions... piece of cake. If she wanted me to color inside the lines...sure thing but if she wanted me to read words on a page, eh boy. Houston we have a problem. 

Back then reading for me hard. I remember getting flustered easily when trying to learn how to read. It just didn't make much sense to me then. There were so many rules on how the words sounded that it all became too much for me. Until one day my teacher noticed that I was struggling. Instead of having me try to read out loud in front of the class, she asked me to come to her desk during S.S.R. aka. sustained silent reading. 

I remember her explaining to me that reading takes practice. The way she explained how reading worked made me feel more as ease. Finally, for the first time I felt like someone understood what I was going through and that I wasn't alone. That night I read book after book with my mom. Keep in mind I was still struggling over almost every word, but I kept plugging away. I kept practicing and practicing until reading became effortless.   

Now a days I love reading. I love the way words compliment each other and how when you read words they have a sort of essence about them. Maybe I appreciate reading more now because I know what it feels like not being able to read well. Maybe I appreciate it more because I have been through the struggles or maybe I appreciate it because I value the use of words more than the average person.

Whatever the reason may be, I learned how to read because of the compassion my first grade teacher shared for me. All I know is that without Mrs. Langtom's compassion, I would not have the ambition to want to exert my compassion.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Aretha Franklin did her best trying to explain what respect means but like Franklin references in her song, respect is all about actions. Respect can be defined in many different ways. However, it mostly involves taking into consideration someone's feelings, needs, thoughts, and ideas as well as showing value. One can show value by listening to others, being truthful, and accepting people's different individualities. 


All of these things can and should be shown in the classroom. It is important for not only teachers to show respect but also students. A healthy and successful environment in the classroom relies and thrives on respect. Respect in the classroom looks and feels orderly and sincere. The impact that respect plays in a classroom is huge! If a student or teacher for that matter is acting disrespectfully, it can make or break the success of the classroom. 


Respect is a very important component of learning. The best learning takes place when respect is given and reciprocated.  The best way to show success in the classroom is by showing respect through behavior. Actions speak louder than words so it is important to act with consideration towards others.


Teachers need to show respect by letting the students take control of their own learning and valuing what the students say whether it is right or wrong. Students should also show respect by doing the same thing in return. They should listen to their peers and act in a manner that is acceptable in a public setting. 


So all I'm askin' is for a little respect when you come into the classroom!