Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Children's literature
In one of my college courses, EDMD 5100 Children's literature, we are talking about and evaluating children's books from 1990 to today. This is by far one of my favorite classes I have taken on education and teaching so far because reading and children's books are so important in the classroom. Elementary school teachers are responsible for helping their students grow and learn in their reading skills, considering that is the basis of all education, being able to read. Today's children's picture books are filled with such good illustrations and wording that it amazes me and I do not know how I will ever be able to read them all, but I want to! Hidden messages, young humor, and comics are popular in today's picture books and that really keeps the student's attention throughout the day. If a child enjoys what you are reading to them or what they are reading their attention span will expand making them be able to concentrate on what is actually being read. I love children's literature and cannot wait to discover some favorites of my own to bring into the classroom!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Decorations, decorations, decorations!
One thing that I am worried about for my future classroom are the decorations. Whenever I went and did my pre-teaching at Harlen Elementary School my teacher had so much decore in her room that it was an eyefull. I loved it and couldn't wait to start making decorations of my own. Then we started talking about all of the things she had up in her room and she informed me that it wasn't so easy getting all of that stuff together. She had been collecting it all for twenty years. She informed me that when she first started off teaching her room almost seemed bare because she didn't have time to make bulletine boards for every month and change out the decorations frequently, which you are supposed to do on a monthly basis. This has really gotten me wondering how am I going to get all of the decoration that I need before I start teaching? Help!
Marissa Akinson's Portfolio. [Picture of a well decorated elementary school classroom].
http://sitemaker.umich.edu/marissaakason/student_teaching_experience
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Copyright
Copyright laws are something that all teachers should know accurately and can articulate. There are many actions, little or big, that teachers may believe are completely legal, but as I have found out from my EDMD 3300 class this semester, a lot of those things are, in fact, against the law and can get not only we, as teachers, in trouble, but our schools systems as well. Making sure that we do not break the five rules of copyright, reproduction, adaptation, publication, performance, and display, is a must when it comes to bringing copyright protected material into the classroom. (Library of Congress).
With all of the new technologies that this day and era has brought forth, our options for finding what we need to teach effectively are endless. The Internet makes it very easy for us to find information on our lesson plans and technology has advanced to where we can copy and cut things to fit what we like. Even though technology is an advantage for us, in a classroom we have to make sure that we know the guidelines. This could be problematic considering the Internet has no specific guidelines. We have to use our knowledge of what we already know about copyright to judge whether we believe taking something off of the Internet for classroom use should go without being discussed or if we should get permission first.
It is very important for teachers to understand the copyright laws and know them for every day use in the classroom. Following the rules of fair use and copyright is the equivalent to a student practicing honestly when taking a test. We expect our students to follow our rules and be academically honest so we should practice trustworthiness as well. If we do not ask permission for making more than a single copy, using more than thirty seconds of any song, or using cartoons already created for personal use in our own classrooms then we would be teaching our students honesty and trustworthiness when we ourselves are not following and that leaves our students to not respect us as their teachers.
Copying is one of the areas of copyright that is the hardest to follow. Teachers need to be be aware that copying coloring sheets, music, workbooks, etc. for their students use without permission is not only breaking copyright rules, but is classified as stealing. Cutting or editing any material for your own personal use is also against copyright. You cannot take one clip from a movie to show in your class and cut the rest out. That is tampering with something that has already been created. Using graphics for decoration and not instruction is not a purpose of fair use (Copyright 51).
Library of Congress. Reproduction of Copyright Works By Educators and Librarians. Washington, D.C. (2009). pp. 3.
Simpson, Carol. (2005). Copyright for Schools: A Practical Guide, Fourth Edition. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing, Inc.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Nap or not to nap?
Should kindergarten students, ages five to six, have a designated nap time or should they not while they are at school? This is an issue that a lot of people bring up. Some think that this designated time for the children to rest is pointless and the time should be used with the children learning. Some believe that nap time is a thing of the past and children no longer need twelve hours of sleep in today's world. The truth is, just as children need exercise and food to stay healthy, they also need a regular rest period every day. This helps with the children's health and will help them to have better behavior at the end of the day. Young children need adults in their lives to help them relax and calm down. Nap time is important for any child's day. This meets the child's physical needs, helps them to relax, and will re-energize them for the rest of the day.
Goodnight Irene. [Picture of children napping at school]. Dec. 22, 2009.
http://goodniteirene.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/my-grown-up-xmas-list/
Monday, October 18, 2010
Teaching is a passion
Why did I want to become a teacher?
It's simple. Teaching is a profession that you have to be passionate about. If you do not feel that making a difference in even one child's life can make yours, then teaching is not the right job for you. I love children and wanted to make a difference in as many of their lives as I possibly can. Teaching is an area that can change the outlook for any child. If I can send one child a day home with a more positive attitude about themselves and their future goals then I will have done my job successfully. Education is the only thing that can improve the life style for children. Children do not choose what family or housing situation they are born into, but with help for their teachers and a good education we can help them become confident that one day they will be comfortable in their lives and have a good, stable job, which is what we all go to school for in the first place. With an education, children can escape poverty to become productive citizens and I think this is extremely important.
It's simple. Teaching is a profession that you have to be passionate about. If you do not feel that making a difference in even one child's life can make yours, then teaching is not the right job for you. I love children and wanted to make a difference in as many of their lives as I possibly can. Teaching is an area that can change the outlook for any child. If I can send one child a day home with a more positive attitude about themselves and their future goals then I will have done my job successfully. Education is the only thing that can improve the life style for children. Children do not choose what family or housing situation they are born into, but with help for their teachers and a good education we can help them become confident that one day they will be comfortable in their lives and have a good, stable job, which is what we all go to school for in the first place. With an education, children can escape poverty to become productive citizens and I think this is extremely important.
I chose children at a younger age as who I aim towards helping and teaching. Their minds are so open and innocent that building up their confidence at this age will only make them feel as if they can succeed more in the future. I was initially inspired to become an elementary school teacher by my very own kindergarten teacher. She was amazing when she taught me and I recently did my pre-teaching with her at the same elementary school I once attending. It was an amazing experience and just seeing how passionate she still is about teaching her students after all of these years just made me more eager to get into a classroom and teach myself. I cannot wait to have a class of my own and help them accomplish all of the goals they hope to achieve for the future.
Quickstep: Knowledge Database. [World with diverse children surrounding it]. Answers search engine 2006-2010.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
The future and what technology and education have to do with it
As we all can look around our local classroom, coffee shop, bookstore, typical college student’s apartment, or even a football game, and see that technology is taking over. I might even go as far as to say that technology IS the future. Saying this is why is it so very important that we, as teachers, are able to use technology effectively and teach our students how to learn these skills as well. Without knowledge about technology, they will be lost in our future world and even the world we live in today. As U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan tells us the the U.S. Department of Education "called for America’s colleges of education to dramatically change how they prepare the next generation of teachers so that they are ready to prepare their future students for success in college and careers" (2009). Although the advances of technology and the uses are not disadvantages to us in any way, it is still becoming more powerful and overruling with every new discovery which is why we need to able to use and teach using technology effectively. Today, in our typical college classrooms, we use technology for communication with our teachers, classmates, and college annoucements. We even depend on computers to use to type our papers or printers to print out our study materials and without this we could not survive in a college class today. So what will future classes in ten years have to depend on? Preparation is only necessary in the world of advancements we live in today, but hopefully, in the end, it will still be to our benefit.
http://www.uet.edu.pk/Conferences/icosst2009/index.html
U. S. Department of Education (2009). "U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Says Colleges of Education Must Improve for Reforms to Succeed." Retrieved from http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/10/10222009a.html
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