Final Blog

SOCIAL JUSTICE

EDU-100 Premise of School has really made me open my mind on the meaning of social justice. Before this class I did not really know what Social Justice meant, let alone its relationship it has with education. I know justice is having freedom, standing up for a reason or cause, or to appreciate things fairly. I never really thought about how unfortunate young kids don't get the proper education on social justice. Although it is important to teach kids math, English, reading, science, and social studies it is also important to teach them about concerns that people face every day or to let them understand that there are some people in this world who are not as fortunate as others. I think this topic is neglected a lot and it should really be expressed in schools more often. It might be hard for teachers to approach this topic, but if they break it down for children to have a better understanding, then maybe it won't be forgotten as much. Now a days a lot of things are taken for granted and I think it is important for children to understand that statement. Today there are a lot of new technologies and a lot of opportunities for children to have new things and live great lives and that is not how it is for everyone. Unfortunately there are some children who live in poverty or have no food or even don't have the great opportunity to go to school, because they have to help their families. That is what teachers should be teaching children. I know it might be a rough hard topic but it lets students know other stories and they can have a better understanding of how fair and unfair life can really be.

In the article Teaching for Social Justice, by Herbert Kohl I really like the ways in which he gives out suggestions on how teachers can teach this subject. My favorite one is number three. "look around at the many effective ways of teaching children." I like this because it can let a teacher be creative. You have to admit, teaching young children about social justice can be a challenge, but if you incorporate a game, or a fun worksheet to show students the meaning then it can be very easy. All teachers are not the same. Just because they teacher subjects does not mean that they have the same curriculum. Just remember to be your self and like Herbert Kohol says "hone your craft at a teacher."

As a future educator I think I will have to bring up social justice with my students and now that I have a better understanding of what it is, I will be very effective. I don't think it will be easy, but after reading Teaching for Social Justice I will be prepared and ready educate my students on the situation of the world that need care.

http://www.rethinkingschools.org/publication/roc1/Intro.pdf



MODEL OF EDUCATION

To me my model of education would not just be one thing but a few. I believe that schools should have a curriculum. After reading chapter 10 in McNergney called Curriculum and Instruction I learned that it is beneficial to having a certain schedule of what is taught in school. I think having a broad idea of what a teacher is going to teach can be helpful of the teacher and the students. I also like how a curriculum can involve after school activities and interpersonal relationships. I think lesson plans are essential and can help if a teacher needs to be absent.

I also be live that schools should have special education, but also involve students in special education to not feel left out. Students with disabilities can often feel like they don't belong and just by having special ed classrooms does not mean that they are a total different group of people. It is good to mainstream special ed students because they can have a better chance to feel welcomed and to learn more.

Another model of education that I think is important is that I think teachers should have the responsibility to teach students more than academics. I think that it is a lot of work for them and some do not get a lot of credit, but it is part of their job. Along with parents, teachers are around students for a large amount of time during a day. They see how they act and know what they do. They have to teach them to be kind, to have manners, and to be self sufficient. There not just there to teach children how to read, but to be respectful and responsible.

One other model of education that I feel is important is to think about the overall purpose of school. One important question to ask yourself is why is school so important? Is it to get through high school and then go to college and then get a good job? or is it important because it's just something that you have to do. To me the real reason is, that it helps you become a better person. It makes you learn things that you would not learn from a TV show. It expands your knowledge of certain subjects and it is important to go to school because it can help help you grow as a person. School is a whole big new experience for children.

EDUCATION ANALOGY

Education is like a gum ball machine. =] You out a quarter in the machine and you never know what color your going to get. You might know what color you WANT to get, but you might not always get what you want. When it comes to education and teaching, this can be some what similar. When a student starts schools they might think they know how the year is going to be or what they are going to learn, but that might not always be the case. There are so many different subjects (gumballs) to explore and that only can be taught one at a time. When it comes to teaching. Teachers have their own way of doing that. They make lesson plans, worksheets, pictures, observations, or group work. You never know what why they are doing to teach you, but what ever way it is, it is sure to be a good juicy (gumball) one.

EDUCATIONAL CONTROVERSY

One educational controversy that I have a strong interest in is homeschooling. I have written about this before in a previous blog and I think it is something that not a lot of people talk about. I have never been home schooled but I know people who have been. My cousins used to be home schooled and I remember going over there house on a school day when it was a school holiday and they would be "in school" and their mom would be teaching them and they were just sitting there in the living room but it was not the living room it was like a classroom. It was very weird to me and I would just watch them and i could never picture myself in their shoes. I am not against homeschooling, but I think it is just another type of schooling that is judged a lot. My cousin's did have some benefits to it. They got more individualized attention and the had a lot more help with work (seeing their mom was the teacher). They did not have a lot of distractions that can be part of a classroom and they seemed to go by fast with their work. they seemed to really enjoy being in their own home learning what I learn everyday in a classroom sitting in a small desk. Although this type of school can be effective to to others it can cause a lot of disapproval. Some people think that children who are home schooled don't have a lot of social skills and lose out on a lot of social experiences. From what I have seen personally with my cousin's this is not true. My cousin's are very out going people and even though at one point of their lives they did not leave their house to go to school they still had a lot of friends at the time. Now they are older and one is in college and the other just graduated high school. They have been to schools and learned a lot and I think that they are just as smart as when they were home schooled and have learned just as much. Like I said home schooling is a very controversial issue and its a plus for some and a negative for others.

EDUCATIONAL ISSUE OF IMPORTANCE TO ME

One issue in education that is important to me is Special Education. I have a passion for teaching special ed and that is my main goal. I was in special ed when I was in elementary school, middle school and high school. I still would consider my self a special ed student but now that I am in college I don't have to rely on the resources that I had when I was younger. I think that it is important for children to know that just because they have a learning disability does not mean they are different. I went through a lot when I would younger of people telling me that I was different because I would go to a different classroom for extra help. This is not fair. Some children learn differently and need more support. I want to be there for those children who need help and let them know that nothing can stand in their way and no one should ever tell them different.

Home Schooling

A wise man once said, "We can teach our children to have courage, faith, and endurance and show them how to learn, and they can teach us to laugh, to sing, and to love." In other words, each family member has valuable lessons to teach the family.


Yes, believe it or not, not all children leave their houses to get an education. Homeschooling is when parents teach their children an academic curriculum and work with their child just as a teacher wold do.

In the United States homeschooling is actually a fast growing trend when it comes to teaching and education. A leading homeschooling researcher names Dr. Brian Ray, says that the homeschooling has increased 15 percent over the past year couple of years. His information is backed up by the U.S. Department of Education's National Household Education Survey program. In 1999 the Department of Ed said there was about 850,00 homeschooler's nation wide and in 2003 the number increased to about 1.1 million. Now there are about 2.5 to 4 million homeschooler's nation wide.

Some statistics about homeschooling from Dr. Ray are...
95% of homeschooler's had a strong and better understanding of politics and government compared to the 65% of U.S adults.

76% of home school graduates voted in a national or state election compared to the 29% of U.S. adults

71% of home school graduates take part in on going community service activities.


Although homeschooling is another alternative for schooling it can have its advantages and disadvantages.
Some common reasons to home school are
- individual attention
- direct parent supervision
- teaching and learning experiences can be shared together
- the advantages of one's child. When your efforts have paid off and you can see that your child is learning.
- flexibility
- Your own schedule that works for the child

Since homeschooling can be very controversial there are of course some disadvantages.
- less sociable
- pressure from parents or pressure on the parent
- parents could like skills that a teacher has
- parents could be to laid back or to strict
- not enough time for your self. Homeschooling can be a full time job and the child could also not have enough time to really be a kid and have some fun.

When it comes time for college many home school families are concerned. Every year there are colleges that have accepted home school students. Some examples of those schools are Brown, MIT, Yale, Georgetown, and Harvard. Research also shows that home schooled children who attend college seem to have strong leadership skills, hard work ethic, and an increase in moral values.

Homeschooling is not for everyone, but it does work. It is an option for a schooling alternative and although it is not the number one option is is better to have your child educated in this way, than in no way at all.



http://ezinearticles.com/?Benefits-of-Homeschooling&id=116931
homeschoolfacts.com
http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nic_Haffner

Environmental Justice

When you think of schools and teachers teaching students the thing that is most ignored is environmental justice. Now a days students are not getting a clear understanding about environmental issues and that is a problem. Good questions for teachers to ask themselves and their students are what can we do to help the environment? and do students even know that there are many environmental issues out there? Or if the students know what certain issues cause our environmental problems?

From researching environmental justice I have learned that it is is a meaningful involvement of people taking care of the environment. One way of involvement is in schools. I think teachers not only have the responsibility of teaching students math and English, but also on how to take care of our environment, long with learning more about nature.

After reading the Rethinking Schools online article called Obama, Schools, and the Environment I learned that teachers have to play a strong role in educating children about our "world as a whole." In "A Pedagogy for Ecology" an excerpt from Rethinking Early Childhood Education, by Ann Pelo she states that "Helping children develop what Pelo calls an ecological identity is a prerequisite to children developing a connection to the natural world, and later, a commitment to defend that world." If children learn about our world, nature, and the environment it will be easier for them to want to make a difference and have a better understanding about the problems our world can face.

Another point in the article is from "The Wonder of Nature" by Bob Peterson, which is a review from three books about education and the earth. He says "that all education is environmental education, as children inescapably acquire attitudes about nature in their schooling." Every subject students learn can have some relationship with the environment. For example science or social studies can deal with environmental issues and students can learn from these different subjects to better expand their knowledge on our world.

Yes I do think it is important for teachers to educate students on this subject. I know when I become a teacher I want my students learn about the problems nature can face, what they can do to fix it, and why it is important to our world.

I chose the picture at the beginning because I think it really represents our situation about environmental justice. We have the control to change out world and learn more about it. The world is in our hands and we can only make it a better one.

http://www.liebertpub.com/products/product.aspx?pid=259

Social Justice

When I think of social justice I think of advantages and disadvantages within a society. I never really thought about it, withing a classroom setting. I think after reading both articles I strongly think teaching social justice is an important topic for students to hear about. In the article Teaching for Social Justice by Herbert Kohl he says that social justice teachers are people who teach children about the poor, or children dying young and living in a meaningless life. Children today don't get enough education on social justice and I don't think they ask enough questions either. Young children do not know how important it is to learn about whats important to fight for and what is the true meaning of "whats fair."

The article called Introduction: Creating Classrooms for Equity and Social Justice is a good article in that it basically tells you what we can do. The article states that "Classrooms can be places of hope, where students and teachers gain glimpses of the kind of society we could lice in and where students learn the academic and critical skills needed to make it a reality." I believe this is true because a classroom is a setting of different people and full of different stories. Students don't just learn the subjects of math or science, but of different cultures, races, and coming together as a society.

Both articles pretty much give examples of how to be a social justice teacher. The article by Herbet Kohl gives you little tips of what makes a good teacher. For example he says to just be yourself and don't surround your self with books and rules. He also states that it is important to know what your teaching and learn as many different ways of teaching as possible. Lastly you have to keep an eye out on your students and realize what works best for them and what makes them learn. The other article gives specific headings that relate to social justice. Each one gives a little explaniation of what students should do and what teachers should do for their classrooms.

What is important to me is that I think social justice is not a hot topic today. I think I will definatly teach my students about social justice, because I want them to learn about society and what's right from wrong. I think it is important for students to learn the causes of what is condisered "fair" and the values/benefits of learning about social justice.