Final Blog Post

Today at midnight is officially our last time to but blog posts for marks, so I was reviewing over what this assignment has done for me. When you sit in class and absorb information, its easy to just it slide right out from under our feet and leave our minds completely, but having this assignment has been so benefitical in so many ways. It causes you to think back to what you learned, how it made you feel and how to use that information. Also, having it here makes it easy to go and look up something you learned in class that might jog your memeory to remember that class more strongly even if it wasn't all written down ont he post.  I have also found that when you put serious effort into thinking about what you learned, it causes you to think about what you learned in a deeper context and in a more abstract way. By looking over my blog entries I was noticed that I often go off my supoosed topic on to tangents that what I started writing about caused me to think of. This is prime example of deeper learning. It takes more work to think about thinking than simply answer a question or two, and so this deeper thinking has given me a groundwork for my education right now and in the future and has caused me to look back on what I learned, how I learned and the teacher I want to become!!!

This is something that a friend of mine on facebook put up on her wall. Read the whole thing, it seems offputting at first but its really quite a good point that is being made.

Teachers' hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or 10 months a year! It's time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do ... babysit! That's right. Let's give them $3.00 an hour and only the hours they worked; not any of that silly planning time or any time they spend before or after school ... That would be $19.50 a day ............ (7:45 to 3:00 with 45 min. .........off for lunch and planning. That equals 6 1/2 hours). Each parent should pay $19.50 a day for these teachers to babysit their children. Now, how many students do they teach in a day ... maybe 30? So that's $19.50 x 30 = $585.00 a day. However, remember they only work 180 days a year! I'm not going to pay them for any vacations. LET'S SEE ... That's $585 X 180 = $105,300 per year. Hold on! My calculator needs new batteries. What about those special education teachers and the ones with Masters degrees? Well, we could pay them minimum wage ($7.75), and just to be fair, round it off to $8.00 an hour. That would be $8 X 6 1/2 hours X 30 children X 180 days = $280,800 per year. Wait a minute -- there's something wrong here! There sure is!

The average teacher's salary (nation wide) is $50,000. $50,000/180 days = $277.77/per day/30 students = $9.25/6.5 hours = $1.42 per hour per student -- a very inexpensive baby sitter and they even EDUCATE your kids!! WHAT A DEAL!!

Make a teacher smile, re-post this to show appreciation and support for teachers.....most of whom just want this strike settled, with language regarding class size and composition restored! Teachers teach because they love children!!
Posted in support of all my teacher friends

"The walk from 'NO' to 'YES'

Today in class we viewed a video on solving conflict and creating peace. It was from a perspective that I had never thought about. In the video it was mentioned that peace is simple, not easy. That causes me to think of conflicts that will indefinitely arise in the classroom. To achieve a peaceful learning community we need a third party involved, an outside perspective that shows us things that our anger and frustration blind us from. A third party can let the two involved parties know whats at stake, maybe something that they hadn't thought of before.  A quote from the video that I can't stop thinking about is " When you are angry you may make the best speech that you will regret forever". I can't help but see the truth and merit in this. Who when they are angry or frustrated say a nasty comment instead of internalizing it, or acts out instead of taking a deep breath and letting it pass. Its easy to let our anger get the best of us, but its not easy to hold back and think about what we might regret saying or doing.

A Functioning Functional Approach

Why didn't we think of this sooner, that's what went through my mind when we began learning more about the functional approach, its like the title states, a functioning approach. Who hasn't been in situations where they are frustrated beyond themselves but don't know how to deal with it. As a teacher we will see outbursts, that's a guarantee, but what we as teachers can change is the way that student will react in the future. The functional approach looks at the why, the what, and the how to go from there now and in the future. Compared to operant conditioning which looks at the visible behaviors, the functional approach looks at possible reasons why that behavior happened, maybe the student had been bullied all day and couldn't take it anymore, maybe he didn't have lunch which made him irritable, you never now until you ask,there are endless reason why someone acts out. We are all different and have different levels to which we can handle scenarios.  It is not wrong for someone to get frustrated, but what can be wrong, but CAN BE CHANGED, is how they go forward from there.

From Google Images

Positive Behavior Support is a very interesting and although I haven't tried it knowing all of this yet, but I'm guessing it is very effective as well, and aim to incorporate it into my future classrooms. It looks at the function that the behavior is in response to, but aims to meet the same function but change the reaction or the response. The basis of this I think is caring. What I mean by that is for a teacher to help a student through this positive behavior support is that they have to care about the student, the situation and how their classroom is managed. When a teacher truly and genuinely cares, the evidence trickles out  and is proved quickly. For a teacher to want to ask what happened, why it happened, it takes their time and effort as well as emotional strength. When a teacher cares, its obvious pretty quickly. I find that the functional approach aims higher than the method of operant conditioning, and also achieves higher from what I have heard.  

From Google Images


Operant Conditioning: How Effective is it?

Operant conditioning has proven its self effective in short term results, but when you are thinking more deeply of its effectiveness in entirety there is some debate. What I mean by its entirety is both the long and short term effects of operant conditioning.

Upon first glance at statistics and proof of its effectiveness one would never think not to utilize this tool, but upon further investigation, this useful and proven tool has only proved itself in the short term. It was mentioned in class of the several 'eyebrow raising' implications that it entails. This same tool is used on successfully training a pet to behave or do a trick, and this same tool is used on children, our children and our future. This is where it gets a little sticky. Operant conditioning fixes the visible problem, the one that disrupts the class, the one that disciplinarians deal with on a daily basis. But that may be all its fixing. After all, its main purpose is to fix the behavior that you see, nothing deeper, nothing  greater than that. To see the flaws in this successful system is to think about what the student is actually internalizing from it.



From Google Images

 Operant conditioning uses four tools: positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment, and negative reinforcement. These tools are extremely effective in the classroom management side of things. Loud disturbances in class, missed or late homework, the list goes on , but what it misses is whats happening in the background: why was the student acting out, why did the student not complete their homework or why was it late. A quick fix is much easier in a classroom full of students seemingly with their own agendas. 


From Goggle Images

Positive reinforcement is a reward or praise for doing something. This I think, no matter if operant conditioning is right or wrong or what critics do say, every child, student, and person deserves some praise when they have done something right. This reassurance helps build confidence which has also been proven as a useful learning tool. With that being said, the positive praise needs to be evenly distributed and not always directed at the same few students. Each students' ability varies in time and skill and so they will reach success or that 'well done' at different rates but it needs to be there regardless. Also positive reinforcement is helpful to encourage someone who hasn't accomplished the task but has at least tried. Its all in the TRY. When a student gives up one time, it isn't long before its easier and easier to give up on another thing and so on. A positive remark, a smile, or an encouragement can go a long way.




From Google Images



In terms of negative reinforcement, it too has its time and place. A disruptive student leads to a disrupted class which then is a learning environment with not a whole lot of learning happening. It has its time and place, for example, when something is new or fresh to your students, like a guest speaker, negative reinforcement may be one of the few tools that you can use easily and effectively.

Just because operant conditioning has a few holes in it, it has a time and place where it is required and very effective, even if it is short term. We all remember those teachers that lifted us up when we were down, or went that extra mile for us,a lot of those times they were probably using operant conditioning, so it can be a quick fix, but also have long term benefits, even if they aren't the ones that make you grow, they are there to encourage you to grow. Like all things, 'everything in moderation'.

Differential instruction: bringing out the best

Differential instruction was what was covered today in class, I found it helpful to help clarify what is really is, and what it means for the teacher and the student. It gives us all a chance at being successful. The definition that was given states that ' the teacher modifies the content,process and products, through student readiness,interests, and learning profile.' Differential learning gives responsibility to both the teacher and the student when it is effectively done. For a teacher to modify the content, process and product, there is a lot of work involved and time spent outside of what is seen and so when it is done right, the modified lesson plans encourage and excite the student to learn, achieve and want to do both of those as well. There is a very obvious difference between a student who care and doesn't care in school, one of the most obvious reasons is how information is presented.

Under the heading of 'how information is presented' I can compare and contrast my learning. I have had all types of teachers and they have taught in all different ways and methods. I can learn in most of those environments, but I do find it extremely tough to learn in an intimidating environment, and those come in all shapes and sizes as well. It can depend on class size, the ages, the layout of a classroom, how the lesson is taught, and so on, and so this brings me to my next point. In the best of differential instruction there are always factors that we don't expect, or predict and so it's very important for a teacher to be able to adapt and readapt. That is why it is important to understand the different students learning profiles. If you understand their learning profile it will help a teacher to transform the lesson that didn't pan out into something that still falls under that particular learning profile and will engage that student.

Learning profiles as a whole cover a very broad spectrum, but when they are individualized and correctly done they are an extremely useful tool and worth the time spent on them. It helps you to relate to a student which will both help them to feel more comfortable and ask for help, as well as creating a project or assignment that will bring out the best in them.

We are Adults now

Other day in class a very disappointing and disturbing happened to a fellow student of ours at RDC and fellow student in B of Education. This completely heartless and unnecessary attack on a student showed quite clearly that maybe not everyone has grown up, there are some very childish behaviors still happening here at the post secondary level.  I was not aware of the attack until it was mentioned in the next class. I was completely shocked and disgusted that someone at our age, in a educational institute could even think of doing something like that, let alone actually have the nerve to do it.

Its really discouraging to think that maybe that the person who did it is in the same school as me and even in the same educational path as me. After I heard the news I went back to when I was in high school, bullying happened a lot. I lived in a small rural town, and for some reason, bullying instead of enjoying our high school years caught every one's attention. I am one of four children, middle child,  and an older sister to a younger brother and a younger sister this made me very protective of them. We rode the school bus with some people that grew up to be some of my great friends, and some that I can still barely stand to be in the same room as after the things I witnessed them doing to my peers and my family. My youngest brother got bullied a lot, and I can remember so vividly the feelings I had toward those people. Being the older sister, I responded to them,not always in the  most mature way, but its hard to act rationally to those who clearly have no morals or self respect. Since we were young my parents taught us to always stand by your family no matter what, and that is something that has stuck with me until now and I don't think it going anywhere.

Image taken from Google Images

Everyone has experienced bullying in some way, either being the victim, or a witness. This is something that does not have an easy black or white solution, and every situation is different, but as a future teacher, my number goal is to create a safe, positive place for my students to come to, and be open with my students enough so that they themselves feel like they could come to me if something is happening.  Its a horrible feeling to feel like you don't want to go to school because of the bullies there, or what might happen in the lunch room or parking lot.

I found this great video on YouTube. It is a flash mob dance for anti bullying. I think this is a great idea and a great way to raise awareness.
*It is really loud, so turn your volume down at first to find a good sound level. *

'How difficult can this be?' video

Today in class we started watching a video called ' How DIfficult can this be?(F.A.T city workshop). It is very interesting and eye opening so far. How it is presented makes it's topic very real. It deals with teaching children/students with learning or have been said that they have learning disabilities. The video is done with all sorts of normal and high achieving adults and they are put in positions that a child with a learning disability endures each and every day, not just at school.

This video makes you imagine and see what a child goes thru in everything at school and has really helped me understand what it's really like. I always knew it would be tough , although the word tough doesnt even begin to describe how it would be to have one of these learning disabilities, but this video is like putting on a pair of glasses after wearing the wrong ones all these years. It's made me view learning disabilities in a totally different light.

My aunt, who I live with, is the teacher for students with severe learning disabilities. She graduated as a teacher from the university of Alberta with a degree and major in English, and so this has been a big adjustment from teaching high school english classes. Now she deals with something very different every day from a teachers perspective. It's tough, I've learned that much from watching her. She leaves the house at 7am and returns back home at 10:30pm and sometimes later most evenings. Her entire life in the last 3 years has been devoted completely to her job. She was asked to head up the start of the learning disabilities part of the school and since then she and the school have come a long way. She has students that don't get regular meals , and that coupled with a learning disabilities could be paralyzing in a learning environment. Along with the intensity of teaching 25 learning disabled students, she also started a breakfast program in her class so that students that aren't getting the proper nutrition, get a chance at it in her classroom. It has been extremely effective and beneficial. These students have come a long way. Each student in her class needs an individualized lesson plan outline, and has different needs and goals, and last year 9 of her students graduated, so that was amazing to see, but it meant this year she had to start afresh on new plans for her new students. Along with that, there are countless meetings she must attend with the parents and teachers and the principal, and she is in evening classes for sign language for the 2 deaf students in her class. Wow, it seems like I am going on and on, but after seeing that movie, and living with her, I see this all in a whole new light. She is one of the main reasons I wanted to go into teaching. She is a true inspiration to me!

These are some of the things that I noted from the movie that caught my attention:

- misconception is that learning disabilities are a school problem, it's in every part of that students life
- many teachers consider LD (learning disabilities) just something that if you press hard enough is fixable ,that the student is just lazy... WRONG
-anxiety affects the learning , LD students deal with this every day
- LD 's are a lifelong struggle for the child
- first thing that we do in a stressful situation is to look away because makes us not look at the situation but this does not solve the problem
-pace of the class felt too fast for the people in his experiment to show the adults what it's like being a student with LD.
- a normal child processes the answer, the LD child must first process the question then the answer, and so the class feels very fast paced because there is Twice the processing to do
- technique: take LD child aside when no one is around and  explain that you understand and give them something you will do instead of stressing them out in the same situation... Eg... Tell the student that you will only question them when you are standing in front of their desks child can see the teacher moving in her direction and get answer ready already
- LD child may not be able to focus stuff out like everything around of then, may be paying attention but they notice everything around as well
- no one wants to volunteer or take risks , don't like dealing with something if they don't know what's coming up
- LD child learns that if you get an answer right the LD child learns that if you get an answer right the is no reinforcement or anything, but if you get it wrong the teacher has much more negative reinforcement if you get it wrong .
- t eachers often do ' blaming the victim' if they can't answer
- motivation is one of the most confused things in education  today
- LD 's have very little to do with motivation, they are to do with perception instead
- we can all see it ( what is trying to be taught) maybe, but we don't understand it until a teacher brings meaning to it.... Student needs a teacher! 
- lots of teachers assume that if you understand a list of words, you will automatically understand a paragraph with them
- many times a LD child will get in trouble and say he doesn't know what he did wrong and we don't believe him but he is telling the truth.