Final Paper 3

            Being a successful teacher can be difficult especially if your class is rude and disruptive. In the reading, “What Makes a Great Teacher?” Dan Brown asks, “Are great teachers born or made?” I think this is a really good question. Teachers are important people because without them we would not be nearly as educated as we are today and without a good education people would not have good paying jobs. I think if a teacher really cared and tried they would make a good teacher. If I taught a class full of “obstreperous students” I would make sure I have all the supplies needed to do a successful job, I would relate to them and make class fun, I would be calm and have respect, and I would also give a quiz each week.

            Having all of the materials needed to teach a class is important. In the movie Stand and Deliver Mr. Escalante was suppose to teach a computer science class but since the school didn’t have the materials needed he had to teach math instead. I would make sure I have the supplies I need in order to do a successful job at teaching. Important supplies needed consist of a white board, markers, paper, pencils, and books. I would need a white board and markers so I could show my class how to do math problems and everyone could see it. Paper and pencils are important to have just incase any of my students forget theirs. Also, my students would need a math book to help them with their assignments. Books can be very helpful no matter what kind they are. For example, in “Learning to Read” Malcolm X informs us, “I saw the best thing I could do was get hold of a dictionary- to study, to learn some words.” Also, on the first day of class, I would have pictures of candy up on the board. Some of the candy will be fully there and others will be partially eaten. I will ask my class math questions such as, “How much of the candy is there?” If it’s half eaten I will expect my students to answer with, “50%, ½, or 0.5.” If they answer my questions correctly, I will reward them with a piece of candy.
            When teaching a class full of “obstreperous students” it might be a bit difficult to get their attention. I think it is very important for a teacher to have all of their students’ attention otherwise what is the point of being there? As a teacher your job is not to babysit, it is to educate your students. A good example of what a teacher should not be like is described in “I Just Wanna Be Average” by Mike Rose. Rose states, “Spanish was a particularly rowdy class, and Mr. Montez was as prepared for it as a doily maker at a hammer throw.” A teacher should always be prepared for anything to happen. If my class was full of rude students who didn’t want to pay attention I would try to get their attention by relating to them. I think if you are able to relate to things your students like then they would enjoy class more and actually pay attention to you. In order to do this I would take the time to personally get to know my students. I would also keep them from feeling bored by making class fun. In the article “Against School: How Public Education Cripples our Kids, and Why” John Gatto states, “Boredom was everywhere in my world, and if you asked the kids why they felt so bored, they said the work was stupid.” I would make class fun by letting my students sit where they want as long as they are paying attention to me, I would reward them by giving out small pieces of candy if they get an answer right, and I would have a “fun” day once in a while where my students can do what they want for part of the class time.
            The way you act and behave in front of your class plays a role in how your students will act in class. While in front of my class I would behave appropriately by being calm and having respect for my students. I wouldn’t be too calm as to where my students think they can do and get away with anything. If they are acting up or being too loud and not listening to me then I will raise my voice and talk to a littler louder so they know I am in charger and they have to listen to me. I would show them respect so that hopefully in return they will give me their respect. I think if there is respect then my class would be a lot more calm and more learning would get done compared to a class with disrespectful rowdy students. In the article “Gift of Grit, Curiosity help kids succeed” By Jerry Large, he states, “If you want success, build character and the rest will follow.” If I am setting a good example of it then maybe it will help my students be better at giving respect which will build to their character. By helping my students build to their character I would also be helping them succeed.
            It is very important to assess your students. If you do not assess them how would you know if they are really even learning anything? A way I would assess my students is I would give them a quiz at the end of every week going over the work I taught them during that week. By doing this it will show me whether or not my students are actually paying attention in class and learning. If my students do a poor job on the quizzes then I would know that either they aren’t paying attention, I need to change the way I am teaching, or I need to spend more time teaching the work because they are not understanding it. I also think giving tests is a good way to assess my students. I would them a test at the end of every chapter. On my tests I would include everything I had taught in that chapter. Tests would help show me who is paying attention and studying. They would also show me who either is not paying attention, not studying, or needs extra help. At the end of the school year, I will give a final test covering all sorts of math problems I taught my class throughout the year. The grades on the final test will help show me if I did a good job teaching and getting my students to pay attention and learn. This is just like when in Stand and Deliver Mr. Escalante’s math class took the AP Calculus exam and all his students did a really good job. That showed him and the other teachers that he did a great job teaching that school year.
            No matter how your students act, whether they behave or not, it is very important for you as a teacher to do the best and all that you can while teaching. Having the correct materials will help you be able to teach. Knowing what strategies you will use when a student or your class acts up is important because it can help keep the problem from becoming worse. The way you act and behave in front of your students will play an important factor in how they treat you. Lastly, it is also important to assess your students because you want to make sure they are learning. Students are the future. They will be our future doctors, lawyers, veterinarians, and so on, so you as a teacher need to do a good job at helping them succeed by doing a good job teaching.

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Brown, Dan. "What Makes a Great Teacher." WJLA. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.

Gatto, John. "Against School.” N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.

Large, Jerry. "Gift of Grit, Curiosity Help Kids Succeed." The Seattle Times. N.p., n.d.

            Web. 06 Dec. 2012.
 

Rose, Mike. “I Just Wanna Be Average" N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.

"Stand and Deliver." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.

X, Malcolm. "Learning to Read" by Malcolm X. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2012.

Against School

                The article Against School: How Public Education Cripples Our Kids, and Why by John Gatto was interesting. I think it was interesting because it was nice to read why he thinks going to school isn’t necessary. I think it’s a little bit odd that he used to be a teacher for thirty years in New York but he now has his opinion on thinking school is unnecessary. I agree with what John Gatto says about why kids get bored during school. John Gatto says, “Kids said the work was stupid, that it made no sense, that they already knew it. They said they wanted to be doing something real, not just sitting around.” I know when I was in high school I would think some of the assignments were stupid. For example, in my child psychology class I had to bring home a fake baby that would cry. I thought it was stupid because I was only in high school and didn’t think I needed to know how to make a baby stop crying just yet. I also would get bored in class if we were learning something that I already knew. I also agree with Gatto when he says, “If I was bored it was my fault and no one else’s.” I agree with this statement because I think if someone is bored they should do something to change it. No one can make you be bored. That’s all on you. If you decide to not pay attention or not do your work and you end up bored because of it, that’s your own fault. I don’t agree with Gatto’s statement, “Plenty of people throughout the world today find a way to educate themselves without resorting to a system of compulsory secondary schools.” I don’t think many people would take the time to educate themselves. I’m sure some people do and would but not all. I think if there wasn’t school I wouldn’t take the time to educate myself on my own. Everyone needs an education. Without it people wouldn’t have good paying jobs.

Arizona Bans Mexican American Studies Program

                From reading the article Arizona Bans Mexican American Studies Program I got the impression that the Mexican American studies program was a really good program to have in the Tucson Unified School District. In the article Deb Aronson states, “Ninety-seven percent of students participating in the program graduated from high school, compared to 44 percent nationally, and 70 percent entered college, compared to 24 percent nationally. Students scored higher on the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards test compared to other Hispanic students who did not take the classes.” I think it is great that so many Hispanic students were able to graduate high school, go to college, and do well on the Arizona standardized state test all because of a program. This program helped Latino students by helping them be successful in high school and letting them be able to get into a college and now have the opportunity to get a good job. I don’t understand why anyone would want to shut down a program that is having such great success. I would think it would cause people to want to start new programs like it to help other students succeed. I believe maybe the program might threaten some people by making them feel left out. If you’re not Hispanic then you wouldn’t have the awesome opportunity to join the successful program. It kind of isn’t fair that Hispanics would get the opportunity but no one else. The school district should create programs like it for students with different ethnic backgrounds or even a program that anyone and everyone could join no matter what their race is.

5 things to make a difference in education

            Our education could use some help. There are many things wrong with it. A few things that make our education not so great is there are teachers who don't do a good job at teaching, there are schools that aren't doing well and for some students to get into a good school it's like a lottery, and money also seems to be an issue. I don't think it's right that childrens chances of getting a good education is like a lottery. It's not their fault some school aren't that good. Their education shouldn't have to be put at risk. I say money seems to be an issue with education because in the film Waiting for Superman someone mentioned, "Money has grown from 4,300 to over 9,000 dollars per student since 1971." A few things I would do to make a difference in our education is have teachers be qualified and really know the subject well that they teach, have equal availability of resources, try to make students feel less pressure socially and to focus more on school, and have the same standards set throughout the entire country. I think if teachers know their subject really well then they would be able to do a good job at teaching it and their students would actually learn. If I could, I would make sure every teacher was able to have the materials needed to teach. I think some students feel more pressure to fit in with everyone else and focus less on school because of it so I would try to make everyone feel the same so that they would focus all their attention on learning. I would also have the same standards for every single state in the country. I think all students should be able to have a certain amount of knowledge on things with exceptions for students with disabilities and special needs.