A Model Citizen

Today in class we talked about what it means to be a model citizen. Brighouse suggested that there are three criteria for defining a good citizen. The first criteria is abiding by the law. The second is political participation to achieve justice. The last component needed to make a good citizen, according to Brighouse, is participating in political endeavors in pursuit of personal interests. We were asked to think of someone that we viewed as a model citizen. I found that there were a lot of people that I could think of that encompassed the qualities the Brighouse deems important for the ideal citizen to posses. But I found that I didn’t actually think of these people as good citizens just because they met those requirements. As discussed and brought up by couple other students, I think there is definitely more involved in defining someone who is a good citizen. Other factors that I think are defining characteristics would be respect for other people and for the environment. I don’t think anyone should refrain from stating their viewpoint in fear of offending someone, but I also think these things can be coined without being overtly offensive. Having respect for others doesn’t mean agreeing with them and never creating controversy, it simply means acknowledging that other valid perspectives exist and presenting your opinions in a way that doesn’t diminish others. I found that it was a lot harder to think of people who meet the expectations of a model citizen as outlined by those five characteristics.

Language and Assimilation

In our group discussion last week we talked a lot about appropriate expectations for minorities who are learning to assimilate into our culture. We specifically talked about what we think should be required for citizenship. It was a little bit conflicted at first, but I think there was mostly agreement when it came to language. We thought that in order to become an American citizen you should be required to speak English proficiently. One of the group members shared a story about a family that had worked for her dad and the family had lived in the U.S. for almost 10 years and the parents still hadn’t learned any English. I am all for doing things to help ease the transition and of course as a future teacher I definitely think it’s important that students don’t abandon their culture. But at the same time, in order to be active and engaged citizens, you have to be able to speak English. No one should feel that they are unwelcome in the United States if they don’t speak English, however in terms of becoming a U.S. citizen I think it is something that should be required. By learning English, you are showing that you are committing to participate and be part of this culture. You can’t say that you truly want to be part of a culture and society and then make few efforts to actually assimilate. If I moved to France I think it would be expected that I learn French in order to really be part of the culture. The reason many students study abroad is to learn a language and really become part of a different society. Why should moving to the United States on the terms of becoming citizens be any different? In relation to schooling, I think working with children is much different than requiring an adult of at least 18 years of age to make a commitment to learn a language. Students who are learning to speak English should never be told that they cannot speak their own language and it should be dealt with in an extremely different manner. Teachers should make sure to foster and encourage students to take pride in their own heritages and cultures. Part of what makes America so great is that it is so many people bringing their backgrounds and beliefs together in order to create a culture unlike any other. But part of being able to contribute is making active steps to be a part of that culture and not simply remaining separate. Taking away the language barrier is a major way to make it possible for people to mix and blend and be part of a society that brings people together.

How do we motivate boys to learn?

In class on Wednesday we spent a lot of time talking about gender equality in school and how schools have become “feminized” and in doing so, males suffer in the classroom. Research has shown that males have been falling behind females in test scores and behavior. What do these results tell us and how can we motivate boys to learn in a school environment? It seems that by getting male teachers involved in the education of young boys and girls is a key factor in getting all students, especially boys, more engaged and active in their learning. We also discussed how it seems to be a cyclical cause and effect. We want to make classrooms a place conducive for male learning, and we think that having men more involved in the teaching process is key. However, how do we get male teachers to get in front of the classroom? There are so many societal stigmas about male teachers and that seems to play a huge role in deterring them to work with children. Stigmas about inappropriate interaction with students are cause for concern for any male looking into a career in education. Moreover, we discussed the pressure that most men feel to be “the provider” in the family and how the relatively low salary of teachers may be another reason that turns men away from education. How can we change these ideas or stereotypes about men and by men? If research proves that having men in the classroom is the most effective way to level the playing field for girls and boys, would it be appropriate to give bonuses to male teachers to get them into classrooms? This doesn’t only apply to gender. It could also apply to teachers of color. How do we entice minorities to get into the classrooms where we need them?

Case Studies

Today in class we had discussions about equality and fairness in schools. We broke into groups and talked about the consequences and values that go into making controversial school decisions. All of the case studies or issues discussed were based on the gifted and talented programs, the connection between academics and after-school activities (sports, music, etc), and/or budget cuts. I really enjoyed the class period because it was very interactive and all students were given a chance to share their opinions about these easily debatable subjects. My group spent a long time contesting the case study in which the star player of the #1 high school football team in the state in a blue-collar Kansas town is at risk for failing a class. In doing so, he would be forced to sit during the conference championships. This seemed to be the most controversial issue for our group because we had to decide what we would do as teachers. Would you let the student play even though he hasn’t been doing the required work for your class? Or would you follow the school policy, make no exceptions, and require him to sit out of the big game? Clearly the conclusions that each group member came to were a result of the things that they valued highly. I found that I seemed to be much more lenient on this issue, while others in the group thought it was appalling that I would even think about allowing that student to play in the big game. However, there was another case study about a student who wants to try-out for the all-state choir concert but was caught drinking. I found that some students were more apt to make exceptions in this situation if they valued this kind of extracurricular activity more than sports. One thing that I think is important to consider when making big decisions is whether you are making decisions based on value judgments, or on personal preferences. Overall, each of these case studies were extremely controversial and it would be a very hard job to be an administrator who is forced to make decisions like this on a regular basis and be held accountable for those choices.

Brighouse: Educating for Flourishing

I really like the book, On Education, by Harry Brighouse. He presents some pretty big ideas, but does so in a casual manner that is easy to read. I think he presents the information so that it becomes meaningful and valuable to all concerned citizens and not simply future educators. I like the way he uses examples and creates scenarios to further his main points. Although I agree with many of the concepts he suggests, I found a few points a little bit hard to totally see eye-to-eye on. For instance, I think the school does have a responsibility to help foster "life skills" in its students. However, I definitely disagree that the notion of having classes based on subjects like family life, work/life balance, credit and taxpaying, and how to use leisure time should be separate subject matters. Because children spend so much time in schools, it is the responsibility of the school to enhance their life-related skills as well as the academic subject lessons, but I think they should be something incorporated across curriculum areas. Brighouse says he does not have a stance on whether the life-skill subjects should be separate or incorporated. I think it would be a huge mistake to feel that the focus of any time in school should be primarily on some social issue. These concepts should be part of any well-balanced literature curriculum. And skills such as taxpaying and credit balancing, should not have to be taught in specifics. If the students are learning the set math curriculum, then they should have an easier time understanding these "life-skill" concepts later on. Schools should be building the foundation and giving exposure to a wide variety of subject areas.

Class Reflection

Now that the semester is winding down, I am going to devote this last blog as a reflection of my educational psychology experience. I really have very few negative things to say about the class. The things I have enjoyed the most have been the focus on discussion, the content, and the different kinds of assessments.
The class discussion has been the thing that really makes me enjoy coming to class every time. It has had a very comfortable environment where everyone feels comfortable sharing their opinions and thoughts on different issues. We debated NCLB and appropriate student assessments. We also talked a lot about what makes an exceptional teacher and the best course of action to get the below par teachers out of the profession and get more qualified educators into the system. By using the text, articles, and student/teacher experiences and stories we were able to find support for many different sides of the issue. I really liked Prof. Langholz’s willingness to talk about these different issues and not simply stick exactly to the curriculum. In doing so, I think that I learned many more valuable lessons that I would have simply through lectures and reading the text. Although these things can be helpful, the class discussions really brought to light some important issues. There are many topics that have stayed in my mind and I have been able to have many informed conversations with other education majors/minors and my mom, who is a teacher. The concepts and ideas brought up in this class have been really helped me to become even more interested in teaching that I was before.
Moreover, the content of the class was extremely interesting. It was fascinating to learn more about student development. This topic of the psychological growth of students is crucial for teachers. Learning how to teach to these different stages of cognitive learning, social interaction, and biological factors is helpful for managing classrooms effectively and differentiating instruction. I enjoyed learning the most about social interaction among students. It’s interesting to learn about how much the interaction between peers is just as important if not more important than student-teacher relationships. I think part of being a good teacher is learning to facilitate and create classroom experiences that cultivate constructive and healthy student relationships. \
Lastly, I felt that the assessments and homework assignments were appropriate and effective. Many education classes become laden with busy work and sometimes I feel like the goals of the class get lost in all of the little projects, worksheets, and reflections. Being responsible for your own learning to a certain extent really gave some freedom. We were expected to be reading the text and doing a few outside of class assignments, but I felt like every assignment was purposeful with clear goals. It was also nice to have some choice. For instance, I was much more interested and engaged as my study group and I were able to pick what book we wanted to present on instead of simply being assigned a topic. Additionally, I thought it was appropriate to have a traditional sort of assessment at the midterm, but then to create different choices for students to choose from for the final. This way everyone was able to explore a topic more in-depth about something that was personally stimulating.
Overall, this class has been one of my favorites since being at Luther College. There was freedom and choice is assignments, yet there were clear goals and needed to be met. The stimulating class discussion really helped me to retain the knowledge that I gained through reading and lecture. Also, the curriculum and content were very interesting. I felt the topic of educational psychology to be relevant and interesting. I think in the future I am really going to miss this class.

Freedom Writers iMovie Project

I really enjoyed doing this iMovie project. I thought it was a lot of fun to learn how to use the iMovie program and then to see all of our ideas come alive in the form of a movie. Our group worked together very well. I think that everyone's ideas and input was used throughout the course of the project.

The book itself was very interesting and a fast-read. The book is a compilation of student diary entries written by students in a first year enlgish class taught by Erin Gruwell. She began her career by teaching at a school in California full of previously deemed “throw-away students.” As a first year teacher she was given the most troubled underclassmen. No one, especially her students, thought that she would make it through the semester. But Erin Gruwell was not the average teacher. She showed that caring, patience, and respect trumps experience. She motivated her students to make changes that conformed them into hard-working students who have hopes and dreams of a successful future away from “the streets”. Reading this book through the lens of a teacher nade me really appreciate all of Erin's experiences and stories from the mouths of students. It wasn’t like reading a textbook, but I think I learned a lot about “textbook terms” like how she improved student self-efficacy. She also used extrinsic motivators at the beginning of the school year to motivate students, but by the end of the year these tangible items were unnecessary because students were motivated by intrinsic values. She also used flexible grouping and had extreme aptitude for classroom management. After talking about these concepts in class, it was interesting and educational to read about them being put into practice in Erin’s classroom.

Overall, this project was very time consuming but also very worthwhile. It took a long time to put together a concept for the video, do the filming, and then finally cut and edit clips for the iMovie. But I feel like I learned a lot from the experience. I think using technology like an iMovie in my classroom could be very beneficial for the students. I definitely need a little more practice working with the program, but as a teacher in the future I could see this kind of technology being a real asset to the classroom.