Final Blog

Education is the framework for which society builds stable and happy people, generation after generation. It is important to remember that education is not for the sole purpose of jamming in as much information as possible, but it is important to make sure that students learn the essentials and in the long run, learn about what is important to them. The purpose of education is to make a productive, happy society where people are educated and able to voice their opinions with authority and pride. Education allows people to do what they want to do and also enables people to formulate thought and opinions that make the individual who they are today.

In order for students to be successful, it is essential for students to have a strong foundation. My educational metaphor is that Education is like building a house. Without a sturdy foundation, a house will not be sturdy and crumble, but with a strong foundation, a house will stand the test of time. Similarly, a student with a week foundation will not go on to build a sturdy education, there will be cracks and holes in it and the lack of education will lead to their demise. Here is the link to the full blog.

http://limetree10.blogspot.com/2008/11/education-is-like-building-house.html

On the topic of social justice, I wrote about teen mothers because of my friend and the difficulties females face with graduating high school. In my previous blog I spoke about the drop-out rates of teen mothers and the things that should be made available to keep them in school and educated. It is important to understand that though teen mothers did make their own bed, but they still need to be helped out in order to help them create a good life for their children. I suggested putting day cares in more high schools to allow students to get their diplomas. Here is the link to the full blog.

http://limetree10.blogspot.com/2008/11/gender-social-justice.html

My friend, we’ll just say her name in Kate, was lucky, both her parents and the father’s parents were willing to help raise the child and allow their children to not only graduate high school, but attend and eventually graduate college. Because she was my inspiration in my social justice blog, I chose to interview her.

How was being 15 and a high school athlete and find out you were pregnant?

It was really scary. The first thought that when through my head was when and how to tell the father. The second thought was how and when to tell my parents. I was so afraid. I didn’t know what they would do or say. I didn’t even know what I wanted to do. I feared that I would be forced one way or another to make a decision that I had not even made a decision about. After I got over what to tell my parents, I started to think about what school would be like as the only pregnant girl in my school. What would people say?

How did your peers react when they found out?

Well, I obviously told my close friends once I decided to keep him. They were shocked, but tried to be supportive. They were only 15 too, so they were freaking out as well. Once it got around school, many of my peers started acting differently towards me. Rumors started to fly and horrible things were said about me. I felt like an outcast, but i eventually got through it and I am a stronger person today for it.

How was your family through the experience?

They were really supportive and helpful. My mom took care of him while I was at school. My parents told me I had to get a job. I was not able to go out with my friends very often and I had to quit playing sports for a while. I basically went from school, to work, to home with my baby. My family was a great support system and I could never have graduated without all of their support and help. They have also helped me attend a nearby college and I will be graduating next semester.

As you can see, Kate had a lot of help and is doing really well. She was lucky though, because some teen mothers have no one to take care of their child during school and also cannot afford a sitter in order to go to work. Now I’m not saying that it is impossible to do, but we should want as many people to succeed as possible in our society.

The most important thing in todays education is to give all students a chance. It is important to encourage the future generations and help them succede. Like I said before, education is like building a house...make sure there is a sturdy foundation.

acceptance.jpg, http://www.worldwork.biz/legacy/www/images/comp_images/acceptance.jpg

Education is Like Building a House

When approaching the skill of teaching, I tend to think of building a house. I chose the skill of building a house because only with communication and a strong foundation will the house survive through storms. In education, a strong foundation is important because the foundation allows the students to fall back on the things they do know to help them learn new things. The foundations are always most important because they are the basics and allow skills to be built on. One cannot do calculus without first doing addition and subtraction. Like education, if the foundation of the house is not strong, the walls will cave in and the house will crumble. Even though the foundation is very important, if the rest of the structure is not put up correctly with care, the house will still be unstable. Likewise, education cannot be left strictly to the foundations, it is still important to continue to build the students academics carefully with many check points in order to make sure of their success. By building check points in education, a teacher can determine where the student struggles and in response, give them additional help in that area. Like in building houses, there is one person who is in charge who conducts tests and inspects the work done on the house to ensure its safety. Overall, like building a house, education takes a lot of work and requires not only a strong foundation, but continuous inspections to ensure the students success. Geological Sciences, http://www.calstatela.edu/dept/geology/Homes.htm

Gender Social Justice

I chose to research gender social justice and focused on female drop-out rates due to pregnancy. Though the rates had been dropping through 2005, in 2006 the rates skyrocketed again. Teenage mothers tend to drop out to assume traditional rolls by staying home and taking care of the baby. Unfortunately this makes them rely on government finances to take care of their babies. Also, teen mothers are likely to have a second baby within the first two years of their first pregnancy. This is a vicious cycle where the female students drop out and the males tend to stay in school. These women should be given choices. Maybe we should provide day care in schools to allow for teen mothers to at least get their high school diploma. In addition to teenage mothers not finishing high school, they tend to not take care of their babies as well. They are not as strict with their prenatal care and typically do not eat as well as older mothers. Teenagers having babies tend to put the babies at a disadvantage as well because most teenage mothers are minorities who have a low income. It is a vicious cycle that needs to be stopped. Unfortunately we are running out of new forms of birth control. Hopefully we will find a way to lower the teen pregnancies to help women pursue their dreams and to be able to provide a better life for their future children. Teen Pregnancy – womenshealthchannel, http://www.womenshealthchannel.com/teenpregnancy/index.shtml pregnant_women.jpg, http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:1TX0ytpi8PAKbM:http://www.fyiforwomen.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/pregnant_women.jpg

Montessori Schools

I picked Montessori schooling as the type of schooling that interested me most because the independent but structured style. Montessori schooling was based on the ideas of Maria Montessori who believed that children teach themselves. They learn through interaction with other students and while working together. I also like how they focus on the “children’s perceptual, motor, intellectual, and social skills” ( McNergney, p. 198). They use specific materials to encourage learning. I think that Montessori schools are an asset to education, though they may not be right for everyone, they definitely have a great outlook. The idea that children educate themselves though experiences, trial and error really makes sense. When I look back to my childhood, I don’t remember my classes; I remember my experiences while interacting with others, so the whole idea of learning through experience does make sense.

McNergney, Education: The Practice and Profession of Teaching

American Montessori Society, http://www.amshq.org/schools.htm

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The Philosophy of John Dewey

The philosopher that I agree with most is John Dewey. Dewey’s main philosophy was to educate students by way of experience in society rather than pure lecture. He believed that students could learn in real life experiences. To learn math, students should cook and start to measure out proportions or should do word problems like how long it would take to get from point A to point B at a specified speed. I agree with John Dewey’s philosophy because I have found that I always retain the information that I acquire when I have an experience to go along with it. Like when I started cooking, I had to learn fractions and how to add them together. Sometimes I would not be able to find a ½ cup and would have to figure out that two scoops with a ¼ cup would be equivalent to a ½ cup. This made fractions easy and practical. Also, when I go to class, I do not typically remember the class itself; I remember what I conversed about or what activity we did, not what the teacher was lecturing. There are so many experiences in life, why not experience them instead of just taking in facts about them? As John Dewey said, “Education is life itself.” John Dewey: Philosophy of Education, http://wilderdom.com/experiential/JohnDeweyPhilosophyEducation.html http://thinkingwithshakespeare.org/Shakespeare/HOT%20Prompts/94Dewey.jpg

Teaching for Social Justice

After reading the assigned article I was still unsure of what social justice really was so I looked it up. The article I found was about the Social Justice Training Institute for students. The institution has been set in place in order to include all who participate and to improve their communication skills. The institute educates and encourages students on how to make positive changes on their campuses. They also need to find a mentor which has to be a faculty member at their college to help them on their personal and social goals. This article made the information directed more towards me, a student, rather than a current teacher. The article we read in class was very interesting. It discussed topics that I have yet to read about. The pointers on how to become a good social justice educator were very insightful and shed light on objectives that all teachers should at least look into. I think that trying to at least implement a social justice approach to teaching is a great idea for all teachers and students. Everyone should get involved to make the best experience for everyone.

Teaching For Social Justice, http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/15_02/Just152.shtml

Social Justice Training Institute - The Student Experience - Home, http://www.sjti.org/home_student.html

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Special Education and Inclusion

I believe that the Inclusion of special education in normal schools is beneficial to all students, not just the disabled ones. It teaches the special students how to interact with society and they get to make friends who can help them out. With inclusion, the normal students get to learn that though some people are disabled, they are still capable of being a friend. It also teaches acceptance to the other students. It makes them aware of what these students go through on a day to day basis in order to be successful. It is absolutely inspiring how hard these students try their hardest at everything they do. At my school, it was common to see special education students in normal classes and participating in after school activities. No one made fun of them, everyone seemed to respect and welcome them into whichever activities they decided to join. I know, surprising at a high school level. Not to be stereotypical, but the "jocks" were the most accepting of the special education students. These students would be team managers and sometimes be and active part of the team, despite the fact that they were not as skilled. It was really nice to experience that while in high school because it made me a more understanding and welcoming person. There is no reason not to include special education individuals simply because they need some additional help. It is actually the silliest thing i have heard of. We had a mute quadriplegic in my high school who managed with assistance to go to normal classes and successfully complete high school.

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http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:rwuZhSk5RjZYgM:http://www.bridgetobridge.com/images/2006/specialOlympicsMainPage.jpg

Indreased Salaries for Educators

Teachers today have been neglected financially. Here they are, educating our future generations, and they cannot even pay their bills. Teachers need at least a bachelors in education to become an educator. They then accept low wages that do not compare to jobs with similar requirements. Unfortunately, this is the cause of good teachers switching careers. This is why the NEA (National Education Association) is pushing for a nation wide starting salary for all pre-K-12 teachers of $40,000/year. This would allow the education system to keep the teachers that they typically would have lost due to minimal salaries. In college settings, it has become virtually impossible for teachers without tenure to survive at just one institution. They tend to teach at multiple schools just to pay the bills. This is why the NEA is pushing for higher salaries in higher education settings as well. I support this notion because the average starting salary in pre-K-12 is $35,000 a year which is only$5,000 more than I make a year. My job has no requirements other than being old enough to manage, which is dependant on the person. I do not have any dependants and only have to fend for myself. I barely scrape by month to month on my salary. Now add in one or two kids in a single parent home, how is the parent supposed to support the children and herself in a healthy manner? Educators also should receive higher ranging salaries in order to keep the passionate teachers. Educators have the second most important job, which is educating our future generations. Why wouldn't we want our children to have to best teachers and have the best opportunities?

NEA: Professional Pay - Teacher Salaries, Living Wage http://www.nea.org/pay/index.html

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4 Day School Weeks...Good or Bad

The article that I came across is entitled, Four-Day School Weeks. This article goes over how school districts that adopt a four day school week can save a lot of money. On school district saved $400,000 in one year switching to a four day school week. This is based eliminating or at least majorly cutting back programs on the three days that the students have off. This would cut back on costs for janitors, food preparation and transportation. The studies show that the students do not learn any less because the school day is extended. This gives students an extra day to relax and do projects and teachers more time to make lesson plans and meet with parents. This is all good and well but what about the after school programs? Would they be cut? This includes sports, theater, teams and clubs. Would they even allow the students to continue to participate? Or would the students have to find programs outside of school? What would this do to parents who work? They would have to dish out more money to take care of their younger children. Sure, this lowers the costs for the school district, but it could drastically increase the costs for many families! These families are already paying the taxes to pay for school, so now the school wants to save more money, but make the parents pay more. That just isn't reality for most families. In today's world, both parents usually need to work, and in a single parent home, that single parent HAS to work. I'm all for fewer days of school, but not at the cost of parents dishing out even more unnecessary money. The article also referred to the fact that snow days would account for more and teachers would have to utilize the longer periods. Students already have some classes that last 84minutes long, how much longer should they have to stay in a classroom? It is very difficult to focus for that long. Though the savings for the school district would go towards the students, the benefits do not outweigh the benefits at this point. McREL: Newsroom: What high-quality education research says about four-day school weeks http://www.mcrel.org/Newsroom/hottopicFourDayWeek.asp 2273141943_daf1f66a32.jpg http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:zSH-6sxCkPdufM:http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2088/2273141943_daf1f66a32.jpg

Physical Education in Schools

Physical education in schools has been declining for years. When school budgets are cut, the first thing to go is Physical Education. This is part of the reason for the ever increase in obese children who grow up into obese adults. It is recommended by the American Heart Association that elementary students should receive at least 150 minutes of daily exercise a week, which means a half hour a day. The AHA also recommends that middle school students have at least 225 minutes of vigorous exercise a week which means they should be getting 45 minutes a day. These recommendations don't mean exercise in terms of kickball or homerun derby, they mean vigorous exercise like running or swimming. By increasing physical activity in students, is has been proven that students concentrate better, behave better in class, and score higher on tests. These are positive attributes to school. Increased physical activity will also help people of all ages maintain a healthy weight, have a higher self esteem, maintain a healthy heart, and improve circulation. Why are schools cutting physical education classes? Some schools believe that it is not the schools responsibility to give the students physical activity; it is the responsibility of the parent. Others just believe that knowledge is more important that physical health, so when budgets are cut, the physical education goes first. In my perspective, you cannot have one without the other. Physical Education in America's Public Schools http://sitemaker.umich.edu/356.speregen/physical_education_and_school_performance Physical Education in Schools http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3010854

About me!

My name is Stephanie and I am a senior at Salem State College. I plan on graduating in May and will hopefully get a job in cardiac rehab. After graduating, I will be taking a year off before going back for my masters. I have 3 brothers, 24, 23, and soon to be 21, and we all are very close. I have played sports my entire life with an emphasis on soccer. I do not play college sports because I work full time as a manager over at the North Shore Music Theater. I currently am living with my boyfriend, Mike, and our two cats, Charlie and Bella, in Salem. In my free time I like to relax for the most part, but I also like to go out with my friends, go kayaking, run, and go for walks with Mike. One thing that I try to do once a week is have dinner with my parents on Sunday. It doesn't always happen, but it is nice when it happens. If you want to know more, just ask. Thanks for the view!