Final Blog

1). A poem on social justice, I am not sure if it makes sense, it's what came to mind when thinking about social justice.

-this picture represents my children I work with, and that I want a better future for them all, they mean everything to me and are my passion. These kids set future for my foundation in teaching them someday.

To Rise Up

A rise to social justice
I continue to ascend these mountains to justice
Climbing towards our justice for our children
And along the way, we provide education
To service better our children in a way
Our child's needs are at stake
Doesn't matter if we are colored, rich, or of our race
The teachers are here for our children, and supporting them
We most definitely believe in our education and in our children to succeed
I believe in the right for social justice to climb the peaks and go to the top
Children battle against barriers at home and at school, facing challenges
Disadvantages and advantages within their community and society as well
Their right to decide how they want to be educated
We as teachers open doors and opportunities for our children
Supporting the choices our kids make from elementary, to middle, to high school, and finally to college
They, our children face obstacles every day of their life
And each day they serve our needs as well as theirs
They are motivated to continue their social justice as well as their education
They're brains are educated and their hearts are filled with hope
I hope social justice rises higher every day
To work at climbing higher and higher
Our community and supportive staff will prove that it's working at rising every day

Here is what my friend had to say about social justice;

Patty-The significance isn't that great. As an educator I believe people have the right to learn about problems and then stand up whether together or alone and fight for them. This does not necessary mean only one group of people but a vast number of them especially people of that are minorities.

2) "Teaching is Like a Candle" (didn't realize it was an actual quote!)

Why is teaching like a candle? As the quote puts it, a teacher consumes themselves to light the way for others especially her students. Here is a brief philosophy why I think so...


A teacher lights the minds of her students. The flame inside the brains of these young students blazes as their heads fill with all different kinds of knowledge. The flame in one's mind will never burn out because education and knowledge is always pouring inside, and will never quit, lighting the flame higher and higher. The candle burns day and night and never stops, and only gets brighter as the teacher fills the students mind with new ideas. A teacher needs to know how to keep her kids entertained and has to have enthusiasm in order for the flame to keep burning. A teacher needs to excited to teach.


Teaching has been a huge part of my life, and I have my teachers to thank for that. My teachers have always been supportive in the decisions I made. They've been like a candle because they consumed themselves with enough light, and they gave it to their students, like me. They have lighted my path with a burning flame. They are the reasons why I want to become a teacher, it has become my passion and it will always be my passion. Teaching for me is like a candle because I want to be the one who puts the light into a students eyes as well as their minds. I want them to know that I'm their for them, lighting the path for them to take. I want to make and be the difference in their lives. My compassion shows this, because I am the candle in my students eyes, well will be. Working with children already, I know that I put a light into them because I consume myself with them and I show them the right path to take. I light the way for them. I believe that compassion, and passion is a huge factor in teaching, without those, you are not a good teacher, because with it, the students are able to connect and trust you as a person, rather than just look at you as a teacher and nothing else. They'll mistreat you and abuse you, but with passion and compassion, and lighting a way for them, they learn to respect you.

A candle consumes a room, lighting the way for others and that is what teachers do on a daily basis for their students. I want to be that teacher who does that for their students, I believe I will be. Teachers, when walking into a room, are always open to new ideas and that's the sort of like a candle burning because a candle sits in the room, and is open to anyone who needs light to touch them, to lead a path for them. Teachers are our candles in lighting our education to succeed in the future. I strongly believe this quote to be true because teachers are open to anything new we have to say, and they light our paths so that we may choose the right one. They help to make us believe in ourselves and they leave a forever burning flame in our minds.


3). An important area in education to me is parents being more involved in their child's education as well as their life.


I believe that every parent should be involved in their child's education because it is very important for the child to know their parents are their for them and if the parent is involved it means that they care about their child.

With the involvement of parents, the greater the effects in the future. "The most effective forms of parent involvement are those, which engage parents in working directly with their children on learning activities at home." It states that 86% of the general public believes that parent involvement has a bigger impact on children. Research shows that with parent involvement students have:
-higher grades, test scores and graduation rates
-better school attendance
-increased motivation, higher self-esteem
-lower rates of suspension
-fewer instances of violent behavior

With parent involvement students do a whole lot better because they know parents care a bout them. I can't stress how important it is for a parent to be involved in their child's education. All those above stated things, is very much so true. Students do better in school and they feel better about themselves. The more parents become involved, the higher the rate of their child graduating is.

I believe that parental involvement is a huge factor in how students do in school and how they educate themselves in a classroom. I strongly recommend that parents get involved because their students are more likely to become successful in their future. This is a huge controversial topic because many parents are not getting involved and their children are at the chance of not graduating, which is not good. This is why I picked this topic specifically because I want parents to motivate their children by supporting them in their education because it's very, very important to the child. With the parent being involved the children can benefit from it and do the best they know they can.

What is Waldorf Education?

"For the Waldorf student, music, dance, and theater, writing, literature, legends and myths are not simply subjects to be read about, ingested and tested. They are experienced. Through these experiences, Waldorf students cultivate a lifelong love of learning as well as the intellectual, emotional, physical and spiritual capacities to be individuals certain of their paths and to be of service to the world."

Teachers in Waldorf schools are dedicated to generating an inner enthusiasm for learning within every child... allowing motivation to arise from within and helping engender the capacity for joyful lifelong learning.

So how did Waldorf Schools originate? And What exactly is it?
This type of school was founded by Rudolph Steiner in 1919. He wanted the education to be based on a profound understanding of human development that would address the needs of a growing child. The teachers at Waldorf strive in transforming the education into an art that educates the students- the heart to the hands, as well as the head. These types of school are amazing. When you walk in, the first thing you notice is the care giving of the building. There are art made by the children everywhere. There is evidence of student activity everywhere to be found and the desks you see have a uniquely created main lesson book. The teachers you meet at Waldorf schools are very much interested in a childs education and life. Questions that are within the teachers are as follows:

• How do we establish within each child his or her own high level of academic excellence?
• How do we call forth enthusiasm for learning and work, a healthy self-awareness, interest and concern for fellow human beings, and a respect for the world?
• How can we help pupils find meaning in their lives?

They look at these questions with careful thought, and they analyze the students and do what is best for them. They are dedicated in teaching and learning from the kids. "The Waldorf curriculum is broad and comprehensive, structured to respond to the three developmental phases of childhood: from birth to approximately 6 or 7 years, from 7 to 14 years and from 14 to 18 years. Rudolf Steiner stressed to teachers that the best way to provide meaningful support for the child is to comprehend these phases fully and to bring "age appropriate" content to the children that nourishes healthy growth."


Today, with more than 900 Waldorf schools in 83 countries, Waldorf Education is the fastest growing independent educational movement in the world. In North America Waldorf has been available since 1928, and there are now over 250 schools and 14 teacher training centers in some level of development. These schools exist in large cities and small towns, suburbs and rural enclaves. No two schools are identical; each is administratively independent. Nevertheless, a visitor would recognize many characteristics common to them all. There are different types of these schools. Some look the same and some don't.

This picture is the first Waldorf school founded by Steiner, now a days, these schools are bigger and better looking.

From exploring the topic of Waldorf schools I learned that any child is allowed to go, they go from birth which is really cool. I learned that these schools give kids freedom, freedom I've never experienced. I chose this topic because it was fascinating as well as very interesting and because I never heard of such a school. I like how the teachers are there to help the children because they want to and not because they are getting paid. That shows passion, the passion I have for working with children and helping them whenever they need. I like the idea Waldorf schools have, but I do not think I could teach in that environment.


http://www.whywaldorfworks.org/02_W_Education/history.asp
www.google.com/waldorf schools
http://www.whywaldorfworks.org/02_W_Education/index.asp

Environmental Justice

A controversial topic that has arisen in today's education is Environmental Justice. It is defined as "Environmental Justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. EPA has this goal for all communities and persons across this Nation. It will be achieved when everyone enjoys the same degree of protection from environmental and health hazards and equal access to the decision-making process to have a healthy environment in which to live, learn, and work." The picture above represents the definition as well. The hands are of different color and no matter what race, we all need to contribute in helping our world but teaching environmental justice to our younger children in school today.



In order for us to contribute we need to "go green". My roommate started the club "S.T.A.G.E (students towards a greener earth)." in our high school last year, and to today people have been attending meetings and going to events. Our high school is helping to make our environment and world a better one by going green. Also from observing my fifth graders, I noticed that the teacher has the kids recycle, which is really great! This can help the students shape their future and they can influence family member or others to do the same so we can live in a better economy. The subject environmental is important and sensitive. There have been breaking studies showing hazardous wastes. This kind of find is bad and should be fixed. Our community as a whole needs to know the true effects of global warming and they need to understand why environmental justice will be helpful if we teach it in classrooms.


From researching environmental justice I have come to understand that is a major topic that needs to be looked more in depth. It's a serious subject and cannot be ignored. My philosophy on teaching environmental justice should start at an early age, so that way growing up they can know more about it, and can prevent any damage to the world from happening. I think that teachers should teach in classrooms, that recycling is good for the environment. A teacher should know the effects of environmental justice and how it affects children who are young. In "A Pedagogy for Ecology", it states "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." This statement is quite true. If a teacher teachers about the environmental, children will grow up defending their world and helping it.

Bob Peterson states that, "that all education is environmental education, as children inescapably acquire attitudes about nature in their schooling." This means that education is about the environment and teachers just need to see it more clearly when teaching their students. Peterson quotes this, "We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us,' instead of seeing the ‘land as a community to which we belong." I believe it is a true statement. People today believe that land is just a commodity that they own and they can do whatever they want with it, but in reality they are harming it by putting wastes and other sorts of hazardous equipment that is not needed. If we see that land is a part of us, we can see that it needs our help, and we should be sure in helping it. This picture depicts that people want to help their community in creating a better world for them as well as their children.

Yes I believe that it is important for teachers to teach the students about the environment. I've had my own experiences when I was a senior in high school last year. With the group S.T.A.G.E, I learned that recycling and all that is helpful for our world. I learned that I was doing something good. Also my roommate who organized it, makes sure that we recycle anything and everything. If a teacher can do this, the student can learn how to make their environment a better one to live in. Having a teacher teach about the importance of our environment is key in a childs life. Starting at an early age, the child can process that our world is for living and not hazardous waste, they can learn that by protecting the earth they learn to help themselves as well as the community and the world. Any steps taken to prevent global warming or anything related to it, would be starting to teach environmental justice in schools at an early age.


www.google.com/environmentaljustice

http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/23_04/edit234.shtml

Social Justice-Is it worth teaching?

What does social justice really mean? Dictionary.com states that its definition is "the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within a society". Social Justice does mean that, the advantages and disadvantages in a classroom as well as society. Classrooms, I never really thought had social justice, but reading these articles, I changed my perspective. I would love to teach social justice in my classroom. It truly is the best way to teach our students. It is a way for us to nurture our children in education.

It states the schools are, "Unfortunately,too many schools are training grounds for boredom, alienation, and pessimism. Too many schools fail to confront the racial, class, and gender inequities woven into our social fabric". This is so true, students are bored to death when they have to learn from a text book. I know it because I hated it. I was always bored with textbooks, they made me fall asleep. Students should be freer in what they learn and how they learn it. A lot of the textbooks are hard to read or analyze and students become irritated and just don't care anymore and they give up. Some teachers like to teach from the text but others prefer not too. I know I am one those of, when becoming a teacher I will not want to teach from the textbooks, but from what I know, and maybe look at the text and elaborate more on it.

In the article, "Teaching for social justice", Kohl stated

"So what are social justice teachers - those who care about nurturing all children and who are enraged at the prospect of students dying young, going hungry, or living meaningless and despairing lives - to do? How can they go against the grain and use their classrooms to work in the service of their students"?

Growing up I never really what it meant. After reading this I somewhat understood. It says classrooms are a way for hope and I believe that. It also says in a classroom is where respect comes into play. This is very true. When a student and a teacher respect one another, the teacher nurtures the student in becoming someone better. Respect is key to have in a classroom, especially between the student and the teacher. I really like how Kohl stated this, "Protect and nurture yourself. Have some fun in your life; learn new things that only obliquely relate to issues of social justice. Walk, play ball or chess, swim, fall in love. Don't forget how to laugh or feel good about the world. Have fun so that you can work hard; and work hard so that you and your students and their parents can have fun without looking over their shoulders. This is not a question of selfishness but one of survival. Don't turn teaching for social justice into a grim responsibility, but take it for the moral and social necessity that it is". He is absolutely right, we need to have fun, but we need to nurture ourselves before we nurture others. He's right in telling us to laugh and work hard.

Teachers need to realize that teaching social justice is a good cause in a classroom. The one question I had is, "Is social justice going to work, is it worth it"? Researching this, I found that although it's tough it can be done. It's a good way for a child to grow up and it's also good for the teacher. It helps to earn respect as well a relationship between the teacher and student.

John Dewey-The Modern Father of Experiential Education

John Dewey was known as "The Modern Father of Experiential Education". He is known as one of the greatest philosopher's and educational thinkers of the 20th century. "In the 1920's / 1930's, John Dewey became famous for pointing out that the authoritarian, strict, pre-ordained knowledge approach of modern traditional education was too concerned with delivering knowledge, and not enough with understanding students' actual experiences". He became the champion of progressive education. He was critical of completely, "free, student-driven", education because he believed that student's didn't know how to structure their learning experiences.

Dewey believed that an educator had to take into account the differences between the student's. He believed that each student was different in their own way. "Even when a standard curricula is presented using established pedagogical methods, each students will have a different quality of experience. Thus, teaching and curriculum must be designed in ways that allow for such individual differences". For Dewey, education was also a social purpose where it helped people become more effective member's in their democratic society. "Dewey argued that the one-way delivery style of authoritarian schooling does not provide a good model for life in democratic society. Instead, students need educational experiences which enable them to become valued, equal, and responsible members of society".

Dewey supported progressive education in which progressive education was a wild swing in in the philosophical pendulum against traditional education methods. In progressive education, freedom was the rule, but the problem with is that Dewey said that freedom is no solution. I agree, learning needs structure and so do the student's.

"John Dewey (1859-1952) believed that learning was active and schooling unnecessarily long and restrictive. His idea was that children came to school to do things and live in a community which gave them real, guided experiences which fostered their capacity to contribute to society. For example, Dewey believed that students should be involved in real-life tasks and challenges". These tasks included,

• maths could be learnt via learning proportions in cooking or figuring out how long it would take to get from one place to another by mule

• history could be learnt by experiencing how people lived, geography, what the climate was like, and how plants and animals grew, were important subjects

Dewey had a gift for coming up with activities and people listening to them. His ideas are still at heart today. He had a profound impact on many people and I agree with his philosophy, which was using first hand with the student's so that they could learn easier and better. It's a good idea because it is still in effect today. I know this, because I use it still, everyday because it helps me to learn better.

Autism Speaks

I have chosen this topic because working with my kids at my job, I have learned that Autism is huge. There is this one boy in my group who has it and he is the most happy little man ever. He doesn't care what people think, he does his own thing and will enjoy anything. He is so full of life and I love being around him. We have a game between us, I will go up to him and say "BOO", and he will scream in a joking matter and run away, after like 5 minutes he comes to me and says "BOO I scared you"! As you can see, he's so full of like and loves to have fun. He's the reason why I want to learn more about this disorder. This is a picture with the boy I was talking about, we go on field trips with my group and he enjoys them so much, I love taking him places. I picked this picture only to not show his face.


Autism is defined as a developmental disorder which appears in the first 3 years of a childs life and also affects the brains normal developmental to social and communication skills. The most common person to get Autism is more found in boys. As you can Autism affects the temporal lobe as well other parts of the brain. This is what makes it hard for a child to interact with other children and to learn communication and social skills.


Symptoms can be hard to recognize but with early detection it can be treated the right way. Children with Autism usually have symptoms including they don't know how to use pretend play, they have trouble interacting in social settings, and their verbal and communication skills are delayed. Parent's usually notice this at 18 months old and seek help when the child is 2. With early treatment the child can usually grow with somewhat a "normal" life.

In February of 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued their report on ADDM autism report. They concluded that 8 year olds in 2000-2002 that autism had risen from 1 to 150 in children and 1 in 94 boys had it. About 1.5 million people are living with autism. Although there are treatments for autism, there is no single cure for it. Children with it don't outgrow it, but with early treatment, their outcomes are good. With the right sources people with autism can lead healthy and meaningful lives. I know a teacher who is going to the state house to speak for autism. She has a son who has it, but her son, the way she talks about him sounds amazing. She tells, "you wouldn't think he has autism", and it's true, a lot of boys with autism don't seem like it because they had treatment early. "Government statistics suggest the prevalence rate of autism is increasing 10-17 percent annually. There is not established explanation for this increase, although improved diagnosis and environmental influences are two reasons often considered. Studies suggest boys are more likely than girls to develop autism and receive the diagnosis three to four times more frequently. Current estimates are that in the United States alone, one out of 94 boys is diagnosed with autism" (www.autismspeaks.com). I've always wondered, why it was always common more in boys. It's a puzzling question, and no one really knows why. There isn't a clue to what causes Autism. There are such different levels and combinations of symptoms of Autism making multiple cases.


Autism has risen in America, and kids with it, I'm always left thinking, "I wonder goes through their minds". I think they are amazing and their parents are awesome in helping their children through it. There is this little girl who I also work with who has autism, she's the cutest little 5-6 year old. I'm not quite sure how serious hers is, but she can do sign language! When you do it back she understands. She's the type that shows smartness, she knows exactly what to do on the computer! It's amazing to watch her on the computer because she's fast at learning at what to do. The little boy I know has aspergers, and he uses a lincoln log to keep himself amused and content. He will spin it around and just use it for hours, and it's so interesting to watch him. He always has a smile on his face. Working with kids with autism or any form of it is such a good experience because for teachers, they have to know how autism works and all that stuff, they need to be prepared if they get a child with autism. I'm glad that I have been exposed to it early because I know what to expect, and the kids without it, I will teach them that they are different but they are still human and still learn, they just learn differently.

We can't ignore it because it has such a high percentage among our children and with right treatments our children can grow up with a healthy and stable environment.


www.google.com/health
www.autismspeaks.org
www.autismsocietyofamerica.org

Should student's start later?

"According to recent reports by the National Sleep Foundation and several university research centers, teenagers are wired to be sleepier in the morning -- their levels of melatonin (a sleep-promoting hormone) don't fall until at least 8 A.M. As a result, some high schools have begun delaying the morning bell in order to make the school day more manageable for sleep-deprived teens. Some argue, however, that most of the evidence for teenage sleep patterns remains anecdotal, starting school later would cut into after-school activities, and other factors should take priority when it comes to student achievement" (http://www.edutopia.org/would-starting-school-later-morning-improve-teenagers-academic-performance).

As you can see, students are more tired in the morning than they are in the afternoon. Researcher's are only researching High School student's because they have to wake up really early to get ready and catch the bus. Student's level of melatonin doesn't go into effect until 8 A.M. research has shown. If student's go to bed earlier, would that be okay to wake up early and go to school? I think that if a student has a bed time of 9 or 9:30, they are getting at least 9-10 hours of sleep. Isn't that to much sleep? Isn't sleeping longer the cause of students being more tired? In my opinion I believe so. This is only because, I do it. Whenever I sleep in, I tend to get tired more fast, but, when I fall asleep at 12 midnight and wake up at 6 or 7, I am wide awake. What is the cause of this? Is it the melatonin? There really hasn't been that many research on this and to why students are so tired in the morning. The only solution is the melatonin in the students body.

The real question is, "Would starting school later, improve a teenagers academic performance"?

The survey found that, this is from a High School in Pennsylvania.

-- 78% of students said it was difficult to get up in the morning
-- Only 16% said they regularly had enough sleep
-- 70% thought their grades would improve if they had more sleep
-- 90% thought their academic performance would improve if school were to start later

As you can see the picture's depict students falling asleep because there not spending their 9 hours of sleep like they are supposed to. Although I am against later school days, I agree that starting it about 8, the students would do well academically and their energy level would increase. Their melatonin I should say. "School systems should be thinking about changing their start times. It would not be easy—the

y would have to change the busing system—but it would increase their student's sleep time and likely improve their school performance" (American Thoracic Society). Research has shown that with schools starting later teens will improve their work.

In doing so, that would mean, as above stated, the busing hours would have to be changed, the hours of the elementary schools would need to be changed also. As you can see, there are consequences in changing the time of high school. It would be impossible, although very helpful for the students.The sleep study at Brown University shows that teens tend not to get sleepy until around midnight. Going to sleep that late and getting up for classes starting at 7:30 a.m. leaves students well short of the nine and a half hours of sleep that teens need, researchers say. Studies have shown that missing out on sleep can cause people to lose their ability to think clearly and learn well.Later start times, supporters say, allow students to follow their natural sleep patterns. That way, they argue, students are more alert in school. Students need their sleep so that they can perform better in their academics.

Students tend to better in school when they have enough energy to take tests, do homework, etc. It is shown that they do better academically and are willing to participate in school functions and activities. So I think, schools should start later, so that way, the students are getting enough sleep for the brain as well as themselves. Students are more eager to learn and raise their hands!