I just need about 10 more hours in the day..

If only there were more time in the day I would feel like there was much more time to get on her and blog.  However, there's not so I will continue to blog as much as I can. 

I love our little blocksborough.  It to me is a great idea for any classroom. I would love to start it at the beginning of the trip, and then continue it all week.  I think the opportunities are endless with ways to use it in the classroom.  I wish there was a children's book that could express the idea of blockborough.  Then it would transition perfectly.  But by participating in the town the children do not even realize that theyare learning geography and the way the society works.  I love how social studies can be fun and I do not understand how this was not happening when we were all in classes. 

So yay for activities that do make learning fun and exciting for students!!!

Where is that......Geography?!

Oh geography...this was always one of my hated subjects.  I never understood why I needed to be able to tell where a certain country was, or what country was south of it.  To me, geography seemed like a waste of time.  Why can't I just look at a map and find out where Iraq or some other country is.  With the internet now, it makes a lot of these things so easy to find so quickly. 

However, as I am seeing it now, I wish I had paid more attention to these things when it came to the Praxis and other pointless tests. 

I am hoping as we focus more on this in class, I will be able to grow and become better at seeing the point of it.  Box city is atleast turning what to me is a very boring subject, into more fun and excitement.  We will see if it continues.  I can see the importance now when it comes to directions and north, south and such.  I think if geography was turned into a much more exciting and fun type of learning then kids will be much more engaged.   I know the biggest turnoff to me in school was to have to sit and stare at a map and point out different things I saw.  It also seemed dumb to have to use a fake key to determine how many miles a continent was from another.  But I think Box city is going to make it a lot more relative and allow kids to see why it is so important to them and their future.  I think the key to getting a student excited about learning, is to get them involved and interested in the real life connections.  If we are able to do this, then I think our job is pretty successful.

Acting Out....in Social Studies!

So this week in social studies was working with absorbing and being history.  This is something that I have always felt very strongly about.  I think these two topics are very mixed.  I think kids would really learn from the plays that we put on.  It adds a fun mixture into their typical day at school.  I can honestly say, I enjoy these as well.  After sitting all morning in the first classes, looking at Powerpoints and lectures, they just get old.  I now am excited about the social studies class because there is always some kind of activity to mix up the learning.  I think I learn so much better in this environment because I am so much more engaged and not just looking around the room.

I think there is a similarity with most kids.  They really want to be engaged and the material that they learn by being active will stay with them longer and make more sense.  Now, with that said, I still think they have to have absorbing in their learning journey as well.  They have to be prepared and prepped for the hands on activities.  Otherwise they will not be able to get all of the material out of the hands on learning. 

I have really enjoyed this week in social studies.  I really think that my views and opinions of keeping social studies in the classroom maybe changing.  It is so easy to integrate with other subjects that I think it is starting to be important.

Critical voice....it's just so critical in teaching!

These articles not only made me think, but they made me angry.  As most realize, I am very loud. I speak my opinion.  Reading these articles at first I thought that these teachers may have been new.  But as I continued reading, they were not new at all.  They were just to afraid to lose their job.  I would never have dreamed that children are losing their right to a good education because some certain teachers are too afraid to speak out and do what is best for their class. 

I think as an aspiring teacher, my biggest dream is to do the best I possibly can for my students.  I want to be able to help them learn as much, but have the most fun as well.  I think to succeed in this dream, I have to have a critical voice.  Too many schools now want to "teach to the test".  They don't understand that "the test" is not everything that children need to learn in school.  It just frustrates me listening to teachers who have the goal to do as many worksheets as possible in a year (not literally, but i think everyone knows about the teachers out there that do this). I feel this is the type of teacher that was teaching with the preservice teacher.  I can't say that worksheets aren't appropriate sometimes, but as for having to test the students on everything, they can learn from fun hands on experience.  I can only hope that I do not get stuck with a teacher like this for student teaching.  The thought of that makes me miserable.

Anyways, I think that having a critical voice is one of the most important things in teaching.  You have to stand up for what is right, and the children deserve the fight that you put in for them.  You may be the best thing that has happened to them during their education.  I don't know about anyone else, but that thought means more to me than having a job that I don't look forward to going to at all.

So, in otherwords...having a critical voice is very critical in teaching!

Social Studies boring....NOT!

I loved the activity we did in social studies the other day.  It just made so many things connect and make sense.  Activities like that show that social studies can be full of fun and excitement.  I can really see so much more importance in social studies by doing the hands on learning. I love activities that can be adapted for multiple grades, it just shows how flexible learning is.  I was afraid I would not get this into social studies, because it has always been one of my least favorite of all the subjects.  But as block has been going on, it is actually one of the classes I look forward to.  There are so many different learning styles that go on during the class that just amazes me.  Anyways, it is off to work on all of these fun and exciting assignments!!!!

So we here we are

So, here we are almost 3 weeks into block.  It is already flying by for me.  I just can't seem to get over how much stuff there is to do though.  As all the teachers are throwing papers at us, it seems to be I am not even sure where to begin.  I haven't felt that there has been much guidance as to where to go in these papers.  But I guess that is apart of the growing up and being seniors in the college classroom.  I think my biggest problem so far, has been with the vague instruction.  I like clear, crisp details about the assignment.

Anyways, right now I am watching Temple Grandin.  It is a movie about her obviously.  And it just shows a girl's strruggle with autism.  It keeps showing her in the classroom, and how students would bully her and the teacher did nothing to stop or prevent it.  It really is a truely amazing movie, especially when fascinated by special needs students.  You learn not only about the disorder, but also about things you can do to help these children in the classroom.  It mainly takes place in higher education but that doesn't mean you can't see things.  She is an amazing visual thinker and it gives great ideas on how to teach to these types of learners.  I am fascinated with her determination to not give up.  That is the main reason I am writing this blog.  If she can overcome so many things, and be able to still succeed in everything she does.  She has her doctorate when everyone around her doubted her. 

This is what we need to remember during this semester.  We have great teachers who are all willing to give us as much help as possible! It just takes us taking the initiative to ask.  We will make it through, even though at times I know we are all frustrated at times.  That's why we are a class to help and support each other in everything we do.  It gives us a support system and I think these blogs are the number one way to help us succeed in helping each other.

Good luck everyone on all the homework!!

And their off...!

Congratulations all for successfully figuring out the blogging! I think it is kind of a neat thing.  I think this homework may not actually be terrible. I am finally starting to get all the emotions about actually being a teacher.  It's a mixture between scared, happy, excited, nervous and all the other emotions in between.  But I cannot imagine actually having to be the teacher in a class after being a student for so long. 

There have been several books that have assured me that everything will be okay. 

One of them is First Day Jitters by Julie Danneburg. 

It's adorable and all about the teacher's first day of school which is just precious and shows how everyone is nervous of how the first day of school will go.

Another one is called Last Day Blues it is also by Julie Danneburg. 

 This one I relate to now because of the thoughts of leaving all the fantastic (and not so fantastic) teachers we have had throughout all of our schooling.  But it is also really cute, because it can be used to think about the last day of our first year and how sad it will be after all of our students are leaving us.  I think there will always be a bond between your class especially the first year of teaching.

Anyway, I may have just posted all of this for no reason, but I just thought if anyone else had any fears or worries about what happens after this year these have really eased my mind a little! But I am looking forward to this semester! I really enjoy everyone in our class and it just makes me excited! Well off to my storytelling class!!! Hope everyone has a great day!