My Thoughts: Final Blog

September is always a rough time of year for teachers. It takes time to get back into the swing of things. Besides having a new class of students to worry about I also had a new class at Montclair to prepare for. When I walked into class and starting hearing about all the technology that was involved I have to admit I was concerned. I really didn't even know what a blog was and now I was suppose to have one of my own. I thought for sure this class was going to be a nightmare. I am glad I was completely wrong. At times this class was challenging with some of the assignments that we had to do, but in the end I really learned a lot and enjoyed doing some of the projects at the same time.

This class I feel will help me in becoming a better teacher and one day an administrator. I knew that technology was an important aspect to our future, but I guess I never realized just how important it is to our future. I learned many new skills that I can pass along to my students. These skills will allow my students to become life long learners. I am not only teaching them a new idea or a concept I am teaching them how to apply it to many different situations. Having children realize that there is a connection to the real world helps the learning process along.

Another technology aspect of this class that I really enjoyed was the blogging. I tend to be more on the quieter side and at times it is hard for me to state my opinion about something, but blogging made it very easy for me. I also really enjoyed reading other blogs. I think if I taught an upper grade this would be something that I would want to incorporate into my curriculum.

Another aspect of the class that I like that didn't have to do with technology was the readings. I found the articles that we had to do for this class to be very enjoyable. I really like the article "Reading Don't Fix No Chevys." We all try to incorporate differentiated instruction into our classrooms, but this article made me realize that there is more to differentiated instruction than just high, medium, and low level thinkers. Incorporating articles into a lesson is a good way to help get a point across and there were many articles that did that for me this semester.

I will walk away from this class with a better understanding of much change is needed in our schools and a better idea of how to go about making change happen. As a future administrator one day it is important to know those two things. You can't walk into a school and expect change to happen over night. Change is a process that will take time and needs to be done in the right manner.

Link: How to make our lives easier

Throughout the semester we have learned a lot about technology. For the past two years I have used my computer to help me with my grades. There is this program that I found that really helps make your life easier when it comes time to your students. It helps with grades, getting information to parents, and much much more. I really love it and I introduced to some of my colleagues and now they love it too!!

http://www.classactiongradebook.com

Orange Middle School

State testing effects all of us in the education world. It effects some of us more than others. Some schools hit it out of the park while other schools have a very difficult time with these tests. Unfortunately, Orange Middle School is one of those schools that has had a problem. They have failed to meet the benchmark for six years now. The school realized that they had a problem and stepped up to the plate to do something about it.

Orange Middle School handled the situation in a way that I thought was very appropriate. It didn't seem like they pointed fingers at people. I liked the way that they divided up the school into five sections. Having smaller groups is ideal. So much more can be done with smaller groups. Teacher and student interaction becomes easier. A teacher can also get to know his/her students on a more personal level. This will allow the teachers to be better prepared to teach the lessons. It will allow the teacher to recognize the difference in their students. Differentiated instruction can easily come into play. Another thing that I liked was how the educators met together to discuss what is going on in their classrooms. Working as a team is very beneficial. Both the teachers and students can succeed in a learning environment where nobody is left out in the dark. During the meeting time teachers can share experiences. I know when I am having a problem it is good to know that I am not the only one with this problem or when I find something that works I can't wait to share it with a colleague. To me there is nothing worse than feeling lonely.

Even though Orange Middle School is taking the steps in the right direction towards a better future I feel that the school would benefit from more parental involvement. I think the school should organize workshops, activities, or just simply invite parents into the school. When the community gets involved it is always a good thing. The children need to know that there is somewhere there for them. The middle school years can be a rough couple of years. All the support they can get the better. The article also mentioned that there is a safety issue in the school. Having police around is a good idea, but I wonder how the children feel about it? You don't want the children feeling like they prisoners. Maybe teachers can attend workshops on how to help angry teens or have a guidance counselor more readily available. Another solution is to have children take place in team building activities. These activities will hopefully make the children realizes that friends or ten times better than enemies.

Overall, Orange Middle School is doing whats needs to be done. It would be interesting to see how test scores change.