Common School Practice

        One very common school practice I would change is homework. I see no need or real positive effect homework does for students as a whole. Many educators believe homework is a way of reinforcing what is being taught in the classroom. I must agree with the purpose of this strategy, but in reality, not all students gain what they are supposed to from these homework assignments.

        I believe homework (at home assignments) is a good thing to be given to younger students such as in the elementary levels. I believe this allows for the child and parent to connect and develop a relationship that is further more than just a family relationship. Now in days, you do not see many parents that are involved with their child's school and many parents do not even know what the child is learning at school. I feel that if an elementary teacher would give maybe just one weekly homework assignment that needs the work of both the child and parent, they are forced to get involved and maybe little by little the parents will become more interested in volunteering in schools which will help the student be more successful in school.

        Personally, and not very proud of it, when I became a student in Jr.high and high school I vividly remember simply copying off others to do my homework assignment. This is where homework becomes an issue. As for me, when I become an educator one day, I do not see myself as one to give homework, but to use the time in the classroom to my advantage. If a teacher has good strategies and good discipline there is no reason why the teacher is not able to cover all the lesson and materials in class and feel the need to give homework. At that age a student does not understand the importance of homework, therefor will not gain from it. They can simply ask another student to do it for them or copy off one another. And When testing comes around the student fails and whether teachers are to blame or not, it is them who gets a bad name or evaluation for having such a high failing rate.

        Right or wrong, and I am sure many will argue this case for many years, to me: It all becomes a chain reaction. One thing leads to another, and in my perspective, I see mostly failure out of giving homework.

Chapter 1 Notes

In chapter one, the question the chapter is based on is “Why Teach?” Several reasons as to why people have become educators are given in the chapter and the chapter also asks us to evaluate and examine our own motives as to why we want to become teachers.  Teaching cannot be classified as just a job but a passion. It takes a certain type of person to become a teacher, not just anyone can do it. Two rewards one gains from teaching mentioned in the chapter are extrinsic- external and intrinsic (internal).

The chapter also really emphasizes to the student (us) to evaluate the reasons we want to become teachers and make sure we are pursuing this degree for the right reasons. Many who go into this profession have a different aspect as to what the work is and are overwhelmed and some disappointed because it is not what they thought it would be. The chapter lets us know the importance of being in the classroom observing how it works before we can be in a classroom alone.

Dr. Wilma Joe Smetter

         My most significant teacher was not really a teacher. Her name is Dr. Wilma Joe Smetter and she was our district's superintendent my sophomore to half way of my senior year. She taught in a classroom for about the first 15 years of her career. Due to that fact she knew how to relate and communicate with her students very well.
         I graduated from a 1A school district which consisted of about 500 students from elementary to high school. Being that the district was so small, Dr. Smetter took advantage of the fact and not only got to know her students as a whole but as individuals. She continuously visited classrooms and attended almost every extra curricular activity she could. Every student in the district knew who she was and she was admired by many.
        I became close to her because she created a committee which consisted of several students from each campus which was meant to receive input from the students themselves on how to better the district. We met once a month and it was then when I began to notice all she had been doing for our district and realizing that no employee had ever done that before. She made us aware of her open door policy and allowed us to feel free to go and speak to her for any reason at any time. I took advantage of the opportunity and began to visit her on a regular basis. I asked her for advise on furthering my education and as to what courses of action I should take in order to succeed.
       When I started off, I was planing to pursue a degree in communications. After several meetings with her and learning more and more about her views on education and her goals, I began to find myself very interested in becoming an educator as well. After some thinking and getting to know myself a bit better I found that being an educator was meant for me. Not only do I wish to become an educator some day but a mentor as well to a student the was Dr. Smetter became a mentor to me.

First Post

Did I do this right?