Chapter 7 Reflection

If I remember correctly I believe the first time I encountered the internet at school was in the second grade. We had a school online learning program called Study Island and we would go once a week as a class to work on assignment.

It was until the fourth grade that I began playing games on the internet. Due to the fact that I did not have a computer at home at the time, I was never interested in using them at school, probably because I didn’t know how to use them at the time. Even at the time I began playing games on the internet, I did not do it much because I never found much amusement in them.

Chapter 6 Reflection

Personally, and from observing other educators, I believe that the single most important characteristic of an effective teacher is the relationship/ attitude the teacher has not only with her students but with other faculty and staff as well.

My most effective teachers in high school were those that had a great relationship with their students where it was perfectly ok for a student to go ask the teacher for help with issues both inside and outside the classroom.  Due to the fact that I grew up in a small town with the entire district population being just a bit over 700 students, we were able to get to know our teachers and have close relationships with them because our classroom size was only about 10 students per class period. I remember being able to go to my Spanish teacher who was also my cheerleading coach, and talk to her about girl problems because her and I had a close relationship. To me, that is the kind of teacher that left an important mark on my life.

Another teacher of mine, my algebra teacher, was also a very nice man. He was the type to sit down and take time to explain all he needed to in order to successfully teach the objective of the week. Not only did all his students love him, but all the other staff members were very appreciative of him because of all he did and always helped others.

In conclusion, I believe an effective teacher must have a good relationship with both their students and co- workers.

Chapter 5 Reflection

In my junior high years, I experienced a lot of complex instruction. In one particular class, my algebra class, we did a lot of small group work and our teacher would go around the classroom asking if we needed help or he would ask us to explain to him how we solved the problem. At first I didn’t see that it was effective because I have never been quite good at working in groups because I like things done my way, but little by little I began to work better in groups and found that at the end, it was more effective. I was able to see the other aspects of how they would do their work, and input some of their strategies into mine. 

Chapter 4 Reflection

One social challenge in today’s world with many students and young adults is alcohol and drug abuse. Many people have found that usually these habits develop because of stress, hardships, loneliness and other emotional feelings such as those.  Many teens have become very dependent on these drugs and alcohol habits that they begin to affect only themselves but those who around them as well.

Drugs are usually very addicting and are hard to cut away from. They also cause many problems for the person and family as well. Due to the fact that they are pricing but easy to access in most cases, many young adults will do practically anything without thinking of the consequences, just to get their hands on them. Unfortunately, when one person becomes involved with drugs, the entire family is put in danger.  

Alcohol is probably the most common use of substance abuse. This usually begins at a very early age and continues on sometimes for the rest of their lives. Many consequences come from using drugs and alcohol. Usually they are tied to premarital sex and other sexual acts. Many of these acts lead from one to another. It begins with alcohol and drug usage to sexual acts or destructive acts then it ends with having unplanned children or prison.

Personally I believe the reason for these things going on in today’s society all boils down to emotional factors one is going through. It can range from family issues to issues with a boy or girlfriend to issues at school. I think people feel a void and use drugs and alcohol to fill them.

As a future educator I would probably advise stdents about the dangers in the classroom, but due to restrictions and time allowed per class period, I be one to get involved more into a child’s life than just instruction in the classroom. Many teachers today know about these issues going on in their student’s lives but simply chose to ignore them and go on with their lives. I can see myself becoming involved and getting to know those troubled students more in order to help them move on from such behavior. Though it is a risky thing to do, I want to be more than just a teacher but a mentor and an inspiration to other students as well.

Chapter 3 Reflection

Of Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences, I fell that the Verbal- linguistic intelligence is my strength. Verbal- linguistic intelligence draws on the individual’s language skills, oral and written; to express what’s on the persons mind and to understand other people.  

I have always been a person that has had much more success when delivering something in text form or by the spoken word.  As a leader in my high school I was always chosen to give presentations and speeches to represent my school. From campus to campus or district wide, I also wrote a few articles on the school/ district to turn into the local city news paper for publishing. I also helped represent many clubs and other oragnizations through events such as "Miss Public Service" for my criminal justice club and "Interview" for my FFA club. These events were the events that represented the school over all. Tey were like "spokesperson" for the district.

When it comes to listening and understanding others, I prefer to communicate in an oral manner. I have been put into situations where I had to communicate with people orally and have succeeded. I believe this strength is important to have when becoming an educator so you can better communicate with and understand the students you are working with. for exapmle, if you were to have a student with speach disorders you can always communicate with them by using pictures and things of that sort.

Overall, I believe this strength will help me become an awesome educator as I hope to one day become.