Blog #4

There are many ways that teachers can stereotype students without even realizing it. The way a student a student looks and presents themselves is a major example. If a student walked into my classroom wearing all dark clothes, chains, heavy makeup and spikey hair, I might be a little thrown off. I would not expect much out of the student and would automatically expect them not to care about my class. I should not pass judgment on the student just by the clothes they wear. On the opposite end, I have some very intelligent students in some of my classes. I have noticed that sometimes teachers expect the students to understand the information on the first try. Even though these students are at the top of their class they still need just as much explanation as the other students. As a teacher, it is my job to ensure that I do not stereotype these students. I must treat everyone with the same respect and believe in them. All students have a chance to learn and it is my job to ensure that each student I come in contact with understands that I care for them and that I will teach to the best of my abilities. Additionally, every student that enters my classroom displays a different learning style. It is my job to ensure that each learning style and student is taught in a way that best suits the student. I will ensure that this is accomplished my adhering and creating as many auditory, visual and tactile classroom activities as possible.

Reflection #3

I feel that it can be very challenging to address the needs of all students. It is my absolute goal to make sure that every student is given the opportunity to succeed. This involves ensuring that we teach as many different ways as possible so that the majority of students will be able to understand and master the material presented. Ultimately, No Child Left Behind has given the school system and almost impossible task Lamar states that, “…all 50 million student in our nearly 100,000 public schools would be proficient in reading and math by 2014. ” This is an extremely difficult task, not all students can meet these standards at a certain point. Lamar also said that, “it is likely that nearly 80 percent of American schools will soon fail to meet the adequate yearly progress standards.” Inclusion has its pros and cons and is effective on an individual basis. For some students interacting with higher thinking students can benefit them because they are forced to have conversations and work with these students. On the other hand some students can be overwhelmed and it will impact them in a negative way. It all depends on the student and the classroom environment. I will strive to incorporate as many different types of teaching methods. I will ensure that my students have handouts of information gone over in class, they will be given the option to come to after school tutoring as well as in class we will review the information in a fun environment, thus using technology, games and hands on activities. From my experience I have seen the good side of inclusion. My students are working together and the special needs student is benefiting from the interaction. I know that this is not always the case and inclusion is not always the best fit for all special needs students. Alexander, Lamar. "A Better Way to Fix No Child Left Behind." The New York Times. The New York Times, 26 Sept. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.

Believe to succeed!

This past week has been full of success. Not only have I made improvements in the classroom but our judging teams have also did very well at the contests this past week. Marion has a tradition of having a very competitive livestock team and it seems to be continuing that this year. This past week our livestock judgers were 5th place out of around 250 students at the San Antonio Livestock Contest. That was just one example of the great achievements made by students at Marion High school. Now on to classroom success, my classroom management, organization skills and depth of lessons are increasing substantially each week. Last week I was having issues with students talking. I warned once and said if I do not receive full attention for this class period ya'll will be given a seating chart. Well, they did not pay attention and I stuck to my word. This past week they have been very attentive, taking notes and remaining silent. Very good improvements!! I am excited to see what the rest of the semester has in store for myself, as well as my students! I my goals are to keep up with all class and be prepared the night before, I want to have everything planned out and organized. For my students, I want to make sure I am creating activities that keep their focus and interest them.

Reflection #2

Part One: Limiting a test to only multiple choice options seriously limits the students. They have no way to express and prove that they know the information. With multiple choice tests you are either right or wrong, with no in between. For example, in this poem the left side gives very specific information, while the right is more abstract and gives the students a chance to think and explain how they feel. If we give these students a chance to give more broad answers then they will be able to comprehend and actually be able to have intellectual conversations about the subject and not just the exact facts. This way the student will be able to creatively give responses. Part Two: i. I am giving a few types of formative assessments at the moment. The most common is exit slips. At the end of class I have the students write what they have learned and what they want to learn. Also, the classroom provided I pads, the students were instructed to get on judging card.com and practice their retail cuts. They were given 5 options ii. I have given one summative assessment and the students needed to complete the 5 math problems on the piece of paper. This test showed if they retained the information provided in class. iii. It is extremely important to have a combination of these types of assessments. You need to have the students working toward a goal. That final summative assessment is the goal but their also needs to have a build up towards this goal. Formative assessments are need so that the students have to practice to succeed in Summative assessment. iv. One type of summative assessment I would like to use is having the students create a brochure talking about 5 main points of the industry such as animal behavior and handling, the harvesting process, fabrication process and quality insurance. Another type of summative assessment that I will use is a standard test that incorporates short answer, fill in the blank, matching and multiple choice. For example, for the short answer questions I would ask what steps would you take if meat were left in the grinder? For the last assessment I would use is (KWL) what I know, what I want to know and what I have learned. This will give me a better understanding as of what the students understand and what type of information would be most beneficial for them.

Reflection #1: Introduction

Currently I am student teaching at the secondary level for agriculture. My placement is at Marion High School. Upon graduation I hope to teach within 30 miles from San Marcos. There are many roles of an agriculture teacher but the three most important is to educate students, to be a positive influence and motivator as well as help students receive funding to go to college. As an educator, in the classroom I will create lesson plans and activities that will allow for my students to gain knowledge of the agriculture industry. Every day I will make an effort to teach them something that they didn’t know the day before. This is needed for them to further their education, earn their high school diploma and follow their dreams. Serving as a motivator and a positive influence in my classroom is very important to me. At home students might not have someone who is happy to see them or encourages them to succeed. Serving as that person is extremely important because I might be the difference in them graduating and pursuing their dreams or goals. They might not even have any goals for the future and I want to help them establish them. Funding to further education is extremely important. Without my Ag teachers I would not have received a $16,000 for college. Without them I would have had to pull out loans. I have successfully made it through college debt free because their hard work. If I am that person for even just one child it would make my career worth. As an agriculture teacher is my job to make sure my students are involved in activities so that they can earn theses scholarships and purse what they want to do. Overall, there are many roles of a teacher but to me these are the most important. I want success from my students and watching them grow as individuals is extremely important. I will do whatever it takes to educate my students to the best of my ability, motivate them to purse their dreams and provide funding for them to attend a college or university.