End of Year Video

Below is my end of year video for the 2014-2015 school year.

Thank a Teacher

In response to Mrs. Stevens' Blog, the teacher I would like to thank is my calculus teacher, Mrs. Fudge. Mrs. Fudge is not only a wonderful teacher, but also a wonderful person. She goes above and beyond as a teacher by giving up her mornings and afternoon for tutorials, grading for hours just to give us our assignments back in a timely manner, and having review session on the weekend and providing breakfast. She breaks down the difficult topic of calculus in a manner that students can grasp and always encourages us to remain determined to finish even when we are frustrated. She does give us a lot of homework, but it is all in the best interest if her students. Teaching seniors is not an easy task, but she makes it look easy. I appreciate her dedication and hard work to her students, but I don't think she gets the thanks and credit she deserves.

So Mrs. Fudge, thank you for everything you have done for us this school year. Not only as a teacher, but as a person. All of your students know how much you care about us and how much you want us to succeed. You put so much effort into this year and I greatly appreciate it.

The Smartest Kids in the World: Part I

In response to Mrs. Stevens' Blog, I have finished reading Part I of the Smartest Kids in the World. While reading the book, I tried to relate my education situations to each students experiences to get an idea how I would feel in different countries.

The chapter explaining Kim's experience in Oklahoma and her process of being a foreign exchange student in Finland focused more on Kim than Finland's education system. Kim's dedication to education was evident at an early age probably because that was that activity she belonged to at school. She discovered that her school was "holding her back" and she was determined to study abroad. In order to do so, she had to raise $10,000 in funds. Her determination and dedication to grow intellectually was the engine that kept her pushing to the final amount of $10,000. She researched unusual countries and was attracted to Finland because of the strong coffee and the best education system in the whole world. I don't have too much information about the Finland schools yet, but I do know that the students have freedom and are treated like adults. The students are prepared for the next level and are motivated to do well in school, to get into a good college, to end up with a good job. Education is taken seriously and teachers are held in a high regard.

South Korea's education system has a fantastic structure, but it is taken out of hand. Students basically go through two American school days everyday and go to a tutor until eleven at night. Students are pushed extremely hard by their parents and have a constant pressure to learn more and study hander. Because the success of middle school determines the high school the students will attend, and the results of an end of course high school exam determines the college the student will attend, and the success in college determines the rest of the students and their families life, Korean students have pressure on them to be the best at the very beginning of school. The pressure is not healthy for anyone, but especially for children. Although the system is flawed, the students are extremely motivated and take their education very seriously. This system could be ideal if it was toned down several levels. Less pressure should be placed on the one exam that determines the college a student will attend. More emphasis should be placed on learning information and skills to be successful in their future careers.

The chapter about Poland focused mainly on math. Polish teachers teach math in a very different, but relevant way than the United States. When teaching math, students are given real life situations and are taught math skills to solve it. Unlike the United States that categorized each year of math into a separate category, Poland teaches material as it fits together because all math does go together. For me, it is easy to categorize trigonometry, algebra, and calculus into separate components, but in life, they all fit together. So why does America teach it separate? I don't have the answer to that question.

Like I said previously, I feel like America would benefit from using a model of South Korea's education system with moderations. I do feel like students view education as a joke and nearly every person can get into a type of community or 4-year college. By tightening the qualification for college, students will have the same type of motivation that South Korean students have. The number of hours those students spent at school, tutoring, and studying is outrageous, but America can learn from the structure of the education system.

Revolution or Evolution?

In response to Mrs. Stevens' Blog, I was stumped with the question, "What is the most important ingredient to the learning formula?" But the longer I thought about it, the more answers I got. I finally realized that one factor cannot be the most important because the learning process has several factors that are mandatory to be successful. A teacher is necessary to individually relate to the students and create a student-centered classroom. The student must have a desire to learn and do complete their work. The parents must be encouraging their students to try the best they can and to complete assignments. A small class size creates a more one-on-one learning style that students need, especially slower students. Technology can enhance learning and provide a gateway of unlimited possibilities. When one factor is not included, the education process still occurs, but it might not be as successful when all factors are present.


In my opinion, I believe education changes to
remain "in-line" with society today. In reality, society should change to remain "in-line" with education. In order for that to occur, education must be revolutionized by a new standard. Teachers, students, or parents are not the answer to change education, but a new slate and expectations are necessary. Education is in place to prepare students for college which prepares students for a career. The goal is fine, but the path getting there is not. Today, students memorize to pass tests. I would know because that is how I keep high grades. Instead of learning the material and growing as my own individual thinker, I just spout off information that has been printed in my brain for a short period of time. By memorizing information, advanced thinking is not taking place and students do not understand at a deep level at all. But as long as students memorize the information on the test, they are rewarded with a good grade. Education is about learning and grades represent more memorization skills than mastery of information.

The broken education system does not need new inspirational teachers, driven students, or encouraging parents for a necessary change to take place. Instead, we need to put less emphasis on grades and more on learning. We need to have less structured assignments to allow students to create and expand on an idea they created, instead of having them regurgitate information that has been spoon-fed to them. Our education system desperately needs to be revolutionized into less of a "mold" system and more into an imaginative and unique system because each student has a special gift that the world will benefit from.

Tribes

In response to Mrs. Stevens Blog, I did some research on the classroom management system of tribes. Tribes includes four main points including: active listening, no put downs, mutual respect, and freedom to pass. Tribes provides a safe and fun learning environment for students. Students work harder in this system and take responsibility in their own learning as well as the learning of their peers. I like the idea of tribes and would love to have a classroom that has a similar management system.

Tribes would work in my site school classroom and it would benefit from the system. The seventh grade math classroom that I am in is consistently in table groups and the groups would transform into a new learning environment. Tribes provides a safe environment for students to take risks and ask questions. Society today is so test focused and grade focus, that students fear making mistakes which hinders learning rather than enhance learning. Using tribes in my site school, students would find and defend their answer and their thought process. Students would learn the concepts instead of simply finding an answer. Tribes would open the door to elevated understanding and mastery. For more information on tribes, click here.

In classroom management, I personally believe students must understand the level of care the teacher has for them in order for the student to work hard for the teacher. I strongly feel student and teacher bond has a large role in the learning process. Students understand the effort a teacher is putting into his or her job, and they are more motivated when more effort is given. Character education is a big deal for me because I want all of my students to become the best version of themselves and teaching them information isn't the whole point of teaching, but helping students grow up into responsible and good citizens. Character education should be intertwined with subject education. Students that are respectful and responsible will do as they are told when they are told. Character education is vital for a well managed classroom. If character is not a priority in the classroom, students will act poorly and the environment will not be a healthy learning environment.

Smore

My web tool is Smore. Click here to go directly to the Smore website. Smore is similar to blogger in the aspect that it displays information in a form similar to a flyer. Smore does not have a mobile APP, but it can easily be used on computers on our school network.

Below is an example flyer I made on Smore.

There are upgrades that cost money that allow custom backgrounds, more flyers per month, high quality photos, and no more branding. The costs increase the more features you get. There is a discounted version for educators. When you make an account, you can make 5 free flyers. After 5, you have to upgrade or pay a small fee to get more credits to make flyers. There are 3 paid versions, level one is $19/month, level two is $49/month, and level three is $99/month.

With Smore, you can share your flyer through social media, email, and Pintrest. After sharing it, you can go to your account and see the views it has gotten, as well as, what people are doing and clicking on your flyer.

When forming an account, the website does not ask for an age or parent permission, so I do not believe there are any.

In my site school classroom, if the students could make a flyer containing step for solving a math problem, characteristics of shapes, any vocabulary term, and endless other possibilities. I would definitely use this in my high school classes for a research assignment or for any presentation. It gives you the ability to organize information in a neat and entertaining way.

Any subject can use Smore flyers, although a history and reading class would be more common to use it. Any research activity or presentation would best lend themselves to this tool. My mentor teach does not use this tool in the classroom simply because time does not permit. This year, the students are having to learn two grades worth of math, so she dos not have time to assign projects.

Here are some examples that students made for a school assignment. The picture to the right is a history project explaining the 1920's. And the picture to the left is an example of a science project explaining the states of matter.

Glogster

Below is the Glogster I made for my seventh grade my class in response to Mrs. Stevens' Blog. It covers the topic of area of composite figures. On the page, there is an explanation of the necessary step to find the area, a video explaining it, pictures, and a link to area of composite figure games. This is a EOC review activity that my class will be doing in a few weeks. They love competition, so I know this review basketball activity will motivate them.