Halloween Slideshow!

Make a Smilebox slideshow

I finally figured out how to make a slideshow! It only has three pictures, but it's a start! Enjoy!

Reflection on "Teacher Man"

One of my assignments for this educational psychology class is to read a book about education. My discussion group chose to read the book "Teacher Man" by Frank McCourt. I just finished it over Fall Break, and enjoyed it very much. Instead of blogging about the chapters from the textbook, I am going to use this blog to reflect on a couple key quotations from the book "Teacher Man."

McCourt writes this in Chapter 13: "You can't be liked by every one of the hundreds of kids you have every year" (p. 207 in my version). This idea stuck with me. I had worried about being liked by my students. I want to be liked by all of them, but this quote made me realize that that is very unlikely to happen. Even a successful teacher like McCourt was not liked by some of his students. As McCourt did throughout his teaching career, I will try to reach out to the students who dislike me, and change their opinion.

A second quote from Chapter 13: "I ask you, is it the task of the teacher to supply canon fodder for the military-industrial complex? Are we shaping packages for the corporate assembly line?" (p. 211) This quote seems to fit perfectly with our discussions in class. We have focused on No Child Left Behind and how it can take away creativity in the classroom. McCourt's quote seems to support creativity and not support teaching to get a good score on a standardized test. As a music teacher, I will not have to prepare my students for a standardized test, so I will hopefully be able to teach creative, interesting lessons, like I remember learning in elementary school music class.

I will finish this post with a quote that eased some of my worries about teaching. "Find what you love and do it" (p. 255). I love sharing the joys music with children, so I know that I am supposed to be a music teacher, and I will enjoy doing it for the rest of my life.

It's Almost Fall Break!

Tomorrow is the last day of classes before Fall Break!

I am very excited to apply some of what I have learned in Ed Psych when I am home over break. I am going to apply my new knowledge when I visit the place of my summer employment: a child care center. This past summer, I worked mainly with the toddlers. After reading the first chapters of our text, I now know more about the toddlers and why they do the things they do. For example, one of our toddlers loves to pull the teacher's hair. He thinks it is funny and he keeps pulling hair, despite repeated punishments of various kinds for doing so. I learned from this course that the toddler is probably not pulling hair because he doesn't want to listen; rather, he is pulling hair because he does not have the perspective-taking ability. He does not understand that others have different feelings. I also learned that, according to Piaget, toddlers are part of the preoperational stage. Therefore, toddlers are very egocentric and assume that others experience the world the way they do. From the information presented in our text, I have concluded that the toddler believes that the teacher also thinks it's funny when he pulls her hair.

Who knows what other opportunities to use my newly founded educational psychology knowledge will arise over Fall Break.

Reflection on Chapter Four

During class on Wednesday, Professor Langholz asked us if we would use IQ tests in our classrooms, and if we would use the results to separate our class into groups based on intelligence level.

After reading chapter four, which was about intelligence and learner differences, my answer to Professor Langholz's question is no, I would not use IQ tests in my classroom. I feel that if I did use IQ tests, I would unfairly separate and label my students, especially if I looked at the results before I even met them. I want each of my students to be on an equal playing field when they come to school. I don't want to already have John or Jane labeled as "not as smart as the others" because of one score on one test.

Another reason I would not use IQ tests is that I don't believe we can accurately measure intelligence when we don't even know what intelligence is. The book states that groups of psychologists have met to discuss intelligence, but they have never agreed upon a solid definition or the structure of intelligence. The book also gives many examples of proposed types of intelligence, such as fluid intelligence, crystallized intelligence, the theory of multiple intelligences, and the triarchic theory of successful intelligence. I don't think that we should test students on something that we can't even define.

A note on the lecture - I really enjoyed this role playing activity. It made No Child Left Behind real and interesting, instead of just something we read about in the book. The activity gave us a chance to experience the effects of No Child Left Behind before we become teachers. It really made me realize that when I am considering implementing a new activity for my students (such as a mandatory concert or new grading system) I need to think of all the different points of view first.