I believe the Lord has called me become an educator. I understand the important role that education and schooling play in our democratic society. I believe a good teacher knows how to communicate information to their students in ways that meet each student’s individual need. I believe students must learn though doing. I want to give my students the opportunity to develop skills that can be used through out life. I believe I fit into the teacher- centered philosophy of essentialism. I understand that Essentialism is a philosophy that comes from the beliefs of Plato and Aristotle. Plato believed in Idealism. I understand that Idealism is the oldest philosophy of the Greeks and Romans. The Greek and Roman philosophies are called Western philosophies. Idealism is the oldest Western philosophy (Cody-Mitchell, 2008). It is my understanding that Plato believed certain facts that are true. These true facts help students learn about the real world. Aristotle taught that our world must be understood in a real way. This belief is called Realism (Cody-Mitchell, 2008). I have had many different kinds of jobs. I had to work with other people in every job. I feel Physical Education teaches students how to get along as a part of a team.Teachers who believe in Essentialism understand the importance of teaching skills that students can use in the real world. Essentialist classrooms use the “core curriculum”(Sadker&Sadker, 2005,pp 331). I know that it is important for all students to be able to use reading, writing, math, history, science, and now a foreign language in their work.
I know that Carson Newman College teaches students to value Christian principles. I am a Christian and I believe that these principles influence how I should act with those around me. Essentialist understands the importance of God and country. I know that personal discipline is critical to success in life. I want to help my students learn to be disciplined as people and as members of a group, I believe that Physical Education is important to help student develop themselves in both of these ways. I want to teach students the importance of healthy living. I feel it is my job as a Physical Education teacher to help students learn the proper techniques for exercise. I also think that students need to learn to work together. Team -building is an important part of most physical group activities.
I also believe in the student-centered philosophy of Progressivism. This philosophy comes from Pragmatism. According to Pragmatism, truth is a personal understanding (Cody-Mitchell, 2008). I understand that I can not expect my students to want to learn information just because I want them to know the information. The students must see their own need to learn the information. I know from personal experience that I learn best when I can see a real reason for using the information that is being given for me to learn.
I can tell a student the correct technique for holding a golf club. I can demonstrate the technique. The student will only be interested in learning the technique if they see real life examples of how that this information will help them become better at playing the game of golf. The Progressive philosophy sees the importance of putting curriculum into real life situations. I think that Physical Education is a great example of the progressive philosophy. The Physical Education classroom is an active environment where both the teacher and students are working together in an active learning experience.
As a constructivist, I will teach in a way that allows students to discover new information. I will use the teacher-centered philosophy of Essentialism to determine the best skill based curriculum to meet the individual needs of all of my students. I will use the student-centered understandings of Progressivism to design active learning experiences that encourage small group interactions.
References
Cody-Mitchell (2008). Philosophical foundations [PowerPoint slides] Retrieved
July 10, 2008 from
https://webct.cn.edu/educ303558aol/Philosophical%20Foundations.ppt
Ellsworth,J.(1998). Overview of Educaitnal Philosophies. Retrieved July 10, 2008
from http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jde7/ese502/assessment/lesson.html.
Ryan,K.&Cooper,J.(2004). Those who can teach. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Sadker,M.P.&Sadker,D.M.(2005).Teachers, Schools and Society. New York:
McGraw Hill
Friday, July 18, 2008
Teacher Interview Blog
interviewed two middle school teachers. The male teacher teaches Physical Education in an urban Title 1 public school in Macon. The female teaches sixth grade in a wealthy public school in a suburb of Atlanta. He will be beginning his eleventh year of teaching when school starts this year. The female teacher has just completed her first year of teaching.
Both teachers love teaching. The male became a teacher because he loves being around kids. He likes the idea of being able to be a positive influence in the lives of middle school students. The female teacher chose to teach because she wants to make an impact on kids for Christ. Both see the middle school student as impressionable. The Physical Education teacher says that much of his day is spent as a counselor. The female says that she spends a great deal of the day in the lecture mode. She said that she believes in being a student-centered teacher but she finds that she is using lecture more than she though. She admits that she is struggling with classroom management. She says that the students talk too much when doing group work. The male feels that he is a student-centered teacher and enjoys using group activities. He feels that corporative grouping activities give his students opportunities to learn from each other and become more responsible for their own learning experiences.
Both believe that the purpose of school is to prepare students for the future. She advises new teachers to find a mentor. She is glad that she was able to be in a mentor program for her first teaching experience. She reminds new teachers coming into the profession to see teaching as a rollercoaster experience. Some days you may not think that you’re accomplishing much, but others you do and you get to see that you’re making a difference. The male teacher reminds new teachers to watch the great teachers in front of you and to borrow their techniques.
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Both teachers love teaching. The male became a teacher because he loves being around kids. He likes the idea of being able to be a positive influence in the lives of middle school students. The female teacher chose to teach because she wants to make an impact on kids for Christ. Both see the middle school student as impressionable. The Physical Education teacher says that much of his day is spent as a counselor. The female says that she spends a great deal of the day in the lecture mode. She said that she believes in being a student-centered teacher but she finds that she is using lecture more than she though. She admits that she is struggling with classroom management. She says that the students talk too much when doing group work. The male feels that he is a student-centered teacher and enjoys using group activities. He feels that corporative grouping activities give his students opportunities to learn from each other and become more responsible for their own learning experiences.
Both believe that the purpose of school is to prepare students for the future. She advises new teachers to find a mentor. She is glad that she was able to be in a mentor program for her first teaching experience. She reminds new teachers coming into the profession to see teaching as a rollercoaster experience. Some days you may not think that you’re accomplishing much, but others you do and you get to see that you’re making a difference. The male teacher reminds new teachers to watch the great teachers in front of you and to borrow their techniques.
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Professional Education Blog
I enjoyed reading chapter 2 in our text on the teachings profession. My mother is an elementary school teacher. Like the text said, my mom does work less hours and she is paid less. My dad is a teacher and coach in high school. He works more hours and is paid more because of his additional stipend for football. The basketball coach that I did my interview with is a middle school Math teacher. She said that most of her day is spent in direct instruction. She also said that she is able to spend time in planning with other members of her grade level team. Like the text, she said that she spent the least amount of a typical day doing testing and monitoring types of activities. I also read about the idea of block scheduling. I was able to experience block scheduling in my high school. I agree with the book. Block scheduling is less distracting. I felt the day went by faster because you were only going to four classes per day. The ninety minute class time gave more time for testing. I liked the fact that teachers had time to lecture and they were able to give us additional time for group and individual types of response work.. We had to have a great deal of parent involvement to help make a smooth move to the block schedule. I want the parents of my students’ involved in my class. I understand that I will need to work extra hard to get the parents of my students involved in the class. But I know that is important for the parent to be involved in helping the student succeed in both the classroom and in athletics.
The American Schools Module Blog
I will describe the term school. I will explain the organization of schools and discuss characteristics of effective schools. First, I will define what the word school means.
Schools are defined as places where people meet and learning happens. Schools are called social institutions. These institutions are located in a physical place and operate with a set of rules. Now, I will talk about how schools are organized.
Public schools are developmentally organized by a range of grade levels to meet the needs of students. Most students attend kindergarten through grade 5 in an Elementary school. sixth through eight in a middle grades school ,and grades 9-12 in a high school. These three types of schools make up the types of schools in a local school district. A local school superintendent is responsible for the education that happens within the local school district. As each of these schools, the building principal is responsible for how that particular school operates at their particular site. Now I will discuss how the school operates at the building level.
All three types of school have the same building level organization structure. The organization is divided into three parts; personnel, physical and curriculum. The word personnel is used to describe all the types of people who are working in the building; administrators and support staff, the curriculum specialist, and the teachers. Physical is the word used to talk about the structure of the school. Curriculum is the word that is used to define for what teachers teach and what the students learn at each school. All three types of public schools use curriculum. However, all three types of schools differ in terms of the teachers’ daily schedule, classroom design, and instructional focus.
Elementary teachers are general educators. They must teach students all of the core subject areas. These teachers are responsible for given instruction and handling issues of classroom management as they work to meet the needs of a group of children for an entire school term. The elementary school teacher’s schedules for a day are very different from a middle school also high school teacher’s. In contrast, both middle school teachers and high school teachers are only focused on teaching course in their area of certification. The high school teacher working on a block schedule has a ninety minute planning time. Now, I will talk about the characteristics of and effective school. These characteristics are common to all three school types.
Effective schools want all their students to learn. Effective schools have an understanding of their mission. The mission is to increase student learning. Effective school has high parent involvement. We must try our best to become a candidat3e that an effective school would want to hire.
Schools are defined as places where people meet and learning happens. Schools are called social institutions. These institutions are located in a physical place and operate with a set of rules. Now, I will talk about how schools are organized.
Public schools are developmentally organized by a range of grade levels to meet the needs of students. Most students attend kindergarten through grade 5 in an Elementary school. sixth through eight in a middle grades school ,and grades 9-12 in a high school. These three types of schools make up the types of schools in a local school district. A local school superintendent is responsible for the education that happens within the local school district. As each of these schools, the building principal is responsible for how that particular school operates at their particular site. Now I will discuss how the school operates at the building level.
All three types of school have the same building level organization structure. The organization is divided into three parts; personnel, physical and curriculum. The word personnel is used to describe all the types of people who are working in the building; administrators and support staff, the curriculum specialist, and the teachers. Physical is the word used to talk about the structure of the school. Curriculum is the word that is used to define for what teachers teach and what the students learn at each school. All three types of public schools use curriculum. However, all three types of schools differ in terms of the teachers’ daily schedule, classroom design, and instructional focus.
Elementary teachers are general educators. They must teach students all of the core subject areas. These teachers are responsible for given instruction and handling issues of classroom management as they work to meet the needs of a group of children for an entire school term. The elementary school teacher’s schedules for a day are very different from a middle school also high school teacher’s. In contrast, both middle school teachers and high school teachers are only focused on teaching course in their area of certification. The high school teacher working on a block schedule has a ninety minute planning time. Now, I will talk about the characteristics of and effective school. These characteristics are common to all three school types.
Effective schools want all their students to learn. Effective schools have an understanding of their mission. The mission is to increase student learning. Effective school has high parent involvement. We must try our best to become a candidat3e that an effective school would want to hire.
History of Education
Colonial Period Blog
The Massachusetts Bay colony began the idea of education. These people were Puritans and wanted to make sure their children knew how to read the bible. The people in the colony passed two important laws that started education in American. The laws of 6142 and 1647 required all families in towns of 50 or more homes to find someone to teach the town’s children. The families in the town were responsible for paying the person to teach. Families in cities with 100 or more homes were required by the law to start a Latin Grammar School. The Latin Grammar School was started in Boston inb 1635. The school used a curriculum that was grounded in the tradition of European education. The languages of Greek and Latin were taught as well as Math, Science and English. This school was to be used to prepare young boys ages 7-14 for the university. .Since the school was privately funded by wealthy families only the wealthy boys from those families could go to the school In the Massachusetts Bay colonies, African –American males and American Indian males were not allowed to go to the school. No girls were allowed to go to the school. The girls were taught in the home and these schools were called Dame Schools. Those while boys from families who could not afford to go to the Latin Grammar School became the apprentice of someone to learn a specific skill. The New England Primer was the curriculum used to teach reading in the New England colonies. The alphabet was taught using verses from the bible
Families in the Mid-Atlantic colonies were from a variety of religious backgrounds. For this reason, they did not want their schools to be a place for teaching religion.. These private schools that started were called English Grammar schools. Girls from Mid-Atlantic families were allowed to also attend the English Grammar schools .The schools were skill based and the curriculum was designed to teach students careers. For example, ship building and ship navigation were some of the types of skills that were important for the boys to learn.
During the colonial times in the south, only wealthy southern families paid a tutor to come to their plantation to teach the boys. This was because the south was not as populated as the other colonies of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. The Hornbook was used to teach the alphabet.
.
Early National Period Blog
During this time the nation began. The Revolutionary War was over. The goal of education was to teach the principles of living in a democratic society. The passage of the Northwest Ordinances of 1785, 1786 gave the new nation land west of the colonies. The added territories meant more people Thomas Jefferson helped people see the importance for educating all white citizens. In 1779 he suggested the use of a two track system to educate the student for the university and the student that would be in a trade. During this time, Noah Webster realized the importance of having all the new immigrants that were coning into the land learn a common language. He wrote the American Spelling Book. Also, during this time teachers were still not formally trained to teach.
Common School Movement -1820-1865 Blog
Horace Mann is called the Father of Public Schools. He wanted all people of all color to learn. . He was from Massachusetts and was very important in helping to begin the idea of a free public school. This was called a common school. The school was designed to teach basic knowledge of reading, writing and math. The common school is like our elementary school. The McGuffey Reader was the text that was used to teach reading in the common schools. Horace Mann realized that teachers needed to be trained in how to teach students information. He worked with others to begin Normal schools. These schools were established to teach teachers how to teach. The Normal School program originally lasted two years after high school.
The Secondary School Movement Blog
I am interested in teaching in a Physical Education in a public high school. I wanted to blog my understandings of how the secondary movement came about. The first public high school in America began in Boston in 1821. The school was free but only for boys. The Kalamazoo case of 1874 provided for taxpayer funding of free public secondary schooling. In this Michigan court case the court said that the local government could taxes citizens to fund a secondary public school.
In 1882, a group called the Committee of Ten was formed by the National Education Association (NEA) to develop a standardized set of subjects that would be taught in all high schools. In 1893 the committee recommended that all high school courses last for a year and meet four or five times per week. The student would be given one Carnegie Unit for passage of the course. In 1918 the Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education were passed by NEA’s Committee of Ten. Over the years secondary education has been shaped by decisions from members of committees wanting to reform secondary education. The move to standards based education in the early 1980’s came from the report of the National Commission on Education Excellence called A Nation at Risk. Physical Education became a part of the secondary curriculum when secondary schools became known as comprehensive high school in the early part of the 19th century. The high school has changed very little since it began.
The Massachusetts Bay colony began the idea of education. These people were Puritans and wanted to make sure their children knew how to read the bible. The people in the colony passed two important laws that started education in American. The laws of 6142 and 1647 required all families in towns of 50 or more homes to find someone to teach the town’s children. The families in the town were responsible for paying the person to teach. Families in cities with 100 or more homes were required by the law to start a Latin Grammar School. The Latin Grammar School was started in Boston inb 1635. The school used a curriculum that was grounded in the tradition of European education. The languages of Greek and Latin were taught as well as Math, Science and English. This school was to be used to prepare young boys ages 7-14 for the university. .Since the school was privately funded by wealthy families only the wealthy boys from those families could go to the school In the Massachusetts Bay colonies, African –American males and American Indian males were not allowed to go to the school. No girls were allowed to go to the school. The girls were taught in the home and these schools were called Dame Schools. Those while boys from families who could not afford to go to the Latin Grammar School became the apprentice of someone to learn a specific skill. The New England Primer was the curriculum used to teach reading in the New England colonies. The alphabet was taught using verses from the bible
Families in the Mid-Atlantic colonies were from a variety of religious backgrounds. For this reason, they did not want their schools to be a place for teaching religion.. These private schools that started were called English Grammar schools. Girls from Mid-Atlantic families were allowed to also attend the English Grammar schools .The schools were skill based and the curriculum was designed to teach students careers. For example, ship building and ship navigation were some of the types of skills that were important for the boys to learn.
During the colonial times in the south, only wealthy southern families paid a tutor to come to their plantation to teach the boys. This was because the south was not as populated as the other colonies of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. The Hornbook was used to teach the alphabet.
.
Early National Period Blog
During this time the nation began. The Revolutionary War was over. The goal of education was to teach the principles of living in a democratic society. The passage of the Northwest Ordinances of 1785, 1786 gave the new nation land west of the colonies. The added territories meant more people Thomas Jefferson helped people see the importance for educating all white citizens. In 1779 he suggested the use of a two track system to educate the student for the university and the student that would be in a trade. During this time, Noah Webster realized the importance of having all the new immigrants that were coning into the land learn a common language. He wrote the American Spelling Book. Also, during this time teachers were still not formally trained to teach.
Common School Movement -1820-1865 Blog
Horace Mann is called the Father of Public Schools. He wanted all people of all color to learn. . He was from Massachusetts and was very important in helping to begin the idea of a free public school. This was called a common school. The school was designed to teach basic knowledge of reading, writing and math. The common school is like our elementary school. The McGuffey Reader was the text that was used to teach reading in the common schools. Horace Mann realized that teachers needed to be trained in how to teach students information. He worked with others to begin Normal schools. These schools were established to teach teachers how to teach. The Normal School program originally lasted two years after high school.
The Secondary School Movement Blog
I am interested in teaching in a Physical Education in a public high school. I wanted to blog my understandings of how the secondary movement came about. The first public high school in America began in Boston in 1821. The school was free but only for boys. The Kalamazoo case of 1874 provided for taxpayer funding of free public secondary schooling. In this Michigan court case the court said that the local government could taxes citizens to fund a secondary public school.
In 1882, a group called the Committee of Ten was formed by the National Education Association (NEA) to develop a standardized set of subjects that would be taught in all high schools. In 1893 the committee recommended that all high school courses last for a year and meet four or five times per week. The student would be given one Carnegie Unit for passage of the course. In 1918 the Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education were passed by NEA’s Committee of Ten. Over the years secondary education has been shaped by decisions from members of committees wanting to reform secondary education. The move to standards based education in the early 1980’s came from the report of the National Commission on Education Excellence called A Nation at Risk. Physical Education became a part of the secondary curriculum when secondary schools became known as comprehensive high school in the early part of the 19th century. The high school has changed very little since it began.
National Broad for Professional Teaching Standards
The National Broad for Professional Teaching Standards is a voluntary organization that started in 1987. I looked on the sit and find the content knowledge areas that relate to my Physical Education the content area includes the following points:
Motor learning
Biomechanics
Scientific exercise principles
Safety, equity and fairness
Integration of Physical Education with other subjects (like cross curriculum instruction)
Technology
I have listed this website below for you to look at. Check it out and find your subject area to see what content knowledge will be assessed in your subject areas
http://www.nbpts.org/for_candidates/certificate_areas1?ID=15&x=52&y=
Motor learning
Biomechanics
Scientific exercise principles
Safety, equity and fairness
Integration of Physical Education with other subjects (like cross curriculum instruction)
Technology
I have listed this website below for you to look at. Check it out and find your subject area to see what content knowledge will be assessed in your subject areas
http://www.nbpts.org/for_candidates/certificate_areas1?ID=15&x=52&y=
My understandings of Educational Standards
I think that standards are important. I believe Physical Education teachers have always known the basic way to perform a physical activity. Therefore, Physical Education teachers, no matter where they teach, always use the same steps to teach the physical skill. The reading on education standards seems to show that the regular education core curriculum has not been broken down into the skill based steps that are used in Physical Education. The push for standards in education is due to the lack of consistent understandings among Math, Science, English, History and Social Studies teachers on what and how they should teach the subject that they teach. According to the reading some groups have wanted to have standards in curriculum design and instruction for a long time. The Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) began in 1987 to offer state education groups and national groups a way to standardize how and what teachers teach. In 1989, President Bush and six governors meet to make six goals for students to reach by 2000. Two of the goals said that by 2000 American students would be rated on top in both Math and Science. It seems that the states and national government became divided over the value of the standards movement. Many thought the idea of standards movement would not be good for students in every situation. In physical activities the student is demonstrating a performance. The student is graded on their ability to successful perform the steps. The assessment is very clear. The student’s grade is determined by their ability to accomplish each step in a group of steps correctly. I can see that in a English class a students paper may have some correct points. The problem seems that one teacher may grade the paper on way and another teacher grades the same paper in a different way. I see the problems with inconsistent grading as a positive reason for standards.. The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) was a federal mandate that was adopted by congress in 2002. This act requires that all children l by 2013-20014 school year would be on the level of proficient in state testing. The act also requires
all Pre-service Teacher Preparation Programs in all universities and colleges around the country to graduate “ Highly Qualified” teacher candidates. The state of Tennessee has adopted eleven Professional Education Standards that all pre-service teachers use.
all Pre-service Teacher Preparation Programs in all universities and colleges around the country to graduate “ Highly Qualified” teacher candidates. The state of Tennessee has adopted eleven Professional Education Standards that all pre-service teachers use.
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