Reflection #4

a. Honestly, I can say that this probably happens a lot in schools. Teachers overlook "seemingly small" details about students based off of their race, ethnicity, or developmental level. It is easy to just trust the system to always be correct, but obviously the system needs to be checked up on. People make mistakes, as in this particular name confusion, but no one thought to check. Not even when the counselor suggested calling him Miguel. The teacher should have gone back through his folder on day one to check the facts. I am not saying that we should judge our students based off of what is written in the folder, but the common courtesy of getting their name right would be much appreciated. As teachers, we need to put in a valiant effort to get to know and connect with our students on an emotional level. Teachers will see a Hispanic student walk into the room and automatically assume that they will have trouble communicating, or even if a student is labeled with "ADHD" or other things, the teacher will assume that they are going to have problems with that student misbehaving or not paying attention. b. Students need to be treated the way that they show us they want to be treated, in my opinion. If there is a student that is constantly being rude or misbehaving, I'm not saying do this back, but the teacher needs to exert that they are in control and the bad behavior will not be overlooked. This all goes back to having rules, procedures, and classroom management established at the beginning of the year. In my classroom this semester, I have mostly Hispanic students. This has presented me with many challenges because there is a large culture gap and some students have problems with respecting a woman's authority. It is something I have to deal with every single day. Most of the students only require a minor level of me reminding them that I am in charge. However, I have had difficulty with one particular student in this way. I have learned that sometimes it is best to just ignore the behavior or offer a slight correction such as saying his name to get him back on track. I have also learned that not all of my students are this way and I do not need to generalize the culture based off one student.

Reflection #3

Well, to be honest, I could not access the "How to Fix No Child Left Behind" article because I am not a subscriber to the magazine. I tried to find other ways to find it, but to no avail. However, I do understand what the acts goal was. All students need to be included in the classroom and all need to be held to the same standards as others. I believe in inclusion in the classroom. Teachers do not get to pick and choose what types of students they have in their classes every year and they need to be aware of that. As an Ag teacher, many times, counselors place "problem" or "special needs" children in our classrooms because they do not know where else to put them or feel that it is an "easy" class that anyone can take. I feel that every operson who is attempting to receive teacher certification should have to complete a course in Special Education as well as Basic Spanish speaking skills so that we can ALL appropriately and accurately communicate and address students in the classroom. To me, this would be the smartest thing that the Education world could do to prepare teachers for a wide range of students that can be in their rooms. Teachers need to always have a positive attitude towards ALL of their students, no matter who the student is or whether or not they have a disability. The teacher needs to keep an open mind, and have a positive attitude toward the subject matter as well. “For a teacher to prepare environments that facilitates interaction between children with and without disabilities, to teach methods of communication with each other, to model them and to get others to be noticed about handicapped child’s qualifications, first of all her/his attitudes and thoughts should be positive” (Aydin & Kuzu, 2013). This part of the article really struck me on a deep level. As a student teacher, I am going to try to do my best to keep my temper in check with difficult students, but still maintain a disciplinary control over the room. I need to do better at thoroughly explaining the subject matter in more than one way so that each and every student in the room has an equal opportunity to gain knowledge and understanding on the topic I am teaching. Aydin, A., & Kuzu, S. (2013). Teacher Candidates' Attitudes towards Inclusion Education and Comparison of Self-Compassion Levels. Online Submission. Steptoe, S., & Wallis, C. (2007). How to fix no child left behind. Time Magazine. Retrieved from http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,1625192-1,00.html

Success journal

2/24 @ParkerShaylyn: Today my ag teacher told another teacher how much help I have been in getting students involved :) @mrtechyteach  #edsuccess

2/25 @ParkerShaylyn: I explained to another ag teacher how to accurately read ear notches on a pig! Yay me :) @mrtechyteach #edsuccess

2/26 @ParkerShaylyn: I helped refine a younger students showing techniques in the ring #edsuccess @mrtechyteach

2/27 @ParkerShaylyn: I encouraged a student to continue showing pigs next year after he had some difficulties showing @mrtechyteach #edsuccess

2/28 @ParkerShaylyn: success of the day: had a one on one talk with a "problem" student about his plans after high school. @mrtechyteach #edsuccess

I will be the first to admit that there are some times that I get discouraged in the classroom when my students are being unresponsive or disruptive, but I can also say that one little break through or success in a day can turn the whole thing around. I hope to be able to find such moments during my student teaching and in my future classroom as well. It is these little things that remind me why I wanted to become a teacher in the first place. 

When I become an official high school ag teacher I hope to have enough confidence in my own abilities to be an effective teacher as well as know how to correctly manage my classroom. That seems to be something that I have been struggling with. The students do not respect me as much as they should because we are so close in age and on top of that, it is hard for me to discipline them when they are in trouble. I plan to become more firm and confident in my decisions. 

Reflection #2

When we only offer our students multiple choice answers on tests it does not allow them to use any form of creative or original thinking. They have only four answers to choose from to answer each question. Using this method of assessment allows for students to study the material and memorize what they think they will need to know. If a student memorizes information, it is stored in their short term memory for a small amount of time. Whereas if a student is required to do some form of task where there are many ways to find the right answer, or even form their own opinion on a topic and present it to others, the information is stored for a longer period of time and the student will be able to regurgitate it further down the line. As a teacher I would much rather give students an assignment that will allow them to be creative and them actually enjoy doing it. In my daily classroom I use such things as class discussion, in class worksheets, observations, quizzes, grades off judging classes, active participation, and forms of self-assessment as formative assessments. I also like to use summative assessments when I feel that we have reached a mile stone in the lesson or unit. So far I have yet to assign one of these beyond a unit/chapter test, but I do intend to have my students create a presentation over the insect orders in entomology. I also plan for my students in my land & soil class to write up a report on the classifications of land. I feel that it is important to have a combination of both formative and summative assessments because formative assignments address what the student learns on a daily basis, whilst summative covers a wider range of subject material over a much longer period of time. Students need to be evaluated based upon menial tasks as well as some the require them to maybe spend an extra thirty minutes studying or writing a paper. These types of assessments need to also stimulate students on a creative level. As I said above, I intend for my students to do some meaningful research and create both presentations, as well as reports over their assigned class topic. I would also like to somehow create a summative type assignment that correlates to the judging contests many of them will be attending. These grades would have to be based off of their scores as well as how well they applied the information they've been learning during the contests.

Reflection #1: Introduction

My name is Shaylyn Parker. I am teaching high school agriculture courses, grades nine through twelve, at Eldorado High School. Eldorado is the only school in Schleicher County and is a 1a campus. As you can probably guess, there are not many students that attend this school, and there are less than two hundred in the entire high school. One of the classes I will be teaching has only three students. The maximum number of students, in any one of the six periods my cooperating teacher has in a given day, is ten. It ishould not be difficult for me to get to know the students and help them with their studies considering the size of my classes. Upon completing my student teaching and graduation, I intend to go to grad school for either Administration Education to become a principal or something more ag affiliated . I have yet to determine whether or not I will be teaching while I am trying to complete my masters degree. As an ag teacher I feel that I am required to take on many roles as a teacher, but the most important three in my opinion are: 

1. A role model/mentor- students need to see an adult that is confident in themselves and can make fair decisions in regards to important or tough situations. Students often pattern their own behavior after what they see adults doing. Teachers can be a positive influence in the lives of students as well as other educators. 

2. A leader- this is often the person who takes on extra activities and jobs to help out around the school and in the community. The ag teacher in a school hauls kids to events, teaches them leadership skills, guides them, gives them career opportunities, scholarship possibilities, etc. 

3. A learner/instructional director- a teacher must be able to stand before a group of students or peers and be able to get across the message or material, but they also need to be skilled enough to sit back and listen to others. Teachers have to always be open to new material and suggestions that could potentially build their knowledge in the classroom.

Me 

My parents David & Beth 

 

My nephews: Dryden & Sutton 

My sister Angela & niece Karlee

My sister Michelle & brother-in-law Jonathan