Discussion based learning

http://www.byui.edu/Documents/instructional_development/Instructional%20Tools%20Page%20PDFs/Discussion-based%20Learning.pdf

Teaching Philosophies

Teaching Philosophy Statement

What is a Teaching Philosophy Statement?

A teaching philosophy statement is a narrative that includes:

• your conception of teaching and learning
• a description of how you teach
• justification for why you teach that way

The statement can:

• demonstrate that you have been reflective and purposeful about your teaching
• communicate your goals as an instructor and your corresponding actions in the classroom
• point to and tie together the other sections of your portfolio

What is the purpose of a Teaching Philosophy Statement?

You generally need a teaching statement to apply for an academic position. A teaching statement:

• conveys your teaching values, beliefs, and goals to a broader audience
• provides a set of criteria and/or standards to judge the quality of your teaching
• provides evidence of your teaching effectiveness

Components of a Teaching Philosophy Statement

• educational purpose and learning goals for students
• your teaching methods
• methods for assessing students’ learning
• assessment of teaching

You also may include:

• a list of courses you have taught
• samples of course syllabi
• teaching evaluations
• letters of recommendation
• a video of a class you have taught (asked for by some universities)

Teaching values, beliefs, and goals

You should consider what you believe is the end goal or purpose of education:

• content mastery
• engaged citizenry
• individual fulfillment
• critical thinking
• problem solving
• discovery and knowledge generation
• teamwork
• self-directed learning
• experiential learning

Where can you find your teaching philosophy?

• a syllabus (assignments, format, content, expectations, texts, assignments, grading and assessment)
• in-classroom environment (diversity of methods, level of interaction, quality of feedback, intercultural sensitivity)
• connection to institutional mission and disciplinary trends

What criteria are used to judge your teaching?

• student-teaching roles and responsibilities
• student-teacher interaction
• inclusiveness
• teaching methods
• assessment of teaching
• assessment of learning

How do you provide evidence of your teaching effectiveness?

• peer review
• students comments
• ratings
• portfolio
• syllabi
• teaching activities

Writing guidelines:

• There is no required content, set format, or right or wrong way to write a teaching statement. That is why writing one can be challenging. 
• Make the length suit the context. Generally, they are 1–2 pages.
• Use present tense and the first person, in most cases.
• Avoid technical terms and use broadly understood language and concepts, in most cases. Write with the audience in mind. Have someone from your field guide you on discipline-specific jargon and issues to include or exclude.
• Include teaching strategies and methods to help people “see” you in the classroom. Include specific examples of your teaching strategies, assignments, discussions, etc. Help them to visualize the learning environment you create and the exchanges between you and your students.
• Make it memorable and unique. The search committee is seeing many of these documents—What is going to set you apart? What will they remember? Your teaching philosophy will come to life if you create a vivid portrait of yourself as a person who is intentional about teaching practices and committed to your career.

“Own” your philosophy

Don’t make general statements such as “students don’t learn through lecture” or “the only way to teach is with class discussion.” These could be detrimental, appearing as if you have all of the answers. Instead, write about your experiences and your beliefs. You “own” those statements and appear more open to new and different ideas about teaching. Even in your own experience, you make choices about the best teaching methods for different courses and content: sometimes lecture is most appropriate; other times you may use service-learning, for example.

Teaching Philosophy Statement dos and don’ts:

• Don’t give idyllic BUT empty concepts
• Don’t repeat your CV
• Do research on the teaching institution and disciplinary trends
• Do keep it short (1–2 pages)
• Do provide concrete examples and evidence of usefulness of teaching concepts
• Do discuss impact of methods, lessons learned, challenges and innovations—how did students learn?
• Do discuss connections between teaching, research, and service

Answer these questions to get started:

• The purpose of education is to________.
• Why do you want to teach your subject?
• Students learn best by______________.
• When you are teaching your subject, what are your goals?
• The most effective methods for teaching are___________.
• I know this because__________________.
• The most important aspects of my teaching are______________.

http://www.gradschool.cornell.edu/career-development/put-your-qualifications-writing/teaching-philosophy-statement



Examples of different teaching philosophies:


http://ctle.hccs.edu/facultyportal/tlp/seminars/tl1071SupportiveResources/comparison_edu_philo.pdf

MEDIA IN THE CLASSROOM

Did you know that 96 percent of students with internet access report using social networking technologies, and that three in five (59 percent) use these tools to talk about educational topics online?

http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/schools-social-media-stats_b46620

Pros:

Educational Tool

Enhance student engagement

Improve communication between student and teacher

Preparing students for successful employment

 

Cons:

Social media can be a distraction

Cyberbullying

Discourages face-to-face communication

 

 

 

 

Media Violence: Statistics’08

~ 61% of TV programs contain some violence

~ 44 % of the violent interactions involve perpetrators who have some attractive qualities      worthy of emulation.

~ Of all violent scenes on television, "86 % feature no blood or gore.

~ Only16 % of violent programs feature long term, realistic consequences of violence.

~ 70 top-selling video games- 89% contained some kind of violence

 

media can cause distorted concepts of:

• love & sexuality

• romance

• success & normalcy

• self image

 

http://www.uni.edu/coe/ci/240-020/documents/diversity.pdf

National Testing Value

The WEST-E (Washington Educator Skills Tests Endorsements) = an assessment of content knowledge required for an endorsement.

WEST-E: The Professional Educator Standards Board implemented the content knowledge test requirement for candidates applying for endorsements on the residency certificate on September 1, 2005. Initially, the Praxis II series tests, administered by Educational Testing Services (ETS), were selected to fulfill the requirement but the Praxis II no longer fulfills this requirement.  (RCW 28A.410.220)

 

WEST-E Extension:  Candidates who are prepared and/or certified out-of-state applying for a Washington State residency or professional teaching certificate have up to one calendar year from issuance of the temporary permit to pass the WEST-E subject knowledge test(s). 

 

WEST-E Exemption:  Individuals who hold a certificate through the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) are exempt from the WEST-E requirement if there is a direct equivalency between the endorsements sought and the national board certificate. 

WEST-E Test Objectives: Investigate the Objectives
Beginning September 2014, a selected group of WEST-E exams will no longer be administered and the National Evaluation Series (NES) will replace the WEST-E. Other endorsements will transition from the WEST-E to the NES. For more information; visit NES transition.

"WEST-E - Professional Educator Standards Board Assessment." WEST-E - Professional Educator Standards Board Assessment. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014. <http://assessment.pesb.wa.gov/assessments/weste>.

                                                                                                                                                                                                        

Taking the NES for State Certification

The NES is an educator certification testing program aligned to professionally accepted subject and pedagogy standards, including the Common Core State Standards. Learn more.
NES test scores are currently accepted for certification in the following states:

• Arizona
• New Mexico
• Oregon
• Wisconsin

"Taking the NES for State Certification." Taking the NES for State Certification. N.p., n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014.




"State-by-State Chart for Policies on Reciprocity." Http://www.lakeforest.edu/live/files/1495-state-certification-reciprocity1pdf. Lake Forest College, n.d. Web. 08 Apr. 2014. <http%3A%2F%2Fwww.lakeforest.edu%2Flive%2Ffiles%2F1495-state-certification-reciprocity1pdf>.

learning letter

This has been one of my favorite classes at EWU.  Not because it was the most fun but because I have learned the most in it.  Everything we did in this class had a purpose and was directly related to the class.  Many class I have taken have had so much busy work or assignments that didn't relate to what we should have been learning.  Teaching literature to adolescence was always the focus. 

We got to work with a lot of adolescence literature.  We all got to pick one book and present it to the class.  Not only did this help me get in the mindset of figuring out how to use the book I picked in a classroom, but also we got to learn about so many more books we maybe hadn't read.  It gave us exposure and knowledge of books that are available out there.  

There were five books that were assigned as text books.  Each student picked a book and had to present a lesson on that book.  We all had to read each book though, and participate in each lesson.  This was another great way to think about how we can use each of those books in the classroom.  I especially liked the variety of the books.  The lessons and reading opened my eyes as to what can be used in a classroom.  I had never read a graphic novel and never would have guess that I would like it, but I did! 

I really liked the beginning part of the quarter that got us thinking about different educational theories.  I don't think I have had that much exposure to that many theories in any other class.  Usually the only people we hear about in education classes are the old theories such as Blooms taxology.   This was a good chance for us as future teachers, to know what we want out of our classroom.  My favorite theory was on differentiated instruction. 

From this class I have gained a lot that I will be able to take to my classroom with me.  I really want to focus my efforts on using differentiated instruction in my classroom.  I think that learning juts a little bit in our classroom has got me reading on my own about approaches other teachers have used.  It still isn't going to be easy to me or always make sense but the more I work at it the easier it will get.  By coming to class, reading the texts, and participating in the discussions I have learned a lot for my classroom.  I will have a better understanding of what I want to happen.  I will have a bigger repertoire of books to choice from for my students.  If I have a particular student looking for a book I will know a special book for that student. 

 

 

 

What a terrible story!!!  To me reading this book was like sitting through several hours of the commercials of the kids who are malnourished in Africa, or the dogs and cats that have no homes.  This book really did give me bad dreams.  I haven't read a lot of novels about concentration camps.  Of course as a history major, I do know the awful things that happened.  I didn't enjoy reading this book.  I do agree with all the critics that it is a good book.  To me this was like how Kirsten explained that she can faint when things get too graphic.  This was that kind of book to me.  The worst part about this book was that you can't tell yourself that it isn't real. 

I was amazed my the love Elie had for his father.  Even when people told him to stop taking his father food when he couldn't move, Elie still took him food and coffee.  I would like to think I would do the same, but even in the book there are parts where sons give up on their fathers. 

I don't know if my instinct to live would be strong enough to live through something like that.  I would have given up early on in the beginning.  The fear of being burned or beat to death would consume me.  There was one part where they had to run so much in a blizzard and they had to keep each other awake so they didn't freeze to death.

I just can't fathom how people could treat each other like that.  I don't allow my husband or son to kill bugs.  I can't stand people who make their animals sleep outside.  I want to have a pet cow and let it in the house and I would give it baths.  This book is just scary!  I really hope nothing like this ever happens again.   

romeo and Juliet

Confession:  I have never read Shakespeare! 

To read this story I had to read each scene with a scene by scene summary.  I really struggle with the language.  I even struggle with just British literature.  I could be confused by a southern accent:)This is so difficult for me.  I have avoided Shakespeare all my life, and until this class I have succeeded!

Sure I know the story of Romeo and Juliet.  I haven't seen the movie,s but I have been alive long enough to hear the story from others.  I have to admit though I was checking my Netflix and HBOgo account to see if it was available.  I can't even imagine a high school class reading this. It would have to be done with a movie for me to understand any of it.  I really wonder what the Hell is wrong with me and why I can just figure it out.  It seems funny to me that I will have a minor in English and be able to teach it but can't figure out Shakespeare.  I don't know what I will do if someone asks me to do a unit on him.  I guess we watch the movie!!!! :) 

My reading the summary with the text I at least understood what was happening but I still wouldn't be confident that I could read any other Shakespeare without an aid.  When I read the summary, it was just your basic love story.  They love each other, but shouldn't or can't and he dies.  Just like the Notebook... He loves her and her parents won't allow it because he's poor.  They find each other and she looses her mind.  I guess we do know Romeo and Juliet's love didn't take them together. I guess there must be a reason why almost every high schooler has read Shakespeare's stories.  I just though it was another love story and love stories are so predictable! 

Edgar Allan Poe - The Unparalleled Adventure of One Hans Pffaal

What an interesting story!!!  This really reminded me of The Wizard of Oz.  Hans Prrall was being cared off in an air balloon to a different world, and comes back to tell his story.  Of course, when he gets back they don't believe him, but the read is left to guess if it really happened or not.  The story is about Hans, who says that he went to the moon to get out of some murders that he committed.  he hopes that his wild story will get him out of the charges. The city officials decide that they should pardon him because of his story, but apparently the messenger  goes missing.

I loved the descriptions of space as he was leaving Earth.  I also liked that Poe recognized when Hans' goes up into space his breath would become labored or that he would have pain.  I also liked that it was a day by day account of what was happening.  I liked that when Hans came back that his balloon was covered in paper from Holland, and the paper wasn't from the moon.  This was the reason the officials thought Hans couldn't have went to the moon. 

I didn't like the density of the story.  It was hard to read the first time through.  I started to read it but soon found my mind drifting to other things and I wasn't able to stay with the story.  I had to read a summary and then go back to read the story to fully understand what was happening.  Also, with a class discussion it helped me fill the holes to what I was confused about or not getting. 

So basically, I liked the story line.  But I wish it was easier to read and maybe even just shorter.  I think the story still could have been good if it was cut down by a third. 

readicide

I can't believe that I could agree with a book more.  This book was great!  I fully believe that the schools are the reason kids don't like to read and they should be the reason why they DO like to read. 

There is no longer a time and place for students to free read.  There is so much focus on passing a test that there isn't time anymore to allow kids to pick what they like to read and just enjoy the peace of reading. 

The book spends time explaining the ways that schools are hurting the level of student reading.  The focus on test is brought up again.  Gallagher explains that teaching to the test isn't a problem unless it isn't a good test.  The standardized test are being developed to help all students pass, so they are full of multiple choice questions and low level readers will continue to be low level.

There is also a bulleted part of chapter one that goes through the ways to prevent readicide, really it is questions to ask yourself and school to see if you are harming students reading.  There are three main reasons listed in chapter two that I couldn't agree with more!!!
        *there is a dearth of interesting reading materials in our schools
       * Many schools have removed novels and other longer challenging works to provide teachers and students with more testing preparation time.
        * students are not doing enough reading in school!

I couldn't agree more.  I see so many classrooms of English and reading that have no reading in class.  Students need to have some time in class to be able to read.  Why is reading the part of schooling that is sent home for students to "figure it out" when it really is something they need to do well to succeed.  Students can spend an hour in a history class hearing a lecture on Yugoslavia that they actually will never need to know but reading isn't something important enough to do in class.

Another thing I found interesting was that teachers are over teaching books.  Gallagher talks about there being too many reading  hoops for students to get through that they don't just take time to read a book and love it and forget where they are. they aren't getting a chance to experience reading as they would as adults that love to read.

One of my favorite topics was "the overteaching of academic texts is spilling over and damaging out students' chances of becoming lifelong readers.   This was so true for me.  I didn't know I liked reading until I got out of high school.  Reading was always about answering questions after each chapter.  or it was about a book that wasn't relevant to me. 

differentiated instruction

I read “How to differentiate Instruction in a Mixed Ability Classroom.”  This article is actually one that I am currently using in my comp writing class.  I really like how easy Tomlinson makes the content of the article.  It is easy to understand and makes it clear what differentiated instruction is and isn’t.  The article literally goes through things that make differentiated instruction and what doesn’t.  It states that it shouldn’t be chaotic, it isn’t the same as the model in the 70’s, and it isn’t just away to group different leveled students. It is organic, student centered, proactive, provides multiple ways to get to the same result, and it’s a blend of whole class, small group and individual instruction.  My favorite quote from the article is, “At its most basic level, differentiating instruction means "shaking up" what goes on in the classroom so that students have multiple options for taking in information, making sense of ideas, and expressing what they learn. In other words, a differentiated classroom provides different avenues to acquiring content, to processing or making sense of ideas, and to developing products.”  This quote has been helpful in thinking of what differentiated instruction really is.  I also am using in my paper the example that is given of a typical classroom where differentiated instruction isn’t used: 1st graders may listen to a story and then draw a picture about what they learned. While they may choose to draw different facets of the story, they all experienced the same content, and they all had the same sense-making or processing activity. A kindergarten class may have four centers that all students visit to complete the same activities in a week's time. Fifth graders may all listen to the same explanation about fractions and complete the same homework assignment. Middle school or high school students may sit through a lecture and a video to help them understand a topic in science or history. They will all read the same chapter, take the same notes, complete the same lab or end-of-chapter questions, and take the same quiz. Such classrooms are familiar, typical, and largely undifferentiated.  It really opens my eyes to how many kids might not be getting the education they really need.  Or how much better prepared for the world after school kids could be if they were taught in a way that worked for them. 

   
 

I Read It, But I Don't Get It

This book was interesting.  It was an easy read but very repetitive.  I think there were a lot of good tips but some are common sense or we have learned the tips in other classes.  I have personally don’t remember struggling with "being" in a book while reading.  I do know lots of people like that.  It seems fairly common with people who don't actually like to read.  I have also found that it isn't that people don't like to read, but that they don't know what they would like to read.  Once you find something that catches your interests it is easier to read.  Once you get practice in reading what you like it is easier to take those skills and new confidence to a different type book. 

 

I really learned the most from some of the examples of getting out of reading!  I was amazed at the efforts students out into not reading a book for a book report.  One author looked for a book that hadn’t been checked out and read the first and last parts, then returned the book and put it in the wrong spot in the library so a teacher can’t check her work… Wow!  Another kid made up a book.  These kids are obviously smart. 

 

The book was right on with the CCSS.  The author was upset when she hear teachers of middle school and high school teachers who were claiming it wasn’t their job to teach students to read.  A lot of times it isn’t actually teaching them how to read letters but instead how to comprehend what they read.  Which the author seems to think these students can’t read. 

 

The author gives tips to keeping students heads in the book to help them focus on what they are reading.  One of my favorite examples was marking in the book.  Giving students codes or highlighters when reading a text can help them stay involved.  They can use the codes to show parts of the book they relate to or they can highlight what they aren’t understanding. 

 

There are a lot of tips to using follow-up strategies.  This is the part that I thought was repetitious.   All the bulleted points seem to be obvious to me.  For instance, making connections to text and your life, visualize, retell what you’ve read. 

 

I found it funny but interesting that the author’s daughter was supposed to read 40 pages in a night and was flustered by it.  It was a book about the Revolutionary war but the young girl was intimidated by the text.  It wasn’t until her mom helped her realize that she actually is learning about the war in her social studies class.  The girl was relieved that she knew so much already before she read the book.  The weird part to me and the point I took from this example is that the English and Social Studies’ teachers weren’t connecting the two points for the students.  It would have been very easy to tell the students that they would be reading a book about the Revolutionary War and that is what they are learning in Social Studies.  Instead the students are left to figure out the connection and many aren’t going to make that connection. 

 

I think the man thing is to get students reading and asking questions.  Whether they completely understand the text or not, there should be questions.  Following a reading with a discussion is a good way to help students understand their reading.  And Practice Practice Practice. 

social Justice

I found two articles for Social Justice.  Both come with a different perspective.   One was a bulky document from the NCTE.  It gives a brief and gave a generic definition of social justice.  The document was good for involving students into the finding the meaning of social justice.  For every section of the document there is a K-12 activities/assignments section.  It gives great questions to bring up to students to get them thinking.  For example, the first one has questions like: ask students what social justice means, have students find examples in their lives, ask why it's important, and there are many more.  I guess the thing I found most important about this article was the part that it lists all the different forms of possible discriminations groups: race, ethnicity, gender, gender expression, age, appearance, ability, national origin, language, spiritual beliefs, size, sexual orientation, social class, economic circumstances, environment, ecology, culture, and the treatment of animals.  I guess I am always mindful to the more common groups, but it is good to remember that there are so many other groups besides race and sexual orientation to remember.  The other article I read was "Introduction: Creating Classrooms for Equity and Social Justice."  This article was a little easier to read and was more of a overview.  It talked about making the classroom feel safe for all students.  It also explained that teachers should be mindful of what they are teaching, for example, if you do a unit on Columbus and his discoveries, you might also talk about the other cultures involved.  It wasn't just the white Europeans that were in America.  There were natives that were in this area at the exact same time.  As a teacher we should talk about their lives as well, and not forget about a whole group of people. The rest of the article talks about making sure all students have an equal chance at learning. 

response based approach

This article was the best I have read of all the articles.  I guess it appealed to me the most.  Being a Social Studies major and English minor I completely get the reading for an answer.  That is always how I have read literature and that is how I have always been taught to read it.  The assignment is always read pages 35-78 and answer the questions.  Rarely was there discussion and never was the discussion to deepen the understanding and to ask more questions that maybe aren't even answered.  I especially liked the analogy of the horizon.  It really illustrates the meaning of reading for a deeper meaning and not just to find an answer.  Instead you discuss and there may never be an end, but we are always working towards it.  It seems that with this horizon way of thinking the reader is able to apply things they may already know from personal experiences or can draw from other things they've learned.  With the discursive approach the reader is to come to the same conclusion as every other reader and isn't encouraged to use their own knowledge.  Not only should this literature bases approach be used in an English class but I think I can take this approach to parts of a history class.  Within the article there are also steps to follow that teachers have developed and continued to improve.  It gives the framework and the guidelines to having a more thought provoking discussion.  I believe that every student knows something that I don’t, or might just know it different.  This is a good time to learn for myself and everyone else in the classroom. Classroom discussions add to the classroom.  This article was the best yet! Not only full of useful information with examples and instructions but also easy to read. 

Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture....

This was an interesting article.  I think there were a lot of things in it that I had figured out for myself previous to reading but it was good to have research back me up.

The first thing that I made note of was when the author talks about using "multicultural texts featuring people of color as protagonist [is] in our experiences as students and educators, we witnessed practiced around these so-called 'multicultural' texts that were equally, if not more disempowering of students of color than more traditional and less diverse texts."  I think this will be something that will be good for me to remember, though I really don't feel like I would ever look for a Ethiopian protagonist book for my Ethiopian student. 

I think my favorite part was when the author talks about how learning and understanding Shakespeare or other academic texts is empowering to students.  It gives them confidence with other readings.  I truly understand and agree with that statement.  I think texts like Shakespeare are intimidating but when students have a grasp of them, the are ready for the next text.

Another one of my favorite parts was when it states that our jobs as educators is to "make students more critical consumers of all information that they encounter in their daily lives and to also give them the skills to become more capable producers of counterinformation; the goal is to make them slaves to a different (and more politically correct) ideology."  I really like the first part.  I think it is important that when a student leaves your classroom that they are aware of all information and that they have the tools to process that information. 

On a similar note I liked that in one of the examples where the teacher states that she will be grading on skills that are no longer emphasized in many classrooms such as working well with classmates, presenting one's ideas orally, and engaging in respectful, yet critical conversations with teachers and classmates. 

I won't take time to talk about the examples that I liked but instead mention them.  I loved that those high school students became activist for themselves and wanted to make a change in their school.  Once they realized that some schools had more than enough and they weren't able to have their own math book to take home, they wanted change.  The other example was using hip hop in the classroom.  That is a great way to get students interested in what they are learning!

The Critical Pedagogy Reader

This was powerful!  It means nothing to teach students what year the Cold War ended.  It is important to teach students about the world.  It is important to give students an understanding of what is really going on.  This way they can become informed adults and make opinions that are based on what they really thing and not what they have been told.  But unfortunately that is about all I got out of this article.  I don't know if it was because of the examples that I couldn't relate to or the wording, or even the length but this was tough for me.  I actually find myself looking to other blogs of classmates to see if they had a grip of what this was about. 

I do understand the cultural battle of power and wealth and how there is always struggle.  I do like the example of how American's think of themselves as the leaders in freedom and we excel in promoting freedoms.  But really we are a "terrorist regime." 

Ideology was a section that I thought was common sense, and the author uses that exact word to describe what ideology is.  We are all born with ideology and it is what our world revolves around. But it is also a negative in our lives with others. 

The section on hidden curriculum was weird to me.  I assume there are studies to back up their facts but I have never thought of this or recognized it. 

Reading the rest of the article was like looking into the sun while cutting onions, it hurt!

 

paulo freire

This article is my high school!  I am the student that was taught by this teacher!  I always had teachers that taught students like they were getting shot at with a dart gun; sometimes the dart sticks and sometimes it doesn't.  And really after hit by the dart gun all I knew is that I was hit and didn't know why.  I left classes able to memorize facts that were needed for the test, and if that was all we needed to know I didn't see a reason to learn anything else.  Things don't change in college level classes either.  Anyone who has taken a class in the EWU history dept. can tell you that the professors know everything there is to know and students are hardly able to spell their names.  The saddest part about this style is that there is no creativity and we don't learn from each other from discussions.  A teacher may have read 4 books on Serbia but there could be a student in a class that grew up in Serbia and could add to the classes knowledge of the wars that were going on there.  I don’t think that student’s learn best in this way.  They aren’t fully emerged in the information and digesting it.  Instead it is just going in one ear and out the other ear right after the test.  I have taken plenty of History classes that I have left and remember nothing from.  It would help to get the information in lecture form and do something with the material.  Not only would you be hearing it, but also using it to “build” something else.  That way you are using the information in several ways and the information has several chances to stick in your head for more than a quarter. 

common cores

I have to be honest... This was not a fun article/ story/ summary to read.  It is useful but to just sit down on a Sunday afternoon for some light reading, I struggled to get through this.  Through each grade level it is the same goal with just something a little more specific added.  At the end of each grade level there is a section that summarizes range of reading and complexity and for each grade it just states at ex. 12th grade level, which is interesting to me.  It is a plus also that if you know the standards for one grade, the same standard will be the same content but more complex or less complex depending on the grade. The standards are good at letting a teacher know what skills a certain age should be able to accomplish but doesn't spell out what exactly they want.  I think they are a great guide on what to include in lessons but there is still a lot of flexibility left for the teachers to interpret the guidelines.  I guess this helps each school set its own curriculum and different materials they want to use.  They are just needing to use their selected material to reach the goals.  It is also funny that not all states have adopted the CCSS.  And the one of the states that didn’t was Texas.  Some of the states are ahead of Washington and have been using these standards previous.  I do wish, for my legalistic personality, that the CCSS were more exact.  I wish they said, by grade ten students will be able to read and analyze a poem.  Or by tenth grade history students will learn about the civil war and be able to identify the two sides, and what they wanted.  I just want to be told what to do. 

Democratic Society

When I was first reading and making judgement as I went along, I came across the line, "All participants in a democratic discussion have the opportunity to voice a strongly felt view and the obligation to devote every ounce of their attention to each speaker's words."  I was thinking that I know people during re-elections know the democratic or republican stance so well, but they know nothing about the other side or what they do know is false.  They haven't taken the time to listen what the other has to say but only hear their own voice.  How can I expect young students to follow this "democratic society?"   But as I kept reading I found out that they author knows the complications involved in this, and that he or she knows that listening is much more complicated than speaking.  At the end of the end of the article he addresses some of the problems with discussion in the classroom.  

To have a successful discussion everyone needs to attentively listen to others first.  The act of speaking isn't valued as much as the listening.  One of the most important things I got from this was that doing these discussions will not only help a person learn the other side of an opinion but will help the listener to evaluate their own opinion.  It is so likely that a young person has an opinion because that is what they know or what they have been taught, but once they take time to think outside their own thoughts and listen to someone else's opinion they can reaffirm what they thought or develop a new opinion.  To me it is important to have young people thinking and developing their own opinion.  It is a struggle to get people to think outside what they know but is so beneficial to all parts of our life.  

About ME!

I am a student in English 493 as well as a teacher candidate at Eastern Washington University.   I have been placed in Reardan Washington in a 10th and 11th grade English class as well as 7th grade history.  I am excited to become a teacher and work with young adults.  I feel that I relate well students and can understand them well.  I am passionate about history and English and can't wait to show students how fun both subjects can be.  There is one thing that I do worry about when it comes to me teaching...

I really hate reading out loud!  I love to read and I am a good reader.  I understand what I am reading when I read to myself but when I am asked to read out loud I have no idea what I am saying and I am thinking about everything but the text I'm reading.  The weird thing is that I have no issues with public speaking and I'm not shy; I just hate reading out loud.  I have hated reading out loud as long as I can remember.  I feel like the letters are moving around and I have to focus so much more to read the words, but I am focused on everything but reading.

My goal for this class is to get a better repertoire of secondary level reading materials.  I have read some books but I feel like I lack in this area.  I don't recall reading many books in my past for classes.