Raising Small Souls

One of the education websites that I have linked to this blog isn't actually an education website, so I wanted to give you a little bit of background as to what exactly it is doing there...it is actually a parenting website but it has a very impressive and (I think) inspiring video on it. Click on the raising small souls website, then scroll down and there should be a purple box that when clicked on will allow you to view a movie for free entitled animal school. The video starts out by describing a school that is run and attended by animals. It goes through the different subjects studied in the school and then it talks about a few animals in particular and describes how they learn each of the different subjects. After going through all the animals, the video goes back and shows why each animal actually represents different learning styles of human students. This video also has very beautiful pictures and great music to go with it. I realize that it is technically a parenting video but I think that it has some important things for teachers to keep in mind as well. One of the last slides in the movie also talks about being an effective parent, which I thought was interesting as being an effective teacher is what we talked about in class today. Hope you enjoy the video:)

Mock School Board Meeting

During one of our Monday night sessions we had a mock school board meeting. It was great! Each study group chose a point of view to represent, there were teacher union representatives, parents of low and high achieving students, administrators, and arts representatives. Each group was given an opportunity to discuss the school's new plan to boost test scores. As you might imagine some groups were completely in favor of doing whatever it takes to raise the students test scores while others feared that the financial backing for the endeavor would cause their program to come to an end. Each group got to state their points and concerns and then the rest of us were able to ask questions. My group decided to represent the arts programs, there were a few different groups within that group and all of us had come up with something just a little bit different. Our group reminded the board that music classes are not extra-curricular. We explained that we are teaching theory and ear training which not only incorporate math but also science, history, and public speaking skills through performance based experience. The students who are in our classrooms are receiving valuable knowledge that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives, knowledge that could very well change the people they are for the better. Not only that but if we can keep this generation of students interested in music this issue of cutting programs might not come up in the future because students who will one day turn into the administrators and parents will remember that music meant something to them and they will hopefully fight to keep it in our school systems. I think that this was a super activity! It really did a nice job of simulating a real school board meeting where things like this are discussed. It was also very interesting to me that both sides were very well argued and you left the room with questions and views that you perhaps hadn't entered with. I only wish that we would have had a little more time to fully discuss some of the points that came up. Great Class:)

Jim Langholz says he's 'Not the Cool Mom'

On Wednesday October 1st we had a very interesting discussion about the role of media in students lives. We discussed how songs, ads, tv, and many other things influence what teens in our society view as 'okay'. For example I was shocked, (and appalled) when Dr. Langholz brought up the topic of the teenage girls who were running a prostitution ring out of the Mall of America. What makes this story interesting is that these girls were from very wealthy families who you wouldn't imagine would have trouble coming up with money. However, they considered themselves intelligent because they had figured out how to make hundreds of dollars in one night, which allowed them to be able to purchase anything that they wanted. What makes this story even sadder is the fact that these girls didn't see selling themselves as a moral issue at all, and what's even worse is that their parents chose to ignore what was going on, simply to keep their children happy. The parents didn't want to be the 'bad guys' and have their children dislike them so instead they let them work as prostitutes? yeah, okay because that makes perfect sense! The point of our discussion was that media has a huge impact on issues like this because our culture shows situations like this as being okay, and girls see no moral issues with it at all. As teachers I think that its really important for us to be concerned with teaching and developing the whole person and not necessarily with just teaching the facts. In order for our society to be at its strongest we need to work to develop individuals who can succeed in the workplace and also in situations which require emotional and moral sensitivity.

A Little Uncomfortable About Blogging

So, I'm just gonna be honest, this whole blogging thing makes me feel a little bit nervous. I accepted a long time ago that I live in a world filled with shades of gray. It is often extremely difficult for me to pick one side and stick to it, because I can often see both sides of any issue. It also makes me kind of uncomfortable to put my views out on the Internet for anyone and everyone to read because I think that there are exceptions to just about everything that ever takes place. So......just be aware that many of my blogs will probably contain support for different points from both sides and realize that that's just me, and how my mind works, so there ya go! Happy blogging:)