Weblog 6

My prop is a story out of the book Chicken Soup for the Teacher's Soul. The story is called A Friday Night in May and is by Carolyn M. Mason. This story is about a little girl who is about to go on stage for her first dance recital. She is sure that her first grade teacher will come. Her mother is very doubtful of this fact, all thought this teacher, Mr. Walker had gotten her daughter to read and had encouraged her to dance in the first place, the little girls mother just didn't think that he would come. She thought that he would have better plans on a Friday night. The little girl was sure Mr. Walker would come as she had asked him to attend, and sure enough, he did. The mother was then amazed at his dedication.
This story relates to the chapter because it talks about having high quality teachers, who go above and beyond what is needed. It also talks about being a teacher 24/7. It is obvious that the teacher from the story, Mr. Walker was an exceptional teacher, he not only taught this little girl how to read and made and big impression on her, he also took time out of his weekend to watch her dance. This shows a true caring attitude for his students. The chapter also speaks of knowing every student by name, and the man in this story goes beyond that by knowing the students personalty and supporting their talents.
There is also a really great quote at the beginning of this story. The quote is by Marva Collins and it says "You can pay teachers to teach, but you can't pay them to care." I think this sums up a large part of the chapter, you as a teacher have to decide to care, you education and degree is going to make you, it has to be your on choice.

Fourth Day of Service

Today was a little different at the preschool, there was a new schedule and a new student. The new students name was Logan and he has some speech, but is also a little aggressive. Under the new schedule there is no more circle time, I think this is because the children weren't getting much out of it and there are also new work tables. When I first got to the classroom the children were playing, I got to meet Logan and I helped him and another boy with painting. Then I played with Logan in the kitchen corner. It was then time for gym. The children ran around in time to music, and then played with stacking cups. After gym it was snack time, then recess. At recess I was pushing the same boy on the swing again and he was doing a great job of saying and signing "more", another little girl who was swinging was also beginning to say "more" and "no". It was really cool, because I had never heard her speak before, its really great to see the children learning. When we came in from recess, the kids went to their work tables to work on puzzles. I helped out at a work table with two children, Carlos and Denay. They both speak pretty well, and Denay is going to be moving up to the next class soon. The puzzle that they were doing involved one child holding cards and the other child having the pieces that corresponded to the pictures. They did a really good job. Then it was clean up time, the children got there coats and backpacks, picked a prize from the "treasure chest" and then we walked them to their buses. It was a good day, it's really enjoyable getting to know these children and watching them learn.

A historical event that responds to my service learning site is The Equality of Educational Opportunity Study which said that African American benefit from going to integrated schools, but not from having extra resources. The resource part does not relate to my service, since all of the children get the same resources, but the integrated part certainly does. Most of the children in the preschool are African American and some are white. At this school everyone is friends and it seems race does not matter. All the children play with each other. If schools were still segregated these children would be missing out on some great friendships, so as we of course know in this day and age it is essential and the basis of equality to have integrated schools. A popular culture event that corresponds to my service site would be Halloween. At Gearity the children are not allowed to dress up for Halloween, because some parents don't agree with Halloween because of their religion. The children in my class were still excited and talking about trick of treating and costumes. I think its too bad that they can't dress up, that was something that I loved about elementary school. It's interesting going to a different elementary school and seeing their customs. I think that society has gotten very politically correct and
unfortunately its taking fun things away from kids, like Halloween parties at schools.

In short, though, I'm really enjoying Gearity. It's great working with the children and I'm understanding more how to talk to them and not to tolerate any hitting. I can't believe that a few weeks ago I was scared and intimidated by the children, now I can't wait for Fridays!

(I used the text book to find the historical event)

3rd Service Learning Blog

Today was my third visit to Gearity Preschool, so I now know the class schudule and how things work. When I first got there the children were playing, I sat down at a table with two boys who were spinning plastic pegs, they were very engrossed in the activity, and I was playing with them. Then it was time for gym class, and the kids had a lot of energy. In gym they ran around, stacked cups and played with a parachute. However, this gym class didn't go to well, as some of the kids didn't want to participate. After gym we went back to the class and had circle time, but it was special because, one boy, Corey was moving up to the integrated class. So the teachers read him a special book that his classmates had made him and for snack they all decorated cookies as a celebration for Corey. I thought that this was very nice and it showed Corey what a good job he had been doing. After the cookies it was recess time, and the kids are usually pretty good during that time. I pushed kids on the swings for a while and this one boy who doesn't talk and last week I was told to prompt him to say/sign more if he wanted to be pushed more, but this week he told me all by himself. That was really cool because the first week of my service I was not sure if the children were really learning, but now I see that I was dead wrong, maybe their class is different for the preschool experience that I had, but in everything they do, playing, gym, art, etc., they are gaining more skills. After recess the kids had art where they painted with water colors, and they played for a while. Before they went to their buses they all got to pick prizes from the "treasure chest." Today was really enjoyable, I'm really starting to get to know the kids, and I enjoy working with them a lot.

A historical event that relates to my service experience would be IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act). This is an act that was put into place in 1975 and it requires schools to have special programs for children who have disabilities. I was researching this act for my paper, and it has a lot to do with my service project. Many, if not all of these kids would not be allowed to go to school without IDEA. IDEA also makes it possible for them to have the special resources that they need to learn and to have the special class that they are in. IDEA also covers IEP's(Individualized Education Program) which I believe all the children in my class have. A pouplar song that relates to my service is Hot N Cold by Katy Perry. Today during gym the gym teacher was playing this song as a cue for the kids when to run and when to stop their actives. I think it proved helpful to them as they where transitioning and it was fun for them to run around in time to the music.
Today was an overall great day, and I'm really pleased that Corey is moving up to the next class. Some people think that because children have a disabilities that they are incapable of learning or being with their peers, but that isn't true, and I'm seeing it in action when I'm at Gearity.

WebLog 4

Time Line Entry:
2001-The OGT'S Are Developed
The OGT is the Ohio Graduation Test. In Ohio all students have to take these in 10th grade. The test was developed in 2001, with the first offical test being given in 2005. The test covers reading, writing, math and social studies. The OGT was a result of The No Child Left Behind Act. The OGT is a standardized, norm referenced test. This means that everybody's score is compared to a standard score that is considered "normal." From the very 1st day of 10th grade all of the teachers talked about the OGT'S and how important they were. I knew that if I didn't pass them the 1st time, I would have to take them every year until I did, or else I would not be able to graduate. Once the OGT'S were over, most students thought they were a bit of a joke, it was either very easy stuff, or things that we never really learned. I did manage to pass them all the 1st time, but from this experience, I know that I will not put so much presure on my students when it comes to standardized tests. They are important to a point, but too much stress is put on students and they need to know that it is not the end of the world if they don't preform as well as the "norm group."

I never used to be a huge fan of using feedback to support learning. When I was younger, I hated working in groups, I would rather just figure things out myself. However, as I got older and more teachers put us in writing groups, I began to find them helpful. It was interesting to read other people's writing, to see how they saw things. I also enjoy seeing what others have to say about my work, and most of the time I find that it is helpful and insightful. When using feedback to support learning, it helps you to meet new people and make connections as well. If you are feeling really lost about a project or something, it is nice to know that you have people who are working on the same thing to talk about it with. Students are always getting feedback from teachers, which is good, but it is also nice to get it from their peers. Peer's are on the same level as you are, so they may be able to better help you understand things. In short, I am glad the we will be able to have feedback using our writing circles, and I plan to use the same type of feedback in my classroom.

SL Blog 2 (2nd day on site)

Today I was excited to go to Gearity Preschool, I was nervous last week when I didn't know what to expect but now that I know how the schedule works, I was looking forward to going. When I first arrived the children were playing in their classroom, and then it was time for gym. In gym the children ran around to music and then spent the majority of the class doing parachute activities. One little boy did not want to participate, I sat down and talked to him and tried to get him to join in, but he would not, finally the gym teacher was able to get him to participate. Back in the classroom we had circle time where the teacher told a story about ducks using a felt board. I thought that on the whole the children sat and listened quite well. Next was snack time, during this time the children who cannot speak and those who can use a voice button to choose what they would like to eat. Snack time went pretty smoothly, some children did have trouble saying seated though. Recess was a little hard as several of the children had a fight over a soccer ball, they seemed to have a hard time sharing, though maybe not much more then any other four or five year old. One boy did hit a girl, and he got yelled at, but I think that maybe a time out would have been more effective. The rest of the day was pretty fun, story time, playing with play doe and in the sand box. The kids where also fairly good for the rest of the day, save a few melt downs. Some things I've noticed: Before changing actives they are shown a picture of whats next and given a warning, they also sing songs, I think this is helpful and the kids seem to enjoy it. There is a good amount of hitting and not keeping hands to self, and I feel that sometimes a punishment is needed, but not always given. Overall, though, the kids are very sweet and loving, they like talking and playing with me, and I'm enjoying my time at Geartiy and learning more about special needs children and how you have to be patient and explain to them what kinds of things they are going to be doing.

A current event that relates to my service learning site is bullying. It is always in the news and unfortunately deaths do result from it. Even though the kids that I work with are only in preschool, they can already be mean to each other, saying they are not friends with someone, or excluding people from their games. That is why it is important to start young, and teach the children that everyone is their friends and to all play together, and also that everybody is different and to be accepting of all people. The teachers in my classroom at Gearity often tell the children that they are all friends, I think this a good starting point to prevent bullying. Music in general relates to my service site, because singing is a big part of the school day for these kids. As mentioned above the kids use music to transition from activity to activity, it is helpful to get them focused and also helps to work on their speech, and the all seem to enjoy it. I think that music is a good thing to incorporate into the classroom, because it can teach kids things, like about history or different cultures, and it makes learning more fun and interactive.

So far my my service site is going great, I understand that these kids are a little different and often use screaming and violence to express themselves, last week this scared me, but now I understand that this is just the way these kids are and that in the classroom they are learning how to talk better and to use sign language, just today I was pushing a boy on the swing and he was practicing saying more when he wanted to go higher. After getting over my original fear because these children where a little different, now I am enjoying talking with them and playing with then and just getting to know them.

We didn't have a journal question again this week.

SL Blog-1st Day of Service

Today was my first day of service learning at Gearity Preschool, and I was very nervous about it. When we arrived we were each assigned to a classroom, my classroom was for children with social problems and only some of them could talk. There were about 7 children in the classroom along with two teachers and an aide who was only there for part of the time. When I first got there the children were in gym class, I'll admit that I was very unsure what to do at first and that I did feel very out of place, but then I began to talk to the other teachers and play basketball with the kids. After Gym they returned to their classroom and had circle time, this was a little difficult, as the children had trouble sitting still, and it was also hard for some to transition to snack time. Recess was the time when I really got to get to know the kids, I pushed them at the swings and played with this one little boy for along time. Back in the classroom there was an incident where one girl jumped on another and tried to bite her, the teacher had to react very fast, it was a little scary to be honest. The rest of the day was dommiented by art time and play time, this ran pretty smoothly but the kids where defiantly getting tired, so I was happy when it was time to walk them to the bus, as they were ready to go home. I felt very nervous for the first part of the day, some of the kids were kind of violent and other were always trying to touch me, but as the day went on, I had to let go of my insecurity's, remind myself that they were just little kids, and enjoy my time with them.

A current event that relates to my service experience is that the Rosa Law passed senate, which means that the words mentaly retarded and mental retardation will be removed from federal laws and replaced with intellectually disabled/disabilities. I think this is great because I have always thought that retarded was a rude and inaccurate term. After my day on site, I was again reminded of the movie Waiting for Superman, because I know that many kids at Gearity come from low income families and while the school is nice, I thought that with more funding they could have better equipment and provide even better experiences for these special needs kids. My elementary school also had a program like Gearity's but we had more resources and nicer classrooms, so it really is sad to see these gaps between schools that are not even that far away from each other. I wonder if these children are getting the best education possible? It kind of seemed to me that they just did a lot of playing and not much learning went on. But it was just my first day, so I don't want to judge anything. In short I feel that I will learn a lot about the education system and about children from the experience and I am looking forward to next week.

(We did not get a journal question this week, but I think we will next week)