Chapter 6: Social Context of Schools

I created a Brochure to help my kids with bullying on their looks.

Chapter 4: Schools as the Workplace for Students and Teachers

In the Building a School activity, Brittany, Jake, and I created a school where we discussed who would be taught, the purpose of our school, how the purpose would be carried out, and who’s in control of the school. After reading Chapter four in The Joy of Teaching by Gene E. Hall, Linda F. Quinn, and Donna M. Gollnick, there are four key things that were talked about that can be related to the school that we created.
The first key is the staff and organization of a school. The school we created, while is more of a hands on school, it has the typical school where you have the same staff. We would have a principal and a vice principal, along with teachers. Our school would probably be organized in a way that is in a rotating schedule. A rotating schedule is a very good way to keep your school organized and running smoothly. This is a little different from the book, but it still our own way of running things.
The second key is the relationships of schools to school districts and the state. Our school (in my opinion) is more of a private school of sorts. It probably wouldn’t be involved in a school district because the parents pay to bring their kids to the school to get the hands on learning experience their child wishes to receive. Although we aren’t part of a school district and don’t have a superintendent we do have a policy for our school. They are empowering policies, which leave open means for achieving the desired end result. The State plays a bigger role in the relationship with our school, where they provide us with help with money, and help us set the rates at which our tuition should be.
The third key is the role of the federal government in public schools. If the school was a public school there are many ways in which the government is involved in the schools. Through the tenth, first, and fourteenth amendments. It is also involved through the new No Child Left Behind Act. Because of these things the way that we teach has to reach certain requirements. Sometimes it’s hard to do because we use a creative way to teach our students, but we are able to meet the requirements.
The fourth key is how are schools paid for? When they are public schools, taxes pay for your school and all of the things in it. But when you have a private school the way it is paid for is through the tuition the parents pay for their child to go to the school. So since I believe that our school would qualify as a private school we are paid for through the student’s parents.

Chapter 14: Succeeding in Your Teacher Education Program--and Beyond

My concerns for teaching have to deal with parents who have no care about their kid’s future and don’t care about their actions in school, and their lack of work in my classroom. Another concern of mine is having the inability to reach out and get through to every student, especially those who need saving. I also am concerned with the level of violence in the schools, about the possibilities of bomb threats, fires, and guns being brought into the school.
My area of concern through the concern model is mainly through two factors in the model, unconcerned and impact. Unconcerned mainly because I am more worried about having to deal with parents of the student rather than teaching the student, and impact because I’m more concerned with getting through to the students and being protective of them through the lack of security present in the schools.

The stage that I am at with the stages of concern is probably at a level one or two. These are informational and personal, so I’m not so concerned about it that I will change everything I do to make sure my concerns never happen, but I am aware of what I’m concerned with.

Chapter 13: Improving Teachers and Schools, and School Reform

From just looking at my resume, I already have quite a few experiences that show that I have done some things that have to do with teaching. Such as being a camp counselor at the YMCA, and helping first graders with their learning. By the end of my career here at UMF I would like to add some more things to my resume. I know that I will be able to add student teaching to my resume for my application process to become a teacher. As of right now I will also be able to add and office job to my resume, since what I do here at UMF for work - study is an office assistant position. Ultimately by the end of my senior year here I hope to have things on my resume that show I have experience in the field of teaching.

I have been told a number of times that the first five years of your teaching are very difficult, and that you have to really work at what you’re doing. By the end of my fifth year of teaching I really want to have my resume look like I have advanced and broadened my knowledge in education. I hope to have gotten my masters by the end of my first five years teaching. Along with my masters I would also like to be qualified to teach k-12, and also be certified to teach English as well at the high school level.