classroom environments...

classroom environments are very critical. if a room is too hot, it might put a student to sleep. if a room is too cold, a student can't focus. what a classroom needs is a safe, clean, comfortable and attractive classroom to stimulate learning and build a better classroom community. there are several was to accomplish this, one being the seating arrangements. Denise Young says, "The seating arrangement should be designed in a systematic way so that the organization of the seats helps the students to feel more organized." another good way to make a classroom more inviting is putting plants in the room. be sure, however; that the plants are low maintenance, keeping the plants alive could present a fun activity for the students depending on their age. another way to make a classroom welcoming is to have music playing quietly. this can create a positive mood, comfort or calm the students, and help promote focus. there are many more aspects to creating a good classroom environment, but these few can get any teacher started.

pros and cons of standardized testing...

the state of texas has used standardized testing for as long as i can remember. the state uses them to judge how much the students are "learning." these rise in emphasis on these test was brought about by No Child Left Behind which requires such test. although these test have their benefits, there is a lot of opposition towards them. i'm going to talk about both the pro and the cons of standardized testing.

first off, ill talk about the pros and test like the TAKS, and the SAT. these test are in place to help schools and educational leaders provide better learning opportunities and more beneficial lesson plans. these test are also seen as a good way to show how well a district or specific student is doing, and how much they know. now the pros are hard to find and very flawed.

now, i'll talk about the cons. there are many problems with standardized testing. one of them is that standardize testing is not fair to students with learning disabilities. another is the stress that these test put on the students and faculty. some school grants are based on these test scores. also in most districts a student can move up a grade unless the pass these test. another problem with these tests is that the entire school year is now spent prepare for these tests, the curriculum is rigidly set to provided good scores.

now i'm sure you can infer that i am not a fan of standardized tests. i believe that most students and teachers alike feel the same way that i do. ultimately you have to make up your own mind on this issue, but i would like to see these kinds of test become a thing of the past.

public schools vs. private schools

growing up i went to both a private school and a public school. i went to a public elementary school and a public middle school until 6th grade. from 7th grade till graduation i went to a private christian school. since i have had the experience of going to both private and public schools, i will tell a little about the good and bad in both.

first, i'll talk about public school. the elementary school was good, but i think that it had more to do with age than the fact that the school was public or private, little kids don't really get in to very serious trouble. the big change came when i went to middle school. both the students and the teacher acted differently. the students didn't care as much and the teachers responded with the same blase attitude. the students also would say anything they wanted to each other and the teachers, and there were always fights. my attitude changed when i went there, i became more hostile and less caring. my parents then decided to send me to a private school because the thought the environment would be better.

so i went to the private school, and the environment was better. the students were respectful, teachers seemed to care, and there were never any fights. the thing i hated about going to the private school was that the people there were really stuck up and clique-ish. it was hard to find a niche at first, but i eventually made some really good friends which i'm still friends with now.

so out of the two, which was better? it's hard to say. the public school was more accepting but not a good environment, and the private school was a good environment but a tough place to fit in. i am glad i ended up at the private school, even though it was not the friendliest place. ultimately though you have to decided for your self what is the right option.

my favorite teacher

my favorite teacher growing up was definitely my algebra 2 teacher in high school. she was young, only about 24 or 25, and she was brilliant. she was also really laid back, so the classroom always had a really relaxed feel, but it wasn't ever out of control. her teaching style was a little out of the ordinary, so not everyone was always with her, but i understood where she was going. she was a new teacher so she didn't have her lesson plan down but she did a good job, and everybody passed. my favorite thing about this teacher was that she was always willing to help one on one. she had tutoring open every lunch just in case someone needed help. so that's just a few of the reasons why my high school algebra 2 teacher was my favorite.

violence in schools...

we all know that within our school systems there is a certain amount of violence, it's a part of human nature and unavoidable. i remember especially during my middle school years that there was at least an aggravated argument, if not a fight, every week and that was just among the 6th graders. my question is, as teachers, what can we do to lessen the outbreaks of fights and violence in general.

one thing that some people are suggesting is behavioral management training. some believe that if pre-service teachers got more training in how to deal with aggressive behavior their classrooms would run more smoothly and that the rate of violence within the classroom would go down. another thing some some schools are doing is having low to moderate security systems in place; the difference being that the low security systems have no metal detectors or guards but have control access to buildings, and moderate security systems have a full time guard. another thing most schools are doing is issuing id badges or name tags to stop non-staff or students from entering the schools and causing trouble.

so are these tactics effective? considering crime and violence rates have gone down, i would say that they are. however, i do think that as a teacher or administrator one should always be watching and actively trying to keep schools as safe and violence free as possible.

leapfrog and other educational toys

i'm sure you've seen the commercials of the cute little kids playing with the leapfrog toys, but my question is how effective are these learning tools. they have toys to help with everything from reading and writing to math and science. they also have toys for all ages, from 6 months to 18 years old. they are good for working on certain skills at home and some school have started to use them in class as teaching aids. one special education teacher sent home a phonics program from leapfrog and saw wonderful results with her students. another teacher chose to use the phonics programs in class and saw a "huge boost" in learning and reading skills and a boost in her students confidence as well. so from what i've read the leapfrog brand of toys and others like it can definitely help students learn in a fun and effective way!

my least favorite teacher

the worst teacher i have had to date has been in my college years. it was my first semester, and a freshman level class, but she treated us like graduate students. she jumped into notes on the first day, which isn't a bad thing usually, but this class had a lab and it would have been nice to have known what was going to be coming. another thing that really made me dislike her as a teacher was her attitude when asked a question. it always seemed to really annoy her that we might have a question, or that we didn't understand a concept. it was really off putting and made me very wary of actually raising my hand to ask for help. she also would act frustrated and annoyed if students took to long to write down the notes from the over head powerpoint, or asked her to turn back a slide. the whole class was just a little frustrating and not at all fun to go to. now i know that class isn't necessarily supposed to be fun, but it's certainly not something to dread going to. so because of all these reason she was one of my least favorite teachers.