Three things that I would like to change or keep doing during this next semester will be:
1. Maintain my grade up in Pre-AP Algebra 2. To be able to do that I would need to go in for tutorials if ever needed. Also, getting early to class to get a head start on my tests every Friday. By doing this I'll be getting the help I need and I'll have a better chance of acing my tests.
2. Get less tardies this semester. To do so I would need to wake up a little bit earlier to get to school on time. Doing this will help me not miss any class time because of tardy sweeps and be able to be exempt from my tests.
3. Study and practice my French. Since French is getting a lot harder, I need to study more and not slack off. By doing that I will be able to get my work done and get good grades.
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| Let's do this!! |
I was quite surprised when I finished reading the article of Lewisville ISD trades rows of desks for sofas - Your Houston News: Dallas.
Teachers should really know better than that. Sure it would be a rather relaxing atmosphere at school and what kid doesn't want that? But that would only worsen the problem of kids trying to stay awake during class. Being that comfortable would only make them doze off and not pay attention.
With the older students it would only get worse since it's hard to keep teenagers awake,interested, and engaged in classroom activities.
With that in mind, my classroom would have normal desks and not sofas. Yes the students would be able to use electronics for classroom instruction such as ipads, smart phones, etc. but only when needed and under supervision. The room would be decorated with bright colors and modern furniture to have the kids look forward to being in class and to motivate them.
Some parents are getting upset over the fact that the Fort Worth school district is not allowing gift exhcanges or Santa visits in their classrooms.
If I was to have a say on this, then I would go with NOT celebrating Christmas in class. Some reasons to back up my opinion are :
1. Giving gifts and having a party during class causes many distractions and takes away valuable instruction time from the teacher
2. Not all kids in a classroom celebrate Christmas. Why make them uncomfortable? Teachers should take that more into consideration.
3. Students that don't celebrate it, can't participate or get involved in activities being done at school. Making students feel left out and again, uncomfortable.
Read the first and second article on the topic on the Star Telegram to know more information about this.
The movie American Teacher gave me a whole different point of view on teaching. It shocked me to see that so many schools districts have a small income. Most can't even pay their teachers the money needed for materials used in class . I had always heard my teachers complain that they didn't get paid enough but I never realized it was this bad.
I think what was causing most of the teachers in the video frustration was having to stay after school everyday for hours just to get things done but still getting paid a crummy amount of money. Some had to get second jobs to be able to support their families economically and that put even more stress on them.
I really don't think conditions could improve with out an increase in money. Something should be done about this as soon as possible. Teachers at least deserve that much.
This week's topic is on Overcoming Procrastination. After reading an article on the topic, I noticed that one of the reasons why I tend to leave everything for the last minute is that I have difficulty concentrating.
I get distracted easily at school and so I decide to put my assignments off and prefer to finish them at home. But then that leaves me with not enough time to finish them.
To overcome my procrastination i will try to discipline myself to use my time wisely. Having my priorities straight should help me get things in order. Also eliminating the noise or distractions such as listening to music or talking to friends while working would be good.
After watching the video of Changing Education Paradigms by Sir Ken Robinson, it made me realize that the way that we are being and have been educated, perhaps hasn't been the best after all.
If I could change education I think I would start off by changing the standardized tests and activities inside the classroom. We all perform differently and therefore cannot all be evaluated and assessed by one standardized test. If testing is not our strong point, it limits our ability to succeed.
I think we could all learn more if we opened up to more options and had more "hands-on" activities. It would be a better learning experience and would get the students to be more engaged in what we are learning. It would also be a lot more interesting if we all learned something that would actually apply to our future lives rather than waste our time on things that we might not ever see again.
Also, rather than separating kids by age groups, I think it would help if we were separated by how much we know. Students with a higher level of intelligence should advance to the grade level they have the potential to be in. Rather than sitting in a class all day with students that don't understand the assignment and a teacher that can't move on because of those students.
I think students would really benefit from this and in the end we could all learn more.
Mrs. Steven's Blog
TEA TEKS for First Grade
This week's blog is about lesson planning and different activities to use for first graders.
Ideas for First Grade TEKS Activities:
1) Put a certain amount of pennies in a cup, take out a few, place them on a table facing up and have the kids count them. Give them the total amount of pennies but don't show them. Have the kids tell you how many were left in the cup by subtracting. (1.3)(A)
2) Have the kids go out to recess and while at it, have them all ask their playmates the same question like "What is your favorite color: blue, pink, or green?" Then when they come back in, discuss the data and create a bar graph with them organizing the results. (1.9)(A&B)
3) Cut out small squares with different amounts of dots on them like a dice would. Give them each a paper with enough space to place the squares. Each paper has different numbers like 15, 19, 10. They must search for a way to add the squares together and get the right amount for each number. (1.5)(D)
