Chapter 2 Reflections

Opps, sorry guys, I accidentally posted to my other blog.

It was interesting to hear each of the responses for their greatest achievements in life. No one answered that it was how great they did on their SAT’s or Praxis, but I did receive the answer graduating from college. This was interesting to me because college deals so heavily on academic achievements. However, the most common answer for what kind of achievements do you admire in persons you respect had little to do with examinations. They said they admired people they trusted, and people who had leadership skills. People who had love of their family’s.

My cousin was able to find a couple of things that were both affirmed and contradicted by outside influences. In her science class she was learning evolution, but at her home, her Christian family was struggling to find meaning within this context. In school she was also learning about the health effects of marijuana, but on the news, down in California, she was watching the debate over legalization of the drug.

One of the things that I shared with my cousin was our interests in after school activities. She played softball and volleyball and watched a lot of football (mainly due to my uncle). I shared a passion for coaching softball and enjoy playing beach volleyball. We also shared the same reaction to our sense of belonging. We both felt secure while with close family and friends but left out in the open amongst people we were unfamiliar with we both became introverted.

One of the most important things that came up while doing this last reflection was how a teacher influences their environment. Environment is so important to learning. Without a safe secure place a student will not be able to focus properly on learning material. As a teacher it is going to be important for me to understand this and begin by presenting a classroom environment where a student does not feel foolish for asking a question. I can remember times while I was in high school that I was curious about something but did not feel secure enough to raise my hand and question it. We have to help our students become secure in our classroom.

My Autobiography

I was born and raised, for the first 18 years of my life, in the small coastal town of Newport. Though there was a smaller population than in major cities, our community seemed to be very diverse. I grew up next door to an Asian family whose son became one of my best friends. Later in grade school I encountered another of my best friends whose parents had immigrated to our town from Mexico. Though I can reflect back on our cultural differences, at the time I was unaware of a separation between the three of us. Perhaps this comes from our common interests. I grew up in a conservative household. My family attended church every Sunday at 8:30am. During my childhood I enjoyed church simply because my friends would be there to great me, as well as the candy which was handed out for correct answers to bible story questions. It may not have been a common ‘interest’ of our own , but it was a familiar family experience for all three of us. Later on, we began to find other common interests that we shared, such as sports and mischievous activities. It wasn’t until fourth grade that I actually realized that we were in fact, racially different from one another. Of course this changed nothing between us. But it began to open my eyes to the world around me.

I grew up with a family that believed in how important we were to one another. We only had one family to ourselves. Family was the second most important thing other than God. As a result, I remember times when my friends would laugh at me for how often I would pass up the opportunity to go to a movie so that I could hang out with my family. We had dinner together at 6:30 every night and would spend the evenings sitting around talking with one another until bedtime. Now of course this schedule changed once my brother and I began sports and started middle school and high school. I can look back at how my family evolved to cover the many baseball and football games that we both had and how my parents kept their core values of family by making every effort to be there to support each of us as a group. I can actually remember the very first baseball game that my father could not attend and this was a result of our social class and my fathers drive to provide financially for my family.

My dad is the persona of the blue collar worker. He has held a variety of manual labor jobs such as fisherman, mechanic and most recently electrical lineman. He is probably the most influential person of my life. This includes the many good influences and some bad. My dad worked incredibly hard for my family to provide the economic support that we required as a middle class family. He made certain sacrifices so that my brother and I would be able to live a happy life. I can remember distinctly one night as I waited as a freshman in high school, for my dad to pick me up. I kept praying that none of my friends would be around when he drove up in his ‘beater’ of a car, a 1974 Volkswagen Rabbit. Socially, during time in my life, I knew that we weren’t rich, but I also understood that we definitely weren’t poor.

It wasn’t until I began my undergrad that I really became aware of different religious beliefs other than my own. I knew that not everyone was Christian like myself. I knew about the other world religions and knew individuals who practice none. I had grown up attending school assemblies where Native Americans came to school and taught their traditions and culture. But I had never really thought about the implications that culture had on me. During undergrad I had a professor who really challenged my thinking and helped me to think of the larger world perspective and not keep myself so centralized. I began to appreciate what different cultures taught me. I think that this understanding, or eye opening, will stay with me and challenge me to never stop thinking about culture. As I begin to spend more time in diverse classrooms these life experiences will help to keep me both grounded and open to knew ideas and its this balance that I believe makes a teacher great.

Reflection 1.13

As a teacher I envision myself as promoting a healthy learning experience for all students that I come in contact with. (I would love to say that every student who hears or sees me would know I am promoting this environment but reality leaves me with the feeling that there are always factors outside of my control.) I also envision myself as a person that students could actively seek out for mentor ship and direction as well as providing accountability. With these in mind, I would also hope that I would be a teacher who teaches to the individual learning styles and does not shy away from the challenges presented by exceptional learners.

Reflection 1.12

The main purpose of schools are to provide a safe learning environment for children to come and learn both necessary ideals and values as well as important general knowledge of our world. A diverse society, such as the U.S., needs a safe learning environment as well as an education from experienced teachers in core social values. Treating humans as humans. In a socially stratified society it is necessary for schools to create and instill the desire to un-stratify the society. The teacher is a means of capturing the attention of the students and promoting the healthy school environment as well as socially correct ideals.

Reflection 1.11

Sojourner Truth's interpretation of the old ways of conducting business is more of a direct way of getting your opinions heard. She puts herself out stating the things that she has lived doing, which mainly are tough physical "man" things, and ends her discussion with the question, "ain't I a woman?". She really makes a great point in defending her feminism. If she can do all those things as well or better than a man, doesn't that make her an equal of men?

Reflection 1.4

I agree that to teach effectively, we as teachers, must be prepared to address diverse experiences that children bring to the classroom. I want to teach so that I can help students understand my passions, but I also must come to terms with the idea that I will not be able to teach in a universal manor. Individual students learn at individual rates. Some students may come to class more focused on how they will be able to make enough money after school to purchase food for their family. Its my job as their teacher to understand the social-economic differences that students face and to effectively grasp their attention so that they will be able to leave my classroom with additional knowledge that will help them succeed with their lives.

Reflection 1.3

The only real way that teaching will sustain me is if I look at it from the perspective that I teach because I enjoy sharing knowledge. I understand that I also would love to make a big impact on children’s lives, but reality says that I may not impact a single child into adopting what I believe to be great life lessons. Therefore, if I wish to be an ongoing figure in education I must teach simply for the joy of teaching and sharing of knowledge.

Reflection 1.2

I would like to teach so that I can help students better explore our world. So many students are swept away through school and on into the working world without taking advantage of their own identities and knowledge. I have seen my people ‘waste’ a free education in our public schools without reaching their own great potentials. If this is because of social or economic boundaries, then as a teach I would aspire to break students understanding of these and help invite them into a world where their potentials are endless.
I guess, lastly, that I want to teach so that I can share my own interests with others. In Biology, there are so many wonders that can be viewed from a car window or as you walk to class. Knowledge of our environment helps an individual better appreciate this beauty, and I can live a full happy life dedicated to educating students on our life sciences.

Reflection 1.1

My personal fantastic teacher persona requires me to be first and foremost, a caring, trustworthy person. Without trust, my students would find me inaccessible and a fantastic teacher is an individual who is accessible. I as a fantastic teacher would also hold my students accountable. Many students today lack a mentor who has enough weight in their lives to hold them accountable. This goes back to being an accessible educator.