I think I finally understand why the College of Education at NIU bothers me so strongly. Once you enter the program after fulfilling all the requirements, they force us to take classes in sections. This limits our choices of when to take a class and with whom. Once you get in, these instructors teach their courses by the design of their respected departments. And here's what upsets me: you would think that if the college designs a program around courses set to correlate with each other that the departments actually communicate! The assignments, the demands and expectations, and the workload is so off tangent that it makes students frustrated and discouraged. Was this the college's intent? "To kill off the weak?"
Communication with other teachers is what they drill into our minds in all of the courses, but these instructors and departments do not follow what they preach. If we are to teach our students by modeling what we want them to do, then our college is not acceptable. No matter how great an instructor is, the problem still remains that these teachers lack the empathy or desire to help us succeed in becoming in-service teachers.
The textbooks we use in our pre-service classes discuss the importance of developing a sense of ownership for our students so that they can have a deeper connection to what they're learning. I strongly believe in creating a curriculum that matters to them; otherwise, how will they ever believe a higher education would be of any worth to them?
My question for this is about a college education? Don't we need a sense of ownership as well? All the essays, projects, readings, but for what? Do our professors consider the students in their planning and assigning? Do the departments even think we matter? I have spent many nights writing up papers or reading up on chapters from the text wondering, "what's the relevance? The books tell me why I should read it, but when was the last time the professor actually gave us a thoughtful and sensible reason?"
Why is college treated so different from elementary and secondary education? Do people stop thinking a certain way right after graduating from high school? Are we robots that can purely learn from a teacher-directed lecture?
I was assigned a rather tedious make-up assignment from the College of Education recently. I wrote this when I had the time; it was more of a reflection off of the given assignment because it wasn't challenging and as an adult, I felt that it did no good to simply do what I was told. In the end, I will probably not hand this version to her. If students had a voice in the policies of our education department...
Make-up summary for seminar 2:
Upon completing the slide notes for Seminar #2, I have come to the conclusion that these seminars are needed for administrative purposes. We are instructed to be professional, not just for the sake of our own development, but because we will get a disposition notice. The students of this college, those who earned a slot into the program, are taught with fear and juvenile techniques. They are in fear of making a mistake, to take a risk and ask questions. Are we not adult enough to put away the cellular phone or dress appropriately if only the speaker asks? Are we still children that need adults to formulate rules and bans? Seminars are tools for the administration to successfully create men and women that will continue to listen and follow the traditions of a failing system.
In order to meet the satisfactory requirements of this assignment and keep me from getting into problems, I shall focus on the ways to implement the key points covered. Besides the fact that I had to discuss this already on the powerpoint slides handout (on every single slide, no matter how obvious; see slides 1-3 and 8), I shall not challenge my instructor’s directions and shall regurgitate in a summary manner. Yes, pre-service teachers must not be treated like adults. Assigning the notes on the seminar is not enough; assign it again as a 1 ½ to 2 page summary!
Student-teaching confirmation forms are approaching on our timeline. We have been told through the seminar to follow a certain protocol. Once we receive the email from Sue Lowell, we will need to go to the office and take the form to the school. It has to be signed and submitted within two weeks of receiving placement. Contacting the teacher is a priority, but visiting is not. That is, if it is received during the three-week block, then we are to wait until it is finished.
The take-away idea for this seminar is called the 3-Step Interview. Interviews are done in pairs and then assimilated into another. Communication skills are practiced as well as critical thinking. What you learn from another should have a connection to each other or on the topic.
The last key point I have missed is the first assigned reading from the Wong textbook. To implement high expectations, I will organize my goals and expectations into something tangible. This is effective when students have no guidance on the first day. To support this point, I connect the video of Chelonnda Seroyer’s presentation. She provided clear rules and guildelines. The students knew that her classroom does not get distracted by low expectations. By using her own childhood, Seroyer exemplified a first-hand source: create a structured environment that remains consistent and safe even when everything else is chaotic. Students should feel that a classroom will provide a learning environment and away from inconsistencies of their lives.
Or is it Spring Break will do you well? I'm not a grammar Nazi, so I'll have to find out from a friend.
I thought a week off from school would rejuvenate me for more school, but it's Sunday and school begins again tomorrow. I'm still feeling a little restricted, and I hope I don't cave into the pressure. Of course there's the saying, "You are what you are" and perhaps I will just have to believe I'm doing alright to be alright.
It's pretty amazing that it's been one year already since the terrible day at NIU. I remember a lot of it; from waiting for the bus at 3 to waiting for my ride back home. We stayed away from school for a week, and then we had volunteer counselors coming from all over the states to help the school heal. Classes were changed; assignments were dropped or extended. Safety has also changed around campus. We no longer have late night student desk jobs, and we have hired red coats.
Now it's the first year anniversary of the tragedy, and the bigheads decided to establish a memorial at the place of Cole Hall. I can still remember this past fall semester when new students tried to open the doors of Cole Hall; they don't understand the history of the campus.
True. That's why people are given another chance. My clinical course textbook gets me irritated sometimes.
It's common sense. You will be treated as you are dressed.
Common sense? Really? Based on what study? My textbook does not citations on anything it is saying. It's not credible in my opinion. If I had a choice, I wouldn't read it.
Last thing:
It is not what is but what is perceived that counts.
my textbook: Wong, H., & Wong, R. (2009). The First Days of School. Mountainview: Harry K. Wong Publications.
I spent $81 on a textbook for a class I'm not quite sure I need. It's a technology course that's supposed to help future teachers integrate technology and media into their lessons. I took a quick break from reading the assigned chapters because I found something so unspeakable... I thought a book that costed $81 (used) would be credible and professional, but one of the first things it did was to cite wikipedia. That's right. A college textbook just cited wikipedia.
I've been living in dorms for about 4 years now, and I've never had a real problem with it till now.
I moved in back in August, and found that the room previously had an infestation of bedbugs. My roommate had stayed in the same room before, and he laughed about it. He didn't seem to mind too much. I thought this was outrageous.
I've had some days where the exterminator came to spray the room, but I've done it five times now, and I sitll have the problem. The supervisor for the work request office said that it's my fault if the problem persists. I thought that was ludacris, because I never had bedbugs in my house, and I have been following all the instructions she gave me. and it still fails.
This is a video about bedbugs to get a better understanding of my worst enemy of 2008.
So I started my first semester of clinical experience. It's only an education psychology clinicals, so there's nothing too difficult about it. My professor is really nice about the whole thing, and my elementary school teacher isn't so bad either. I'm pretty lucky to have good instructors.
My student that I'm observing and working with is Brian Bacon. Of course, I changed the name to protect his privacy. He's a really smart and funny kid, but he has a mental disability, so it is harder for him to concentrate on the tasks given. It hasn't hindered our work greatly, but it has become quite time consuming.
His problem solving and logic is progressing at a normal pace, but his literacy and language development is a little slow. His teacher told me that it's probably not going to improve, and I was a little sad about that pessimistic view. It's not set in stone; the kid can change if everyone tries a little harder.
School is in less than 20 days from now, and I must prepare my stuff. I got some things to find like my clothes, sweaters, shoes, and books. I am wondering whether to bring all the notes back with me like I did before but it looks like I'll be dorming in such a small room this year. I was hoping I wouldn't have a roommate since the guy never responded to my email. If by some twist of fate he is a no show, then i'll send housing a request to get it all to myself (yeah i'd pay the extra).
I learned from LTC that I can wash all sorts of the issued equipment in the laundry machine and dryer. I'm tempted to put my LCE, waterproof bag, and rucksack in there to clean.
I also need to buy another coffee carafe since my last one shattered on moving out day. I'm pissed off about that. The carafe is about two dollars less than a new coffeemaker.
