Social Justice

I think that nurturing your students is important to keeping them on task and involved with the class, but could that lead to other students thinking you are favoring a student or group of students over another. I think that all teachers should try to help every student they have to the best of their ability but they need to be carful not to leave any students out. Once a students feels they are not getting the attention they deserve their work will start to decline, and then they will become a student who gets more of the attention causing another student to fall behind. Nurturing the students is important to show them that you care and that the work they are doing has a reason.

I liked the fourth point that Herbert Kohl brought up, about not letting teaching take over your life and still having fun and enjoying different aspects of life. I think that is something that a lot of teachers forget and sometimes they will bring outside moods into the classroom. If a teacher has fun and has things to look forward to doing besides school work they will be more relaxed and more enjoyable in the classroom for the students. If the students see that the teacher is no uptight about everything they will be ready to show up to class enjoy the time that they are there and learn more because they are not just waiting until they get to leave.

Special Education in Schools

I went to school with students with disabilities. The school provided a room that the students with disabilities went to for a period a day. I would go to the resource room with a lot of students to get help. I was never embarrassed to go there I actually enjoyed the help I received and thought it was worth it.

Teachers have to prep there day for different levels of class, for instance they may teach an English academic class and an honors class in the same day. The teacher has to take their time to set up two lesson plans for the different abilities. It is not fair to make a teacher to have to figure out how they are going to teach an academic classroom of students and one disabled student.

There was one student in my class that was very disabled. The school did not have a program for someone as handicapped as he was. His parents decided that they did not want to put him in a private school that could better help him so he went through the public school system. This was unfair to a lot of people. It was unfair to him because he was probably not getting the best education he could because he was in normal level classes. It was unfair to students in his class because occasionally the class would have to slow down or stop so that he could try to catch up. And it was unfair to the teacher because they would have to make separate tests for him. He was in one of my classes when I was a freshman. He would sit in the outside row so that his helper could be close and help him. The teacher of that class would make up special vocabulary tests that were completely different from the ones that the rest of the classes were taking. This was unfair to everyone because he is in the same level class as everyone else but is not at the same level of education as everyone else.

The school did all that they could to help this student out, He even graduated on time with the rest of the class. It is not fair to put the student in the school that he is not ready to be in. The student would have benefited greatly by going to a school that could accommodate his needs. I have a friend that when he was in middle school his parents decided he should go to a different school so he could get more assistance. At this time no one thought that he would ever be able to go to college. He went to a special high school that he lived at for four years, by the time he was done he was ready to go to community college and he completed two years successfully. It was because his parents knew he should not be in the public school system and got him the help he needed, that’s why he was able to go on to college.

http://specialed.about.com/cs/teacherstrategies/a/Strategies.htm

Safe Sex is Good Sex

Sex education is an important part of high school. There have been debates about how the teaching of sex education should be taught at the high school level. Some people feel that it should not be in school at all and is a terrible idea, and there are also a lot of people who feel that it is very important that the kids learn about it.

There are a number of ways to teach students about safe sex. The teacher can show films about teenagers that are pregnant to show the students the negatives it can have. The class can also talk about the positives as well. I believe that the classroom is an excellent place for teenagers to learn about sex. There are so many myths that are out there about sex that it provides a good place for the student to ask the teacher and learn the truth.

Recently on the news I heard a high school was talking about giving away free condoms to students. I think that this may be going a little too far, it is promoting safe sex, but at the same time it is also promoting sex in general. If students feel that sex is just something to do then they will being doing it all the time and this could lead to more problems.

http://newteachersupport.suite101.com/article.cfm/high_school_and_sex_education

Should there be cameras in the classroom?

Cameras in schools have its advantages and disadvantages. Having a camera in the hallways and overlooking doors is a good way of protection. School officials would be able to monitor who is in the school and what they are doing. This is a good way to secure the safety of the students. Anyone should be able to watch the tape if they desire and have a good reason to be doing so. Schools are watching over the classrooms and are only allowing limited people view the tapes unless they go through court. A parent brings up a good point in "If my child in school is accused of something ... I would certainly want to see that,"

I believe that if there are cameras in the classroom it may change the way a teacher and their students interact with one another. This could harm the educating process by making the students and staff feel that they are being watched over at all times of the day. Both the teacher and the students should not be doing anything in the classroom that would be bad on camera but I feel that it still changes the atmosphere of the classroom. I do think that cameras can help the students feel safe but also hurt the students in making them feel watched over.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/EDUCATION/08/12/classroom.cameras.ap/index.html

Should schools have computers in the classroom?

Computers are becoming more popular throughout school systems. School districts are providing more and more computers to public schools, “they usually start with the high schools and work their way down to elementary.” How effective is a computer to a student? They should be able to learn basic skills on the computer. The basic knowledge of a computer will be helpful as the student progresses from grade to grade. Elementary schools are trying to get more computers in their schools, “Many elementary schools have found their own resources or are lucky enough to be a part of a district which has been able to equip everybody.”
If there is limited amount of computers in the classroom it can be utilized more effectively then having a larger number. The teacher can assign two students to one computer to have peered tutoring. The teacher can assign each student to a different task and give all the students in the class an opportunity to use their skills at the computer. To make sure this is effective the teacher can have the students keep a journal to make sure they are taking something out of the lesson.

The students can use computers as a beneficial way of learning. Norm Bishop states that “He suggests using multimedia computers to present information (video slides), with CD-ROM encyclopedia and almanacs and skill-based computer assisted instruction. Another suggestion he has is to place one of the more powerful multimedia computers on a cart for easy access.” Using computers to help the students learn can help them and can change the way a teacher teaches to give them more time to spend with the students and giving them one on one help.

http://edweb.sdsu.edu/courses/edtec596r/students/Simmons/Simmons.html