Premise of School this year has really expanded my insights about education as a whole. I took this course last year, where my teacher stressed the variety of philosophies and nothing else. I started this course assuming it would be nothing more than an echo of last year. I was completely wrong. My knowledge of all the different issues and foundations in education has increased greatly. From topics such as the challenges teachers face to all the different types of schools out there, every week seemed to bring me a new adventure I was to discover.
The books assigned for this course were actually interesting to read (and I can't say that a lot about college text books.) My favorite was the Educational Foundations book because it contained stories with hidden meaning, such as Death at an Early Age, as well as facts that teachers should know before walking into a classroom. I usually try to sell back my books but I will be keeping that one for sure. Another part of the course I enjoyed a lot were the literature circles, I've never taken an online course so I imagined this to be very different that what it turned out to be. It's great to share your thoughts with others and get to hear theirs in return. When I would post my assigned section my group members would comment back and give me positive feedback as well as leave their ideas for me to ponder.
"In order to learn, you must listen, and in order to listen one must share."
I came up with this statement after carefully considering some factors to learning. Since I enjoyed the literature circles so much I thought it would be appropriate to come up with a quote that expressed how our group was so successful.
Social justice was introduced to me during this course and I got to look deeper into its meaning and whether or not teachers should be bringing it into the classrooms. After reading a few articles I quickly knew my outlook on the subject and I got to express that through one of the many blogs I completed. Social justice is important to me because I believe it is what makes our society what it is today. It is such an important yet broad subject that should be incorporated throughout a school day. Students need to be aware of the different topics and issues arising so when they complete school one day they will have a better sense of the world they live in. If the students are not being exposed to it at home, then they will never know about many subjects that people today need to be familiar with.
Herbert Khol, author of Teaching for Social Justice came up with a few suggestions for bringing it into the classroom. I personally thought his statement, "watch your students and see what works", is one of the most useful tips. Teachers need to be patient and observant if they want to discuss social justice issues. They need to be prepared for their reactions and comments and if a teacher can listen, observe and make statements off of that then they will succeed. Some might argue that these topics should not be discussed in school and are more suitable for the home. I personally believe that most topics are not being brought up in homes and if this is true then where are students going to learn about it? Schools should have safe environments to talk about topics such as racism and sexism, and students should be entitled to knowing all the ways of keeping it out of the safe environment.
Education can be viewed in many different aspects with many different symbols. It was hard to choose just one model for education because so many things can be used to stand for it. I think a butterfly is a good representation of education as a whole. A butterfly first starts off as an egg, this is the beginning stage of a student. They are an egg in a sense, where they are new to the world and everything outside of the egg. Students first start out not knowing a whole lot except what they were introduced to at their home. The creature inside an egg is secluded from everything and is only being sheltered by the shell and what brought it to life. Once the egg is hatched a caterpillar will be born, beginning the first stages of its life. This represents a student once they have begun school and are starting the learning process. They are still new to the world of education but are slowly beginning to grow. I believe this is the stage where students are exposed to loads of information and are transforming into a brighter individual. The caterpillar then begins its transformation stage where it goes into a hard shell (chrysalis). This shell can represent a student taking all the information they learned and trying to figure out how to apply the knowledge. This is an important stage for both the student and butterfly because without the shell, a caterpillar cannot turn into a butterfly. Without a student applying knowledge they won't be able to graduate out of school. The last stage is when the shell breaks apart and a butterfly slowly emerges. This represents a student completing school and finally breaking free to be on their own. Butterflies cannot be formed without going through this process, just like a student cannot graduate without completing their own learning process.
When I thought about all the different schools in the world I began to wonder how they all compare to each other and differ. I began to think about the types of students present every day and if the location of the school would be a factor to the students walking through the doors. Last year I got to observe a seventh grade classroom at a Lawrence elementary school. My cousin, the teacher, filled me in on all the different issues he goes through every day. After hearing about the challenges he faces I realized that general school safety is a really important factor. This is why I chose to discuss the issues of safety in schools nowadays.
A 2001 survey from the National School Safety Center concluded that 60% of high school boys had access to a gun. 15% of middle school boys could get a gun also.
I personally find this statistic disturbing, and that was eight years ago! I can only imagine how high the percentages are now. Safety is a big concern for me and always has been. In school and out of school, a
child should always feel safe and never threatened. I believe that when a child takes one step onto school grounds they should immediately feel safe. Students should gain the best experience while learning, and if they feel like they are in danger they will carry that thought with them when they think about learning. I asked my cousin, who has been a teacher at the elementary school for 5 years now, if his school has any issues with violence. He replied with a disappointing head nod asking me in return if I noticed the police men patrolling the halls. Every day he gets at least one threat from a student, let me remind you that he teaches 7th graders! Some schools have a serious issue with violence and I do believe a factor comes from the environment setting. If these students are raised in a family where violence is present, they are most likely going to mirror those behaviors. Schools need to ensure that there is a zero violence policy and address this policy on the students. At the school my cousin teaches at there are so many kids that misbehave that it's almost too hard to discipline them. This is why I think schools need to enforce zero-tolerance policies, enforce a weapon free environment, and get students involved with maintaining a safe school. Students need to be more aware of the seriousness so they can each be one more person helping keep everyone safe.
-"He who opens a school door, closes a prison."-Victor Hugo
Sources:
http://www.rethinkingschools.org/archive/15_02/Just152.shtml
http://www.tooter4kids.com/LifeCycle/Stages.htm
http://www.ncpc.org/topics/school-safety
http://en.proverbia.net/citastema.asp?tematica=377
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