Favorite Education Movie

When thinking about a specific education movie that I can say is my favorite I think of the movie Stand and Deliver. I remember watching this movie in high school. The movie was out in 1988, and it is totally different then the times we are in now, but there are still important lessons that we can all take out of this movie. 

The reason why I like this movie so much is Jaime Escalante doesn't give up on the students that were seen as rebels and illiterates. He does not accept the systems standards and pushes to make a change in the students life. I think it is a crazy thought to see that he got students to take summer classes and even be in school on a Saturday. Especially after all the disrespect he got from the students when he first went into the classroom. He never lost faith in them and encouraged them that they could beat the odds and pass the AP Calculus test. Escalante used new teaching techniques in the classroom and didn't fall into the "normal" standards of that school.

Even when the students all pass, they are still accused of cheating. Escalatnte does not give up on the students but instead pushes them even harder to retake the test. When they all pass I feel the students can all see that anything is possible. I feel the school in this movie didn't care about their students and the students felt it. This movie helped show me the difference that one teacher can have in a students life.

As a pre-service teacher this movie shows the importance of a teacher encouraging students, and shows that students can do anything they put their minds to. I feel this movie showed me the reaction of a student body to the encouragement of the teacher. I hope that someday I can help children go above and beyond and give them the feeling of achievement and being believed in. 

Medias Influence

I feel that media has very much influenced myself. When I was little I used to read constantly I think reading helped my vocabulary and helped me gain perspectives through other peoples view points. I feel as a a student working to become a teacher reading has greatly influenced me. By reading I learn new teaching strategies, history of education, and classrooms stories. All of which help me grow as a teacher.

The Internet has very much influenced me. With my iPhone I can look up anything, anywhere. I can pay my rent on my phone, access my bank accounts, keep track of my running. I feel that as technology progresses the tedious things of the past will become easier. In the schools technology is benefiting the classroom and helping children in a new way. I strongly believe literacy still needs to be pushed in schools but technology needs to be embraced for the benefits it provides.

For my personal life I believe the media improves my knowledge and helps me grow. I think media is easy access to news and information that we shouldn't take for granted. Media is something that can help expand student's minds in the classroom. Using books, television, or the Internet we are able to learn about many different cultures and see them better then we ever have been able to in the past.

Personally I feel with media influences it is important to be the judge of stories being true or false. I think it is the individuals responsibility not to believe everything they see but to analyze and figure out what point of view they stand on.

I'm excited to see where media influences take us in the future and hope that we will all continue to benefit from it.

Teachers Strike (extra credit)

The strike gave me a couple different feelings. I think that it is good the teachers stood up for what they believed and they didn't back down. However, I do not agree that their interests were with the children. If they really cared about their students they wouldn't have refused to teach the students while they were on their strike. I believe it would have been better if the teachers went on strike before school started and threatened that they were not going to teach.

The strike impacted families, that had to worry about providing child care for their students. Plus, the students lost days of learning in school. It was said 350,000 students were not in school due to the strike. For two weeks the teachers protested. I personally don't believe the best interests of the students were considered by the teachers. I think it was responsible of the city to send children to schools for supervision and meals if their schools were closed, however not all children were able to attend.

On the side of supporting the strike. I do agree that teacher's should have the right to fight for their concerns. Their concerns involved job security and the teacher evaluations. It was interesting to see how many parents supported the teachers for standing up for what they believed.

I feel when I am a teacher someday, I will also stand up for what I believe, however, I will keep in mind what is going to happen to the children. I feel that should take the priority no matter what. At least after two weeks now the teachers strike is over and students can get back into school.

As a nation I feel the teacher strikes show schools, state officials and the government that teachers will stand up for their rights. The strikes at least prove that every once in a while people need to stand up for what they believe.

Communities

The community I live in now is the community I was born and raised in. During my time in Norwich I have seen the community grow into something different from what I was raised in. I think the changes are due to technology growing and children as a whole changing.

When I was little I remember playing outside, going for walks, going to the public parks. Now when I drive down the streets children are skateboarding or biking around parking lots. In the times I grew up in I didn't have a cellphone, or a laptop to sit on. Now I feel like the community is more technology based and communities are changing to fit the current times. I also feel that the diversity in my small town is growing from what it was.

When I was in 4th grade I moved to Buffalo, New York for a year. I am able to compare my time there in a busy city to the rural city I live in now. Buffalo was a completely different area for me. The city was always so busy and there was so much going on at once. The school systems were different there too. The first school I ever attended was K-12, 600 students. When I moved to a new school the 7-12 graders were in the same building. Comparing that to the busy city of Buffalo. I went to a school that had 3 grades per building, (third, fourth, fifth). The diversity in the school was different to the little town  I grew up in.

Living in two totally different environments helped my personal development. I have experienced the small town, everybody knows everybody atmosphere. But I have also experienced the life in a busy city. These experiences will help shape me as a teacher. I will be able to relate to students in different schools. These different experiences will only build my teaching skills and I am glad that I was able to experience two opposite communities.

Timeglider History of Education

Time Gider Link
Click on Link for the Time Glider Timeline.

Favorite Teachers

Throughout school I had a few different teachers that impacted me, some even without me being in their classroom as a student. Looking back now I can see how much of an impact they have had on me and will continue to have on me as I become a teacher myself. The two teachers I feel that have influenced me the most are Mr. Ryan and Mrs. Miller.

My first day in a new school in 10th grade I had global studies first period with Mr. Ryan. As soon as I walked in the room Mr. Ryan said hello and talked about how excited he was to teach every student that walked in. Mr. Ryan, throughout my time in his class, was enthusiastic about teaching, the school, and the community. I hated history growing up and now I am concentrating in history myself. I feel like Mr. Ryan, through his stories and teaching, showed me how influential being involved in the school and community would be. Something I will take from him and use in my classroom is his PEW (Positive Event Weekend.) Every Monday we would have to write down one or two positive things that we did over the weekend. If a student said a negative event or didn't have anything to share he would come back to them. This activity helped our class get to know each other better and gave us a positive attitude to work off of in the morning. I will use this in my future classroom to get the same effect from my students.

The other most influential teacher in my life is Mrs. Miller. I never had Mrs. Miller as a teacher myself, because she is my mom. But I was able to substitute in her classroom at BOCES and learn  a lot about teaching and helping students in need myself. When I was subbing in her classroom I saw a lot of kids struggling to do their work and concentrate. Something I want to take from her is how she could pull the student aside, talk to them for a few minutes, and get them back on track and smiling. Her dedication and her connection to the students and the ability to alter her lessons depending on how the class was that day is something I hope to do in the future.

These two teachers are two that have taught me lessons, without knowing it, that will impact how I will teach the future students in my classroom.