Jim


 * __Artifacts/Lessons__**

Differentiated Instruction Artifact

Special Edu. Artifact

Classroom Procedures and Rationale

Resume- cover letter ESL Artifact Assessments Artifact

Focus Student Portfolio- Booker T. Washington/W.E.B. DuBois lesson humanities lesson- American Indians cooperative learning lesson plan role-playing

debate

discovery investigation- industrial revolution

__**Last Wiki**__ I thought that my microteach went pretty well. I worked pretty hard on it. I thought I covered all the main points pretty well. However, I think I should have given out guided notes. The presentation was pretty dense due to time constraints, and I think an outline of what I'm teaching that students can follow along with would help them stay focused. I thought I did a good job of connecting the material to larger concepts like the Cold War and the political spectrum. Being better prepared with that video clip of Che talking about how love is what motivates soldiers I think would have added to the presentation. I felt the way I presented was fairly smooth and well articulated. I wish I could've had a discussion about how Che might have been a different leader than Castro. I think it's a very interesting comparison, and it appears that Castro was more power-hungry while Che just wanted to always be fighting for equality. It makes you wonder how different Cuba would be if Che was in power. Overall, I thought it went well, and it's definitely a lesson I'd like to teach again.

> __**Week 14**__ consider student reactions or lack thereof, consider maturity levels, consider what it means to make the content 'real,' consider what distracts from learning, consider the push-back and resistance you might face from apathetic types, consider what else might be triggered or evoked by dealing with gritty issues, consider how you will represent your own views/feelings, consider how avoiding "issues" might have negative outcomes,

The push-back from students is normal when teaching the terrible. Students will often times just remain silent. Other times, they will try to deny what is happening, especially if in any way, the issues may arise personal guilt in themselves. Others will be more apathetic. It's important for me to persevere through these silences and push-backs. It takes time to get through these barriers, and to show that apathetic doesn't work because we all have to face the terrible at some point. I think that after the content has been shown, I can start asking what they're feeling on the matter. If I'm not getting through (which would probably be the case) I could take over talking for a little while.

I think addressing my own natural tendency to "shut down" my emotions when dealing with the terrible will give some students courage to at least agree with me to start. I think talking about our own reluctance to "feel" can eventually lead to uncovering our true feelings. Comparing the material to something else that we've felt in our lives may be another way to get through. I know it was easier for me to talk about how the Trayvon Martin tapes made me feel than the Holocaust. Either way, we're getting our deep-seated feelings of fear, anger, sadness, etc. that occurs with human devastation. Another way to get through is to have students write about their feelings. For privacy purposes, they wouldn't have to put their names on it, and I'd encourage them to hand it in when they're leaving but not force them to.

I think when presenting the terrible, one has to make the content "real." To me, this means presenting the material in a way that allows them to emotionally connect to it as closely as possible without feeling traumatized. This would mean there are limits to what I would show (no torture for example). Yet, video clips can be very powerful. Hearing first-hand accounts, especially from guest speakers, can really humanize the material. I think audio recordings (like 911 calls) can be very power as well; students focus exclusively on the human voice. Often times, one specific image or clip will strike a particular student in a particular way and make the material "come alive" for them. This is the goal. Part of the lesson should include focusing on the most arousing image, quote, etc. and elaborating from there. It may be the entryway into a more fruitful conversation on the material.

Teaching the terrible is a very important yet difficult task for a teacher to do. One can not simply gloss over an issue or sugarcoat it just because it makes people feel uncomfortable. If we did this, we would not be doing our job in presenting information in the most truthful way possible. We would indirectly be telling students that's it's right to overlook what is terrible in our society. This outlook could have serious repercussions. Students would lose out on growing as humans through examining the full spectrum of human behavior, whether it be righteous or downright terrible. As people, we are inevitably forced to deal with atrocities at some point in our life. By taking them on head-on, starting with what we learn about in our Social Studies classes, we can learn to endure these harsh realities of life. They can help us to sympathize with others, critically look at our own human condition, and push us to do more to help change, or at the very least persevere, through the ugliness in our society.

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__**Week 13**__ **__For this week’s wiki post__** – due by Sunday at 8pm – reflect aloud (or “e-loud” if you will) about Monday’s teacher panel. Respond thoughtfully (e.g. in handsome & articulate paragraphs) to the following prompt about some profound “take-aways” you had from the panelists. __Respond to 4 of the 6 options__.

A - On an EMOTIONAL level, what especially comforted, troubled, excited, frustrated, or (other emotion) … you? B - On a PROFESSIONAL level, what insights especially stood out to you? C - Making OBSERVATIONS, what traits did the panelist appear to have in common and/or differ on? D - MORE PLEASE: Because our time was limited, much was left unsaid. SO, what questions, requests for stories, tips, or issues still remain either unexplored or find you wishing would have been explored more? E - RELATING: Who did you most identify with/relate to or aspire to be like and WHY? F - VISION CASTING: How did this panel help you think about your future "legacy" or teacher identity?  A. Emotionally, I was most moved by the teachers' declarations of the rough times that they had. Hearing about the difficulty that Ms. Ianni had the first time she had to discipline a student literally made my body physically relax. I was thinking about how that would be a difficult task for me during their presentations and hearing her say exactly what I was thinking made me feel so much more normal and okay. I like hearing about teachers most embarrassing/worst experiences because looking like a fool can be a big fear of mine, but hearing it from others that have experienced it and can laugh about it makes it seem less daunting and abnormal.  B. Hearing one of the teachers say that what's really important is to fit your teaching style into your own personality and what works best for yoi also was a striking point. It was another message that I'd been reminding myself as I heard these different people talk about what styles they utilized. I realized that some their ways didn't really seem attractive to me, and it's personally insightful to recognize the importance of finding my own path. Mentioning the importance of relationships that you should develop with your fellow faculty and principal also made so much sense. It's great to know that yes, teachers love to teach and would be happy to help me with any issues I'm having. Being able to share experiences is a great way to build positive connections with other teachers/administrators as well as learning to be a better teacher.  <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">C. The teachers all seemed to really like what they do. They agreed that your first year teaching is difficult but is also really rewarding in a lot of ways. They made it clear that by the end of the year, you should feel pretty comfortable and feel ready to excel further in your second year. They all really enjoyed the relationships they have with their students and seem to have fun with them. This speaks to me because I feel like I'm a good people person, and the relationship aspect of the job is something I feel is really important to me. The panelists made it clear that you will have some free time and that the internship isn't going to kill us. They stressed that strong backboned disciplined teaching from the get-go will make your class go so much smoother the rest of the year. They seemed to be in agreeance with the fact that being stern doesn't hurt your relationships but facilitates them by generating a greater respect for the rules and the teacher from the students. There was also a common belief that sticking with a school like in the form of being a long-term sub will help get your foot in the door for a job so it's important to build those relationships in a district. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; display: block; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"> <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #ff0000; display: block; font-size: 14px; text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">E. There are a couple of traits that these teachers shared that I most aspire to integrate. I really like how they seemed to have a good grasp on classroom management. They're clearly all easy-going nice people, so I know that becoming a hardass, as they needed to be at times, was not a completely natural thing. I would like to build the confidence in myself to be able to quickly switch into "laying down the law" mode while not becoming overly concerned with how my students are perceiving me. I also aspire to attain the steady, well time-managed work ethic that these teachers seem to possess. In college, you can put things off more to the last minute before something is due. Being a teacher, there's too much work and too much detail in that work to operate like that. I don't know if I could come in as early to work as Tillman does, but being able to develop a daily schedule that keeps me on top of all my work while still enjoying windows of free time would be crucial to me being as good of a teacher as I can be as well as keeping my stress levels at tolerable levels.

__**Week 12**__ Sorry, I'm late. Still tryin to get better.

A) Cultural relativism describes "what is." It acknowledges that there are distinct understandings of reality across different cultures, that those realities are all relative, and one should not judge other cultures on those understandings. This could mean accepting Arab-Americans for who they are even if some of their customs and ways of living don't make sense to you because that's how every culture looks at each other, and there are no superior cultures. Ethical relativists believe, on the same token, that morality is relative. Each person has their own sense of right and wrong. Since no one objectively can declare what's right and wrong, they should be tolerant of everyone's moral beliefs. An example of this would be to not judge a KKK member for their beliefs because everyone can think their own way and their are no universally accepted moral standards regarding race and religion.

B)In a pluralistic society like ours, ethical relativism could definitely be useful in some ways. There is so much intolerance in this country stemming from people's moral beliefs regarding issues like homosexuality, abortion, birth control, secularism, etc. If people who struggle in this way took on a more ethical relativist approach, we would see a lot more civility in our society, people on both sides of the issues would feel less persecuted, and citizens could critically focus more on the big issues with our government and society that affect us all. However, if pure ethical relativism took over, what would that mean for things like our criminal justice system, for trying to stop terrorism, for pedophiles and rapists? Are we just supposed to let people do what they think is right even if their hurting others and society? Obviously, there needs to be some kind of balance between ethical relativism and realism. Our laws are based on agreed upon norms and morals voted on through representatives of the people. Some things are undeniably wrong(sorry relativists). It's just a matter of becoming more relativist when thinking about how people live and think if what they're doing isn't hurting others or society.

C) Elements of ethical relativism could come into play in a Holocaust discussion, but it would generally be much more important to focus on an ethical realist approach. The whole message around teaching the Holocaust is about how unbelievably morally wrong the situation was. One cannot be accepting of anything less than that. As I said before, some things are undeniably wrong. Pure ethical relativism would prevent you from teaching the terrible (and maybe get you fired) because it would be saying that the Nazis weren't wrong, they just saw things differently from us, and since there's no universal moral standards, we have to accept that. Besides being incredibly degrading to Jews and really anyone, it softens the magnitude of the situation and gives students the message that anything goes. However, by pointing to the German citizens that participated in the Holocaust and showing that there is some relativity to the morality behind what they did, we can teach a lesson. There was fear of what would happen if they resisted (look what happened to those that did), German citizens were starving to death and looking for answers, they were being brainwashed, etc. This would not be to condone any facilitation of the Holocaust, but would be used to show that human morality is relative even in regular upstanding German citizens. Humans are capable of incredible atrocities. We should not condone this. Just learn from it.

__**Week 8**__ Mr. Mora was a very good teacher. I liked how he was always mixing things up in class and trying different methods to teach us. I have ADD, and I have a hard time focusing on anything in school, so this was really important to me. When I am able to work in groups(assuming the other people are focused), I can better pay attention because I feel like I'm part of a team. I like being able to teach other people what I learned, which Mr. Mora has us do a fair amount. It makes me feel good about myself, and I learn the material better. I especially like anything hands on. My favorite days are when we turn lessons into games. The competitiveness and fun makes me focus more and learn about what's being taught. Any of the times where we get to move around or play out whatever roles Mr. Mora has us do is nice too. I just really hate sitting in a desk all day. I also like the videos he shows, and it helps me to learn when he gives us notes to fill out as we watch it and when he stops the video to ask questions or stress a certain point. Overall, Mr. Mora keeps me engaged which helps me become a better student and enjoy learning more.

Mr. Mora also helped me to, what he calls, "think critically." Most of my education up to this point has involved memorizing information. I'm pretty good at this when I try hard, but then I just forget the information right after the test. Mr. Mora didn't make us write down definitions of vocab words or remember that many dates. He was more interested in us answering questions like "How?" and "Why?" He made sure to go deep into the content in every lesson. He wanted us to understand how history topics are intricately connected and to always keep an eye on the whole picture. He would regularly ask us questions like, "Whose point of view is this coming from?," "Could this be biased?," "What does this remind you of?," "How does this connect to blank?," and "Whose voice is left out?" I learned that a lot of history excludes certain people. I learned that there is often so much more to a topic than what I've been told before, and sometimes, this information can involve pretty bad stuff about our nation. Mr. Mora wasn't trying to bash anyone or anything. He would say that we just need to be honest about history if we wanna change how things are and make the future better, and I agree. I can now think critically about history much better. I can now say how WWII directly came about from the after-effects of WWI, how the effects of the world wars has led the West from nationalism to more internationalism, and how the legacies of WWII and the Cold War still effect U.S. foreign policy today. I've never been taught to connect topics like that before, and I feel like I understand history a lot better now, being able to do that.

Finally, I like how Mr. Mora manages the classroom. He's a cool teacher, and he can relate to us. He doesn't take things super seriously all the time like some teachers. He makes us laugh, and we have fun. Yet, he doesn't let students push him around. He's laxed on a lot of things like eating in class but when it comes to respect, he doesn't mess around. I like how on the first day of class, he very sternly said, "This room is a safe zone. There will be no bullying or outwardly disrespecting tolerated of any kind in here." He stuck by those rules, and some students didn't like that he would come down on them for making fun of other people. I guess they were used to getting away with it. He also was adamant that no one could say "gay" or "no homo" I think that's good because that could make gay people feel uncomfortable. Mr. Mora wasn't mean to us. When someone was out of line, he would just make sure they knew, or if it got bad he would just calmly tell them to go into the hall. He would never humiliate students. Because of this, students, including myself, trust Mr. Mora. We like to talk to him about random stuff in our lives, and he does the same. I know if I ever had a problem, I could come to him, and he's told us that many times. I can tell he really cares about us.

__**Week 7,**__ I answered these questions as they were written at the end of Cuong's lesson.

1. I liked that he left time at the end for general questions. Being from Vietnam, he has a lot of insight into what people were feeling during the war, how the war is viewed by Vietnamese today(officially and unofficially), and how Vietnamese society works. I liked that he made us each look up our own terms in pairs using cooperative learning. It made us teach ourselves and then the class which solidifies learning. It also made other pairs' presentations more relevant to me because I could connect it to the information that I'd learned. I thought the professor in the video, though giving a good summary, was too biased. Not everyone sees the war as he does, so offering another take on the war would be good. I thought that the basic format of the lesson was good, but that he could have used more expression and perhaps a louder voice, though I do realize that he's still a developing novice like us, and English being his second language probably plays a role. I also enjoyed the debate method because it forced us to get into the heads of different key players in the war.

2. Instead of showing a video of a presentation, I would've presented the material myself. That way, you can manage the class better, stopping to make sure everyone's paying attention and asking questions to insure an understanding. Obviously this is just one lesson. As part of a unit, I would have it fit in with the Cold War theme, perhaps right after the Cuban Missel Crisis. I think I would include the protests for and against the war on the homefront as part of this lesson during the teaching of the actual war activities because the homefront influenced Vietnam and visa-versa.

3. For Middle School, the looking up of information in pairs would have to be simplified. One would have to find a source where info on the different topics is already summarized. The argumentative part could still happen, but this wouldn't be until the end of the unit and only after more extensive analysis of the different topics occurred to truly ensure understanding. This would be a good lesson for high school students, especially upper high school. For college students, it wouldn't be necessary for students to get in pairs to research, name different wars, or argue. Straight lecture format with perhaps more general discussion on the war (not necessarily representing a particular topic) would be most appropriate to ensure as much important information is given to students as is feasible. I'd keep the open-ended question taking at the end. Anyone with firsthand knowledge is an asset.

__**Week 3**__ The assessment/accountability piece to the Presidential Candidate assignment will involve a list of responsibilities designated to the different people in the group. It will look like this. This ensures that everyone has a part they're responsible for.

Person 1(issues, caucus/primary, record/present_ Person 2(Obama) Person 3(Gingrich) etc.

At the end, I'd have a chart with 3 different categories that will be graded on a scale of 0-2. Each person will get a blank sheet that they can fill out to grade their classmates. Each person will be expected to give a number grade and a brief explanation behind that grade if the grade is not a 3.

__person 1: completion of all work__ __reason___

quality of workreason __cooperativeness(worked well w/ group)_____reason__

__person 2: completion of all work__ __reason___

quality of workreason __cooperativeness(worked well w/ group)_____reason__ __etc.__

__If the teacher sees any unusual patterns of grades for a particular student, vast discrepancies in grading, or perceives unfairness, he can meet with the group to get the story straight, and override any or all student grading for a person and assign his own grades if he deems it necessary.__

__**Week 2**__ 1. The text establishes media's significance by describing the significance of "new visual and oratory stimuli" to aid in learning in the classroom. Students have become accustomed to obtaining information through media outlets like films. By facilitating learning through outlets that students already are familiar with, teachers can spark more interest in students. Also, if films are chosen that are entertaining and interesting, students will pay attention more and grasp social studies concepts. At the very least, it will spark questions from the students or start an idea that can be elaborated on through discussion. The text talks about how films can be used in just about any subject area from kindergarten through high school. If used appropriately (correcting misinformation, elaborating on social studies concepts, etc.), media can bring new life to a topic by bringing a full visual, oral story into the classroom that students can appreciate and learn from.

2. I would like to show parts of the film, "Pearl Harbor." Whether you like the movie or not, it brings the story of the bombing to life. By showing specific scenes that stress important historical points like the unpreparedness of the military, the destruction and surprise of the act, the Americans' response to the bombing, and the entering into the war, students can better appreciate this part of history. The vivid scenes will certainly keep their interest. I'd have a more standard lecture/text book discussion on the event, and then show the movie. With a general understanding going into the film, they will be better able to comprehend my elaboration on the specific themes within it. They'll also be able to see the humanity of the people involved. I think a short discussion following the film would be appropriate. Then, I'd have a journal entry where students can discuss their feelings on the film and what it would be like if they were a cadet or civilian on that day. This, once again, reinforces a personal connection to the story which enhances learning.

__**Reflection 12**__ 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mitchell_Map-06full2.jpg a) This map is called the "Mitchell Map." It was created in 1755 by John Mitchell, an English colonist in the future United States, but not a professional cartographer. Mitchell wished for greater British power over France and Spain in the New World, which can be seen in how he drew up the map. The map was used as a primary source map during the Treaty of Paris for defining the boundaries of the U.S. Interestingly, the area around Michigan from this map was used to create the Ordinance Line 0f 1787, setting off the Toledo War. This put all territory south of a line going east-west form Lake Michigan's southern tip to territories other than Michigan, giving Toledo to Ohio. Later surveys disputed this territory causing hostile tensions between the two states. b) This map is attempting to portray Britain as the dominant colonial power in the New World. It does this by extending the boundaries of the colonies across the whole continent, extending well over what was actually Spanish territory. The territories that were actually Iroquois were divided up, giving the land mostly to the British with a slim section to the French. many subtexts are written on the map conveying (truthfully or not) British rule, rather than French rule or Indian self-rule, over different Indian lands. One of these texts considers the Gulf Coast of Texas as simply "Wandering Savage Indians." Obviously, the map was meant to marginalize the French and Spanish, making them seem weaker than the British, perpetuating beliefs in British glory. It also greatly marginalized Indians as savages not deserving of the rule of their land, yet this was such a common thought that it probably wasn't a conscious effort to do such. The fact that this map was used in the Treaty of Paris and to create the Ordinance Line of 1787 shows how much power a propagandized map can have in a society. To think of the number of minds that were influenced by this map shows how seemingly formal objective structures can completely warp the minds of citizens. 2 a)I like the Molleweide Map the best because it does a good job of maintaining the relative size and shape of the continents in relation to the other continents. Other than the size of the Pacific Ocean, there are no massive distortions throughout the whole map. The fact that the earth is extra wide doesn't really affect much how you understand how places relate to each other geographically. Other than the north-south orientation, no continent seems very marginalized. b) I would do activity 4. Ever since my math teacher brought in a map of the world "upside down" when I was a high school senior, I've thought that it's very interesting that such a map would seem strange to us considering there is no true up or down when you're looking at a map. I think that this would be a great illustration of how Western centrism has dominated even how we see the world geographically, marginalizing those in the southern hemisphere, thus reinforcing the idea of Western superiority. It shows the political power that a cartographer can have. I would connect this to other ways that the West has perpetuated this mindset, geographically and otherwise.

__**<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Reflection 11 **__ <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">Vietnam <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">a. I would bring all the students outside if it's nice out, but inside works too. The students would all start by standing. These students would be representing the amount of U.S. soldiers that actively served in the Vietnam War. I would then go through the statistics, including the percentage of active soldiers that got injured, killed or missing in action, addicted to heroin, and acquired PTSD. With each percentage, that corresponding percentage of the students would have to represent that category and go into their symbolic stance while I give a brief historical analysis of the category. Then would then return to their standing position while I announce the next category. Injured would go down like they're wounded, killed/missing would be full on belly-up, addicts would really be really lethargic (no drug simulation allowed), and PTSD patients would squat down and grab their heads. I'd remind them to keep in mind that some students may know people personally who are afflicted by these categories, so don't get carried away while you represent them. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">b. I would use this BBC article on the My Lai Massacre. [] <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">This article is from a reputable news source, detailing the massacre and the ensuing cover-up in an appropriate length to read. I would have students read in groups answering basic questions ensuring they're reading it. I would then get in a class discussion and discuss what the implications of this event were for how citizens thought of the war at the time as well as how we should perhaps look at the news and trust our own government's reports. We'll discuss what dire circumstances can do to the actions of perfectly normal humans and relate it to other cases in history. c. I would use this video of "Machine Gun" by Hendrix. [] I like it because it's complete with pictures from Vietnam that brings more meaning to the constant machine gun sounds on the guitar. If I was in a inner city setting, I might play "Black Steel in the Hour of Chaos" by Public Enemy. I would just get an edited version of the song and censor the lyrics that I hand out. I'd just emphasize that although we, as a class, don't condone the violence in the song, it can be used to better understand the desperation felt by imprisoned draft dodgers, especially black people who consciously objected to a war that disproportionately sent them to fight while denying them equality at home. I think either of these songs could be used in conjunction with lessons on Vietnam protests and would generate further discussion on the mindset of those objecting to the war. Before playing the songs, I'd give a background on the artists. For Public Enemy, I'd do some extra research so as not to be perceived as just pulling something out of my ass to throw to the urban kids. d. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif;">I would have my students go to the computer lab and research 3 different personal stories from the Vietnam War in PBS's archives. [] I would have them answer questions that I've prepared for them to ensure that they've read the stories and got a basic understanding of it, while putting themselves in the people's places. These questions would be along the lines of "How did this person get involved in the war?," "What conflict/s did this person get involved in," and "How would you feel and what, if anything, would you do differently if you were this person?" I would then bring the class back to a full discussion. We'd talk about the experiences of different people, how they made us feel, and the importance of personal stories and how they often get lost in the news and historical accounts of events.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1. a. What is intrinsic and extrinsic motivation? Give an example of each motivation that you have seen used in classrooms.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">b. Explain what type of motivation was most pronounced in Ben Pineda’s teaching at Haslett Middle School on 11/16/11; be specific and justify your answer.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">2. a. What is a multicultural education?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">b. How do you plan to employ a multicultural education in your future practice … even if you don’t have a “diverse” classroom?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">3. We don’t teach Social Studies, we teach (diverse) people Social Studies.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">a. So, what is differentiated instruction and what function does it serve in the classroom?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">b. Also, consider figure 4.1 in the text – what component(s) of the //Learning Cycle In Differentiated Instruction// do you feel needs the most consideration in your own practice? (This answer can be short)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">4. a. According to the //multiple intelligence theory//, what intelligences do you feel are most pronounced in yourself?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">b. What intelligences, in your opinion, are underrepresented and thus in need affirmation in Secondary Education?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif'; font-size: 16px;">1.Extrinsic motivation is motivation brought on by external factors we believe will provide desirable outcomes. Teachers extrinsically motivate students by giving them good grades for performing well. Intrin sic motivation is motivation to engage in an activity because of the satisfaction derived from the activity itself. An example of this would be students working hard on an assignment because the teacher has made it interesting. b. Intrinsic motivation was most pronounced. The students paid attention to what Ben was saying because they respected him and because his stories were interesting.

2a. Multicultural education is a field of study emphasizing creating equal educational opportunities for students from diverse racial, ethnic, social-class, and cultural groups. It involves bringing in stories from different minority groups into the teaching. This way, different students' backgrounds are brought into the classroom and used as a tool to gaining a wider understanding of the material. b. One does not need a diverse student body to incorporate a multicultural education. One of the major points of multicultural education is to introduce cultures that students may be not be familiar with. This way, they can learn about all people's contributions to society. For a dominant group, this is an important part of education since one needs to become self-aware of how marginalizing of other groups contribute to their own place in society. I plan on supplementing the curriculum with outside sources. Documents written by various scholars of Women's Studies, Latino Studies, etc., videos, and guess speakers will help to present angles from people that aren't represented enough in the social studies. I will also be sure to point out who is being mentioned over-abundantly in the material and have discussions with the students about the effects that omitting certain groups can have on society, or what they say about society, itself. 3. Differentiated instruction involves gearing your teaching to the different backgrounds, interests, strengths, weaknesses, and general learner profiles of your students. It's useful in helping students to achieve maximal growth by meeting them at where they are at as learners. Rather than making them adjust to the curriculum, the teacher gears the curriculum in a way that best fits the learner profile. I think the process part of the learning cycle is what I need most work at. How to properly plan instruction, making sure its varied, uses multicultural principles, and emphasizes differentiated instruction, is going to take a lot of practice to get it down. 4. a. I feel my most pronounced intelligences are interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. Through my own battles with my own mental issues, I have become very aware of my emotions and thought processes. I use this knowledge to change my cognitive processes and adapt behavioral/lifestyle choices that are more conducive to my personal health. My interpersonal intelligence is pretty strong too. I'm very aware (overly at times) of what others may be thinking or feeling. This allows me to be more careful in how I interact with others so as not to upset them unnecessarily and give them the help they may need. It's allowed me to be an almost life-saving force for multiple people in my life who have relied on my emotional support when they've gone through really dark times. b. I think interpersonal intelligence is what is most underrepresented in the social studies. Social studies should be used as a tool to help people and make the world a better place. To do this, one cannot view the social studies in an emotionally-detached way. Teachers need to arouse emotions in their students. Social studies is life; it's people; it's who we are. Issues of human suffering and injustice of all kinds need to be brought up. When they are brought up, it shouldn't just be reading bland accounts on a paper. It should be engaging. People being discussed should be brought to life through active discussion, videos, guest speakers, art, etc. Teachers also need to practice improving their interpersonal intelligence just in their everyday interactions with students. My placement teacher seldom used positive reinforcement. There's little emotional connection to students that I see. Many students come from harsh backgrounds. A teacher may be one of their only outlets for emotional support, and teachers should embrace that.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">1. What is the difference between (objectively) **describing** a controversy and (subjectively) **engaging in** one? D escribe and define in contrasting terms, in your words, don't copy and paste from the web. ;)

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">Objectivity is examining a topic in an unbiased way. One would look at all sides of an issue and examine evidence in a critical manner. One would devoid his or herself of emotion in this academic pursuit, as it could get in the way of the truth. The truth is what is attempted to be found with objectivity. Objectivity does not involve taking a side on an issue. Instead, it involves giving the clear facts on a topic, which often involves describing the different points of view that exist. Subjectivity involves bias. One inserts feeling into a topic. Subjectivity involves one's perception of a matter. It is not based only upon fact, but involves one's reaction to facts or what they perceive as reality.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">2. How does a teacher’s ability to maintain an impartial tone help students engage in critical thinking and productive interaction? How does loaded language prevent social and education progress in classroom?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">A teacher needs to strive to maintain some level of an impartia l tone when they are engaging in critical thinking. It doesn't mean that a teacher should never let their opinions on an issue sink through in the classroom. Yet, it is important that when examining all evidence, facts, or sides of an issue, they try to maintain a level of balance in terms accepting all possible avenues of thought in an unemotional way. This teaches students to properly think critically. A teacher needs to model the correct process that should go into forming an opinion. They should also teach students to try to be tolerant of other people's viewpoints. Engaging in subjective rhetoric throughout the critical thinking process prevents students from truly understanding issues. Their opinions will be less educated and therefor will lack the foundation needed for the proper dialogue crucial to progressing democracy. Subjectivity also alienates students that may feel differently from the teacher.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">3. a. Explain why it is imperative that educators are able to maintain impartial tones and objective dispositions within the class room. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">b. Give a positive example (either based off of something real or hypothetical) of how you as teacher could handle controversy as it pertains to the upcoming 2012 election (you will be teaching in an election year, wink). E.g. One student yells at another OR students claims, nihilistically, that studying politics is a waste of time… got?

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman','serif';">I could imaging students going for Obama's throat, mimicking their parents' rhetoric and calling him a socialist who is destroying the economy. I could see other students saying Republicans don't care about the poor and only want to make the rich richer. Whatever the dialogue is, I would want to stifle any arguments among students that aren't based on critical thought. I would like to examine all sides of issues. This includes not just Republican and Democrats' views but bring into the equation the beliefs of all presidential candidates. I would like to pick just a couple of the main issues being debated currently and examine them more thoroughly from both sides using statistics, studies, and well-written secondary sources that try to maintain an impartial tone. It may be necessary to bring biased views on issues, as long as I show bias from all angles. It could be used to point out flaws in different people's viewpoints. I will try to be as objective as possible, but if a hint of my own views sink through (which is very hard to not let happen at all), it won't bother me. I will, however, not tell the students who I'm voting for before or after the election.

__Reflection 8__

A. What obstacles and excuses exist to teaching about controversial topics? B. According to Werner, is controversy worth addressing? Why or why not? C. Interact with the text: how do you envision your future practice as a teacher relating to controversy?

A. Teacher costs are a reason for not teaching controversy. This includes the risk of upsetting the administration or parents for bringing the issues up or seeming biased. It also costs teachers a lot of preparation time to ensure students have all the resources necessarily for critically examining controversial issues. Student's lack of experience critically examining issues also would make teaching controversial topics tough. In addition, there is debate over what social studies should really teach. Many teachers believe that the subject should stick mostly with just the facts. There's also the fear that social studies, already regarded negatively by many as a less concrete science, would be seen as further deluded by teaching about controversies. Also, school culture tends to revolve around lessons that are textbook-oriented, so teaching about controversy would go against school norms. Finally, social studies has tended to teach in ways that only reinforce the status-quo, aiding groups in power. By not addressing issues that challenge the system, social studies tends to, through the null curriculum, state that these issues aren't important. Society will progress naturally without the need to critically examine controversial topics. B. Werner believes controversy is worth addressing. He thinks that social studies should be used to improve critical thinking and citizenship. It should also seek to connect subject themes to real world issues. With this being said, controversial issues should not be avoided. They should be sought out. This can be done successfully. It helps to put an emphasis on the development of open-mindedness and independent thought. To not teach controversy would be to "misrepresent the production of knowledge." It wouldn't take into account the fact that debates over values play an important role in social studies. In addition, controversial issues are less boring than other aspects of social studies. Interest goes up along with a sense of learning efficacy when students delve into controversial topics C. I envision that I will not delve deeply into controversial topics in my first year of teaching. I will be focused on trying to get students to learn the basic curriculum material to the best of my ability. When I first start teaching, I just want to develop the basic skills needed to be a successful teacher like lesson planning, classroom management, and presenting material. I also want to get used to dealing with parents' complaints. I'll eventually begin to feel more skilled and comfortable in these areas. As I feel more comfortable with my principal's confidence in me as well, I'll start to incorporate controversial issues more. I could start out by adding controversial events from history that are not part of the standard curriculum like the Iran-Contra event. This type of event is less inclined to polarize the class into separate sides of an issue. I could eventually move on to bigger polarizing issues like welfare. I would like to keep my opinions as hidden as possible. I don't want to appear biased. By framing issues in terms of what one side thinks versus what another side think and having resources equally supporting either side, we can better develop the critically-examining eye in students.

others. They feel that the bonds created between people through compassionate interaction leads to a greater understanding of the meaning of life and personal growth. Idealists are inclined to dream about the search of wisdom and truth. They wish to inspire others to do the same. Their quest for a more harmonious world is considered fantasy by many, but that doesn't concern idealists. They are very ethical people with high standards for themselves. c)I am more compassionate than dispassionate. I feel that one of my gifts is empathy. I hate to see anyone in pain. I am very aware of how other people's emotions might be responding to a situation. I prefer to be in the clouds more than in a rut. I feel that positive energy is very important. Expecting too great of things to happen to you can have negative effects, but it's much more beneficial than being overly self-critical. d)Education falls under idealist because idealists are "teachers." It makes since considering the description. I want to be around people and help them. I love to see people feel inspired to make the world a better place. Other types of jobs have the traits of counselor, champion, and leader.

a)I lost it but it's pretty close to the bottom left corner- pinko status ;) b)definitely Nader c) Dalai Lama status d) This test shows how politics relates to the values that one desires in a society. These values(civil liberties, free-market) tend to be strong among politicians and make their stances on issues reluctant to change(unless it's election season). There are vast differences in economic perspectives as well as perspectives on the degree to which government should regulate social rights. There is definitely a need to compromise, especially when the parties' power is split in Congress. If no one is happy with a piece of legislation, then generally it's a fair compromise. Our 2-party system can function healthily by not promising voters things they cannot give them. That leads to legislation being presented that has no change of passing, but the politicians feel they own it to their voters. It also creates reluctance to compromise. Ideally, politicians would acknowledge compromise and make it a goal, rather than mudslinging. Also, the money needs to be thrown out of politics for democracy to ever be healthy, so that politicians can represent the people and not banks and corporations. That's another story.

__Reflection 6__
Columbus Day should not be celebrated in America. The day is supposed to be a celebration of the man who first discovered America. This was the catalyst for the mass immigration from Europe to the New World that set up the original 13 colonies and eventually the United States. While the "discovery" of America is important in respect to the fact that someone outside of America needed to come to it at some point for the U.S. to eventually exist, Norse explorer, Leif Ericson, was actually the first person to "discover" America, landing in Labrador, New Foundland or possibly the Northeast U.S. He did this 500 years before Columbus. Regardless, the mere word, "discover," implies that the fact that American Indians had been living on the continent for thousands of years is not of importance, only of when a white man found it. This takes away from Native Americans' part in the development of the continent like the aid that they gave the settlers to help them survive when they first got here. It also takes away from their basic humanity, especially considering there is no nationally embraced Native American Day, which suggests that their place in this world should not be recognized as much as Columbus, who performed a genocide on the Indians. Columbus was without a doubt, possessing of qualities that we can all agree on were evil, whether they were the status-quo of his culture or not. He came to America, not to start a new free democracy, but in search of riches in Asia. He happened to run into the continent in his quest for Asia, exploited as much as he possibly could from the land and people, including annihilating most of the population that he didn't already enslave, and went back to Spain, winning praise for his accomplishments. Everything he did goes against what is supposed to be the fine qualities that our society hopes to instill- freedom, tolerance, not harming others, living in harmony, etc. Although his actions only account for a very small amount of the inevitable extermination of the Natives on the continent as a whole, his activities exemplify what would become, by far, the largest geographical genocide in the history of mankind and the greatest black eye on our nation's history, probably to a greater extent than slavery. Some may say that we wouldn't be here living with such a high quality of life or perhaps even existing as a nation at all if it weren't for cruel murderous exploiters like Christopher Columbus. There is some truth to that. It's hard to imagine a nation like ours ever coming into effect without, at the very least, the mass displacement of Indians along with a number of brutal wars against them. In addition, we do enjoy a higher standard of living because of exploitation of not just Indians and the natural resources of their land, but of black slaves and a number of other peoples across the world that we profited from through imperialism. We do enjoy the things we have, but does that mean we should celebrate the horror of our past? How can you celebrate someone simply for finding a landmass and ignore their genocide that they put in place? I think that as Americans, we need to completely acknowledge the nastiness of our past. We shouldn't celebrate it, but mourn over it. We should be thankful for what we have today, but regretful for how we got it. Columbus Day should instead be Native American Day. A day where Indians and non-Indians alike can get together to celebrate humanity and mourn over the sins of our past, giving our respects to those that perished in our misdeeds. We certainly owe it to Indians. We've never come close to paying them back for the atrocities we've committed, as can be seen by the devastating conditions on Indian reservations. I think it's time we did penance policy-wise, not just out of guilt, but out of respect and love for our fellow American Indians. Also, as far as Italian-Americans using the day to celebrate not Columbus's deeds, but their culture as a whole, that's fine. Just call it Italian-American day, and it won't be recognized by the government for obvious reasons over not wanting to give preferential treatment to a certain ethnicity.

__Reflection 5__
====A) An example of the formal curriculum would be the Michigan state standards for high school history. An example of the delivered curriculum would be a teacher choosing to teach about the Holocaust by declaring at the beginning of the class that certain students would not have the same rights as the rest of the students in the class. An example of the learned curriculum would be that students tend to remember that the U.S. battled Germany and Japan during WWII, but forget the other powers that were involved. The remembered/learned part would be the learned curriculum.==== ====An example of the hidden curriculum would be that students learn that girls aren't expected to do as well in math as boys, even though that's not explicitly taught. An example of the null curriculum would be that students feel that the U.S. was always accepting of different movements' right to protest and didn't interfere because activities like COINTELPRO weren't discussed in class. The Societal Curriculum could be the "street code" that students pick up in their neighborhoods about how to behave and how not to conform to what authority figures would like of them====

====B) Looking at the hierarchy, it appears that teachers are pretty low on the list of influences on the curriculum. The school board and above that, the state and federal governments and committees, have the real control over what is going to be the basic information that is to be taught to students. However, teachers have a lot of say in exactly how that information is going to be taught. Teachers can incorporate numerous different styles of teaching including presentations, reports, movies, projects, etc. Tests are a requirement and how students perform on those tests will be used to an extent in teacher evaluations. This means, however teachers teach, it should hopefully amount to students showing what they've learned well in a test format. In addition, outside of the main themes that have to be conveyed to students, teachers can add in a lot of information on their own, and that in itself, is a subjective process by which a teacher must decide what is most important and what isn't.====

__Reflection 4__
===A) The modern Middle East is a product of centuries and centuries of circumstances within its own area and relating to other areas of the globe as well. The Muslim Empires, perhaps the most powerful and well-organized civilizations of their time, eventually fell apart by the mid-second millennium due to in-fighting, weak leaders, and conservative policies relating to the Muslim religion. These policies tended to place less emphasis on the Enlightenment ideas which sparked the Industrial Revolution in Europe. As industry grew, products as well as new-age armies infiltrated the Middle-East, allowing Europe to dominate the area economically, militarily, and politically. Ideas about human rights and self-determination grew, and after the world wars, countries gained their independence. However, conservatism, battles over resources and land, and bitter rivalries, including a shiite/sunni rivalry, has led to continual unrest and wars. Western countries have continued to push their weight around to this very day, participating in various wars in hopes of maintaining control over oil.===

===I'd like to have a more in-depth understanding of history, especially the 20th century, although I have a decent overview. I'd also like to know more about how harsh governments came about in this area, how big of a factor religion still plays in how governments operate, how it would look differently if the Western powers never threw their weight around, and what can be done to bring peace and improve human rights in the area.===

===B) Modern doesn't necessarily have a strict definition but it generally refers to present-day or contemporary. It's certainly not ancient history. Middle East may not have a strict definition either but generally refers to the area of southwest Asia where oil is abundant, the geography is desert, and people often speak Arabic. This may include parts of North Africa.===

===C) The subject is very important for citizens of the U.S. to study today because have so much at stake in the Middle East and are heavily involved in its workings. We are involved in three wars right now, are spending billions of dollars a day on these wars, and have lost hundreds and hundreds of soldiers. The threat of terrorism deriving from the area creates national security interests which have brought troops into the areas. We also have a vital interest in the abundant oil in the area to power our country. It's important to know the history, culture, economics, politics, etc. of the Middle East because without a great knowledge of how the area came to be the way it is and how it currently operates, we cannot make the right foreign policy decisions. These decisions have major implications on the U.S.'s economy, the lives of its soldiers, arguably national security, and of course, the peace and health of the people that live in the area, which should always be a major concern.===

__Reflection 3__
===A)According to the text, the unit should revolve around answering the essential questions that are posed by the teacher regarding the unit. These questions should hold the key to understanding the main concepts and integrate important aspects of the content in answering them. By creating these questions at the start of the unit and going back to them with the class as new information comes up, the teacher can better divide how the unit will be divided up into daily lessons to gradually create a better understanding of the key concepts.===

===B) Teachers must think long and hard about teaching a unit because learning is more than simply memorizing information that is thrown at you. That is called lower level learning. Teachers should strive to create higher level learning which involves integrating the understanding of facts and information into broader concepts. For example, in teaching WWII, it's important to teach more than simply what happened. One has to look more broadly at answering the essential questions like, "What has the world learned from WWII?" and "How did the results of WWII affect the world later on?" It's not simple to create higher level learning. It takes time and effort, and must be done on a piece-by-piece basis. This is why it's important to devote each day individually into chipping away at learning these broader concepts and integrating them into later days in the unit.===

===C)A thoughtfully planned unit can have many practical benefits for students and teachers. For teachers, time will be used in the most efficient manner possible. One can plan out exactly how much time to devote to each lesson. They can also plan exactly how they are going to relate past material taught in the unit to newer material, and how those connections will help lead to answering essential questions. Students will benefit by learning these connections. When the material stops looking like simple facts and events and more like a continuum of ever-broadening understanding, they will become more interested. This will also be the case when material can become thoughtfully connected to their lives, and when diverse methods of teaching are used.===

===D) A well-developed and effective teaching philosophy is a wonderful thing for a teacher to possess. Yet, without thorough knowledge of what exactly a teacher wants their students to learn or how exactly to go about it, those skills involved in that teaching philosophy will not be used to their full potential. One can have all the tools to attract students attention, motivate them, and keep them focused, but there's also the aspect of tying the content together in important ways that will allow the students to devote that focus to higher learning. If students are becoming really interested in all the fun ways of learning material, but in the end, are only walking out of class with timelines and definitions, then they will not have succeeded. Those factual bits will often fall from memory in the long-run, but understanding how the material affects the world today will more likely stick and is much more important to know.===

**__Reflection__** __2__
I think that a lesson plan is an organization of the lesson that is going to be taught on a given day. Its purpose is to structure the way in which the material is going to be taught. Lesson plans make teaching easier for teachers by structuring the amount of time each part of the lesson will need. It also reminds the teacher of the form of the lesson, whether it be lecture, group discussion, etc. It may have headings and brief notes on the specific themes that will be taught. The purpose of the lesson, or what specifically the teacher is hoping the students will learn, can be in the lesson plan as well. Teachers can write lesson plans for a whole week, a whole month, or even longer period of time. This way, teachers can organize the lesson plans so that they will teach different types of skills and knowledge in different ways at different points in a given period of time. It’s a useful tool in helping teachers diversify their teaching methods in an organized way. A teacher can structure how long it will take to get through a particular unit, as well as through a whole entire course. Certain gaps can be left in periods of a lesson plan to allow for periods of teaching to go longer than expected or for improvisation if the class or teacher suddenly decides to take a lesson in a particular direction. General lesson planning is very important to have so that a teacher can make sure he or she can get through a whole course’s material in the amount of time the course allows without ending too early or not getting done in time.

I don’t think that it’s necessary for every teacher to have a lesson plan for every day that he or she teachers. In fact, I think that depending on the person’s modes of thinking, memory of how they’d like a lesson to go, and spontaneity, regular lesson plans might not serve that much of a purpose. I do think they are pretty important for newer teachers, though. Getting into good habits of writing out exactly what you want out of a lesson and getting used to structuring it efficiently time-wise are very good skills to develop. Eventually, they’ll become ingrained and it will be less necessary to write it. Yet, I do feel that all teachers can benefit from some general organization of what they’re going to teach throughout a semester or school year. Certainly, general lesson planning is important to get the timing down of the course, but also because it’s important to know exactly how you’re going to diversify your teaching. One may wish to connect a particular lesson to a specific theme, like LBGT issues. One may wish to involve a field trip, an artistic project, a debate, or any number of unique teaching methods. Without including at least the possibility of these over the length of a course schedule, a teacher may forget to incorporate them, run out of time to use them, or not devote enough thought to how exactly to go about them. If this were to happen, the students would be left out of important learning experiences.

**__Reflection 1__** A) It’s hard to pick an exact favorite memory, but something that sticks out in my mind is my senior year, when my government teacher assigned a series of issues in which groups would have to sign up on either side of the issues and debate them. I enjoyed the choice that he gave us in picking an issue that interested us, and I chose being against affirmative action. Affirmative action, like basic racial discrimination, never seemed right to me. Martin Luther King Jr. wished for a society where people would be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin, which I feel affirmative action went against. After choosing the topic, my group met outside of class and researched arguments against the policy that would be useful in our debate. We learned many good points that supplemented our prior mindset. My group picked me to speak, and my opponent and I went on to have an outstanding debate, which the class agreed was the best of them all. With this assignment, my teacher sought to harness an interest that we already had, encourage inquisition of societal issues, and build up the ability of his students to debate. I feel that these are all important aspects that I would like to instill in my students as I believe it will help create more educated, active, progressive citizens. B) One of the worst assignments I had was in junior high when my class was assigned to pick a country to do a report on. The bad part was that the report only involved paragraphs on topics related to that country that began with every letter of the alphabet. The whole project was me using google and Wikipedia to desperately try to find Italian themes or words that began with letters like Q, X, and Y. The connections I made to the country itself with these words were so haphazard. For example, for the letter Z, I might have picked the word ziti and gone on to explain for four or five sentences how ziti was a type of pasta, and pasta was a main dish in a country whose culture revolved around food. Although this might be an important truth to explore in an Italian project, the information ended right there, and there was no in-depth exploration of the greater significance of food, how it came about, or how it was related to other cultures in history. Basically, the project involved low level learning without a wide understanding of Italy. It represented how not to teach students. Learning such as this is tedious, uninteresting, and doesn’t create a larger understanding of the world we live in. C) I am very excited to teach social studies. Social studies have been my favorite group of subjects in school, at least since junior high. I think that history, political science, sociology, psychology, and geography are all pretty interesting. In recent years, I have also come to find much interest in how these subjects help in understanding and developing views on current events, politics, and everyday interactions in the world that people have. I desire to share this passion with students because it pains me to see how uneducated and disinterested many people are concerning important issues going on in the world that really do affect them. I think it’s extremely important for students to grasp our nation’s history as well as how it interconnects with world history. With this information along with an understanding of current political issues in society, people can begin to become more active citizens and make the changes that our suffering world so badly needs. = =