Eric+Kuehn

HI, I'm Eric




 * 11/30/11**
 * I scored the highest in body movement, which makes sense. I enjoy sports and dancing. It also said I likely enjoy taking things apart and putting them back together. Defiantly not true. Why take something apart if it is perfectly fine to begin with. I didn’t like any of the suggestions they gave me for body movement learning either. Write on a mirror with lipstick or soap and trace words on each others back? Wtf come on.**
 * I also scored high on social and self. I liked these strategies better such as reading a dialogue together or doing team learning. I guess I like to develop ideas with others and on my own. My musical and logical abilities were much lower. I am really good at math and am a logical thinker. So I was sort of surprised that my score was so low for math. But I answered low on all the math questions because it is not something I enjoy and I don’t see mathematical equations everywhere. Ever seen Aronofsky's PI haha. I wish I could have seen the strategies they suggest for mathematical thinkers. I don’t think I’m going to be trying any of the strategies they suggested any time soon. However I already use breathing techniques for relaxation. They do help, and that was one of the suggestions for self.**

Write about the teacher you were closest to in either middle or high school, why was this teacher important to you? How did it impact what you did in his or her class?

I was probably closest to my high school physics teacher. I had him for three years in High school. It was his first year as a teacher and I had him for biology. I also took physics 1 and 2 in subsequent years. I could easy relate to him because he was a younger teacher. He was very passionate about what he was teaching. And I loved the experiments he would do to show us concepts. He demonstrated the dopplar effect with his car. We got to throw baseballs to calculate velocity. I felt comfortable talking to him about anything. We also we both huge sports fans, and it helps when the teachers has common interests as his/her teacher. I also liked his teaching methods. He made us do a lot of lab activities or projects. His projects allowed us to express our creativity. We also watched a lot of movies which takes away from the normal monotony of the school day. He was also a very calm and relaxed teacher. He also shared personal stories so the students could get a sense of where he was coming from.


 * DQ TEN**


 * I really enjoyed going to Holt. The principal had some very insightful things to share. Qualification is extremely important, and he demonstrated the importance of being qualified in two different subjects. I also liked what he said about the entire community going to school events. As a teacher in any district, I would use this as a method of establishing more personable relationships with my students. The school impressed me; carpet hallways and a nice library which has a very scenic view. **


 * Ben was great. He radiated energy and was very passionate. The next TE class will be so lucky if they can have their weekly lab with Mr. Pineda. Although some of his current students might not be mature enough to participate. I enjoyed the real life experience with a good teacher. But I feel like we only observed one lesson. And we focused a lot on his grading and testing system; especially in class. **


 * It means a lot when a principal who’s seen many teachers says Ben is one of the best he’s ever known. He apparently has established trust and respect with, and among his students. If you’re reading this Elizabeth........ BRING BEN BACK! I’m sure we all could think of great questions, and he must have more to share with us. **


 * DQ NINE**

In history class, I pretty much assumed that what we were taught is what was important. We didn’t learn anything about Africa. I’m not saying that this is not important, but it was part of the null curriculum. We also did not learn about women’s history either. The only thing I remember from high school was the Seneca Falls Convention. I’m sure that women played major roles in other events during history but we did not cover them. This could lead some students to think that women did not play an important role in United States history.

The hidden curriculum was not that prevalent either. One think I recall from the hidden curriculum was note taking strategies. Every day, he would write the notes on the chalk board exactly like we were supposed to write them. So by doing this he taught us good note taking and outlying strategies. Another hidden curriculum is when he only called on certain people. He would choose people who probably knew the answers. The other people were just ignored. He also didn’t tolerate sleeping in class. Some teachers just ignored it when students were sleeping, but Mr. Hamilton would use extravagant methods to wake the kids up.

DQ EIGHT

(A)What surprised you most about this reading? The Most Surprising part of this reading was Woodrow Wilsons belief about incorporating other races into this country. I read another article about the origins of our education system, but it is still hard to believe the amount of bigotry in society at the time. Whoever theorized that developmental stages of the fetus had to do with race was absurd. They must have ignored basic scientific literature describing what a species is. Prior to reading this, I did not know that tracking has existed nearly as long as schools in this country.

(B) What would you argue were the strongest influences on how social studies began? Education began as a way to preserve the identity of the dominant class. By passing specific knowledge on to their children, they believed they would preserve the purity of the nation. By excluding immigrants and African Americans from the social studies they could create a culture of exclusion. Eventually the social studies were used to assimilate others to American beliefs and culture in order to preserve the democracy and create a steady workforce.

(C)In what ways might the foundations of social studies impact what we do or don’t do today? (Reference the last full paragraph on pg 91 as well as the one that follows it) I guess the legacy this has on me as a teacher would be to recognize individual differences and never have different expectations for different students. It’s bad enough that minorities often face economic discrimination, but some educators have given up on them. I don’t think they hold the same beliefs presented in this article, but somehow these beliefs have permeated into society today because the urban youth are face many more educational obstacles than does a white middle class student. Also tracking is used in schools across the country, for better or worse, but I will be more cognizant to how tracking can affect individual students.

Mentor response: What kinds of assessments do you use, and why? I need to share your response by Wednesday.

Formal: every week my kids take an assessment to test their reading and math undertsandings. I use these assessments to form small groups for the next week to help kids who do not understand the concepts or show a lack of comprehension skills. These assessments also help me to grade my students.

Summative: I also collect information on my students constantly. We dibel's the kids every two weeks and we use this data to seperate kids into intervention classes(taught one hr/day). I also collect data from observations and discussions to guide my instruction

DQ SEVEN
After the discussion on Columbus, I decided that I would not teach about Columbus. I never really learned about Columbus in school. And I did not feel deprived because of this. We spent more time talking about the pilgrims. Columbus was a fraud. He never even landed in North America, and he exploited the natives of Hispaniola. So why should I lie to my students and tell them he discovered America. Columbus is no hero. All he really was a good ship captain and navigator. And there were many good navigators of his time. I would rather teach about Saint Nicholas than Columbus, because he actually did some good things. But I wouldn't teach that either. I will stick to the curriculum, and I really hope that Columbus is not in the Curriculum. If I ever brought up Columbus, I would find a media source that shows the real Columbus and debunk the myths that most of the students probably have.

DQ SIX
I like the professional growth and the way we created them in class. We were able to bounce ideas off each other. So I liked making the goals in class. I have made goals in class before. We had to make personal goals and academic goals for the school year. I would also like to incorporate growth plans in my classroom. For instance I could have the students write an academic and a personal goal. Their goals would get approved by me, similar to what Ms. Kenyon did. And then I will throw a party at the end for everyone who accomplished both goals. And something else, like extra credit, for everyone who completed one of their growth plan goals.

=== The prospect that children starting school today will retire by 2065 is doubtful. Maybe his grandson. Assuming they will all get a 4 year degree to make more money for retirement. They will walk in the year 2027. He is talking about exiting the workforce a mere 38 years later. If social security is reformed, they won’t be able to withdraw for another decade. ===

=== Creativity is important, but do schools kill creativity? I don't think so. Also he never tells us what is is or how to measure creativity. Creativity assignment or lessons be encouraged in language arts or chemistry. I’ve seen creative history projects. Creativity can make school more accessible to certain learning types. === === He also states that kids are unafraid of being wrong. “Kids will take a chance” Maybe some, but a lot of kids want to make sure they are correct. Especially the underachieving kids. But I do agree when he says adults are afraid of being wrong. ===

=== “If your not prepared to be wrong you’ll never come up with anything original.” He repeats this twice. I cant listen anymore. He needs to go get some facts and stop rambling. Sir Robinson should stick to comedy or other knightly things. ===

I asked a former msu grad how she develops a unit plan and decide what is most important to teach? This is her third year in a sixth grade class in Phoenix.
 * DQ FOUR **

For reading:

I plan the skills that need to be taught and what the assessment will look like. I then plan out lessons where I teach the skill, students and I complete the skill together, and then students complete the skills individually (I do, we do, you do). In my lessons, I like to have note taking that allows students to use the same notebook all year long and can refer back to it. I then like to use activities that the students have to cut out and sort or some sort of hands on activity. Finally students complete station or independent work to solidfy knowledge. At the end of it all I give the assessment.

To determine what is most important I first refer to the curriculum. Any material that shows up in the highest percentages on the state test are also the skills students most need in life, so I try to hit those hard. For example, comprehension of text is far more important that being able to identify a hyperbole when they see it. I then briefly teach concepts that ar eon the AIMS test a lower percentage of the time. These are the concepts I teach for a short period of time, many times. I pop them into lessons or while we are reading I point them out or ask students to identify the type of sentence, the figurative language being used, etc.

Let me know if the above answers your two questions!


 * DQ THREE **
 * What has been most difficult in planning this unit so far? **

I lack background knowledge in the Middle East and, consequently struggle to put together a coherent unit. I have never “seen” it taught so I don’t know what is important to teach. I have trouble beginning the unit. Surely most of the children will be uniformed in Middle Eastern history too. Where should I start??

The standards guide the educator, but the next question is how to teach these standards. I don’t want to lecture the entire unit. I need activities and hooks. Yeah, finding a hook for the Middle East is difficult. I don’t want to make the unit about 9-11 even though, from an American perspective, it had such profuse impacts on the world.


 * Do you think units should be planned chronologically? Around a theme? Through enduring understandings? A combination? Why? **

It depends on the subject. History is the only one I’d consider planning a unit chronologically. It may be more beneficial to organize a unit in this way for younger children because they lack foundation. But personally I would chronologically organize my units around themes. For instance the Civil War leads to reconstruction. The next theme would be the progressive era which precedes the roaring 20’s, etc.

I don’t think it makes much sense to solely arrange units according to theme. As a child would you want to learn about all wars at once? Or all the movements (progressive, grass roots, civil rights, etc) Society is dynamic, and all events occur within some historical time frame. Thus I think it is most beneficial for my history students if I were to organize units chronologically, to give them perspective, but still attach themes to the units.

September 12, 2011 Keeping in mind that there are many models of good teaching, describe some attributes or characteristics that good teachers possess. A.Good teachers share many attributes. They are genuinly interested in their students learning. They have good organizational skills and are patient. They are good leaders and able to motivate their students. Good teachers love spending time with kids, even in their free time. Good teachers also bring a professional attitude to class. And finally they shound treat every student equal and take a genuine interest in each child.

Reflect on your own strengths and weaknesses as a teacher at this point, what are some areas you are strong in? Where do you have room for improvement? B.I need to improve my organizational skills. But I am going into this profession because I want to see my students succeed. I am also patient and willing to help each student as much as they require. Another strong point would be my social studies content knowledge as well as communication skills.

What are some things you need to learn or skills you need to practice to improve your teaching? C. I need to learn how to draw up an effective lesson plan. I also want to learn effective classroom management skills. I also need experience dealing with unruly parents or students. Right now I’m not sure how I would handle a difficul situation such as bullying or fighting.

A. My favorite memory from class was in eleventh grade. Our teacher was a very old man, but he was very interesting to listen to. This one kid would fall asleep a lot in class. So one day Mr. Hamilton walked over to his desk and held a book over the students head. He shook the desk so the student jumped up and smacked his head on the book. We all laughed very hard; and this is just an example of how the teachers sense of humor resulted in US history became my favorite class.

B) Its been too long and I have a hard time recalling any worst memory from a social studies class. All my teachers were good. but this last fall I took U.S. history at Kellogg Community College. My worst memory of this class was when we had to listen to her talk about her shopping trip to London and the clubs upcoming trip for 45 minutes. She tended to have the habit of pursuing random tangents and to put it bluntly, rambling.

C) I chose the social studies major because it was the fastest way to get a teachers certification from MSU. But I do find this discipline extremely interesting, and it may be easier to get students engaged and interested in these classes compared to language arts or math. I feel like it is important for students to learn social studies because it is fundamental to a well rounded knowledge base. History has taught us important lessons. Geography lets us understand people and the environment. And economics lets us make informed decisions.