Sarah+Dawn+Johnson

Hello!

My name is Sarah and I am a second year in the Post Bachelor TE program here. I originally graduated in 2009 from MSU's James Madison College with a degree in Political Theory and Constitutional Democracy. After a year of working and volunteering with an amazing education nonprofit, 826michigan, I decided to return to school to become a teacher. In regards to teaching, I am particularity interested in learning communities and alternate learning spaces. This summer, in addition to my regular job as a Bartender, I worked at a small organic farm in the area, it was pretty delightful. In my (almost non-existent) free time I like to craft (needle work, knitting and quilting), cook and listen to podcasts.

This summer I went to Maine - this is me on the rock signifying the eastern most spot in the US. It was a great trip (I could have posted several photos of bizarre blueberry stands shaped like giant blue berries, or the wreckage of a lobster cook out or any number of photos of sassy old ladies playing Scrabble, but figured this was more relevant)

s.dawnjohnson@gmail.com



Cooperative Learning Lesson Plan:

November 30, 2011

My highest score was in "Language", followed by "Nature" and "Musical". The language I think is pretty accurate, its helpful for me to talk through things, I've also always found personal writing cathartic and enjoyable. In terms of nature - i love gardening, animals and some outdoor activities (hiking, kayaking), but honestly there's a lot that I don't love about being outside, and will often default to not doing things out in nature. I am vaguely musical myself, but I think this is more accurate when look at from the perspective of how much listening to music impacts my life, but this could more accurately be described as auditory learning- I have always looked at songs as texts and I am totally hooked on podcasts and audiobooks.

I think its good to be aware of your strengths, but I'm not sure how effective it is to use a test like this. I found that it was difficult for me to answer the questions accurately.

I had good relationships with a number of teachers over the course of high school, but the teacher I was closest to was Jeff Kass. Kass was my creative writing teacher the first semester of my senior year, right after coming back to Michigan after two years in Florida. It was a difficult year for me and Kass made sure that I felt welcome and validated in his classroom space. Our class build a wonderful little community that was a safe space for us to share some deeply personal work. Kass seemed to effortlessly practice a Therapeutic Pedagogy. We were encouraged to write what we needed to write, despite whatever the prompt was. He encouraged me to start participating in local poetry readings and competing in local Slam competitions. His encouragement and support gave me an incredible amount of confidence in my writing. He would go out of his way to help students improve their writing; one night, days before the final teen slam competition, he emailed with me late into the night helping me workshop a new piece so it would be ready to compete with. He was a huge part of my support structure that year and I know I am far from the only one of his students who benefited from his caring nature and his desire to help students become great confident writers.
 * November 16, 2011**

I found Mr. Panetta's class really interesting. He was engaging and thoughtful and understanding and patience in his classroom. I love that he allows his students second chances and lets them in on what he's doing in his classroom, he provides them with an openness that I find really refreshing.
 * September 9, 2011**

The most interesting thing to me was how BIG he was in that classroom. Like I said in class, his huge presence didn't feel oppressive, but it is a position that I would not feel comfortable taking as a teacher. I get uncomfortable with the idea of dominating a classroom space in that way. I'm conflicted, because while I fundamentally disagree with the traditional power structure of teacher domination/student submission that regulates our classroom spaces, I do not feel like Ben was doing a disservice to his students. I am generally distrustful of people who take up so much space, particularly in classrooms, because it often feels like a very aggressive power demonstration. Perhaps I was less inclined to see Ben's classroom presence in this way because he was so trusting and open with his students, and with us as members of his classroom that day, and the ways he was supportive and praising of his students contribution to the class.

(A)What surprised you most about this reading?
 * October 26, 2011**

I had had some classes that talked about Eugenics in my undergrad career but the idea of development from conception, and that non-white races stopped developing earlier than white people.

(B) What would you argue were the strongest influences on how social studies began?

One of the biggest influences on social studies in America was an expanding diversity and an influx of immigrants. Social studies was an attempt to norm the population and to try to instill certain ideals into the general population who will become voters.

(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)

The article suggests that there is a racist ethos that has effected the ways that education, and particularly social studies is approached. Some of this has to do with the ways that tracking happens in schools, putting particular students in particular "tracks" that "best suit" their background. I believe that social studies is a really powerful classroom space to discuss issues relating to social justice and foster critical thinking about these issues.

How will you teach about Columbus after our discussion the other day? Why?
 * October 19, 2011**

I feel like American History in particular has a tendency to turn its historical figures into deities. I think that this is a particular danger when the perfect myth of a historical figure alters the way we understand the way that figure impacts history. This is what has happened with the myth of Christopher Columbus, and I worry about that myth being propagated in classrooms. In my own classroom I would hope to offer my students a well rounded exploration of Christopher Columbus' impact on the Americas. As for the argument that anything but the deity myth is too violent for students, I would argue that, by and large, history (or at least the parts of history that are studied in schools) is violent, it's about disruption and displacement, and to ignore the ways in which it is violent is doing a disservice to your students. It is not necessary to explore every gruesome detail, but ignoring that this violence exists in our history is foolish.


 * October 12, 2011**

How do you feel about the process of creating a professional growth and development plan? Do you think this is a useful task? Would it have usability in a middle school or high school classroom?

Generally I like goal setting and working with a manager/mentor/teacher to asses those goals. I think it is typically a productive exercise that can be altered to fit a variety of personalities and learning types. Although I am worried that in the context of this class, given the amount of work we are already doing to improve ourselves as teachers on a regular and incremental projects, I'm afraid that this project will get pushed to the back burner.

That being said, I think that this type of project would have usability in a secondary classroom. I think that giving students an opportunity to work on things that they feel like they would like to improve on gives them more autonomy and allows them to better direct their own learning.


 * October 5, 2011**


 * I very very much enjoyed the TED talk from class on Monday. What brought me to teaching was a chance to engage student's creativity to inspire learning. Although the one thing that I took issue with was Richardson's desire to distinguish between literacy and creativity in the way that he did. I believe that literacies are the way that we understand the world, and that the ways in which we are engaged and creative are part of our literacies. I believe that in this presentation Richardson is speaking to one particular literacy that is sanctioned and encouraged by society, if we engage a teaching philosophy of multiple literacies it allows us as teachers to nurture the creativity that Richardson argues for in his talk. I feel that Richardson is right, the school system as it stands now does seek to crush out the creativity in exchange for children who can preform in the sanctioned way. I get excited when I get to hear people like Richardson, who also want to drastically alter the ways in which education is approached and the skills and talents we nurture in children.**

September 9/26/2011
I've been thinking a lot about how and when to take up space in the classroom. I have a number of classes, including this one, where a large portion of the class, I love discussion based classrooms and student directed learning, but sometimes it seems to work and sometimes it doesn't. I feel like sometimes this is related to how and when the instructors in the classroom decides to take up space in the classroom. In this class I think Elizabeth is very good at not taking up space and letting us talk, although sometimes the talk gets off track and sometimes creates scenarios like last Wednesdays class, which was frustrating for a lot of people. On the other side, I have had "discussion" based classes where the instructor took up so much space that it hardly feels like a discussion based class at all. How do you decide when and how you take up space in a classroom? I worry about stifling students, but I also feel like you have a responsibility as a teacher to shepherd conversations in directions that are beneficial to learning, or push conversations deeper than students may be inclined to go. How do you strike this balance?

September 19th Reflection
//( A) What has been most difficult in planning this unit so far? // I think the most difficult thing so far has been trying to prioritize. Truthfully there are a lot of aspects of studying the middle east that are incredibly interesting and compelling, but figuring out how to work that into the curriculum is difficult. I would love to do a class all about how social networking and the internet has functioned in the recent rebellions in countries like Egypt and Libya, but how does that work in the context of a unit. Can it exist as a whole class, or because of restrictions/expectations does it get boiled down to "Social Networking was used a lot in recent rebellions. Its pretty interesting. You guys like Facebook, right?"

It has also been difficult because I don't know //a lot// about the middle east. I had a heavy, Senior Seminar on Liberalism in the Middle East a few years ago, but my knowledge base is not particularly strong, so it feels a little overwhelming.

=
I like the idea of planning units by theme, but feel that there are times when chronologically makes more sense. I feel like it seems natural to work chronologically because it is generally the way that I was taught in most social studies classes. =====

=
In class on Wednesday there seemed to be a concern about having to recall back to previous lessons, "Remember when we talked about WW1 in our 'Conflicts' unit?", But I don't think this is actually a problem. As teachers we will constantly be asked to help our students draw connections across units, class periods and subject areas.=====

=
//(A) Describe and post your favorite memory from a social studies class from middle/junior/senior high school. //=====

=
My Senior year Current History course had a really significant impact on me. It was a forum class where we discussed issues like race, sexuality and media. It allowed me to think about topics that were challenging and to reflect and form opinions on these topics in ways I hadn't previously had the opportunity to. This class became a safe space for students to discuss their roles in society, and the impact of different issues on both a global and personal level. My teacher, Mr. Pollack, was deeply engaged and thoughtful, I am continually grateful for the work he did, and the work he had us do, in that space.=====

=
//(B) Describe and post your worst memory or experience from a social studies class from middle/junior/senior high school. //=====

=
I had a pretty great AP Government class in high school, but it had one terrible flaw. Each week we were required to go through the chapter(s) that we would be covering in the text book that week and write down a number of facts per page (it may have been 10-15). This became incredibly tedious and resulted in a lot of regurgitation without much retention. I think in so many aspects my teacher for that class did a wonderful job, but all I am able to recall about that particular exercise was anxiety and exhaustion, without any benefit. =====

=
// (C) Describe and post your rationale for why you want to teach social studies and what particular reasons you find compelling for having students study and learn social studies in schools. //=====

=
I want to teach social studies because it is a far reaching and continually relevant subject. I like the easy access from any prescribed social studies topic to an issue of social justice. I believe that one of the key purposes of public education is to provide an education in critical thinking and the ways in which critical thinking builds active citizens. Social studies, and issues of social justice are crucial in providing critical thinking and civic connections. =====

September 12th Reflection
// (A) Keeping in mind that there are many models of good teaching, describe some attributes or characteristics that good teachers possess. //

I think that good teachers are patient, and willing to take the time to make sure students understand. I believe that good teachers push their students to move beyond what they believe they are capable of. I think that good teachers ultimately are engaged with the education of their students, and understand that it is their responsibility to shepherd the educations of their students to a place where they can be engaged and productive. I think that good teachers know when to play and when to not take flack. I think they respect their students, treat their students like people and expect the same.

// (B) 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? //

I worry about creating safe spaces for my students to grow. I feel that I am not always as patient as I think I could be, when it comes to letting students hash things out on their own.

I think my strengths are that I am creative and enthusiastic, and that this can be contagious to students that I'm around. I also know that I am flexible in front of a classroom and am comfortable switching directions if something isn't working. I always always always talk to my students like they are people, if I feel like we are suffering from a disconnect or a misunderstanding I would rather address it in a thoughtful conversation right away, rather than get frustrated or walked all over. This tactic has worked incredibly well for me so far, and I intend to keep with it until I have a good reason not to.

//(C) What are some things you need to learn or skills you need to practice to improve your teaching?//

I would like to learn how to build safe and inclusive spaces for learning. I would like to explore different grading techniques that help my students feel empowered and not smothered or belittled. I would like to practice bringing creativity and literacy into the classroom whenever possible.