Portfolios

Portfolios, as defined in the Assessment and Grading in Classrooms text is: "a limited collection of a student's work used either to present the student's best work(s) or to demonstrate the student's educational growth over a given time, on one or a set of learning targets." In my opinion, portfolios are this definition and more. As discussed in class this past week, portfolios can be a collection of anything a student produces. The first time I ever made a portfolio was in high school for a photography class. I look back on that experience and although it was a lot of work to put together, I definitely feel it was a necessity because it showed all the progress I made in that class throughout the year and how much fun I had in doing so. As a future teacher, I believe portfolios should be made in every grade level for any subject, as young as pre-school. It is a great way to collect the students' work and have it showcased in a book or set form. It can be organized by work in a certain subject, a particular theme such as Fall or Thanksgiving, time of the year (beginning - September) or semester, etc. There are endless ways porfolios can be made. I feel that along with representing students' work, they also show who the student is as an individual and how he/she thinks. Artwork, in particular, such as paintings and drawings brings out creativity and personality in students. This, along with anything else a student produces such as essays, is a physical representation of him/her and their intelligence. I think they are also a wonderful keepsake for students to have and be able to look back upon with pride in what they accomplished educationally. The sooner students' are introduced to portfolios and how to use them, the easier it will be for them to be made and have for years to come.

My Access

My Access is a program Dr. Luongo introduced us to in the computer lab last week and I must say, I enjoyed using it. I believe it is a wonderful tool that can be used in the classroom to help students with their writing skills. Teachers can use it to keep track of their classes and students' work, while seeing their overall progress in writing, as well as where they need assistance. I feel this program can do wonders for children who do not particularly enjoy writing. They can use a computer to organize their thoughts and not worry about how neat or presentable their handwriting is. If they are not good spellers, or are having trouble getting started on a prompt, My Access provides them with spell check and suggestions to help them get their ideas rolling. This program also saves paper if the work is not printed out and instead just monitored by the teacher. Overall, I feel it is very useful for schools to have and available for students to use. The question I have is what grade level to start children on this program and how often to have them use it so that they do not become dependant on it whenever they have to write something. I commented on Michelle's blog regarding technology to which I said the following:

"I have to agree with you that technology should be used in the classroom. To what extent is the question I find myself asking. I believe it is something important to have students introduced to and know how to use because of its wide presence in our world today. But, I do not feel it should be the primary source of instruction in the classroom because students should know how to think for themselves and do things on their own, without relying solely on a computer. With that being said, I do hope that we, as teachers, will be able to use technology through some form in our classrooms because it can be a wonderful tool to work with. Since there is so much to offer educationally, I feel students should be introduced to both the new and old ways of instruction to better help them learn, technology being one of them."

So, I feel My Access should be used in the classroom, but strictly as just another source of writing for children. I feel they should primarily know how to write with a pen and paper and organize their thoughts by themselves from a very early age. Once they have the basics of writing mastered, this program can be a tool to help them learn where they need improvement and point out their mistakes, while giving them a chance to correct them.

Special Education

Special education is a form of schooling I strongly feel you must be born to teach. I do not believe just anyone can do this. It is a difficult job that involves much patience, caring and understanding for your students. In my family, among a few teachers present, there is a special education one. He has been teaching in this field for about ten years now and absolutely loves his job. Like his students, he looks forward to seeing them everyday and they rely on his presence to help them learn and grow intellectually. Although he enjoys what he does, he admits it is draining for him and says you must be truly committed to this form of work. I have thought about teaching special ed, but I believe it would be too much for me to handle. I am afraid of the emotional attachment I would develop with the students and as a result, I feel this may prevent me in performing to the best of my abilities. Even after being exposed to some information on it, I do not feel it is the right field of education for me. I have spoken to my parents about it and afterwards, I knew I could not see the children like that on a daily basis because it would just make me too upset. For those that are teaching special ed, I have the utmost respect for them. I believe they are very special people who God gives the strength to make a difference in the lives of many children. They realize these children are like any other student who just need a little more asssistance in learning. To see these children, in particular, progress toward success in their studies must be one of the most rewarding experiences in life. To accomplish this, these children need extremely dedicated individuals to teach them, who I know are out in this world and will do a wonderful job doing so. Children are one of God's most special gifts and we must always be there for them, especially in education.

"Exceptional human beings must be given exceptional educational treatment, treatment which takes into account their special difficulties. Further, we can show that despite abnormality, human beings can fulfill their social role within the community, especially if they find understanding, love and guidance.” - Hans Asperger

Quotes About Teachers

This blog is student's choice. Therefore, I decided to post some quotes about teaching I found on this link: http://www.quotegarden.com/teachers.html. I believe quotes can be inspirational, meaningful and thought-provoking. Reading the quotes listed below, it can be seen how important being a teacher really is. Enjoy! =)

"I like a teacher who gives you something to take home to think about besides homework." -Lily Tomlin as "Edith Ann"

"The dream begins with a teacher who believes in you, who tugs and pushes and leads you to the next plateau, sometimes poking you with a sharp stick called "truth." - Dan Rather

"In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day's work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years." - Jacques Barzun

"Teaching is the profession that teaches all the other professions." - Author Unknown

"If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job." - Donald D. Quinn

"A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops." - Henry Brooks Adams

"A good teacher is like a candle - it consumes itself to light the way for others." - Author Unknown

"We expect teachers to handle teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, and the failings of the family. Then we expect them to educate our children." - John Sculley

"The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires." - William Arthur Ward

"What the teacher is, is more important than what he teaches." - Karl Menninger

"Teaching is leaving a vestige of one self in the development of another. And surely the student is a bank where you can deposit your most precious treasures." - Eugene P. Bertin

"Teachers who inspire realize there will always be rocks in the road ahead of us. They will be stumbling blocks or stepping stones; it all depends on how we use them." - Author Unknown

"One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feelings. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child." - Carl Jung

"The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind." - Kahlil Gibran

"The task of the excellent teacher is to stimulate "apparently ordinary" people to unusual effort. The tough problem is not in identifying winners: it is in making winners out of ordinary people." - K. Patricia Cross

"When you teach your son, you teach your son's son." - The Talmud

"To teach is to learn twice." - Joseph Joubert, Pensées, 1842

"Teaching is the only major occupation of man for which we have not yet developed tools that make an average person capable of competence and performance. In teaching we rely on the "naturals," the ones who somehow know how to teach." - Peter Drucker

"Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task." - Haim G. Ginott

"The art of teaching is the art of assisting discovery." - Mark Van Doren