Parent Lecture

Monday I attended the parent lecture. I found this to be the most interesting lecture yet. By listening to what the parents had to say, I found out what goes on in the minds of parents and this should help me when I become a teacher.
One thing I learned is that parents don't like just looking at progress charts while their at conferences. They would rather just talk about their child for the whole conference. Their reasoning is that the charts mean nothing to them because they can't do much about it. That's the teacher's job.
One thing I learned about IEP meetings is that sometimes parents feel overwhelmed with how many people attend them. If less people come, the parents may feel more open and able to ask questions without so much imtimidation.
What I was most happy to learn is that although teachers underpaid, the retirement benefits are pretty good. :)

Diversity in the Classroom-movie reflection

One of the many topics my group is writing about for our presentation is diversity in the classroom. I think having a classroom filled with not only diverse students, but a classroom filled with learning about diverse students and their cultures, is very important in this era. With times changing and history in the making with our new president having an African American background, I think that now more then ever it is important that students are well educated in different backgrounds other then their own.



A couple class periods ago my diverse and exceptional learners class watched the movie "A Class divided." This movie is about a teacher in Riceville Iowa, who studied the effects of segregation and racism on her third grade students in 1970. When Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered, the third graders came to class upset and confused. How could their "Hero of the Month" have been murdered? Mrs Elliott wanted to teach her class the meaning of discrimination,and what it really feels like to people. The class was divided into blue eyes, and brown eyes. Mrs Elliott proceeded by telling all the blue eyed people they were smarter then the brown eyed, nicer, neater, and just plain better. The brown eyed students had to wear collars around their neck, not drink out of the drinking fountain, and be last in the lunch line. Whatever they did, their performance was constantly criticised by Elliott. The roles were reversed the second day. The results showed that the students who were seen as inferior performed worse in school. The third grade students turned into nasty machines, yelling insults at each other and only focusing on one difference amongst themselves; the color of their eyes.

After the experiment, the students talked about what it felt like to be treated that way just because of the color of their eyes. One of her students said years later, "You hear these people talking about different people and how they'd like to have them out of the country. And sometimes I just wish I had that collar in my pocket. I could whip it out and put it on and say 'Wear this, and put yourself in their place.' I wish they would go through what I went through."

This lesson taught students that all are equal. In classrooms today, there are other ways of going about teaching this. Today in my group discussion we talked about how it is important to teach a wide range of culture. We shouldn't only use American books, but Indian and Asian as well. We need to make sure our students are introduced to global cultures to make them more well rounded and culturally educated people.

New teachers

Monday night I attended the lecture given by three new teachers who all graduated from Luther. I found this lecture to be the most interesting because they had recently been through the same things we are going through now and could give us advice. I liked hearing that some days will be a struggle, but there are so many benefits from teaching that none of the speakers regreted going into the profession. I liked knowing that some of our future colleagues will be stuborn in their ways and although we may have new, fresh ideas, we have to make sure we introduce them in a friendly way so we make sure to keep good relations with our colleagues.

Decorah School Board Members

Tonight I attended the lecture by two members of the Decorah school board. We talked a lot about the budget and how it works. I found it interesting how in Iowa, your spending is divided up into different sections. Those sections can't be mixed, even if there is left over money in some.

We also talked about how big, rich schools like West Des Moines, and small schools like Calmar, all get the same funding per student. I think that is a good thing. That way, even if your poor, your child is getting the same education and opportunities that a wealthy family's child is getting. We talked about implementing a foreign language into schools. I think that is a very good idea. Sometimes it's easier for little kids to soak up knowledge, and by starting to teach them a language at an early age could greatly benefit them. I was in Postville for my J-term 115 class, and that was an interesting experience. Everyday multiple lessons were taught in Spanish. I felt that not only was it a good thing because the students were becoming fluent at two languages, but it also helped bond the kids together. The native speakers would help the non-natives, and their roles would switch when the teacher switched back to a lesson in English. Although I understand it's hard to find funding to introduce foreign language programs into school districts, I think it is something all districts should look into.

Guest Administrator Lecture

I enjoyed the lecture by the two professionals from the Decorah school district on October 14th. I found there views of the NCLB act very interesting. I have been so used to hearing all the quirks about NCLB (on the news, from my peers, etc.), that I had become biased about it in a negative way. After listening to them talk, I realized that NCLB actually does some really good things. I think by having it in the schools it challenges teachers to find ways to teach in new and creative ways. I think it will some day keep ME on my toes; adapting and changing my ways of teaching to help make my students better. As I teacher I will like to see the progress my students are making or not making, so I know when my teaching strategies are and are not working.

High Stakes Community School-NCLB

Going into the lecture Monday night, I wasn't sure what to expect. I figured we'd do a lot of listening and then could voice our own opinions. I was surprised that different groups got up and talked as a whole. It turned out to be more formal then I had thought, but this made it very interesting to listen to.

I really enjoyed hearing everyone's opinions of NCLB. I realized how many things are wrong with that plan. It seems almost impossible to get all kids to a certain standard. Some students just arn't gifted in certain subjects and can't push themselves any further. I think something needs to be done to revise that plan. The over all idea of it is great, it just was lots of flaws. Hopefully with the change in presidency, some new ideas will generate and the NCLB act can become a positive thing in students education.

Library Lecture

I thought the lecture about using the library's website was very informative. I had no idea there was so much information on it. I think the new design of the website makes it much easier to find information quickly. What I found the most helpful was the link that sited books for you. That would have came in very handy last year during Paideia.
I feel that lecture was worth while to all Luther students. I would have not understood how to use that website had someone not walked me through it. It was a lot of information very quickly though, so I still have some questions but at least I am on the right track now.