Monday, November 9, 2009
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
About Me
- Professor Debra Pratt
- I am a wife, mother of 7 and grandmother of 1. I have taught at PNC since 2000 and prior to that taught kindergarten for 9 years. Most recently I have become very interested in learning about environmental health issues and what I can do to make a difference.
I found the topic of Academic Freedom interesting. In this particular section it focused on how teachers have the right to choose what information they are going to teach and how they are going to teach it, but it is really necessary to make sure you have concrete reasons for how you do things. Two cases were used as examples of how teachers lost their jobs from things such as writing a curse word on the board during a class discussion and another teacher using a sports competition where he let his students shoot a basketball for getting the correct answer. They both sued stating they were using their freedom of speech but only one teacher, the english teacher who used the curse word, got their job back. Through this section it showed me that you have to be really careful to look at things such as the age of your students, why it will be beneficial, as well as knowing your school's policies. I wouldn't think that incorporating basketball into your classroom could cause you to lose your job. This will help me prepare to be an effective teacher because I will make sure I have several reasons for doing an activity. I also see how important it is to know the policies of your school. This imformation is important because as a teacher you are accountable to not only your principal and your students, but also to the parents and other members of the community so it is important to do your best to not offend anybody. Ultimatly your job is at risk if your not aware of the guidelines.
ReplyDeleteThe topic of corporal punishment is one that I have always found interesting. If a student is misbehaiving to the extent that a teacher or administrator feels that corporal punishment is necessary then I feel that the cause of the childs actions far exceed that which a spanking can correct. It is bothering to know that in the 22 states that it is still permitted that the only reugulations are the following conditions:
ReplyDeleteThe punishment is intended to correct misbehavior,it dosn't involve anger or malice, and it is neither cruel or excessive or result in lasting injury. First of all, schools or intended to educate not punish. Also, who can determine the existance of anger or malice and prove it's presence. Then not to mention the lasting impact of the embarassment of the student to his fellow peers which will only act to make them more likely to act out again in the future. In 1977 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that corporal punishment is not in violation of the eighth admindment which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. I find it amusing that in the states where it is still permitted, the only regulations on it are the size of the paddle and it's length, which vary by grade. How hillarious. I feel that discipline at school should only relate to those things which apply the education of the child and the effect the behavior has on surrounding students. If a child cannot control his behavior to the extent where it is conducive to a positive learning environment beyond the expected outburst's of adelesence, then it is a problem beyond the control of the school system. At some point the child will need to be removed from the situation. Schools cannot possibly administer a solution to which parents cannot or will not themselves accomplish.
I chose the section on corpral punishment. I heard something mentioned in the last class that there is still corpral punishment allowed in schools. That was a complete shock to me. Then after reading about it in chapter 9 it informed me alot. Things such as there are actually rules on sizes of paddles and stipulations on how many times a person can be hit. all of these statements bother me. I did not know and was ok with thinking that there was no more corpral punishment in school.
ReplyDeleteThis part of the chapter is very informative in how a student can be punished. I do not think that i will be using this form of punishment and i hope that it is not used in the school at which I teach because the idea makkes me sick. There are many other forms of punishment to be used.
Corporal Punishment was an interesting topic in Chapter 9. I did not know that it was still allowed in some states so this came as a big surprise to me. Another surprise was that the teachers did not necessarily need the parents’ permission to do it. I agree with all of the people who believe that corporal punishment is wrong and that there are other ways to go about disciplining students. The story about the little boy who was practically beaten by the principal was very sad. I think that corporal punishment should not be allowed and that there are many different alternatives to disciplining students and they are also much more effective. In the states that corporal punishment is allowed I was glad to see there are some guidelines, such as it could not out of anger. Paddling a student is just showing that student and others that violence is an ok form of punishment. School administrators and faculty need to set an example of how students should act. Corporal punishment is just going to lead to students fearing school and becoming violent with other students. This will help me prepare to be an effective teacher by showing me how I do not want to treat my students. This makes me think of better alternatives to discipline students and what the outcome of those disciplinary actions may be. It is good to know that Corporal punishment is still being used today because it could be a deciding factor on where I would like to teach. I do not want to teach in a school where Corporal punishment is allowed because I do not agree with it.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 9, I found many topics to be pretty interesting. However the topic of a teacher's private life. As teachers, I believe that we are to uphold a positive image for the community we live in and the school we teach at. In the chapter, we see that teachers are expected to be role models in the community and for the students. We also see that the lives of teachers are actually followed more closely than a normal person. I agree that teachers should uphold a positive image, however I think that teachers should be able to live a normal life just like everyone else in the community. If a group of teachers want to go have a drink after school on a Friday, they should not be affraid to do so. They are of age and have the right to do so. If a student sees you walk out of a bar or see you having a drink in at dinner, I don't feel like the teacher should be ashamed. On the flip side, if the public image gets out of control and the teacher's getting into trouble or setting bad examples then I think something should be done. We learn of notoriety which is the extent to which a teacher's behavior becomes controversial. As long as theres no controversy in a teacher's personal life, than I believe they should live just like everyone else in the community.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe topic regarding student privacy and records was very interesting. As a future educator this topic is very important if one is to use the trade and grade system for grading. I personally don't agree with the mother in Oklahoma. Education records are so much more than final grades. These records contain information about family, health and student recommendations. The mother in Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Circuit Courts, tried to equate grades in class to education records. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled there is no connection and her child’s privacy wasn’t violated through trading and grading. While, I think final grades are private, I don’t think homework grades matter since everyone is just learning the concept and isn’t really measuring mastery like a quiz or test.
ReplyDeleteThe topic in chapter 9 that I found interesting was the section about teacher's private lives. I never knew that teachers were required to take a leave of absence as soon as they were noticeably pregnant. Apparently, other teachers were even fired in the past for becoming pregnant without being married. It was also interesting that in the 1800's, teachers had to be home between 8pm and 6am and were not allowed to get married. Those rules were very strict and sound crazy to us now. The fact that teacher's private lives are so crucial to the status of their job is very important to know as a teacher. It is important to know what is acceptable and what is not, for the sake of your job. It would be very embarrassing to get fired for being caught doing the wrong things. Making sure to be a good role model for your students will help make an effective teacher.
ReplyDeleteI was thinking about the topic of corpal punishment and how it was use it in my parents day, and alot of my parents friends and my parents are sucuessful people not dumb because of a spanking in class. actually my moms friend gradute from Notre Dame and my dads friend is like a ceo a some big plant. But anyways I think That most we could bring it back but now it to late, bacause some of the student are like to rebel back so the fear of corpal punishment is is now out of the question. yes I do agree with it but at this time it will be at the wrong time to do this . So basically im now disagree with corpal punishment they should take it bacause of our society.
ReplyDeleteThe topic I chose was corpral punishment and I still can't believe it is used in 22 states! Expecially our state! It says that you are to use it to punish, but the rules say you cannot use it with anger. Unless you are lightly play slapping, when you hit someone it's because you are mad or angry. Why would we teach students that if someone is bad they should be hit. I feel that then if there is abuse at home, they will be less likely to report it because they will feel that they were bad. This showed me not to use this as a teacher. I feel that teachers need to be very careful with their anger against students.
ReplyDeleteThe topic I have found to be most interesting in chapter nine is corporal punishment. It says that in twenty-two states it is still legal to paddle children if they are misbehaving and the paddle is intended to correct the misbehavior.
ReplyDeleteI feel that this is extremely wrong that twenty-two states still allow this, Indiana being one of them. I believe hitting is something we as humans do as a rash move. We usually do it out of anger and sometime without even thinking. I think there are a lot of things that could go wrong when paddling a child and any effective teacher would never do this. I feel that any effective teacher would take a step back from the situation and find a proper punishment for the student without paddling.
The topic I chose to comment on is corporal punishment. I found it very interesting that only 28 states prohibit the use of corporal punishment. The remaining 22 states still allows corporal punishment. I find that to be absolutely wrong. I think that the use of any violence should not be allowed in a school. You are, as a teacher, the students' role model. I think that demonstrating violence to keep a student from acting out is very inappropriate. You are teaching them that when problems happen that it is okay to use violence. I feel that knowing this information will help me become an effective teacher. Violence, to me, is never the answer. I will always remember this as I am teaching my students, because I found it astonishing that they would still allow this is 22 states. I will demonstrate better behavior methods to my students. I will never raise my voice or act out with violence on my students.
ReplyDeleteI chose the topic of Teacher Liability. While attending school when I was younger, I never really thought of all of the pressure my teacher was under. Not only are teachers required to worry about students' minds, but they are also charged with carrying for them physically as well. Being a mother myself, I realize how fast and unexpected accidents can happen. I guess I never really thought of that on a larger scale such as a classroom. And I definitely haven't thought of parents suing me for such accidents. I was glad to read that there is offered liablity coverage from professional organizations. Anything can happen...and often will happen. After reading this, it made me realize the careful attention that I will need to pay to each and every student in my classroom. This goes along with caring for the whole child. I am hoping I will find much success in this area.
ReplyDeleteThe topic in which that I found to be interesting was that of Academic Freedom. This portion basically described what you could teach within your classroom as long as it is under the general curriculum for your class. One of the examples in the reading was that a teacher got fired for making up a game that he called "Learnball." This teacher got fired for making up this game and refusing to give up teaching this way, when asked by the principal and was then later fired. It surprised me that something so juvenile such as creating a game to help motivate your students could result in termination of employment. I think that if you are trying to motivate your classroom and stimulate everybody, I think games are great for that. Especially if you are working with young kids in elementary school. This will help me become a more effective teacher because it will force me to know the ins and outs of the curriculum and what I can and cannot do. This is important to know because it gives you a nice realm in which you can teach things, but it also gives you guidelines in which you shouldn't cross. It is also important to know these because I wouldn't want to end up like the teacher who make "Learnball" and get fired.
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 9, there were a lot of insightful topics bnut the one I found interesting qwas Academic Freedom. Academic Freedom basically allows the teacher to choose what and how to teach as long as it follows the general curriculum. However, you have to be careful how you use it. For example, you don't want to come up with a game where the students don't understand how to play it or of it doesn't really go along with what you're teaching to the students. You have to becareful about the grade level that you teach as well when it comes to Academic Freedom, for example you don't want to play a game or a read a book to a 3rd grade class that is meant for a 2nd grade class. I feel this information for me as a future educator in that once I'm done with school and teaching myself it will help to know how and what to teach with Academic Freedom
ReplyDeleteI found the most interesting topic in chapter 9 to be academic freedom. In the part of the chapter it talked about how teachers have the right to choose what they teach to their students in their classroom. You have to know the schools policies and you have to be careful what you teach your students so you do not get fired. One teacher lost their job from letting his students shoot a basketball in the classroom for getting something correct. I never would have thought that shooting a basketball would get someone fired. This is kind of crazy to me, but I guess it thought me that you really have to watch the things that you let your students do while in the classroom. I think that games actually help students learn because it makes it fun and educational all at the same time. Yet teachers do have to follow the schools policies. You always have to be aware of the guidelines that are active at your school it is very important!
ReplyDeleteI did not realize that a teachers private life made such an impact on their career. I guess as I put more thought into it that it makes sense but I never realized that there is so much pressure at work as well as off of work. Teachers are always being watched and judged and have to live up to a certain standard. Knowing this makes me realize that teachers are veiwed in many different aspects and that a teacher may not always please every veiw point. I can prepare myself to just make sure I think rashionally and to do what is right for the situation and what will benefit everyone.
ReplyDeleteI found academic freedom to be the most interesting. Which refers to the right for teachers to choose both content and teaching methods based on their professional judgement. I found it interesting that the teacher who had a pretty fun and outgoing method to teaching was fired because of it. I am not sure I feel that was right. The other teacher did get their job back and that was a good decision. Still, why do we have to watch what we say or do so much? As teachers in today's world, we really do not get a lot of freedom at all. Anything we say can almost be taken the wrong way. We have to watch and make sure we can cover our backs with proof from the curriculum and such, so that we will not be fired from our jobs. I know that I am going to have to talk with my prinicpal and make sure that I stay in their scope of control and acedemic freedom. If I do not, that could be the end of my job. This information will definitely help to possibly save my butt if there are any issues.
ReplyDeleteI also found the issue of academic freedom interesting. I like to believe that as a teacher one of my strong points will be developing new and interesting ways to make learning fun. However, this section made me really consider the fact that I may not be allowed to try out all of my new ideas for fear of possibly being fired! In the two cases mentioned in the section I found myself really liking the idea of "Learnball" and feeling uncomfortable about the teacher who wrote the profanity on the board. I was very surprised to see that the first teacher did not get his job back on the grounds of his unusual teaching methods and refusal to stop using that method. I was also equally as surprised to see that the second teacher won his case and got his job back. I guess one of the major things that I learned is the importance of making sure that the administrator is on board with your teaching methods before you implement something new and controverisial, and if not then maybe a different school would be a better fit.
ReplyDelete