Video

Most of the video made sense to me. He goes into real depth with some of the things he discussed and it sounded off the wall to me, but he had a way of making it understandable. I agree 100% in the things he was saying. Our young people today are indeed going to and are going through things we could never imagine and we really do need to always have that on the back of our mind when we begin our daily routines of teaching. I have shadowed in classrooms where the teacher treated the children as though they were below them and the students fear this teacher. The biggest thing I agree with (I have felt this way and thought I was thinking incorrectly because of the way I have seen some teachers treat students) was the area he discussed about "how teachers need to make a commitment ot the students even before they enter the classroom; to see everyone who comes into your classroom as a worthy human worthy of your full attention as a person who is active in their own way." Treat the children with respect and care as I would my own children, thats what I keep in my mind. He discussed 3 commitments that teachers needed to make sure we have before we become or see ourselves as teachers. I am only a substitute teacher right now and I have only been doing this for 8 months, I have been able to tell that I can speak to the children on my level without the screaming and slamming things to get their attention. I have noticed huge differences in how they treat me vs. some other teachers. I treat every child that approaches me as I would want them to approach me or as i would want my own children treated. At 1st I started out loud and tough--this is what I saw in the other teachers. I told myself; this is not me, I tried a different approach and there is less tension, more smiles and more accomplishments throughout the day for us. At the end of my class periods if the group did their work and behavied we play a game for the remaining 15 min of the class and they love it. You never now how something as simple as noticeing one of your students in the grocery store and speaking to them on a personal level outside of school will connect to a child.
The 2 inventories did give me a hint on what the future might hold for my career as a teacher. I feel the cirriculum will begin to change a little but I do not feel they will lighten up on the testing, I feel those test will only get worse. For some reason it seems our personell feel the only way we can improve the curriculum or prove that our teachers are doing a good job is to test and I think this really turns the student away from wanting to go to school. The 2 inventories were alike by touching on culture and racial issues. Should it be discussed in school systems? Yes, drugs are, why not add another issue that is growing among our nation?? I feel we should make cultural and racial and diversity part of our curriculum and offer courses to help our children feel comfortable to talk about their issues and questions and come to a mutual understanding while putting the guns and gangs aside.
What type of classroom would I create? I would like the atmosphere of my classroom to be friendly, laid back, up to date, and joyful. I want my children to be comfortable with and around me. I would like to chill out on test, test, test and concentrate on the individuals and what they want out of life before we get the school year started, get to know one another. I would like to create an "eager to learn" environment instead of a "man I'm ready to go home" atmosphere. I would like to be able to connect with my students and us work as a team to all get to know each other together. I want a structured classroom with plenty of diversity, cultural backgrounds and minds, I think I could really have fun with a multicultural classroom. I have all kinds of different assignments, activities, games, etc. in mind that I could use to promote social skills among one another. I would be sure to keep my eyes and ears open at all times for them and my own reasons. Above all I would not put myself on a pedistal, I like to treat all of my students with the same and level as anyone else. Never would I act as though they were beneth me, I would respect them and that is what would gain my respect from them.
How does my vision of a classroom relate to the video? Dr. Ayeers discussess 3 commetments; 1st commetment-of understanding that every person is a complete human being, treat them all with respect, 2nd com-we don't know everything just because we got teaching authority (maybe we could learn something from them if we are willing to just listen and ask them questions), 3rd comm-tell the truth as we see it (Be open to the fact that everything you see is not right, you gotta keep you mind and eyes open) My mother used to always tell us 'things aren't always as they seem, so make sure you investigate!' or the famous 'You can't judge a book by its cover.' What he discussed in the video are all the things I wanted for my classroom before I even watched the video, before we even got this assignment. I can't stand to see someone act down at a child just because they have authority and they can-i don't think teachers should be allowed to do that. All of the things he discussed equal to a successful classroom environment, I feel it begins with the teacher. As far as conflicts or contradictions, I don't see anyh way of not having an actual conflict in any classroom. Churches have conflicts, families have conflicts, we all do thats just part of being a human. Being able to work through them and discuss the conflict is were we are supposed to step in. Contraditions, I think thats along the same lines as conflict, everyone contradicts themselves, again we are human we can't help ourselves. We just need to treat our children with respect and try to befriend them not just teach and cram them with facts. Give them a chance to show you what they can do, don't look at the test scores, GPA or grade book and look at them an intellegent child ready to learn and confide and see what happens.