Junior Achievement

On Friday my class was able to go to an elementary school to teach a junior achievement curriculum. My partner and I taught first graders about families and their jobs and how important they are. When we first got there we introduced ourselves to the teacher. It ended up that both have a connection to the teacher. My mom had taught her son in kindergarten. After we talked to the teacher we stated to set up the different posters and things in the Junior Achievement packet while they finished up their rotations. We started off by showing them a map and getting them to point out how the different people are helping out around the neighborhood. Then we gave them a JA booklet called Our Family. They added stickers which matched the questions in the booklet. We also taught them about needs and wants and what the difference between the two is. They learned about different jobs and how all of them are important to our community. Then we showed them a map and showed them how the key works with the different symbols. In the last lesson we played a game where they acted out a job and if they did a good job they got payed and got to "buy" one of the need or want posters we used to demonstrate. The students seemed to enjoy what we were teaching them and liked having us there. I would love to teach the Junior Achievement lesson again it was lots of fun!  

Teacher Website

If I hasd a class and there were laptops readily available there is so much I would be able to do. One thing in particular that would help in the subject of math is the website, Kids' Zone - Create a Graph. I would use this website for the students to make a graph and see how the process works. I would give the students a work sheet with different data sets. They would use this data to plug in and design their own graphs. This would give the students the oppurtunity to make a graph themselves.

Teacher Impact

Teachers have huge impacts on thier students. Children spend a large amount of their time at school. This is time where the teacher is the one they look to as an example. As a role model the teacher influences what the students do and how much they enjoy doing it. For a childs physical development they can encourage children to play outside when they get home and be active with them at recess. They can also tell the students stories of ways they are active outside of school. When it comes to a childs emotional and social development teachers have an impact as well. As they children work throughout the day the teacher could have them work in groups inorder to develop their comunication skills and make them work with another person. The teacher also show them they care emotionally. For example if a student is crying they could take the time to listen to them and find out what is wrong. As for cognitive development they have the most influence on these children. Their whole job is to teach their students. In order to maximize what the students learn they may take in to account the students strengths and weaknesses and the way they learn best and incorporate that into the lesson plans. This is how the teacher impacts a child's development.

Day 7

Yesterday was great. I enjoy those kids so much. I worked with three in particular on adding. These students were adorable. They kept asking me questions about high school and my pink hair. They were talking over each other trying to tell me things, I was trying to balance listening to them with getting them to add the numbers and do what I was telling them. The two girls were both trying to get my attention and it was causing a little bit of conflict. I solved this by letting them take turns talking and give them each an equal turn. This satisfied them with them being able to be heard. There was also a mini crisis when one of the girls was arranging her cubes the same way as the other girl. She was very upset that her idea was being copied. I just asked her if it was hurting her in any way. She said no, so I asked if it would be okay for her to share that idea with the other girl. This seemed to satisfy her and the two girls started joking around with each other like nothing was wrong. It is nice how conflicts don't stick in first grade. For me, I think the key to solving conflicts is communication and making sure everyone's side is heard and understood correctly. This week we learned different conflict resolutions. These consist of conciliatory gestures, avoidance, altering the group structure, appealing to a higher value, I need you and you need me, direct order, communication, seek additional information, outside intervention, compromise, developing new resources, and democratic vote. I think a combination of all these situations, depending on the circumstances, is the best way to handle conflicts.     

Day 6

Once again we went to the elemntary school yesterday. It has honestly gotten better each time I go. I got to work one on one with a few of the students and actually talk to them. It was a blast. Also while we were there I asked the teacher a few questions about their communication with parents. I first asked how often she communicates with her students parents. What she does is send home a folder every day and in the folder there is a behavior chart with major things happening that week and there is a place for the students grade and any comments on what the child needs to do or how they have been acting. She said she also makes phone calls if needed. Which led to my second question: In what situation would you direclty call a parent? She would call a parent if a child got hurt at school that day or if they were hit by another student or their child is the one who hit another student. Anything that the parent would be able to see on their child she would call to let them know. In the case of a parent yelling at her, she said she would have to stay calm. She would just take what their saying and act proffessional. She understands that that student is their little baby and very precious to them. If a student was misbehaving in class she would get in contact with their parent. She would tell the parent what's going on in class, what she has tried to fix it, and then ask if anything is going on at home. Many times a problem at home causes a child to act out. That is how the teacher handles her parent communication.

Day 5

Through out this week in class we learned about effective teachers and schools. One of the main things we were told was teachers must be "child centered." This is an important quality for teachers to have because they must focus all their efforts on their students. The goal of a teacher should be to help their students learn all they can and to do that teachers must dedicate a lot of time to help their students succeed. Since teachers spend so much time with their students they have a great impact in their lives. They become a role model and someone who imparts what is right and wrong to them. That is why teachers are held to a higher standard and it should be that way. Every student sees what their teacher does and thinks if they can do that so can I. Teachers must be held to a higher standard so that their students know the correct way to behave. To have a effective school their must be effective communication between teachers and between the school and parents. To keep communication flowing between teachers there should be teacher meetings and maybe a luncheon. There also should be parent meetings so the administration can communicate their expectations with parents. When I become a teacher there will probably more current techonology out but for now I think the active boards that are in some classrooms are very helpful and productive. Also I think having laptops available is good so students have to practice with computers themselves. After our visit yesterday I am so excited to be a teacher! I really think this is the right career for me. I am thinking about the age I should teach though. I'm not sure if I would be better at teaching younger elementary or middle school or even high school. But I know I want to teach!

Day 4

We once again went to the elementary school on Thursday. This time was better than before. It seems like each time I go there it is more and more fun. On this trip I got to work specifically with three students. These are the ones who are a little behind the others. We worked on counting all the way to one hundred. It was awesome to see the progress these students made and there happy faces when they succeeded. The teacher told me I would be working with these same students every week on different activities she would plan. I am so excited about this and can not wait to continue working with these children. It has really helped me see what I would like to do in the future with which grade to teach. These kids are precious and just waiting to learn. I admire the patience the teacher has to take the lessons slow waiting for the person she called on to answer, even if it takes them a while. I can't wait to go back next week!