Alright, I just finished watching the movie "Freedom Writers" and you must watch it. It's an amazing and inspirational story about a first-time English teacher who is able to reach her students by using very effective teaching strategies. The movie, which came out in 2007, is very well done, but the story itself is so wonderful. After watching the movie and hearing about The Freedom Writers Foundation, I immediately went online to look into it more. I found the website (http://www.freedomwritersfoundation.org) and looked all over the website, reading the stories, signing up for the e-newsletter, and learning about the programs that the foundation offers for teacher training. There are many aspects to this story that I am impressed by, but in the interest of space, I'll share just a few...
First of all, I am so impressed by the determination that Erin Gruwell brought with her to the classroom. Though she was met with resistance from the majority of the school's faculty and students, she pushed through it in order to reach her students. She truly wanted to educate them, not just about English but about the world. After realizing how contained their worldly understanding was, she made a point to help the students see how much more there is in the world than just their local communities. When she started teaching, she had no idea how deep they were pulled into the dangerous world of drugs and violence in the projects. Upon realizing how deeply their lives were affected by their surroundings, she began finding way to show them how connected to the world they really are. As I said, I was in awe of her determination to reach her students. Even when she was met with resistance and personal struggles, she continued to press forward, because she truly cared about her students. She is a hero to each of her students, and she is now someone that I want to learn from.
Soon after finding the website, I found The Freedom Writers' Mission Statement. I have pulled it from the website:
"The organization's overall purpose is to:
- Create opportunities for students to reach their full academic potential and aspire to higher education.
- Publicly and systematically promote an educational philosophy that values, upholds, and honors diversity.
- Inspire students to realize their roles as vital members of their communities." (http://www.freedomwritersfoundation.org/site/c.kqIXL2PFJtH/b.2300105/k.A517/Mission_Statement.htm)
While reading these goals, I realized that this is the kind of environment that I want to create in my future classrooms. While reading about the various functions that the Freedom Writers put on, including presentations, speeches/lectures, and training programs, my excitement continued to increase as I read about the continued involvement of Erin Gruwell and her students. I hope that one day I can attend a lecture or participate in a training program. They seem very interesting and worthwhile, and I'm sure it would be amazing to meet Erin and talk with her. She has definitely made an impact on the world of teaching.
A third thing I was amazed by was a personal story of a teacher, Connie Heerman of Indiana who began to teach the book The Freedom Writers Diary. Because of the amount of graphic content, administrators felt that the book was inappropriate to teach in a school setting, and asked Heerman to stop teaching the book. However, Heerman saw how engaged in the reading her students were and decided to keep teaching it. She even sent home permission forms to parents and the majority felt it was okay for their child to read the material. Because of this action, Heerman was suspended for a year and a half. Being a current resident of Goshen College in Indiana, I was quite surprised to hear about this. I can understand why the school would want to be wary of the content of the material, but this is real stuff - it's real students' work, and it should be read. This kind of material is what high school students relate to most, and it makes sense that it could be used to reach them. While I was surprised by this story, I was also again impressed by the determination of teachers to reach their students. Even now, Heerman says she won't return to the school unless she is allowed to teach the book. If that's not determination, I don't know what is.
Okay, so to sum up, I loved the movie, I want to buy it, and I want to read the book. I've signed up for the e-newsletter, and I hope to one day take part in some kind of training led by Erin Gruwell. I find this story amazing and it's one that I want to hold onto and learn from. I want to teach and connect to my students the way that Erin did, and still does. It's teachers like Erin that we need to keep around. We shouldn't be punishing them by kicking them out of the classroom. They are who best know how to teach the students in a way that keeps them interested. They are the teachers who have their students' best interest at heart. They are who we need in the classrooms, not only in America, but in the world.
11/19/08 - Organizational Patterns in Classrooms
Thinking back to high school, I realized that there has always been a common setup for my math classrooms - rows of desks facing the chalk/white board. I agree that this is often a very useful setup when the teacher is explaining how to write and/or use different functions, equations, formulas, theorems, etc. However, I enjoy it when students are able to work together in groups, and often the usual row-setup gets in the way. I've thought about the rows-setup and I will talk about the pros and cons of that organization. Then, there's another setup that I like at this point, and I'll talk about that a little more.
Rows:
Pros:
I've always been a person who enjoys working alone at times, even though I do like working with other people. Having an individual desk is often nice because you give the students their own space to work in, and sometimes this is better for students to concentrate. If you give them the opportunity to mess around with other students, they can become distracted and not follow along with the lesson. Having students at their own desk in rows also gives the teacher a little better view of each student and makes it easier to watch out for distractions that may come up. They also appear to work better during tests when each student only has their test to focus on, and can't look at other students' tests quite as easily.
Cons:
I guess to me, rows always seem a little less personal. Each student is set up in their area, and they can't interact with other students in quite the same way. In a few classes in high school, after instruction, we would get into groups and work on problems together. However, in order to better work together, we would have to shift the room around and push desks out of the way. It just creates a little more disruption, as you can't quickly and easily move into a group formation; the flow of the class period is broken, even just a little, and that can cause more distractions.
In several classes that I've been in, more in college now, we've had rows of tables instead of rows of individual desks. When working at a table, we're able to have our own space, but if we need to work in groups, we can easily converse with the people sitting next to us. One flaw with this setup, however, is that you're still confined to a row, and it still feels too much like a lecture room.
Setup I Like:
A few of my classrooms in college have had have a setup that I like. Instead of desks there are tables that seat about 3 or 4 per side, and the few tables are set up in a "U" shape, with the opened end facing the front of the room. If the room were (much) wider, it could be a semi-circle. With this setup, the students can see each other and also watch the professor as they move around in the front of the room. By having the empty space in the middle of the "U", if we need to work in groups, some people can go to the middle and sit on the other sides of the tables. Because we're not moving the tables around, only moving chairs to the other side of the table, there isn't as much distraction when getting into groups. To me, it's a more casual and open room that is set up for both group and class discussions as well as lectures.
When I eventually have to decide how to set up my classroom, I'll want to make sure that it's easy to move around when changing activities. I'll want to make sure that during these shifts, there isn't too much distraction so that the lesson continues to flow well into the next section. I'll be sure to make it a comfortable environment where students get the sense that they are part of the classroom discussion - that it's not just me teaching to them. It's important to me that the students realize that this is their classroom - I'm there to teach them - and that I want them to feel comfortable and able to learn the material.
11/27/08 – Characteristics of teachers I like and how they compare to me
Publically confident:
Most teachers that impress me are confident in themselves and are aware of how they relate to others around them. They know that they are not perfect and they are truly okay with this fact. When they fail, they pick up the pieces, though it may take time, and they keep going. They do not hide who they are while in a public setting, because they like themselves and are happy with the person that they have become.
Over the past few years, I know that my confidence has definitely increased and I am now more okay with the person that I am. While I can still be shy in new situations, I am more apt to be myself and be open to the new situation instead of hiding away from it all. I do realize that I am not perfect, though sometimes I still strive for perfection in the work that I do. I am becoming better at accepting my mistakes and learning from them. So far, I have not given up completely when I fail, seeing as I am still living and forging ahead in my life. And best of all, I can confidently say that I like the person that I am.
Humorous:
One of my favorite characteristics of any person is the ability to laugh and have fun. I love teachers who make learning fun and find ways to add humor to their subject area. Humor allows people to view life in a positive and accepting way, and it says something about a person when they are able to add humor to all aspects of their life. Whether throwing a joke in during a class discussion or playing some kind of game to get a concept solidified in the students’ minds, humor is something that my favorite teachers informally add to their lesson plans.
I absolutely love to laugh and have fun. I really love humor, whether it’s dry or stupid, which is shown by the way that I laugh pretty much at anything, but it’s because I can see humor in many different situations. I find it fun to switch a situation around so that it’s funny or interesting. I like to think that I can be funny and I hope that one day I am able to prove this funny side of me to my students. I hope that I can think about how I would find a lesson enjoyable, and then be able to present it to my students. I want them to enjoy learning in my classrooms, and I plan to add humor and fun in order to make this possible.
Balanced:
While my favorite teachers like to add fun and games to their classrooms, they also understand the importance of discipline and boundaries. They have rules that the students need to follow in order to do well in the class, and when the students don’t follow the rules or misbehave in some way, they do use punishments and discipline to deal with a situation. They are understanding of their students, but they want to make sure that the students are respectful and responsible in the classroom. They want their classrooms to be an enjoyable space and if a student is having an issue, they will work with that student in order to restore the comfortable atmosphere.
As I said above, I enjoy being in fun settings. However, I can also be a very serious person and understands the importance of maintaining a solid foundation. I know that I will have to practice disciplining students, as that is where I tend to step back. When enforcing rules, I like to let other people deal with those situations. I think with time I will improve in this area and will be better at enforcing my rules for the classroom while also maintaining a comfortable atmosphere in the classroom.
They are good to themselves:
Each of my favorite teachers knows themselves pretty well and knows when they need breaks. They know what can set them off and try to stay away from those situations. They know what helps them when they are stressed, angry, sad, or frustrated in a certain situation. They are able to say what is bothering them in a situation and if something isn’t going the way they would like, they either accept it and move on, or they share their opinions and hope something will change. In either situation, they do their best to make themselves and others comfortable, and if that doesn’t happen, they forge ahead and take care of themselves along the way.
In the past year I have been much better at knowing what works for me and what I need to do when I get into a difficult situation. I know what helps me calm down and I’m doing better at realizing when I need to use those strategies. I’m also doing better at understanding that every situation I will be in won’t accommodate to my needs, and I’ll have to find ways to work through those situations that don’t. I’m really trying to be good to myself and take care of myself when I’m in difficult situations and even when things are going well.
Overall, there are many areas where I want to improve myself and my outlook on life. But so far, I’m pretty happy with the person I’m becoming. I want to continue to work on areas that will help me be a successful teacher, and I know I have a lot of work to do, but I’m up for the challenge.
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