This i believe...
I believe that all students can learn something. According to John Dewey, education should be student-centered, and based on the students' interests in an environment where they can discover their true potential (Hohr, 2013). If this theory is adequately introduced in a classroom, then all students should find something they are good at. Therefore, I believe that it is the teachers’ job to help them learn. I believe that a teacher should never give up on a student, or write them off as a “problem-child”. This goes along with what Maria Montessori believes, in that adults should observe the adolescents to find out his or her needs, and to correct with ease and care (Plekhanov and Jones, 1992). It is important to create a sense of community, so that students feel they belong. I also believe that the sense of community will help students to feel accountable for their surroundings; such as taking care of the classroom, picking up after themselves, and showing respect for others. Zacarian goes into depth about the learning environment, stating that it is a four-pronged framework including: 1- the sociocultural process, 2- the developmental process, 3- the academic process, and 4- the cognitive process (Zacarian, 2013). In the Middle School classroom, I believe that the students are unpredictable and slightly crazy. Despite the craziness, I believe it will be fun and interesting to watch them go through their journey of self-discovery. According to Jean Piaget, these middle school students are between the concrete operational and the formal operational stages. Students in these stages are no longer ego-centric, and are thinking logically, but not abstractly (McLeod, 2009). Despite their placement in the stages, they are continually learning and developing their viewpoint on the world around them. I believe that teaching is about more than just your subject matter, it is about teaching students how to become a good citizen, how to accept others who are different from themselves, and how to effectively socialize with others. I believe that learning is a never-ending process, both for the teacher and the students. This goes along with Rogoff’s theory about what it means to be literate, in that it requires that we have engaged deeply in reading, writing, classifying, organizing, logic, and meaning-making activities (Zacarian, 2013). Like literacy, learning takes effort from all kinds of different facets and needs to constantly be practiced and utilized in deeply engaged activities. I believe that it is important to take into consideration the emotional needs of the students when assigning work. I believe that parents should be just as involved in the students’ lives as the teachers are. Making things relevant and fun are important for students and parents. I believe that learning can’t be fun all the time, but the times when teachers can make it fun it needs to be memorable. I believe that Terry Heick lists the ten most important factors that should be taken into consideration when thinking of how to make learning effective. These include: 1- the students ask the (good) questions, 2- questions are valued over answers, 3- ideas come from a variety of sources, 4- a variety of instructional design methods are used, 5- classroom learning ‘empties’ into an authentic community, 6- learning is personalized by a variety of criteria, 7- assessment is persistent, authentic, transparent, and never punitive, 8- criteria for success is balanced and transparent, 9- learning habits are constantly modeled, and 10- there are constant opportunities for success (Heick, 2012). I believe that Middle school will be a challenge, but it will be well worth the struggle in the end.
References:
Heick, T. (2012). 10 characteristics of a highly effective learning environment. ASCD
Hohr, H. (2013). The Concept of Experience by John Dewey Revisited: Conceiving, Feeling and 'Enliving'. Studies In Philosophy & Education, 32(1), 25-38. doi:10.1007/s11217-012-9330-7
McLeod, S. (2009). Jean piaget. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html
Plekhanov, A. A., & Jones, A. (1992). The pedagogical theory and practice of Maria Montessori. Russian Social Science Review, 33(4), 79.
Zacarian, D. (2013). Mastering academic language:a framework for supporting student achievement. (1st ed. ed.). New York: Corwin.
Heick, T. (2012). 10 characteristics of a highly effective learning environment. ASCD
Hohr, H. (2013). The Concept of Experience by John Dewey Revisited: Conceiving, Feeling and 'Enliving'. Studies In Philosophy & Education, 32(1), 25-38. doi:10.1007/s11217-012-9330-7
McLeod, S. (2009). Jean piaget. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html
Plekhanov, A. A., & Jones, A. (1992). The pedagogical theory and practice of Maria Montessori. Russian Social Science Review, 33(4), 79.
Zacarian, D. (2013). Mastering academic language:a framework for supporting student achievement. (1st ed. ed.). New York: Corwin.
Classroom Management Philosophy
Classroom management is a tricky blend of commanding respect from your students, and earning it. Students need to know right off the bat that you are in charge, class rules need to be followed, and actions will be taken if they are not. However, you cannot expect students to automatically want to follow your rules or meet your expectations. You must earn students respect and trust in order for them to behave well in your class. Management isn’t just having clear rules and guidelines, although that is a large part of it; students need to feel safe in their classroom, with a teacher they feel likes them, respects them, and wants them to succeed. Only once students feel that relationship with their teacher will the classroom run smoothly.