Education Inventories

Reflecting on the Chapter 4 inventory, Goals for Schools, I responded with mostly fours and fives. I felt that teaching responsibility and social skills in the classroom were important. On the inventory of Philosophies of Education I also answered with mainly fours and fives. Education is about teaching the whole child not just informing them with a few facts from certain subjects. Along with reading, writing, and math, teachers must teach skills for life, such as social interaction and how to survive in society. Educators must prepare the classroom of today to meet the needs of tomorrow's adults.

There are several relationships between the questions on Chapter 4 and Chapter 8 inventories. First, they relate to the student's goals, needs, and responsibility. Society is another area, in which, these questions relate to each other. They discuss social issues and economic concerns.

As a future teacher I will make a commitment to myself that I will make sure all of my students know that they have my full attention. Through my actions, they will realize that I am there to help, teach, and encourage them. I will take every child's needs to heart, whether it is educational, emotional, or a physical need. My students will know that they are important to me and to their society.

I will create a classroom where every child will be accepted for who they are. My class will learn how to cooperate with each other and accept that we all have differences. As a result of the inventory questions that I responded to, I will teach the curriculum, along with, life lessons, morals, and ethics in my classroom. Patience and understanding will be a part of my teaching practices, however I will not tolerate students who will not take responsibility for themselves. I will encourage my pupils to work hard and do well in school and in life.

Philosophy of Education

I agree with Dr. William Ayers in the video, Philosophy of Education. He believes that teachers have to teach the whole student not just the facts and figures. Ethics and morals should be taught in the classroom. According to Dr. Ayers, every minute of the day teachers are teaching morals and ethics whether they realize it or not. Dr. William believes silence is a moral statement within itself. Not saying anything, is not taking a stand for what is right. Teachers should speak the truth and be honest with their students. Everyday teachers interact with their students, this is a chance for teachers to promote positive ethics and morals. Children get all of the negative behaviors from television, their peers, and in some cases from their family. The school day should be the perfect opportunity for teachers to encourage ethics in the classroom and in life. He stated that teachers should make commitments to their students and themselves. Teachers need to see every student as an individual with different strengths and weakness. Educators need to ask more questions not just give all the answers. Teachers should be learning with the students, not acting as if they know everything already. There should be dialogue between students and teachers. The commitment must come from teachers to give every student their full attention. The educator should make every child top priority. Professor Ayers says it best, teachers need to unleash the energy in their students and empower them to express themselves in their own way. I believe his philosophy of teaching is the way all teachers should feel about their role in touching their students lives everyday.

Module 7

I chose Progressive Education because I wanted to find out more about this topic. In the nineteenth century this movement began. John Dewey was at the heart of this movement. He believed schools should be about developing the individual, along with creating a community that would be in harmony with the school system. This movement wanted to included in education; life issues, health care concerns, and family issues. It also would introduce social sciences and psychology into the class curriculum. Furthermore, students interest would be taken into account when decided what should be taught in education.

I found a website and a great slide show as a resource to learn more about Progressive Education.
http://www.answers.com/topic/educational-progressivism
http://www.slideshare.net/cartersd/john-dewey-presentation

My second topic is the Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka. Linda Brown, a third-grader in the Topeka Kansas school system had to walk a mile to school everyday. There was a white school seven blocks away. When her father Oliver tried to enroll her into that school, they were rejected. The Brown family began their fight on December 9, 1952. The United States Supreme Court decided that segregation in schools was unlawful. There were "separate but equal" facilities, however they were not truly equal. The court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment was being violated.

I found two great websites full of information on this court case that made history.
http://www.watson.org/~lisa/blackhistory/early-civilright/brown.html
http://www.kshs.org/research/topics/cultural/brown_kba/pdfs/historical_background.pdf