I hope...

wow. Freedom Writers. Intense.

I hope that someday I will have the guts to stand up in front of people whom I know are judging me from my core to my outward appearance and passionately say what I believe while asking them to push themselves to consider a judgment or opinion outside of their first.

I hope that someday I will be able to have such a climate of respect in my classroom that students will be truly free to speak their minds.

I hope that someday I will be able to stand up to individuals who use their authority in ways that diminish the lives of my students.

I hope that someday I will be able to take on the role of a teacher in a classroom where every student depends on me, but in which no student recognizes his need for learning. This is where progress is made.

I hope that someday I will be able to facilitate a discussion that, at the very least, lends students new ideas and ways to view the world so that they may be able to learn to think in terms of other perspectives.

I have a lot of hope....

Propaganda and Some...

I liked the propaganda activity because it was engaging. I think students would learn a lot from the same activity because they are so impressionable and don't realize it. It's sad that some of those forms of propaganda are allowed to exist, but it is important to remember that society lets them exist because it falls for each technique. To me, bashing an opponent, be it political or business, immediately reveals the basher's inferiority. Resorting to putting other people / products down only shows that you can't think of enough positive things to say about yourself/your product for 30 seconds; that is sad. However, millions of Americans tune into those types of commercials and listen, but do not evaluate what they have heard. Thus dishonest forms of propaganda continue.

On the business side of things, propaganda is necessary for success. My dad owns his own business, and even as a child I observed his salesmanship and critiqued his overly abundant honesty about his products. I coached him not to lie, but not to be the first to point out the negatives either. Focus on the positive. As you take in different forms of propaganda, it is necessary to assess what you are being told versus what is being sold in order to come to a balanced evaluation of what is really going on...

As far as listening in general, there is a reason friends who are "good listeners" derive such acclaim. It's hard to listen without anticipating speaking. We are all the center of our own universe and therefore selfish - which bleeds into our listening skills. It's okay, it's human, but we can't expect much in the form of listening from students unless we coach them and serve as a role model for good listening.

Grammar

Being that I submitted my final observation results only seconds ago... it's all fresh on my mind.

I think the most significant thing that I took from the observation experience is looking at my cooperating teacher in her role as teacher for a second time - this time, after I've been in her shoes. I must say, I still think she is amazing! I also recognize that even amazing teachers have flaws. Or...rather, differing opinions.

I will be leaving Edu 300 with the question: How will I develop my grammar instruction? This was a significant thread in my reflections after observations and I think I am a little more decided, but I can't stop thinking that there has to be a downfall. I mean, why else would so many great teachers resort to such grueling methods of teaching grammar?