Lecture "Paideia Text and Issues"

This lecture was given by Claude Mertzenich, and it was about going green with chemistry. When this lecture started I really wasn't sure what to think. This lecture talked a lot about ways to keep our globe clean by doing things to reduce waste and pollutants into the environment. There was a video that talked about how to reduce waste, and it talked about how many baby diapers are used and thrown into landfills every year. I found this very interesting, because I didn't really even think that those are not biodegradable so it takes a very long time to get rid of them. The little video he used talked about ways they have come up with to prevent that much waste being put into landfills.
This lecture related to teaching by showing ways to improve on what you already know. I realized that all of these people know that there are things going wrong in our environment, and they have chosen to take a step back and change it. When I teach I want kids to learn everything that there is to know about a subject, even if that means changing something when a new development comes out. I didn't really like this lecture, because of the way this person taught us. He talked too fast for me to even try to understand, and he had a really boring power point. I felt like he wanted to get so many facts out there that he just forgot all about trying to keep everyone engaged. I know that that is something teachers need to do on an everyday basis, keep the students active and engaged in what you are teaching them.

Lecture "Balancing Religion and Politics"

This lecture was given by David Domke, and he talked about how religion effects politics. He started out with examples from JFK and a speech he gave telling Americans what he believed America stood for. As he talked about that speech he gave examples of what America had done to change this, and in the end he ended up with the line "I believe in an America." This was a very powerful way to show that America right now and back then was based a lot on your religious beliefs.
I found that this related to teaching, because teaching is a balancing act in many ways. Teachers have to know their students and how to balance out levels of learners in their classrooms. Teachers also must have a balance of a fun environment while still being able to teach things to their students. I also felt this presenter showed how to make students interested in something. He had a very powerful way of capturing our attention. He used a power point to give us information but didn't load it with too much so that we wouldn't get bogged down by all of it. He also knew what he was talking about which allowed him to have a better interaction with his audience. The last thing I really enjoyed about this lecture was that he never made us think that one view on this was the only view, and he never came right out and said what he believed in.

Chalk and Wire

I thought that during the Chalk and Wire lecture there was a lot of information to process in a short amount of time. I felt like I couldn't really process what she was saying. I think there maybe needed to be more time. I did think it was helpful though. The second part of the lecture was very helpful for me. It allowed me to see where I still needed to go in order to become a music teacher. I also felt like there were still a lot of things to process but we got a hand out which was smart, because now I can just look back at it and see where my time needs to be spent. I liked that she made us really think about the future. Sometimes it seems so far away to me that I don't even feel I will ever get there. She made it seem like such a short time from now, it almost had me worried I wouldn't finish in time! Over all I really thought that this was a productive night in learning new things to help us with our future as teachers.

Blog

I enjoyed learning how to create a blog! I also liked the article we read about the teacher that tried to use "The Freedom Writers Diary." I really found her story interesting, just because of the way the school handled the situation. I felt like everything got a little out of hand in that situation. Did they really need to fire her and tell her that she couldn't have contact with those students anymore. What if those students really were relying on her and her teaching to make their life better? Does this mean that these students will no longer go to classes and just quit school to become like many other people in their life. She could have been that turining point for those students, but the school board and school handled this in a way that I felt was a little too harsh. I hope that nothing like that would happen to me when I teach! I want to help kids learn in a way that makes learning fun and interesting for them.

Lions For Lambs

The movie Lions For Lambs had a really interesting prospective about teaching and it showed what it takes to be a good teacher. Watching this movie showed me that teaching doesn't always mean telling a student their potential but letting them learn for themselves. The teacher in this movie talked to his student and told him that he could get a B by just not showing up to the class. The student then wonders why the teacher is willing to do this, does the teacher think that he is just a let down? As we watched the movie longer I realized that this teacher believed he was like some other students he had, that had an amazing and rare gift. This teacher chose to use a different approach in showing the student his true potential. I thought that going at it in this way was unique and was a very good thing to do in this situation. I think sometimes you have to let students realize for themselves just how gifted they are. Also let students make their own mistakes. This is something people sometimes forget to do. Not everyone is the same and so everyone needs a different push to make them work harder and better for something they are good at. This is exactly what this teacher did for his student.