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End of semester reflection...

Wowzers. Are we really here? Time flies when your sitting in front of your computer! Now, down to business. I could give you the sugar coated version of what I thought about this class... or I could be brutally honest. I think I'll be brutally honest.

This class was one of the worst experiences of my academic life. But I would do it again in a heart beat. I learned SO much from this class! I hated every minute of it because I was totally out of my comfort zone and felt like an idiot, but in the end I really truly learned a great deal of information. And for that I am grateful. I am so glad that I took this class because I am much more comfortable with technology now. I feel super cool now because I have a blog and I know how to use google docs and box.net and how to create links! BTW, (thats by-the-way just in case ya didn't know) I'm also a YouTube addict now. I really do feel like a technology superstar. It came at a great price to get here though. I would get so frustrated with my computer when I was trying to figure out how to do homework for this class. I cried a few times and even threw my $2,000.000 computer across my bedroom once... (I swear I don't have anger management problem... I just like to throw things) Needless to say, this class frustrated me to the bone but it also helped me a great deal in learning things that I will need to know in the future as a teacher.

So in the notorius words of Kip from Napolean Dynamite...

"Yes, I love technology. Not as much as you, you see. But I still love technology. Always and Forever."

To see Kip in action, click here.

Class Reflection #10

I just read an article in the newspaper that said that informal writing is creeping into teen students homework assignments. Students apparently are putting "LOL" and other abbreviated terms on their formal writing assignments. These terms (LOL, OMG, etc...) are called emoticons. I did not know that. The Pew Internet and American Life Project (the folks that did a study on the subject) found that students 'who keep blogs or use social-networking sites such as Facebook or MySpace have a greater tendency to slip nonstandard elements into assignments.' I thought this was interesting, and notice that I also do this myself. I regularly put a :) (smiley face) on most of my emails. Is this improper to do? How formal do you keep an email to a professor or prospective employer? Thoughts...? Here is a link to the article.

Class Reflection #9

I asked my cooperating teacher if the class that I observed this semester had a classroom website. She job shares with another woman who has like 3 or 4 degrees in education. The two of them decided that they did not have a need for a classroom website. I couldn't believe it! How can one get so many degrees in education and reach the conclusion that a classroom website is not necessary?! I feel like every teacher should have a class website! Parents want to know what their kids are up to. What better way to fill them in than to have a class website??? I really was shocked that they felt that they didn't need one. As a teacher I will always have a regularly updated class website. I'll take an oath to it right now. I didn't feel this way before I took tech. ed. I thought that it seemed like a cool idea, but now i see it as an absolute necessity.

Class Reflection #8

For the longest time I have wanted to teach at a public school in the suburbs. Private school is out of the question. For reasons that I will not divulge into right now for the sake of whoever is reading this... Recently I watched the documentary 'Mad Hot Ballroom' in Professor Kobashigawa's class and I really enjoyed the film. Its set in public elementary schools in Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx/Spanish Harlem in New York City. After watching the teacher-student dynamic at the inner-city schools in this film I am much more open to teaching in the city now. I think that it would be a really good experience to teach in the inner city schools of Seattle for a couple of years. I can imagine that their supply of technological equippment is far smaller than suburban elementary schools. It would be neat if Paul Allen or some rich dude would donate a bunch of computers to a school like Chief Sealth High School in Seattle.

Class Reflection #7

My last day of class at Edmonds Elementary was totally bitersweet. I was so glad to be done and moving on but I also will miss the second graders tremendously. I got really annoyed by my teacher because she focused on all of the negativities in the classroom so much. She was very nice to me but I am excited to be done with her. I fell in love with the kids though. They all tackled me with hugs when i left and almost knocked me over a few times! They were so sad to see me leave and it warmed my heart. I told them that I would would go on walks in their neighborhood this summer and hopefully bump into them. They described what their bikes and helmets looked like so that I would be able to find them riding on the street... :) Too cute. I REALLY will miss those kids. I think I am officially a supporter of Bill Gates idea to have teachers stay with one group of students for a prolonged period of time. Saying goodbye is just too hard! I get too attached!

Class Reflection #6

I noticed that Liz has a link to a website on how to create safe and comfortable environments for gay and lesbian students on her blog. It seems that most christians disagree with gay rights. Some christians think that because gay and lesbian students are living in sin, they should not be accomodated by the school and their teachers. I was reading in the newspaper yesterday that Pastor Ken Hutcherson led a protest at Mount Si High School against the school observing a 1 or 3 minute silence for all of the gay/lesbian students who face mockery from their peers and feel pressured to live 'in the closet'. The protestors argued that this had nothing to do with academics and was a waste of school time. They held signs that said 'We want education, not indoctrination'. Some 200 students didn't show up for school because they disagreed with the moment of silence because it went against their religious beliefs.

As christians, especially as christian teachers, how are we to handle this??? It seems like its becoming a big topic in public schools. I believe that we are called to love all people and accept them where they are at. How would all of you handle the protests led by Hutcherson? Would you participate in the moment of silence for gay/lesbian students? What would Jesus do if he were a teacher at Mt. Si High School? What would he do if he were the principal of the high school? Any thoughts?

Here is link to a related article about the protest.