Inquiry Project

So Frank, Lauren, and I finished our project and poster for the project. It was a ton of work and very stressful but I guess it was worth it. I learned a lot by doing the project. By working in a group of three it was easier I guess for us to get it done. We split our question up into three different subjects. So each of us had to write about three pages each which is really not that bad to do. The poster part was also easy but the hardest part of that was getting together to do that.

Arts High School Visit

I finally visited Arts high and it was yet another good experience. I was assigned to Mr. Mobley who is a physical education teacher in the school. I only got to see him teach to class but it wasn't really a class he could teach. The first part of the class the students had to write an essay for something. And for the other 45 minutes the students had free time. They could do whatever they wanted. Some played basketball and some did homework. This has really opened my eyes to Newark schools especially Arts. I would definitely consider applying for a job there after I graduate. I think it would be a great experience to work there and have a lot of fun teaching there too.

Field Observation #1

I went to my own public school because I could not get in touch with the teacher from Arts. The experience I had there was very helpful, especially for the Inquiry Project. The field observation gave me an inside look at a Physical Education class in a suburban public school and how it was run and how many students were in the class. It also gave me a look on how over weight students are these days. This is one reason why I want to become a Physical Education teacher, to help get kids back in shape and healthy again. The field observation was supposed to be done at Arts but if I can't get a response from a teacher then I can not go and refuse to make a trip up there not knowing if I will be able to get in a observe for a day. Even though the field observation I went on to my public school was very much pointless for this class I gained some knowledge in the Course I want to teach when I am done with college.

Inquiry project

As the end of the semester comes closer and closer the inquiry project is becoming more and more of a problem. I have emailed my teacher from Newark and he has still not responded to them. And quite frankly I'm getting really pissed off about it. I know it was just Thanksgiving and was a short week but is it that hard to respond to an email. This is becoming more and more of a headache. I already set up an appointment at my school from home if he doesn't get back to me by mid week this week because I am done wasting my time with emailing him 500 times. But me, Frank, and Lauren have been getting our information set with the citations and main points are just about ready to sit down and start writing the paper. It might take a couple days to write it and get everything straightened out but hopefully we can get it done before the last day of class because I personally cannot afford an incomplete in this class or else I will not get into the teacher program which will set me back yet another year.

ed.gov website

I think the ed.gov website is a really interesting website. It gives you a chance to look for anything that relates to education in the United States. One topic we had to look at was the No Child Left Behind Act. It let us look into all different articles about it. It has tons of information about it and some interesting facts. It talked about that the funding for the arts is being cut. They are testing reading, math, and more subjects in schools. They also talk about the Title I funding. Which is free or assisted lunch in schools. And that is the % of students living at or below the national poverty level. It also talked about the Abbott Decision which is from Abbott vs. Burke. The case referred to school funding formula that was inequitable and Universal Pre-School.
Also in the article we found differences from the old law to the new law. One difference is the qualifications the teachers need. You can not teacher with out an Associates degree like you used to in the old law. Another difference is the raising of the standards. A lot of school districts are changing the standards to have better schools and having the children learn more.

Annenberg Reading

I think this reading was very interesting. The A, E, I, O, U concept was also very interesting. The exercise we did in class proves that this concept applies to most schools. When we came up with questions we had about Arts High and had to put them under the specific category it fit. I agree with all of the AEIOU concepts and what they say about all of them. I too also think that the promise is in the urban schools because thats where most kids need the most. I also think that diversity does bring creativity. The more diversity the school has the more the students can do with that like; plays, musicals, and many other things. Another important thing that was mentioned in here was that you have to acknowledge the students strengths. This is important because to know what they are strong at makes it easier for you the teacher to teach them the material.

Arts High School

I thought that this school was very interesting. It was definitely a great experience to go there and just listen to the people who spoke to us and also the kids who took us around the school. If and when I graduate Arts High would be one of the schools on the top of my list to teach at in an inner city area. It seemed like the kids had fun while in class and the other teachers that we saw and talked to were all very nice and really seemed like they cared about the kids in their classes. The opportunities that can come for these kids are tremendous. If I get the chance to student teach there I would take it in an instant