Thursday, October 30, 2014


Blog Post Number 9

This week in class we talked a lot about what a good class is like. One main aspect I would love is to have a good class size. It is important to have a reasonable size because the relationship between the student and the teacher can grow. I would say the perfect size would be about 20 students. I did some observation at Mayfield High School and one class I was in had 28 students. The teacher could not do anything about the size it was hard for him to maintain control of the class. It was seen that he had some relationships but with such a big class it was difficult to have relationships with everyone. Also keeping the class quiet was difficult.
Another big aspect of a good school I believe is the qualities a teacher has. A teacher needs to be enthusiastic, caring, understanding, and have many other qualities. Being enthusiactic is huge because it can dictate the whole class, if everyone is willing to learn the upbeat energy will only make them want to learn more. Being caring is also huge. Teachers caring for the student is awesome. I remember this one teacher who actually called me and would talk to me all the time. I had a bad family incident and he would talk to me everyday. It made me feel valuable and I knew he cared. That is why I want to teach to help people out through tough times and make them feel special. Also not even a teacher last year helped me out so much last year. He was in charge of campus ministry and he helped me through so much it was unbelievable. He helped me find God and become a loving person who helps those in need. Finally being understanding is huge. A teacher has to listen to what the student has to say. The teacher is someone a student looks up to and trusts.
Teachers are a very unique because in a short time they can become very close to a person. An adult making such a good connection with a child is difficult enough. But teachers manage to do it somehow.  

Monday, October 27, 2014


Blog Post
Cleveland Heights High School

Mr. Oakley

Mr. Oakley who was a student teacher was amazing. If I was told he was the real teacher I would have defiantly believed it. As a student teacher he had a great student-teacher relationship. When he would make a mistake he would admit it, he realized he won't be perfect. I believe that is a huge part of being a teacher is admitting when you are wrong. One cool thing he did was show different styles. It is cool because as a teacher you have a different style. Style is what separates a good teacher from a great teacher. Part of Mr. Oakley's style was how energetic he was.  His energy was enough for the whole class. The students fed off the energy and the class was excited to learn. One thing I liked was he complimented his students. When his students answered something correct he would say something like  " Great job keep up the good work". The students really appreciated that.
Mr. Oakley did a great job pushing his students. He wanted the students to answer the questions. When he asked a question everyone's hand would go up. In classes I have observed not a lot of hands would go up and I believe it is because of the energy he brought to the classroom. When helping students individually he would get on one knee and get down to their level. They would make eye contact while working. That shows a great relationship between each other.
He gave them a reward at the end of class. He gave them 5 free minutes for doing great work in class for the day. That is what happens they felt good at the end knowing they did good and they get rewarded. If students do great they get rewarded if they do something bad they will get punished it is as simple as that. Mr. Oakley shows a very bright future for the teaching industry.

Friday, October 24, 2014



Blog Post 8


 Blog 8 is a continued blog from number 7. Blog 7 was mainly talking about how to build bridges. To me the building of the bridges is building relationships. The student teacher relationship is one of the most important in a child's life. Teachers are mentors to the student, the teacher can have such a huge impact on a person. Students remember teachers from their grade school days. I personally have a very good relationship with my first grade teacher. Her and I connected when I was in her class and our relationship is continued today. She is responsible for the kind of person I am today. Without her I would not be the person I am today. Also I may not be here. She is someone when I have problems that I can talk to, she helped me in certain situations.
The student relationship with a teacher can be a literal life changer. Teachers who do not respect the student or treat them as inferior hurt the student. They hurt the student could have problems with their confidence in that subject and in life overall because of a teacher. I have been blessed to where I did not let any teacher effect me in such a negative way.
When I become a teacher I understand I cannot have amazing relationships with every student. But I can have a good relationship. A relationship where they feel comfortable with me and I am not the teacher they dislike. I want to make certain relationships that are close where I am close with a certain amount of students throughout my career to where I can help them. Myself wanting to teach high school I could help them through the whole college process. High school is a difficult time for some people and if I could help them through those times I would be happy with the bridges that my students and I made.

Thursday, October 16, 2014



Blog Post # 7

I believe Ayers is absolutely correct with the statement about a lousy teacher. A great teacher should defiantly be able to connect with the students. That is where I believe the bridge meets. The one end of the bridge is the teacher. The other end is the student. Being able to find a common ground is such a huge impact in a classroom.  Two examples of a bridge could be that the student has to go the whole way over the bridge. Meaning the student does all the work, learns it on their own while the teacher only gives them the assignments and the tests. Another bridge could be the teacher going the entire way. The teacher handing them all the knowledge not making the student work at all. That is why it is important to have a good common area in a classroom. The expectations should be known for the whole class.
I am going to plan teacher experience at my former school. I am going to tutor students who need help in math. I have talked to teachers there for my opportunity to help students. Helping struggling students is a big part of a classroom I believe. The only negative is that I will understand one aspect of the teaching world. I will not know how to deal with smart students. Being able to find a common ground between how to help the excelling students and the struggling students. The obvious answer is put more attention to the struggling students. The classroom life for a teacher is completely different then any of us can even imagine. It is a different experience. Being able to teach in front of 20 students is difficult. The main reason being people are judging in all sense. Also keeping the class entertaining so the students feel involved the whole time.

Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Field Post Beachwood Middle School

When we attended Beachwood middle school it was very interesting. The first class I visited was Mr. Millers math class. The class had a very normal room set up. White board up front by his desk. The students had straight rows. While I was watching Mr. Millers actions I could tell he connected with the students very well. He was able to make little jokes at each student. One student talked up and Mr. Miller said he lost his job whatever it was, later on he gave him the job back. It was easy to see that the two had a good relationship. He emphasized what his others students did. What I mean is mistakes made in the other classes. Repeats examples from other classes that the students remember. He also did examples that related to the students it seemed like. Whatever they enjoyed he would talk about in a sense. He asks repeatedly if they understand the concepts. He informed them that asking questions is okay, nothing is wrong with not knowing information. Towards the end of class he let them get in groups and do homework. He gave them a compliment saying "you guys were so good today we will end early and you can start homework." Almost giving them incentive to keep doing good in class. While they were working a student asked a question he got down on one knee at her level and listened to her question really caring for the student.
The second classroom I visited was Mrs. Urbanski. She was a very different teacher. The first information I have down is she immediately talked down to her students. It seemed like the class was a dictatorship. If you do anything wrong you seemed to get yelled at. She tried to get the students to laugh but would get frustrated right after. Some good things I thought she did was she had students go up to the board and right on it.  Making them feel very involved. Also she asked what steps they like doing the most when it came to the Greatest Common Factor.
I could tell the two classes were very different. The first seemed like the class you always picture. The second was one you thought would never happen. The students all seemed to enjoy the first class and understood the information fine. The second they did not seem happy even though they understood the information. Overall it was a great first experience.  

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Blog Post #6
BlogPostIT


One section that I put postit notes on was the first section which mainly talked about teachers being on a different level than the student. The book would say the teachers teach, the students learn. The teachers enforce, the students follows etc. I thought reading that a great teacher can teach but also has the students on the same level. The teacher should not be higher up they should look to make each student feel good. I want to ask the question of the word choice. Why do they use the word "enforce"? Using that word makes it sound like a dictatorship and the teacher has the ultimate power and there is not compromise or anything just the teacher running the show. I feel that the students should give input on how to make the class more enjoyable. Possibly a 5 minute break so they can relax for a little bit. Or maybe a student tries to explain the lesson after it has been taught. That would not only help with the understanding of each lesson but also the confidence of each child.
Another section I put a post it note on was the section about just putting information in their heads to have them pass. I dislike that section a lot. The reason is that if teachers make the class boring the student will not want to learn. Also if the teacher is not trying to help the student. They should not look at students only as passing, but actually trying to use the knowledge in life. If a teacher can explain how it is helpful the student would be more interested in the information. A teacher saying " do the work because I told you to, and because you need to if you want to pass this class." Is a terrible excuse. Tell the student it is at least part of the curriculum. My one teacher in high school in math told us some valuable information. She said " you are learning this because I want you to. I am the boss here you are the worker. You'll see in the real world you will do work that you see as pointless but the boss wants to be finished and you will do that work." That is the absolute truth.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

BlogSpot #5


In my whole schooling experience I have never really been taught or been told anything about homophobia's or heterosexism. I am glad that I was never taught about either topic. It is a topic where we need to find out about it and create our own views. As a child we are told to be nice to everyone, so naturally we are. I have friends who like the same sex I personally do not care. I knew the person before they told me. My view on the person did not change I still was friends with the person. He asked me one day " How come you never acted different once I told you I was gay?" I responded without hesitating saying " Why does it matter? If you were gay or straight you have always been a good friend to me, so nothing is going to change." I felt a little offended when he asked for the sole reason that he thought I would change my view on him. Honestly if someone likes someone let them be it is their business. Basically I learned everything about both topics by myself. I reacted fine the reason is I stuck with what I was taught as a child and that is to treat everyone with respect.
Some topics that Rofes talked about are how boys have to fit the tough style. That a boy who wants to play with dolls, necklaces, and other girly stuff will be picked on. I believe that is ridiculous. Each human is different and can do whatever they want to make them happy. We should not have labels for our children n let them do what makes them happy. When Rofes talks about understanding childhood he refers to being born gay and saying he was not born gay it was the house he grew up in. I personally believe you are born gay just as I was born straight. Understanding that nothing is wrong with how you were born. We need to let our child do what they want for fun, not judging them making them do stuff they do not enjoy.
I believe school should be a place where the children feel safe and can be themselves. I hope that when I am teaching I can help those who feel scared about telling people the truth and let them know I am in their corner. My vision is that people who are brave enough to tell others they are gay will not be tormented for their actions but treated equally.