Male Role-Models

Today I was in the second grade classroom and we were honored by the U.S. Navy Band, who played Christmas songs for the school. It was a great performance and the kids and faculty seemed to really enjoy it...especially the music teacher...go figure. As I was watching the band I scanned the room to look at all the teachers and I noticed that in the school there is not one male teacher who works there.

If that's not women in the workforce I don't know what is.

I asked the teacher I was working with what the deal was with that ans she said yeah, within the entire school there isn't one male teacher; and she went on to tell me within the district there are only about 3 or 4 male teachers. That was unbelievable to me.

Now I understand men are less likely to teach elementary school just because that is usually covered by the women, mainly because we have more patience. However, I do see some problems with not having any men around. Not because they are nice to look at but if an elementary school only has women teachers...who are the boys supposed to look up to? Boys that might not have fathers in the home need a male role model and if they are not present in early ages of development then a gap is created. If the boy finally gets a male teacher in middle school all is not lost but it makes it difficult to take direction from a male.

I am all for women being in the workforce I think it's great, it really shows men whose boss...just a little humor. But I also think it appropriate to say that men need to man up and get in the elementary schools...the kids need you!

Holiday Vacations

I think being a teacher is great. Not only do you get to enrich the lives of students but you get vacations off while doing so. Many people think being a teacher is easy, and many think that anyone can be a teacher...this is highly false. Being a teacher takes years of patience and practice to do it right. A great teacher can teach you more than just what's in the text book or what's on the test. A great teacher teaches you about life and the unfair things that happen during it. And for that difficult job I think teachers deserve everyday off they get, which just so happens to include Christmas and Thanksgiving break. Those breaks are also well deserved considering that most of the time during the year is spent worry about teaching and worrying about lesson plans and school, that families tend to get the bad end of the stick in this deal.

Many teachers like my own mother get saw caught up in their jobs that families tend to be second on the list. This means that those breaks that teachers get off can be spent with their families catching up on details in each others lives. I think teachers deserve their breaks and I don't think anyone has the right to say that teachers have it easy and that they don't deserve their breaks. They "babysit" your kids so that you can go out and do your job....and babysitting kids is not easy.

Inclusion

For my education class we have to do a group project and my group is doing it on inclusion programs in schools. Now I understand the purpose of inclusion ,but I don't agree with how it is sometimes and often run; I don't believe that they are the most beneficial option for children with learning disabilities. Many schools are now introduction inclusion programs because they are cheaper method than having the special education students separated. Now in many ways this is beneficial, but it isn't to all students and many officials ignore it. Students who cannot handle inclusion classrooms fall behind and often have lower self esteems due to the awareness of the knowledge gap within the classroom.

Now while I was starting my research I asked my teacher what I should really be looking for and what should I really be answering. And after going back and forth with ideas, she asked me what to think about what I think about inclusion programs and then find out what officials said about them and look and the stats for them. She said if whatever the stats were was what was correct. After hearing all of this I realized I can't give a 8 minute speech on something I believe isn't true. Getting up there and saying that inclusion is good when I believe is it isn't. But I guess in a sense being a teacher is about putting your beliefs aside and teaching....Duh.

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving Break is the first vacation the kids get from school; they get so excited because it means no school for a week! Not only do the students enjoy it, but the teachers are quiet fond of break as well. No lesson plans, no students, no teachers, no school; it's quite a relaxing week without school.

But back to reality, Sunday night when everyone is scrambling to get their homework and laundry done to get ready to back to the school jungle.

But there's hope!

Only 3 weeks until lucky college students are released, but about another week for the elementary and high schools. I think it's a known fact that once Thanksgiving comes around you know you're in the clear for limited school days; at least until New Years is over and then your next break isn't until spring.

From a student's perspective I think the holidays are great! It's a nice end to the semester and spring break is a nice welcoming of spring and luckily it isn't too far from New Years.

I Really Don't Know How They Do It

While I was at work on Thursday I noticed that the second graders were extremely lively today. Not that it is a bad thing, but it is exhausting. The class has 20 students with a cap of 24. Being there with 20 second graders I can tell you that if I had to run the classroom all by myself I would most likely have a break down within the first month. I have total respect for any elementary school teacher.

The chalk board had the list of things to be done for the day and the students were on a roll. When it came time for their math journals things got hectic, it seems that all second graders want help at the same exact time and they expect total focus on them at all times. This is incredibly exhausting. My teacher thanked me at the end of the day and told me that it was incredible to have me there to help, I said no problem I would be begging for help if I did this everyday by myself.

Now I am not a parent but I do know that I did this as a kid. I was sitting helping one student with a math problem when this eager student who is so fun came up to me and asked for my help. I said I would be done in one second and too wait patiently. Second graders do not know what patiently means. I turned back around and not 2 minutes later I get a tap tap tap on my shoulder and the tapping doesn't end until my attention is turned back around to this eager student. When I finally turn I cannot be mad or aggravated because of the huge smile that I am looking back at. Once I finally help the line of students that has been created math time is over and it's time for reading.

Second graders are a blast but I think second grade teachers are more amazing. They need to be the energizer bunny to keep up with the kids. However if I didn't want to be an English teacher I would most defiantly be a 2nd grade teacher.

Elementary Classroom

Currently I have a job in a Rhode Island elementary school, 2nd grade specifically. Today while I was there I was talking to the teacher and she was explaining to me how difficult it is to be 1 teacher of a class of 20 second graders when the class includes mainstreamed kids. She told me that there is a special ed teacher that comes in and helps but that sometimes makes things harder. She said they do not team teach and each of them is set out to do their own thing, making it hard on the child because they are involved with 2 different teachers with 2 different teaching styles. When I found out that it wasnt only high schools that were being mainstreamed I was really surprised. I think that mainstreaming elementary kids is good and bad. I think its good because it allows kids with certain disabilities to be involved in normal social activity and allows for normal relationships to be formed but at the same time the first years of education are crucial and I think they need to be formalized better.

Schools in RI are slowly seeing a downfall in special education and it is a real shame, these kids are young and they need the correct resources to succeed, putting them in a mainstream classroom will either have a great affect on them or a completely negative affect. I can understand mainstreaming at a high school level because the student is developed and understands better but at a young age it is very hard to understand the difference.

Regarding the Holiday

Since it is almost Halloween I have some comments on schools and this wonderful holiday.

Now I am not quite sure about this but I know in recent years schools have discouraged wearing costumes during school because of violence and all those other reasons why kids cant have fun. Now I am not talking about middle schoolers, and high schoolers, I am talking just elementary. I totally understand the reasoning for why middle schoolers are not allowed to wear costumes.

BUT... how come elementary schoolers are discouraged? I think wearing costumes in elementary school is a great idea, it lets kids know that adults are excited about the day too, and want to encourage the holiday. When I was in elementary school Halloween was a blast; we got extra credit for wearing our costumes and we got to have a party in the classroom, sometimes with the other classes too. We used to play games, and parents would come in for some arts and crafts. Now I know that parents are sometimes too busy for this involvement in the kid's school during the day, but I know it was always great to have a fun day for such a fun holiday. It let students break loose for a little while and relax from school stress and routine.

Also to back up my reasoning I believe that Halloween allows the child to show their extreme individuality and be who they want for a day, without having to worry about being ridiculed. I think it's great to celebrate Halloween and I think it needs to be in the schools more, and why shouldn't it be, this way teachers dont have to worry about teaching about religious issues like Christmas and Hanukah.