Field Post 1

Interpretations:

• When the one kid was playing with the pencil, it looked like he was prentending it was an airplane. 
• Some kids sang while they were doing their work because it helped them focus and concentrate on their work.
• As one kid was playing with the play dough, he kept smacking each word on the table when he was done. He also kept making construction noises so it was almost like he thought he was a spelling machine. 

Descriptions:

• It is was very quiet in the classrooms.
• They each had different groups and did different stations.
• One kid was playing with his pencil while trying to do his homework.
• In each classroom, there was a system for when the kids were bad or good. They would have a cardboard sheet with 3 sections saying "Good, Okay and Bad". The kids wold move their pin with their name on it to each section if the teacher told them to.
• One girl was making lots of different words with play dough.
• There was a "time to think" desk, which means it was a time out place. 

Reflection: When I went to Noble Elementary School, it was not at all what I expected. I thought I would fall in love with the 1st or 2nd graders, solidifying my major and future occupation. Instead, I thought they were cute but it looked a little overwhelming. My group only visited a 1st grade and 2nd grade classroom at Noble. I wish we visited an older classroom like a 4th grade classroom or 3rd grade room. During the classroom discussion, I kept hearing people talk about how incredibly nice the 3rd and 4th graders were and how they were very well-behaved. I would have liked to seen how different the older classrooms differed with the younger classrooms. I still liked the second graders but I think the first grade children were too young for me. They were extremely energetic and a little crazy at times. All the kids were really nice and friendly though all together. It was very fun and I can't wait for the next field experience! 

Education Specialists (blogpost 3)

After the reading and class discussion, one question that kept popping up in my brain is why do "education specialists" think that they know what's best for the students when in reality, they know nothing? From the reading, Ayers shows how the people from "central office" say that children who are acting out are on the spectrum. Or that the classroom should have no where to play and only desks. I just find it interesting that there has been all this research on how children should learn, yet we are going in the opposite direction. For example, scientists say that children have a hard time focusing on a subject early in the morning but schools are still starting at 6:30 in the morning. It is just very ironic.

why do I want to be a teacher? (blogpost 2)

I think that I always knew that I wanted to be a teacher. I have always loved kids. I have always enjoyed seeing that spark go off in their head when they get an answer correct. And I have always imagined myself as someone who can change their life.

It all started when I saw my mom teach. She currently teaches 8th grade math in NY. My mom would bring me to her classroom and watch her teach when I was about 6 years old. I was amazed at how she was so great with the kids and how much the kids loved her. This is only one reason that I want to teach.

Another reason is that I have such a great connection with younger children. I know how they think and how they act. I can adapt to each child and how they understand content. I like them and they like me. I also enjoy how the children can teach me things everyday. Even though they are very young, they can still enlighten me.

Teaching would not be just a profession for me. It would be my life, and my time to make a difference in a child's life. If I only change one child's life in my career of teaching, it would be worth it. I am very excited to pursue my dream as a teacher.

getting to know me (blogpost 1)

Hello, my name is Caitlin Fitzsimmons! I am from Rochester, NY (about 4 hours from Cleveland). I would like to major in Early Childhood Education. And if all things go as planned, I would like to be a 1st or 2nd grade teacher. However, I am also thinking about being a special education teacher for younger children in elementary school.

One interesting fact about me is that I just recently became a vegetarian. A couple factors came into play to influence me to give up meat. One is I am a huge animal rights activist. The meat factories where almost all meat is from, is extremely inhumane and can be terrible for human health. Another reason is that I took an Environmental course my senior year in high school and it opened my eyes as to how bad meat production factories are for the environment.

Having that said, I chose a article on National Geographic (link below) about climate change and what that means for our future. I am really passionate about the environment because nature is such a beautiful thing and we as humans are destroying it at an exponential rate. We cannot live without the environment. Once the environment is too damaged to restore, it will be too late for us. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/05/160523-climate-change-study-eight-degrees/

For me to be comfortable to take risks in a college classroom, I would have to know that my classmates and professor won't judge me and respect my point of view on certain subjects. I also want my classmates and my teacher to be understanding if I don't understand a specific topic or if I get an answer wrong. Just overall respect in the classroom from everyone is really important to me.

My favorite moment as a student was when I was a senior in high school in Sociology class. We were watching a movie on how the media portrays women. It was so impactful to me. It showed how girls today around 10 years old are starving themselves to be like the models they see in every social media. It was just very eye opening to me that girls as young as 10 did that to themselves.

My mom is currently an 8th grade math teacher, so I am very familiar with some problems in education. Just recently common core changed how and what teachers are teaching to their students. However, that would require teachers to change almost everything like their lesson plans and even the material they know. It's good for us young teachers because we are currently learning how to be teachers but it is very bad for the teachers who already have jobs. Another problem is that it's hard to find a job as a teacher. Personally, I know a lot of unemployed young teachers searching for even just a subbing opportunity. And one last problem I've heard about is that teachers don't get enough credit from society and they don't make a ton of money. I find it interesting that we are forming children's minds and teaching them skills they will use in life yet, teachers aren't really valued.

Question for classmates: where is everyone from and what kind of education is everyone studying?
Question for Dr. Shutkin: where are you from and what's your favorite part of teaching this class?