Education Essay, Research Paper

“How about I believe in the unlucky ones? If I don’t I’d probably go crazy.”(Laura Dern, October Sky) This could arguably be the most important line in the entire movie, in my opinion. This teacher recognizes the potential in every student, not only the ones with visible ability. This, I would hope, would be the goal of every teacher.

Teachers have the greatest gift in the world – - the ability to help shape a student’s life. Recognized and appreciated he or she can use that to present a world of opportunities to those who may not have had any. This was true in “October Sky”; the “Rocket Boys” were from a small failing mining community, where little expectations were placed on them and even less opportunities were available. When Dern’s character was accused of giving the boys false hopes she held her grounds and continued to support the boys. This to me is an example of a great teacher, one who will continue to do what he or she thinks is right regardless of whether it earns her the disapproval of the rest of the staff.

The movie “October Sky” gives a very positive representation of a teacher. She is a role model, a friend, a source of information, a defender, and a fighter. She is portrayed as compassionate, understanding, and very beneficial in keeping the students directed toward their goals. This would seem to say that teachers need these qualities in order to fully relate to their students. A teacher can not only be there for informational needs, but must also stand behind her students and be prepared to defend their rights to discover themselves.

A teacher should be prepared to recognize hidden potential; it is in almost every student. This is a difficult task, especially if the student also brings great adversity, however, it is not impossible; Dern’s character realized this. Every teacher will have a student in their classroom with hidden ability; despite the student’s possibility for greatness, the great teacher will be measured by her ability to see the potential inside that student.

As a teacher, I would want all of my students to feel comfortable in thier

learning. To do this I would try to focus on all five dimensions of multiculturla education. I belive

the first step I wouls attempt to take to be the prejudice reduction. Sometimes this can lead to

destruction in a child’s life so I feel it necessary to assure the child’s safty within my classroom.

The Equity pedagogy would be the next step I would take so that each child would then feel

comfortable in his learning environment. The remaining steps share importance in my opinion as

they focus on the envolvement the child may have with in his eduacation process.

Each child should be able to learn and understand his history as it applies to

him; not only as persons who wrote the texts thought it should be represented.

Often times texts are judgemental and rascist comming accross as a good verses bad

mentality. It is wrong to influence a child to a history that would make his culture seem

evil. Every society has it’s dark corners and blame often times should be shared. I

would try my hardest as a teacher to research texts to find one that is neutral and

informative; this is so that each child may benifit from learning a fair history. If a suitable

text could not be found I would suggest to the children that they bring in some sort of

history to the classroom as a sort of show and tell.

A show and tell mentality could be very beneficial to all students.This does not putting

culture on display to be gawked at, but rather active participation in learning. By making a

child active in is learning you then open the gates to an entire new will to learn. If the child

feels comfortable enough, you could assume he would try to begin learning on his own.

However for a child to reveal parts of his family and culture he has to be confident in the

classroom. This mean an equality within the school walls.

Each child must feel safe at school and anything he shares will be respected and without

judgement. I would try my hardest to make each child understand he is special and deserves

the attention of the other students. I would like them to appreciate the differences and learn

from them. I would hate to think a child could be racist or biased against another but if it was

in my power, I would like to try to help the hostility or bitterness between them. This show

and tell could be the perfect solution.

Perhaps another way to teach children about differences would be to roleplay. This

would have to be with older students and younger children may not be able to fully

understand the concept of the activity. However, to have plays or small skits on different

cultures that the children themselves must research –under close supervision of the teacher–

they could be introduced to a culture and see it through it’s own eyes. I feel this would be a

very difficult but meaning experiance.

Another good method of understanding different cultures are through that society’s films.

There are many excellent foriegn films available to introduce a child to other cultures. Along

this same route are cultural shows. When I was in highschool the spanish club went to a trip to

see The Multicultured Performers. True, what we saw were mostly the rituals and displays of

dress of these societies, but there was an act called “storytime” where the actors would

demonstrate the same historical experiance as explained through each culture. This was a very

worthwhile event, in my opinion. Such an experiance would be wonderful for a child; a great

way to attract him to the culture at an early age.

When a child no longer feels categorized he can break through stereotyped roles to

grow both intellectually and culturally. Stimulating a child in the classroom is one of the most

important things in his development.I feel that teachers have the responsibility to give students

an equal experiance and “going the extra mile” should be necessary and not just something

that the great teachers do.Observation & Interview

Interview

Recently, I have noticed a decreasing number of sisters teaching at the elementary

level. With the decrease of religious in teaching comes an increase of laiety and often

times this means less experiance as would be expected with a lack of years. For my

interview, I had decided to talk to Sister to understand some of

her philosopies of education. From this interview I expected to learn what sisters brought

to the field of education–knowing that one person cannot represent an entire group, but

also hoping she could at least give me a general feel for the topic. The following are the

results of my interview session with Sister Evelyn.

Q: What aspects of teaching are most important, in your opinion?

Sister: It is very important to communicate to children a sense of moral issues. This is

necessary to give them a good start in life. Morals will also help a child to learn

proper behavior, how those actions affect others, as well as learning respect for

others and by that earning it for themselves.

Q: What type of memorization do you emphasize for students?

Sister: I follow the 1/2 and 1/2 rule– meaning, 1/2 memorization and 1/2 explanation

and reading. There is a certain amount of memory work that is required; but with this

the child must be able to understand what he is learning. i.e. It is not enough for the

child to merely recite back to you the text, he must be able to explain what he is

reciting–thus proving he truely has learned the concept of the lesson. The subject

matter involved is equally important. For example…the definition of math rules must be

morized to prepare the child with information to draw back upon later in life.

Q:Why did you become a teacher?

Sister: Teaching has always been my vocation, it has been for 51 years of my teaching

experiance. Even as a child I would play teacher with the neighborhood children. I feel

that by becoming a teacher I was given a gift to share knowledge with many students.

Thru teaching I really feel a great contribution on my part.

Q:How do you handle a disturbance in class?

Sister: I have been very fortunate with the children I have taught; there have been very

few disturbances. However, if there is a problem in class I would ask the child to see

me after class, at recess, or after school. I never send a child out of the room or

reprimand her in front on her peers, as I feel this is detrimental to the child’s self esteem

as well as her interaction with authority figures.

I feel that children obey the rules set forth by religious teachers more so than that of lay

teachers. Somehow I believe a child looks at lay teachers as a parent image which

would then allow for more open contact, maybe a little less respect. Healthy interaction

between the teacher and student is necessary however, it must not be at the cost of

authority. To lose this would be to lose the respect and credibility that comes with it.

Q: Do you like to get involved in students’ personal lives?

Sister:If a child comes to me first for help, I would be willing to assist in any way I am

able. If I would see a child who looked sad or dejected, I would ask if anything was

wrong or if they wanted to talk during their free time; however much they choose to

reveal to me is their decision.

Q: How do you view your role as a teacher?

Sister: I try my best to be a role model for the students. I feel it is a priviledge to be a

teacher and hope to present myself that way, both for the students and my own benefit.

My role is to touch many lives with the gift of knowledge.

Q:How important do you think a comfortable environment is to a student’s learning?

Sister: Everyone works and advances better in a comfortable environment. This means

that necessary items compatible for teaching should be in every classroom. I feel

children this type of comfort inorder to begin learning. There should be nothing

intimidating or overwhelming in the classroom that would be detrimental to the

student.Some children come from a stressed-out home. They need to feel secure at

school, happy to see their friends, and join in as part of the group.

Q:Who choses the content i.e. “the text books” and do the children have a choice in their

envolvement?

Sister: In our schoo the Archdiocese mandates certain text books to be used at each

school. However, we are given a selection from which to choose. The children follow

the teachings of the school and usually conformto the choices made by their teachers.

However they are given selections for extra credit readings, mostly chosen by the

students, but the teachers have the final say over whether it is acceptable.

Q:What type of reasoning do you use: deductive or inductive?

Sister: I choose inductive reasoning– I try to start out with a particular theme then

allow the children’s minds to go in many general directions.

After the selected questions were answered, Sister Evelyn felt a need to state an

additional comment on the role of religion in a child’s learning experiance:

Sister: I feel Religion plays an essential part in a child’s education. I feel there is a

basic need for reflection each day. Even in public schools, a moment of silence allows

the child to start each day with inner peace and need for guidance so that he may grasp

all of life’s information.

Observation

I also chose to observe Sister Evelyn’s class which consisted of students in grades

fourth through sixth. I have pulled some of my conclusions from the observation

however, I was able to support them with some of Sister’s comments from the

interview. In my interpretation of Sister Evelyn’s teaching methods I found her to be an

Essentialist. She believed in discipline and a system – oriented method of teaching.

Although, because she teaches in the Archdiocese, I felt this Philosophical Orientation

may have been the result of a long enforced way of teaching. By this I mean Sister fell

into the habit of educating in this manner. I believe this because I saw examples of

Progressivism and Exisentialism surface in her classroom. She often seemed very

concerned with her students and whether she was giving them what they needed,

contradicting her Essentialist side. Many times in the interview she hinted at what I had

seen while observing her; i.e. she was an Exisentialist at heart. She would help the

students to understand why they would need this information later in life, or at least try

to. This seems difficult to do with children at this age, but they did show a contentment

with their learning which suggests to me a true Exisentialist learning.

I have seen examples of all the Psychological Orrientations within Sister Evelyn’s

classroom. With Humanism I think one must be carefull not to over step the boundaries

of acceptable involvement. Too much focus on the child’s needs and an overabundance

of freedom can lead to negative effects. For example: if a child recieves too much

attention it could lead to a feeling of confinement or a need to maintain that close

attention, i.e. distuptive behavior as an attempt to gain the attention yet again. This is

where I saw Sister’s behaviorist side. She expected a respect from the students and a

controlled environment. This is what she recieved. The students accepted her an an

authority figure but also appeared comfortable with her. Throughout the class they would

interacted and offered their involvement. I noticed that they were reinforced for this. The

student believed the ones who did “the best they could” that day would get to choose

their activity for the next day. I later learned that Sister rotated the “best student”so that

each child would have an equal opportunity to feel reinforced. This suggests to me

Contructivism as well. She understood each child’s reasons and meanings and reacted

accordingly. Sister knew what each child in the class needed in terms of their learning

experiance, and I could see, by the expressions on the student’s faces, that they could

understand what she was trying to do for them. Sister Evelyn has a wonderful interaction

with her students and in my opinion is a terrific teacher. When the students appear to

enjoy being in the classroom, I feel the teacher has done her job.

Vouchers

The voucher system would allow parents a greater choice in their child’s future. There

would be a flexibility open to parents from the cut and dry. The voucher system could give

them the opportunity to find the best school for their child’s individual needs. Parents

could take the tiime to visit and assess different schools within their reach. With the

benefits of the voucher they could send their child to a school that otherwise may not be in

their financial reach.

There are arguments from public schools that “funds” would be cut from their schools and

given over to the private schools if the voucher system was in place. However, I feel the

good of the child should be paramount. The costs that my be cut from certain “extras” in

public schools would still be funding the equity of the private school child.

Vouchers would not foster narow self-interest or escape mentality, rather they would

allow the parent to broaden their child’s awareness of what schools can offer on the private

sector, namely better class size, teacher training and a deeper respect for a more rigid class

teaching. Issuing a decree that private schools, by their nature, are shielded from

guaranteeing students the rights of due process and freedom of speach is untrue in my

opinion. There is a greater flexibiility for the “private” school child to open their minds

and express their thoughts due to the greater devotion of acceptance of the individual

child’s niche in the class.

Religious and private educational roots are great treasures. Only the well-rooted can bring

forth the abundant harvest. Parents have an obligation to give their children a learning

environment that natures wisdom; the voucher system enables this end result.

Cons

In defense of not using vouchers there has always been a seperation between church and

state. If vouchers were used, there may be more stringent guidelines that would be

mandated for the private school to follow. The private school may be forced to open up

their policies and rules with a strong-hold from government money. For example, there

may be requirements to release information on test scores, attendance and so forth.

If the voucher system would be in force would there be one step forward with one step

behind. There may be less freedom for the parent to choose a school if they do not have

the full fiinancial amount necessary, minus voucher to send the child to a particular school.

Vouchers could also have the potential to restrict children from utilizing the private school

due to their entry level. They may not have the full advantage of their peers who are

already familiar with the system.Vouchers

The voucher system would allow parents a greater choice in their child’s future. There

would be a flexibility open to parents from the cut and dry. The voucher system could give

them the opportunity to find the best school for their child’s individual needs. Parents

could take the tiime to visit and assess different schools within their reach. With the

benefits of the voucher they could send their child to a school that otherwise may not be in

their financial reach.

There are arguments from public schools that “funds” would be cut from their schools and

given over to the private schools if the voucher system was in place. However, I feel the

good of the child should be paramount. The costs that my be cut from certain “extras” in

public schools would still be funding the equity of the private school child.

Vouchers would not foster narow self-interest or escape mentality, rather they would

allow the parent to broaden their child’s awareness of what schools can offer on the private

sector, namely better class size, teacher training and a deeper respect for a more rigid class

teaching. Issuing a decree that private schools, by their nature, are shielded from

guaranteeing students the rights of due process and freedom of speach is untrue in my

opinion. There is a greater flexibiility for the “private” school child to open their minds

and express their thoughts due to the greater devotion of acceptance of the individual

child’s niche in the class.

Religious and private educational roots are great treasures. Only the well-rooted can bring

forth the abundant harvest. Parents have an obligation to give their children a learning

environment that natures wisdom; the voucher system enables this end result.

Cons

In defense of not using vouchers there has always been a seperation between church and

state. If vouchers were used, there may be more stringent guidelines that would be

mandated for the private school to follow. The private school may be forced to open up

their policies and rules with a strong-hold from government money. For example, there

may be requirements to release information on test scores, attendance and so forth.

If the voucher system would be in force would there be one step forward with one step

behind. There may be less freedom for the parent to choose a school if they do not have

the full fiinancial amount necessary, minus voucher to send the child to a particular school.

Vouchers could also have the potential to restrict children from utilizing the private school

due to their entry level. They may not have the full advantage of their peers who are

already familiar with the system.