Week 6- Wait, this class is over??

I have to admit that by this being my last class before I go into student teaching it was very informative. All my experience at Trinity has been great. I was able to to meet new people like James and Corey that have shared interesting ideas that I can bring to my business class in the future. This class also explain more the importance of DI and involving students to the community and being the community into class. It is so important to help students understand that every action that they take after high school has a business impact in their community. We are dealing with a whole new different generation of young learners that are eager for innovation and therefore we need to come up with lesson plans that will allow them to be creative. Setting high expectations for students will improve their skills and become more competitive in any career or job they go into. As a future business teacher, I want students to be aware that this world is full of temptations and I the business textbook might only talk about the legal practices but I will also teach them about the illegal things that this world has so that they don’t fall into temptation that easy. 

Week 5- Parent communication

Do you think that student's family culture affects how teachers communicate with them? The reading for this week was like a summary of how students and the entire school community should be. One thing that I want to talk about teacher and parent communication. The reading states that it is important to involve parents on the student learning and effectively communicate with them. I work for a district that the student population is more Hispanic. I have seen teachers trying to communicate with Hispanic parents the same way as they would communicate with caucasian parents and it does not work. For example, in my personal experience, I have a brother who is currently in middle school and my parents have no idea how email works, and teachers would send me emails to communicate with them. If it wasn't because I am a third person in this communication, my parents would have no idea about school activities or appointments with teachers. Based on my experience, I would say that about 60% of the Hispanic parents on the school I work for do not use email as their number one communication with the school. I have had students tell me, "oh, I don't care if the teachers send an email to my parents about my detention today at school because either way the email that they have is my sister's email so they won't know anything". I wasn't surprised by this because that is how majority of the Hispanic parents are. If the teacher really wants to communicate with the parents is to actually take the time and call home on the phone. I just believe that as a teacher you need to understand and learn the culture of your students because it can determine what is the best way of communicating with parents. 

Week 4- DI

This week's readings clear some of the questions that I had in terms of DI. It is important to really pay attention to what IEP and 504 plans students have because it is a legal document. Although, I always like to think ahead into the future. When do us teachers stop modifying things for students with EIPS and 504 plans? Just because a student has dysgraphia, it doesn't mean that they should avoid writing. I don't like t make students feel like they are not part of a group or that the teacher modifies everything for them and they feel excluded from everybody else. I want students with IEPs and 504 plans to become better and overcome their disabilities. If us teacher keep holding their hand and modifying everything for them they won't learn to overcome their disability or know how to manage it better. I did more research into what happens to students who have an IEP or a 504 plan and if they decide to go to college, the colleges by law are not required to follow any IEPs and 504 plans that students had in high school. This is the part I worry the most because if we get students used to a service or modifications just because they have an IEP or a 504 the student is the one who will struggle more in college. I want to treat my students as equal as possible even if they have an EIP because I know that in the future colleges won't modify things for them. Colleges won't look at the students' records of schools of EIPs but instead, the student will have to apply for accommodations because of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). Although, it is not guarantee that the student will get the accommodations he or she had in high school nor does the college have the obligation to follow IEP plans or 504 plans.

I will attach a link about disability college services: https://www.understood.org/en/school-learning/choosing-starting-school/leaving-high-school/7-things-to-know-about-college-disability-services

Week 3- School Leadership

"Keeping a team of teachers and students together for two or three years provides opportunities for teachers to establish sustained relationships with students and parents" (AMLE).

This week's readings had full of information on how principals become an important role in any school. I find principals interesting but yet a role who can hide two sides. School principals have a huge responsibility to create a positive learning environment and create a welcoming culture. First, I believe that no matter what organization you work for, it is really hard to change the culture of that place. A new principal won't change the culture of the school that has been run for many years by another principal. It takes years to develop relationships with your staff, teachers, students, and administrators. Just like the quote above says it keeps several years for you to adapt to a school. 

Although school principals have a huge responsibility, I want to talk about the other side of the coin. Principals have a lot of power in terms of school. They have so much power that it leads to abuse of power. According to the Washington Post, in 2019 CPS has open more than 458 cases of sexual assault in 2019. Principals and higher administration have a lot of power that control teachers and students. There are many cases of principals abusing their power to keep information from leaking out of the school and the district. I believe that a principal's personality can tell a lot about how a school is run and the culture the school has. If as a teacher you don't like or feel comfortable with a principal it is a clear indication that the school is not the right fit. The article mentions that principals are like managers, they will see what's best for the school (how it is supposed to) but in reality, it is what is best for their budgets. I respect every position in any industry including schools but if there is a good side to something there is always a bad side but can't be ignored and get informed on because money, power, and temptation is always out there. 

Link to the article about cases on sexual assaults in schools (including principals):  https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2020/01/07/report-chicago-schools-watchdog-reviewed-sexual-assault-allegations-fiscal-year-host-other-alleged-misdeeds/ 

Week 2- Constructive Feedback

"Educators should recognize students' efforts and supports their developing work ethic...descriptive feedback that addresses not only the quality of their current work but how to improve or move to the next step" (AMLE).

This week's reading was full of tips on how to adapt the curriculum and the culture of our classroom to improve middle school students' education and knowledge. The quote above generated a lot of questions in my head on giving students feedback. I believe that one of the major goals of middle school is to prepare students for that transition into high school. Students in middle school might not see the importance of passing a class in middle school but once they get to high school everything changes in terms of passing a class. You don't pass a class = no credit = retake or fall behind on credits. I understand that educators should recognize the effort that students make but we all have a student who doesn't turn in any work. Why should the student receive credit for no work at all? The district I work with has a grading system of a 1-4. Students receive a credit of 1 even if they don't turn any work. I love constructive feedback and that's what I want to give my students, feedback that they can reflect and build upon. The reading also mentions that the curriculum should have high expectations, have relevant activities with the room of exploration and creativity. Although, we must also include formative and summative assessments to have data to improve our planning, we must hold students responsible for their effort and their grades. 

This chart talks about the difference between Assessment and Evaluation. The AMLE book mentions several of these differences and this is something that educators must consider to distinguish between assessment and evaluation.  

WEEK 1 - The changing world

"Too many children lack adequate supervision in their out-of-school hours. Without responsible adult role models, unhealthy situations exist when young adolescents live in an environment rife with temptations" (AMLE, pp.8).

This is a quote that I have strong opinions about it because in the book it talks about young adolescents being tempted with unhealthy choices like drugs, alcohol, sex, and more. I believe that even though we have a lot of digital tools nowadays there is a lot of information and real-life experiences that teachers should share with students. The temptation is stronger when there is lack of information. We can tell students not to do drugs because it is bad for their health but it is more valuable and powerful when they see and hear a person that overcome drug abuse. We all know at least one person that uses or is addicted to drugs (if not, you are lying), but we never share it with students. Why doesn't the business standards or curriculum have at least a section where we teach students about money laundering, falsification of a check, fraud, scams, and more illegal business concepts that surround all of us. If we don't share this information with students they do not have that powerful knowledge and that is when the TEMPTATION comes in. One of the most important things I have learned so far is that students (or even us as adult students) we won't remember much what we read on textbooks. Students might remember parts of the textbook for a quiz or test but after that, it is all gone or at least a large percentage of it. Students will remember more an activity or a life story than words in a textbook. As teachers, we need to show students the consequences of unhealthy choices, if we don't temptation will win. Temptation is everywhere but if we give students the knowledge they will think it twice and might resist temptation.