EDU 270 Lesson 7

After reading and pondering the debate about teens lacking adult reasoning capacity, yet being held to adult consequences, what do you think this means for you as a teacher?

As a teacher, I think it is very critical that we teach children good habits so when they become teenagers its not a new choice to make. For instance, we teach elementary students about drugs and the dangers of using them. We start this at a young age in hopes that when they are older they will already have made the choice not to use drugs. The choice is already made so it isn’t hard for them to resist and not use it. We also have programs to teach young students to prevent forest fires, what to do in a fire, and “stranger danger”. It’s not a perfect fix nor will it keep all youth from making bad choices, but the more we can ingrain in them at a young age and continue to reinforce throughout the years, the less bad choices we will have to deal with when they are older.

EDU 270 Lesson 6

After watching the videos on Math and Music, how does this information impact you as a teacher?

As a teacher of music, this information impacts me greatly. What I teach isn’t just influencing my class time with the students. It can also influence how they do on tests and how they feel about themselves. I have tried hard to find music that is uplifting as well as modern for the students to learn in order to help them have some positive energy in their lives. The information is also great for encouraging my beginning band students to stay with it and not give up on learning an instrument.

EDU 270 lesson 5

After watching the videos on Language and Reading, how does this information impact you as a teacher?

I think the videos helped me to realize the importance of all the language and reading activities younger grades tend to do. When you understand how important reading is and how hard it can be for some of the students, you want to do everything you can in order to help them be successful. Word games and nursery rhymes don’t seem so silly if they are helping. I also want to encourage parents to read more as often as possible with their children in order for them to learn and develop those needed reading and phonemic awareness skills. Learning about how the brain adjusts for lack of activity in the reading area helps me to be more patient with students as they make those needed adjustments. This information also makes me want to make reading fun for the students. If reading is fun, students will be more willing to put in the time and energy to learn how to do it.

EDU 270 Lesson 4

What does it mean to be relational as a teacher? How will you interact with your students to accomplish this?

Relational just means that you can relate or connect with the students. As a teacher, I can make sure that I am focused on what the students need in order to learn and not just giving the students information to remember. I can show the kids that I actually care about them and what they are doing, not just worrying about their grades and how it reflects on me. I can also fit my lessons to make it interesting for them. Finding real world applications for the skills and ideas that I teach will help them to remember the lessons as well. Connecting with the students has been surprisingly easy for me. I have had several students on sports teams that I have coached along with my own children which had helped me get to know them in a different setting than just school. Being in a small town also means that I see students at the grocery store and everywhere else I go. I enjoy the kids saying hi and all the hugs they give, even when I can't remember all of their names. 

EDU 270 Lesson 3

The content of the videos on Attention, Emotions and Learning are great reminders of what kind of people in general we should be trying to be. Unfortunately, not all children are growing up in nurturing environments and it tends to fall on the teacher and school to help those children develop good social skills and navigate their emotions and attention. It makes it very important for have an environment that students can feel safe in to allow them to learn. It also reminds us that sometimes we all have bad days or can use a little break from learning to reset our minds and regain attention. If students seem to be struggling to focus, I can do a quick activity or movement to reset and help them get  back into the learning frame of mind.