Blog # 6

What advantage do we gain if we integrate classroom?

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Holding Nyla – (Lessons from an Inclusion Classroom)

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In my elementary school years I attended school in Hawaii, where I was in a majority student in my school. But, when I was 7^th grade, my father being in the Military (Army) got station in Fort Hood, Texas. So, I attended Smith Junior Middle High School there in Texas, where I became a minority student in my school. This experience helped me understand what it is like being in both majority and a minority group. With this knowledge I became more receptive to students from the mainland. When I attended my junior year at Pearl City High School, I made sure that students from the mainland (especially military students) didn’t feel like an outcast. I would back them up if they were being gang up by local students. Good thing, I had cousins and friends at my school to back me up. The bottom line, we need to mix different groups to make them understand one another.

While reading “Holding Nyla” it was amazing how they took special need students and combined that group to the low-income student group. They made special education teachers and early childhood teacher’s work as a team, to make a lesson plan to meet the needs of all students and made this program a model to follow. This is an awesome program!

Now, back to my question: “What advantage do we gain if we integrate classroom?” The teachers and students would gain a lot “especially the students!” The low-income students would understand the special needs students and the special need students would interact with the low-income students, this would help them with their social skills and coping skills. I guess you can say that when you join together different types of groups, it can only benefit everyone those groups!

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Talking the Talk (Integrating Indigenous Languages into a Head Start Classroom)

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In 2005, I worked at a school as a Para-Professional Tutor (PPT) and in this school, they incorporated the Hawaiian language and the Hawaiian culture into the school system. While working in this school, it was amazing every morning, these students would sing a song in Hawaiian. I told myself this felt really good starting the school like this every morning. Also, this program helped the parents work together with their children teachers in these Hawaiians courses.

Here’s my question: “What types of challenges do we face as teachers when we open up to more programs like this?”

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A New World Is Born - (Chapter 4 - New Possibilities for Early Childhood Education)

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“Wow!” This chapter open up lots of challenging experiences that I went through, which is my reasons why I went back to school. I call it “A Moment of Awakening!” I was tired of being taken advantage of, from my co-workers, supervisors and managers. I felt that just because I don’t have a college degree, it was okay for them to treat me that way.

According to Lifton (1993) - “A prototype for our future – As society faces unpredictable social, economic, and political changes, we need new types of strength and insights that are often lacking in standard models of education.”

When I read this, I realize that I’m a teacher with lots of empathy due to my past experience. It’s hard in the beginning to start, but if you look at the bigger picture, you can see hope! Every day I thank God that I went back to school. I have no regrets! All in all, going back to school can only improve your life and career.

Blog # 5

What should we do when school scripted programs needs to be improved?

(I Just Want to Read Frog and Toad)

When I attended elementary school, my parents believed in the school system. They didn’t believe that the school programs could be harmful. When I had a question regarding my homework my mother and father didn’t have the time to find the answer. They told me that I need to pay more attention during my class time and if I had any questions regarding my homework, ask my teacher.

I’m a third generation of American-Filipino here in Hawaii, my Mother graduated from Saint Francis High School. But the problem with me while attending public elementary school, I felt that my teachers didn’t have the time to explain to me (one on one) and I don’t blame them. I just wish that my parents that the time to help me out on my education development.

Eamonn had a mother who was a teacher and had the time to teach him. When his mother had the time to dispute about scripted reading programs to his site council, his teacher, and his school principal. They took the time to hear her out, but when fall came around it didn’t happen. Did his mother given up? “No!” By the time he attended 2^nd grade his request from his mother was heard. From his mother: “When Eamonn started 2^nd grade, his teacher granted my request the he be allowed to read actual books during reading time, not photocopied nonsense. He has become an avid reader and falls asleep every night with a book in his hand. He prefers reading real books with real stories – the kind you find in the public libraries and bookstores but, increasingly, not in our nation’s elementary classrooms.”

Here’s my question: “What can we do as teachers to help our parents that don’t have the time or just don’t understand school scripted programs?”

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(Strawberry Fields Forever?)

I totally understand were Cirila Ramirez is coming from. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to become a teacher. When your past experience can help you become a better teacher and have lots of empathy towards your students.

When Cirila parents main priorities were keeping a roof over their heads and food on the table for their children, her mother would say: “The rest will take care of itself and the present is what is important, not what will happen tomorrow or a week from now.” I like how Cirila wanted her students to be proud of where they came from and wanted to help them develop literacy in their own speaking language before they attended kindergarten.

Here’s my question: “How can we as teachers help students from different cultures understand the basic learning concept in their own culture language before attending elementary school?”

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The Junior Meritocracy (Should a child’s fate be sealed by an exam he takes at the age of 4? Why kindergarten-admission tests are worthless, at best.)

I like reading this article by Jennifer Senior. It’s amazing how our children now, in this present time is being pressure to take these kinds of testing. Are we wrong? As parent to put pressure on our children in such an early age just to attend a private school?

Here’s my question: “Who determine what question will be ask when a child like Skylar is being tested to enroll in this private school?”

Blog # 4

Should we start teaching computer skills to Preschool Children?

While reading Cybertots (Technology and the Preschool Child) from Rethinking Early Childhood Education (pg. 75-83). I think about how technology has such a big part of our lives. I realize that from the time we wake up to the time we go to bed, technology is with us at all times, “think about it.” Almost everything we use has a little technology in them. Even the cars now run with computer chips in them, and our military forces now, have planes with non-man pilot flying them for patrolling in dangers areas. That’s how technology plays a big part in our lives. For example: The first thing I do in the morning is check on any messages on my Blackberry phone and the last thing I do before I go to bed, I would login into my computer is check if I have any messages. “Wow!” I need to change.

Now, here’s a question I ask myself after reading “Cybertots” should we as teachers start teaching computer skills to our preschool children? Before reading this chapter, my answer was “Yes!” but after reading it “No!” If we start our pre-school children on technology at that age, it’s going to do more harm than good. From Rethinking Early Childhood Education - Cybertots (Technology and the Preschool Child) says: “Children has different stages of brain development have different needs, the immature human brain neither needs nor profits from attempts to jump start it, the brain tends to seek what it needs at each age of development, and it doesn’t need the blandishments of software programmers to distract it, and children under age 5 have a tendency to confuse appearance with reality.” If this is true, we as teachers should not teach our preschool students computer skills.

David Elkind suggested that preschool children don’t need technological expertise. They should be able to learn how to: “Express themselves, listen, and follow directions, start a task and bring it to completion themselves before jumping off to another project, and cooperate with other children.”

The Cultural Divide

Chapter 2 / New Possibilities for Early Childhood Education

This chapter had some good stories that can help us as teachers to have empathy on our students. Sometimes we need to put ourselves in their shoe, to see where they’re coming from and what makes they do the things they do. Here’s one story: “When Bertha talked about her stories it made me realize as a teacher we need to show lots of empathy towards students from a different countries who are here to make a brand new living. Memorials from another world were presented: a family picture taken before boarding a boat leaving Vietnam; a small, handmade dress worn as a child in Mexico; an old, yellowing storybook carefully wrapped. Each woman described her precious item and its hidden story.”

How can we as teachers show empathy toward our students?

Blog # 3

Testing Lang, Think Less Benchmarks, and From Critique to Possibility:

Rethinking Early Childhood Education (pg. 113-120)

While reading Testing Lang, Think Less benchmarks, From Critique to Possibility, and Learning Stories from Rethinking Early Childhood Education (pages 113-120). I realize that each stories had a different effects on me, some good and some bad.

As I think back about my school years, one thing came to my mind, I always had problems in taking any kind of exams, and even still today I have this problem. It could be easy ones to hard ones, but the outcome comes out the same, average to below average. I would know the subject either by studying hard or by heart (loving the subject), but once the exam starts “I freak out!” The problem with me while taking any type of exams is, I second guess myself, and I guess you can say I don’t have the confident with me answer. So I totally know what “Testing Lang” is going through. How can I work out this problem?

Is it true that “Think Less Benchmarks” is a test that does more harm than good? In my personal feeling, I feel it’s true. I like what this writer said: “ThinkLink tests are designed to mirror the format of our state assessment. These high-stakes tests are aligned with our state’s arbitrary set of standards for each grade level, standards that tend to be incredibly unrealistic and developmentally inappropriate and it was completely disconnected from the curriculum I was teaching.” As a student it’s good to have teachers like him.

“From Critique to Possibility” (New Zealand’s Radical Approach to Assessment) this reading was very interesting, how educators and government officials in New Zealand can strengthen our hard work to reform our country assessments. I’m really going to research more on this. If this is possible “Why not?”

And last, “Learning Stories” I like this concept: Belonging / Mana Whenua – Expressed in children’s lives as taking an interest. Well Being / Mana Atua – Expressed in children’s lives as being involved. Exploration / Mana Aoturoa – Expressed in children’s lives as persisting with difficulty. Communication / Manu Reo – Expressed in children’s lives as expressing an idea or a feeling. Contribution / Mana Tangata – Expressed in children’s lives as taking responsibility. I feel that this could work, with our children, who are having a difficult time learning our ways of teaching.

Our Journey Begins

Chapter 1 / New Possibilities for Early Childhood Education

I feel that every new day is a new journey for me when I’m working with students. I like what this writer said: “Our journeys would come together in powerful ways, catapulting us into surprising connections and changing our lives forever.” He was talking about himself and his students. Is this what I would feel once I become a full time teacher? “I hope so!”

Last thing on my mind, I was very confuse when the writer said: “ I did not realize I was beginning a path that would lead me further and further away from standard teaching practices and into serious questioning of our teacher preparation program.” What I’m learning now in school (UHWO) am I going to use it?