Please post on this prompt after the Oct. 7 & 12 classes. Sadly, we've come to the end of the narrative readings but our thanks to the last group. First we heard about a family that moved several times to obtain the best possible start in life for their children; then we heard about the importance of remembering significant tragedies in world history, such as in Hiroshima. Next we learned about watching a friend go in a bad direction and her eventual death; then another narrative told about visits to grandparents who live in another world and how with maturity that can be more appreciated. We also heard about how a teacher inspired a student to travel and the rich education that can bring. Next we heard about the fear of public speaking and how it can be difficult to overcome. Last but not least, we learned about how divorce can lead to step-relations and how having four parents can be both a positive and negative arrangement. Excellent work, everyone! It has been a pleasure to get to know you more through your stories and have vicarious experiences we would otherwise not have had.
Please continue to let me know what topics you are considering for your research papers. I will bring the sign up sheet next week. In the next few classes we will focus on issues in the reading. See you soon.
I have really enjoyed listening to everyone's narratives over the past few weeks. Some of the students' stories were very inspiring and touching. The one that hit me the hardest last week was the one associated with the death of a friend. The bond between best friends who grow up together can be as strong as that between siblings. A true friend will stick by you through the hardships and good times without thinking twice. Sometimes, though, time will make friends drift apart, as clashing interests and beliefs make it difficult to continue the friendship. When one friend takes the wrong path and becomes involved with drugs, their companion can try their hardest to steer them clear of that path; the unfortunate part is that no matter how hard you try, sometimes it is not possible to change their mind. Ultimately, if the person's mind is set on continuing their negative lifestyle, nothing anyone says can change their mind. Sometimes, hitting rock-bottom is the only circumstance that hits home for them. Watching your friend "waste" their life is extremely difficult. It's not easy to turn a blind eye to them, although parents and caregivers will urge you to, as they fear for your well-being and the influence that the rebel will have on you. Our class speaker had no choice but to leave her friend be, whose choices ended up taking her life. Oftentimes, the impact is greatest on the friend who had to turn away. Although you may not have a choice, knowing that there was possibly something you could have done to prevent the tragedy can have seriously detrimental effects on the person. Having been in a similar situation, I know what it feels like. Even though the result was not my fault, I still feel guilt.
ReplyDeleteThe story about the relationship with grandparents also touched me. I was fortunate enough to always have my grandparents around when I was growing up. I can safely say that my relationship with my grandma, especially, is like that with a best friend. She is like my older, more mature friend that will never turn her back on me, nor give me false advice. My grandpa is always there to make me laugh and entertain me with his comfortable presence. I have never taken these relationships for granted. Coming from a European background, I grew up with family around me all the time. Family is the most important aspect of Greek culture, which I am most thankful for. Consequently, I really felt for the narrator's situation.
I must say that I will really miss the narratives that were read over the last few weeks. It is interesting how each narrative differs from the others, yet there are similar emotions involved in each narrative, such as sadness, anger, love, and happiness.
ReplyDeleteOn the last day of narratives I particularly enjoyed the one about the girl's family who constantly moved. I can somehow relate to that story. When I was 5 years old I moved to a foreign country, then again when I was 12 years old I moved again, that time to a different continent. Even though it was tough, not knowing the language,and not having any friends, I am however, certain that it was much harder for my parents, since they had my brother and myself to take care of. Even though that was hard at the time, now it is much easier, and my family and I are very fortunate, happy, and most of all healthy.
Another story that truly touched me was the grandparents story. I also grew up without my grandparents, I only saw them every few years for a maximum of 2 months at a time. Therefore, I was always envious of children who saw their grandparents on a daily basis. When I was younger, I had a friend who was not particularly close to her grandmother. She would always something negative about her, and even to her face. I never understood that. First, it could have been because she had them always in her life, and another reason could be because she was younger. I always used to tell her not to speak negatively about her grandmother, that she should be lucky that she can see her whenever she wants.
I guess that saying is true, when you lose something, or in this case, not have it, you realize that you truly miss it, or need it.
When I was in elementary school, I had an experience taking classes with a disabled student. He was my classmate since when I entered elementary school. Originally, he did not have any disabilities. I do not remember exactly when, but he was injured by an accident and became disabled. Teachers took care of him for sure especially during lunch time and gymnastic class. I could not understand completely, but I was sure that he was feeling stress because he cannot live as he had been doing before the accident. Because of that, he tended to rely heavily on teachers. Some of my classmates did not think it favourably then they said teachers are taking care of him too much. When I heard it, I thought that including disabled student in the regular class is tough job for teachers. I do not think it is better to separate the class for them, but since I know not only disabled students, but also normal students feel some kind of discrimination, teachers have to take care of both groups. I do not know what the best answer is, but it is necessary for teachers to have wide view and have good relationships with each students.
ReplyDeleteI have visited couple of foreign schools before. When I read the textbook regarding the class environment, I noticed huge difference between my country’s style and foreign style. I visited foreign elementary school (I think...), then the class environment was almost same as the textbook example. The biggest difference was that desks were not “lined up”. Even though desks were organized in foreign class, it was not strictly lined up and actually students are more encouraged to talk to each other when they were working individual materials. I remember that I felt flexibility when I took a class with them. I think this style has both pros and cons. Pros is students can gain interpersonal skills, but cons is the class will be unorganized if teachers cannot control their students. To keep the balance between flexibility and strictness in the classroom, I think teachers have to keep watching students to find when they use flexibility and when they use strictness. If they can achieve this balance, they can create the best classroom environment.
I really enjoyed listening to all of the narratives in the class so I want to thank each single one of you guys. Writing a narrative to share with the entire class was probably the hardest thing I had ever written, because I was not sure if I should be sharing my personal story with 20 students I hardly knew or if I should be writing something so emotional that I might burst into tears in front of the class. However, after hearing some of the emotional and touching story from the fellow students, I had gained courage and figured that we should all learn something from each other's experience so we do not make the same mistakes again. Even though stories were written by different students, I think a conclusion can still be drawn, which is time makes everything better. Personally I feel I cannot see the whole picture when I am too close to it, just like if I stuck on one chapter I do not realize it is just one chapter of the entire book , so sometimes it is best to sit back and just chill. When we look back on our own stories, we can easily examine the situation and make better judgement, but when we were at the situations we usually were too emotional attached, so our minds were not conscious enough to make the best choice. I think this narrative sharing experience makes us realize that if we live our life the fullest and with no regret, it will be enough, because we cannot always change everything.
ReplyDeleteI agree, after listening to everyone’s narratives we now know more about one another and feel more confident around each other. I personally liked the narratives about the grandparents. We all get frustrated with the older generation due to their stubbornness or continuously being troublesome or annoying. However, we need to understand, they were what raised us to become who we are today. No one knows what will happen tomorrow, and because I have lost someone close to me before, I know we should all treasure the time we have with our loved ones, even if they bother us at times. You will not know how much you’ll miss them until they’re gone and that is a shameful feeling to experience. You would even miss the times they bothered you. The theme of each narratives triggered deep conversation from many different perspectives, cultures and backgrounds. Among those differences we do share a lot of similarities. Just like in the readings, everyone have different strengths and intelligence. Even after the readings, by enforcing what we’ve read with in-class exercise, I realize the more in-depth meaning, such as trying to identify the different types of “intelligence” in the classroom. That was indeed a challenge trying to look at things in another point of view. However, to be a good teacher or person in general, being open-minded like that and able to accept the differences is not as easy as A-B-C. It takes time and patience to obtain these good qualities. Nonetheless, once we gain this attributes, they will remain with us for live where we can then share and spread it on to others.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the we did the exercises we did with the narratives! I had never done a narrative before this and found it very touching to do my own narrative and reflect back on all the experiences in my life that had touched me in certain ways. I was able to connect with many narratives that were shared in class and will miss them.
ReplyDeleteFrom the last narratives that were shared in class the grandparent one really touched me. I had a similar experience myself with my grandfather who lived in mexico. I remember travelling to Mexico and being very excited to spend time with my family there and one summer after returning back we found out that my grandfather had passes a way and at that moment i didnt know how to feel. I was not that close with my grandfather. I didnt really know him. i hadnt taken the time to get to know him as well as i would of liked to. Now i regret not spending more time getting to know him and spending time with him.
I also enjoyed going through the questions we did last class about our reading. I enjoyed getting into groups and discussing our answers. This is an great way for us to learn by getting in groups and sharing our opinions.
I really enjoyed the exercises we did with the narratives! I had never done a narrative before this and found it very touching to do my own narrative and reflect back on all the experiences in my life that had touched me in certain ways. I was able to connect with many narratives that were shared in class and will miss them.
ReplyDeleteFrom the last narratives that were shared in class the grandparent one really touched me. I had a similar experience myself with my grandfather who lived in Mexico. I remember travelling to Mexico and being very excited to spend time with my family there and one summer after returning back we found out that my grandfather had passes a way and at that moment i didn’t know how to feel. I was not that close with my grandfather. I didn’t really know him. i hadn’t taken the time to get to know him as well as i would of liked to. Now i regret not spending more time getting to know him and spending time with him.
I also enjoyed going through the questions we did last class about our reading. I enjoyed getting into groups and discussing our answers. This is an great way for us to learn by getting in groups and sharing our opinions.
This week I am going to draw a bit more from the readings. The readings centered on pages 244-260 raised a lot of issues about discipline and classroom management. One really interesting portion of this section was where they talked about the ideas of a democratic classroom and Glasser’s theories surrounding it. Recently I was in a discussion based around the absence of youth in the voting body. My thoughts about this were that students do not engage in democratic activities and understanding at a young age. Some people say things like “students or youth don’t care” but if you factor in the level of commitment and leadership many of them take in extra curricular activities I would strongly disagree because it is due to a lack of care. Perhaps this sort of structure would change this relationship.
ReplyDeleteMy interest in democratic classroom structure is not solely linked with the connection between classroom structure and how that could change voting patterns. I think there is a large sense of accountability, compromise, and responsibility that could be harvested in this type of classroom. This led me to wonder how a democratic classroom would fit within the regular school system? The text discusses different strategies to manage misbehavior and best practices for teachers. Can a democratic system fit into these notions of discipline and behaviors moderating?
Two things stood out to me from the readings in pages 231-244. One is authentic learning which the text explained to be “tasks that enable students to see the connections between classroom learning and the world beyond their classroom”. Authentic learning is essential to the success of learning. It is important because people learn and remember material that is relevant and meaningful. Students need to be able to make connections between theory and practice. The text emphasized the importance of authentic learning by asking questions about the kinds of work we were asked to do in school. I can with certainty say that I remember very little of what I had to learn in high school particularly of the subjects I had absolutely no interest in. This goes the same for university. I find that the classes that I am given the option of choosing my own topic and the medium for presenting it; I learn and thrive the most! For example for one of my classes my teacher allowed us to pick a topic for a project we had to do. She said we can present our information in any form that we choose. I chose to present my project by making a short film. I learned a lot! The most I have ever learned in any of my other university classes. This was because I was given the opportunity to personalize my learning and make it meaningful for me. I also worked harder on this project then any other in my academic career. As we have mentioned in class before teachers need to recognize the different learning needs of students and account for it in the way they teach and evaluate students.
ReplyDeleteThe text also talked about cooperative learning. Cooperative learning can also be very beneficial in classrooms. It not only helps students with learning academic material but it also provides opportunities for students to acquire social skills such as team work. It is also beneficial to other students who might need extra help in different areas. For example in elementary my teacher had arranged the room into clusters of four desks. Each cluster was a team. Each team member was responsible for the other team members learning. We had to remind each other about classroom etiquette, help each other with assignments, and help each other to be organized and prepared. If we had physical education on a particular day we had to remind our team members to bring their gym gear. If all the members of the team did well on an assignment or brought their gym gear they would get a point which would be added up at the end of each month and the team would be awarded a prize. I found this team dynamic to work very well for our classroom since it allowed us to bond with people other then our friends and taught us the importance of team work and social responsibility.
I really enjoyed the narrative assignment because it forced you to look back at previous situations and analyze your behaviour and emotions. I am still amazed by how open and honest other students were and I feel privileged to have heard their stories. By sharing the stories out loud, we were able to benefit from our own narratives and the discussions that stemmed from them as well as benefiting from the narratives of classmates, their perspectives of the world and the obstacles they have over come.
ReplyDeleteI found the readings for this week very interesting. While reading about classroom structure, I reflected back to my previous years in class and I was amazed by how many teachers used a democratic approach, or at least as much as they could. I never had an appreciation for all the work teachers put in to make sure a class runs smoothly while still having an open atmosphere that encourages students to become independent. I find that most topics discussed in education always seem to come back to the same themes: flexibility, openness and respect. In order for a class environment to succeed both the students and the teacher must be flexible, open to differences and respect one another. Without these crucial aspects many problems and conflicts could arise that education and learning would not be a priority.
More great narratives on Thursday night. We always seems to end up in such colorful conversations after each reading. It’s great to hear the opinions and experiences of everyone in the room. I feel that these nights create a very unique opportunity to glimpse into the lives of our fellow classmates. I feel we have gotten to know one another through this process and have had some lively chats that provide a great deal of insight. The lines of communication have been opened between us all and the process of writing and reading the narratives has been a good one.
ReplyDeleteAndrew said,
ReplyDeleteLike others I found the narrative about the student’s relationship with his grandparents to be moving. The relationship that we have with our grandparents can be valuable and rewarding, or may provide yet another authority figure who seems to want to restrict our “fun”. Hopefully most grandparents are at least somewhere in between. We should not necessarily blame ourselves if we are unable to connect with our grandparents. However, we should appreciate that they might have experienced unfortunate incidents that may have caused them to take a negative view of life.
As a young child I remember my paternal grandfather telling me that he did not feel any older than sixteen! Of course I was puzzled by this statement. However, he went on to explain that when he looked in the mirror he saw beneath the wrinkles of age, his young face looking back at him. At the time I found this disconcerting, but have subsequently come to understand what he meant. We tend to forget that our grandparents were once our age and, though times would have been different in many ways, they still experienced the same growing pains that we have gone through; the embarrassments and awkwardness of adolescence, and of new emotions and feelings. As we grow it seems we have to become more responsible, and to engage in activities that are not necessarily of our choosing. But, once we have fulfilled these, we try to find time to do those things we enjoy – as in childhood we like to escape and have fun. My paternal grandfather was always fun because he always retained his youthful nature – an attitude of mind – a bit like Peter Pan with wrinkles! He had experienced the horrors of warfare, but would only relate his encounters if pushed to do so by his curious grandchildren. He seemed to sense if something was wrong, and was uncannily accurate in discerning our problems. He would relate his youthful experiences to our own in order to guide us to a solution. However, he also loved to entertain us and to make us laugh, and for us to tell him jokes we had heard at school. He encouraged us to travel, and not to take on too much responsibility until we absolutely had to! No doubt his experience of war had taught him to live in the now. Perhaps he may have been too relaxed in this regard, but his advice was not unsound. Responsibilities come all too quickly.
Our relationship with our grandparents is a two way street, and becoming elderly does not necessarily make for a sweet old person. My maternal grandmother was the epitome of this; she was the complete opposite of my grandfather, and had apparently always been cool and reserved. We should not necessarily blame ourselves if we are unable to have a close relationship with our grandparents; although we should be curious as to what may have caused them to be the character that they are. In applying the lessons of the above to the classroom I think we should never lose touch with what it was like to be young. The pupils we teach will be encountering similar emotions to those we knew at their age. It is our responsibility to be aware of this and to remember what did, or what might have, helped us through such difficult times. It is also good to remember what made school fun.
Hello everybody,
ReplyDeletequick question...
is there a blog for Oct.14th & 19th classesÉ
I cannot seem to find...
Thanks
My experiences with the curriculum would be my Math 12 class in high school. First of all, I will identify the explicit curriculum for Math 12. Defined in textbook, explicit curriculum represents the publicly announced expectations the school has for its students. Math 12 explicit curriculum would be the following: problem solving, patterns and relations, shape and space, and statistics and probabilities. The hidden curriculum refers to the behaviours, attitudes, and knowledge the culture of the school unintentionally teaches students. My Math 12 teacher was very organized and clear. As for hidden curriculum, I think she taught us to be a good and detailed note taker, think rationally, cooperate with others, look for pattern, guess and check, eliminate possibilities, make and use a drawing, work backward, simplify the original problem, and don’t be afraid to ask any questions. Null curriculum is the materials which teachers do not teach. I haven’t learned anything related to social problems regarding current slavery issues, interviews skills, ethics, and healthy routine from my high school curriculum. I learnt most of these from other students and parents. I think those are important and they should be incorporated in extracurricular activities. I think having extracurricular activities at school stimulates learning, improve communication and teamwork skills, build interpersonal skills with others, and inspiring interests and ideas. For example, when I participated in Fine Arts Council, I learned to work as a team to make decision, to expand my creativity, to bring a sense of community involvement to the students, to be organized, and to be friendly and approachable, and to develop leadership and teamwork skills.
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