Week 2(C&I) Individual Reflection Blog

What are your philosophical beliefs about the purpose of school, about what subjects should be taught, and about how students learn? How does your work demonstrate your belief?

I believe that every child can learn no matter what their limitations or exceptionalities are. The purpose of school is to give a student the tools that they need to excel and survive in the post school world that they will live in. We should be preparing these children for the future. They are our future and if we send them out into the world unprepared then we are not doing our job. I feel that we can learn from history. Burello states "A differentiated approach is necessary to do what our democratic, moral purposes and our practical, social and economic goals require - that we educate all students to levels of excellence that sustain both their personal growth and our social fabric." I believe that the current school subjects are important, especially Reading and Math. Social Studies and Science are also very important. However I feel we do a disservice to our students when we focus so hard on the basic subjects that we ignore things like social emotional well being and survival skills. I believe that all students can benefit from survival and team building skills. I don't understand why that isn't just as important as the basic subjects. All the book learning in the world can not prepare our students for living in the real world. It gives them a great foundation and a place to start, but not an edge.

Our students learn in all different ways. I think that many students learn best by doing. Hands on experiences that reflect the real world. Everything in the curriculum should be tied to real world experiences and issues in my opinion. I was always the teacher that seized the teachable moment, if I was in a SEDOL (my district) classroom now, this would be frowned upon. I would not be able to use anything in my class that was not scientifically or research based. This includes websites and instructional technology software. I don't know when we moved to such extremes but I do not support it in my heart, but I forced to support it in my job position. I am an Instructional Technology Specialist, my job is to integrate technology into the curriculum, but even if I know an outstanding website to help with a skill, I can not share it with the teachers because it is "not approved" or supported by research. It is very frustrating and I have been questioning whether or not I am on the right seat in this bus. I keep hoping we will turn a corner and move away from these extremes but with all the unfunded mandates coming down from the government I know that this is only going to get worse. The scripted nature of our classes now makes me wonder if I even want to teach anymore. I have wanted to be a teacher since I was 5 years old and now I am not so sure. Does my work demonstrate my beliefs? I wish it could.