What Did I Learn About Myself This Semester?

WHAT DID I LEARN ABOUT MYSELF THIS SEMESTER....ABOUT PUBLIC EDUCATION....ABOUT TEACHING?

I found my CURR210 class to be very helpful towards aiding me as future physical/health teacher. Our class covered issues on public purposes of schools, especially in the urban community of Newark. During the semester we focused on Arts High School, in which we visited during a field orientation. I learned about the relationship between teachers, students, and American society. To teach democratically a teacher should get know their students and understand their cultural backgrounds. By doing so this will aide the teacher towards different teaching strategies they may be applied in the classroom.

I was extremely impressed with the school’s program and felt that the student’s educational goals in visual arts were addressed. Arts High School is a magnet school which offers special curricula courses from grades 9th to 12th. This school is designed to attract students who have a high level of talent in visual, performing, and music arts. Students have to apply to this school, although it is a public school. Eight grade students living in Newark are eligible to apply. The school’s has a population of over 600 students. The school’s goal is to provide all students with their academic skills and artistic talents to develop into creative artists.

One fact that I learned is the purpose of public school education is to produce “educated citizens” who can be active participants in our democracy. There are many qualities that define what makes a person an educated citizen. An educated citizen should be able to understand the values and moral beliefs of their culture and why their values may be different from other cultures. By having these qualities, the citizen now has the knowledge to communicate effectively with people in the community and be opened minded to their views. Keeping this in mind the students in Arts High School came from diverse cultural backgrounds and the educational goal is to have these students develop into productive citizens. They should have the qualities, moral beliefs, and values that will allow them to be open minded and knowledgeable citizens.

Public education is available for all students and does not discriminate of race, color, or ethic background. The school's purpose to educate their students to the best of their ability. The school gears towards aiding students in any learning difficulties they might have. Special teaching techniques are implemented towards varies learning disabilities. Further, teacher should get to know their student's cultures and interests in order for them to better understand where they are coming from.

Finally, during my community service and meetings in which I attended, I have now a better understanding on various teaching strategies that I can implement as a future teacher.

1. Develop eye contact while speaking to your students. This is beneficial to ELLs who have a language barrier.

2. During physical education class the teacher should model the lesson, repeat, and then ask questions. This helps all students to have a better understanding by visually seeing the lesson. While teaching a health class the teacher can have students watch a video in which the lesson will be reinforced.

3. I have learned and observed teachers praising their student’s efforts. This helps students develop better self-esteem and in turn make them feel good about themselves. The approach here is for the students to open up more in the classroom and be an active participant.

4. Students also learn from each other. For example, by placing students in small groups they can communicate with each other and learn how to work out problems. Some students are not book smart, but by using this strategy they can open their minds and actively participate in class.