Life's road map.

I believe education should be the road map to life. I chose this at my metaphor because it is the perfect outlook of what education should represent. You are attending school and receiving an education so that you can be successful in everyday life. You learn you basic language, math, history, etc through school but you also learn a whole lot more. The basic curriculum is extremely useful as you go, as an example reading. You cannot survive one day with out reading unless you sit and stare at the television that does not show words, which is highly unlikely. You need these basic skills to create the journey you are embarking on called education. While on this journey you also learn core skills for everyday interaction as well. Language is an obvious but within your education you learn manners and meaning of things around you. One thing that I have learned from school that sticks out most to me and is probably not a section at all within curriculum is people and their feelings. I have learned so much from school about how to treat others with the utmost respect and that with this they will treat you the same. The road map that teachers set out for us is the perfect example of how they give us education. Although some people struggle with this road map I feel as though it is worthwhile. The road map guides you through the tough times as well as easy but really sets your life straight. With out education you do not have much  and I am sure that life will be a struggle. In today's society it is extremely hard to get a substantial job with just a high school degree. People want the experience of higher education. Using the metaphor of a road map you can see that education sets up your life, the map will lead you in the right direction of success. There may be some wrong turns along the way but there is always someone there within the education system to turn you back onto the right path.

Is behaviorism useful to the classroom and how?

 I ask this question because there are so many websites out there that contain different information on each philosophy and then proceed to either agree or disagree with them. I was slightly confused by all these different perspectives because as I was researching I felt a behaviorist philosophy would work for me in my future classroom. Using a behaviorist philosophy you are basing the lessons off of previous work and how the student did on it. Along with this you also use a rewarding system where if they do well they receive a special type of reward. I really like this idea because it gives students incentive to work hard for something. I can connect with this philosophy from when I was in school. One way is during third grade my teacher had a large tube that had popcorn kernels in it. Next to this tube there was a jar that also contained more kernels. Each time the class was to be rewarded for something my teacher would give us a scoop of popcorn or multiple depending on the reward. If the class was not acting up to par she would remove kernels from the tube. Once the kernels hit a certain point of the tube, we were to have a popcorn party. This type of reward system allowed us to learn that in order to receive a good reward we must act in a specific way during school and also always be prepared. By the taking away of kernels it showed the loss of something as a punishment and we must now strive to get it back. I can see myself using some sort of reward system similar to that so that my students are consistently striving to get rewarded.
I think that this type of philosophy is definitely help in the classroom in so many ways. It helps students to learn the concept of a reward system and what their boundaries are within the classroom. This type of philosophy also will help them with the understanding of what is expected of them on a daily basis in the classroom. Using the popcorn as an example again, if all the students had brought in the previous night's homework finished then they would be rewarded if not they did not receive any popcorn. This is such an easy assignment for the children to get a reward and not realizing that this type of exercise actually makes them do their work.
This article I found was interesting to me because it uses Pavlov's dog as the example. The students within my classroom will be a replica to Pavlov's dog, they will be waiting everyday to find out whether or not they will be given a reward. I liked this article because it also goes beyond the school outlook and into the everyday world. It shows that people who have been accustomed to the behaviorist theory during their life are not always rewarded as they assume. The article uses the example of receiving a fine from a police officer for speeding but not receiving a reward when you do something good while driving. This is true the theory is not always practiced out in society but I think for the classroom benefit it works well.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2017184/behaviorism_uses_in_the_classroom.html?cat=4

Is Special Education possibly holding students back?

I am currently oberseving a third grade classroom right now and there is a specific student who I rarely see. I am familiar with this student because she was in this third grade class last year as well. Her pseudonym will be Kaley. She is one of the happiest little girls I have met and that is saying something because every little girl is happy. But Kaley as a unique difference than everyone else, she does not have a stomach. Kaley was born without a stomach and has dealt with this issue on a daily basis. She eats like everyone else, through her mouth but occasionally uses feeding tubes. Kaley has struggled with this because she can get extremely ill and be out of school for long periods of time. Kaley moved to this school at the begining of last year and started in the third grade. Watching Kaley struggle was a tough scene, although she had moved up a grade it showed she did not belong. Kaley was on about a first grade reading level. During second grade she became ill and was in and out of school for a long time. She had a personal tutor but it did not really help, she had already fallen far behind. Her previous school felt that it would be okay to promote her though. When she came into the third grade last year she struggled and needed a lot of extra help. Kaley was put on an IEP and was to stay back in the third grade. That is how I see Kaley now, on occassion. For Kaley's IEP it was said that she would go to a program called Connections within the Special Education department. She goes there on a daily basis but it should only be for an alotted amount of time. Why I so frequently see Kaley is because the Connections teacher never sends her back. It is hard for Kaley because she barely gets to be in her real classroom. This program is supposed to connect the special education class with her third grade class. She is hardly ever in the classroom and misses out on a lot of things. Her work she is doing is definitely far below her level. The third grade teacher works with her frequently to help in any way possible and is finding that the lessons she is having is just review and Kaley is actually quite good at everything they are reteaching her. I think that with the Connections program it is limitying Kaley's education as well as social skills. It is obvious Kaley as a certain learning exceptionality that affects her education. She struggles with a lot of things and needs the extra help in many areas. This program is supposed to be helping her in advancing while still active in a "normal" classroom. The teacher in the Connections is not advancing her but rather limiting her. She "dumbs" Kaley down rather than trying to expand her knowledge. Kaley's mother wants her out of this program because clearly it is not helping in any way she is just falling behind more. Kaley's mother is very involved in the classroom and is always questioning the Connections program. It is hard for her mother because she feels that Kaley is losing out on a lot of things. For example, the Connections teacher doesn't always send Kaley down for specials or events within the classroom. She missed out on a visit from a Pilgrim during their lesson for that topic because the teacher refused to send her down.

I find it hard for Kaley because she knows she is missing out on so many things because she is forced to be in the classroom. She knows she needs the extra help and so does her mother but they feel it is not really helping that much. Her mother is contemplating pulling her from the program because she feels that it is not useful. Kaley is ahead of a lot of the children in that program so she is made to do what they are doing such as addition and subtraction when clearly she knows it. Her mother practices at home with her on other things she needs to be working on such as multiplication and division. Her mother is what is keeping her intact with the third grade classroom and that is not how it should be. The Connections teacher should be incorporating the third grade lessons into the program so that Annie is getting extra help as well as not falling behind.

Should Sexuality Be Taught in Classrooms?

Schools have always incorporated Sexual Education into their curriculum whether it is during gym or health class. There have been some questions raised as whether or not to teach further into the Sexual Education area and talk about sexuality. Sexuality has been a topic in schools now and in the past but not to the extent that some people. According to this article schools talk about gender roles, such as in the past girls did home economics and the boys were involved in wood shop. In schools today students are mixed together and take both courses. Gender roles play a huge role in everyday life no matter what and in this article they use a few good points. These points are starting preschool when students are addressed as "boys and girls" then goes on to "best friends" and "boyfriends/girlfriends". All these terms play a role in gender differences and are a key point in teaching that teachers need to be aware of. Another aspect that the author touches upon in the article is about a teacher training seminar offered to work on expanding their knowledge of homosexuality and gender diversity. A lot of this new knowledge acquired for the teachers is completely new to them and can help within their curriculum. Incorporating this new topic in their curriculum can help to lessen the bullying in schools due to homosexuality as well as gender roles to.
I am all for teaching sexuality to students within their health classes at school. I believe thought that students should be taught this starting in the eighth grade or higher because I feel that they are not mature enough any younger than that to understand the real factors. It is hard for students who are struggling with the fact that they possibly be homosexual to try and fit in because people can judge them far to quickly. With a higher understanding of what the student feels and that their differences are okay in the classroom will definitely help in the decreasing of bullying within schools. Sexuality in the classroom can help students who are straight or homosexual in so many ways with out them even knowing. They could be affected personally by this topic or down the road but I am sure that once they learn more about the subject and understanding of it all they will be far less likely to pick on someone for being "different".

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/gender-and-schooling/201007/teaching-sexuality-how-much-can-we-expect-classroom-teachers