Reflection #4

A. First off, the woman in this story did assume not only in regards to the boy's name, but to the background to how he got whatever name he was being called.  She does not know the real story and neither do we. He might have gone by another name, not been racially profiled in any way.  Now that being said, if we look at it in her point of view then we can answer this question better.  From what I have seen throughout my life, it depends on the person and where they come from in regards to stereotyping.  No matter how correct we try to be, there will always be something assumed in one way or another, no one is that perfect.  I have witnessed a substitute begin speaking "Spanish" to a Hispanic girl in a class this year who she assumed could not speak a word of English because another student told her that.  After being at the school a while and teaching her class, she does in fact understand English.  Yes, she is not the most fluent English speaker, but this student can understand it.  Because a student might dress a certain way or come from a different background or culture, of course we should not assume a certain thing, whether that be assuming a students name or speaking Spanish to a Hispanic student just because.  We have to take the time to learn and figure out every student.

B. I believe in treating every student fairly and without giving special treatment to anyone, whether I like the student or wish they were in another class.  I judge a student by what quality of work they turn into me.  By this, I can access their knowledge of everything from if they paid attention, if they understand, if they don't understand, if they even care, or if they are struggling to understand.  With this, and by observing and discussing with the students in the class, I can determine what needs to be done.  For example, there is a specific student in two of my classes that takes special education classes.  After a couple weeks through my student teaching, my teacher informed me that he was labeled as special ed.  Had I known this before it is possible I would have treated him differently, but I didn't.  I give him more help sometimes to him than others assisting with measuring and more advanced metal work skills that he does not quite comprehend.  However, that is after I have assessed if he can complete the task or not.  I observe his work, ask him how he will accomplish whatever task is at hand, and if he does not understand, I will explain.  If he still does not get it, I will work through the task and assist him, but I never do anything for him.  In conclusion, some students may require more assistance than others to complete a task, but no student should have work done for them, no matter what they are "labeled" or what background they have.  That is how I treat everyone fairly.  

Reflection #3

Honestly, as a student teacher especially being able to include every student and addressing their specific needs can be extremely challenging.  I can see as a more experienced veteran teacher it can be easier, but a challenge nonetheless.  I feel it is highly important that students are associated out of their comfort zone as much as possible.  This is not to make them feel uncomfortable, but to get them to be able to mingle with students of other groups, because when they go out into the real world, they will have to collaborate with people from all walks of life, not just their own specific click.  This is why i think inclusion is important, because school is all about preparing you for the real world, not doing something for you just so you feel comfortable and relaxed.  Sometimes to learn, you have to be out of that comfort zone and in the real world, where real life lessons are taught.  I feel that to meet the needs of every student, you must first recognize each student as an individual and not as a composite of the classroom.  I believe that it is imperative that each student is also learned, such as their personality and how they learn best.  For me, learning about every student is important.  This semester, I have chosen to go out of my way to learn every student.  This includes giving extra help when needed to not only help the student, but to let them know I care.  Getting to know the students personally is the key factor in gaining their trust and knowing how to teach them effectively.

Success Journal

1. Tyler Englert ‏@TylerEnglert1  4m

   forgot a edsuccess tweet, Realizing that natural teaching is becoming easier without using canned material #edsuccess @mrtechyteach

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2. Tyler Englert ‏@TylerEnglert1  Feb 28

   Knowing that the students had a good time while they learned makes for a great day to teach #edsuccess @mrtechyteach

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3. Tyler Englert ‏@TylerEnglert1  Feb 27

   The students are actually starting to retain information on wildlife plants #edsuccess @mrtechyteach

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4. Tyler Englert ‏@TylerEnglert1  Feb 26

   Had a great day helping out the kids for the stock show #edsuccess @mrtechyteach

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5. Tyler Englert ‏@TylerEnglert1  Feb 25

   Helped the students finish shearing their goats=success #edsuccess @mrtechyteach

   
   

   
   

   I believe that student teaching is the biggest learning experience I have had on my path to becoming an educator. I have come to realize how much I have learned and changed in my teaching habits over the time I have been in the classroom this semester compared to when I first arrived at my school. Teaching is something that must be learned, and only so much can occur in the classroom although that part is very important.  This week I had the honor of helping the students at the county Livestock Show which was a great experience.    Stockshows are always a learning experience as everything is always changing.  

   
   

   Slowly but surely I am learning more everyday, not only how to teach more effectively, but also how to control the students.  I am fortunate to be in the Agriculture field, which to me is always more easy going and fun to the students than other courses, especially since it is a class that is chosen and not mandatory.  I have enjoyed helping the students not only in the classroom setting, but also with their livestock projects and other ag projects.  I hope to become even better at teaching in the classroom, making things more fun during lecture would be great, however as mentioned before I am privileged with agriculture education as we are in the classroom, shop, school farm, and greenhouse at different times and not always simply in the classroom.  I plan on finding extra things to expand on in my lessons besides what is required as well to keep things interesting.  

   
   
   

   
   

   
   

   
   

Reflection #2

Multiple choice and chapter tests can be a great tool to utilize; however as an educator, we must look at the bigger picture.  Teaching is like a big piece of pie, each piece representing different methods we use to teach.  If we only use one piece of this pie, we will end up with a partially empty pie plate.  Back to reality, the students will not only get burned out on chapter tests and multiple choice, but they will not be challenged enough.  Furthermore, things will become routine to them, and school should never be routine.  When I was in high school, I had a teacher that used the same repetitive method of reading the chapter, defining vocabulary, doing chapter summary, then taking a multiple choice chapter test.  Needless to say the whole year was routine in his class, and it got really old.  A multiple-choice test is a gift from above to a student that has not studied, especially if the answers are not challenging enough because they can just result to educated guesses. 

 I.

I like to use formative assessment whenever I can because it tests the students

knowledge, but seems to be less stressful.  For example, in my intro Ag Mechanics

Classes, I will ask them what is an alternative way to build their projects rather

than what is recommended.  This causes them to actually rebuild the project in

their heads.  To do so, they have to recall everything they have learned to

physically build what they are thinking.  As soon as one student starts it a certain

way, the other students begin to debate an opposite solution.  Other times are in my

wildlife class.  My students learned the importance of range management for wildlife

and what factors must be considered in making a management plan.  At the end of the

lecture I provided them with pictures of rangeland that was in very bad shape.  I then

asked  them what was wrong, as well as what needed to be done. They then assessed the

rangeland themselves and formed conclusions using what they had learned to improve the

property. 

II. For summative, a good example is a plant I.D. test that I gave my students.  The test consisted of me showing the students parts of plants such as leaves or seeds, then having the student name the plant, as well as identify which animals utilized it, and why it is a good resource on rangeland.  What I really would have liked to have done was actually take the students to a piece of land to look at the plants in their natural habitat where they could take in other factors of the land, however I will leave that for a later date. 

III.  Just as I mentioned in the first part of this reflection, education is like a piece of pie where every tool must be used to get the whole pie.  Formative are great to implement whenever to keep students on their toes and sharpen their minds for quick thinking.  Summative assessments provide a more planned for, serious attitude that an educator can really dig down deep to see where their student’s thinking is. 

IV. As I mentioned before, a trip to a rangeland for a hands on rangeland assessment would be very cool.  Depending on the circumstances I plan on having the Ag Business class complete a real life scenario farm ledger complete with balancing sheets that they have to balance.  I really like this form of assessment because it is truly a real life assessment that they will be doing some day, and they can see the relevance instead of some make believe fantasy world.  Finally, I think a formative hands on assessment in my intro Ag Mech. classes presenting the students with actual scenarios in the shop would be beneficial.  It is never enough to simply tell students safety rules and instructions, and by throwing out safety scenarios while the student has little time to think would get them to be able to think quickly when time is not a luxury, it could save someone’s life someday. 

Reflection #1: Introduction

Hello all, good luck to everyone on this busy semester, I'm sure everything will be worth it.  First of all, I am teaching high school agriculture at Canyon Lake High School.  This has been a huge change for me as I grew up in a very rural area and graduated with a class of around seventy students.  So far, I have been adjusting to the change getting used to the large size of the campus and student population.  

Educators are definitely unique in that we have many things required of us that fall into our job.  Every teacher has different requirements, but I believe Ag teachers have very strenuous ones on top of everything else.  This is not to say that an Ag teacher's job is any tougher than another teacher's job, however as this is my field of study, I do believe that it is very tough.  On top of grading papers, preparing material and lesson plans, teaching in the classroom, and dealing with students on the daily, Ag teachers have to go the extra mile.  Three extra things that we must do as Ag teachers to be worth our job, and this is not the only three just simply three in particular, are checking on livestock projects after hours as well as driving all over this great state and others to find livestock to buy for students, taking care of funds and dates for livestock, and the actual shows.  I realize that is more than three, but they would simply not do the job justice.  Also, there is the training of teams, travel arrangements, and other factors.  Now to really answer the question above of "List what you believe to be the top three roles of a teacher," I believe that a teacher must be observant to notice important things about his/her students to be able to properly teach to cater to their needs, be caring but firm and sometimes strict to keep order as well as maintaining respect in the classroom (nobody respects a sissy) and finally being prepared.  By manipulating those three how you wish I believe a lot can fall under those.