What is Humanism?

Humanism is the philosophy that deals with, well, humans. It emphasizes human relations and social interactions. Humanism came about in the 1400 during the Italian Renaissance. Respect and kindness are the two main foundations in the philosophy of humanism. This respect and kindness translates over to the educational part of humanism.

Humanism, when put into terms of education, emphasizes the student learning about themselves and what they are capable of. Education should be individualized and students should have the ability to choose what they want to learn, rather than having a curriculum forced upon them. Teachers are encouraged to work with the students kindly, rather than scolding them for anything they do wrong. The learning environment should be non-threatening.

I agree with some aspects of humanism education. While I agree that learning should be done in a non-threatening environment, I don't think students should be able to choose everything that they want to learn. I think that there should be some choice in learning, but the curriculum ultimately should be enforced.

How does Gifted and Talented Education work?

I was in gifted and talented education classrooms from third grade to eighth grade. It wasn't so much as an inclusive classroom since my whole class was considered "gifted and talented". So we felt kind of secluded from the rest of the kids in our grade. I loved the curriculum and I loved the students, but we never really hung out with anyone who wasn't in our classroom. There are however, different strategies for inclusive classrooms to accommodate those students who are gifted and talented. 

Differentiation is when students in a classroom work at different paces than each other. For example, they may be learning one concept, but they are learning it in different ways. This way all students are learning the same information, but they are being challenged in how they are learning the information.

Grouping is similar to differentiation in the way that students are working at different paces. This is when students are placed into groups, based on their abilities and are given work that will challenge them and help them learn.

Curriculum compacting is when teachers take the curriculum and remove repetitiveness in order to avoid going over something that students have learned in the past. This gives time for students to learn other things, rather than relearn what they already know.

Advanced Placement is usually offered to high school students. AP classes are college level classes that will prepare students for college, as well as challenge them in the subjects that they know too well.

Gifted and talented students often feel that they are not being challenged in the general education classroom. These different strategies will help gifted students challenge themselves while still sticking with the curriculum.

¿Habla español?

There are so many different ways that the classroom is enriched by diversity. Some of these ways include culture, race and ethnicity, immigrants, and language minorities or a bilingual person. While all of these differences are important, I connect most with those who feel judged because of a language barrier. We need to break this barrier.

The United States is the second largest Spanish speaking country in the world, according to this website. I've always had a special place in my heart for the Spanish language. Before I was an education major, I majored in Spanish. I loved it! I loved being able to connect with people that I was normally not able to connect with because they spoke a different language.

But how do native Spanish speakers (and also all other non-English speakers) learn general education subjects if they can't understand what's being taught?

Is bilingual education beneficial?

First, let's answer the question of what bilingual education is. Bilingual education is when academics are taught in one language (such as English), as well as the student's native language (Spanish, for example). If that's what it takes for language minorities to learn, then why wouldn't we always use bilingual education?

Some may say that bilingual education is a bad idea. They say that if bilingual education is used in the United States, then our national identity will fade because not as many people will speak English as their dominant language. America takes pride in their identity and they usually frown upon those who speak English. But we as shouldn't make language minorities feel left out! We should embrace their dominant language help them learn and succeedwith whatever resources we have, such as bilingual education!

Don't let this happen in our schools!

BULLYING

It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, right?

Wrong.

It's never fun and games. Let's reflect back on the story of Phoebe Prince from 2010. A 15 year old girl moved to Masschusetts from Ireland. She began dating a senior, and soon after the bullying began. But she dealt with it, and tried to ignore it until one day, she couldn't take anymore. Her bullies drove by her while she was walking home, yelled insults, and threw an energy drink at her. She went home and committed suicide. Her 12 year old sister found her.

Five months later in May 2010, Governor Deval Patrick signed an anti-bullying law. Massachusetts was the 42nd state to pass a law like this.

So what exactly does is this law about?

First, the law defines bullying:

"Bullying", the repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act of gesture or any combination thereof, directed at a victim that: (i) causes physical or emotional harm to the victim or damage to the victim's property; (ii) places the victim in reasonable fear of harm to himself or of damage to his property; (iii) creates a hostile environment at school for the victim; (iv) infringes on the rights of the victim at school; or (v) materially and substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of a school. For the purposes of this section, bullying shall include cyber-bullying.

It then goes on to say how bullying is prohibited on school grounds, school functions, school activities, and so on.

Then it discusses how bullying prevention should be taught:

(c) Each school district, charter school, approved private day or residential school and collaborative school shall provide age-appropriate instruction on bullying prevention in each grade that is incorporated into the curriculum of the school district or school. The curriculum shall be evidence based.

This is where the general education teacher comes in. Talking about bullying must be age appropriate. What does that mean? For example, if you teach first or second grade, you probably shouldn't share the story of Phoebe Prince - it might be too intense for such young children. However if you're teaching high school, the Phoebe Prince story may be a great conversation starter. Because she was in high school, this story may resonate more with students who are teenagers.

After this, the law discusses anti-bullying plans that each school must put in place, and it should be updated at least every two years. The plan must be posted on the school's website.

(g) A member of a school staff, including, but not limited to, an educator, administrator, school nurse, cafeteria worker, custodian, bus driver, athletic coach, advisor to an extracurricular activity or paraprofessional, shall immediately report any instance of bullying or retaliation the staff member has witnessed or become aware of to the principal or to the school official identified in the plan as responsible for receiving such reports or both.

This is another instance in which the teacher is involved. If the teacher sees an act of bullying, they much notify the principal, and then they will take action.

There is also another section about cyber-bullying, it's definition, and how school computers must be protected against unsafe websites to try to prevent cyber-bullying.

The teacher has a very important role in the prevention of bullying. They must educate students on what bullying is, inform them of the Massachusetts law against bullying, inform them on the school's specific anti-bullying plan, and they also must report any acts of bullying they see.

Let's help stop bullying together!

Why would anyone want to become a teacher??

After finally figuring out what I want to do with my life (become a teacher) I've had a lot of positive and negative feedback. Some people tell me that it's the best job in the world and it's so rewarding. Other people tell me that I couldn't have picked a lousier occupation. With that said, I've decided to do some research.

Reasons to become a teacher.

Reasons to not become a teacher.

It seemed pretty cookie-cutter to me. Each site provides a list of reasons for each side of the debate. Let's look a little closer.

Pros:

This website listed many pro's that make me want to start teaching right now! Such things include making a difference in people's lives, many vacations, more time to spend with your family, children will make you happy, learn more about yourself. It seems like teaching is the best profession out there! Who wouldn't want extra free time in the summers and weekends, the opportunity to change lives, and the ability to learn more about yourself? It seems great, but is it too good to be true?

Cons:

This particular website gave five reasons why one may want to rethink becoming a teacher. It included no free time, low pay, and no respect. Now wait a second, didn't the first website say that I was going to have some extra free time? What happened to those lazy weekends and summers? It seems that you must create lesson plans and grade tests/quizzes/papers on your own time. The time you spend in school is spent with your students, not with your grade book. Also, anyone can tell you that teaching isn't the highest paid job out there. And you might run into a kid or two that doesn't have awesome manners.

So now what?

If one really has a passion for teaching, they will put aside the cons and admit that the pros are what's going to make them want to teach. In my case, the pros definitely outweigh the cons. I understand that teaching is a full time job; you're working even when you're not physically in the school

And that's perfectly fine with me.

This is a picture of my high school history teacher, a friend, and I from my junior year of high school.