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This blog is not meant to be a self-indulgent look at my life...although it may occasionally take that route:) (I have two other pages online that accomplish that for me and then some.) This blog is an outlet for me. I would like to bring some concerns that I have regarding public education to light--this is a small start but it's a start. Please comment if you have ideas, concerns,disagreements, etc...
I want to start by introducing myself. I am a recent graduate of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. I am a proud Bronco! I loved my experiences inside and outside of the classroom at BSU. I feel strongly about the teacher education program there--as there was not a single education class that did not inspire me to make a difference. I feel that my passion that will be displayed in this blog started in college but I don't feel like I was given the resources to really make the impact that I would like. My degree is in Elementary Education and I have a pre-endorsement (just a few credits shy of a full endorsement in reading).
I now teach third grade in Caldwell, Idaho. I have grown to truly love my students but I've never met a class like this. Incredibly bright, but lacking in problem-solving skills (one of my biggest concerns). They were incredibly slow to warm up to me but that can be expected when you get a new teacher for the third time in one school year! I feel that I've accomplished much inside my classroom when it comes to self-confidence and feeling safe within my classroom. This is something that I do take pride in!
I am having a difficult time with the factory-like setting in my school/district. Everything is "strategic" and we strategically plan to "move" kids. By "moving" kids--we are never discussing their personal growth or academic growth but rather their abilities to move on the scale from basic to proficient on the ISAT test. You'll hear much about this later on. One of the teachers on my "team" (I don't feel like it's a team because the ball is never passed to me...sometimes I just steal it from my own players and then they get irritated...not mad as much as annoyed) refers to the way we teach as "clone-teaching"--I don't know about the rest of you but I can say with absolute certainty that such a phrase is dirty to me! It's like a bad word--it goes right in the book of words/phrases I never use along with: conform, research-based, etc...
Throughout college I was beyond blessed to work with children in a day camp during the summer and a "daycare" during the school year. This is where I developed my true love and appreciation for children. Never in my life has my heart been on fire like it was during that time period in my life! There is no way to describe it. I grew to respect children almost as I do my elders...there's something so significant about them. I grew passionate in my philosophies and there's nothing that could change my mind after that. I still keep in touch with several kids from "my group"--I had the same group of kids for three summers:) Someday I may post some pictures of them from the old days!
A great deal of my educational philosophies are derived from the work of Alfie Kohn.
My educational inspirations come from: Mr. Fout, Brother Empey, Mrs. Hogan (Kinney), Roberto Bahruth, Norm (cannot remember his last name as he never made us use it...he taught American Literature at Boise State), Mrs. Knight (Marshall), and my Grandma--who read me dozens of books...EVERY day of my childhood! I have my Grandma to thank for my strength in reading and language:)
I want to start by introducing myself. I am a recent graduate of Boise State University in Boise, Idaho. I am a proud Bronco! I loved my experiences inside and outside of the classroom at BSU. I feel strongly about the teacher education program there--as there was not a single education class that did not inspire me to make a difference. I feel that my passion that will be displayed in this blog started in college but I don't feel like I was given the resources to really make the impact that I would like. My degree is in Elementary Education and I have a pre-endorsement (just a few credits shy of a full endorsement in reading).
I now teach third grade in Caldwell, Idaho. I have grown to truly love my students but I've never met a class like this. Incredibly bright, but lacking in problem-solving skills (one of my biggest concerns). They were incredibly slow to warm up to me but that can be expected when you get a new teacher for the third time in one school year! I feel that I've accomplished much inside my classroom when it comes to self-confidence and feeling safe within my classroom. This is something that I do take pride in!
I am having a difficult time with the factory-like setting in my school/district. Everything is "strategic" and we strategically plan to "move" kids. By "moving" kids--we are never discussing their personal growth or academic growth but rather their abilities to move on the scale from basic to proficient on the ISAT test. You'll hear much about this later on. One of the teachers on my "team" (I don't feel like it's a team because the ball is never passed to me...sometimes I just steal it from my own players and then they get irritated...not mad as much as annoyed) refers to the way we teach as "clone-teaching"--I don't know about the rest of you but I can say with absolute certainty that such a phrase is dirty to me! It's like a bad word--it goes right in the book of words/phrases I never use along with: conform, research-based, etc...
Throughout college I was beyond blessed to work with children in a day camp during the summer and a "daycare" during the school year. This is where I developed my true love and appreciation for children. Never in my life has my heart been on fire like it was during that time period in my life! There is no way to describe it. I grew to respect children almost as I do my elders...there's something so significant about them. I grew passionate in my philosophies and there's nothing that could change my mind after that. I still keep in touch with several kids from "my group"--I had the same group of kids for three summers:) Someday I may post some pictures of them from the old days!
A great deal of my educational philosophies are derived from the work of Alfie Kohn.
My educational inspirations come from: Mr. Fout, Brother Empey, Mrs. Hogan (Kinney), Roberto Bahruth, Norm (cannot remember his last name as he never made us use it...he taught American Literature at Boise State), Mrs. Knight (Marshall), and my Grandma--who read me dozens of books...EVERY day of my childhood! I have my Grandma to thank for my strength in reading and language:)
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