Blog 4

Our role in the class was not prepared well enough to make an impact. During class on Tuesday, Izzy and I came up with the plan to present our mini curriculum to the class that included mythologies, research, art projects, etc. We sent it to our teacher and were informed that they were past that portion of the class and will not be returning to that section. That unfortunately means that we must come up with a brand-new plan to fit the lesson plans present now within the class. So, when we went to the class on Thursday, we talked to our teacher and presented our idea to focus on the American mythology of our own justice system. She did not provide too much comment because we did not have a complete idea in place do to our adjustments. After this conversation she suggested we lead the second part of the discussion for today’s talk which required us to ask about stereotypes surrounding lawyers. When the discussion took place, we tried to incorporate the group think aspect of PBL and EL by allowing open discussion. That did not go as expected due to limited participation. My conclusion was, to be effective with these students, we have to first build a strong relationship by constant appearances, and one on one discussions with each child to find out how they best learn.

The best idea for a learning idea is somewhat irrelevant without first putting in the work to understand the children. In my opinion, no matter how effective our teaching methods are, no matter how creative they are, if the teachers can not take the time out to educate themselves on their students, no matter if they have 25-200, if the curriculum does not change to fit the teachers need to understand their students before even the first lesson is taught, then their will never be something creative enough to fulfill each student’s needs. Teaching can not be a “one size fits all” endeavor. It must match every student in their own way. Their can not be a S.O.L because not every student learns the same. Yes, EL and PBL have great ideas, but in order for these great ideas to come true there has to be a plan developed for each child to build a foundation that the teachers can adjust their lesson plans around. Without that, these teachers are at a disadvantage and the students are hindered even more because they cannot receive the basic knowledge needed to survive the world ahead. A world where they will not have the opportunity to rewrite, reword, or redo something before a serious punishment is handed down. My idea is this, get rid of the requirement to meet a S.O.L, have the college students studying to be teachers also become psychologist as well, and push for the student’s well-being instead of meeting a quota. These kids are not just numbers, but the future of this country.