When I began reading the vignette in chapter 4 of Critical Classrooms I wasn't sure how I really felt about reading a book about homelessness to my future students. I do feel that homelessness is a part of society and should not be banned from school/classroom conversations. Students and children should know what is going around in the world around them. However, I do feel that this book should be read in a classroom where the issue has arisen or students have had conversations or asked questions about homelessness. Part of me thinks that this is a topic that should be addressed by parents/family at home but, I have noticed how many parents refuse to discuss important topics with their children. The school is becoming more of a parent for students. My parents were always there to answer questions or provide me with more information when I was curious about anything. I think parents now try to hide certain things from their children (which would make reading this book a risk of upsetting parents). Parents also may be afraid to admit things from their past that relate to the questions students are asking. All in all, I think that these issues should be discussed and questions should be answered but at an appropriate time.
I found the vignette in chapter 5 to be very intriguing. This subject has come up several times in my career as an undergrad. I feel that situations like these are great teaching moments. So often, children believe everything they see and read. It is even more important now than before to teach children about sources and the validity of information. Students are exposed to a myriad of information, pictures, websites, etc. on the internet. I feel that children are taught to "think" about what they read. For example, wikipedia can be changed by ANY person. There is no way of knowing if the information listed is actually correct or where the author's viewpoint is. I feel it is extremely important that we teach our children to read and think. Children need to realize that there are different points of view to every story and event in history. Everything you read has the potential to be false. Knowing how to think about what you read and use credible sources are two very important tasks for students to learn.
I see people profile and stereotype other people way to often. After listening to a song on the radio that really changed my perspective about getting angry, I always try to think of why a certain person may act the way they do or why someone choses to say or write what they do. It can even be really simple, for example, when driving in traffic I can get really annoyed when someone chooses to drive 5 miles under the spend limit in the left lanes. But, I try to change my mood of thinking by considering what that person may be going through. That particular person could have just lost their job, lost a family member, be facing a serious illness and so on. I use this technique of changing the way I think with students in the classroom. Instead of getting angry at a student, I try to figure out what is actually causing the child to act in that way. Although, this can be hard at times, it helps me keep a more positive attitude and can in turn benefit the student.
Post 2
In my placement this week, I observed my students doing reader's theatre. I absolutely fell in love with it! My students turned into real actors/actresses during their performances of each story. The students were divided into groups based on their reading levels (determined by Rigby). Each of the four groups had a different play to put on. They rehearsed for two or three class periods before presenting their stories to the class. My students were so engaged and EVERY student participated. I noticed how the usual shy students were taking a leap and really acting out their parts. I was so excited to see my students excited and happy about reading! I wish my students had time to make costumes to add to their performances but their performances alone were amazing! This was also a perfect way to assess each students' fluency level. I will certainly be including readers theatre in my future classroom :)
When I began reading the vignette in chapter 4 of Critical Classrooms I wasn't sure how I really felt about reading a book about homelessness to my future students. I do feel that homelessness is a part of society and should not be banned from school/classroom conversations. Students and children should know what is going around in the world around them. However, I do feel that this book should be read in a classroom where the issue has arisen or students have had conversations or asked questions about homelessness. Part of me thinks that this is a topic that should be addressed by parents/family at home but, I have noticed how many parents refuse to discuss important topics with their children. The school is becoming more of a parent for students. My parents were always there to answer questions or provide me with more information when I was curious about anything. I think parents now try to hide certain things from their children (which would make reading this book a risk of upsetting parents). Parents also may be afraid to admit things from their past that relate to the questions students are asking. All in all, I think that these issues should be discussed and questions should be answered but at an appropriate time.
I found the vignette in chapter 5 to be very intriguing. This subject has come up several times in my career as an undergrad. I feel that situations like these are great teaching moments. So often, children believe everything they see and read. It is even more important now than before to teach children about sources and the validity of information. Students are exposed to a myriad of information, pictures, websites, etc. on the internet. I feel that children are taught to "think" about what they read. For example, wikipedia can be changed by ANY person. There is no way of knowing if the information listed is actually correct or where the author's viewpoint is. I feel it is extremely important that we teach our children to read and think. Children need to realize that there are different points of view to every story and event in history. Everything you read has the potential to be false. Knowing how to think about what you read and use credible sources are two very important tasks for students to learn.
I see people profile and stereotype other people way to often. After listening to a song on the radio that really changed my perspective about getting angry, I always try to think of why a certain person may act the way they do or why someone choses to say or write what they do. It can even be really simple, for example, when driving in traffic I can get really annoyed when someone chooses to drive 5 miles under the spend limit in the left lanes. But, I try to change my mood of thinking by considering what that person may be going through. That particular person could have just lost their job, lost a family member, be facing a serious illness and so on. I use this technique of changing the way I think with students in the classroom. Instead of getting angry at a student, I try to figure out what is actually causing the child to act in that way. Although, this can be hard at times, it helps me keep a more positive attitude and can in turn benefit the student.
Post 2
In my placement this week, I observed my students doing reader's theatre. I absolutely fell in love with it! My students turned into real actors/actresses during their performances of each story. The students were divided into groups based on their reading levels (determined by Rigby). Each of the four groups had a different play to put on. They rehearsed for two or three class periods before presenting their stories to the class. My students were so engaged and EVERY student participated. I noticed how the usual shy students were taking a leap and really acting out their parts. I was so excited to see my students excited and happy about reading! I wish my students had time to make costumes to add to their performances but their performances alone were amazing! This was also a perfect way to assess each students' fluency level. I will certainly be including readers theatre in my future classroom :)
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