The question I cannot answer.

Why I still want to become an Educator.

         Over the past semester I have seen the “backstage” work to being a proficient educator. I have also discovered that the path I must take to get there is also going to be a long tedious path. Along the way many of my peers have and will veer off onto new paths and discover new callings. Me, I still choose to become a proficient educator.

         After thousands of copies, hours of lesson plans, days of moody children, discipline issues, stolen iPods, parent meetings and countless all night homework sessions, I still want to become and educator. Even with all the hustle and bustle of teaching and the path it takes to get there I know deep down inside that this is what I have a calling for. My family and friends do not understand why I am choosing to go into a field where there is so little room to grow or pay.

         I myself cannot answer the questions they ask any other way, but to say that it makes me feel complete. When I enter the classroom I am overwhelmed with the joy of knowing I am responsible for enriching the young minds of those students about to enter. The feelings I get when a child understands something new, the smile on their faces on lab days, the sound of the wheels turning in their heads, all of these things are reasons I choose to become an educator.

         Yes, I know teaching isn’t always “just peachy.” I know that children will not always get along or be interested in what I have to say. I know that they will need to be disciplined, tutored, mentored, and in some cases, just cared for. Even so, all children deserve a chance to learn, and I know that it takes a special person to teach. I know that I have what it takes to care for and educate the future of our country.

         I take pride in knowing that I am, and will always be a proficient educator. I take pride in knowing that the future lies within my hands. I take pride in knowing that I have the skill, patience, love, and caring that it takes to be an educator. I am prepared and determined to be a proficient educator, trained by only the best. I cannot tell you why, all I can tell you is my gut, heart and mind all tell me the same thing, “You are a proficient educator, you will make a difference.”

Smarter than We.

We can all remember that one student in school that no one wanted to be around. They were “weird,” and unsociable. We all avoided them or made fun of them behind their back or even to their faces.

Now what if I told you that that person may not have brought it on themselves to be an outcast? What if I told you that that unsociable nature was actually a medical disorder? Well it just might be. Ninety percent of children with Asperger's syndrome are bullied in school everyday.

Asperger's syndrome is a neurobiological disorder that is part of a group of conditions called  Autisim spectrum disorders, however they have normal  language and intellectual development. The causes of this syndrome are still being studied today by researchers and mental health experts. Thus far it abbears to have causes and have some ties to heredity, depression and bipolar disorder.

• It’s main symptom is trouble in social situations. They also may avoid eye contact with others, be uncomfortable with change in routines or make unusual facial expressions. They have difficulty reading the body language of others, which is why they have such a hard time socializing. Other symptoms include:
• inappropriate or minimal social interactions
• conversations almost always revolving around self rather than others
• "scripted," "robotic," or repetitive speech
• lack of "common sense"
• obsession with complex topics such as patterns or music
• awkward movements
• odd behaviors or mannerisms

These children have few intrests, but the intrsets they do have they are very knowledgable of.  They usually talk a lot about these hobbiesas well. These are not usual hobbies however. They show intrest in things like designing houses, drawing detailed scenes, or names of stars.

The next time you think about making fun of someone for theway theydress or the little quirks that they have, consider what you just read. These people have a medical social disorder but in many cases may be smarter than you.

I am

I am courteous and courageous.

I wonder what Heaven is like.

I hear the wheels turning in my brain.

I see myself educating young minds.

I want a better paying job.

I am courteous and courageous.

I pretend to be a flower.

I feel the need to please others.

I touch the lives of those around me.

I worry about the well being of my family.

I cry when I see the stars.

I am courteous and courageous.

I understand that I am not perfect.

I say, “Women are to be loved, not understood.”

I dream of having a family.

I try to see the good in everyone.

I hope someday I will see my father again.

I am courteous and courageous.

Children have some nerve.

     While observing my 7th grade classroom a few weeks ago I discovered that a student had a lazer pointer in the classroom. I asked the student to come to the front of the classroom for a moment and he began to get an attitude. I asked him to hand me the lazer pointer and he told me, "You can't take this from me I did'nt have it out in your class." I informed the student that if he did not hand the lazer pointer that he would be sent to the office with a refferal slip. The student gave my the lazer pointer and returned to his seat promptly.
     This incident made me feel as if i were not respected in my classroom. I felt like my students looked at me as just a student myself. I then began to operate in ways that ifelt the students would understand that yes I am a student , but also I am to be respected as a teacher.

A halt in the education system.

Recently in one of my CoE classes, we debated over the two educational acts in place in America. As in any debate, we were to argue for the side we were placed on. As the debate progressed we discovered that this task became more and more difficult for all of the future proficient educators involved in the debate. You see neither team actually believed in the act that they were arguing for. Everyone felt that both acts were not doing the job that they were set into play to do.

We came to the conclusion that both acts have their standards set for the average to above average students. The students with mild to moderate learning disabilities are left behind even whit the acts that are "supposed" to "leave no child behind." Our educational systems focus more on making the students up to par with technology, and advanced educational procedures that we forget the basics of teaching itself. Teachers deal more with discipline issues than they do actually teaching.

I blame this on the jump in technology. The fast pace changes in technology are causing a price jump in the cost of attending school. The poverty stricken schools and students suffer from this due to lack of funding. The cost issue however is not our biggest issue in America.

If we we are going to set standards for all of the students we need to make the standards equal to those of the high ranking educational systems of other countries. If we were to set our standards like those in Asian countries or Germany along with doing away wit grade levels our schools would be so much better off as a whole.

Taking away grade levels allows students to progress at their own rate. Instead of saying that a child has to know this Math, this English, this History and this Science at a certain age is what is holding our students back. If we take this away we sole half of the problem in our school systems.

Think about it. It makes sense to change a system that is clearly failing. We can do no more damage than is already done.

The Image of My Dream

                     It's eight o'clock on a Monday morning; the room is quiet as the man in charge speaks. The room is filled with the aroma of sweet molasses, alfalfa, and the shavings from Pine and Cedar wood. The sound of clucking chickens and under the breath "moo" of young cattle in the background. The blue and gold logo hangs in the front of the room as we face it and in unison chant the words of our mission statement. Information floats along the walls and instructions hang along the piece of white magnetic walling in the front. There are thirty chairs in perfect rows, filled with eager souls all with there own work station, and one more at the very front for the boss. open minds begin to focus on the flag at the front of the room next to the clock, as they are instructed to grab the knowledge on the shelf that is waiting to be soaked in. This is my 21st century Agriculture classroom.