September 30th, 2011

The "Digital Nation"

In Wednesday's class we viewed a documentary about the effect that technology is having on students study habits and ultimately their grades. Here is the link if you would like to watch it for yourself, I will warn you though, it is long:

  Digital Nation Documentary 

Basically, the documentary follows a woman who is concerned for her family due to their overuse of laptops and cell phones. The woman, and her friend/assistant, travel to M.I.T. (the Massachusetts Institute for Technology) because the students there are assumed to be the most "plugged in" in terms of technological use and ability. While there they test and interview a few students who say that their multi-tasking abilities help them when studying or writing an exam; however, the tests prove otherwise. The students are in fact hindered by their "amazing multi-tasking skills" because their brains are simply not able to switch from one topic to another as quickly as they assume. For example, one student was talking about writing an essay; studies show that students are no longer writing essays for their entirety, but in fact are writing for the paragraph. This means that students will write a paragraph and then stop, and then go back and write another.. the problem is that in most cases the paragraphs are hardly connected, they have a lack of continuity because the student did not flow from one to the next. In simple terms, the pausing between paragraphs ends up showing in the students work because while taking that break his or her mind went off course; onto something else, and so when he or she came back to the essay that flow of ideas was interrupted. 

So, the question is... 

is the availability of new technology causing students to depend more on it and less on themselves? 

I say, YES!

There is a book that was mentioned in the film called:

I personally agree with the title of this book; although, there will always be exceptions to any idea or theory.. like me! I do not feel that I am part of the "dumbest generation", I know that I am extremely intelligent. However, I do see stupidity all around me (not to be rude). Just the other day a friend of mine posted a picture that her English teacher had asked the class to design a visual response for. Here is the picture:    

   

Her comment on the picture was this: "our school does not allow smoking. period. not at all. they give out smoking tickets, and have lectures at assemblies about how they dont want smoking around the school. however this was the picture they gave my class to write a visual response to today."

A mutual friend replied with this comment: "they give it to you cause the poster itself is ironic. they like it when you talk about how they're enjoying the smokes but life isnt really like that and shit like that. the teachers arent in the break room going "hey everyone, I'm teasing the kids with the smoking pictures again"..."

Personally, I think that by high school a student should be able to see the deeper meaning in a picture like this. It is highly unlikely that the teacher assigned this picture to the class and asked for a visual response simply to tease the smokers... I really do not understand how my friend got that message out of this assignment. 

Now, leading back into the "dumbest generation" topic, I feel that the example shown demonstrates how the author is right in his assumptions. A high school student needs to have the ability to not take things, like this picture, at face value.. if a teacher assigns something there is going to be more to it than what my friend assumed (her assumption was horribly off track). I find it sad that people, like my friend, can go through 11 years of schooling and still not see the underlying message in a source such as this picture. Based on this example I am afraid for future generations because if people are this narrow-minded and simple-minded now, imagine how much worse they could be in the future. 

It makes me wonder what the students will be like in four years, when I have my Bachelor of Education and I am teaching grade 11 English in Vancouver. Will they be unteachable?

Thank you for reading,

Sincerely,

Natasha. 

September 26th, 2011

Erik Erikson

In today's class, we covered Erik Erikson's "eight stages of development". 

Which are as follows:

Towards the end of class we, the students, were invited to answer this question: 

"which one of Erik Erikson's eight stages do you think you most fit into at the moment?"

My Response

          I do not really think I fit into any of Erikson's stages; personally, I feel as though I am what one might call an "old soul". My mother calls me an "old bitty" because I do not usually act like others who are my age; in fact, I would much rather be playing bingo or taking a nap in the middle of the day. That is just who I am. 

          According to Erikson, I should be in the end years of the "identity vs. confusion" stage, and slowly transitioning into the "intimacy vs. isolation" stage. 

          I believe that I am, and have been for quite some time, set in my identity and am very comfortable with the young adult I have become. So.. that rules out "identity vs. confusion", because I have been very much the same person since about age 16 or 17, no identity crisis as of yet. At about age 14, or around there, I did have trouble fitting into the groups I was a part of, I tended to bounce back and forth from group to group... trying to find a spot where I would fit in. So I DID go through the stage, but as of now I feel as though I am out of it.

        As for the "intimacy vs. isolation" stage, I am not completely in it at the moment, according to my age, but I definitely do not see it causing me a problem in the near future because I have my life very meticulously planned out until about age 28. And I do not have much room for distraction, or veering off course. In case that intrigued you, here is my plan:

age 18-22: going to school for my BEd (RDC and U of A)

age 22: travel to Africa to teach

age 23-26: move to Vancouver, settle in and start working

age 26: adopt my first child from Africa

age 29: adopt my second child from Africa

        So, as you can see... it is not that I am planning to isolate myself from intimate experiences.. I simply do not have the time for that kind of thing until I am at least 24 or 25 and settled into my adult life. However, if someone does come along and proves to be my "soul mate", I guess some changes will have to be made to my plan to accommodate that. But... I absolutely DO NOT plan on going out and searching desperately for that "someone" if he does not come. I would be perfectly content being a single parent and an independent woman. 

And so, for the sixth time.. I would like to thank whoever has taken the time to view my post(s), it means a lot that you care enough about my opinions to spend your time reading this. 

Sincerely,

Natasha <3

September 24th, 2011

Urie Bronfenbrenner.

In yesterday's class we learned about Urie Bronfenbrenner. In my opinion he was a man who knew what he was talking about. Of the three theorists we have discussed thus far in the course, Bronfenbrenner seems to be the most "in tuned". His theories seem, to me, to be a needed balance bewteen those of Piaget and Vygotsky.

Here is a little about Bronfenbrenner's life:

He was born on April  29th, 1917 in Moscow, Russia. When he was 6, his family moved out of the USSR and into the United States. He attended Cornell, on a scholarship, where he completed his double major in psychology and music. He also went to Harvard and the University of Michigan. After all that schooling he decided to enlist in the US army as a psychologist. When he came back from the Second World War he becme a teacher and went on to teach at many of the schools he had attended. The APA actually renamed one of their awards after him, calling it the "Bronfenbrenner Award". Sadly, he died on September 25th, 2005 in Ithaca, Ney York; but, as you can see he lead a pretty damn amazing life! He was 88 when he passed.

The Bronfenbrennerian Ecological Systems Theory

The picture to the right is of a "Bronfenbrennerian Ecological Systems Chart". To put the concept into basic words: everything in your life is connected in some way; this chart shows how something like the death of a family friend could influence another part of your life like maybe it causes you to miss school. This example would be the "exosystem" effecting the "microsystem". Another example could be... you are strongly religious, so that influences the school you choose to attend. This time it would be the "macrosystem" effecting the "microsystem".

I believe this theory is more than just someone's idea of how people develope their sense of self through social interaction and personal cognitive processes. It is a guide to dealing with those around you.. it is a road map to understanding why others act the way they way they do.  

In my mind, and I know this may sound cliche... but... this theory is telling people to "dig deeper", or "don't judge a book by its cover". Now, you may be saying... "HUH"??!?!?! So let me break it down for you.

When something happens, let's say a teacher (who is normally very soft spoken and polite) yells at you in class... what do you automatically think of that teacher? You probably think, "jeeze, what a jerk... he must hate me...". What this theory is telling people to do is look deeper... Maybe that teacher had a rough night lastnight and mistakenly took his or her frustrations out on you. Maybe he or she is going through a divorce and something went sour right before class began. Those would be prime examples of the different ecological systems (individual, micro, meso, exo, macro, chrono) effecting eachother.

So basically, what the theory is all about is... the concept that you never know what is going on in someone's personal life (micro and exo systems) so try not to judge based on superficial knowledge. And; also, you can never really know what conditions that person grew up in (chronosystem), so that plays a huge factor on how they act as adults as well.  

Thank you for reading,

now it is time for me to "hit the hay"....

goodnight everyone!

Sincerely,

Natasha!! <3







September 22nd, 2011

Piaget vs. Vygotsky

In yesterday's class we spent time discussing the contrast between Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, two developmental theorists. Towards the end of class we were asked to decide which of the two theories was closer to our personal views... I said both. In my opinion both theories have truth to them, but also have some aspects with which I do not agree. Here is a breakdown of the two theorists:

 Jean Piaget was born in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, on August 9, 1896. His father was a professor and his mother was a neurotic housewife, apparently that is what made him want to delve into psychology. In adolescence, Piaget became well known for his "papers", the people reading them however, thought he was an adult. This just goes to show that he was a brilliant man; even as a child he had the capacity to publish papers and be assumed an adult. Going into young adulthood Piaget studied to the extent that it actually made him sick, so he went off into the mountains to recover and "get away" for a bit. While in the mountains he had a lot of time to think, and I am sure he never truly stopped studying. So, when he came back to civilization he decided to write down his own philosophy, a "manuscript" of his beliefs. A major component to this philosophy can be seen in this quote by Piaget himself: “in all fields of life (organic, mental, social) there exist ‘totalities’ qualitatively distinct from their parts and imposing on them an organization.” I believe this is directly linked to his "ages and stages" theory of cognitive development, because it specifically uses the words "totalities" and "organization". To sum up Piaget in a couple of sentences would be a difficult task, but I will give it a try. Basically, he believed that children go through distinct stages at specific times in their development (sensorimotor 0-2, preoperational 2-7, concrete operational 7-11, and formal operational 11-death). He was a firm believer that all human beings would go through these stages in the order which he set out and within the time frames he allotted. However, there have been many objections to Piaget's theory due to factors such as mental retardation, or the opposite of that, being intellectually gifted.

Lev Vygotsky was born in Orsha, Russia, on November 17th, 1896. He was born to a non-practicing Jewish family, and was strongly influenced by his cousin, David. He graduated from Moscow State University in in 1917 and from there went to work at the Institute of Psychology where he delved deeply into ideas on cognitive development. He began to form his own theories as to how we, humans, learn from interaction with others. A central point in his theory can be seen in this quote by Vygotsky himself: “human learning presupposes a specific social nature and a process by which children grow into the intellectual life of those around them.” I believe this is statement is the very heart of Vygotsky's theories, because throughout his career he focused on children's interactions with the world around them, and how such can factor in to how the child learns or what the child learns. Summing up Vygotsky will be just as difficult as summing up Piaget, but again, I will give it a try. Basically, he believed that it is not a child's age that determines where it should be developmentally, it is its enviroment and the quality of communication between the child and those around it. He also believed very strongly that those who are around the child should act as its role models, and help it to succeed through concepts such as scaffolding (providing support so that the child can achieve higher than it could on its own) and formative grading (giving feedback as to how well the child is doing in class but no concrete grade). However, like Piaget, there have been critisizms of Vygotsky's theories due to the fact that he claims "without language, there is no thinking", so in his mind people who play sports, dance, or do anything else that does not require talking are in fact not thinking at all.

MY OPINION:    as I have previously stated, I chose both. I do not think one is better than the other, nor do I think they are both terrible. There are aspects of both with which I agree, and aspects of both with which I disagree.

AGREE



1. I agree with Piaget that humans do go through developmental stages.

2. I agree with Vygotsky that a child's interaction with others greatly effects its development.

3. I agee with Piaget that each human being has its own distinct schema to which it adds knowledge.

4. I agree with Vygotsky that learning occurs along a developmental trajectory.

DISAGREE

1. I do not agree with either Vygotsky or Piaget that without language there is no thought.

2. I do not agree with Piaget that each person goes through each stage at the same time in life and at the same speed.

3. I do not agree with Vygotsky that there needs to be an "apprenticeship relationship" between a teacher and a student.

Once again, thank you to anyone who has been following my blogs!

Sincerely,

Natasha.



September 15th, 2011

Why do I want to become a teacher?

To tell you the truth, I haven't always wanted to be a teacher! From what I have been told, by my mother, when I was about two years old I said I wanted to be a stripper... yikes! As I grew older I decided that I really wanted to be a lawyer, if you know me at all you'd understand why.. I am probably the best debater I know, I never lose and argument even if I am wrong. The lawyer phase lasted for quite a few years; until I was about 12 or 13 years old. Sometimes I still wish I had chosen that route, but in life things don't always go as planned. Anyway, from about age 13 to age 17 I had my heart set on being a social worker because throughout my life I had experienced so much, some good and some bad, and I really just wanted to be that person who would be there for those people who have no one else to listen. However, yet again... things in life don't always go the way you expect they should. After all those years of hoping and planning I didn't have enough volunteer hours to get into the program (I actually did, the school just wouldn't accept them). So what do you do when everything you've planned for can't happen..? I decided to open my mind to other paths, and that's how I ended up in the Bachelor of Education program at Red Deer College.

In my mind teaching isn't really all that different from social work. We council our students about life, we provide a caring ear when students need someone to talk to, we wipe their tears when they are crying, we jump for joy with them when they are excited, and we motivate them when they are down. We are so much more than just the title "teacher", we can be friends to our students, role models and personal cheerleaders. We can be the one they need to push them to do their best but also the one who understands that there will be times when they just can't manage.

To me, teaching is an art.

You have to be able to go with the flow of things

and reinvent yourself when the time comes to do so.

I would compare teaching to painting. There are some painters, a select few, who are able to create masterpieces by simply going with their gut and feeling the emotion they want to put into their work. However, there are other painters, a large percentage, who need things to be set in stone so to speak. These painters are more of the "paint by numbers" type, they go by what has been set out, and do not allow themselves the freedom to go outside the lines.

Now you may be wondering how all this psycho-babble about painters can possibly relate to the teaching profession... well here's how:




AMAZING TEACHERS:

Teachers who have a love and a passion for their profession will do anything, employ any method, to help their students succeed. They have a passion that is hard to find and they genuinely care about their students. These teachers are comparable to those select few painters who create their works simply by feeling the inspiration and emoting the passion which is already inside of them. This is the group I strive to be in.

NOT SO AMAZING TEACHERS:

The "paint by numbers" type painters are those who do not have the passion, the drive, the inspiration to be creative and perhaps controversial. They simply cannot do it. They must stick to the outline which they have been given. The vast majority of the teaching population can be compared to this. A lot of teachers choose to stick to what they have been taught, to what they see being done by other teachers. They basically stay close to what they know. because they don't have that fire inside them constantly telling them to try something new, to break free from the cookie cutter image of a teacher.  I feel sorry for these teachers, because as I have already stated... in life things don't always follow the plan.. and without that fire inside of them how are they supposed to adapt to things not going as they had expected.

Regardless of which category you fall into as a teacher there is one thing you need to remember... your students need you to believe in them, they need you to show them that you care, and they need you to be there for them when no one else is. In my opinion, if you are unable to do any of those three things.... maybe being a teacher just isn't what you're meant to do.

I would like to end off by saying thank you to all who have taken the time to follow my postings, I truly appreciate it.

Sincerely,

Natasha.



September 12th, 2011

Today in class we, the students, finally began to delve into what it really means to be a teacher. There was one specific point that managed to grab not only my attention, but also my imagination. It was close to the end of class, the students were getting restless and in every direction you could see books being put into backpacks and binders being zipped up. But the professor managed to get out one last message before we all stampeded out of the room. He showed us an activity, which he had planned to do with us that day but had not gotten to, and he said "this might be a good idea to structure your blog around tonight." So, here I am, doing as the professor suggested.

The topic of the "activity" was: talk about a teacher you have had who has inspired you, who has motivated you, or who has been able to connect you to the material through their teaching methods.

I feel very fortunate to say that automatically three teachers came to mind.

Number one: Pottsy aka Momma Potts!

      I was lucky enough to have Momma Potts as my social teacher in grade nine. She is one tough old woman, and I admire her so much. In grade nine I will admit that I was a bit of a handful... I would sit in the back of class with my best friend Jenna, and we would torment her (and the other students). We were loud and obnoxious, definitely not any teachers idea of "model students". But through everything we did, Pottsy never gave up on us, even to this day she is still my biggest cheerleader in anything I do. I think that her support, even despite our bad attitudes, has really been a contributing factor in who I have become.. because no matter how stupid I acted she would always tell me how smart she knew I was and how much potential she saw in me. If I can be even half the teacher that she is... then it's all worth it.

Number two: Lisa Ryckman

     Mrs. Ryckman was my psychology 25 and 35AP teacher, so I was her student for 2 years, and through those years we grew very close... so close that we were more like friends. She was also a councillor at my high school, so if I ever had any problems, no matter how big or small, I would talk to her about them. Now, after 2 and a bit years, she knows everything that a person could possibly know about me, and I know a lot about her as well. She is even a reference on my resume! I think that her openness, her non-judgmental approach to people, and her willingness to listen to any little problem I had were the main factors in how close we became. She is an amazing teacher, and believe me it's not easy to teach 30 grade 11s about Aristotle, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or the Stanford Prison Experiments.

Number three: Sue Merry

     In my final semester of high school I had the privilege of being a student in Mrs. Merry's English 30-1 class. For anyone who is struggling in English, this is the woman to talk to... she has the answer for everything you could possibly want to know more about, and she knows how to explain it so that it makes sense to every one of her students. Throughout the semester I spent in her class I learnt not only about your typical "English crap"... we, the class, also got to do improv routines (her way of making Shakespeare less "dry"), we watched movies such as Shawshank Redemption and we corrected each others work.. to name a few. We did everything you can imagine, all in our short 85 minute class. Mrs. Merry had a way of breaking concepts and ideas down into smaller, easier to understand pieces and by the end of the semester she had the majority of our class ready and confident to take one the diploma. It was through her diverse teaching methods that I actually came to realize that I wanted to become an English teacher, just like her.

All three of these teachers have had major impacts on my life and my decisions. Momma Potts believed in me... even at my worst,  Mrs. Ryckman listened to all my problems... no matter how stupid they might have been, and finally, Mrs. Merry taught me how to love English in its entirety... even Shakespeare.

Once again, thank you to anyone who took the time to read this, it means a lot.

Sincerely,

Natasha.

The First Week

Coming into college we, young adults, can never really know what to expect. Some students assume that their experience will be like the ones which can be seen on television... in which the professor talks, and talks, and talks while the students sit in their seats in a near comatose state. That approach may work for some people, and if it does then that is awesome and power to them, but for most people simply hearing about concepts such as Piaget's Stage Theory of Cognitive Development (which are Sensorimotor, Preoperational, Concrete Operational, and Formal Operational) may not be "hands-on" enough. Some students, myself included, need to be allowed to understand ideas, concepts and theories in their own methods and in their own time. The idea of having a student create a blog after every class where he or she can reflect on the material discussed in class is incredibly inovative. I believe this because it not only allows said student to show that he or she payed attention in class, but also because it gives that student the freedom to express his or her personal views, conflictions, questions, etc. in a non-intimidating enviroment. Having said this, my personal hopes and expectations for this assignment are: 1) to become better able to reverberate the information which I have learned in class, 2) to become better able to connect myself and my personal experiences with the material, and finally 3) to end this term feeling better equipt to handle and respond to the next generations' growing technological needs.

Thank you to whoever took the time to read and consider what I have said,
it means a lot.

Sincerely,
Natasha