Maslow Theory

Immigration Discussion

        Before I knew factual information about immigration, I did not think that immigrants should be allowed. Now after hearing stories from people that actually came here as a undocumented person changed my whole perspective about it. I learned that if someone came here at the age of one from another country illegally than they were not considered a U.S. Citizen, because they did not have a social security number than they were illegal. They could not go a four year university, only a community college and they also could not get any government funding such as: scholarships, financial aid. If they wanted to go to college they had to pay with their own money. Illegal immigrants are not allowed to have high paying jobs. A lot of immigrants work under paid because their illegal and it is against the law to hire someone without the proper paper work and accurate social security.

F.L. Schlagle Environmental Library

        F.L. Schlagle Library has a summer camp for kids, and they do different activities that deals with nature. The volunteers are trying to educate children at a young age about nature. The first day when we went to the library we just observed and helped the teachers set up for this activity that they had planned. The students were studying birds. The activity was based on The reason why birds migrate. The second time we went we helped the students go fishing. Even though I am not quite the outdoors person I really enjoyed the fishing activity. The students knew more about fishing than I did. The students had a great time and so did I. I wish that I would have had that opportunity when I was growing up, because now I do not want anything to do with bugs or nature. But overall it was a really great experience, I enjoyed hearing the kids have passionate conversations about nature.

Observing at McDaniel Learning Center

     McDaniel Learning Center was an eye opener for me. It showed me that there are many different levels of learning disabilities such as: social disorders, autism, etc. Most importantly students at McDaniel Learning Center are very precious and really made my day. My favorite class was the kindergarten class, they were full of energy. It made me realize that we often times take the smallest things for granted like being able to communicate clearly with friends or family, when someone else might not be able to. At the same time it was very sad. I remember one student was blind and autistic and he could not walk yet. It was heart breaking.

Interviewing Process

We had the chance to interview different business owners as well as people that work for different company's. We had to ask them questions, and we had to grade them by the way they talked, made eye contact, and dressed.
It was really a great experience to be on the other side of the table being the interviewer.

In Class Lesson

In Class Lesson     

Keyanna Tolon

June 12, 2013

First, we read articles about different techniques that teachers can use to enhance the learning environment and reduce the number of distractions. My group read about different aromas that helps keep the brain going. I learned that peppermint and lavender help relax the brain as well as classical music. I also learned that classrooms that do not smell nice, because the students do not function as well as they are suppose to. bad smells are a distraction.

We also had to come up with a lesson to teach to the class, and they were misbehaving. so we were asked the question how would we deal with behavioral problems as a teacher. I realized that it’s best to talk to the student one on one, because it’ really doesn’t concern any of the other students, it’s something personal. unless they keep doing it intentionally. First we broke into small groups, and each group was suppose to come up with something to teach to our class. They were misbehaving: talking loud, being disrespectful and loud. we told them in a calm voice to stop being disruptive and just listen. but they didn’t listen so we had to say it louder and more sterner. I should have handled it in a more calming way. instead of lowering my voice when they were getting louder, my tone was the same as theirs. As a teacher you cannot show the student that he or she are getting to you.

The Issue of Race

The Issue of Race

Keyanna Tolon

June 25, 2013

         As a teacher, it is important to deal with the issue of race in a non bias way toward our students, administrators, and colleagues.

        

        Most importantly, you do not want to be biased towards one race while teaching, because the other students will get offended. As an adult you also do not want the student thinking that it is ok to be that way towards people, because its not. As a teacher, you are suppose to stress the fact that equality is a must. We are human, therefore no one should be treated any differently because of their ethnicity. Also as a teacher, you have to be careful how you approach administration about race. It is a touchy topic, which means people will have strong opinions about it. Administrators also hold a lot of power, and sometimes even though when you do not agree with them you just have to bite your tongue so that whatever you say won't jeopardize your job. A teacher must also be respectful of his or her colleagues ethnicities. In conclusion, in order to be a good teacher you must be educated about different cultures and races because you will have students from different places. And it is very important to know about all of the different races so no one will be offended.

First Teaching Experience

First Teaching  Experience

Keyanna Tolon

June 11, 2013

The setting of the classroom was set up like a typical classroom: set up with desks, boards, bookshelves, the only thing that was different was the fact that there were not any clocks in the room nor technology other than the teachers laptop. I noticed that a few students had trouble reading as well as writing, and needed help comprehending what they were reading. Since I had middle school students, I know that they are going through a phase of wanting to be accepted which would be the Maslow Hierarchy- self esteem needs. They had the feeling of wanting to fit in and be accepted by their peers. They were also going through the psychological phase of Identity VS. Role Confusion. In middle school is when puberty hits and people are still trying to figure out who they really are and so they try different things to see what kinds of things  they are really into. I asked them should teenagers have the same rights as adults, and I was surprised to see the number of students that said no. A lot of them stated good reasons as to why teenagers shouldn’t have the same rights. Some said that they didn’t want to pay bills and pay for gas and just things that adults have to do. Which made me realize that they are observant and they do realize being an adult comes with a lot of responsibilities. The teacher was really cool. He was really laid back and you could tell that he was passionate about teaching. He helped the students when they needed it, and he was nice but at the same time he warned them they he did not play around. He played music that the students could relate to, and it was very obvious that the students really enjoyed his class. The students actually participated and I also asked a few students if they enjoyed the class, and they responded that the teacher was their favorite teacher. My experience as a teacher went really well, although I wish that I would have over planned because we kind of ran out of things to talk about, and I kept basically asking the same question just in different ways.

College Panel Response

It was really interesting to hear how passionate the College panel were about teaching. It was awesome. They talked with such enthusiasm in their voice and you could tell that they enjoyed teaching. They gave some really good tips on how to prepare for college. They really stressed the fact that prioritizing is a must, if you do not then you will not make it in college. You have to put aside time to study and also have fun. Also, start working on your study habits now that way when you go to college, you will already know what strategy helps you study better. Surround yourself around positive people that way you won’t be so tempted in making bad decisions and you will stay focused on what is most important. Because the people that want to distract you from what’s important isn’t really your friend.

College is not something to play with!! Yes, you are grown and can make your own decisions but at the same time there are also consequences for your actions: so if you decide to skip class you’re wasting your money and the consequence for skipping class is that you will miss important information. Nevertheless, if you prioritize than you will be fine. I learned that college is all about self control and time management.

Planning Of The Lesson

Planning Of the Lesson

Keyanna Tolon

June 6, 2013

            Today was really a great experience!!!! I got a chance to actually get to see all the work that teachers go through just to actually plan the lesson. It was a little hard to try to decide on a topic when I didn’t

have the chance to actually talk to the teacher that I will be working with. But I learned that it takes a lot of hard work and planning in order to be a good teacher. you have to over plan your lessons just in case something goes wrong you, you wouldn’t have to try to think of  something new on the spot.  and when you discipline a student, you should wait until you’re not in the middle of teaching so you can talk to the person one on one and whole class will not be disrupted. It is also very important to be very organized so you will know where everything is at and won’t have to worry about anyone saying you misplaced their work. I also learned to never let the kids see that they are making you angry because they will use that to their advantage.

The students are going through the phase of wanting to be accepted. In middle school a lot of students do things just for attention. So I am a little nervous about that I don’t want the students to think just because we’re close in age doesn’t mean they can just run over me. And I also don’t want to be too mean and they hate me and won’t listen to what I am saying. In conclusion, overall I am excited about tomorrow. I just need to finalize my lesson so that I will be prepared to teach.

What Makes a Good Teacher

Keyanna Tolon

June 17 2013

           Certain qualities must be obtained in order to be a great teacher. It is important to be organized. Organization is a way to keep up with everything, and it is also professional. No student likes to hear that a teacher lost their work because they were disorganized. Another quality to being a great teacher is that you must be patient. Patience is something you must have dealing with people. Everyone learns at a different pace so you must be patient and work with the student. In addition to being patient you must be involved with your students lives. It will help you become a better teacher if you get to know your students. Learn their strengths and weaknesses so that you will know what they need to work on to help them become better students. And also if they are misbehaving in class,  it’s possible that they may be having problems at home with their family: just let them know that you are there for them. It is equally important to be mentally strong. Being mentally strong helps you control your anger when things go wrong. If students see that they can easily upset you, then they will use it to their advantage. Most important,  be dedicated to teaching as well as to the students. The student’s education shouldn’t have to be put in jeopardy all because of a teacher that doesn’t care about their student’s education. In conclusion, being a good teacher takes a lot of hard work and commitment, but at the end, it will all be worth it.