Week 2 Reflection

What are your philosophical beliefs about the purpose of school, about what subjects should be taught, and about how students learn? How does your work demonstrate your belief?

The purpose of school is to educate and develop all children into well rounded young adults who are prepared to meet diverse life long challenges with the necessary knowledge and problem solving skills for ongoing personal growth and success. We must inspire a passion for learning and growth. We need to teach to the whole child not to the tests. Many of today's schools inadvertently limit the amount of student experiences in self expression, productivity and success. We are so focused on them passing the tests and meeting AYP that we tend to forget about the rest of the child. Of course reading, writing and arithmetic are important, but we need to make sure that we are also teaching our children how to be hard working, self directed learners with effective communication, collaboration and creativity skills. They need to acquire skills while using relevant 21st Century learning resources to get them prepared for their future. We will continue to fall behind other countries if we do not begin to place more focus on the skills necessary for 21st Century global competitiveness. We must retool our schools if we expect our futures to be bright.

Within most schools, subject matter is still taught in stand alone courses. A more integrated or multidisciplinary approach must begin in order for children to make relevant connections. For example STEM topics could be taught in combination so that students can make those relevant connections to overlapping content. I believe that it is every teacher's responsibility to teach effective reading/literacy skills. Simply because they may teach Science or Social Studies does not excuse teacher from being expected to teach Reading/Literacy skills. Studies show that we stop teaching reading at the elementary level, though a continuation of critical reading strategies and skills is necessary for students to continue academic progress and growth.

As a supporter of extracurricular courses, I believe that all schools should continue teaching the Arts and Phys. Ed./Health courses. We can not move away from those avenues of learning. We must support those learning opportunities since they may be the one place where so many of our students learn and succeed. Schools that look to eliminate these courses, will contribute to our short comings as a nation.

In today's classrooms we are still not focusing on the skills necessary for students to be fully capable in the 21st Century. I witness this first hand on a daily basis. Students know how to use digital tools for their own interests, but not very much for their personal learning experiences. Continuing to block web sites from our students does not offer them the opportunity to responsibly utilize many 21st Century tools for their own learning. I believe that it is our job to teach students about the web tools for productivity, research, communication and collaboration. We must teach children how to be responsible digital citizens. If they aren't ever given the opportunity to demonstrate ethical, safe and responsible online practices, how will children ever become morally sound digital citizens?

I believe that we over utilize standardized assessment results and test kids far too much. We need to use authentic means for progress monitoring. Simply knowing that a student is not proficient in a skill does only half of what we need. When will we focus on the "How"? How do children learn? What are their learning styles, where are their assets and learning weaknesses? If we teach the same way as we always have, we will never reach them. Students must learn how they learn best and then be supported with activities that support those learning styles. We need to reach the whole child when teaching. Learning experiences must be differentiated based on needs, readiness and styles, not solely on standardized learning outcomes.

Since working in a school for the arts, my philosophy in continually supported by the level of student engagement, learning experiences and success. Students are measured through various means, primarily through authentic demonstrations of their new skills. Students are expected to demonstrate learning through physical representations or their original works of art, dance routines, video and music productions, and theater reproductions. During my intern, I have begun to support these students with the integration of various technologies. The teachers and students have been introduced to online learning networks, eportfolios, online gradebooks and video recording opportunities. This has added a new dimension to their learning. Students are excited to be able to share with each other and their teachers within their new student learning portal. They were surprised when they heard that a new private school network was created just for them. Students have been utilizing the video camera and laptop to record their work and self evaluate their learning and demonstrations. I could not believe how excited they were to do this. They have never used these tools in class. I continue to share web tools that will enhance their learning and will begin working with staff and students to create online eportfolios. Students are excited to begin working on this culminating project as they create a true representation of themselves through their work.