Journal 4
Journal 3
As a child, one of the most glaring differences between “the adults” and “my people” was in the way we thought. I could tell we were different, playing with our toys grown-ups would say “Oh, how cute, don’t ever lose your imagination”, obviously these predictable giants had. As I got older, and slightly wiser to the ways of the world, I found myself in an overly hyped age bracket; the teen years were the focus of so many movies, songs, and primetime exposes that I could tell there was an odd fascination about it by the older and younger sets. Whatever it was about this age “they” sure didn’t get it.
Throughout my years as a student I thought a lot, often I thought a lot about thinking---“What is it about the way I (we) think right now, that teachers don’t seem to understand? How can I make absolute sure that I will remember what it is like to think and feel this way, so that I can understand what kids are going through when I get older?” However, as 17 turned into 18 turned into 25, and college papers mixed with bill statements, I wake up at 31 and wonder what it was like to think in my high school brain (and what happened to my pager).
As I move forward in becoming a high school teacher, I need to address the cognitive, affective and technological gap that exists between myself and my future students. Although I feel disconnected from the thoughts and feelings of the average high school student, I have spent these past non-teen years tutoring teens in math and science so I have maintained an academic connection to the thought processes of many high school students. Unfortunately, I have steered clear of dealing with the emotional needs of high school students, with the exception of brief encounters substitute teaching and watching “Glee”. As for technology, I have only recently taken up residency on the world wide web, immersing myself into the technologies and spaces kids today grew up with.
I see many gaps between myself and future students but I am not worried about closing them quickly. I enjoy viewing things from different perspectives and can’t wait to try understanding how high schoolers “see” different topics. While I do have a lot to learn about technology, CSUSM’s teaching program has taught me a great deal and I look forward to learning even newer technologies from (with) my students. Lastly, the gap between me and the emotional needs of my future students will be my greatest focus as a teacher because understanding people and how to help them better enjoy life has always been at the core of who I am; being open with the class as a whole, reaching out to parents, researching backgrounds and having meaningful exchanges (in person and on paper) with students individually, will hopefully strengthen my connections to all my future students.
Journal 2
Quote from the text/ video | What it means | Deeper thinking |
1. “Kids who haven’t responded to natural consequences don’t need more consequences.” | There are many students who need alternate behavior modifications. | There is a fundamental misunderstanding of concepts like nature vs. nurture and cause and effect. |
2. “If you’re not PREPARED to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original.” | Creativity depends on a willingness to try things that might not work. | I agree that openness to mistakes breeds creativity but it not 100% necessary. Often times originality happens subconsciously. |
3. “And automation has begun to affect this generation’s white-collar workers in much the same way it did last generation’s blue-collar workers, requiring L-Directed professionals to develop aptitudes that computers can’t do better, faster, or cheaper.” | Just as machines replaced many labor-intensive workers in previous decades, computers are replacing “repetition” workers regardless of how smart they are. | It’s a bummer that politics are currently driving our country to try and get back our manufacturing jobs instead of renovating education and taking our place as a leader in innovation. |
4. “In general, the U.S. economy appears to be shifting towards jobs that require workers with greater analytical and interactive skills – skills that are typically acquired with some postsecondary education.” | The government projects many future jobs to rely on higher-order thinking that depends on productive post-secondary institutions. | While post-secondary education is key, we need to focus more on primary and secondary education to fill our universities and trade schools with students who’ve already been taught how to analyze and interact. |
Journal 1
Hello, my name is student A at school B in Mr. F’s US History class. This class is OK because my friends are in it and Mr. F doesn’t really make us do homework, unless we don’t finish it in class. I would say he’s cool but he doesn’t let us text, game, or mess around. We learn some crazy stuff about the presidents, world wars, and the economy. I hate the way he makes us sit in groups of 4 and we’re always doing stuff in groups. I used to hate the people in my group but now we’re cool, so I guess it’s cool. I can tell Mr. F likes to teach and he tries really hard to get us excited about stuff but he called me out for taking a 30 minute bathroom break, so…
My school is better than most because they let us wear what we want, we get to listen to our iPods in most classes, and we only have 4 classes a semester but it’s still school. I like that we can go off campus at lunch, we have lots of electives, and there’s no hardcore jocks. My school is pretty cool.
