Today as I scanned through Mr. Holman's blog, I saw a post that really stuck out to me. math in life talks about how the math we learn may not be the best way to prepare us for the real world. I posted on Holman's blog and here is what I said:
Mr. Holman,
I really agree with what you talked about in this post. So many times, I myself start thinking about how pi is ever going to come up in my life. A lot of students question the importance of the things we learn in math, and your right, its time to teach what we need to learn. Most of us wont grow up and find a career where the type of math we are currently learning is useful. In our futures, we are probably going to see a lot more of taxes and bills, and a lot less of the Pythagorean theorem. Students need to be taught how to function in the real world. As you stated, we need to be taught about mortgages, interest, and other challenges that we will face during and after college. I will admit, learning about tangents and cosines makes me feel infinitely smarter, but its time to learn something that will make me truly successful in life.
-AvereeL
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Monday, May 5, 2008
PLN 14
Today I read through posts on The Fischbowl, I found one that truly interested me. It talked about Darren Draper, who posted on his own blog about teachers, and how they can improve their class and the students' experience. I commented on Darren's blog, Drape's Takes and here is what I said:
Darren,
Every student looks forward to the more exciting classes in their schedule. As a student, I will admit that even I sit through certain classes, waiting hopefully for the next. This can have an enormously negative affect on our learning. Students who zone out, wondering what next hour with “the fun teacher” will be like are less likely to retain what they learn. The way the teacher, well, teaches can have a big affect on this. A teacher who is not willing to learn is guaranteed to have students who will refuse to do so either. I have been the student who is bored out of their mind, waiting for the blessed ring of the bell. I know how hard it is to sit through that class. A teacher who is open to new ideas is the type of teacher who has passing students. It is no mystery that students who take drama, art, and music classes have better grades. They have more opportunities to learn, because their teachers make the classes fun and exciting. Teachers who take an active interest in their teaching have students who do the same for their learning. My English teacher often has guests in her classes, and though we students don’t necessarily see the affects of it, it helps her come up with fun, new ideas to help us learn our material. U.S. History has never been my favorite class, but the teacher seeks new, exciting way to teach the material, which makes sitting through the class immensely more enjoyable. Perhaps I am just rambling, but it was refreshing to see someone confront the challenges that so many teachers face in their classrooms.
-AvereeL
I have linked back to Darren's blog (Becoming A Better Teacher ) and suggest checking it out to see for yourself what he says.
Darren,
Every student looks forward to the more exciting classes in their schedule. As a student, I will admit that even I sit through certain classes, waiting hopefully for the next. This can have an enormously negative affect on our learning. Students who zone out, wondering what next hour with “the fun teacher” will be like are less likely to retain what they learn. The way the teacher, well, teaches can have a big affect on this. A teacher who is not willing to learn is guaranteed to have students who will refuse to do so either. I have been the student who is bored out of their mind, waiting for the blessed ring of the bell. I know how hard it is to sit through that class. A teacher who is open to new ideas is the type of teacher who has passing students. It is no mystery that students who take drama, art, and music classes have better grades. They have more opportunities to learn, because their teachers make the classes fun and exciting. Teachers who take an active interest in their teaching have students who do the same for their learning. My English teacher often has guests in her classes, and though we students don’t necessarily see the affects of it, it helps her come up with fun, new ideas to help us learn our material. U.S. History has never been my favorite class, but the teacher seeks new, exciting way to teach the material, which makes sitting through the class immensely more enjoyable. Perhaps I am just rambling, but it was refreshing to see someone confront the challenges that so many teachers face in their classrooms.
-AvereeL
I have linked back to Darren's blog (Becoming A Better Teacher ) and suggest checking it out to see for yourself what he says.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
PLN 13
Today I was reading a blog post by one of the teachers at my school. In her post Home with the kids.... she talks about how after setting up her 4 year old daughter with a bunch of favorites on their home computer, her daughter almost immediately picked up on how to use it all, and became a ".com kid". After reading her post, I commented on it. Here is what I said.
Bkitch,
I was so excited to hear about how quickly your daughter picked up using the computer. My niece is almost her age, and although she is still a tad too young to play on the computer, it was great to hear that a 4 year-old is almost as technologically literate as I am at 15 (though she seems to have picked it up a lot faster than I did).
Technology is very quickly integrating into schools, and your daughter is well on her way to passing up her teachers. I honestly don’t know why, (perhaps it’s because my English class uses computers, and I still get frustrated with them) but to hear that your daughter is getting a head start in life was really inspiring for me to try harder to become a “.com kid” (or teen) like your daughter.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
PLN 12
The Internet is very quickly slipping into our daily lives. We use it to do school and home work, organize dates, talk to friends, update on news, and now, it has even given employers a way to search for negative and even positive information on potential employees. In Will Richardson's article Making Kids “Googlable” , he talks about how schools can and perhaps should do more to make their students "Googlable" to make them ready for their futures.
This article matters to the world because Google is becoming one of the easiest ways to do background checks on potential employees. Today, even myspaces are being used to do searches. Absolutely awful things are put on personal web pages. People verbally attack others, complain about jobs, and curse like there is nothing more pleasing in this world. When employers see things like this, they are less prone to consider that person for the job. Will Richardson has set out to convince schools to create on-line portfolios for students, so as to prevent mistakes and lost job opportunities.
This post matters to me because I too use the Internet, I too have a blog, and I, like so many others, can be "googled". I know that I have to be careful about what I say on this blog, and any other personal web page I create, simply because my next boss could be reading it. I have to be respectful to myself and others, because my job could depend on it. Luckily, none of this is a problem for me, but I see less than appropriate comments on my friends blogs. They don't realize it, but what they say about a girl in their 3rd hour class may well affect the outcome of their first job interview. While I am still a little "iffy" about creating on-line portfolios for students, I do fully support teachers and administrators in educating their students on how to be positive on their myspaces, blogs, and face books. Who knows who might be reading them.
This article matters to the world because Google is becoming one of the easiest ways to do background checks on potential employees. Today, even myspaces are being used to do searches. Absolutely awful things are put on personal web pages. People verbally attack others, complain about jobs, and curse like there is nothing more pleasing in this world. When employers see things like this, they are less prone to consider that person for the job. Will Richardson has set out to convince schools to create on-line portfolios for students, so as to prevent mistakes and lost job opportunities.
This post matters to me because I too use the Internet, I too have a blog, and I, like so many others, can be "googled". I know that I have to be careful about what I say on this blog, and any other personal web page I create, simply because my next boss could be reading it. I have to be respectful to myself and others, because my job could depend on it. Luckily, none of this is a problem for me, but I see less than appropriate comments on my friends blogs. They don't realize it, but what they say about a girl in their 3rd hour class may well affect the outcome of their first job interview. While I am still a little "iffy" about creating on-line portfolios for students, I do fully support teachers and administrators in educating their students on how to be positive on their myspaces, blogs, and face books. Who knows who might be reading them.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
PLN 11
Imagine reporting that your child was hurt, and not having anyone care. Picture watching your child be attacked by another person, and not have anyone come to their rescue. Visualize being a worried parent with a missing baby, and not having anyone notice and take action. Seem unlikely? In the Denver Post's Children lost in the system, the profiles of 13 children are recovered. Every single one of them was killed, and every single one of them was reported before the death. No one listened.
This article was long, and hard to read simply because of the sadness each story unfolded for me, and I think that my explanation would hardly do any good, so for more information on the article, follow the link above. However, in brief, Children lost in the system is about 13 children who's families reported a problem to social service departments and in every case, the report was ignored.
This article matters to the world because of the problems with the system. In all of the cases, earlier reports had been made about the children. Whether it had been suspected violence on the parents/guardians side, of whether the child simply had been acting out of character, social services had prior warnings, yet took no action. There was rarely a follow-up of the complaint, and most of the families were not regularly checked up on. If 13 children can die in one year, in one county because of failing social services, what is happening in the rest of the country? In the words of Deb in NoCo (a woman who posted a comment pertaining to the article), "We protect animals better than we do these children."
This article matters to me because all of this happened in my home state, to children my niece's age, and because (as sad as this is) many of my prior PLNs have been about child abuse. These children could have gotten help. There were people who were trained, who were suppose to help them, yet didn't. Reports weren't kept up to date, and parents/guardians weren't kept under close surveillance after reports of child abuse and neglect. I have discovered that child abuse is a recurring theme in my PLNs simply because just the thought of what children like these face makes tears spring to my eyes. Most of the children talked about in this article had been sent to hospitals with serious trauma, yet no legal action was taken. We talk about saving abused animals and people starving in Africa (which don't get me wrong, are both very good causes), but we don't pay attention to the abused and starving children in our own country. How can we be so focused on complete strangers on the other side of the world when we can't help the innocent babies crying out for help right down the street. I don't mean to say that it isn't important that we help Africa too, but all of these children could have been saved. Simply because no one figured "hmm, a three year-old is suffering from vaginal bleeding, and her step-dad is a sex offender, maybe we should check this out," or "gee, this lady has been reported for two years of parental neglect and abuse, and her son is suffering from bleeding in the brain; maybe somethings wrong," children 11 years and younger were forced to suffer. I don't see how we can talk of helping the poor and hungry children in Africa when we can't even wise up and help kids going through the same thing just a little closer to home.
This article was long, and hard to read simply because of the sadness each story unfolded for me, and I think that my explanation would hardly do any good, so for more information on the article, follow the link above. However, in brief, Children lost in the system is about 13 children who's families reported a problem to social service departments and in every case, the report was ignored.
This article matters to the world because of the problems with the system. In all of the cases, earlier reports had been made about the children. Whether it had been suspected violence on the parents/guardians side, of whether the child simply had been acting out of character, social services had prior warnings, yet took no action. There was rarely a follow-up of the complaint, and most of the families were not regularly checked up on. If 13 children can die in one year, in one county because of failing social services, what is happening in the rest of the country? In the words of Deb in NoCo (a woman who posted a comment pertaining to the article), "We protect animals better than we do these children."
This article matters to me because all of this happened in my home state, to children my niece's age, and because (as sad as this is) many of my prior PLNs have been about child abuse. These children could have gotten help. There were people who were trained, who were suppose to help them, yet didn't. Reports weren't kept up to date, and parents/guardians weren't kept under close surveillance after reports of child abuse and neglect. I have discovered that child abuse is a recurring theme in my PLNs simply because just the thought of what children like these face makes tears spring to my eyes. Most of the children talked about in this article had been sent to hospitals with serious trauma, yet no legal action was taken. We talk about saving abused animals and people starving in Africa (which don't get me wrong, are both very good causes), but we don't pay attention to the abused and starving children in our own country. How can we be so focused on complete strangers on the other side of the world when we can't help the innocent babies crying out for help right down the street. I don't mean to say that it isn't important that we help Africa too, but all of these children could have been saved. Simply because no one figured "hmm, a three year-old is suffering from vaginal bleeding, and her step-dad is a sex offender, maybe we should check this out," or "gee, this lady has been reported for two years of parental neglect and abuse, and her son is suffering from bleeding in the brain; maybe somethings wrong," children 11 years and younger were forced to suffer. I don't see how we can talk of helping the poor and hungry children in Africa when we can't even wise up and help kids going through the same thing just a little closer to home.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
PLN 10
Child molesting is one of man's greatest monstrosities in many opinions. Taking a child and distorting their image of a person they trust in such a vile way is disgusting. Many lawmakers even proposed giving sex offenders the death penalty. In the Denver Post's Junction police: Wife taped man assaulting girl talks about one woman who took the law into her own hands when she suspected her husband of molesting her 6 year-old daughter. Although the article was painfully short, it explained how one woman in Grand Junction caught her husband committing "suspicious activity" with his step-daughter.
This article matters to me for two reasons. For those of you who don't go to my school, or don't read the paper, our school newspaper recently released an article talking about one student who was sexually assaulted by her father when she was 8 years-old. Also, when a close friend of mine was very young, her step-father attacked her. I won't go into specific details about my friend, but it scarred her. In both the case of the student at my school, and my friend, they were and in my friends case still are haunted by what happened, even after so many years. After reading this article, I couldn't help but sit back in my chair and wonder "what goes through these creeps minds when they attack innocent children?" Pardon me if that sounds a little harsh, but I can't imagine taking advantage of a child, especially your child like that.
This article matters to the world because of the fact that the man was set free with $25,000bail. This man, who's name is not revealed for the sake of the victim has already been charged with 11 to 12 other accounts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust. Even though the woman caught everything on tape, and even though the man is a repeat offender, they still let him go. He has hurt other children, traumatized, and attacked them, and yet judges are content to let him wander free? I can't imagine letting such a monster back onto the streets. I don't see how they could let him go after such clear evidence, and I suppose I will never understand what was running through the judge's mind when he released the man. All I know is that men like him are still out there, and sadly, even though a woman recorded her husband in the act, yet another predator has been released back into the ranks.
This article matters to me for two reasons. For those of you who don't go to my school, or don't read the paper, our school newspaper recently released an article talking about one student who was sexually assaulted by her father when she was 8 years-old. Also, when a close friend of mine was very young, her step-father attacked her. I won't go into specific details about my friend, but it scarred her. In both the case of the student at my school, and my friend, they were and in my friends case still are haunted by what happened, even after so many years. After reading this article, I couldn't help but sit back in my chair and wonder "what goes through these creeps minds when they attack innocent children?" Pardon me if that sounds a little harsh, but I can't imagine taking advantage of a child, especially your child like that.
This article matters to the world because of the fact that the man was set free with $25,000bail. This man, who's name is not revealed for the sake of the victim has already been charged with 11 to 12 other accounts of sexual assault on a child by a person in a position of trust. Even though the woman caught everything on tape, and even though the man is a repeat offender, they still let him go. He has hurt other children, traumatized, and attacked them, and yet judges are content to let him wander free? I can't imagine letting such a monster back onto the streets. I don't see how they could let him go after such clear evidence, and I suppose I will never understand what was running through the judge's mind when he released the man. All I know is that men like him are still out there, and sadly, even though a woman recorded her husband in the act, yet another predator has been released back into the ranks.
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
PLN 9
Drug use has always been a problem in our society. Most have been made illegal, and yet they still find their way into the U.S. More frightening is the fact that high school and even middle school students have taken up the trend. Though these facts are all alarming, what I read in the Denver Post's Mom in baby-meth case to be in court in baby-meth case to be in court shocked me more than any of these. A woman by the name of Katriece Trujillo was charged with child abuse after giving her 3 month-old son methamphetamine in his bottle.
This article matters to they world because Trujillo has just, in a small way, introduced another drug user into society. Often, in cases like her son's, the baby grows up unhappy and difficult unless they receive what ever drug it is they were exposed to as babies. After ingesting the meth, Trujillo's son began experiencing seizures. It isn't said if he suffered from any other adverse affects, but doctors are sure the drugs racked his system.
This article matters to me because, as you all know, I have a niece who too is still a baby. I can't imagine any person wanting to hurt their child. What would possess a woman to give her baby boy such a dangerous drug is beyond my comprehension. What worries me the most is that later on in his life, this boy could suffer from all sorts of problems. Grumpiness, seizures, epilepsy, and violent mood swings are only some of the risks he might face now for the rest of his life. IT really breaks my heart to know that this boy will probably never have a normal life bcause of what his mother did. Perhaps I am just being pessimistic about this boys future. He may well live to be a functional adult. However, what was done to him was cruel, and the fact that his own mother did makes me sick.
This article matters to they world because Trujillo has just, in a small way, introduced another drug user into society. Often, in cases like her son's, the baby grows up unhappy and difficult unless they receive what ever drug it is they were exposed to as babies. After ingesting the meth, Trujillo's son began experiencing seizures. It isn't said if he suffered from any other adverse affects, but doctors are sure the drugs racked his system.
This article matters to me because, as you all know, I have a niece who too is still a baby. I can't imagine any person wanting to hurt their child. What would possess a woman to give her baby boy such a dangerous drug is beyond my comprehension. What worries me the most is that later on in his life, this boy could suffer from all sorts of problems. Grumpiness, seizures, epilepsy, and violent mood swings are only some of the risks he might face now for the rest of his life. IT really breaks my heart to know that this boy will probably never have a normal life bcause of what his mother did. Perhaps I am just being pessimistic about this boys future. He may well live to be a functional adult. However, what was done to him was cruel, and the fact that his own mother did makes me sick.
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