Final Project Proposal

My final project will be over identifying colors and telling them apart.

 http://youtu.be/O99aAP64EHc

Should Teachers be Paid...?

  So the question stands, "Should teachers be paid based on student performance?" My answer is no. Obviously it is up to the teacher to teach his/her students everything that they are capable of but not everyone learns at the same pace. Referring back to my last post, some teachers who have been around for several years may slack at their job in which I think it is only fair if they get paid based on student performance. I do not think that a good educator should be paid based on student performance because every teacher is going to have students who need more time and help to get to where the other students are at academically and all the teacher can do is be patient.
   What makes an effective teacher? Patience, understanding, and passion. Every teacher must have patience with their students because if the teacher gets frustrated, it changes the mood of the entire class. A teacher must be understanding to the needs of every individual student because no two students are alike. The passion to teach must come from the heart and I feel is very necessary for every teacher. A teacher must want to be where they are in order to have the greatest impact on his/her students!

Teacher Unions and Tenure

  I did not really know much about teacher unions and I had to do some research. From what I saw, unions are comprised of professionals who are interested in and passionate about education. These unions make it possible for schools to access many tools that they wouldn't otherwise be able to afford. I do not think that unions should be reformed or abandoned because they are a positive aspect in education.

   I believe strongly that reforms are needed for tenure. Throughout the years, I have had multiple teachers who were not passionate about their jobs. These teachers would rather sit at their desk and let the students learn on their own then actually trying to help them learn like they are meant to do. Teachers who have been in a school for 3+ years are "safe" and therefore they think that it is okay after this amount of time to slack in their area of teaching. There are a lot of well educated teachers who would love to have the jobs of those teachers who are slacking on their jobs and it is not fair to the students who have those teachers who no longer have the motivation they started with. 

extra-curricular activities balance with school

  In today's society, extra-curricular activities are a big deal. Some parents can be really hard on their kids and as educators we need to see that first-hand. As teachers, we are going to see a lot of students that come in and out of our classrooms that are involved in these activities and we need to make sure that they are expected nothing less than the other students just because they have other things going on. Extra-curricular activities are a big deal but school comes first and if it starts to affect the way a student is progressing, it is our duty as a teacher to notice it and try to make a change so that it doesn't get out of hand. Sports are a big thing these days but other than a few instances, they are not something that someone can make a living off of and students need to realize that their education comes before these activities because it is their education that is going to get them the job to make a living off of for the rest of their lives.

Developmentally Appropriate Time to Introduce Instruments

1. Recorder: should be started in 3rd grade and up. Students at this age should have developed eye-finger coordination and their hands must be big enough to cover the holes.

2. Xylophone: this instrument can also be started in the third grade. This instrument involves a lot of eye contact and involves using mallets which involves good coordination.

3. Rhythm Sticks: this instrument is in the woods/non-pitched category. The rhythm sticks can be used as early as kindergarten. Instruments that use large muscle movements like the rhythm sticks are good for young children to use.

4. Finger Cymbals: this instrument is in the metals/non-pitched category. This instrument can be introduced in kindergarten. These instruments also use large muscle movements like the rhythm sticks and they are great for young children.

5. Kazoo: a very simple instrument that kids can easily start using in kindergarten. This instrument takes little skill and coordination which is perfect for young children.

Carl Orff's philosophy and the 21st Century Child

  The Orff Method is a way of teaching children about music through a mixture of singing, dancing, acting, and the use of percussion instruments. For this method, a child's natural sense of play is encouraged which is great for young students because they are always full of energy. I think that the Orff Method is perfect for children of the 21st century because playing outside and being active is huge. It gets harder and harder for children to sit through class all day and this is a great way to get students up and moving to not only release some built up energy but to learn while doing it!

Sequence in Learning and Rote-Note

Importance of Sequential Learning:
   Sequential learning means that you process information step-by-step. Sequential learners tend to gain understanding better when it is in steps. Each step in sequential learning follows the previous one. According to Ritter & Nerb, "the order in which material is presented can strongly influence what is learned, how fast performance increases, and sometimes whether any of the material is learned at all." Sequential learners feel like they need to understand each part of a given problem instead of looking at it as a whole. Sequential learners have an advantage in the classroom...for ex: a sequential learner is more likely to excel at multiple choice or true-false exam questions.

Steps for Teaching by Rote:
   Rote is the "I-sing-you-sing" teaching method. There is a whole song approach which can be used when the song is very simple and repetitive. The teacher simply sings the first verse a few times while asking questions about the words to the students. Then, put the words on the board and have the class sing it. The second approach is phrase-by-phrase. This approach is the process of dividing the song into short sections and having the students echo what is sung.

Essential Steps of a Lesson Plan:
 1. Anticipatory Setting: Do something to get the student's attention focused on the lesson.

 2. State the Objective: Let the class know what they are going to be learning about.

 3. Teaching/Teacher Input: The teacher gives information to the student that is needed to accomplish the objectives of the lesson.

 4. Teaching/Modeling: Showing an example of what is an acceptable product.

 5. Checking for understanding: The teacher take time to check the student's comprehension of the material and asks a question and asks for a "thumb's up" or "thumb's down" to see if the whole class has full understanding.

 6. Guided Practice: Involve the students in the plan, ex: follow me.

 7. Closure: A wrap-up of the lesson.