Classroom spaces

I think that the concept of a desk is an interesting one. How much do we really think about the desk when enter a classroom. I have always thought of it as a part of the classroom, but never why it was there. In kindergarten we sat at table with 5 to 6 other people, then as we moved up in grades it went to separate desks with our name on it. It became our place, on could put stickers on your name tag, and arrange your books how you wanted. But then when you moved to junior high and high school it was no longer your place. You may have had an assigned set but you shared it with many others. I find it interesting that they related a messy desk to a messy mind, but these people are more open to new ideas. When watching the video I wanted to write down the ideas that stood out to me about the seven learning spaces 1) secrets spaces- getting off task a good thing? 2) Group spaces- using the groups around us, finding a space where your group can work without competing with other groups. 3) Publishing spaces- showing off learning connects to putting up children work around the classroom as Ayers stated. 4) Performance spaces- the allow people to be something they are not, play can occur in more than just playgrounds. 5) Participation spaces- where theory is made into practice. There are more than one focal point, they are trading ideas, and learning not only from the teacher but from each other. 6) Data space- using the information around us to add to the lesson so children can get a firsthand look at real time data. 7) Watching spaces- having activities in different space ever day (I would want to know how possible is this??) I think that having different types of table is a wonderful idea, and why have we not thought about this before. We know that all children don’t all learn the same way. It is an interesting concept to not assigning seats. I feel that this gives the children the power. to move and interact with many children throughout the day. Having different types of desk is great; one table for children to stand (for those who can’t sit still), one table for those who like to sit on the ground, and a “typical” desk. I am hoping that I can incorporate this idea into my classroom. I feel it allows student to move freely around the classroom, and learn where they feel comfortable. Not every child learns when they are sitting at a desk where they are told not to fidget. Allowing different space for students to learn can be very beneficial.

Meeting the needs of Students

I think is what scares the most about teaching, is failing and not meeting the needs of my students. I am scared that I am going to do what I need to but it would be enough, and I will not have given what my students need to succeed in future grades. From reading the article, I understand that having a connection with your students is going to be very important. But where do we draw the line between having an emotional connection and becoming too attached to the students. I know that many first year teachers’ dreams are to have some sort of lasting impact on all the students one comes in contact with. But I am afraid of being coming overall attached, and making myself emotional overwhelmed. I feel again with this article I am left with many questions; looking forward to being in a classroom, and seeing how the answers will come about. The classroom is going to be a two way street the students are not only going to be learning from us, but we as teacher are going to be learning from the students. We are going to have to learn how to make adjustments all the time. We are going to have to find creative ways in which we engage the students. We can teach, “…through making learning more relevant to their lives and purposes,”(pg. 843). It means showing them what they are learning in the classroom can be applied and found out in the real world. Again in this article it brought up the topic of teachers, “…wanted to provide a safe, secure environment, a caring environment…”(pg. 844). There was one last point that I thought was interesting that Hargreaves brought up about a teacher how was scared that she was not meeting both needs of the students who were exceptional and demanding, but now is worried about the “the average child’. This really got me thinking about anytime we talk about children it is the ones who are coming in behind, or falling behind. It is always talk about what we have to or can do to help these children succeed. There is always talk about putting these children on 504’s or IEP’s because this is the extra support we can give them. Then you have the students who we call “gifted” who come in above grade level, or who “just get” the materials. We can move them in gifted classes with other children like them, or given them extra worksheets, ones that challenge them. But we are forgetting about the students who are where they supposed to be. What are we doing for them? It got me thinking that we kind of push them aside because they are meeting standards are not on either ends of the learning spectrum. What are we doing to push them, challenge them?

Brown Eyes and Blue Eye Experiment

I thought that I would put the video up for those who wanted to see it. It is a really interesting experiment!!

Creating The Right Conditions

This week’s video was really interesting and the speaker Ken Robinson made some points that I agree with. The arts, Ken Robinson talked about how important the arts are to children. I could not agree more. He stated that arts should be a part of the mainstream education. It should be a part of the writing, reading, mathematics, and science. He went on to make a statement that really stuck with me, “We are taking the power of imagination for granted, and we are destroying it in children.” For me this related to what Seth Godin talked about in his book, that we are creating a society that wants instructions instead of creative. Lego recreated their product instead of the all-purpose kits, to predefined kits. What really got to me was the caption that was under the picture. “It failed because it required too much risk on the part of parents and kids-the risk of making something that wasn’t perfect or expected.” (Godin, 77). I don’t understand why this is such a bad thing. I thought that the old approach to Lego’s helped developed the children’s creative side. It allows them to build and create whatever they want. In the all-purpose set can allow them to think outside of the box. They are just limiting them to just one way of thinking, with the pre-set boxes. Like Ken Robinson said, “people do their best when they are doing something they love or when they are in their element.” If we can find ways to make the mandated materials more interesting if we could try and find ways try so it can related to our student lives. I wonder if it would make for a more interesting classroom? Unlike the teacher in stop stealing dreams, I thought did teaching the wrong way, “she intentionally humiliated him, for one clear reason. The message was obvious: I am in charge, and my instruction matter. You will conform and you will meet the quality standards or you will be punished.” This to me is the wrong way to teach, it should not be my way or the high way. There was a line in stop stealing dreams that I liked, “we can rebuild the entire system around passion instead of fear.” I feel that this would make for a great learning environment, where we are not instilling fear into our students. Why put fear about not passing test.Why are we instilling fear into our students and add that extra pressure on them, just so we can show that our test scores are better than different states. School should be a place where plant the seed of growth in our students. Ken made a good point about, “if we create the right conditions growth will happen in our students. It that it is important to find creative way to engage the students, we need to stop putting some much pressure on them, and give them more creative room. Ken also stated that, “we should not be putting them to sleep, but we should be waking them up.” Today we are teaching to the test, which does not allow for creative freedom. We need to allow the students to think outside of the box, give them more room to explore and ask questions that get them more engaged in what they are learning. Get them too ask questions that get them thinking deeply about they are learning in, so they want to learn more.