Students will be dismissed at 1:10pm September 7 due to professional growth and development meetings.

First movie viewing session

It was interesting to see and compare the imovies that were created by other groups. There were a few imovies the other night that were hard to understand. I had an especially difficult time figuring out how the first imovie related to education. My confusion was cleared up when we had a mini discussion on their imovie, but overall I did not think their imovie did a spectacular job of explaining/proving their point. The second imovie was better, but was still a little confusing at first. I was also surprised as to what the "teacher" was wearing in the video. I am not trying to be too critical, but teachers dress professionally. They do not wear little tank tops that reveal a lot of skin. This imovie could have been really good if this group paid attention to small details, such as their attire. I thought the third imovie (KEDU NEWS) was the most successful imovie when it comes to accurately demonstrating what they were trying to get at. Their interpretation of Mountains Beyond Mountains was very easy to understand and intriguing. I really enjoyed this imovie.

I know my groups' imovie is not perfect and some people may question what we did in it a little, but I feel that we put a great amount of thought and effort into it. I also think we did a nice job of tying our book into our presentation.

Guest Speaker- Tuesday 2/3

This blog is long overdue, but never late than never I suppose. The guest speaker from Singapore began by saying "overseas education is one of the best kept secrets in the world." I think it is very important for educators to experience some sort of abroad teaching. I would love to teach abroad for a few years right out of college. In his presentation, he said that the key is to find the match of the things you are interested in and what the schools have to offer. This is very important because why travel to teach somewhere that you are not interested in going to and learning about submerging yourself in the culture. That is what this is experience is all about. I thought it was really interesting when he talked about the number of students expelled in the U.S. school he taught (19 in one year) in compared to the number of students expelled in the school in Singapore (1 in 15 years). Another thing I thought was interesting was the renewal of teacher contracts. If a teacher is not performing, their contract will not be renewed. The are not given an extra year to show that they can perform. I think this is a good thing because it keeps teachers on their toes and wanting to teach and do their jobs. This guest speaker was very helpful to me because I am interested in teaching abroad.

Brain Development Presentation

The presentation on brain development was very informational. It was interesting to learn the different developmental stages because I did not know that your brain developed for a while then stopped, then develops more later. I always thought our brains were continuously developing. This presentation also makes me never want to go near alcohol in my entire life. It was really scary seeing what alcohol can do to your brain development. I knew the effects of alcohol when you are pregnant, so that was not surprising. It was just astonishing what alcohol can do to your brain. I also thought it was very interesting to hear the facts about men and women reaching maturity. 30% of women mature by the age of 23 and 30% of men mature by the age of 30. This explains why people always say that women mature so much faster than men. I never thought that was actually true, so it was interesting to learn about. Overall, this presentation was a good experience.

Role Play

I thought the role playing activity was very interesting because scenarios and questions were brought up that I have been curious about. However, it would have been nice to role play for a half hour and then have discussion about points that were brought up. I had some questions, but it was hard to ask them because we were acting for the duration of the class. I thought Dr. Knick and Dr. Langholz did a great job of bringing up issues that we would most likely be dealing with in the school(s) that we teach at. Dr. Knick was intimidating at first because he disagreed with many people's thoughts on the group and topic they were representing. However, this was what made this role playing beneficial to participate in because it was real life like. This activity made us think about real issues that teachers deal with every day.

Chalk and Wire

I have seen many presentations given on Chalk and Wire so I feel pretty comfortable with using it. The only thing I feel a little uncomfortable with is writing rationales. I have already written about 6 or 7, so I am getting the hang of it. I think having online portfolios is very helpful because it keeps all of our artifacts organized and you don't have to worry about losing any of your work.

Culture and Education in Vietnam- guest speaker

I thought it was very interesting to hear learn about the culture and education in Vietnam. I thought the most intriguing part of the whole presentation was the part about taking an entrance exam to get into a university in Vietnam. I did not know that it was so competitive there. This strategy does not give many people an opportunity to become educated and strive for a better life. I am not a good test taker, especially when it comes to standardized tests, so I know it would be hard for me to score a 28-30 on that entrance exam. It just seems that people who are very intelligent, but poor test takers may be overlooked. I think to require an entrance exam is an appropriate requirement, but I do not think it is fair to require such high scores on the exam.