blogging for education: a blog

So, yesterday, because I have so much time on my hands and apparantly can afford to spend time watching TV, I was watching Oprah, who, and I stand by this, is awesome. I know I am a young adult and probably shouldnt think she is as great as I do until I am at least 15 years older, but I can’t help it. Anyway, her show was about giving- if you have, you should give because you will feel better, you get more from giving than having- that sort of thing. Then she had a bunch of celebs (yeah, thats right) on who were good at giving (i would be too if i had a gadillion dollars) and one of them was Andre Agassiz. He was on not because he gave away a million tennis balls but because he founded a school in Las Vegas, herein known as LV. His school, which he basically has very little to do with besides the being the benefactor (which is fine because i am not sure tennis players make the best educators) is in a low ses part of LV. The school is a college preparatory school, so all the children, upon graduation, show where they will be going to university. Its a pretty hefty goal for the area of town it is in, or so Oprah says. Because the school is very popular the children are selected by lottery. Tuition is free at the school, though parents have to put up money for uniforms. That is about their only cost, I believe. School days run longer, but that seems to be the only real difference between regular public school and this, though there are smaller classes. The thing that really stuck out for me, and the reason I am writing about it, is that when students are selected, their parents must meet with the school. Most of the children are from single parent families, and the six children interviewed all had at least one parent in jail. When the parents meet with the administration, they have a discussion about why education absolutely must be a #1 priority. The parents are required to sign a contract commiting to their childs education, and they must agree to 3 volunteer hours a week. The administration, in return, makes the promise that their child will succeed, regardless if additional tutouring is required etc. I just think that with that type of parental involvement, a child would have to try really hard not to succeed. The school puts a huge emphasis on sports and clubs, because in that area of town, if the children arent involved in positive things, they will almost certainly be involved in something negative. I went to look at the website following Oprah (http://www.agassiprep.org/). First, I went to employment opps (none exist) but I was impressed by how transparent the school was. I thought that this was pretty important because it gives other educators a peek into a positive educational environment. Anyway, this is something that I was intrigued by, and I am going to make an effort to see how things go for this school. I really hope, for the students in LV, that this school is successful, and if it is, I hope that we integrate some of the same modifications that they have.
ps- sorry this is late.

Following some considerable uproar the week past about ubc-o student representation at our school visits I think I have a few points to say on this particular subject.
One of the issues that I think is really important is our reputation within in the district. If we are perceived as being students that are unprofessional and unprepared to be teachers during our school visits, then this is something that can, potentially, affect us at interview time. I can hear it now. Ahh, a UBC-O student? I remember you guys, the badly dressed ones that never showed up. Sorry, the job is already taken.
My second issue is that our school visits are, SOMETIMES, rewarding. Sometimes not so much. Many times the schools have no idea that we are even coming to the schools, while we arrive excited and ready to learn. I have been yelled at on the phone because of this fact, then when I took this same issue to our coordinators, I got yelled at again! I question why there is not someone coordinating this effort on our behalf. Surely this would be more beneficial than having either 5 students (or no students) call at a busy school.
Thirdly, if there are rigid rules on the issue of dress code, could someone please tell us? It appears that some administration in Kelowna have ideas about this, which is fine, but it sure would be easier if someone would tell us what they are.
As a student, I have chosen to have this experience, and I feel that sometimes there is a lot of muddle where there is no need for it. A simple hand out (as in, sheet of paper) on behalf of the administration of education could avoid this. Tell us what EXACTLY is expected and you will get it, I guarantee. We want to be teachers and we want to impress.

so a week in the schools has just passed, and i am pleasantly surprised to find that i am really excited to start my practicum.  i thought there would be some nerves that would arise as i sat in the classroom observing my sponsor teacher.  surely they will come. probably 3 minutes before i start my first lesson.  but they didnt this past week.  my teacher had me sit and observe, and often help the students. i was a sponge: i wrote and wrote. there are so many things that i want to change when its my turn to be a teacher, but my sponsor teacher had so many great ideas too that i want to incorporate.  the environment that i am working in seems really open and caring.  there were definately lots of joking around and that made everyone so comfortable.  on a different subject sort of is the aspect of caring and etc in the schools.  a bit ago on the radio (Ah CBC you are my favorite) they were talking about how rude our youth is, and how things have change.  Random old man quote ‘they dont have any respect’. But all i saw this past week was positive modelling, and a whole lot of respect.  students, when admonished, were respectful and understanding; they also had an opportunity to speak about what happened and why. there was so much respect going both ways. the teachers that i saw, even with difficult students, were open. they didnt yell at a student in particular, and there was a lot of discussion.  i know that this might not always work, but it can a lot, and it was nice to see.  during my week, i was able to participate outside of the classroom as well with a cultural event; amazing drummers using just about anything but a drum to create an amazing performance, and a volleyball game that the entire school attended.  i thought that was pretty cool. i know that some schools have issues with school spirit, but it sure didnt seem like it that day with the volleyball team. it helped that GESS won! something that may become an issue for me is that i am sharing my classes with two teachers. i dont know if this will disrupt my practicum learning, though i think that it is definately something that i can use to my advantage, and see two different sides to the practicum.  as is obvious, i am very excited to start upon this path of learning. i cant wait.