Social injustice

I read an article, getting to the root of educational injustice by Jill Anderson. In it she talks about how teachers face a lot of dilemmas such as budget cuts, staff cuts or promoting students they know aren’t prepared to be promoted. She goes on to state that a lot of injustices, because they are backed into a corner where they have to make a decision, and don’t always have the appropriate support. A lot of times educators are faced with a decision that has no real good options. I think that is the hardest part about being an educator in today’s world. A lot of times the options we are given are not always the best options, but a decision must be made. Also the wrong people are in power and making the decisions who have no idea what the right decision should be or is. I think that as educators on the front line. We know what is best for the students and the students know what is best for them and those are the people who should be making the decisions, or these injustices will continue.

Philosophy of education

In this chapter, he Freire talks about banking teaching, and that it is not the solution. I agree with the examples he gives about how how the teacher as strictly a manager and oppressor is not the answer. I like how he gives examples and lists them. It is very straight forward and easy to follow. He talks about how teaching the banker style is not only hypocritical, but does not allow true communication between teacher and student, and the teacher much like the banker, then dictates the learning environment. I think that the teacher should at some times be the student and vice versa, and that a teaching environment should be about learning by all parties involved.

California's Common Core Standards

I enjoyed this handout, I liked how everything was laid out and explained. I like how it gave steps and suggestions on how to apply this in the classroom. When I was an in home tutor for No Child Left Behind, a lot of what was covered in this handout was applied to how I tutored my students. It is important for the student to understand what they are reading, and form an opinion. Sometimes what they get out of a reading is something that you as the teacher may not have thought of, and that’s ok, that’s why I really liked the section about taking a stance. If the student really interprets the reading in a certain way, then they should validate and stand by it. I really thought the whole article was very helpful in the way that it laid out a lot of good ideas and set a solid framework for how students should be writing and reading in the classroom. My favorite section was when they talked about citation and plagiarism and how to cite accurately to avoid plagiarism. I truly think that is one of the most important part of writing academically, and it should be taught as early as possible, because when you get to college you are expected to already have a working knowledge of it, and most students do not, plus there are so many different ways to cite quotes or work studied, that I really feel all methods should be taught starting in ninth grade, if not even middle school. Editing is another thing I feel really needs more focus in schools to prep students for college, editing and drafting in writing is  essential and should absolutely be part of the common core, overall I thought this was a great read and not nearly as boring as I first thought.