How Can Resource Centers Be Helped?

Summary:

The article emphasizes greatly the importance of hiring highly qualified teachers that are able to understand the knowledge behind the laws that pertain to children of special needs, the referral process, as well as an individualized education plan (IEP) development. According to the article, the purpose of this project was to create a manual that could be used as part of a comprehensive induction program, since mentoring and induction programs have been shown to decrease the rate of special education teacher attrition. "What Every Special Education Staff Should Know: A Resource Manual for Beginning Special Education Teachers and Other Personnel Serving Students with Disabilities" addresses the special education referral and eligibility process, eligibility categories, continuum of services, IEP development, typical special education terminology; and basic review of statistical measures which are key components of student success.

Reflection:

Special Education teachers are known to be those that fill in the gaps in our classroom.  I’ve noticed in recent weeks that the Special Education department at the school I teach is overwhelmed because they are overworked. I’ve noticed that after speaking to them that the issue was not that they are not performing well because they do not know the job, but because they are stressed and overworked. With only two special education teachers to aid an entire high school, with students of about 500 students, I would say that is very exhausting. Like mentioned in the article, it is true that many teachers may not be as qualified but this is not because they do not know how to do the job, like new teachers, they needs administration to be able to pay for mentors. I think that is very important because there is an obvious gap. When I do not know who to run to to refer someone to the resource center, you know there is a shortage.

Reference: http://search.proquest.com/docview/1355756890

How can teachers' stress be reduced?

Review:

The article argues that stress often leads to psychological disorders on teachers because of the amount of the work and stress that is put on teachers. The article argues that stress factors, if not corrected, may lead to certain psychological reactions and may influence the teacher to find another occupation with a lesser degree of stress. The article argues that because of the stress, teachers may find it difficult to come back to work. Teacher attrition has also been a serious problem in maintaining quality education in the United States. Although the research produced extensive documentation on teachers' stress and attrition, little attention has been paid to their spiritual stress coping strategies. This article seems to find alternative practices that may benefit teachers in coping with stress and anxiety.

Summary:

I think that teachers are very stressed because of the workload that is put on them. I noticed that many administrators oversee the stress that teachers endure. I remember when I started teaching, I was told that things will get better and they did. But, the stress was not reduced in anyway. The amount of time I spend on lesson planning is beyond 5 hours a week and the amount of hours spent on grading is perhaps double that. By the time teachers get home, they do not have time to actually feel normal again.  I think hiring aides to assist teachers will help teachers with grading and lesson planning. It will help with classroom management and one-on-one teacher sessions. I’ve seen that first hand when I first started teaching. I do not know what we can do as a community to fully say that when we rightfully compensate our teachers for the amount of the work they do, our teachers will perhaps do better. The money that teachers get causes anxiety because many of them have to work another part time job to be able to fully support themselves.

Reference:

Journal of Research on Christian Education, v22 n2 p165-188 2013

Agricultural Education Magazine, 47, 6, 141-3, Dec 74

Characteristics of Schools

Characteristic of School

 

Summary:

 

In the article written by Horn and Kojaku examines curriculums that are rigorous in high schools. They claim that students who had "rigorous" high school experience learned more than the students who didn't and even when all family background characteristics, indicators of socioeconomic status, and selectivity of first postsecondary institution attended were taken into consideration (McDonough 2005; Plank and Jordan 2001). Another important school program—high school guidance counseling—has received attention for its potential to influence college going for historically underrepresented students.  Research shown that counselors who spent enough time with students were able to perform efficiently. 

 

Review:

 

I agree with this article because I've seen how support systems often enhance student achievements. I noticed that there is indeed a correlation between teachers' expectations for students and students' academic success. What that means is that if we higher our expectations as teachers by adding a rigorous curriculum into the school, students will start pushing themselves forward. I also think that having to lift the burden off our counselors, we will be able to be more efficient. I noticed that the school I work in, counselors are so overwhelmed and with the budget cuts, we were unable to successfully push for new software, for example, to help with class programming. Having the money will help reduce that burden and perhaps help in getting an additional counselor.

 

Reference:

Choy, S.P., Horn, L. J., Nunez, A., and Chen, X. (2000).  Transition to college: what helps at-risk students whose parents did not attend college. New Directions for Institutional Research, 107, 45-63.

Chromebooks to change classrooms

Summary:
Many school districts are changing their schools by introducing Chromebooks to each and every student. In The Oskaloosa Community School District ,as the article noted, is introducing the one-of-a-kind program that aims to enhance teaching by distributing Chromebooks to every child to take home. This will change things for many schools because it will allow them to have more access to technology that can be helpful. Teachers will be allowed to be creative in the ways they teach technology so that they can reach every child. As noted in the article, "How teachers will use this to benefit instruction will vary from classroom to classroom and I'm sure that teachers have planned some very interesting ways to utilize them throughout the year," said Hotek.

Review:

Chromebooks are quite changing in the classroom because they help reduce the gaps that happen during instructional teaching time. I believe strongly in introducing Chromebooks to help students in and out of the classrooms. Many students are reluctant to carry heavy textbooks home. I think that Chromebooks may help reduce the tension. I also believe that Chromebooks will allow my students to be more engaged in the material. I think that many students can also save and record all the lessons from class. 

Reference:Oskaloosa Herald, The (IA), Aug 14, 2015

Why are Librarians Important in our Schools?

Summary:

The research book Engaging with the Learning and Teaching Environment  explores the importance of having librarians in our schools. It addresses how librarians play an important role in our schools and how their knowledge in specific fields can be linked to bringing the success to our schools and the success of our students.  As noted in the book(2004,p.10), traditionally, librarians may have a knowledge in one field only but over time, it has changed. Now librarians  cover a wider subject in a specific subject. The librarian's familiarity with Internet searching and metadata offers opportunities for skills practitioners to apply accurate and helpful descriptions resources. Rikosksi quoted in Sturgers (Sturges,2001 p.66) sees a new role for the subject librarians as providing a "bridge" between the subject matter and the emerging technologies.

Review:

After budget cuts, our school has faced a crisis. One of many issues we faced was not having a librarian. I have a total of 150 students and many of them depend on the library for important research projects, homework assignments, and computers. Before the budget cuts, we had a wonderful librarian who brightened our school with early announcements in the morning, was  a support system for our school that was always there to schedule library meetings for our students, as well as someone we went to when we, the teachers, didn't have the resources for help.

As noted in the article, experienced librarians are needed in their field of study. They are the "bridge" to miscommunication amongst teachers and students. As well as guidance counselors that assist students with projects that they feel like they do not have enough confidence to do. Currently, we have senior assistants that have volunteered much of their time for the library;however, no time can replace an experienced, highly qualified librarian.

Reference:

Atton,C., 1996.Towards a critical practice for the academic library. New Library World, 97 (5), 4-11.

Article 1: Strengthening the African American Educational Pipeline : Informing Research, Policy, and Practice

Summary:
The research book written by Jerlando F.L. Jackson examines the lives of African American students in an Urban setting.  Jackson seems to explore the number of issues that African American Students lack because there aren't enough advantages given to them like the whites, and as a result of that, they perform poorly on standardized tests. Jackson claims that inequality, disparate representation, and denied access opportunities are many of the reasons why African Americans struggle with education. Jackson notes in her research that " the dismal educational conditions for African Americans coupled with federal legislation targeted at improving conditions, however, the results have been slow and insignificant. The research also examines how teacher selection plays an important role in student performance. (Jackson, 37)

Review:
 After doing my research, I understood that many African-Americans struggled in the educational system because of how they are perceived in their communities, and as a result, has impacted the amount of resources they receive from people of power. I think that it may take a long way before societies and communities can actually change. I feel like there is indeed a correlation between how they are perceived by society and the grants needed for them to actually succeed academically.

I feel like my students actually feel that they do not have enough resources because of how they are perceived by their communities and the people around them. One indicator that I noticed thus far is how they feel about the community they are in. They reference neighboring blooming neighborhoods as "wealthy" and "place of living" yet never refer to their neighborhood as a place that is comfortable and worthy because they do not feel like they have enough of resources as compared to the neighboring towns.

Link:

 Jackson, Jerlando F. L., and Gloria Billings. Strengthening the African American Educational Pipeline Informing Research, Policy, and Practice. Ithaca: State U of New York, 2007. Print.