Blog #18 Bullying Prevention Program

As I mentioned it in my other blogs, I went to a middle and high school in the United States (Door County) where I experienced bullying and discrimination because I was from Mexico and was learning English as my second language.  I don’t remember being part of a bullying prevention program because I never reported any bullying.  I do not know if they had a program.  If they did, I was not aware of it. 

I think bullying is very scary and damaging to kids.  Kids who bully other kids sometimes are being bullied themselves.  At Nicolet Elementary, bullying is taken very seriously.  I have been in meetings that I had to translate for parents whose kids had been bullied by other kids.  Kids who had been bullied did not want to go to school and had serious problems at home, according to the parents.  I know that, at Nicolet, kids who bully other kids can get suspended if the bullying does not stop.  Both the parents of the kids who get bullied and also the bully’s parents get called to school to talk to the teachers and principal about any bullying problem.  I know the school counselor has also worked with kids who are involved in bullying. 

Cyber bullying is also something that needs to be addressed, especially now that all kids have access to the internet.  Adults need to be aware when children use the internet, and monitor the websites that they go into.  Adults especially need to monitor the use of social networking sites such as facebook.  I translated a document for the counselor about computer safety and cyber bullying.  It basically had information about the dangers of the internet and cyber bullying.  It stated that most cyber bullying takes place on social networking sites.  Working at Nicolet Elementary, I have not seen too many bullying incidents.  I think the staff does a great job of recognizing and addressing any bullying problems immediately.

Edison Middle School has the Student Support Personnel Team (SSPT).  The SSPT works with students who are struggling with anger and social skill development in a small group setting.  They work with the students to develop the skills needed to become a responsible student at Edison.  The staff feels that all the kids deserve to be in a safe and secure place.  They feel they can achieve that by doing things such as active student supervision, facilitation of conflict mediation, and development and implementation of the “Edison Way.”

Marco Olson Guillén

Blog #17 Classroom Management

§  Voice volume

§  Pencil sharpening

§  Talking in class

§  Working with classmates

§  Lockers

§  Going to restrooms

§  Moving from classroom to classroom

§  Walking in the halls

§  Dismissal

§  Asking questions

§  Emergency procedures (fire)

§  Emergency procedures (tornado)

§  Emergency procedures (lockdown)

Going to the restroom

·         Ask for permission

·         Sign the sign out sheet for the restroom

·         Quickly and responsibly go to the restroom

·         Sign back in

·         Sit down and continue the task

·         Ask your teammates if help is needed

-Marco Olson Guillén

Blog #16 Video

Sandra Jenoski:

            She starts on day #1 with the practice and routine for 6 to 8 weeks.  The students will become more independent after that time.  Teacher need to spend time and talk to the students to get to know them and let them know what is expected of them.  If you do not talk to them about the expectations, it will not be a good efficient learning classroom and students get in to trouble when they do not know what is expected of them.  

Voncille Ross:

            Developing a circle builds a sense of community, trust and acceptance in the classroom. 

Shaina Martinez:

            Listen to the students. The students will trust you when you genuinely listen to them about their concerns or successes.  Build a good relationship with them and make them feel welcome to come and share with you.

Ilene Miller

            Making groups, take the time to think about your options and making sure all the students participate and are learning.

            Many of the management skills are different because of the students’ ages.  When you have a community circle, it is a great thing for the students to make the classroom feel comfortable and safe but I also think teachers need consider the age of the students.  In elementary school, it might take more time with the lower grades than the upper grades because of the student’s maturity level.  Students from upper grades are more mature and it would be possible to have this as part of the class. Shaina Martinez’s students want the teacher to listen to them and to be respected.  I think you need to consider the grade level and maturity of students before making a management plan for the class. Student involvement is needed in order to make a classroom of learning.

Video #2:

The advice that Amy gives new teachers is to learn the experiences to be able to deal with any situation that might arise.  What works and what does not work and how can you improve as a teacher.  Have a sensible set of expectations for the students.  Be fair, clear and consistent with the rules and expectations.

Marco Olson Guillén

Blog #15 Convergent Education

This article examines many facts about our current state of education.  It is absolutely true that we need to change the way we teach kids.  As stated in the article, kids are constantly doing something related to technology and they have easy access to so much information right on their fingertips every minute of every day.  Students have phones, games, and computers.  They have access to the internet 24/7.  Their brains are wired to work quickly and accurately with technology so well that they can actually do many things at one time (multitasking).  In fact, this is the best way for them to learn. 

A couple of years ago, I attended a professional development seminar for educators for the Northeast Wisconsin Area.  In this seminar, the presenter showed us a video of 4 to 5 students passing a basketball.  The goal was to count how many times they passed a basketball back and forth.  Most of the adults at the seminar not only miscounted the passes but also completely missed (did not see at all) a person walking around in a monkey suit right in the middle of all the students.  The presenter said that the majority of kids can count the passes accurately and they all see the person with the monkey suit.  This was an excellent example of how much quicker the brains of young people are than adults.  Young students can be texting and listening to music while they do their homework.  In fact, many of them learn better if they are doing more than one thing at once.  

We need to change the way we teach to keep them engaged.  We have so much new technology, why not use it?  Why do we keep teaching the old ways?  In my Education 290 class, I did a field experience in the classroom.  I saw many students who were unmotivated and bored.  At Nicolet Elementary I often see students who are unmotivated and bored.  Unfortunately, we sometimes do teach just for memorization and for tests and not for understanding, critical thinking and mastery.  It is sad that teachers have their hands tied up and are forced to teach this way.  Teachers are given a set curriculum and forced to follow it all year.  Teachers are held accountable for standardized test results.  Teachers are forced to teach students to memorize and reproduce, rather than thinking critically and creating.  Our government needs to step in and support the teachers. 

Teachers know what is best and what works for the students.  If teachers were allowed to use websites with really excellent explanations of everything you could want to explain to a kid, available instantly, for free, (such as www.khanacademy.com) they would have more time to work one-on-one with each of their students and really foster creative learning and critical thinking for each student.  These web resources can take the necessity off the teacher to do the lecturing, and make it possible for each student to learn at their own pace.  The Khan Academy allows a teacher to sign in as the coach and provides free progress monitoring graphs for each student.  A teacher who signs in as the coach for a classroom can see exactly how much progress each individual student has made, what they did well, and where they are struggling.  This allows the teacher to follow the progress of each individual student, learn their strengths and weaknesses, and use class time to provide interesting and engaging real life activities and give one-on-one time to needy students.  Technology is going to play a huge role for the success of our students in the future, why not embrace it now?

-Marco Olson Guillén   

Blog #14 Websites

I looked at the ThinkQuest website (www.thinkquest.org).  This website is an online learning platform that helps students develop important 21st century skills.  This is a free teaching tool that allows teachers to easily integrate project learning and technology into their classroom curriculum.  Some important skills students could learn include: critical thinking, creativity, teamwork, cross-cultural understanding, technology, communication and self direction.  All these skills are very important to for the modern workforce, and they are also keys to being a successful student.

I also looked at the website ePals Global Community (www.epals.com).  With this website the class can communicate with others classes in the area and around the world.  This is a good website for students to connect with others students around the world and learn new cultures.  Over half a million classrooms in 200 countries and territories have joined the ePals Global Community to connect, collaborate and exchange ideas.  The students can make friends or “pen pals” not only in their area, or elsewhere in the United States, but also around the world.  ePals is the social network optimized for student learning.  ePals Global Community allows teachers, parents and students to use safe and secure email, connect with other classrooms and participate in project-based learning together.

Intercultural E-Mail Classroom Connections (www.iecc.org) is a free service to help teachers and classes link with partners in other countries and cultures for e-mail classroom pen-pal and project exchanges.  This is a great website that has many tools for teachers posted by other teachers around the world.  The website includes topics like professional development, problem solving, lesson plans, newsletters, different classroom strategies and much more.  This is a great website for new teachers to use when they become confused, overwhelmed, or in need of some extra support.

-Marco Olson Guillén

Blog #13 Assistive Technology

I have seen many teachers at Nicolet Elementary use assistive technology to help students learn.  Some of this technology is just basic things such as pictures, photographs, word cards and other objects that are used as manipulatives to better meet each student’s learning style.  For reading, some teachers use audio recordings, having students listen to the book as they read it, or talk into a microphone as they read so they can hear themselves read.  Large print books are another example of assistive technology that teachers use to help students learn to read.  Teachers also have highlighted film for students to use as a marker while they read.  The highlighted lines are on either side of the line that the student is reading so they can focus on that line and concentrate better.  Teachers may also provide different color film to put over the reading material.  This allows students to look at the print in a different color which helps some students read. 

For writing, I have seen teachers use a thin lid full of play dough so the students can practice writing their letters and numbers.  This helps students who have difficulty holding a pencil or forming legible handwriting because the play dough provides support for their pencil.  Teachers also use a table covered in shaving cream foam or finger paint to allow students to learn to write in a tactile way.  

For math, teachers use the rhythm of different songs to sing and learn the math facts.  For instance, they use the Old McDonald tune to sing and learn how to multiply by 3.  Teachers use different familiar tunes to help students learn their multiplication facts.  This works well because most of the songs are songs that kids already know; like the “Happy Birthday” song, “Twinkle, Twinkle little star,” “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” and others.  Some teachers also have calculators with bigger keys to help students learn.

English Language Learners always need to have access to a dictionary.  There are great online dictionaries and translating devices to helps these students.  Some of these dictionaries can read the words back to the students out loud so they can learn the correct pronunciation.  There are also Smart pens for writing if you have difficulty taking notes.  These pens record what is being said as the student is writing notes.  Later, when the student needs to fill in their notes, they simply use their Smart pen and it reads the lecture back to them.  Another example I found is the Word Q and Speak Q Bundle.  This kind of technology is used to write and also reads what you write.

  There is a lot of assistive technology that can be used or be modified by teachers to help students learn.  Now we have a great deal of electronic technology that can be used but if that kind of technology is not available, we can also use simple things like the ones I mentioned above to improve the student’s learning.

-Marco Olson Guillén

Blog 11: School Vouchers

In December of 2010, State Superintendent Tony Evers was interested in the idea of increasing vouchers and virtual charter schools.  He agreed with then Governor-elect Scott Walker’s plan to expanding these options for families and suggested that it would be beneficial to the students.  Since he came into office, Governor Walker has been doing what appears to be everything he can to attack public education.  It is obvious that Governor Walker is not interested in maintaining a quality public education system in Wisconsin after all of the attacks he has been launching against educators and public workers.  Governor Walker wants to demolish public education by taking away the rights of teachers, drastically reducing the budget for public schools, and expanding school voucher programs and creating more virtual charter schools.  Even though virtual charter schools are getting popular, they have not proven to be more successful and effective than public schools.

 In the Badger Herald, it was reported that the caps were going to be lifted for the number of students to be able to receive vouchers and go to virtual schools; this could potentially mean that more and more students will be going to private schools funded by public government money.  Unfortunately, these private schools are not held accountable for the achievement of their students, and many are less rigorous than their public school counterparts.

In May, 2011, the Green Bay Press Gazette reported that Tony Evers did not agree with the expansion of the vouchers program.  Superintendent Evers had changed his position on this controversial topic in reaction to the deep public education budget cuts in Wisconsin.  Evers strongly stated that he does not agree with Walker’s budget decision for public education.  Governor Walker wants to take away money from public education and invest it in private schools.  Public education has proven to be effective if funded appropriately.  Tony Evers supports public education and states that instead of funding private charter schools taxpayers’ money should be going to public education.

-Marco Olson Guillén

Blog #12 Blog Experience

When I first found out that we were using a blog for the class I was a bit nervous.  It was very stressful in the beginning getting started with the blog because I had never used or created a blog before.  I spent a couple of hours trying to figure out how to set up the blog and how to submit assignments.  Once I figured out how to do it I was fine.  My blog experience has been very beneficial for me so far.  I like blogging because it is a very convenient way to turn in my assignments so they can be graded.  Blogging is also a good way to get feedback from others and not just the professors.

            I don’t know if I will continue to use a blog for my own personal use other than this class.  I am a private person and do not like to put information about my life out on the internet.  It is interesting to me to see how many people do like to write about everything they are doing and post it on blogs or Facebook so anyone can read it. 

I do think that blogging is a good resource to use in schools.  I have seen some teachers at Nicolet Elementary use a blog for their class.  On these blogs they have assignments, math quizzes and different kinds of educational games.  When I am a teacher, I will consider using blogs to communicate with my students and their families, and post assignments, quizzes and games.

Blog 10: Response to Intervention (RTI)

Response to Intervention (RTI) is a form of academic intervention that is used in some schools here in the United States.  It is designed to provide early, effective assistance to children who are not learning or are having a hard time learning.  RTI identifies the needs of struggling students and provides the focused instruction they need through various levels of assistance beginning in the regular education classroom and ranging in intensity up to the special education level.  The model is a useful approach to providing data-based decision-making for any students who may be in need of extra interventions to improve their performance. 

RTI can also be used to identify students with learning disabilities.  In fact, new special education laws have recently passed stating that cognitive ability (IQ) testing will no longer be able to be used to identify students with learning disabilities. By the year 2013, all public schools in Wisconsin will have to use RTI to identify students with learning disabilities.

Although RTI can be used to identify students in need of special education services in the area of learning disabilities, it is not a special education program.  RTI is a preventative framework instead of a pre-referral, and it is intended to be implemented in the regular education setting.  In a pre-referral strategy we see a student being referred after he fails in some way.  Teachers recognize that failure and refer the student to the referral team.  In this way, it is reactive instead of preventative. 

In the Green Bay Area Public Schools, the referral process usually starts with the Teacher Assistance Team (TAT) and can move on from there to the Consultation Team, which may eventually lead to a special education referral.  Sometimes students don’t qualify to receive special education services they need but still have a form of learning disability.  RTI benefits students who do not meet the current criteria (testing) for a learning disability.  Some of these kids are falling behind because they cannot receive the help they need in special education or from regular education.  RTI can help these kids who are struggling and do not qualify for special education assistance.  RTI allows schools to be flexible to provide more individualized instruction to students based on demonstrated needs and not simply on tests scores. 

For example, as a teacher, I may give a quiz and see that most of my students did not do well on it.  As a result, I may implement some interventions in my classroom that benefit all of my students.  I would also look carefully at the scores of all of my students and work more intensely with the students who scored the lowest on the quiz.  If possible, I may have a paraprofessional or teacher’s aide work in a small group with my lowest students to provide the intense intervention they need to catch up to the level of the rest of the class.  It is important to give many quizzes or other forms of measuring student progress to make sure that I am targeting the students who need the most help.

Multiple Intelligences Ranking

1	Bodily Kinesthetic Intelligence
2	Interpersonal Intelligence
3	Logical-Mathematical Intelligence
4	Intrapersonal Intelligence
5	Spatial Intelligence
6	Linguistic Intelligence
7	Moral Intelligence
8	Naturalist Intelligence
9	Spiritual Intelligence
10	Musical Intelligence
11	Existential Intelligence

Blog #8

I think there are positive and negative arguments regarding whether we should separate boys and girls when they are in school.  A couple of the arguments for separating by gender include: less distractions, it helps them learn better, they have more confidence, and it allows the boys and girls to take subjects they may not otherwise take.  Some classrooms have distractions that come mainly from boys.  On the other hand, girls can be the cause of drama that disrupts the entire class. 

I remember when I was in High School we were only separated for gym and sex education classes.  I think boys can be less mature than girls.  I know when it comes to the sex education class, boys seem to be much more immature and sometimes have to be removed from the class because they are not able to learn the subject in a respectful manner. 

One of the arguments against separating by gender would be that students of different genders would not have interactions with each other and would not learn how to interact with the opposite sex.  I think school provides good opportunities to learn this important life skill.  I also think it is better to have the different opinions and viewpoints from both genders during class discussions and when they work on group projects.  A project may be biased if it only has one general viewpoint, such as that from one gender. 

Another aspect to think about is how boys and girls learn and how their brains develop.  Do boys and girls learn differently?  Boys might draw pictures with more action and less details.  Girls draw pictures with more detail and color.  Brain research has proven that male and female brains do develop differently. 

I do not think we necessarily have to separate students by gender, but we do need to teach them the different ways that they learn.  We do know that there are some advantages for each gender.  For example, boys tend to have more privileges and freedoms than girls, but teachers may have lower expectations for girls.  I think in order to be successful in the real world you need to be able to work cooperatively with different people, especially the opposite sex.  I have never had the experience of attending an all boys school, but I believe that some students might benefit from going to a same sex school. 

-Marco Olson Guillén

Accommodating Diversity

In order to be an effective teacher, it is important to find out everything you can about your students to better serve and educate them.  We live in one of the most diverse countries in the world so it is extremely important to learn about each student’s background, living situation, culture, language, interests, talents and family.  We have so many students from different backgrounds and nationalities and it is important to make them feel comfortable by providing a physically and emotionally safe classroom environment so they can learn.   Inclusive classrooms are classrooms in which instructors and students work together to create and sustain an environment in which everyone feels safe, supported, and encouraged to express her or his views and concerns.  Many classrooms are full of diverse races and learning styles, so I think is crucial to change the way we teach and accommodate all of their needs.

I think respect is one of the most important factors to creating a safe environment.  Acknowledging and respecting each student’s culture is very important.  Teachers need to be aware of that and treat every student with respect, no matter how different they may seem.  As a teacher, you cannot be demeaning to any student.  Disrespecting a student’s race, heritage, clothes, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, language or religious beliefs is absolutely unacceptable.  Unfortunately, some teachers continue to demonstrate a lack of understanding and respect for students who are different from the majority.

The Hispanic community in Green Bay and throughout the United States has grown and continues to grow.  Our schools have many students of Hispanic background.  Spanish is a very popular language that is spoken here in the United States and in our schools.  We also have growing populations of Russian and Somalian families.  I think it is important for teachers to learn a second language to communicate with students and families, and to show the students that you are interested in them and what they have to say is important.  Even having something small in the classroom representing a student’s culture makes a difference.  As I mentioned in my autobiography, I went to a school where I was one of a few students of Hispanic background.  I did not have the help or support I needed in my own language (Spanish).  Sometimes I did not fit in or feel like part of the classroom because I did not know the language (English) yet.  I did not feel connected to my teachers.  I am glad things are getting better with bilingual education and English as a Second Language (ESL) services. 

I also think it is important to create a safe environment for the kids who are still searching for their identities.  Sexual orientation is often like a red flag for people.  Many students are afraid to express their sexual orientation because they do not want to be harassed by other students or possibly even by their teachers.  As a teacher, it is our job to make all students feel comfortable, safe, fully accepted and valued as a member of the class.  We need to be open-minded and not let our own personal opinions or biases affect how we teach. 

I think building that teacher-student relationship is very important.  Teachers can share with students a little bit about their own lives, when appropriate.  I think by doing this, students feel more comfortable with their teacher and begin to trust their teacher which leads to more sharing about themselves.

           

Video Performance Assessment

The video “Performance Assessment: Student Presentation in High School English Class” was interesting.  First the teacher gave the students the rubric and they did the project at home.  Later they came back and she asked them how they wanted to be graded and what their criteria was for getting a good grade.  They suggested ideas to the teacher about how they wanted to be graded and she developed a rubric based on what the students suggested.  The rubric she created covered the major themes the assignment was designed to teach them. I think it could be used in middle school but I think it would need to be adapted for elementary students.  She could have used question and answer activities, open group discussions, reflective journaling, diagrams, essays, individual presentations, projects, research, workshops and/or tests for other kind of assessments.  Tests can be used to check the progress of each student’s level of understanding and functional skills.  Group discussion is a good way to test verbal skills by having students explain or defend work.  Assignments, both written and drawn out, can also be used to test research skills and the understanding of the topic’s objectives.  These can be given as worksheets to be completed in class or at home.

-Marco Olson Guillén

Education Legislation

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act is the largest source of federal support for K-12 education that was started in 1965.  It is federal assistance that helps low economic schools and communities.  Title 1 is one of the programs that help schools that have students and families living in poverty.  The Title 1 offers money to schools to create programs such as early-childhood education, tutoring, after school programs and much more.  I work at Nicolet Elementary and it is a Title 1 school that offers great programs for the students and the families.  Some of the activities that Nicolet has include, Back to School Barbecue, Seuss on the Loose, Showcase of Learning, Vocabulary Parade, and Math Night to name a few.  Some of that money is also used for professional developments for teachers and tutoring.  However, being a Title 1 school needs to report the progress academically in order to keep receiving the funds.  Nicolet school has goals that need to be met.  At Nicolet it is expected to have 100% in different areas such as parent’s involvement in at least two school activities, participation in conferences and is also expected that 100% of students in all grade levels meet all the academics goals. 

Title IX is part of the Education Amendments of 1972.  This is an amendment that prohibits discriminations on the basis of sex in any federally funded education program.  It protects the rights of males and females from pre-kindergarten through graduate school in academics, sports, financial aid, employment, counseling and school policies.  Unfortunately some of the act’s regulations have been violated by some schools.

In 1975, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act was created to ensure that children with disabilities could receive free, adequate public education just like other kids.  Before this act was created, there was no organized, fair way to address the need of the students with disabilities.  They were marginalized and separated and not taught to their learning potential.  Now the federal legislation has made it possible to include kids with special needs to a regular classroom with different degrees of inclusion depending on the needs of the student.  Research has shown that inclusion is better for special education students and students from the general population.

-Marco Olson Guillén

Rules for Teachers

The Rules for Teachers from 1915 and 1872 are different from the ones we have today.  These rules mainly targeted teachers and did not affect the students.  Some of the rules were quite harsh, especially towards female teachers.  Female teachers had stricter rules than male teachers.  They could not be seen in public with a male unless it was their father or their brother.  Teachers would lose their integrity and could even lose their job by doing social things in the community, such as smoking and drinking in public, and even shaving their beards.  Incredibly, teachers could not even go outside of the city limits without permission from the school board.  In addition, teachers had to be home between certain hours at night.  I actually found some of these rules to be funny because they seem so unreasonable now.  The modern NEA Code of Ethics mainly focuses on each teacher’s commitment toward the student and the teaching profession.  The Code of Ethics are also in place to protect the students.

            I definitely believe there are unwritten “social rules” for teachers.  They are certainly not as harsh as the one from 1872 and 1915, but with the same principles.  As educators we need to be positive role models to our kids.  I think some of the important social rules for teachers include dressing appropriately and using proper hygiene, using appropriate language, not having romantic relationships with the students, being on time, and being an upstanding member of the community, including appropriate social behavior outside the school.  For example, teachers should not go out to the bars and get drunk or have any type of disorderly conduct in the community.  Also, we need to watch how we use modern technology, especially on-line.  Teachers definitely have more freedom now than in the past, but I think we need to continue to work to keep some of these freedoms.