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Friday, January 6, 2012
Chapter 3- Introduction to Teaching-Kauchak ,Eggen Changes in American Society: Their Influences on Today’s Students
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I found it interesting that so many students do or have done drugs. I knew drugs were prevalent in teenagers but I never paid attention to how prevalent they are. The text says "that more than 20 percent of 8th graders and a third of 10th graders reported drug or alcohol use in the past year". 60 percent of high schoolers reported that their drugs were bought, stored, and used in the school. This is shocking to read because schools usually pride themselves on being drug free. Many of the schools I have been to have had signs posted that you were entering a drug free school. I think we should be doing more to get drugs out of the school. We can't control what children do outside of school but when they are in school we can try to stop it. One contradiction I found is that the text says the use of drugs has declined, but it also states that students are abusing other drugs. In my school, there were a lot of my peers who did drugs but I guess I never thought about where they were getting or using them. I hope that in the future we can remedy this situation with drugs.
ReplyDeleteIn my high school, there was a saying that there is more drugs in well to do schools because the students actually have the money to buy them. You could always tell which crowd of kids was the "drug" crowd, but I also never cared what kind of drugs these were, and where they got them. I never heard of locker searches either, so it would have to be pretty obvious before anything was done to correct the situation.
DeleteWorking as a secretary in one of the largest high schools in New Mexico (about 3000 kids from 2004-2008), I learned what pot smelled like, I learned what the "drug dogs" did and I did locker searches. I didn't find any drugs in the lockers myself, although the dogs did. I once had an office aide that I later found out was doing meth. I didn't know the symptoms at the time, I just knew she was tired a lot.Live and learn! It was a daily occurrence for security to bust someone for drugs or alcohol as the school was in an affluent community close to Albuquerque.
DeleteI cannot imagine that size of a school as the community where I live has a high school of about 150 students. Although it is a small school it too has students that use either pot or drink often. Just goes to show that unfortunately, drugs are everywhere.
DeleteIt is scary to me, the different methods teenagers are using to get high. Some kids do not feel like they are doing drugs, or they think its not illegal to smoke certain types of herbs, glue,crushed up tylenol just to name a few. When I was in college, I knew these two guys who when they couldn't find any weed, they would go to Dillions and Walmart and buy NightQuil and chug 4-5 bottles. They said the high was better than doing weed itself. It's so sad to me that someone thinks they have to feel a certain way to enjoy life.
DeleteI know when I went to school it seemed like everybody was doing drugs. I also think that we need to do more about drugs in the school systems but we also need the help of parents at home to do their part also.
DeleteChapter 3 had an amazing amount of information regarding various influences on students of today. I cannot say I was surprised by anything I read about in this chapter, as the issues illustrated in the text are brought up often in the news. You hear about drug and alcohol use in the schools, sexual activities that seem to happen at an even younger age today, the practical non-existence of a "traditional" family, child abuse, obesity rates, etc. Many of these issues tend to be associated with poverty and low-SES children, as economic stresses may lead to various shortages, such as low parental involvement, parental substance abuse, and various other shortcomings. I do, however, want to bring up a personal example that illustrates how even in the better prepared schools, in wealthy neighborhoods, some students do not receive the help they need. I grew up in a "traditional" family with a mother who was both verbally and physically abusive. As a high school student, newly immigrated to the United States, I was not aware of the various social services available to me. I attended a very good high school in the suburbs of Chicago. My mother was highly educated, and did not have a drug or alcohol problem. However, she did vent out on me, and took her anger out in a physical way. In fact, I came to school one day with a scratched face, because she hit me across the face multiple times. Did I run to the school counselor to report my mother the next day? Absolutely not, after all, abused children tend to blame themselves for the actions of their parents. I went to all the classes that day, and not one teacher pulled me aside to ask me what happened, or referred me to a counselor to try to find out if anything was wrong. Granted, I was a good student, with 3.5 GPA, and quite shy because of my English language limitations. Would I have gotten the attention had I been a student at an urban school, where teachers expect these things to happen? Were the teachers in my high school non-supportive of their students? Or did I just fall through the cracks? Looking back now, I feel the experiences I had made me more aware of the situations that may occur in other families. As a future educator, I will be able to better relate to students who come from families with "issues". I will also know better not to blame the child for various misbehavior at school, because a lot of times it goes back to what's going on at home.
ReplyDeleteI am sorry for the experiences that you had as a child. At least it will give you an insight, like you said, to what children could be experiencing at home. Hopefully you will be able to stop the abuse in the children's home or at least be able to take the child out of that situation. It will be very good to know the signs of abuse, I'm sure that every teacher will come across at least once in their careers.
DeleteChild abude is such a difficult topic to discuss. I'm very sorry to hear about your experiences but I am glad that you are turning it in to postives in your life. I think one way thing that could help in schools is if they had more then one counselor in the building. I would love to see more money and more attention be placed on the couseling services in schools. I feel as if we don't really appricate this service.
Deletechapter 3 was interesting as well as disturbing. I always knew that drugs were and still are a major concern for today's students but what I didn't realize or maybe I didn't want to realize is the numbers and statistics of kids who have tried one type of drug or another. This is so frightening. School should be a safe place and yet kids from all ages are faced with the peer pressure that can coincide with drugs. I live in a small community and the drugs that are seen or mentioned pertaining to school is mainly pot. I am 100% for searching lockers and/or any other measures that ensure a safe school zone. Many kids have struggles at home with either a parent or someone that they know who has a problem with alcohol/drug use and school should be a place where they can come to feel safe. I gather from the text that certain drug use among students has declined but I'm not sure of that. The reason that I feel this way is due to the fact that while marijuana use may not be the popular drug of choice for high school students these days, it has been replaced with others such as breathing in cleaning products to feel a "high". I think that every parent and teacher need be aware of the drugs that are out there. Hopefully through further and extensive knowledge about drugs teachers will be able to help students walk away from drugs. With that said, parents are really the one's that need to enforce positive healthy lifestyles for their kids...followed by the teachers.
ReplyDeleteI agree I think school should be a safe place for children. I am to from a small community and marijuana is the drug you mainly hear about. I couldn't imagine what some teachers face in the larger cities when it comes to kids and drugs. I agree that teachers need to be aware of signs from kids because so many of them do drugs such as pills that are hard to detect.
DeleteAs I was reading Chapter 3, it didn't once shock me that America is having trouble in their school system. The sexual harassment, use of alcohol and drugs, sexuality, and bullying is very common. Especially bullying. I feel like some schools are trying to get a hold on it, but in bigger cities I really think that it is almost impossible. While some problems might stem from single homes, I also think that problems stem from constantly working parents or lack of control on the parents part (obviously.) A section of Chapter 3 that I was shocked to read was about Homelessness in America. I applaud the school in Arizona that gives the children clean clothes, food and support. Living in Kansas, you don’t see much of/if any student homeless. Reading chapter 3 makes me even more eager to get out in the teaching world and make a difference in a child’s life!
ReplyDeleteI Agree, I have not seen homelessness in rural kansas in the living under a bridge sense, but I wonder if there aren't more homeless kids in Kansas than we might guess? There seem to be kids who are constantly transitioning from one living arrangement to another, and others who live in homes without access to proper bedrooms, utilities etc. I wonder if these kids don't experience many of the same stressors as the families that we more commonly think of as homeless?
DeleteCh 3 leaves one with plenty to chew on, doesn’t it? I guess I find myself thinking the most about the section on bulling. I see bulling in one form or another nearly every school day. Most commonly I see kids excluding others or telling them that they cannot play with them. I heard a “This American Life” Story (NPR) about a MacArthur award winning kindergarten teacher who took a bold approach. She Instituted the rule “you can’t say you can’t play” in her classroom. At first the kids thought it was an unreasonable request but one that ended up completely changing the culture of the classroom. I noticed that she’s written a book on the subject. Has anyone come across any more comprehensive recourses on classroom community building and or conflict management that they have found helpful?
ReplyDeleteThis chapter had many interesting facts and statistics about teenagers in schools today. I however, I’m not that surprised by what I read. I think this could be that I was in school not that long ago and I had many pressures from many different parts of my life on me. Drugs are one of the most prevalent influences in student’s life today. This is also one of the hardest to say not to as a teenager. I believe that as time goes on we will only see a rise in drug abuse in our students. I think we need to do something to stop this cycle and prevent it from getting worse. Sex is another influence in our teenagers’ lives. This is such a hard topic to deal with because it is so controversial. I think that we need sex education in schools because this is the way that we can teach our students to wear protection if they choose to have sex. Everyone has their own opinions on what they believe should be taught in schools. I think that students are getting caught in the middle and they have no one to turn to. I think that schools should invest in better and more couseling programs.
ReplyDeleteIn our public school system, we teach sex education for knowledge. Unfortunately, there are so many people that don't feel school is the proper place to teach about contraception.So, they leave that part out in the public schools. I, for one, went to a private school that did not teach anything about sex. I had a strong family baclground that guided my knowledge about sex from home. It's too bad more kids don't have the same opportunity I did.
DeleteChapter 3 Blog “Changes in American Society”
ReplyDeleteIt’s amazing that until you read or hear about the poverty or the underclass children, you don’t realize how bad it is in our country. Poverty causes more problems than just being poor. The children come to school hungry, without supplies, and some are dirty. But, part of them don’t get to eat at school because their parents haven’t signed them up for free and reduced meals. At least one fifth of the children that come to school today are experiencing poverty associated problems. Children that have problems at home may turn to other outlets. They may turn to sex, drugs or alcohol. Sex Education needs to be a key implemented program and it sounds like it should start as early as 5th grade. Somehow, we need to be able to get it in these kids’ heads to wait or use protection. Or, we need more extracurricular activities to keep them focused on something else. There needs to be “free” after school care with interest classes available to keep these kids occupied until their parents are home from work. They could also have tutoring available for those who qualify. In addition to early sexual activities, some children turn to drugs or alcohol. It is unfortunate that the media show so much to anyone watching. In this day and age, there are so many parents that don’t take the time to restrict their child’s T.V. or internet privileges. Kids know how to go places on the internet that their parents don’t even know are there. Maybe, we should have No TV other than Cartoon Network and internet usage only at school!
I totally agree with your post, especially the part about sexual education in 5th grade. I think children are wanting to grow up too soon. Even when I was in school I remember we had a school nurse come in to the class in 5th and 6th about "growing up", but I don't really remember anything being discussed in school on the subject of sex until my 8th grade health class. This day and age if the schools are waiting till 8th grade alot of times it's too late.
DeleteChapter 3 was very informative to me. Also I understand were they are coming from the "normal family" we do not have these anymore and this does make a big difference on the students I have been one of these students myself. My parents got a divorce in my sophomore year of high school and my brother was just in kindergarten I have seen how difficult it is to go to school and try to focus and then still have family issues on your mind. I feel for my children because when the economy took a dump my husband lost his job and and I picked up two jobs and was hardly ever home.This made a major impact on my family. I also know that my older children hear me and my husband discussing money issues even thought we try to hide from them.I do not want to upset them and cause hardships for them because school is hard enough to deal with. But I try to set a great example for my children and tell them that without a college career you will not make it and you do not want to struggle like me and your dad.I had made a lot of bad and misguided choices in school but now I have learned the error of my ways and would love the chance to be able to help another child to make better choices and succeed in life. I honestly can not believe that I made this far. I am glad that I finally buckled down and started making better choices.
ReplyDeleteHi Brandy,
DeleteThanks for sharing. :-) You should be very proud of yourself for not giving up on your dream. I think you will make a wonderful teacher. I believe that we are faced with struggles and hardships in our life to teach us how to be better people and to give us empathy to help others. You are right, college is the only way to go these days. Remember, your children see what a fighter you are and will model your behavior. :-) Good post!
This is a great chapter! It is important for all teachers to understand what they are getting in to when they make the decision to become a teacher. Page 72 makes a great point, the author mentions that teachers need to realize that most families do not come from a nuclear family in today’s society. This further proves the point that teachers need to be aware of their student’s backgrounds before school begins, maybe with an open house. Many children live with step-parents. Teachers need to be sensitive to this and not assume anything without asking. Children don’t need to be put into a situation where they feel different or bad about their living situation. Some issues are complex adult issues that children face and it is hard for them to explain it in simplistic terms.
ReplyDeleteThe socioeconomic status: “The combination of family income, parents’ occupations, and level of parental education (73)”, is what the Coleman Report suggested determines the success of the student. I disagree with this. I came from a very poor family. I did not have many clothes; we worried about being homeless, I, like Sally, in the case study, prepared dinner for my family. My mom worked long hours and we were latchkey children, after my parents divorced. I felt ashamed of this and would tell elaborate lies to my peers and my teachers. We did not stay in one place very long, so I got by with it most of the time. It was a real luxury to have school supplies or a new backpack for school. I did not admit defeat. That type of life taught me what I did and did not want out of life. It has given me great determination to succeed. My faith has played a big part in this. My point is, children should not be labeled for their economic status. Every child deserves to have an equal opportunity to learn and a good teacher will see past social status and expect and encourage all her students to succeed.
I do agree that poverty level children have a lot of struggles. Stability is so important for a child. Moving around is not beneficial. Children who are poor seem to be the target of bullies. It is easy to feel insecure and have low self-esteem when you see the wealthier student’s and what they have. There is no doubt that this can lead to depression. Teachers need to understand this and have a no-tolerance rule for bullying.
The Full service schools: “Schools that serve as family resource centers to provide a range of social and health services”, is a great idea. Families do need support. The downside would be to try to get parents and families to use the support offered.
I plan to be an effective “At-Risk” teacher. Page 95 of our text states that effective practices for teachers are: “High classroom structure with predictable routines, clear learning objectives, high levels of interaction between teacher and students, frequent and thorough assessment, informative feedback to promote student success, and emphasis on student responsibility.”
So far, this class has taught me that being a teacher is not by any terms easy, but can be so fulfilling if I am the kind of teacher that supports and encourages my students to be better than they imagined they could be. Being a teacher is one of the most important jobs there is.
Shana, I love your final statement. I am really struggling with whether or not I am cut out to be a teacher. I want to be supportive and encouraging to the students and know I have the compassion but all the challenges we are reading about makes it sound almost impossible. Reading encouraging words from others helps me take some of the doubt out of my mind. I agree being a teacher is one of the most important jobs out there and because of that I feel we are responsible for the future of our nation in the education of our children.
DeleteChapter 3 was very informative. I was astonished when I read in the text that 1 of 10 of the teenagers had sex before age 13 and that 10% of 10th graders had said they had four or more sex partners. pg. 80. I feel that it is very important for schools to teach sexual education. Some parent's I know would disagree. If I was a parent, I would start talking to my child early about the subject, but I would like the school to provide information too because, maybe between home conversations and school conversations on the subject, it would be instilled into the child's head. Another think that caught my attention in this chapter was the section on poverty (pg 74-75) and how many children go to school hungry. I know where I live in Hastings, Nebraska, this is happening to children. I watched a local news report recently that said that some of the children who are from poverty stricken families only get their meals at school and aren't getting a great deal of food at home. The public schools here in Hastings even have a program where they identify (not sure how) who's family have a hard time buying food and sends them a backpack full of food on so they won't have to be hungry on the weekends when school isn't in session. Quality child care was also a subject discussed in this chapter that was of interst to me. I agree with the text, that quality child care is very important. I feel that early childhood ed programs should be available to all children regardless of how much money the family has. Preschool is very important because it helps children learn school readiness skills but also fosters all other areas of development. I know here in Hastings there is a Headstart for low income families, but space is limited. There is also a Public School preschool at 4 of the local elementary schools for children who have various disablilities. There are also other private preschools in town, but alot of people are still hurting because they don't meet the income requirements for their child to go to headstart and their child doesn't have a disability, the only other option is private preschools which can be costly. I would like to see more done, as far as affordable preschool for children in this city. (Maybe this would be a good project for me)
ReplyDeleteThe 1 in 10 teenagers having sex before 13 about floored me as well. And the multiple sex partners. It's just crazy. This is why in my opinion schools need to educate children about sex and at an early age. If kids as young as 13 are having sex, we need to start educating our children about the risks earlier. And while parents would disagree and think the education should come from them, it's like the book says, parents are spending less time with their children today then in the past. I was in junior high in the 80s and I remember when Aids became a big news item. That in of itself was enough to make me not want to do anything. It's almost like kids these days think they are invincible. I just wish there was more educators could do, if parents and school systems would just let them. We are the ones spending the most time with the children, we are earning their trust, we are their guardians as well.
DeleteReading Chapter 3 reminded me a lot of the children I work with at my job of being a case manager. It didn't surprise me to hear about low income families not getting the early education that they need because I go to a low income elementary school and I see a lot of kids struggling. Latchkey children is something that I think really affects children because they come home and do whatever they want. They don't get the positive attention and the feeling of coming home to Dad and Mom. I see a lot of kids go to the Recreation Center which I think is a good thing because it helps kids to be active and not at home playing video games. The amount of teen sex that goes on is crazy now days. Same with teen pregnancy. I remember in school people doing drugs such as weed but now I hear of a lot more drugs that kids are doing. I have heard of kids getting high on propane. That is just crazy! I think there is bullying that goes on in schools but I also think that kids just say they are bullied if a kid says something mean to them one or two times.
ReplyDeleteI think that looking at low income families I think that schools try to help them out as much as they can. I think that there are a lot of parents who have negative attitudes when it comes to there kids education and they just don't care about it. I think a lot of these kids don't get read to at home or get help from there parents with school work. I'm not saying all but I have experienced some.
I remember in school some kids would do whatever they could do to fit in such as drinking. I think it is also like that now with kids facing a lot of peer pressure. To be a teacher I think you get the chance to help kids in so many more ways than just an education but you can be a role model and some one to talk to that a kid trusts.
Hi Jared,
DeleteThe teen sex is absolutely mind boggling to me. I work at a middle school, and although we currently don't have any pregnant girls, I have been told that's its not uncommon for our school to have pregnant girls. I cannot imagine these babies having babies. They are are so young and so naive. I had one 8th girl tell me last week that she loves babies and can't wait to have one. At first I thought she was joking, but she really meant it. As an older mother to two small children this terrified me for her. I started telling her about the cost of diapers and formula, and about babies crying all night with colic, and diaper blow-outs. I am sure this was probably the wrong thing to do but my heart felt panicked for this girl.
I am sad to say that most of the information in this chapter reflected the school I work at. We experience a lot of these issues on a daily basis. A lot our students have issues from homelessness, drugs, bullying, and violence. And just when you think you’ve heard it all, something new crops up! One day we had a random drug search. They locked down our middle school, and six teams of drug dogs came through our school. It was unannounced and none of us had any idea what was going until we saw the drug dogs out the windows of classroom doors. On that day, I am happy to report that no drugs were found. We also have homeless students at our school as well. And according to the text, anywhere from 500,000 – 1 million children are homeless at any one point in a year. I think most of us associate that with big cities, and “other” places. But right here in Wichita, KS we have homeless children. The text also told about a Phoenix school that caters to homeless children. I applaud their efforts and I sincerely would like to participate in a program like this someday. I so want to make a difference and be a part of something bigger than myself.
ReplyDeleteAnother topic related to the homelessness was lower socioeconomic status and its effects on students. These students generally have lower attendance rates, which contributes to falling behind and getting poor grades. At our school, some kids in this category are even considered habitually truant they are absent so much. We do what we can to try and get them to school and keep them caught up on their work. I am truly amazed sometimes by a few of my students. They can miss up to 2 days a week of school, and with minimum help on test get better than a C. And that’s pretty good considering they were never there. However, they are usually still flunking because they aren’t there to do daily work, get homework, and hand in that homework. Usually our kids that are absent so often like this have F’s across the board. As a para I talk with them, I coax them, and try to figure out exactly why they aren’t coming to school. One boy told me if he didn’t get himself up, no one else would. (this was a 6th grader) Some kids are absent because they have to stay home and take care of sick siblings. It’s easier to keep a 6th or 7th grader home with the 1st grader than the parent having to miss work and lose that income. It’s not pretty, but it’s what these kids face. I am shocked by the amount of children that come to school filthy wearing filthy clothes. I am not certain these kids know any different.
Another topic of interest for me was bullying. In our district bullying has become a hot topic, and I know in our school, we are on the lookout for it all the time. I am saddened to read about the high incidence of bullying, especially with all the attention that the topic has been getting.
It's interesting that you work in a school with homeless kids. I understand your point about thinking that homelessness is in "other" schools or other places. It's really very sad imaging a child coming to school and then leaving school to go to no specific place or home. Where are these kids doing their homework? I just wonder how we can assist these children more. It just seems ridiculous that we know what is going on, and can't really do anything to create mass change.
DeleteWow Nisa, what a post. I am not in a classroom yet but find myself thinking how would I deal with certain situations or issues. I am a very compassionate person and have a tendency to get attached and wonder if this line of work is for me or not. I could see myself coming home every day from school and crying, wishing I could do more. And to respond on bullying, we have had quite a bit of that lately on the news. High schools are really struggling with bullying, especially cyberbullying. There have been Twitter accounts opened which demean female students by name. It is just insane. And Lisa, I agree with you, is there more educators can do to assist these children?
DeleteI thought the "changes in our students" section was interesting. Changes such as sexuality, obesity, crime and violence, and alcohol and drugs. In 2007 nearly half of teens reported being sexually active by the end of high school. I feel like this number is staggering. This puts our students at risk for STD's and teen pregnancy. We as teachers need to be able to educate our students about safe sex in stead of preaching abstinence.
ReplyDeleteAlcohol and other drug use is still a major problem that needs to be addressed and recognized by educators. Some think that this use is due to mixed messages within our culture and the media. We need to be aware of this and warning signs so we can get kids the help they need, when and if needed.
Obesity is another change in our students we need to be aware of. 1 out of 6 children ages 6-19 are overweight, which is triple the proportion from 1980. This is a problem in schools because we are offering unhealthy options for meals. We need stricter nutritional guidelines for school lunches, as well as to help education children about healthier choices.
Crime and violence is a major issue as well. 33% of high school students reported being in a fight in the previous 12 months. These fights are occurring with-in schools as well as outside school. Also within the crime and violence issue is bullying. Some educators might not notice a child being bullied, as well as new forms of bullying. Cyber bullying has become a new way to taunt other kids online. Being aware of this issue we can try to teach students the consequences of their actions on other students.
I also found this section interesting. I agree the numbers for sexual activity in our youth were staggering! I respect your opinion on the issues however I do not agree. Our kids are at risk but simply teaching them "safe sex", that is in no way completely safe, is not the answer. Kids are going to do as they are brought up to do when it comes to respecting their bodies and on the issue of sex. I am an advocate of teaching abstinence. I think it should be taught as an option with supporting detail as to how it can work and why it is a better choice seeing that "safe sex" neither protects from STD's or unwanted pregnancies.
DeleteThese are very interesting points. I feel as though, most of these issues go back to parenting and the differences in lives today. Today in most households, both parents are working, therefore causing children to be left alone, or the fact that they don't have "time" to deal with issues that their children are having. This then leads to multiple issues, such as the ones you have listed. I also feel that bullying is getting way out of hand due to all the easy access that kids have whether it's facebook or texting. It's amazing how different things are these days!
DeleteKyna, I agree with you that there is no sex that is completely "safe" except for NO sex!!! Critics of the abstinence only teaching have not seen or talked to those teens.
DeleteReading this only confirms what we are seeing in our schools today affecting our students, their test scores, attitudes, and learning. The face of America is radically changing with the times in ways described such as family structure, SES, transient students, homelessness, poverty, bullying, abuse, and other issues. All of these things are impacting our kids in an overwhelmingly negative way. Young people do not have the resources or the capacity to deal with these influences in their lives in a proper manner. I was so grateful for the section with suggestions on how to help these “at-risk” students succeed! I do wonder how I will handle it all as I experience situations and am confronted with these issues in my own classroom. I believe being equipped with the knowledge of some factors which influence students will enable me to address them properly and help students fulfill their potential. Even now as I help in the classroom at our school I see the changes of society including divorced families, kids being shuffled back and forth between parents, lost homework, no help with school work, and abuse. They are dealt with on a professional level and in a tactful manner. Our teachers have a huge job! Sometimes we are like second moms to a lot of the children that come through the doors every morning, checking to see if they have eaten breakfast, what time they went to bed the night before, who helped with what work, etc… Resilient students are commendable. It is my desire that all of our students rise above their circumstances; it is possible.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you about being a second mom to students. It is so hard to see some of these students go through really hard times ans we are the ones that see them the most and the suffering that they go through. Sometimes I sit and think about what the classrooms will be like by the time I am teaching. I do realize that we are going to be faced with much bigger issues, if we don't get a handle on things now.
DeleteIn chapter 3 there are many eye openers as to issues that we have in society today. One thing that I would like to discuss is
ReplyDeletechildren who come from a poor background or are the lower class citizens.These children are the ones that are most likely to have problems in school. I think that educators need to be able to take children's home life into consideration and do what we can to help them succeed. I know that sometimes this may be hard to do in bigger schools, but it's good to try to give them a little extra help. The school that I work for has a backpack program that allows people to donate food and house hold items to families. These children are then able to take home a "backpack" on the weekends, to provide them with meals and other items they need. We also ask that people donate clothes as well and these are then given to those in need. If schools are able to come together as a community, it is amazing how many people they can help!
Stef,
DeleteI agree this topic was also very interesting to me as well. Children who come from a lower income home can be at a disadvantage because they may not have the resources available to them that are required. I love your story about the backpack program that you have at your school and I think this is a great idea to help kids who are less fortunate than others to be able to receive help from others around them.
Stef, I agree wholeheartedly with what you said about educators being able to have a hand in students home lives. In most cases teachers see the kids more than their parents do, and can tell by kids behavior when something is wrong. If approached in the right way, a teacher could make a huge difference in several students lives. Bus when would the teacher get the none of your business line? I guess it could go either way, a smart kid will know when you are trying to help.
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ReplyDeleteOn page 71 in the text about changes in American famalies and a student being asked how many siblings they have, it's an interesting fact and sad but true that he was confused. Last school year a third grader informed me he had just met a sister he didn't know he had. His dad evidently had brought the teen to a family event. When I have bus duty, there are days when the kids are confused about which parent they are going home with, or could it be the step-parent? As a parent of five kids,I could not have let one of my kids out the door in dirty clothes, shoes on the wrong feet and uncombed, unbrushed hair. I see this every day and if our school had a washer and dryer, I would be washing many coats every day. We have a unique school population in our rural town as many parents are in a nearby prison and kids are with relatives going to school while their parents serve their sentence. There is also a very large foster care population here due to the same situation. And, needless to say, a large part of our student population is on free/reduced lunches. Page 75 in the text mentions that there are those famalies that are either unaware that they could qualify for this program or they are too proud to participate. I don't think this is the case in our school district as it seems not only do we have a large amount of students that are dropped off for breakfast every day, most of them are in the National School Lunch Program and it may well be the only meal or meals they get that day. Since I came from a very large high school in New Mexico that had all the situations mentioned in the text: teen pregnancy, drugs,and alcohol, none of this surprised me. We had at least 12 security guards and two police officers assigned to the campus and most days, that wasn't enough. I often said I should have written a book as some days were just totally unbelievable. Teaching has become, sad as it is,just as much being a parent as it is an instructor. You have to get to the root of a student's anger, inattentiveness and seemingly not caring attitude before you can even hope to teach them anything. There are many "at risk" teachers today just as there are "at risk" students: those that are at risk of quitting the profession after just a few years because it just isn't what they expected as far as dealing with students. You do have to attend to the "whole" child since so many come to school bringing baggage way to heavy for their age.
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting chapter on the many changes which have taken place in education and families over the years. It is so important children receive quality care and can be provided an environment where children feel safe and encouraged to grow no matter what their family life or socioeconomic status might be. As a student in early childhood education I keep hearing how important the early years are in development and how those years extend into adulthood. That is a huge responsibility. Poverty and homelessness are a growing challenge and even more so in today’s economy. The reading mentions crime and violence are on the decline in schools however it seems lately on the local news there have been many reports of violence and hazing of students in the local high schools. The reports are very discouraging and sad. To think of what a group of students are doing to another student “for fun” is appalling. The most recent report comes from a group of high school wrestlers who held another younger wrestler down and put their genitals in his face and then urinated on him. I have to wonder what goes through their minds to make them do such things and what lead them to do these things. And to read that children are experimenting with drugs and sex at an earlier age is alarming. This chapter really opened my eyes to many of the challenges presented in the classroom. It appears educators need to be on alert for all sorts of issues and challenges in the classroom. Educators need to wear all sorts of hats. Chapter 3 made me look at educators in a different light. The daily struggles children deal with from the minor such as just having a bad day because they might have received a bad grade to the severe as homelessness or child abuse are overwhelming. There is so much to think about and be prepared for as an educator. I am looking forward to reading everyone’s blogs. Those of you who are in the classroom provide great insight to those of us who are not there yet.
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DeleteChapter 3 was a very interesting chapter in that it covered so many topics and issues that are a part of today’s world. Such things as poverty and homelessness to obesity and alcohol use are all types of issues discussed in how they impact today’s student. But the one issue that stood out more than the rest was the problem of childhood obesity. Being a physical education student I understand completely the problems with today’s generation of students and the rise of obesity rates we have in this country. It was astounding to see that nationwide more than 9 million students are overweight. This is triple the number that was seen in 1980 and the number continues to rise every year. Students today are just not physically active and otherwise choose to play video games and eat fast food rather than playing outside and eating a healthy meal every day. This problem not only affects the students physically but it also affects them mentally as well. Overweight students have shown to perform a lower levels compared to those students who are more physically active. Overweight students also must face possible rejection from their peers which can lead to other problems, such as bullying which is also talked about in this chapter. Childhood obesity is just one topic discussed in this chapter but it was one that means most to me and the goal as a future teacher to get students more active. Overall, this chapter touched on numerous topics that effect student’s performance in today’s world and it is up to us as future teachers to be aware of these issues and know how to effectively work with students who are affected by these issues in their every day life.
ReplyDeleteI’m all for the food programs that help children in poverty. Things such as reduced priced lunches and breakfasts help children who would not otherwise be getting two balanced meals a day. The Food Bag Program in Wichita Kansas provides bags of food for children in lower social-economical classes for their weekends at home. This helps provides adequate nutrition for children, that will aide their bodies and brains into developing properly, giving them the fullest potential to learn.
ReplyDeleteIt scares me to think how easy it is to run into drugs no days. They are litteraly everywhere. Even in Junior Highs and grade schools. I went a High School of about 50 students and I never even knew what pot was until after I graduated. I bet its not like that anymore. The chapter tells very well what an at-risk student is--"Student in danger of failing to complete their education with the skills necessary to survive in modern society." Just to list a few of the hurdles kids have today: alcohol, drugs, obesity, crime, violence, and students becoming sexually active at younger ages. That just the beginning of what our children face now in school. It scares me to raise my daughter in the world the way is is. I strongly believe that good teachers make a difference in their students lives. I hope to someday become one of those teachers.
ReplyDeleteScott Shepard