Introduction When I started my journey toward becoming a teacher I had expectations for what I would encounter as a student teacher. I assumed that there would be all kinds of students with different abilities and motivations. What I did not expect was the amount of apathy some of my secondary students were prone to. The apathy increased the older the students were. High schools were the worst. Students were unmotivated to participate in the projects and lacked any motivation to do. While middle school and elementary school students needed some motivation most would catch on to their peer enthusiasm. I experienced a greater sense of apathy from the students in 9- 12th grades. Discussions with other teachers lead me to believe that this was a general consensus among most students. I was not naive enough when I started my student teaching to imagine that all of my students would be excited about the projects, but I had an expectation that most would be somewhat interested. After all that is why I want to teach to see the students become excited. So imagine my surprise when I started my student teaching and a large population of the students just didn’t care. They had no motivation to participate in class, turn in assignments, get a passing grade, or produce any work. So what is their “problem”? I noticed some just didn’t care, some wanted to sleep, some socialize, play with their phones, etc. All of these don’t seem reason enough to not participate, I know that I wanted to pass classes. As a student I was also particularly interested in the classes I chose, extracurricular especially the arts. This study is a look into the motivations of students, and why they make the decisions to not turn in work, participat... ... middle of paper ... ...wth. New York, NY: Macmillan. Jarvis-Saunders, M. (2009). Motivated by choice: Will allowing fifth-grade, visual art students a choice in their assignment increase motivation and enhance learning?. Culminating Experience Action Research Projects, Volume 14, Spring 2009. Online Submission, Retrieved from EBSCOhost. (p. 284 - 310) Marzano, R.J. (2007). The art and science of teaching: A comprehensive framework for effective instruction. Alexandria, Virginia: ASCD Miller, J. J., & Education Commission of the States, D. O. (2006). State Policymakers' Views on the Arts in Education. Issue Brief. Education Commission of the States, Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Moorefield-Lang, H. M. (2010). Arts Voices: Middle School Students and the Relationships of the Arts to Their Motivation and Self-Efficacy. Qualitative Report, 15(1), 1-17. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Rathnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South and Madonna Enthroned are very similar images that were produced by very different cultures. Both images were produced during the 13th Century. The image of Rathnasambhava, the Transcendent Buddha of the South was produced in Tibet during an interesting period of the country’s religious history. The branch of Tibetan Buddhism is led by a religious and sometimes political leader called the Dalai Lama. It was during the 13th Century during the reign of Kublai Khan, around the time of the production of this painting, that Tibet experienced the first incarnation of the Dalai Lama. One has to wonder if this painting is somehow related to that occurrence. According to one source, the reincarnation system for the Living Buddhas is the main point distinguishing Tibetan Buddhism from other forms of Buddhism.
Even with the negative and positive functions of No Child Left Behind, there are many areas that still need to ironed out. Under the Obama administration several states have received a waiver from No Child Left Behind, “with this waiver students will still be tested annually. But starting this fall, schools in those states will no longer face the same prescriptive actions spelled out under No Child Left Behind” (Feller & Hefling, 2012). Since 2007, the law has been up for review, but due to opponents of the law there has not been an agreement reached and the law continues to stress our schools and children out. We can only hope that when this law is reviewed and agreed upon that it really is in the best interest of our children and the nation as a whole.
An outdated education system is the largest problem Michigan faces because it affects not only the present, but also the future of the state. Important issues cannot be solved, nor policies created to remedy them, if the people attempting to solve them are not equipped with the skills and knowledge needed to make informed decisions. The state cannot run itself, let alone the nation as a whole, if its’ people are uneducated. The Constitution, the very basis of our government, relies heavily on the assumption that citizens of the United States are able to make knowledgeable and well-reasoned decisions, the types of which cannot be made when a person does not receive a proper education. This proper education is unattainable when low educational funding occurs. Lowering educational funding leads to lower standardized test scores, lack of resources, and an overall poorer education (Roy 2003). Even with these results educational funding has consistently been put upon the chopping block at all levels of government. Governor Rick Snyder’s budget cuts $470 per pupil for the 2012 fiscal year, while promising only small incentives to be added when re-balancing the budget in 2013 (Resmovits 2012). Snyder’s cuts in education stand in sharp contrast to the budget and policy passed in 1994, by then Governor John Engler. Engler, along with the House and Senate, created Proposal A. This policy increased funding to all levels of education, reduced the large funding gap between poorer and richer school districts, and opened schools of choice. Proposal A was largely effective in its’ objectives, but was unable to maintain the projected budget needed to maintain efficiency due to the recession, and Michigan laws requiring education cuts when school ...
The state controls the curriculum and the funding for schools, therefore, making it difficult for the teachers and school administration. There will be less and less local discretion over the content of what goes on in the classroom and over the curriculum. On-the-other-hand, more and more
The proposed Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act identifies key factors for college and career-ready students. The act asks that states adopt rigorous college and career ready standards in English/language arts and mathematics along with assessments aligned to these standards. In June of 2010, the NGA Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released the Common Core State Standards which 45 out of 50 states have currently adopted. Additionally, states are required to develop a system of accountability that rewards successful schools, requires interventions for the lowest-perfor...
When a teacher stops caring a student stops caring because they believe the teacher does not care about them or their education. Rose said “you 're defined by your school as slow”(155). Importance is a big aspect of a student’s growing process, but id the teacher is bored, they won’t think they are important enough. Gatto said “as school personnel they are trapped inside structures, even more rigid than those imposed upon the children”(142). Students should always feel important and the more important they feel than the better and harder they will work in school. Students and teachers are both stuck, and in order to have a successful school system we must have happy teacher. To bring exciting lesson plans and less bored students, we need happy teachers, in order to have happy teachers the government needs to allow teachers to teach how they
Bushaw, William J., and Shane J. Lopez. "Public Education In The United States: A Nation Divided." Phi Delta Kappan 94.1 (2012): 9-25. Academic Search Premier. Web. 17 Apr. 2014.
Once this becomes the norm for teachers they tend to become uninteresting, and students are the ones reaping the consequences. Rose acknowledged this cycle of learning apathy, writing, “But mostly the teachers had no idea of how to engage the imaginations of us kids who were scuttling along at the bottom of the pond”(1989, p.2).
The job of a teacher is never easy but we have seen how cooperative discipline and enabling students to feel capable, connected and contributing can improve classroom management and maybe even our own moods. If we create an environment of mutual respect and give our students legitimate power of voice and choice in the classroom we will see positive results in improved student behavior and student achievement. Because when our students believe that they can succeed, they will.
Getting people, especially kids interested in school is the one and only thing that no one has quite figured out yet. If you teach on a project based learning curriculum you take the risk of having kids fall into a lazy slump. If you teach primarily with textbooks and lectures, you run the risk of kids skipping and falling asleep. Is there truly a way of keeping kids entertained while teaching them the necessities? A study done in Lincoln, Nebraska by Laura Parn states “As teachers, we are getting so busy and burdened with the federal, state, and district requirements that we forget to think about the emotional needs of our students. It is not common that we have time to stop and think about what our students want or desire, but according to Damico and Roth (1994), it is necessary for the success and engagement of our pupils”. This proves that the challenges in the educational system need to be seen and acted upon by higher ups before public schools can even think about making a difference. That really does make things exceedingly difficult because we all know how long it takes federal higher ups to make decisions. Laura also says that teachers tend to forget about the emotional needs of students. Which is very unfortunate because when a teacher helps you with a math problem, or eve...
All effective educators need to find ways to motivate their students. The kids that fill our classrooms have different strengths and weaknesses. It is critical that teachers recognize the strengths and weaknesses of their students so they can use the right classroom management strategies to motivate their kids. In this particular case, the student named Jodie is inattentive and uninterested and neither the teacher intern or classroom teacher have a clue how to handle this situation. Ms. Marcia Thomas, who is the young intern feels that Jodie is just a problem child that lacks motivation and there is nothing she can do for this particular student. Ms. Thomas and the lead teacher Ms. Egan both lack the needed classroom management strategies that are necessary to motivate and engage students in a positive learning environment.
Solso, Robert L. The Psychology of Art and the Evolution of the Concious Brain. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT P. 13-21.
This is exceptionally relevant to beginning teachers as we are new to the school culture and environment. As much as we tried to be caring and keeping them engaged, there are students that will ignore you and deem you every other teachers that gives up on them. No matter how much you reflect on where went wrong, it will still make you feel unappreciated, disrespected and exhausted. What can be done is to have enough patience in building a strong and positive rapport with them and slowly break down their walls. We should always remind ourselves of drew them to teaching in the first place, to make a difference in every students’
The arts have influenced my life in amazing ways. Throughout my life, art has been the place I run to and my escape from the world. As I’ve grown older, art has become so much more than that. Every piece of art I create is a journey into my soul. It’s a priceless way to deal with my emotions and my struggles. I create art not only because I enjoy it and because I want to, but because I have to. Somewhere deep inside there is a driving force, urging me to put my heart down on paper. I become emotionally attached to each of my pieces because they are like dashes on the wall marking my growth. Each one is the solution to a problem I have dealt with and overcome.
The behavior of the teacher can be detrimental or beneficial to a child’s motivational process. A study conducted by Patrick, Hisley, and Kempler (2000) from Goucher College proved that teacher enthusiasm does affect student intrinsic motivation. In the analysis, the level of teacher eagerness was manipulated to observe the participant’s motivation and interest after a brief lecture. The changes in the address included tone of voice, hand gestures, and facial expressions. Participants that heard the more energetic l...