Madison Appert
US Seminar
Fall 2015
Reflection Paper
Reflection Paper
Since I was younger I always enjoyed learning and being in class. It also became defining as part of my place in the family. My sister was the oldest and was also the first to try new adventures. My brother, who came next, was always social and tearing through town with his friends. I was the youngest, and always the most enthusiastic for school every morning. At least until high school. In high school I changed from a having very active involvement in my schooling into a passive one. I was able to attend class and have base level participation and still get good grades without having to go further. My school also had very few electives that held my interest. I enjoyed, and still do, being a participating member in my own education but I found it difficult when faced with classes I
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Though high school was also the time where I realized that education and learning, while synonyms, were not always the same. When I started to prepare for my journey at MSU I was hopeful that I would be able to once again become an active and interested participant in my education again. At MSU, with the help of US Seminar, I was able to merge my joy of learning back into my educational journey. My academic identity has grown and evolved as I have. My academic identity at the time of my elementary school graduation was drastically different than my identity at my high school graduation. As I moved into higher levels of education my responsibilities grew and I had to make decisions between class types, work loads, and what type of student I wanted to be. In high school the teachers left it to each student to decide where on the education scale they would fall, wither it be on honor roll or academic
Looking back over the course of the semester, I feel that I learned many new and interesting uses for technology within the classroom – both for classrooms that have a lot of technology and for classrooms that are limited with technology. For the majority of the class, we utilized William Kists’ book The Socially Networked Classroom: Teaching in the New Media Age (2010), which provided multiple modes of instruction that both utilized and/or created technology. One of the first things that I remember, and consequently that stuck with me through the course’s entirety, is that individuals must treat everything as a text. Even a garden is a text. The statement made me change the way that I traditionally viewed Language Arts both as a student and as a teacher, as I very narrowly saw literature and works of the like as texts only; however, by considering nearly anything as a text, one can analyze, study, and even expand his/her knowledge. Kist (2010) states that society is “experiencing a vast transformation of the way we “read” and “write,” and a broadening of the way we conceptualize “literacy” (p. 2). In order to begin to experience and learn with the modern classroom and technologically advanced students, individuals must begin to see new things as literature and analyze those things in a similar manner.
Language. It is a sign of who we are and where we come from. As language defines us, so does it unite us, but it can also impose barriers that drive us apart. As our society aggressively pursues globalization, individuals who maintain cultural sensitivity and strive for effective communication despite language barriers will be an increasingly important commodity; individuals who can also pass the gift of adept communication to others will be invaluable. On the eve of my college graduation, the culmination of four years ' immersion in language and communication and the beginning of a lifetime of educating others in these disciplines, I feel increasingly the weight of
When I reflect back to the beginning of this semester I am astonished at how much I have learned. English 124 has been a real eye opener for me. Not only have I grown as a writer, but it has challenged me to become more of a critical thinker. In the class we have read many articles on diverse topics, studied theories of history’s greatest philosophers of education, and wrote various styles of papers.
Dashing Through English 111 Transitioning from a high school student into a college student was immensely stressful. In college, you have way more freedom, but an enormous amount of responsibility. In high school you meet every day, so you know exactly what is due and what you are supposed to do. In college you meet every other day for an hour.
There was never an emphasis on education in my household and unfortunately, I perpetuated that erroneous mentality throughout high school. Now that I have the opportunity to transfer to one of the most prestigious universities in the nation, I truly believe that I have opened a number of doors to success for not just myself, but my family and community. Being the first member of my family and one of the few in my neighborhood to attend university will be an extraordinary achievement that I hope will truly inspire those close to me. To display what one can accomplish by altering their mindset to align their values to their goals will be one of my main objectives I hope to attain if permitted acceptance.
There was a significant amount of knowledge given in this course, involving concepts that in our teaching career will be extremely important. From this course I have gained a significant amount of learning experiences. I had the pleasure learning about how the educational system has come to be what it is today and who were the important people in the creation of the public education, like Horace Mann. Watching the videos and reading the chapters required has opened my eyes more of how a teacher should respond to different situations involving a student, For example when we read the chapter on the laws that revolve around the educators and the students. I had absolutely no clue that students had rights while in school property. Another learning
As a child, going to school felt like a necessary part in my day, mainly based on the ideas my parents raised me on, but on special days in which we could finally leave the classroom is when I felt most excited to learn. As years passed I entered middle school and eventually high school and my excitement felt as if it disappeared form the routine. I felt it was just my childhood escaping me but I realized why I wasn’t happy with classes. In elementary I would have designated days to do something outside of the class room at least three times a month so it always felt sort of relevant. In middle school I would have two classes which didn’t feel like a boring classroom and that would be physical education and woodshop, while in high school I would always feel trapped in a classroom with a bland glare from the teacher
The hypothetical school, Ocean Elementary School, services students in kindergarten through grade six. The school is relatively small with a total student population of 256 students. There is a diverse mix of students with the two largest ethnicities being Asian and Pacific Islander at 43% and Caucasian at 32%. There is a mixture of socioeconomic statuses with most students being in a mid to low range socioeconomic status. There are varying ability levels within the school. The school’s mission statement is to provide a safe and nurturing environment where high quality and relevant instruction will prepare all students for their future as a global citizen.
For many students, going to college can be scary experience; and the adjustment from high school to college can be even more overwhelming. The realization of being adult and taking responsibility of my education and future had me running for the hills. After high school the thought of going to school made me nauseas. But now my college experience made me realize that getting my education was important it was something no one could take away from that I knew I worked hard for and help build the person I am today.
The after school program at Oakland International High School also offers resources to its students. Throughout one of my after school visits, I observed the other resources the school offers. For starters, during after school hours, it is hard to tell whether school has ended, since most student stay for a variety of activities. Many join afterschool programs and others just stayed and use the computers to finish their class assignment or practice their English. On November 31, the day I stayed after school, was when 4 year college applications were due. That day, the counselor stayed after hours to continue helping the students with their applications. The counselor had been helping student for the past few weeks, therefore, not many students
In my previous experience with education, I have had the opportunity to become immersed in different types of academia. Every time I have transitioned into different instructional environments, the distinctions between teaching techniques, social interaction, etc. were extreme in my eyes; being the only thing I associated with changing schools. I believed that the change was unnecessary and I would perform optimally in my current situation. My parents’ decisions for my education challenged my beliefs and as a minor, I respected their decisions begrudgingly. Although I thought their choices were unkind as the time, through that exposure to diversification, I fully believe that I have acquired that ability to be receptive and open to new ideas, opinions and concepts.
My life in college is more complex than my life in high school was because now I have a better class’s structure, an efficient study routine, and I enjoy my free time more. I can say that coming to college was a great decision since I have learned important rules in grammar, new formulas in math, and fascinating art works from humanities. But high school was a nice experience, setting the base of my actual knowledge and allowing me to meet wonderful friends. Despite the distractions in my life, going through college and high school has been a beautiful experience in my academic life.
Through my O&P experience I learned how much a classroom setting can vary. I saw that classrooms vary through how the teachers approach differences among students and that if it is not handled well it can create inter-classroom feuding. However I also saw that in a well-structured class where there is little room to mess around and create these feuds there is respect between the students and the teacher and also respect from student to student. I found out that although this information should not affect the way we treat the students it is important for the teacher to know what percent of his classroom is in poverty, and it can also be helpful for the teacher to see what the demographics are like. Seeing if your class struggles with poverty
What is your vision of democracy in the classroom? To what degree should students be permitted to decide what they will study, when they will study, and how they will study? Why?
In high school, English was my strongest and favorite subject. I never had to work as hard in English as I did in math or any other subjects I took in high school. My peers would cram all night for a Literature test we were going to have but not I. I excelled in writing essays about Moby Dick and his white Whale or Beowulf and Grendel. My confidence in my ability to write was always high and when I enrolled at Chattahoochee, I assumed my confidence would not waiver. When I received my grade for my first paper, I was in shock of all the red ink that covered it. English 1101 taught me the skills I needed to have to be able to write a great paper and prepared me for what was to come for English 1102. English 1102 have taught me to rethink my abilities as a writer and to work harder and spend more time on my essays and think outside the box.