Educational Blog, Goodbye.

Well, this is the last post for my educational blog. I really enjoyed keeping up with posts and learned a lot this semester from the class. I think these blogs are a great idea and a great way to see exactly what the students are thinking and feeling about a particular lesson or thought. I hope everyone enjoyed this as much as I did. And Dr. Luongo, you should look forward to doing this again, awesome stuff.
Thanks again, enjoy the summer.
--Mike

Home schooling is..

..pretty cool. I just met someone yesterday who was home schooled and I thought they'd know less or something but it turns out he was just as smart. There are some benefits to this, I guess there is more of a one on one approach with the student. This can help in academic development. But the major difference is a lack of social ability. I know that probably isn't the case all the time but it can greatly affect one's social skills. I'm glad my parents sent me to public school. I feel like I have the same education and an entourage of friends that I wouldn't have had if I was home schooled. Any comments?
--Mike

Relationships/Pressure from friends...

...affect schoolwork? Oh yeah. I just noticed how much of a factor a student's environment is to their quality of education. Anything personal/physical can affect it. By the end of the semester, the heat is unbearable...making most of the kids not show up to class or just be sluggish during the lesson. Pressure from friends/significant others can lead some brighter students down the wrong path. Problems at home can do the same, they can make a student feel worthless or not good enough. It's our job as teachers to reach out to these kids and bring them into an environment where they can learn and develop.
--Mike

Classroom fun.

I really enjoyed the micro-teaching yesterday. I love doing that and I think it's really beneficial to the improvement of our teaching skills. I mean think about it, how can one teach without actually trying it out in a practice session? The whole card business is cool too. I love the real life problems teachers face everyday, it kinda throws a curve ball at the student teachers. I'm looking forward to the next 2 class sessions, so far I've been having fun.
--Mike

Misbehavior in the classroom.

Friday's class made me realize what a trouble it is to take care of misbehaving kids. During my lesson Tuesday, I didn't even realize some of the misbehaviors. During Friday's lesson, I got to misbehave haha. Some of the cards were downright mean though. For instance, the kid who stole the pen, ran around the room for a few minutes, or started whistling. I don't think I would appreciate that in the class, but I know it will probably happen. I thought the student teachers dealt with these "troublemakers" very well.
--Mike

Last Tuesday...

...was fun. What was stupid on my part was I has the whole thing planned out and forgot everything the second I went up there lol. So I pretty much wasted time. I wish the bill was passed though...because I was gonna be President and veto it anyway hah. I wish my lesson went a little smoother, like I wish I caught the girl sleeping, I felt like an idiot when you guys told me she was purposely sleeping and I didn't catch it lol. Hopefully my next lesson goes better. I had a lot of fun though; I know I need work on presentation skills.
--Mike

Lesson Plans/Presentations

You know, I was looking over the lesson I'm doing tomorrow and I realized something I never thought I'd say. I did too much work. I ran through the lesson in my head and realized I'm teaching a 40 minute lesson...Yeahhh... I guess I have to go back and condense certain things lol. Anyone else having that problem? You wanna teach a whole bunch of information and realize you can't do it in one class lesson? Either way, get ready tomorrow to learn about the Legislative Branch! (Hopefully you guys can pass a bill to the President tomorrow)
--Mike