Module 6

Dear Mr. Easley,
As of February 23, 2009, there has been an overwhelming concern with children not reaching all their educational needs. As an elementary teacher, I have always heard there are a lot of children that have a wide range of gaps in their achievement levels. I feel that all subjects are not being taught fully (such as science and social studies).
When doing research on the Internet and reading different articles pertaining to our schools closing the gap issues. As of July 2007, there were elementary classes taught by highly qualified teachers with the following statistics shown that 99.2% were from low poverty schools and 98.3% were from high poverty schools.
I feel that students need a variety of opportunities to learn a new goal or concept. I know that teachers are supposed to teach the EOG (End of Grade Test) because school administrations want the student to learn what they need for their education and not because of it being tested.
Mr. Easley, please make other opportunities available for our teachers and students to be successful in our school systems. Teachers work very hard and are overworked when teaching in the classroom. Students should have more practice and remediation schedules that are more accommodating to each individuals needs. I would appreciate any feedback that you may have for the concerns that I am addressing to you. Thank you for your time.

Audretta D. von Nahme

Teacher Situation

I have heard a lot of offensive names over my years as a teacher. The most offensive name that I can recall today is one student telling another student that they were retarded because they did something incorrectly. The child that got the insult was a normal child but his friend was being mean not knowing how offensive the word was.

At that time, I had a child that was mentally retarded. I felt really bad for her because of the condition that she was born in and it was not her fault. I would explain to the student who insulted another student if they knew what that word meant.

Teaching children at ages 6-7 years old, they do not understand everything. I would want to know why that mean comment was made and that he had hurt his friend's feelings. The student meant know harm but still words can really hurt. Children also heard older siblings using offensive words and think that it is alright to use it with their peers.

I would also explain that no one should be called "retarded" because there might be someone who is special needs and they have no one idea how that may make they feel. Also, I would ask the student: How would you feel if I called you retarded? How would that make you feel? By putting that student into the other persons shoe, she was able to understand where I was coming from.

My conversation was helpful and I think that he learned his lesson. He apologized to his friend for what was said and they were able to remain friends again.

I worked with a child who did not celebrate holidays in my classroom and they made it hard for me to not include them in our class festivities. I was able to deal with it and respected the way she was raised. As a teacher, I do not understand everything and continue to learn as I grow. I would ask another teacher if that student could do some work in their classroom, while my class continued with our holiday activities. I have learned to respect every one's beliefs, religion, culture, etc. that has entered my classroom. It can be heartbreaking at times but it is not the child's fault. I want all my children to be a part of our classroom celebrations.

Module #4

I was impressed with the Goals for Schools survey from chapter 4. When I read all of the statements, I felt comfortable with what was presented. Children and parents need a common goal to strive for to make their outcome happen. Some of the statements I could related to when I was in school was to challenge and education for America's brightest students. As a teacher, I do that everyday and make all my children feel that they can do everything. The one thing that has not changed for me now and when I was in school was the prevention of pregnancy, AIDS, and drugs. That is still a common factor that exists in our schools today but more enforcements needs to come into play. We have too many children wanting to grow too fast in our world as it is. I feel that the goals in our schools need to be explained thoroughly and stressed often to our parents and students.

I currently work for a charter school and I enjoy it very much. I have noticed since I have been there over the years that parents are looking for a smaller and a nurturing environment than public school. I have heard that for some children, public school can be a bit more faster pace because the school consist of so many students. At a charter school, there is more one on one, less students, and certain educational needs can be met.

Homeschooling can be beneficial for those who are too sick and need medical attention. For them to go to school on a regular basis would not be good for them. I have also heard of children who have discipline problems need to be home schooled. I guess that it would depend on the child and what their situation may be if they needed to be home schooled.

I have worked in a public school setting and miss it very much! There are a lot of available teaching resources that I would have access to compared to working at a charter school. I am the only first grade teacher at my school and I miss being able to have grade level meetings with the other first grade teachers at my school.