Free the Children video

Watching the video, "Free the Children" was a really eye opener to me. When we were watching the segment about the children in India and the police raided the rug factory, I was thinking that being reunited with their family is a short term solution. But having rehabilitation center is a really good but should we also look at having the family members have some seminar and help them understand what their children endured. The segment about the sex trade in the Philippines really hit me. I did not realize how much sex trade my own country is involve. I felt guilty because I feel like I need to be there to help but in reality I am here...

One Parent's Thoughts About Teachers

This is an editorial from today's P-I that talks about one parent's respect for teachers.

No Climate Change Here...

Last week in my Dyad, John and I were asked to come up with a lesson plan dealing with Earth systems or catastrophic events to present to the class before we leave. Because most of my undergrad work here at UWB was focused upon the environment and environmental issues, I thought that doing a lesson on climate change would be a great opportunity to put some of those concepts and ideas that I had learned to use and present them to the class. My dyad teacher surprised me by saying that it was the one subject that we should avoid!

Apparently he has had a problem in the past with a student who didn’t like the way that my Dyad teacher taught the lesson (in a science class) and took it upon themselves to get their parent to try and get him fired over it. It really surprised me that something that is really scientific knowledge, something Al Gore received a Nobel prize for, would be something that he would not allow to be taught in his class because of a past run in with a difficult parent.

It seems to me that as a science teacher your role is to simply present the facts, and the controversy is best left for others. I just thought that this was a strange thing that happened and that I’d share.

an eye opener

I really like this video...If you find yourself in a moment where in you feel like lost and don't know how to inspire your students to learn...this video is for you

Click 'n Read

This is a great phonics program that my dyad class uses.

New Horizons For Learning!

I found this website on line that I think would be a great tool for teachers. It is a large site that has many components such as articles, teaching and learning strategies, lifelong learning, student voices, special needs children, transforming education, as well as journals, links to handbooks (Cherry Banks handbook of research on multicultural education is here) and much more! It is a good resource from what I have explored so far and a helpful tool for new teachers!

Here's the link:          http://www.newhorizons.org/

Global economy and education

Yesterday, I was reading the newspaper and they have an article entitled,"Global trade puts kids astride 2 cultures". Talks about the pros and cons of having students migrate and adapt to a new academic envrionment. I was really intrigue how the article felt that American students are growing fast and students in foreign countries such as India do not. Is it because we keep on bombarding our young students advertisements of "stuff". I grew up in the Philippines, and whenever people ask me which place I would prefer, I still don't know. I mean I like the idea to raise my family with the Filipino values I have at the same time I want them to have the great opportunity I have here. One thing that I learn when I migrated her, and that is to be appreciative and thankful for what I have. It is really an eye opener when you see with your own eyes and expereince two different cultures. Seeing people who just accumulate "stuff" and see another group of people who do not enough really changes one's perspective in life.