Student-+Susan


 * Chapter 8 :** Research Paper:


 * HOMELESSNESS**

Homelessness in Elementary school in America is much more of an issue than people know. The reason that

I chose this topic is because there are a few children that I teach at the Kindergarten level that have been

inflicted with this serious way of life. This children come to school everyday with the weight of the world

on their shoulders yet they do not complain nor are they ill-tempered. They always have a smile on their little

faces and can always make me laugh. They are truly wonderful children and I want to make their world a better place.

I want them to know that people care.

My trip to Holy Family's Library was a productive one because of the helpful librarian. He guided me to the

Education section on the second floor. While I only found one book from my list to be helpful,I was able to find

sixteen articles from their website to choose from.It was in their EBSCO site which was immense with scholarly

information. This proved to be my best source of information.

The article that I chose from this site was //"Homelessness, Poverty, and Children's Literacy Development"// by

Doris Walker-Dalhouse and Victoria J. Risko. It incorporates homelessness awareness and literacy, which is something

that will enable these to children and their parents realize that education should be an important part of their

children's lives.


 * Effect on the Culture of the Community**

War, domestic violence,low wages,natural disasters,lack of affordable housing,and unemployment are just some of

the reasons behind homelessness in the United States. More than thirteen million young children are living in poverty

and more than 550,000 families are homeless today.These figures are astounding and they sadden me deeply. To some

children this may very well be, the only way of life that they will ever know. This problem had spread globally and

more than 100 million families worldwide with school-aged children,can not make enough money to meet their basic

needs. Communities can work together with the schools to get more parent involvement so that parents realize how

important it is for their children to attend school everyday no matter what. Community based projects can raise

awareness regarding homelessness and support these children and their parents.


 * Effect on School Culture**

Excellent teachers can help to form cultural and social connections in their schools to help these kids to

better face their everyday challenges. These teachers can raise awareness toward empathy and compassion for

these families throughout their school and school district. They can reach more people if the school district is on

board. They can promote fund-raising events to help empower these families.Schools can refer them to both counselors

and school psychologists.


 * Effect on Classroom Culture**

Many homeless children fall behind because of exhaustion or illness. Teachers can provide themselves as tutors

or even assign peer tutors for these students. Teachers can send home extra books and supplies to help these

children to complete projects and stay up to date with their homework. They can help them to become literate

learners and promote a sense of achievement to carry from the classroom to where they live and vice versa.

This is an empowering tool that they can give to their homeless and/or poverty stricken students.It is a wonderful

help for these children. Their peers can learn to be kind to them and help them if necessary and also cheer them on

when they are trying hard. This will give these children a sense of achievement.

In Closing,I found that there are so many school-aged children in America who are homeless. Most of them will

be performing below grade level in most subject areas. With help from the community, schools, and positive,

caring teachers, these children can get the confidence that they need to succeed. The homeless children in our

country deserve the same education that wealthy children are receiving and with the right attitude and compassion,

America's teachers can make this happen. They can provide homeless children with the tools, positive outlooks,and

skills to succeed. This in turn will make these children set goals for themselves and be able to fight for a better

life. It is the teachers that make this a reality.

References

Holy Family University Library website: EBSCO host site

Homelessness, poverty, and children's literacy development,(2008),The Reading Teacher,62(1),

pp.84-86;doi#:10.1598/RT.62.1.11


 * Chapter 8 Activities:**


 * 1) 1 Family Literacy Program:


 * A family literacy program has many benefits for families who speak English as a second language. In this program,** **parents visit the school regularly to participate in activities of their children's choosing. As you watch this video clip, note the ways you can involve parents who speak English as a second language.**

Ways that I could help involve parents who speak English as a second language would be to welcome them to my classroom by making them feel as comfortable as possible, having them be involved in their child's education by engaging them in activities in math,science, homework,computers,board games, sports,etc.I would let them know that they are always welcome to come in and be a part of our classroom.


 * Name three positive outcomes that occur when parents are involved in their child’s education.**

1. Adult/parenting education 2. Early Childhood education 3. Parent and Child Interaction time/direct activities involving both the parent & the child


 * Why is it sometimes difficult to get parents who speak English as a second language, or not at all, to become involved in school activities.**

It is sometimes difficult to get these parents involved in school activities because of the fact that they do not speak fluent English, they feel isolated and/or uncomfortable being in a classroom situation. This will sometimes cause them to stay away from their child's school,not realizing that by being in school and interacting w/their child will actually help both themselves and their child to do better in school and feel like they are succeeding in school. They do this by sharing the learning with their child and will feel a sense of accomplishment with every new thing that they learn.


 * 1) 2 Involving Parents:


 * In this video clip, a teacher discusses how she communicates with parents, and why she feels it is important to involve them in the education process. As you watch a parent help with a lesson in vocabulary think about the role parents have as volunteers in the classroom. Reflect upon how having parents volunteer in the classroom benefits the teacher, students, and parent.**

Having parents volunteer in the classroom benefits all in many ways. I was always a volunteer in my children's' classrooms as they grew up and I feel so blessed to have been able to be a part of their everyday education .I think it benefits the teacher because it gives her another adult to work with and help him/her for the time that the volunteer is there. It benefits the students because they have more educational help,not to mention the child of that parent volunteer usually feels a sense of pride when their parent is present in their class. It benefits the parent by allowing them to look into the world of their child in school and makes them feel good being able to help others that need it, including their own child.Volunteering is a wonderful thing to do. I recommend it to anyone who is willing to give of themselves.


 * How does this teacher involve parents in the educational process?**

This teacher involves parents in the educational process by having a sign up sheet at the beginning of the year with goals that she wishes her students to attain. She lets the parents sign up for what areas that they feel strongly about helping her with in her classroom.this way she knows who is willing to help with what and when they are available to do this.


 * How do the students, the teacher, and the parent each benefit from this kind of classroom interaction?**

Students: They get another adult beside their teacher to help them to succeed. It is a positive adult who has only these students in mind to help at the moment.

Teacher: It gives the teacher a helping hand ,which believe me, she needs when you have different levels of strengths in each individual classroom.

Parent: It gives the parent a sense of accomplishment to know that she/he helped in the educational help of not only her children, but others as well.It is a great feeling to volunteer and make a difference in the life of a child.


 * Chapter 7 Activity #2 5/5 POINTS EARNED FOR CH.7**
 * Chapter 7 Activity #2 5/5 POINTS EARNED FOR CH.7**


 * 1. Both students in this episode understand some of the strategies people employ for dealing with various emotions. What term did Vygotsky use to explain these strategies which make daily living easier? The strategy that Vygotsky uses is the Zone of Proximal Development. This is a technique that will help students to learn form others who have perhaps mastered these strategies for dealing with stress and emotions in order to make life easier to live. This would include learning from others by communicating with those who have used these strategies and will help these students to apply them to their lives as well. The need this social help.It is necessary for survival.**

2. While anger is seen as a problem for these and other adolescents, it does serve a purpose. How would you explain the benefits of conflict to these two students? **I would say that the benefit of conflict to these two students would be as a means of release for their anger to escape. It is a great stress reducer for them to practice before they become adults and have "real" problems. It is a good thing to learn a way for young people to vent their anger.This would include talking to teachers,friends and other trusted adults.

3. How do student’s emotions impact their learning?** As an older student, I think that emotions such as stress, sadness, anger and anxiety can certainly impact one's learning. Stress alone causes so many health issues that it should be controlled at all expense. It can make you not be able to focus on test taking and even paying attention to the instructor. All students regardless of age, should remove all stress in their lives any chance that they get to remove that stress. Stress and anxiety would make a student not perform at their best quality.

​10/20/2009 Chapter 6, Activity #4-

overall philosophy of education?** My reasons for teaching are so many. I will simply just love my job! My reasons relate with my philosophy for teaching by realizing that this is my dream and my goal and it is a lot of work to follow this road,but it will all be worth it when I make a difference in the life of a child.My philosophy of teaching will include many ideas, but the main ideas would be letting each and every student work at their levels and realizing that when they can not, I will change what i need to change in order for that child to be successful to themselves. I want my students to shine and know that they are each unique individuals and I will do all that I am capable of doing to make sure that they receive the best education that I can provide.
 * Think about your reasons for choosing teaching as a career. How do your reasons for teaching relate to your

=Very Nice Job ON CH.6 ! Good answers that were thoughtful and informative. You've earned all possible points for the two assignments (5/5 for each).=

​10/13/09 Chapter 6, Activity #1- The type of classroom that I would feel most comfortable being a part of would most likely be Progressivism. I would like that type of classroom atmosphere because I would want to know all about my students. I would be interested in teaching the whole person/student and that would mean knowing everything about them. This would include all aspects of the student. I think it would be an injustice to the student not to know all of their strengths and weaknesses. I would make sure to help them improve all that they needed to improve while making sure that their strengths were recognized in a good and positive way.
 * What type of classroom would you be most comfortable in?**

10/13/09 Chapter 6, Activity #2-
 * Developing a Philosophy of Education:**

Joyce Madsen's philosophy of education is basically teaching a student on their developmental level and by doing so, improve on their growth. Leonia Townsend's philosophy of education is that students are life-long independent learners** and that they must be prepared ti make it in the world.
 * a. Summarize Joyce Madsen's philosophy of education in one sentence. **
 * b.** **Summarize Leonia Townsend's philosophy of education in one sentence.

c. Summarize Lynda Hootman's philosophy of education in one sentence. Linda Hootman's philosophy of education is negotiating with her students to help and guide them to be great problem solvers.

.d. Summarize Trent Eaton's philosophy of education in one sentence. Trent Eaton's philosophy of education is that students want to learn and that they will learn best when guided on an individual basis.

GREAT JOB! 5/5 POINTS EARNED.
 * 10/11/09 Chapter 5, Home Activity #4- Reflection

A School for Peace & Justice**

The author,Elliot Seif,tells the story of a Philadelphia public school named Parkway High School for Peace and and Social Justice. This school is taking the youth of Philadelphia and creating well-rounded respectable young men & women. The hallways of the school are buzzing with laughter, kindness,responsibility,etc. The students are learning that peace and equality are the way to live. They have teachers that want to be there and promote all of the wonderful qualities that encompass their students. The children do not only practice these attributes within the school,but are encouraged to do so outside in the local communities. It is a part of their educational curriculum to go out into the community to help rebuild homes, give services to the poor, promote peace and help others to have a humane environment where violence usually prevails. The entire make-up of the school promotes love and compassion.

The proof is the grades so to speak. Their scores have skyrocketed and the graduation rate is up to 100%.I was amazed at this feat. That is almost non-existent for a city school in this day and age. All tests scores were almost all proficient or advanced. The atmosphere of the school is most likely the reason for their high success rates. When a very impressionable child sees that he/she can succeed, that child will do everything in their power to succeed. In an inner-city school things can be very harsh If the student realizes that the reason they feel so wonderful and important is their school, then that child will not only do their best to succeed in school,but they will also want to continue going to school. Most likely that child will do well and then go on to college.

There success says so much for the Parkway School. The Principal teachers,staff and students should be applauded and their example should be followed by all. I feel the schools of Philadelphia and the surrounding areas could benefit from this type of schooling tremendously.Great Job, Parkway school!


 * __10/7/09 Chapter 5 Activity #1, Reflective Question: THANK YOU! 5/5 POINTS EARNED__**

If You had an opportunity to visit another country's school system, where would you like to go and what would you like to learn?

If I had had the opportunity to visit another country to see their school system, I would have to pick Italy as my choice.Italy is where my heritage was begun. I have always been interested in my Genealogy(my family history) and I would really love to visit there. it would be like a dream to me,but to get to see thier schools and their styles of teaching would be the extreme dream come true for me. I would be interested in how the Italian children are taught and to see what their classrooms looked like in comparison to our American classrooms,how similar would they be to our classrooms.I would have so many questions for all of the educators that I would get to meet, such as;How soon is an Italian child introduced to the English language? How many languages are available to these students? Are they taught English? Are the Elementary students and/or early Childhood students even taught a second language? I would love to meet with the teachers and see what their classrooms strategies looked like and to see if their classes were as diverse as ours in America. If I ever got this opportunity, I would enjoy every second of my stay and really try to see and learn as much as I could in the time spent there.I would definitely love to do this someday and probably learn the most by shadowing a teacher for the day. I would hope to bring what I learn back with me to try out in my classroom.I would just love the experience.

What should students know about the world?
 * Chapter 5- Activity #2-**

What changes do schools need to make improvement in the area of student's global knowledge?

I believe that all students should knowledgeable about the world around them,not just in regard to where they are living at the present time. There are so many thoughts and ideas out there that may be something that is useful to us as students, but if we only see it our way,we will never experience what it means to be well- rounded. There are other ways to be educated and there are also other customs that we should be aware of when we become teachers, as well as, when we are students.We close ourselves out from a great bit of knowledge when we are not taught to be multi-cultural in our views. We should that in our world that other views do exist and always welcome those ideas readily.

I feel that is our obligation to ourselves and others to educate and to be educated the best that we can. It is our responsibility to make improvements in our schools to keep up with the influx of learners that are coming from other lands.We need to change the entire way that was previously thought to be accepted. We need to welcome these new Americans to our school learning environments and do it wholeheartedly and with open arms.I would love to see our Elementary Schools have language classes so that every child could learn a second language. That would be amazing. Most of all, I feel that all students should have classes that teach history of all countries and make our students learn about multicultural importance and how vital it is to all learners.

10/4/09 Great job Susan. You included a great deal of information in your answers. Following the format helps everyone to review eachother's work with greater ease. Thanks again. 5/5 POINTS EARNED

9/29/09 Activity 1

1. What was the result of Plessy vs. Ferguson? What was the result of Brown vs. Board of Education? Separate but equal was the ruling for students in US public schools according to Plessy vs. Ferguson and in Brown vs. Board of education, the ruling was the desegregation of the US public schools.

2. How did the result of Plessy vs. Ferguson and Brown vs. Board of Education shape today’s educational policies? These results shaped today's educational policies tremendously by allowing all people the right to a public education no matter what their disability or the color of their skin. I believe that it was so crucial to education on our world today. It is pertinent for all children that we teach everyday to know how important they are to us as a teacher. No matter what their strengths, disabilities or ethnicities, they are an enormous part of our history.

3. Explain the following terms and practices, and describe how they impacted education in the 1950's and beyond:
 * segregation- Segregation is a practice that made whites and blacks separate when any where from schools ,restaurants to riding a bus.It was an important part of our history because it was created, fought against and finally beaten. I am so glad that it was finally overthrown. I feel that all people are created equal and I hope that others will feel the same way. It has affected education in a positive way in that all can learn no matter what.


 * separate-but-equal- I believe this to be another slap in the face for Black Americans. Think about this statement. Separate but equal. How can someone have to enter a restaurant by a different entrance or get on the back of the bus and be considered equal? I feel that it has impacted education in the 1950's as it actually was a start to today's Inclusive practices that most schools have been following.Special needs children just like the blacks were once not included in the regular classrooms, hence the separate but equal idea. Today all children are created are considered equally in the education process.

major hurdle that was achieved when all people were allowed to sit in any seat that they chose to sit in. Education began to follow in this path after this time. I am really glad that it did because all people should be treated with respect and equally. Students that we will educate will be also treated with that same respect.
 * busing and integration- Busing in America before integration was not a pretty sight. I was not alive then,but I saw many videos that showed how Black Americans were treated when they walked onto a bus or into a restaurant for that matter. It was such a


 * re-segregation- When race based federally imposed controls are removed ,usually by lawsuits and then through school admissions,employee hiring and housing are determined by a citizens choice. Since the 1950's, this idea had been practiced by many. Most people want their children to go to the school closest to their home,which can be an all white neighborhood,or an all black neighborhood.They want their tax $$ to go to the school near their home. This is a way of re-segregation.

defacto segregation- is a type of segregation that happens in fact even though not required by law.School have seen this for many years. An example would be an all white school that accepts blacks,but doesn't have any enrolled because of high financial costs or the are that the school is located.

Chapter 4: Article/review

The article that I chose was "Recreating Schools for All Children" by John Morefield.

Mr. Morefield was a Principal at an Elementary school in Seattle ,Washington who made a promise to the local and very diverse community that the Kindergarten class would graduate with all the skills that they needed to succeed in life.They would be at or above grade level upon graduation.He believed that everything in our world was changing and that education needed to reflect these changes as well.He wanted all children to have a fair chance at being properly educated. Mr. Morefield stated that "Creating schools that unleash the potential in each and every child is what we as parents,teachers,administrators,community leaders, and legislators must all be about".This is such an awesome statement because he mentioned ALL of the community members are responsible for these children's educations,not just the parents and teachers.He believed very strongly that strong leadership, a caring,nurturing as well as safe and clean environment were of the utmost importance in the education of children. He preached that teachers should consider their vocation as a calling,not just a job.Parents should play an an important & active role and feel empowered to help their children succeed. In short,John Morefield wanted that all children should receive an outstanding,safe,nurturing,fair,unified education and that this is only possible with the help of many,not just the teachers and/or parents. He ask us to replace my kids/class with our kids and our class. If we do this ,these children will not only be successful,but will develop a love of learning and most likely pass this down to their own children.I believe that this is the message that he was trying to portray in writing this article.