The 2016 Year in Review Video

Final Exam  

  

“The Smartest Kids In the World”

         By Amanda Ripley

          

            Education around the world is very different and the book “The Smartest kids in the World” by Amanda Huxley has great individual life experiences to show that aspect. In my opinion the book was written to show how America could better our education because we care about many other things rather then what’s important, the education we receive. Considering other countries and the way they focus on their education may persuade all the readers reading the novel to change society and care more about where we stand education wise in the world. I believe it’s true we don’t focus much on receiving the knowledge we need, we care more about where we stand in life not from what we know but on what we can do and stay satisfied with it. And the way this book provides three teenagers to express their journeys on traveling to study abroad is I think the perfect way to enhance the readers to captivate that we as in America need to focus more on education not all these other distractions around us. Tom, Eric and Kim where the names of the teenagers going from where they live to another country having their own journeys from being able to go there to actually studying there.

             Starting with Tom he was seventeen living in a village in Pennsylvania, left to travel to Poland. Tom had most trouble in the math classes in Poland because he was used to being able to use a calculator in the U.S. that in the Poland math classes all they had was their brain to solve the math problems. He explains that it made it seem like they had a fluent language in their head to know how to not need the calculator. Their ability of knowing how to use their knowledge in their minds explains how they received high scores on the PISA test. I think knowing and having all that in your brain not having to waste time calculating it on a calculator is a trait they need to be taught at a smaller age. Being taught things from the start has a big impact because you use that ability all throughout your education.

             Kim was a fifteen year old teenager with the ability to raise $100,000 just to leave Oklahoma and travel to Finland and explore the education there. Finland is not exactly what she expects. Despite its reputation as being the best school system in the world, she finds simple no-frills classrooms. They had no high-tech whiteboards or other gadgets that have become common in American schools. Students also have plenty of free time and independence. There were no regularly scheduled parent-teacher conferences. A teacher would just meet with a student to resolve problems rather than bringing in the parents. The students in America would have something rather than just education as in Poland they would all with the exceptions of some would just focus on school and their knowledge they get from it.

             Ending with Eric, eighteen, trades his high-achieving Minnesota suburb for a booming city in South Korea. That country has some of the highest average test scores in the world. He had assumed that every high school class would be really aware of the class, all eyes on the teacher, no goofing off. Instead, during his first day in he’s sociology class, attention was not coming from everyone about a third of the students were asleep. They were recovering from their evening tutoring academies called “hagwons.” South Korea’s reputation for academics began to look to Eric more corrosive than inspiring.

               The book uses those three teenagers experiences to justify that we need to change the way our society is built and how we don’t really pay attention to what we know as in our knowledge but what we can do as in sports, music artistry etc. Ripley’s way of explaining the PISA test and how the test scores can tell so much about a person makes the book a very good book to know and learn to pay more attention to what we you have knowledge about, its importance. America can improve and this book was written so we could know that we need to improve.

My Animoto

Books Study, Part 1- The Smartest Kids in the World

What did you think about what you read?
- Ripley's characters know how to make clear that all their experience are all facts that guide them to their conclusions. Its also very interesting how they present the test and teach us how the test measures our abilities.


Which of the three students do you most relate to? Explain why and how you view this? What was significant to you about this student?
- The experience of Tom, Toms U.S. math classes, everyone used calculators. In Toms classroom in Poland, everyone did math in their head, to the point that it seems like they were fluent in a language he was not. I can relate to this because for myself its hard for me to do a mathematical problem without a calculator if you're used to having one at all times.


What was your opinion of the different types of schools in the three countries?
- All around the world children are learning to make arguments and problems they have never seen before, they're learning to think. Kim as a fifteen year old raises $10,000 so she can move from Oklahoma, to Finland; Eric, eighteen, trades his high-achieving Minnesota suburb for a booming city in South Korea; and Tom, seventeen, leaves Pennsylvania village for Poland.

This is our live Binder over our websites.
Click here to open this binder in a new window.

Perot Field Trip

On March 8, 2016, we visited the Perot Museum.

Philosophy of teaching

Creativity Counts!

What is Creativity? 
  
      Creativity is shown by having your own ideas and coming up with things that are original for you. Teachers can be creative in many ways. They can and do show creativity by there own way of teaching their kids/students. Creativity is mostly shown artistically but can be shown in words or learning methods well in anything really as long as its in a original. 

Why does Creativity matter in education? 

      Creativity is very important in education in my opinion because having your own ways of teaching and expressing things will help you connect with your students more then you'd think. Maybe having that specific way will help not only your students learn what you're teaching but will help other teachers teach their students the way you are. Creativity is also important because it shows how you have a  bigger imagination and not only have one way of seeing things but many different ways.

How do we fix this? 
   
      We can fix the problem of creativity going away by giving the kids/students a chance to come up with their own creative ways of doing things. 

      

Semester Exam

https://www.smore.com/mu5yz

Built for learning?

Ideal learning environmental environment for me :  

                The proper way to seat up a kindergarten class room in my opinion and my mentor teachers is to put them in groups of four. Two kids that are ahead and dont need much help on things and one that is not behind but not ahead either and one that is very behind. This seperation is so that it wont be all ahead kids or all behind kids at one table. Therefore the kids that need help they will have the help at there table, if the teacher cant get to them.

In my opinion classes for kindergarten should be 6 hours. I think 8 is a little too much for there brains. They have to learn so much and some have trouble so i think 6 is just the right amount of time to seperate the TEKS they have to learn. Kindergartens are very inpatient so 8 hours is just too much in my opinion.

PORTFOLIO URL

Here is the link to my portfolio

Lesson Plan

Kindergarten - Math - Counting to 20

OBJECTIVE: Teach the students to count each object up to 20.

Directions:

1. Give student 20 objects

2. Help or count objects up to 20 with them

MATERIALS:

* 20 Cubic blocks *

My first day as an Intern

My first day as an intern was Thursday , October 8. I wore my BCTAL education and training  polo shirt and blue jeans. I felt nervous but very excited when i walked in the room at first. When i first got there they were doing centers so I sat and talked to the teacher about my schedule and important stuff. As they finished there centers i prepared myself to introduce myself to the kids. As i got finished telling the kids a little bit about myself they had to go to computer class. Then i walked them there and Ms.Jameson my advisor showed me around the school. When we got back to the room i helped her get organized as we waited for the kids to get out of computer class. I and Ms.Jameson picked up the kids from there computer class and took them for a potty break. Then it was time for me to go so i left to the bus to meet up with the rest of the interns. I am looking forward to spending more time in helping the students more next week and learning how Ms.Jameson runs the classroom.



Grace Hardeman Elementary
Ms. Jameson's Kindergarten class

What would I do?

Scenario 4:

You are about to change into your field site attire and realize you have forgotten your field site shirt and name badge.  The bus will be leaving in three minutes.  You have on jeans with holes, and a low cut top.  You saw Mrs. Picky, your BCTAL EAT teacher, at your field site yesterday.  Since you think she will not be stopping by to visit interns at your field site, you hop on the bus without your EAT attire, taking your chances that you will not be discovered.  After all, if your field site mentor teacher and principal don’t say anything, there is no harm done, right?

If i was in this situation i would just change before walking into my site school classroom. Instead of getting caught by the EAT teacher i would risk being a little late to class.

Does spelling count?

           In the authors point of view spelling does very much count. It is one of the most important techniques you will need growing up. They teach you how to spell at a young age so that you can be experienced enough to when you become older. Knowing how to spell will make you very successful in education and life wise. Spelling is one of the first things they teach you starting school. They teach you spelling first because you need to know how to spell for all subjects such as math, science, history, reading, etc.
            Knowing proper spelling can help you communicate better with the people around you. Spelling can make you sound more sophisticating. If you want to become a writer spelling is the number one thing you have to be good at. With bad spelling people wont be able to understand you and you would need people to understand you in a everyday life. You will have good spelling technique with a lot of practice and learning at a young age.
            Having proper grammar is as important as anything else. Without spelling people wouldn't be able to communicate through via text message or emails. As the author says how would the kids be able to comprehend the books other people write without proper spelling and grammar. Spelling builds up to other subjects such as adding and other subjects. It can be hard to spell at a young age but its better to learn young because you will have more practice to for sure know it once your'e older. Spelling will forever be important.

            Giselle Rios
            Period 5-6
            9-14-15

Hi everyone!

This is my blog about my experiences as a BCTAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING intern!