Chapter 10: Going Beyond the Classroom

"Making connections with the world outside school addresses all these issues, and at the same time it usually helps students appreciate and value school more than they did before."(175) When you are able to connect what you are teaching in the classroom to activities that students participate in outside of school, they are going to be more interested in what you are talking about. For example, being able to relate what you are teaching to a sporting event, or even being able to talk about current events in relation to your class is going to keep them interested in what you are talking about. If you are talking about things that are currently on their minds, or things that they cannot relate to, you are not going to be able to keep their full attention. In agreement with Cushman's statement, if you put the time and effort into relating your material to the world outside of school, students are going to take school more seriously and actually enjoy school for other reasons than seeing their friends everyday, and playing on the sports teams.

Chapter 9: When Things Go Wrong

In Chapter 9 Cushman makes a good point referring to new teachers by saying "In their first year or two especially, teachers struggle to find the right balance between maintaining their authority and letting students know they care about them." (167). I found in my first week of practicum in the middle school that I did not say much to the students. I talked to them, and was nice, but I did not want to be overly nice and friendly because I wanted them to take me seriously. I was always available to them, and made sure they knew that if they needed help that I was there to answer any questions they had, but I was not asking them about things outside of what went on in school. By the third week, I was having more casual conversations with the students, asking them about their weekend, etc. I think that as long as you gradually show that you are interested in their lives then that's good, but if you initially just like act like you are their friend, they are not going to want to come to your class to learn they are going to come to your class to want to talk to you about what they did last weekend, and not take your class or learning seriously.

Chapter 8: Teaching Students Who Are Still Learning English

Fortunatley I have had a lot of experience working with students whose second or even third language is English. I was a volunteer my senior year in an intermediate ESL classroom. I was able to learn a lot about how to treat these types of students, and how to work with them. In Chapter 8 on page 154, Cushman says "Don't be afraid to let us use our own lnaguage as we figure things out." One thing I noticed in particular that the teacher did let these ESL students do was speak in their own languages with each other. Just because these students are learning how to speak English, does not mean that they should not be allowed to speak their native language. My Spanish teacher does not expect me to speak Spanish when I am being social with my friends, or when I am thinking to myself outloud, and that is how it should be. If I heard students in class speaking there native language I think it would catch me off guard at first, but I would want these students to be in their comfort level to learn, and if they are not allowed to speak the language that they know best, they are not going to be successful.

Chapter 7: Teaching Difficult Academic Material

In Chapter 7 Cushman brings up how students work in groups. I have always found myself to struggle in group work because there is never a way to evenly split all of the work. There is always someone that is doing more work than others, and even if you are not that person, it is still frustrating that you can not do anything more. "Monitor and assess groups as they work together." I think this is extremely important for teachers to do because otherwise one student will take control, and other group members may be doing tasks that they know they will not be successful in, and then essentially bring the group down. I think it is important for teachers to check in with each group to see who is doing what, and to constantly stress that everyone gets an even amount of work, and that not one person should be stressing over how much they have to do in a group project. The point of the group project is to not have to work individually, and use others thoughts and ideas, and I think its crucial for the teacher to make sure this is actually happening.

Chapter 6: Motivation and Boredom

"Student interest increases when teachers find ways to bring the material alive." This is so true. I have had teachers make our class read a chapter and then do numerous worksheets on the chapter that we just read, and I found that incredibly boring. I also found that I do not retain information when I am just reading a chapter and answering questions on what I just read, it just did not seem important enough, and did not make a big enough impact on me for me to remember it. Although, the information that I do remember from high school, middle school and college so far, have been from projects that are hands-on, or not reading from the book. Like for example, instead of doing a worksheet, make a movie on your laptop about what you just read. Most students will remember the video that they recorded for that chapter, and remember the information that they presented in it. Along with that if the students have to watch others videos, it will be entertaining for them. They will be learning and not even realize it!

Chapter 5: Teaching to the individual, Working with the Group

In Chapter 5, Andres made a statement that I am sure a lot of students could relate to. "If you push too hard, the students will sometimes feel threatened and just shut down. Or if you manage to push the student without upsetting him, and then he doesn't do it to your satisfation, he might feel unworthy." (87) I have noticed that in some of my classes in the past, college and high school, teachers will be lecturing and then ask the students to discuss what he/she just explained to all of us. If you do not speak up or talk, in some cases, teachers will specifically choose that person that has yet to say anything. In my case, if I am not talking it is usually because I did not understand what the teacher was talking about and I am trying to listen to others talk about it so maybe I can understand easier. The experiences that I have had that relate to Andres' statement is when a teacher calls on you and asks you a question, you do not know the answer, and then the teacher, usually unintentionally, embarrasses you as the student by making you feel as if you do not understand what they are talking about because you do not know the answer by saying something like "someone needs to pay attention."

Chapter 4: Creating a Culture of Success

I really liked when Cushman made the point of stating that "But if a teacher keeps believing in their value and their ability, kids are willing to try and try again."
(63) I completely agree with the statement that she is making here. If a student does not think that their teacher belives that they can succeed academically, the student will not be able to convince themselves that they can succeed. The guidance from their teacher, and the confidence that the teacher gives their students allows each student to have condidence in themselves to succeed. If there is a student that is struggling, and the teacher is not telling them what they need to do to go about improving this area, the student is going to feel lost. Along with that, if a student asks the teacher for guidance, and the teacher is not willing, the student will most likely give up.

Chapter 3: Classroom Behavior

In the third chapter, Veronica made a good point by saying "If a teacher shows that they're scared of the students, the students are going to try to take control."(36) In high school or middle school when our class had a substitute teacher, as soon as all of the students noticed that the teacher was not there to discipline the students, they did not care whether or not their work was finished by the end of the class or not. If you want control from the classroom you need to have it from the start. Like for example if you are a substitute, you should tell them exactly what they are supposed to do, and the consequences if they decide not to finish their work. Which is what was told further in this chapter, "Let students know your plan for the class."(38) Most students like walking in and being told what is going to happen during that class. I found that in the classroom that I observed in the middle school this was very successful. The science teacher I observed started every class with a daily agenda, explaining when and what they were doing.