Journal 9

Predict what will have changed about today's schools by the year 2020. This is your opportunity to forecast.

Journal 9

Things will definitely be different in the year 2020.  Technology is rapidly changing and it will keep changing by the time we reach 2020, which is in less than 9 years.  It is mindboggling for me to think of all of the technological advances I’ve lived through.  I was in elementary when the internet became mainstream and people still had house phones.  Nowadays, very few households have a landline.  People use cell phones to communicate.  I remember I was a senior in high school when I got my first cell phone.  It was still very big and bulky but I was still considered cool because I had one.  I know kids who are nine and their parents have already given them a phone.  I predict that in the year 2020 the students will have iPads or personal computers for every class. The grading will also be done entirely online and the teachers won’t have to grade anymore papers by hand.  I also think that the students will no longer have paper and pencil tasks because all will be done using their personal computers. 

Journal 8

Outside of a teacher position, in which of the governing roles (legislator, principal, superintendent, and school board member) would you most like to serve? Why?

Journal 8

I think I would have to be a legislator.  I have never really considered a position like that because my true passion is teaching, but being a legislator would also have positive and rewarding outcomes.  I would be a legislator for school reform.  I would propose laws about education that would greatly benefit students in the school system.  I would fight for the rights of both teachers and students. They have a lot of power when it comes to making laws and decisions affecting education.  My sister in law is studying to become a legislator for education.  She and my wife discuss many different issues with the school system.  Since my wife is a school teacher she tells my h sister in law the problems that she and her students face on a day to day basis.  This is important because she is getting information from someone who is experiencing issues first hand.  She has said that it is very important to hear what the teachers and students have to say in order to decide what is best for them.  If I was a legislator I would make sure to do this.  The reason why I would not choose any of the other positions would be because I personally believe that they have more problems than a legislator does. 

Journal 7

Think about your own education. At what grade level did you first encounter computers, CD-ROMs, computer games, or the Internet at school or in your classroom?

Journal 7

I believed I was in the second grade when I first played on a computer.  It was a Macintosh and it was very bulky.  I remember thinking that I was so cool because I had a computer.  Everything was new to me and I was so amazed at what computer could do.  At school we did not have access to computers until fifth grade.  Even then, we had one computer in our classroom and we had to take turns using it.  We had to collect a certain amount of points based on behavior in order to use the computer for five minutes.  The games that we could play on the computer were very educational and one was to help us improve our typing skills.    We did not get to use the internet at school and at home until maybe three years after we had gotten our computer. We then had computer labs with about ten computers in computer labs.  We were allowed to see the internet to find information on research papers that we had to complete for class.  We had many websites blocked and we could only use websites that were relevant to finding information for school. It wasn’t until we went to high school that we started having computer classes that taught us how to use varies computer programs that were essential for our success in the real world.  Technology has had so many advances within the past decades.  Nowadays, students have access to pretty much anything on the internet.  You can even find personal information about people.  At schools there are several computer labs with enough computers for an entire class of students.  Teachers no longer have to split their classes to fit the capacity of the labs.  Al students get the same opportunity to use the computers and the internet.

Journal 6

In your opinion, what is the single most important characteristic of an effective teacher?

Journal 6

I believe that the single most important characteristic an effective teacher should have is the ability to create trust with his/her students.  This is very important for both the students and the teacher to be successful. Without trust it would be very hard for the teacher to make the students learn.  If you don’t have their trust they will not pay attention very well.  They will not trust that they know what is best for them and that they want them to succeed.  Once students understand that their teachers care about them, they will learn more and produce better scores.  When I was substitute teaching in Mineral Wells, I experienced just this.  Usually, substitutes do not do very well with students.  When teachers leave the students think that they can do whatever they want because they have a substitute.  I was substituting for a teacher on maternity leave so I was with the students for about six weeks.  At first the students were out of hand and would not listen to me but by the end of the first week I started to gain their trust.  I was then able to teach them the material that was left by their teacher.  Their scores on exams were pretty decent.  When their teacher came back she was surprised at how well the students were doing considering they had a substitute for six weeks.  The students had trusted me with their education and they greatly benefited from it.  I also felt satisfaction at how I gained their trust and was able to make them succeed.  Trust was the key in my success and I believe that every teacher should posses this characteristic for their success.