Cody used Reflect!

From my experience in Teacher Cadet, I have learned a lot that I will take with me into the future. I have learned some valuable leadership skills, as for being a teacher means taking charge of an entire classroom. Teacher Cadet has also taught me some time management skills as well. During my first semester, I would have to prepare a lesson or create a review game during my spare time at home. Since I had never done anything like this before, I would find myself staying up late at night just to get everything done. If I wanted to avoid this, I had to come up with a schedule. Now, I try and get all my work done as soon as I get home, so I will have the evenings to unwind and do as I want. Also, I have learned to think before I speak. I never had a problem with saying anything wrong in front of my kids, but because of working with such a young age, I know I had to choose my words carefully. I will not be going into a teaching profession, but the things I've learned from preparing for one are invaluable life skills.

The Ways of Discipline

First off, what philosophies? What techniques? This should have been taught in the classroom.

Now, I personally do not see any special ways of discipline teachers use in their classrooms. Most of them are fairly straight forward. From memory, I will try and describe a few methods my past teachers have used.

a) This teacher would ask the student to step out of the class to talk to them in private. From what I have seen, the student usually stops whatever disruptions they were causing and class goes on as normal. However, the student often talks to their peers about what their teacher said.

b) Think the opposite of a. This teacher acknowledges a students disruption to the whole class. Class is usually a little rowdy afterwards and the student is in a bad attitude afterwards.

c) REFERRAL SLIP REFERRAL SLIP REFERRAL SLIP. These teachers will simply write up a student for the slightest tap of a pencil on a desk. Most of the time, the teachers do not want to deal a student and leave their fate in the hands of a principle.

These are about all I can think of. You may have read these short descriptions and thought of a teacher you had, and maybe you have a style of discipline that your prefer over the other. But, in actuality, each one has their flaw, as I somewhat pointed out above. To me, a "perfect" model of discipline should be a combination of the 3. It sounds crazy, but hear me out on this.

1. First encounter. You want to address the problem privately, as to avoid embarrassment to the student and further class disruption. Get your point across and ensure this does not happen again. Go back to class and teach.
2. You thought you already handled it. Guess not. You're in the middle of a lesson, and frankly, you don't have time for another private meeting. This student does not seem to pay any mind to what you said to them outside. What do you do? Address it again, in public. One more screw up, and they're not going to like their next fate.
3. Office. You can't get to this student, you've tried just about anything you can think. A student like this needs to be out of the class until they can behave themselves, and the office will take care of that. Hand them a lovely slip of yellow and send them on your way. Get back to your lesson.

That is my ideal model of discipline. Usually, teachers just find a way that works for them and put their own twist on a technique. Just like a pro skateboarder or something.

Here's Your Sign

A sign of a good day in class for me is usually when one of my students ask me a question. This shows me that they have come into class with a mind to learn and are ready to focus. Other than questions, if they are not hitting on stuff constantly then that means a good day. Mr.Walters does not like extra drum noise when we are not playing, and a happy band teacher is a good band teacher.

Bad signs are just like they would be in any other classroom. If a student comes in with a bad attitude, bad sign. If a student forgets the proper materials, bad sign. Band is really no different than a regular classroom.

Monday Blues Cure

As I try to put the best smile I can on, my mind can't help but dread going back to teach after a long fun weekend. Walking in the classroom, I'm anticipating a bad day. The drum line had came in last in the competition over the weekend; not to mention having returned home late that day. As my percussionists come in, they seem to be in a lot better mood than I am. They greet me like they would with one of their close friends. It is shocking to me, as to almost change my entire outlook on the day. But, it is still Monday, so it will take more than some friendly greetings. Who knows? They may have put my Corvette on the school roof by now. When the bell rings, each student pulls up a chair near the area where we watch videos. Before I could even speak, they immediately ask to hear the judges tapes from the competition and watch the video from the competition. This shocks me, as when I normally do this with them, they groan and complain when I ask them to do this. I put in the video and the judges tapes; each student turns a listening ear and a pair of watchful eyes. They carefully note when a judge has called them out for a mistake. Not only for themselves, but their fellow percussionists as well. When it is done, we discuss as a section of what we can do differently and then apply it to practice. We go through specified warm ups, followed by necessary rudiments to improve playing, and finally perform the show music. Everyone is listening and helping each other out when needed. Seeing this, I realize just how much seeing students willing to work brightens my day. To strive to do better, and improve themselves; no matter what the costs.

This, would be the ideal classroom for me. 

Nothing Left To Pursue

I'm just going to be honest, there is nothing that is inspiring me to have a career in education. When I first took Teacher Cadet last semester, I did it for two reasons:

1. To gain more leadership experience outside of a band setting.
2. To see if education was an area of study I was interested in.

Quickly after a few weeks, I began getting tired of the same setting every day. This may have something to do with the class I was in, but I could not stand going there every day. Maybe it was the students age I didn't like? I don't know, but I know my interest is gone. Teachers simply do not get a salary I think is sufficient to live off of. Yes, the teachers we have now can make the best off of what they have, but that's it. You don't see many teachers living in super nice houses, going off on vacations, or driving around in Corvettes. My reasoning may sound ridiculous to you, but there are things in my life I want to do that I just could not do off of a teacher salary alone.
Second, I get tired of having to think of things for my students to do. I don't even teach the full class, but it is a pain to sit down and figure out what your students need to focus on. I barely even plan out my own week, so why should I be planning the week for 80 something kids?
Okay, so I may have been fairly blunt in my last two reasons, but it's nothing more than the honest truth for me. To end on a calmer note, I'll state my final reason: My heart is just not with this profession. Where is mine at then? Simple: the fields of online security. With this career. I will be protecting ALL of America from all online threats. Whether this be top secret information theft, identity theft, or stopping a serious attack against America's networks, I'll be there to attempt to make it stop. Teachers think they have the best job because they can impact their students life, but with my career; I'll be protecting an entire nation.

Experience & Interaction

                 Because of my past experiences in band (and being in their shoes at one point), I have further helped them in understanding what is expected of them. Starting on a new instrument and working my way to become a Percussion master is no easy feeling, so I can sympathize with my students on that. They say to always listen to your elders, for they have been there before and are wise. Maybe I should start being called Sensei now.

                My students have no problem responding to me or Creed as a teacher. Not only as their instructor, but for the most part; we can talk to one another just like a friend would. If I were to ever go into a teaching profession, I would work on my relations with my students. I strongly believe that that is the key to a successful teacher. What I tried to do with my students is find out their interests, and once we’re on break talk to them about stuff they like. For example, one student in my first period loves Minecraft (easy topic since I’m a gamer myself) and another enjoys food (speaking, not eating. But I’m pretty sure they enjoy eating too because that is a absolute necessity if one wants to ensure life on this planet we call Earth). All the students in my second period are fascinated with drum stick tricks, so I try and show them anything that I can. I have not had a problem with any of my students, and I think it may be because I took the time to get to know them early on.

What Separates My Students From Yours

In my 6th grade band class, Creed and I have recently started our personal 1-on-1 with our students. Due to this, we are not so sure of all of our student's learning styles, but conversations we have shared has given us an outlook on what they may be.

Comparing the learning styles of all my students at once, there is two that they all share (as with most percussionists) is auditory-musical, and kinesthetic. Percussionists heavily depend on listening to other members of the band to signal when to start playing, so repetition of performing with a full ensemble really heightens this learning style. As for kinesthetic, percussionists develop something we call "muscle memory", where after playing a section of a song for a period of time we memorize the hand movements for that section. If my students do not know how to play an excerpt from a composition, I demonstrate  their parts, which trigger those two learning styles. They notice what they should be playing, while observing how their hands should be moving.

Splitting the classes in two, I work with three students a period. Each group brings about their own different learning styles. For my first period, I am not all sure about one of my students learning styles. Hopefully after spending more time with that students, I will be able to conclude which styles they mostly resemble. For the other two (not including the two in my previous paragraph) one is interpersonal and one is intrapersonal. As with the interpersonal student, he likes to tell me specifically what parts he is struggling with in his music, while the intrapersonal student prefers to practice her music on her own. While she participates with no trouble in sectionals, I mostly have to ask what she is having trouble with in her music before she will tell me. In my other period, this group of three has strong ties with each other and I consider them all interpersonal. They can be quite chatty at times, but work exceptionally well together; often offering suggestions to one another and even demonstrating their parts to one another. I love their cooperation with one another, but I have to find some way to ease their talking just a little.

Overall, no matter how similar students may be, they each have their own style of learning that makes them unique. I am still attempting to learn how my students learn best, but as the year goes on I will eventually make this discovery.

NC Legislature Passes Bill That Funds Digital Learning Materials Rather Than Textbooks

Link to the article

Who: North Carolina Legislature

What: House Bill 44 (Converting education to a more technological approach) 

When: Year 2017

Where: All across North Carolina

Why or How: To provide up to date educational matierals

Summary: The House Bill 44 has been passed, meaning that money originally used for textbooks will go towards technology no later than the year 2017. Creators of the bill point out that its use is to ensure that educational resources used stay current. Dr. Anthony Graham believes that this will allow education to tackle a more individualized approach. He also notes that a flaw with this legislation would be towards the children who do not have technology access at home.

Back In the Ol' Grind

As we started up our internships again, I could not help but feel nervous. Being a part of an entirely new class brought back all those feelings of anxiety I had back in Teacher Cadet 1. Although, it was not quite as nerve wracking since Band is what I wanted to be involved with from the get go. Having Creed interning along side me is beneficial since he has had a semester of experience and I can learn  few things from him as well. 

Since I am a drummer myself, I feel as if it is a major responsibility to get these students ready for 7th grade band, and possibly introduce them to advanced level music. Mr.Walters said himself sometimes the middle school percussionists tend to be neglected when it comes to attention. My brother was in band for one year, and dropped out the next because of the lack of playing he did. With my knowledge of percussion, I am hoping that I can keep the students motivated to keep pursuing success with their music. If I can inspire just one of my students (which could pose a challenge since I only have six total in my section) then I feel as if my internship will be a success. 

Overall, I think this will be a very successful internship for me. As it is music, my passion for this subject will drive me to teach the best I can. But one of the best parts is knowing the I have one of my good friends with me to bounce lesson plan ideas off of each other. Since I have been in my students position myself, I know exactly what they need to learn. But I do not plan on just giving them what they need to survive sixth grade percussion; rather something that will stick with them throughout all of their music years. Hopefully, I am looking at six students that when they get to high school, they will be performing on a more experienced level than I ever would have!

School: Learning To Prepare For A Test

During the week, we the students come to class, learn the required material, then rinse and repeat. Since we have all adapted to this, nothing seems wrong with how school is conducted. But what exactly are we preparing for in the future? A test. For what? How is a test going to prepare us for our future and get us ready for our careers? It is simply not going to work; not on its own anyway.

Standardized testing has always been around in our society, and it is likely to stay that way. When it was first introduced to the school system, it served as a way to evaluate how well students learned  rather than showing what the students learned. This was perfect for the way the world worked back then...but in a divergent thinking world; it is ineffective. Rather than teaching to appeal to different learning styles, teachers are forced to teach student the same thing. The fact of the matter is that no two people learn the same way. Take your regular classroom setting for example. There are three groups of students: the high achievers, the average learner, and the below average learner. Logically, the below average and average would learn just fine, considering that the tests are designed for the average learner. While the below average are challenged during class, what about the over achieving students? Sure, we place honors classes in schools for them, but it does not help for a school like Bartlett Yancey where you can submit a waiver to be enrolled in such a course. As a student who has taken regular courses, honors courses, and one AP course, I can personally say there is not much of a difference on what is being taught for each level of class. To be blunt: there is only more work involved for higher level courses. Back when I was freshman, I took Honors English 1. We prepared for the English 1 EOC. Not the Honors English 1 EOC, but the regular English 1 EOC. How was I being challenged if what I learned then was preparing me for an average student's exam? I was merely balancing a heavier workload, just like all my other honors classmates.

The reason students of America are not matching up to international standards is due to the very beliefs of America. Our country believes that we should provide an education for all, which is a very fine thing. Other countries like Japan tend to only educate higher level students and push the average and below level students straight into the work force. It almost seems as if we only have two ways to educate children: either focus on the over achievers and forget about those students slightly below average, or provide an education for all but neglect challenging our more advanced students. There is a way we can do this, and we just have to find a way to appeal to all types of learners. But at the current rate of progress for America's education system, I do not think we will be seeing a change any time soon.

 

Alamance Regional Donates Heart Monitors To Middle Schools In Alamance County

Link to the article

Who: Alamance Regional LifeStyle Center

What: Alamance Regional LifeStyle Center donates heart monitors to seven middle schools

Where: Alamance County

When: February 19th

Why or How: To add some technology to P.E classes and possibly for the schools athletes

Summary: Alamance Regional LifeStyle Center just donated heart monitors to seven middle schools in Alamance County. With a total of 210 given out, each of the middle schools were given 30. The students of the middle schools will receive a lesson on how to operate the monitors. Kevin Wellman, P.E and heath teacher of Torrentine Middle School says, "The kids are very excited about using new equipment and tracking their progress through physical activity."

My Inspiration: Rick Allen

As a drummer, my inspiration tends to come from musicians (mainly drummers). There is only one man that inspires me more than others, and that man is Rick Allen.

Looking at the picture, you can see that this drummer is severely handicapped because of only having one arm. On December 31, 1984 Allen was in a car crash that would ultimately cost him his left arm. Though Def Leppard knew Allen was at a major setback, they went on hiatus while he was recovering. The band often came by the hospital and spoke words of encouragement to Allen. Jeff Rich, previous drummer for Status Quo helped Allen design a electronic set for him to play on and personally worked with Allen to redevelop his playing style.

I wanted to include this back-story because...well, it's my main source of inspiration. This has it all: band mates that stuck by his side during a tough trial, and achieving success even at an extreme handicap. I truly respect Def Leppard more as a band for not treating Rick as "just a drummer." They looked at him as a true friend and would not continue their success without him. Rick Allen owes a little credit to Jeff Rich, but I believe he should be patting him self on the back right now. If he did not have the motivation within himself to relearn his playing, then he would most likely living in his former self. He could have felt sorry for himself for the remainder of his life, but he chose not to let a lost arm stand in the way of doing what he loves.

When I first read this article, it changed me in two ways.

1. To be there for all my friends; no matter what the circumstance is. You never know how big of an influence you can be to someone in their time of need. Besides, I know I would love to have a few good friends during a crisis to give me encouraging words. 
2. To live out my dreams, no matter what. Climb the highest mountain, sail through the raging seas, whatever it takes to meet your goals. You can sit back and watch your life fly by and think to yourself, "I wish I had done that," or take chances and achieve what you have always wanted. If Rick Allen can go through a tragic accident and push on to do what he wants, so can I.

A Quick Reminder on How to Follow Someone On Blogger

Many of us were trying to figure out a way to do this in class. Through experimenting at home, I found a basic way that lets you see updates from those you're following as soon as you log on!

Here are the steps:

1. Log into Blogger.
2. On the home page, scroll down to where it says "Reading List"
3. Once you have found this, click the "Add" button directly underneath it.
4. Have the person you wish to follow blog url. Paste this into "Add from url"
5. Click follow. Now you will be updated every time this person creates a new post!

Hope this helped those who were having trouble!