What Education Means To Me

I came to the United States when I was eight years old. It was the toughest time in my life. I was terrified to go to school because I did not know how to speak English and I did not know anyone. My teachers at the time had absolutely no idea about what it was like to be in my shoes, but they all saw my potential. Their caring nature helped me out the most, without it I would not have gotten as far in life. They never gave up on me and kept pushing me to succeed. The teachers that I have had have been the best teachers anyone could have ever had. They have all inspired me to try hard and be the best that I can be. I want to make the same impact on my students that my teachers have made on me.

Whether they know it or not, every child walks through the school doors with the hopes of being able to walk out much wiser and ready for the real world. Parents send their children to school to learn valuable life skills that will prepare them for their future and to gain all the knowledge that they can. Students are especially able to develop their personalities in a social setting.

I hope to create a very warm climate in my classroom. I want to treat every child the same way and love them all the same. The only difference that I hope to celebrate with them is their identity. I want to make my classroom the place where every student will learn all that they can learn and walk out being ready for the real world. My wish is that they will all be the best they can be and never give up on any dream that they have.

The power of knowledge opens up one’s mind, leads them to explore worlds foreign to one self, and provides a well-rounded life. Sending children to school teaches them the basics of different subjects. In school they also begin to explore who they really are in a social setting. This is also the place they learn the importance of seeing their teachers and other school officials as being important role models in the community for them to emulate. And it all starts with them walking through the school doors full of potential and thirst for knowledge they did not even know existed.

Waiting for Superman

Waiting for Superman is a documentary film about the corrupt school system in the United States of America.The country that is revered as the land of opportunity is actually not so. Teachers who are not motivators, who do not have students' best interests at heart, are allowed to continue teaching no matter what missteps they may take. Some teachers have fought back saying that so much has been blame has been placed on the teachers, but it is actually those higher up who aren't making the right decisions to benefit students. This interview clip shows some of the debate that has sparked after the film's release. http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&v=V4AS8RVEDiw

Regardless of who is to blame, the reality still stands that students who have a passion for learning, but not the funds to do so are sent to schools that are notoriously known as drop-out factories. These schools basically set up students to fail. They are not presented with the same materials that students are presented with who go to more affluent schools. If these students want to go to the better schools, there is a lottery system that is held annually. To see children and their parents sitting in big auditoriums for hours praying for their selection is heartbreaking. Where is the equality in education? Where is the basic right to attain a quality education in the richest land in the world? Where is the fairness?

I encourage everyone to watch this documentary from beginning to end. It is an honest representation of how we are not giving a fair chance to students in this country. This trailer from Waiting for Superman was more than enough to convince me to watch the documentary. I hope it does the same for you. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFN0nf6Hqk0

Champion of Education Reform

Michelle Rhee is a champion in the education world. The day she was appointed Chancellor of the DC school system, she set out change it, drastically. She fired many teachers and principals, even her own children's principal. Those who did not perform up to Michelle's standards were let go. Many people were outraged with the maverick who set out to change the ways everyone was used to. However, Michelle was never affected by anyone's criticisms of her. With Michelle's reforms, DC became the only major city school system that had a double-digit growth in reading and math scores. This is just one example of the incredible impact Michelle.

She did not care about being popular as she stated in this interview with CNN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJtUKsfOA-I. Rhee decided to resign after she served her time as the Chancellor. She still continues to be a pioneer for a better school system in America. She has set up a website, Twitter account and Facebook page in an effort to keep continuing her mission. She is still a very outspoken figurehead, which is made quite evident by her blog on the issue of No Child Left Behind, which can be read following this link http://www.studentsfirst.org/blog/entry/michelles-reaction-to-sec.-duncans-announcement-on-nclb-waivers/.

Michelle is an inspiration to me. It is satisfying to see that if the right person is appointed to do a difficult task, it will get done. We need more people to speak out about troubling issues in the education system.

When is it the Right Time to Start?

When is the time right to start introducing technology into a child's life? The younger, the better would be the answer to that question. We buy children toys that are voice-activated and exhibit human-like characteristics, so we should do the same when introducing technology to students. We need to approach it as showing them that they can do so much with technological advances. Toys can be fun and entertaining, but using technology is a way to move forward with the rest of the world in a strong way. One part that must go into that is teaching students how to properly use technology right from the beginning. They are young and have absorbant minds, so we need to show them how to make the most out of the technology in front of them. This will require creating a balance in elementary school between reading a book and typing away on the computer. This balance will make for a well-rounded student and citizen of the technological world.

To read more about this topic click here.





Picture from http://farm4.static.flickr.com

Connecting Through Technology

Technology in the classroom is more and more prevalent. It is a way for us to make our lives and our students lives easier. It is more convenient for us to type something up on the computer than to write it down. One big advantage of technology is connecting with other people around the nation and the world. In some classrooms, we have used ICN systems to communicate with people in other countries. In the fourth grade, we had a teacher go to Japan, and we were able to talk to her through the advanced technology at that time. This greatly aids teachers in expanding their students minds on a cultural level. When we can connect with those far away from us, it brings us all closer together.

To read more more about the Iowa Communication Network click here.



Picture from http://www.treynor.k12.ia.us

Old School, New School

Out of my 13 years in school this year was the first where I began seeing technology used in the classroom by the students rather than the teacher. It was always that the teacher demonstrated everything and the students just watched. The few times when technology was used was when we were doing research and writing papers. Did that teach me anything? No, it didn’t! I observed a classroom last semester and I was so impressed with what the teacher was doing. She started every morning by using the promethean board and having a few students come up. They knew what they were to do and they taught their classmates. I believe it was so good not only because they were learning how to use technology, but also building their self-esteem. It was an opportunity to show what they knew and for those that were shy, they got a chance to express themselves.

To read more on the changes made within the years click here.


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Natural Progression of Technology

Technology is ingrained in the natural progression of our society. We, as educators, still need to enstill the same foundations in our students. Instead of teaching them addition using a pen and paper, we can now teach them on the computer. Technology is all around us and it is a fact that we cannot deny or ignore. We need to start moving with the rest of the world, especially China. We need to teach our students how to utalize technology for more than Facebook. The digital developments these days are very exciting and we need to teach our students how to use those developments to their best advangtage. Many careers are enhanced by technology, and teaching is a field that can be taken to a level never imagined. When I was in the second grade, all we had were desktops with green backgrounds on them, now we have some of the newest computers on the UNI campus. I can just imagine how much better it is going to get from here on out.

To read more on this topic click here.


Image of my brother, Amel Saric.