Katie's Portfolio Blog

http://rollinsps.vic.edu.au/?page_id=28 It is no secret that students in middle school are developing in many different ways; physically, cognitively, and emotionally. While trying to find who they are as an individual, students in middle school have a tendency to push against their families. During this time families are also beginning to distance themselves from their children and their children’s lives at school. In elementary school there seems to be more family involvement, middle school there is less, and in high school there is barely any. Why is middle school where the shift seems to start? Middle school is the first time in a student’s schooling that their teacher has more than one class of about twenty-two students their are accountable for. In middle school teachers can have up to three times as many. It can be difficult for teachers to create relationships with over seventy different families, and continue to effectively communicate with each family throughout the schoo...

I have recently read Don't Overlook LGBTQ History in High School,  written by Alexandra Pannoni in the US News. The state of California was the first state to incorporate LGBTQ history into their curriculum, with other states showing interest in making the same change. Learning about history helps students better understand the overall picture of their history and how society has been shaped to the way they experience it. Incorporating history of LGBTQ into the curriculum will have a tremendous impact on LGBTQ students. In the article it says, " Research has made clear that LGBTQ students who see themselves reflected in the curriculum do better in school, are more likely to feel connected and invested, and have a better and clearer sense of themselves". School can be difficult for LGBTQ students because they feel as though they always have to have some sort of guard up. Being able to learn about people like them in History will give the students a sense that the school...

For my second novel I read Beneath a Meth Moon  by Jacqueline Woodson. This novel is powerful, moving, and relevant. I think the novel does a wonderful job at writing about a topic that can easily be swept under the rug because people are afraid to talk about it. Addiction has become a controversial topic in our society today leaving those who face addiction feeling like a burden to society.   For Laurel meth became an escape from her life, upon her first try she was under the meth spell. Laurel was facing many internal battles with her feelings and all that she was facing on the outside as well. She had moved to a new town, started at a new school, and on top of that was still grieving the death of her mother. When one of her new friends introduced her to meth Laurel's life was changed. It provided an escape for Laurel from the current situations she was in and the past. Even if the escape was short lived at the time Laurel craved it. In a classroom I think I would reco...

I have been given the opportunity to work with two different English Language Learners. I meet with the students on an every other week basis. For example, if I work with one student on Tuesday the next week I will work with the other student on Thursday. One of my students is from Nepal. This student is motivated to learn English, however I have come across the realization that it is difficult to teach some parts of English because the language does not make complete sense. The other day we were learning about food and I became aware of how the cultural differences had an impact on a student's learning. There were foods in the United States that the student was not allowed to eat because his culture just did not eat those foods. My other student I have learned is having a very difficult situation outside of school but it is really having a negative impact on her learning. This student has been told by their family that they will be returning to her country for an arranged marr...

Vygotsky is a social learning theorist who believes the role of the teacher is significant to the learning done in the classroom. He believes that a socially interactive classroom environment is important because the developmental stage that adolescents are in depend on social interaction. Maslow is another learning theorist, he believes in the hierarchy of needs. In order for students to be mentally available to learn they must first fulfill the lower levels of the pyramid.  As a future teacher I agree with Maslow and his hierarchy of needs. I think it is important that students are mentally and physically ready to learn and they will not be able to do this if they have not fulfilled the lower levels of the pyramid. It is important for students to have the right nutrition while learning, stay away from simple sugars. Simple sugars are good for a few moments but then cause fatigue. Students have to feel safe in the environment that they are learning in, and feel comfortable enoug...

Charlie, the main character in Perks of Being a Wallflower, is a freshman in high school who is struggling with the suicide of his only friend in middle school. Dealing with this type of trauma at this age is difficult, not that it is not difficult at any other age. However it is important to take into consideration that the transition from middle to high school can be difficult for students. From a teacher perspective I think it is important that we work with the students to create a smooth transition and help them in anyway that we can. Charlie's English teacher recognized that he liked to read and write and therefore gave him more books to read and graded his papers a little more rigorously. Having something to focus on such as the extra reading and having to put a little bit more into his papers can be a good escape for Charlie so he is not always thinking about how he lost his best friend. I think the structure of the novel is also important to pay attention to. The novel is...