Ch.10 School Law and Ethics

In the past, school was quite simple compared to schools today. We are in different times and as the years go by things definately change. When I mentioned simple above, I was not refering to academics. I was refering to the school system itself. Being a teacher in the past gave the learning enviornment much more control. Today, teachers are even scared to do the normal, like break up a fight. The rules are based on so many issues, leaving hardly no control in the teachers hands. For example, a child falls and breaks his arm, in the past, a teacher would come to the rescue, pick up the child off the floor and call for help. Now, the teacher must not even come close to the child until parents or professional help comes to the scene. All because one mistake can lead to a lawsuit and the loss of your job. I know a lot of rules and regulations have been established only to better the system, but it has arrived at a point where so many things are prohibited that a teacher probably feels at the useless level, where they can only baby sit and instruct, hoping the kids want to listen. This can become extremeley frustruating, especially when nothing can be done about it but calling an administrator or pray for help. Ch.10 explained the importance on teachers reporting different types of abuse, whether it would be physically seen or emotionally noticed. Again, teachers are not allowed to have the right to interact with a child, They barely have no control over even asking a question or two, incase the the student might be offended in any way, shape, or form. Basically, not only is teaching underpaid but it is also at peaks point level of the most stressful career to overcome.

Ch.8 Philosophy of Education

Ch.8 was quite detailed and interesting...Ch.8 enlightened me on the five philosophies of education. Essentialism, paranielism, progressivism, social reconstructionism, and existentialism. Everyone has a different philosophy in which they agree education should be based on. I believe in a blend of both, Essentialism and Social reconstructionism. Why? well I believe education should strive to teach you knowledge and train the mind as well as prepare students for social issues, which is known as, Social reconstructionism. I am aware that education in schools focuses on academics, but imagine this world with individuals thats only have academic knowledge and no sense of knowledge on how to act with others or how to approach different social issues, anywhere from dealing with different upbringings or even people that live below the poverty level? This society will be caos. I believe education should focus on teaching knowledge ofcourse, however, never ignore daily social issues and how to deal with different situations.

CH.5 Student life in school and at home.

School is a huge part of a child's life. Children evidently spend most of their day at school, learning and interacting with other children. Though many children attend the same school, they do not live the same life, nor are they brought up the same way. This is where the difference between children at school takes place. A teacher's role, job, career, and goal is to teach the children, not only academics but many other things, like how to carry their day to day life and how to gain different set of responsibilities and relationships, as well as assist them in any personal or serious problems they may be facing, that become obvious at school. Unfortanatley, it is nearly impossible for a teacher to deal with each and every problem that arises in all their students, but being attentive to the obvious ones will only help and maybe even change a childs life. For example, Ch.5 elaborates on how poverty is a major issue today. If a teacher realizes that a child is not fully prepared with the correct materials for her classroom, before penalizing the student for not being prepared, she/he should get a bit of the inside on why this is a factor? if poverty is the cause, the teacher can help the child by providing his or her materials instead of causing the child humiliation or embarrassment in the classroom. This action not only helps the child feel cared for and not hopeless, but it teaches them a lesson, that giving is a wonderful deed after they encounter the good feeling they felt went they recieved something they were needy of. After all, Teachers are in charge of teaching. right?