2. Take the tests and read Take the one I am offering in class – Take the one in the book Read up on the philosophies From your current book From other textbooks in education and/or philosophy From the MCC Online database of journals and articles http://www.mcckc.edu/main.asp?L=Sdatabases Look up your philosophical tendency Look up the “experts” discussed in your book – pg 202 You need your textbook and two other resources for your paper
3. Reality Realize that regardless of your personal philosophy, if you work in a public school in this country you will not have the option of changing the curriculum significantly Language arts, science, math, and social studies are mandatory Humanities, health, physical education, and technology are expectations Some schools are designed to be more teacher-centered, some schools are designed to be more student-centered Neither is right, neither is wrong You will have professors, colleagues, and bosses whose philosophy you will disagree with – deal with it Make sure you know which camp you belong in and how to recognize it in a school setting
4. Teacher-Centered The teacher is employed as a subject area expert who can disseminate knowledge to the next generation Subjects are set, students must master them Behavior management is designed to teach respect and establish order in classroom and life Essentialism and Perennialism You cannot update these philosophies – they are what they are They promote a set of subjects and/or materials that teach “what everyone needs to know” Academics are the concern of the school – real life education is to be gained elsewhere once the student has been schooled in how to learn
5. Student-Centered The teacher is employed as a knowledgeable guide who will design an environment that allows students to realize their potential Subjects are set, students explore them Behavior management is designed to teach personal responsibility and problem solving Progressivism and Social Reconstructionism These philosophies are fluid – new practices can be tried (if it works, use it; if it doesn’t, look for something that will – Pragmatic) They promote a style that is designed to pique student interests and create a desire to learn a variety of topics Real life education is the concern of the school whether it be to prepare for one’s own work or to change society
6. Existentialism Listed by book as student-centered, and it is Unschooling “type of education which bases learning on the needs, interests and goals of the student. Unschoolers also refer to unschooling as child-led learning, natural learning, discovery learning, child-directed learning, or autodidactic learning” http://unschool.info/ Not a practical philosophy for any public school educator You can choose this philosophy but you’ll have to fully explain where and how you will implement it You could incorporate parts of it into your own philosophy – again, fully explain
7. Being ecclectic Can you combine two or more philosophies? Yes and No Perennialism could never be combined with Existentialism – one says the only studies that are valid are those of the Great Books – the other says the child must determine what is valid to study Most of the time students want to teach the basics through progressivism and believe that to be a combination – it is not, it is progressivism You can be culturally appropriate with an essentialist approach – Other People’s Children by Delpit Some students think the professor wants them to be progressivist, even if they are not - we don’t want that – BE TRUE TO YOURSELF If you combine philosophies fully explain how and why you believe you can do, or should do, so
8. Design a lesson Not a lesson plan, but a thought pattern about a topic you expect to teach How did you determine the topic needed to be studied? What practices will you use to get the information across to your class? What activities will you have the class engage in? How will you assess the students’ learning? How will you extend the students’ learning?
9. Design a management system They are not going to love you enough to not be children or adolescents! Even if you don’t want to “control” them, you have to control the room, provide safety, and accomplish your job What is your plan for managing behavior? Will you have rules? Which ones? Who decides on them? Will you have consequences? Which ones? Who decides on them and how and when they are delivered? Sending a misbehaving child to the principal is NOT a management plan that will allow you to remain employed
10. Finding the job In today’s situation you will probably take any teaching position offered – don’t write your paper with that mindset Consider what a school that truly promotes a philosophy similar to the one you are most comfortable would look like What doe the buildings and hallways look like? What do the classrooms look like without children present? With children present? What would you hear as you walk down the hall on a school day? What would the papers and realtors say about the school? What would the teachers and parents say about the school? What kind of questions would you expect from the administrator during your interview? What questions would you have for the administrator, and what would you want to hear in the answers?
11. The Paper Rough Draft is basically your finished paper Cover Page – APA Reference Page – APA 3 academic references – if it is in your paper it needs to be listed here, if it is listed here it needs to be in your paper (in text citations) 5-6 pages of text 1 inch margins all around 12 point font – serif preferred Running head and page number
12. APA Style Purdue Owl http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/ Direct quotes need “ “ and citation with page number Avoid long quotes and quote after quote – learn to explain, summarize or at least paraphrase If a quote is long, indent on left and right If the thought isn’t yours alone, it needs a citation Use the writing lab Edit one another’s papers
13. Writing Tips Use spell check and grammar check, but don’t rely on them Check for homonyms Check for misspellings that are actual words: Principle is not your future boss You don’t develop your thoughts form reading You won’t defiantly speak to the school bored if you value your employment Are philosophy doesn’t depend on weatherare students like it or not If you always liked going too school since you were in grade to, than you probably ought two consider those who don’t like it when writing If I open a .doc or a .docx and see the colored squiggles all over the page – I won’t grade it at all
14. Writing Tips Take slang out of your papers – Unless you are planning to be a goat herder you won’t be working with “kids” Info is not a complete word for formal papers, neither is til nor till – there are other word like that too Acronyms need introductions – Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is how it is written the first time it appears, after that you can use IEP only The word “thing” refers to an actual item or action – use the actual word
15. Writing Tips Strengthen your writing in little ways: Avoid starting sentences with It – Never start a paragraph with It It's a bad habit to start sentences with it. It causes your readers to pause momentarily while they figure out what it is. It makes your sentences clumsy. It is true that doing so is an easy way to write a sentence, but usually it is not good writing. It even becomes a bit annoying when you do it too often. It is bad to annoy your reader. Starting sentences with it is a bad habit. Your readers will need to pause momentarily while they figure out what it is, and your sentences will be clumsy. Writing this way may be easy, but starting sentences with it is usually not a good idea. If you do this too often, you may annoy your readers, which is never a good idea. http://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1315093-Starting-sentences-with-it
16. Writing Tips Avoid contractions, APA doesn’t like them Conjunctions are designed to hook up phrases or sentences – they really should not start a sentence. And, so many people do that. Avoid it in your formal papers Go on a which hunt through your paper – if you find places which that are full of them – change the wording Read your paper backward – you’ll catch errors you didn’t know were there even after editing
