Meet Me in the Middle Chapter 15: Parents as Partners in 21st Century Learning Synthesis and Analysis

This chapter was a great continuation of Chapter 9 in Turning Points 2000. Involving parents in the classwork is important, and the author felt that the internet was one of the greatest tools out there. Teachers can use such programs as MyClass.net, Schoolnotes.com, Funbrain.com, and Blackboard.com. These are great ways for parents to keep up with where their students are in school. However, not all parents are able to use the internet, either because they do not have the access, or do not understand how to use it. For those parents who do not use the internet, using a personal touch always helps. Sending a postcard home talking about where the student is or sending an index card home with a student with a question that you want the parent to answer can be extremely helpful for students and teachers. Something that the author suggested that I would not emphasize was going to the home of some students to get to know the students better. I feel that this would be invading the personal space of the student and wouldn't be a good way to get to know the student.

Turning Points Chaper 9: Involving Parents and Communities Synthesis

I can't count the number of times when I have talked about how important it is to get parents involved in the students classwork. This chapter was a great resource for us because it gave a lot of examples on how to get parents and the community into the class. I really liked when the authors talked about getting parents that were ELL into the classroom by making the environment a safer one for them. I could ask parents of different backgrounds to come in and talk with my students about what they have learned and relate it to what we are learning. I know as a science teacher, I want to get as many professionals as I can to come in and talk with my students. If I can get people to come in and talk about how chemistry is important in their job, students will see how applicable the material we are learning is to the world outside of school.

Boys and Girls Learn Differently

I really enjoyed to first activity we did because it brought students together and working with a task. It was great or seeing who were the leaders and who could follow leaders. However, the results didn't always go as was predicted, I guess that shouldn't be that big of a surprise. Kyle and Sarah had really good topics that related well to our classrooms and the students. I particularity liked the sports activity because we can see the differences between different people. People with different backgrounds are going to have differing views on sports and extracurricular activities. Splitting up classes by sex is an interesting idea and is sure to help students learn the material easier. However, this can also hinder learning of how to deal with the opposite sex, especially with the idea of sex equality that is being fought by women. I also have no idea what I would have done if we were required to wear uniforms. It may have helped students who had trouble getting ready in the morning, but it inhibits individualism and creativity.

Turning Points Chapter 9: Involving Parents and Communities Synthesis

Abstract:
In our education classes, we have heard over and over again how we need to get parents and the community involved in the classroom and with the students lives. This chapter talks about how we can incorporate parents and the community into our schools. In order to bring parents into the school and their childrens' academics, the authors gave four key ideas: 1. Establishing continuity between home and school. 2. Monitoring students' school work and their school "careers". 3. Creating opportunities outside the school for safe, engaging exploration. 4. Improving the school through on-site parental involvement. Using these four steps, teachers and parents can begin to have the discussions necessary for students success in the classroom and the world. Parents of all back grounds will be encouraged to come in and help with their special skills.

Synthesis:
As a whole, we have decided that involving parents into the classroom and into their childrens' academic lives can help students' progress through school. Not only will they do better in their classes, but they're more willing to go to class and find the material more interesting. Yet there were some concerns when it came to parents who had opposite philosophies of the teachers and administration. When we have parents and community members who want the school to change in a different direction, it can be more of a problem than a solution. There is a balancing act that we as teachers and administrators have to walk, because we want parents to become part of their childrens' academic life, but we don't want them to slow it down either.

Becoming a Wiz at Brain Based Learning Response

I really enjoyed this presentation because there was a lot of interesting things going on at every station. It was immediately clear that you guys really understood your book well and you nailed it!

EMOTIONS: Susanna, that was a really interesting game where we learned a lot of really interesting information while you explained some of the less clear ideas. I thought that the use of the game was a good way for us to learn the material because it caught my interest and I was able to really get into the game and the information that was told. It was fun and interesting so I was able to stick with what you were doing.

ENVIRONMENT: The environment is very important for students because it can either help or hinder students learning. Keeping the room filled with natural light and having fun and interesting things around the room can keep students attention. I really liked the idea of having us write quotes on the wall so that we had ownership over a part of the classroom. These quotes were also motivating and helpful with the learning process. I really enjoyed how you decorated the room, you went all out! That was a great way to show us what you meant by creating an environment for certain occasions.

MEMORY: Lyzz, you did an awesome job with the game, there were definitely a lot of really interesting facts that we learned by doing the game. The part that I really enjoyed the most was that you were explaining the concept of memory and the important ideas associated with memory while giving a great test for all of the new information with the game. As I went through the game I started to use the tips and facts on the cards to improve my memory in the game. Not to mentioned my natural competitiveness drove me to really test my skills with memory!

ASSESSMENT: Josh, you did an awesome job with the black jack and relating it to assessment. As we walked around the room, I couldn't wait to get to that station, I never would have imagined that it had to do with portfolios and standardized tests. Though as you explained the connections, it made perfect sense and I really enjoyed how you tied the two concepts together. The idea of a portfolio is something that I want to do more research in to use in my class, it seems like a great way to give students ownership over their work and pride in showing off what they have achieved throughout the year. I especially liked the cards!

Turning Points Chapter 8: A Safe and Healthy School Environment

As we have moved through the semester, I have heard time and time again, how important it is to keep the classroom and the school a safe environment for kids to express the emotions in middle school. Emotions guide students at the middle school level and it is extremely important to make sure that the classroom is a safe place for them. Another important factor in students learning is whether they are healthy and happy. It is important to have students moving around and and doing things that will keep them healthy, including physical and health education and maybe some "controversial" school ideas such as meditation. This is a really interesting chapter and one that I would like to use to help students academically by taking care of their emotional health and their physical help.

Turning Points Chapter 4: Designing Instruction to Improve Teaching and Learing

This chapter seemed like a review of practicum which was definitely a nice review. The WHERETOS and how to teach to the whole class. This is a good reference chapter to use when I'm discussing how to teach to the whole class and it is important to do the backward design. One of the most interesting parts of the chapter was the idea of tracking. I can't count the number of times that we have talked about tracking and why it is bad. Of course I agree with that it is bad because it can quickly segregate the school based on race and social economic status. This was a nice find because we have talked about why tracking is bad, but here is a nice reference in writing.