Special Education Blog

What are they thinking was recently read by moi. I knew a lot of the information because the University of South Alabama has did a great job teaching us(teachers) about the special education issues. I chose this article because I like to know why a student thinks a certain way. I think that is very important for teachers to know. For example, why does a student have anger problems? Should a teacher care? Well as Stone Cold would say, Hello Kitty yea. The article says anger is in response from "threats, insults, frustration, injustice, intentional harm, or conflict." A teacher should speak to their kiddos about why they might have gotten angry over something. Is it really just because the person next to you accidentally knock your brand new John Cena lunch box off of your desk or is it really something else? I've always found that when persons get mad over some things, it is really because of something else. Well I say, TEACHERS help students find out why Tim McGraw thinks they are angry all the time, and help the student face that problem. The article that I read also had a little chart in it that gave information on how students would react in certain moral situations and WHY they would react this or that way. Well, I think this important info to know because we need to not only know why students think something,why they get mad, but also why they do certain things. There are moral stages that persons go through. There is this one stage that a child will do or not do something because of the consequences he or she might face. So, as time goes on, they get into another stage. What is this stage you ask? Well in this stage a person will do or not do something because of the way it could effect someone else. They have begun to think of others, so in essence(I hope I used that word correctly) they are loving or not loving their neighbor. A teacher needs to be observing why they are acting certain ways. If you would like to know more you can personally look at this article and this chart at PS You must have an USA ID to get to this link. If you do not have one, contact your local doctor.

Blog for EDM510

I probably should make a new post for EDM510. The website and assignments were a little confusing at first, but I think I have made some progress. I'm sure I will continue to make mistakes on the way for two reasons. First, I need to read instructions better. It is easy to try to skim through instructions when there are numerous assignments. I want to finish the assignments as fast as possible. When this happens, persons might not take the time to really understand what they are doing and the reason for it. Secondly, I think mistakes will be made because of the instructions. I say this because I'm a teacher and want to make sure that I'm aware of how instructions can be ambiguous. Sometimes teachers giving instructions just assume that their instructions are clear. This is not always true. I try to think of what I'm saying to students. Just because I understand what I'm talking about, doesn't mean my students do. As a teacher, I try think of myself as a student which is what I am right now and have been for most of my life. Over the years, there have been many times where teachers were just telling me something, assuming I knew everything they were saying. I would just sit there instead of asking what that teacher meant. Students do just sit there. Teachers, we should be aware of this when we teach and give instructions.

Final Reflection of EDM 310

Final Report on PLN

My final report on my PLN has not changed much from earlier.  I have found a few networks that I will use now that I know about them.  I mention them in some of my earlier blogs. MCPSS is one of them.  MCPSS is something that I will use in order to know what I need to teach. I still use wikipedia and google more than anything else.  There my favorite without a doubt.  Anytime I have a question I ask my parents.   One of them will know.  My parents know the definition to everything.  If I am lost, I ask my parents for the directions.  If I need to know price rates on things that I want to buy, I ask my parents.  Some people's parents are not as educated as mine.  They are older and have not changed any.  They might have to wait weeks at a time to hear from their parents.  They cannot keep up with my parents.  My parents are too smart and too fast for other parents to keep up with.  Everything is right there when it comes to my parents.  No need to drive any where, no need to call anyone, I just ask.    When I teach, I will use my parents to help me.  They will be there forever.

 

 

Special Assignment

 Metaphors: What They Are and Why We Use Them
Before I go any further let me give you Wikipedia's definition of a metaphor.

Metaphor is the concept of understanding one thing in terms of another. A metaphor is a figure of speech that constructs an analogy between two things or ideas, the analogy is conveyed by the use of a metaphorical word in place of some other word. For example: "Her eyes were glistening jewels." Metaphors compare things without using "like" or "as."



1.Why do I think I missed the metaphor?  I missed the metaphor because I did not care about what I was reading.  Another words, I did not take time to really understand what he was talking about. I started reading it and just thought it was a dumb story instead of taking time to see what he was talking about.  Sometimes I just want to be finish with the assignment so I don't take the time to look deeper into it.

2. What metaphors have I come across?  Well looking at the glass half empty or half full is common.  I have also come across some in the bible.
John;27-28
    My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish , neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 

  Not talking about  sheep!!!  Talking about Christians following Jesus.
Metaphors are all in the bible.  Read it and you will see how they are used.

 http://www.biblestudytools.com/kjv/
 
 3. What other things can we do as educators to help our students to understand and to use metaphors?  We could use them.  We could teach the students about metaphors and why we use them.  You could have a simple test that has metaphors on it.  Then ask the kids what the metaphor is and why is it used.

4. Why do we use metaphors?  We use metaphors to get a point across.  We use them so that another person can understand something better.   This way they can get a different view about something.  If you see something that maybe is more relative to you it might help. 

Final Project 16

C4T

My C4T was on Ms. Paula White's blog.  I commented on two of her blogs.  The first blog that I commented on was about how she was allowing her students to finish stories on a wiki.  I thought that was very creative.  It allows students to be creative and come up with their own ideas for a story.  I loved writing stories when I was in school and I'm sure that Ms. White's students loved doing this also.  This is the comment I left on that blog:

One Response to “Wiki Work”

Jude Sanford says:
April 13, 2011 at 8:09 pm
Hello,
My name is Jude Sanford and I am in Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class. I was assigned to your blog and I loved reading it. I enjoy being able to be creative. I see that you allow your kids to do the same. Finishing the stories was a very creative idea.
I will be reading your blog in a few weeks and making a summary of it on my blog. If you would like to see it, you can find it on http://sanfordjudeedm310.blogspot.com/ Thanks

The next blog I read of Ms. White was on her putting up questions that her students had asked her.  I loved the questions too.  Some of the questions was:  When is a fact a fact, what did people use instead of road signs before road signs, and what would our country be like if Christopher Columbus had landed on the west coast instead of the east coast?   She also gave you the option of asking a question also.  This was my comment on that blog:
Jude Sanford says:

April 27, 2011 at 7:49 pm

Hey Ms. White,
This was an interesting blog. I liked all the questions that where asked in it. I never thought of what our country would be like if Columbus would’ve landed on the west coast. It makes me wonder where I would be if that would’ve happen. My question: Is the Bible something that men made up for people to have an explanation for why we are here?

C4K Summary Spring

 My first kid that I was assigned to was Andrew, who is a work maniac.  He also says that he is a friendly person.  I told him how hard work can get you far in life.  This is the comment that I left for Andrew:
Hey Andrew,
  My name is Jude Sanford and I am in Dr. Strange's EDM class at the University of South Alabama.  I am kind of a work maniac also.  I think being a work maniac will carry you a long way in life.  Just make sure you work smart also.  Looks like your going to have a great future being friendly, nice, and a hard worker.  Good Luck!!!


http://yollisclassblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/quality-commenting-during-family.html  is a link for Mrs. Yollis' classroom blog.  She takes it very serious which is a good thing.  She takes it so serious that she will not allow comments on her page that have punctuation errors.  I believe she does this because she does not want her kids seeing the wrong way to do something.  Especially if these errors are coming from future teachers.  The first thing I viewed on her blog was the interaction between the students and parents.  April was actually dedicated family blogging month.  The parents would comment on the blogs and the students would comment back.  I think that is a very good idea.  I believe that if parents see what they are learning in class that they can understand how important it is for there kids to learn.  They could also see how hard the teachers are working to help the kids.  This might encourage the parents to make their kids do better in school instead of allowing them to fail and drop out later.  I do believe that parents are at fault for students failing and dropping out.  So maybe by allowing them to be apart in some ways it will allow the parents to take school more serious.

I watched the video on how to blog by Mrs. Yollis.  I knew most of what she was going over because we have been doing that this entire semester.  I did learn how to correct punctuation by using the control button over a word that is marked incorrect.  Another thing that I learned is that I can add information to the blog when I comment on it.  I have did that in some ways but I believe I could improve in that.

Mrs. Vollis has a link where you can see what time it is in different locations across the world.  I believe this can be helpful in at least two ways.  The kids will get more familiarized with how time zones work and it will also allow them to know what time it is where the other kids that they are blogging with is.    Her students are blogging with other students across the world.  She calls this quad blog pals, where there is links to other classrooms.  This reminds me of something we called pen pals.  This is just a better and faster way of that.  Instead of waiting on letters for days, a student can communicate with another student from across the world in minutes. Mrs. Yollis also shows how to use html as I just did here. If my last sentence is in italics then that means I went by her directions correctly. She also teaches you how to use bold this way.

My last kid that I had was Jaden from Mrs. Yollis class.  He is a big Clippers fan.  Since I'm a basketball fan, it was easy to comment on his page.  He wrote about a Clippers game that he had been to.  He wants to know if the readers of his blog had ever been to a Clippers game.  I have never been, but I have been to a Lakers game so I told him about my experiences there.  I also commented on if I would like to see the Clippers play.   I told him how I would love to see Blake Griffin play because he can "dunk like crazy."

Blog Post # 13

http://alex.state.al.us/browseStand.php Alex is a website that deals with Alabama Learning.  Alex stands for Alabama learning exchange.  If you go into one of the subjects on the home page it will take you into that subject and give you things that will need to be taught in the classroom.  They have information on all subjects in school.  There is a place to go on the website to make lessons also.  You can choose from different grades also. 

I believe this site can be very helpful to me in the future.  I have the option of going head and looking ahead to some of the things that will be helpful to me as a teacher.  I have already looked into social studies for eight graders to get a heads up on some of the things that will be taught.  I know of another website that is similar.  www.mcpss.com is to do with Mobile Al school system.  I have saved both of these websites so that when I have time I can learn as much as possible before going into my career as a teacher.
 
 ACCESS http://accessdl.state.al.us/aboutaccess/ is another website that deals with Alabama education.  There website says, "The goal of the distance learning plan is to create equity through additional educational offerings for all Alabama public high school students."  There is a column on the left of the home page that has announcements for the school system.  I believe this website will be more helpful when I become a teacher than it will now.  I believe the websites listed above can be more helpful now because I can go ahead and make sure that I know as much as possible about what I will be teaching.

Blog Post # 12 What Kind Ot Teacher Do You Want To Be?

This week you are assigned to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nC-dkIh4i1Y.  You will watch the video and blog on what kind of teacher you want to be.

 I want to be the kind of teacher that does their very best.  I want to help kids become good citizens and know how to help others.  I believe that if everyone would think about other people rather then themselves, the world would be better off.  I want to teach my students this.  That life is not always about yourself.  If you can help someone else by just a positive comment then why not.  We got to many kids that grow up in a negative atmosphere.  This seems to have a snowball effect.  They do it because that's what they grew up around.  Our society has got to change for our future.  If not, I hate to see what the world will come to.  That is one reason that I want to be a teacher that helps others.  EVERYONE, no matter what skin color, no matter what religion, no matter how wealthy someone is, no matter what problems they have.  I want to help people love each other.  Where else is better than in a classroom of young children doing whatever it takes to fit because of peer pressure.  It's our human nature to want to be liked or be number one.  Everyone can't be number one.  No matter how hard we try, we can't be perfect.  We live in a society where we try our best to be that. I'm not saying that having motivation is wrong.  We need motivation and we needs goals that we want to reach.  I'm just saying that their are kids who don't understand how to treat people because of who they are.  That should not be.  Be thankful for who you are and help people who are less fortunate.  So basically I want to be a teacher that helps others help others.

Post progress report on final project

Our group met tonight and we came up with our idea for our final project. We will meet next week to finish it.

A Giant Frog who was hated by others

Blog Post # 11

After watching the videos for Mr. Cassidy, I learned that it's really never too early to start having students use technology.  Ms. Cassidy has her first graders use it.  If they can be taught at that age then they could be at any age in school.  I would also have to say that the earlier they start the better they will be off in the future.  I can remember when  a younger kid in my neighbor had gotten a mp3 player.  I felt dumb because this young kid knew all about it and I did not know anything.  Instead of trying to learn about what it was I turn my back because I did not want a ten year old to know more than I did.  I believe sometimes grownups do not want to try to learn something that a kid might know because they feel stupid when a child knows something they don't know.  I did that on a lot of things, only to later get really involve in that same thing that I would turn down.  An example of this is me going from a playstation to a x box 360.  I use to be really good at games on a playstation.  When the x box 360 come out, I did not want to play it because I was so good and comfortable with the playstation.  I did not want to lose at something that I had never played.  I finally started playing the new x box 360 and I now I love it.  I think grown people do this in the use of technology all the time.  They are scared to go onto something knew because they comfortable with the old methods.  These kids that are being taught by Ms. Cassidy will be ready for life when they are able to get out in the world.  They will be the one's who will be comfortable with the technology that will be used in all jobs.  I think she does a good job on allowing them to go ahead and use this tool.  She has already taught them one thing that is very important: NOT TO SAY ANYTHING BAD ABOUT ANYONE ON THE INTERNET.  I think a lot of  adults on my facebook could learn a lesson from that.  If you put something on the internet, its there for everyone to see.  It's not a rumor, it's proof you said the stupid comment that you might even later regret.  I don't know how many times I have seen people post the stupidest comment out of anger or some other emotion.  She has taught there kids that at an early age.  They know what they say on the internet is for everyone to read.  I also like how she has her kids blogging.  The students seem to enjoy doing that.  They are learning and still have fun.  I plan on my kids being able to do the same things.  I want them to be excited about their projects as much as possible.  I believe Ms. Cassidy understands how important it is for kids to start at an earlier age.  In the skype interview she explains that she believes that all teachers should be technology literate. She knows that it is not going away anywhere in the future.   She see's how important it can be for the kids to be taught this.  I don't really see any impediments.  If any it will because of the people that are scared someones going to learn more than they will.  I could see how a principle or an administrator could be illiterate about technology and don't want the kids being taught about something that they don't know anything about.  It might make them feel stupid to know that kids know about something more than they do.

Project # 14 Teach Someone

Leslie Roberson and I listen to "This I believe"  podcast on  iTunes.  Madhukar Rao told a story from his childhood of him moving to a new school and the racial tension that went on there.  We  recorded our conversation on our reflection of the podcast.

 Click here to listen to the lesson I taught.

Mr. McClung's World Special Assignment

1.)Mr. Mc Clung's World is Mr. McClung's blog. He has things on there such as ways to help with a fundraiser for Susan G. Komen, his assignments for his class, his syllabus, and much more. Until I seen this blog I really did not understand that I can use a blog for the same thing when I become a teacher. I knew that's Dr. Strange uses his blog for our EDM310 class, but it really never sunk in that I can do that too. Mr. McClung's blog showed me that parents and students can have access to everything that's going on in the class anytime via the internet, which is what he's say on his welcome link. That way you can never lose assignments or not know what is going on in the class. A parent can get on there and see what there child is learning on a day to day basis.
2.)  I think think that Mr. McClung  is a good teacher.  Any teacher that would take the time to have all these different options on his blog shows that he cares.  I think that is one of the most important things you can have as a teacher.  You have to care.  That is true about any job but it's really true for a teacher.  Mr McClung has all this on his blog for his students. 
3).  Mr. McClung's rules start off by telling you that you need to have energy when you come to class and a positive attitude.  I think that is a good thing to say because your students need to be alive and not asleep in class.  He understands that he needs them to be ready to learn when they come.  The next two things that he tells you is to talk and listen.  I believe he say's this because he want's his students to interact with each other.  I believe this will also give him a good connection with students.  The more they are interacting the more they will learn from each other(including Mr. McClung).  His other rules are basic rule's such as raise your hand to speak and raise your hand to leave your seat.  He also has a rule to make your teacher happy.  I will have to use that as one of my rules when I become a teacher.
4).  Planner is the first thing under what everyone needs.  I believe he put this first is because before you do anything you should have a plan.  The planner can keep everything organize so that student has the option of keeping things in order.  This can be important if there is ever any trouble on assignments in the future.
 5). Mr. McClung gives the penalties for being late on assignments on his blog.  Mr. McClung's students will lose a letter grade for each day that assignment is late. While I'm not sure if that is exactly the same as Dr. Strange's penalty for late assignments, I understand that you do not need to be late on his assignments. I remember reading on Dr. Strange's blog that if you keep being late on assignments that you will be taking EDM310 again.  I know that u get a D or F for the assignment's that are turn in late for Dr. Strange.
6).His blogging is to allow readers to keep up with the "current happenings" in his classes and his cross country traveling class.  He also states that all comments are welcome.  I can see how that can be helpful.  When I become a teacher I will have something like this so that I too can have interactions with not only my students but their parents.  Communication is really important an I believe Mr. McClung understands this.
  7). I click on two of his useful links. The first one was ant which is a search bar website. The second link I click on was Arkansas Department of Education which is a website that focuses on bettering Arkansas's education. These both can be helpful for his students and parents.
8).  I believe Mr. McClung put the internet rules because he knows that that it can be abused.  If use right the internet is a really great tool.  If used wrong it can be the opposite.  There are things on there that can be harmful to a child's imagination.  Today we live in a society where we sometimes can get reality and fantasy mixed up.  Radio and television's is part of that reason.  Internet can do the same thing.  There are sites that can put thoughts in the students mind that should not be there.
9).  One of the post that I reviewed was the guys singing "Hero".  This post showed me to do things that will be fun for the students.  I think you should reward your students for the work they put in.  This video looked like it was fun for the guys on the stage and the crowd.  Then to show it on the blog was cool to.  They can always have this to look back at since it is now on the internet.  I wish I could look back at SOME(not all) of the things I did in school.
10).  One thing that I like about what he has on his blog is the links that do into different topics. There is a category button that has different options to choose from. I do not know how to do that on my blog. I would love to know how to have options for someone to go into on my blog.There is also a option to play a song on his blog. He uses it for education purposes also. This week he uses it to tell a slavery story which is what he about to teach dealing with the Civil War. I would like to know how to do that also.
11).  Mr McClung uses his post to help in ways such as having Arkansas's history on there.  I'm sure that can be helpful for someone in Arkansas.  It could help the parents feel more comfortable in helping their children if they know what they are talking about.  This site about Arkansas is one thing that they could read to help with that.  I can use his sight's to understand how I can help my students and thier parents in the future.
12).  I think that Mr. McClung's blog is more advanced then the other blogs that I have look at.  While they all have the same goals as in communicating and allowing access to what going on, his blog goes deeper than that.  I do not recall any other having a song of the week on theirs.  To be honest with you I don't know how he has time to put everything on there.  If not already, before long he will have to hire someone to do his blog.
13).  To be honest with you I cannot think of too  many things that you could put on that blog that he does not already have.  I feel stupid commenting on his blog, much less giving suggestion's for him.  I would have a column for each student like he does for archives and category, if I was to do anything.

C4T # 3

 I was assigned to http://www.mguhlin.org/ as my C4T # 3.  Miguel Guhlin posted records in Texas of how many teachers there are compared to administrators.  In Texas the ratio was 13 to 1.  Laura Johnson posted on a comment where she was talking about how many teachers are losing their jobs.  She said that teachers are very important to kids.  I agree completely with her.  Just two nights ago in Church  a preacher was talking about how we need to help kids.  One thing that he said that I will always remember is that it is easier to build kids than repair grownups.  I believe teaching  is  one of the single most important jobs that there is. A teacher can really make an impact on a kids life.  I don't know much about why teachers don't get paid more or why they are losing their jobs.  Maybe it's because people(maybe government workers or ourselves) don't care how the kids grow up today.  I think that something could be done about this.  Our government, our leaders of our country, who are in control can do something about it.  We who vote for these leaders could do something by our votes.  I'm amazed how the rich get richer.  The gas prices keep going up and the government don't do  anything about it.  I would think that is because they benefit from it.  If them people can get that rich off of things like that then why can't teachers get paid more.  Our tax money should go more towards our future.  It should not go toward government leaders rich life-style.

My second post from Mr. Guhlin was about a tax increase that the state of Texas is trying to pass.  While I really did not know anything about the tax situation, I could tell that it was something that Mr. Guhlin cared about.  He had a list of reasons to reject the tax budget.  He had short-term effects and long-term.    He also stated that the budget was inadequate to meet the needs of Texas.  As I said I really do not know anything about Texas's tax budgets.  One thing that I did learn from reading his blog is that this teacher has constantly showed that he cares about his schools and state.  I would bet that most people only care about doing whatever it takes to get a paycheck.  They would not go through all the trouble of explaining how a certain tax budget would hurt their school.  Mr.  Guhlin seems to be taking the extra steps to help our future.

Blog Post # 10

Morgan Bayda's blog on  Dan Brown's An Open Letter to Educators speaks about how some methods of teaching should change.  Dan  makes this video two weeks after dropping out of class because of the teaching methods.  He say's that the schooling interferes with his education.  I agree with the things they both have to say.  I usually do make good grades off of my memory but a few months down the road I have done forgot everything that I had learned.  I enjoy classes where I do get to interact with other people instead of just sitting in a desk for hours listening to a teacher go over a power point every single day.  I just go to class and take in some of the things their saying, but for the most part I just learned right before the test off memorization.  While I'm thankful that I am able to make good grades that way, it kinda beats the purpose of going to school in the first place.  I hope when I become a teacher that I am able to do things that will draw their attention.  I always wanted to be the best at whatever I do.  I believe being the best teacher means more than just having students with good grades.  I believe it has a lot to do with making that student the best he/she can be to make the world a better place.


Don't Let Them Take Pencils  home was very confusing to me at first.  It actually only made since to me when I heard someone say that the pencil was a computer.  Then I read it again substituted computer for pencil.  Only then did it start making since.  I was wondering why people in low income areas  thought that pencils could be a problem as being used as entertainment.  I even had to read the article one more time to understand it more.  They are arguing about whether computers will make their kids smarter.  I like how the point was made that even if they do play hangman that their will be some learning going on there also.  I think that is true.  I believe playing nintendo  games can help someone become smarter.  They can make you be faster at solving things and seeing things.

Skype Interview with Ms. Amy Dupre

C4K Summary

My student that I had last was named Raven.  Raven @ Pt England School is his blog address.  Raven and I have some common ground in sports.  Although he plays rugby and I have not a clue how, we both like NFL football.  He likes the Baltimore Ravens and the Minnesota Vikings.  His favorite player is Brett Farve.  I told him how I lived in the same town as Brett Farve.  I also told him of a story when my sister had to get up and get another table because Brett and his friends needed to sit together at a table at Pizza Hut.  My second student was named Dominique.  Dominique had little to say on her blog.  The only thing that was said was that he was in Room 19.  I did comment on his page and told him how it was cool to be able to communicate with someone halfway across the world.  I also asked how what he has learned in school.

Blog Post # 9

 

 

 

What I've Learned This Year is a blog from  Mr. McClung.  He blogs about what he learned as a teacher in his first year.  One of the first things that he wrote is how he was so worried about his superiors that he lost touch of what the kids where learning.  He said that student comprehension is the most important aspect of being a teacher.  I understand where he is coming from.  I worked as a car salesman for four years.  Sometimes you are so worried about the pressure from your boss that you lose focus on how you are really treating the customer.  I work as a server now in a restaurant and the same thing can be done their.  I will have to remember what he said about this as I go into my career as a teacher.  Mr. McClung also writes about how he would beat his self up over lessons that did not go well.  This is something that we should take in consideration as a teacher.  Just because everything does not go perfect with what your teaching does not mean you are not doing a good job.  I'm sure for elementary teachers this can be a headache when you seem to not be getting thorough what you are teaching.  I want to give it my best when I become a teacher.  I also will have to remember not to get discouraged if everything does not go perfect while teaching.  Communication is another tip that he gives in this article.  Mr. McClung talks about how communication can help drama at work places.  That is very true.  Think about how many times you have had drama with someone and then think about how it got resolved.  I bet it took a conversation between you and that person to solve the problem.  That always seems to work when I have friction with someone.  We speak our minds and how we feel.  Then you usually understand each other  and work the problem out.  "Listen to your students.  YOU MAY BE THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES." This is what I like the best out of all the things that was said by Mr. McClung.  If you are wanting to become a teacher, you should care about your students.  You should listen to them and try to understand the problems that they might be facing.  A teacher should be much more than just caring about what kind of grade they get.  Life can be difficult and the right help from the right people can make a big difference in how someone lives their life.  LISTEN,CARE, and HELP THEM!!!