Below is a list of some of the big ideas we have wrestled with over the course of the semester. Keep in mind that our goal is to find out how practicing educators are thinking about some of this stuff. Post a suggested interview question based on one of the big ideas . Note: try to ask a question that will put the interviewee at ease and make it more likely that they will open up (example: instead of asking "How do you deal with ethical dilemmas?", you could ask, "Can you describe a time when, as a teacher, you weren't; sure what the right thing to do was? How did you decide how to proceed?" · How to instill diversity within curriculum · How public schooling has changed over the years. · Multiculturalism · Progressive v. traditional teaching/schooling ·...
I think Autism Awareness is a project I am interested in. I know there is SO much that could be done within this specific area based on seeing first hand as a sister whose brother has Autism. Anyone else think this could be a potential project they would like to do? I do not have any specific ideas yet, but would love to hear any thoughts on it.
ReplyDeleteWe could do something through the Richmond Autism Network or Partnership for Persons with Disabilities. I'm not sure what we would do, but I really like this idea! -Sandy
Deletethere is a program in Richmond called the Faison center that works with both adults and kids with autism to give them opportunities to learn and enrich their lives basically. I think it'd be super cool to volunteer there and see what their programs actually do. If you look into it they have 3 different programs for different ages/areas of need. I don't know exactly what we could do there but I think it would be really interesting. -Sophia
DeleteLindsey: There is an organization called the Peter Paul Development Center that has been doing work in Richmond's East End since 1979. They work with children after school and throughout the summer enhancing their learning and providing additional help and opportunities to them. I would be very interested in working with them in some capacity. Additionally, I think it would be interesting to do something related to testing because the way that we test students in school is often not in line with how those students best learn. I was thinking something like interviewing a variety of kids and asking them about their testing experiences and allowing them to express their feelings about tests, like SOLs, verbally, pictorially, through writing, and maybe even some other creative means of expression. I think that we often don't get students perspectives on testing and how they best learn, we tend to just make unilateral decisions without their input. Moreover, I think something having to do with the ways in which we test children has the potential to have further impacts on our education system in the future.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like an awesome organization! I think its important to encourage students that it's perfectly okay to ask for extra help and we should encourage that. I definitely agree with your thoughts on the system of test taking. There are so many ways we can either improve the system, or help students improve.
DeleteI have pretty bad ADD and have struggled in school since middle school. With having bad ADD I have always been on a 504 plan which gives me extra times on tests, quizzes, and other assignments. Even though I do get the extra time testing school is still really hard for me. As well as it takes a lot more from me and I know there are millions of kids who feel the same way. I definitely want to look further into ADD/ADHD and find an organization who helps students with learning disabilities.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we can do something with health and fitness? I wouldnt really know what agency or organization we could team up with but any proceeds can maybe go to St.Judes research?
ReplyDeleteKate Sulek: I think this would be an awesome idea to include health and fitness with children, especially since fitness for kids in physical education should be fun. This could potentially be linked to gardening because the kids could learn about growing their own organic food (if that makes sense).
DeleteI love the idea of health and fitness!! We could also introduce the kids to yoga and make it super fun. I also love the idea or gardening too!
DeleteThe idea that caught my attention the most involved the school garden. This summer I volunteered at a farm/garden non-profit for adults with autism and disabilities. The purpose of this non-profit was to teach the adults vocational, social and leadership skills that can be applied in the workplace. I also worked at an eco friendly preschool and the kids learned about environmental studies and how to take care of the earth. I would love the opportunity to work with a school to either extend or create a program that teaches students of all abilities how to care for the earth. I'd be willing to work in any type of setting, whether it is an elementary school, preschool or non-profit. I think this type of education is hands on, encourages problem solving and creativity, collaboration and leadership skills for kids with all abilities and can be applied later in their academic careers.
ReplyDeleteKate Sulek
DeleteYES! I love it so much. I worked at a florist for years and learned a lot about plants/flowers and having that love for nature is the best. I would love to work hands on with the students ad help them establish a love for the earth.
DeleteKate that is an awesome! I love the school garden idea.
DeleteKate, that is amazing!!!
DeleteI think it would be cool to do something with integration of arts in the schools. Children learn in so many different ways. Many of them learn with pictures and actually seeing something their suppose to do. Or making up songs about things they just learned and repeating the songs to get it in their memory
ReplyDeleteThis is a really cool idea! I myself am a visual learner, so making art or anything that would help learning material stick out sounds like it could really help students retain information in a fun way!
DeleteSo cool Abby!
DeleteMy mom was a teacher and she did a lot of projects within our community. One that I specifically remember was having a yearly Spaghetti dinner with the local Headstart program. I thought, with a few alterations, it would be a good fit for a project. We could get all the Headstart families together, feed them delicious food, and talk with them about the importance of education! The only downside is that it wouldn't be a yearly thing. This could make it feel less like community involvement and more like random charity work. If there is a community that is already doing something similar, I would love to work with them so we can help continue with a tradition.
ReplyDeleteJulia, my family actually ran a similar event for my elementary school. We did a spaghetti dinner for proceeds going to the school ( I can't remember exactly what it was) but the turn out was awesome and it was successful. I think that tweaking that idea a little bit could be a fun idea. I think it could be really beneficial to the community.
DeleteLast year I worked with an organization called Circles RVA and its mission is to “...empower individuals and families to permanently move out of poverty and thrive. We create intentional relationships that expand support communities and engage the wider community to reduce or eliminate the systemic barriers that hinder people from rising out of poverty.” As volunteers, we would eat dinner with the children and families that would attend the weekly sessions. We also were given lesson plans to teach the children about certain topics like respect, diversity, and financial literacy. I think that if we got approval, it would be cool to come up with a lesson plan to teach the children one night!
DeleteMichelle M: Through a networking session I met someone that works for Communities in school of Richmond, as a bilingual site coordinator. She is specifically located at ESH Greene elementary where she is mentoring low income/minority students. Communities in school of Richmond keep student in school and on track for graduation, they help student academically, help with stability at home or food, and give guidance. I am very passionate about helping low income families and being sure that students able to get equal opportunity, no matter what their background history is. I believe students should have access to all resources and have the opportunity to achieve higher education. So this is something I would love to do!
ReplyDeleteMary Kate Harrison – From the organizations we talked about last Friday in class, I was most interested in the Richmond Youth Peace Project. This community focuses on “building just, inclusive and nonviolent communities through education” based on their website and I am a major advocate for reducing violence in the lives of today’s youth. I volunteered with a program in Churchill last fall semester called CHAT for another service learning course that was an after-school mentoring program. A lot of these children were going to continue their education or were currently enrolled in institutions caught up in many forms of violence, including gang-related. I think it would be interesting to see if this peace project could reach schools like these, or maybe they already have.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was in elementary school, every year we had an organization come in and do a presentation on sexual harassment; teaching us appropriate places on the body that can be touched by others/ places that weren't suppose to be touched, appropriate language and how you interact with other (hugging, holding hands, and so on), and displayed different scenarios and how the student should handle the situation. Whether it was telling a teacher, a parent, and police officer, the program gave great instructions to students if anything was to happen and bought awareness to students who were not taught these things. I think it would be nice if we could maybe do a online video or website that kids could be assigned to or for their own leisure be able to access instead of taking out time of their structured education schedules.
ReplyDeleteThis is my third service learning class this semester. Is there anyone else who is in the same situation that I am and would like to do a more behind the scenes project? I feel like a slacker but I don't mean to be because I am really excited about a lot of these ideas. I would love the idea of doing something with social media to promote one of the projects. The garden ideas and integrating art in classrooms are so cool!
ReplyDeleteSocial Media/ planning/ gathering materials for a specific project
DeleteSomething I am interested in for my service learning project is possibly Autism Speaks. I'm not sure if this is exactly what I will do, but I would like to be involved in something with special education.
ReplyDeleteI know with this project, I definitely want to do something hands on inside a classroom. I know we need to incorporate some sort of organization or agency that supports public schooling, but I would love to interact with students inside of a classroom while teaching them something. Maybe creating a small exercise that tests different learning styles? I can't quite wrap my head around what exactly we could do, but I know I want to be inside a classroom!
ReplyDeleteEmma: I want to do something that has to do with working with kids with disabilities. I want to do this because I am majoring in special education and would like to do something that sort of deals with that!
ReplyDeletePerhaps an interesting idea would be to work side by side with a school / teacher / classroom in order to help analyze, discover, and ideally implement new ideas into the classroom that relate to how students successfully learn (i.e. what are their learning styles? their weaknesses? their strengths?) in other words, how can they improve their academic experience and engage meaningfully in the classroom. One way we could do this is by being sort of a mentor to the children and helping them both emotionally and academically.
ReplyDeleteI haven't put too much thought yet in what project I want to get involved with yet, but I was liking the the youth peace project or doing some community events. I'd like to get involved with children, but not specifically being a classroom since I will be in a classroom every week for another service learning class.
ReplyDeleteMadison Bray:
ReplyDeleteI have struggled with my attention and group/public speaking and think that the things that really helped me in school were my art classes such as chorus and art as an outlet when I was struggling. Also I am more of a visual learner and every time there was a project that I had then I was always doing more hands on work projects that personally I think turned out better then written and oral presentations because it captures the attention of an audience and get a more relaxed atmosphere around the room. Also I had my physical outlets in sports such as show choir, gymnastics, dance, and cheerleading that helped me burn off my extra energy for the days that I couldn’t stay still. Being able to do something that helps children have a positive outlet for them to use through out their lives to be able to learn hard work, determination, sportsmanship, kindness to the fellow man, etc.