Weblog 3

1. What does it mean when the author says that teaching is teaching who you are? How does this relate to college classrooms?

2. Is there ever a time where service learning can be negative?

3. In service learning then, is the ultimate goal to gain information or to make an impact on children?

4. But what if you are teaching more than one background of students? How do you make it relatable for all students, no matter where they come from or what their learning style is?

5. Can parents play a role in service learning?

Weblog 2

For my service learning I am participating in Open Doors Shaker. This is where we go to an after school program and tudor children. We will be helping them with homework they have or participate in games or learning experiences with them. I am very excited for this because I participated in a program like this last year and absolutely loved it. We went to a church where there was an after school program right in the middle of Harrisburg, Pa. With these children we built relationships that existed outside of the time we were volunteering there. We really got the opportunity to make an impact in their lives. We did everything from tutoring the children to simply playing sports with them or talking to them. They were so excited that an older person was interested in their lives. I think that Open Doors will be just as succesfull and I really look forward to building relationships with the children and hopefully encouraging them and helping them in a positive way.

Weblog 1: Class Survey

1. Name: Caitlin Hodgson    Hometown: Cleveland Ohio   Email: chodgson14@jcu.edu
2. Catie
3. I would love to teach grades 1-4.
4. I love to sing and have a passion for music. I also love to travel and have done so extensively, including living in Germany and South Africa. Love to play sports.
5. I most definitely need to feel comfortable with the teacher and with my classmates. I need to feel like I am not being judged for my answers or will not be reprimanded for mistakes, but will be encouraged to discover new knowledge. I also love a class full of lectures and discussions.
6. As a student, I believe I excel when I feel comfortable with my surroundings. I am not the first person to speak up in class, but when I feel like I am in a safe environment, I do give my opinions and enjoy open debate with the class. I usually procrastinate doing work, but always get it done on time and to a good extent. I am an excellent test taker and a good writer, although I do not much enjoy writing. When I do not understand something, I usually ask for help from family members or peers and then the teacher if I still cannot understand.
7. I learn best when it is in organized, structured classrooms.
8. I had a high school teacher that has made a lasting impression on me. He was extremely wise in the way he presented himself and in his teaching methods. He was young for a teacher but all of his students grew to greatly respect him because of his caring heart and giving nature. He was always available to talk to students outside of class and really showed a true interest in our lives. He gave great advice and you could tell he was extremely passionate about teaching. He really inspired me to be the best teacher I can be so that I can impact children the way he impacted me.
9. I think a huge issue facing education right now is apathy and the rate at which teachers burn out. I think we are seeing a lot of teachers who have lost their passion for teaching and who are not truly investing their hearts and time into each set of students they have. I think this really affects the quality of education our students receive and the amount of nourishment and encouragement they get from teachers to learn.
10. I think we need to interact with children. We need to be involved in their everyday lives, learning how they interact, how their brains work, how they learn best. Then we need to learn how to approach them and how to gain their respect and trust. This would involve a lot of visiting schools or service learning projects. We also need to construct lesson plans that we can all critique and improve upon that we feel will really benefit children. I think we need to study education’s role in the way society is shaped and the way we are all raised and realize we have a huge part in that. I also feel like we need to study different teaching methods and draw from all of them. I think we all need to be a team that helps one another excel and learn the tools necessary to instruct children. We all need to have debates and discussions and brainstorm together. I think we need to avoid studying wrong methods of teaching and avoid just sitting in a classroom just talking about the material. We should get out there and actually experience what we are talking about.