the value of an education...

I really enjoyed reading the three articles for this past class period. Each one was so inspiring, but in completely different ways. More than anything, they made me think alot about the notion of what an education means to individual people based on many factors.

Some examples are: when you were born, what country (ies) you were educated in, your gender, your ethnic and socioeconomic background, your own life's experiences, and your homelife and upbringing. What are you family's values about education, and have they influenced your educational experiences?

My Lincoln article was called, "Rachel", and the article describes a woman named Rachel Carson who had such an amazing perspective on what a good education was to her and what wasn't. It was so clear to her even a a young girl, that she wanted to be a writer and author. This was no small feat during her lifetime, in which she was born in 1865.

I was captivated by the tone of the story, which was colorful and full of word visuals describing her difficult upbringing in a small town in Pennsylvania. He mother was formally educated coming from a wealthy family, she highly valued education, and passed this onto her children.

After much hardship, Rachel was determined to get a college education, which she did, and eventually graduated first in her class. She became one of the few female biologists in the country and a famous author, well-known for her last book, "Silent Spring."

Sometimes I wonder if we sometimes take for granted that we have a public school system in the US and the opportunity to attend college regardless of issues that I stated above. Despite some flaws in the American public school system, I do feel lucky to have all of the opportunities that I have had in my education.

Autism and Special needs...

I have been working with special needs kids off and on for many years...mainly because i have a special place in my heart for them. So many of these children have made an impact on my life in such a profound way...it's pretty hard to even describe. As far as APS goes, it's been about 4 years or so as an Educational Assistant in ISP as a one-on-one with a 14 year old boy who is very high on the Autism spectrum, then with D-level Kinder-1st graders, and last year and currently in an Autism specific special program for Independent Communicators Kinder-2nd grade.

I guess I am writing this post about them tonite because I have some concerns based on my experience and observations about what's called "Special Ed' here at Albuquerque Public Schools. 

I am not trying to blame anyone in particular, and I'm sure the intentions are honorable, and yet since i have been right in the trenches with some really special needs kiddos, I have seen first hand what can happen within this beaurocratic system. what I mean is that it is definitely not a perfect system... 

My first example, was witnessing teachers at the high school I where I worked, who were basically not doing any teaching with the kids all day long. They let them play video games all day just to keep them "happy". And, since it's ISP, and in a separate building, no one comes and checks up on the students to see what's going on in the classroom. It was very upsetting to me, and when I tried  to bring it up with the administration, I was removed from the classroom and put into another one.

The next example was when I worked in the D-level kinder classroom...the teacher was awesome, but we kept getting very violent kids placed in the same classroom with the syndromed fragile ones. These violent kids were kicked out of all of their schools for "bad behaviors", but they were in General Ed. The teachers simply threw up their hands and wanted them out of their classrooms. So, they came into the Special Ed classrooms for lack of anywhere else to place them. It sometimes took an act of God to get them the help they really needed...

Now, with these super gifted autistic kids, they are supposed to be assessed properly to make sure they belong in this program. For the most part, this is done, however, if a student moves to Albuquerque from out of State, they'll just place them in the classrom because "there's room". Some of these kids have severe emotional problems and other major learning disabilities, so it's extremely frustrating for them and for us to keep them safe.

I think that overall, most Special Ed teachers are dedicated, amazing and awesome.  I feel they could use more support and to have more say in who should qualify to be in their classrooms. If you see a Special Ed teacher...give them a hug...I'm sure they could use it...

Nature vs Nurture?

Some might say that people's behaviors are influenced strictly by their genetics, or the "nature" theory of human behavior. Where, others believe that people think and behave in certain ways because they are taught to do so, known as the "nurture" theory of human behavior.  This has been an ongoing argument for many years. So, which is it? Or is it a combination of both perhaps? And, so, how does this relate to teaching? Are some people born already having the pre-disposition to be teachers when they grow up?

I guess, it’s entirely possible to be born with the “teacher genes”, I don’t think that it’s very plausible for someone who wants to become a teacher be born just kind of knowing this information. It’s more probable in my opinion that you actually evolve into wanting to be a teacher from your own personal life's experiences. It can evolve from your family upbringing, your particular culture, educational background, working experiences, the passion you have for something you love or believe in, and even simply from the “school of life”.  I guess it depends on when you get the epiphany that you want to become teacher.

If I had to defend the theory of “nature”, I could say that since working in an Elementary school has made me really observant…and so I’ve noticed there are some kids for whom it is obvious they are natural born teachers. They love to help the other kids, or they seem to enjoy the rewarding feeling they get from being helpers in the classroom and showing their friends how to do things.

And yet, how do we know what other factors are involved here? Maybe they are simply emulating their own moms or dads or someone else in their life that has inspired them at some point. Like…a teacher! :0 That’s when I begin to realize what an influence teachers can have on kids, and the possible directions they can take from their example.

How about the notion that a teacher can perhaps create other teachers by being a great and memorable one? I think we can all remember our favorite teachers, and what a difference they have made in our lives. This is something I am going to try to always keep in mind when I become an Elementary school teacher...