August 29th, 2009
My ideal classroom would be spacious, clean, and have windows. It would have fun, creative, and bright decorations. It would be comfortable with a reading area with pillows and chairs. My ideal students would be well behaved, intelligent, and ready to learn. They would enjoy being with me as a teacher and each other. My ideal parents would be involved and helpful with the classroom and supportive of what I'm teaching. They would make sure their children did their homework and got enough rest and food. The parents would ideally be part of a community that works together. My dream colleagues would work as a team. They would support each other and collaborate on projects. They would stimulate new ideas together.
I would use teaching techniques that would involve and engage the students in learning. I would read them books and use games (like spelling games) to teach them. I would reward them for good behavior with rewards, like being able to play kickball at the end of the week. I would collect things such as bugs or rocks to introduce new subjects. It would be fun to have the class plant a garden to see how things grow, where their food comes from, and how to encourage growth.
I would use technology like computers because most jobs in the future involve computers. Children need to know how to type properly and utilize them to communicate with others. They need to make things like powerpoint presentations and play learning games which facilitate learning. Children can also access endless information using computers. Also, I would use a document camera to make teaching easier. It sparks children's interest when you integrate things they enjoy using at home like using a YouTube clip to stimulate a beginning for a journal entry. Or having the students blog each other to encourage them to write or brainstorm ideas.
I will teach math, science, english, art, music, and social studies. I will teach units which integrate the different subjects.
Our class goals would be to learn, listen, work our hardest, push ourselves, be kind and respectful to each other, and to discover new things.
I hope to teach children that they can do hard things and that they can achieve their dreams and goals.
I watched the Techwatch video. I think it's a good idea for people to be charged according to how much they use the internet because it would enable people who only use it a little to be able to pay a minimal amount. It would also force people to regulate how much time they spend on the internet. It is neat that the iphone is getting cheaper. It is great technology and it would be neat if more people could access them. I think the online civics site is neat too and would make the legal system more accessible and understandable for people. Perhaps they would learn something on that site as opposed to doing things like playing video games. I think the touch interface screens are really cool. They would make it much easier for people to manipulate pictures or create art.