A whole new mind

First off! Awesome presentation. I felt that your links and connections were completely engaging and revolutionary...it really got me thinking and excited for every new station. I think the two parts that I would implement the most within my own classroom out of the sections discussed were definitely the Story section and the Design section....BUT THAT'S PROBABLY BECAUSE I'M SO RIGHT BRAINED ;). I feel as a lecturer telling stories about the past have to be comical, make people thing, very visual, and very expressive. A great story teller makes the content come alive in very vivid and interesting ways and that's a personal goal I have for myself. Secondly! Image is everything. So the design and flow as well as the appearance of my room is one of the most important things in terms of the climate of my room.

This We Believe

Pages 1 - 26

This section makes a great point that we have touched on at several points throughout the semester about Middle School education being that of a reactive time in an adolescences life. I know for myself personally I had the most tremendous and "world crushing" blows dealt to me at the age of 10-14 and I can attest to what a powerful time in a persons development this is. The fluctuation most middle school teachers deal with in terms of range of emotions and energy levels is always something that kind of struck me as a daunting task I never thought I could manage! But it is at this point that I feel that the most significant changes within a persons outcome can really occur which is what Is making me change my mind as well as the reading within this course.

Pages 27 - 33

The next section of the book is about practicing what you preach which I think a lot of administrators seem to simply forget about in the sea of bureaucracy they face as part of their jobs. When dollar signs and results are their major buzz words some administrators lose track of why they started the career in the first place. Students! It is one thing to have a driving vision and to etch it in stone, while it is quite another to adapt it into your personal philosophy. Our job as educators is to stay up to date and make sure we are meet each obstacle with 110% effort and focus on what is best for our students. We need to make these visions and goals we set for ourselves attainable and self actualized in order to have continued success within our field.

Pages 33 - 42

This next section deals with respect and professionalism in terms of interacting with students. Which one would think would be the easiest part of our job as educators but unfortunately in my experience is the least followed by veteran teachers. In fact my experience in practicum was listening to the "social studies boy club" where teachers would sit behind closed doors to openly name drop and bad mouth students. This Isn't the model we should be sending our kids. we should emphasize their importance as the future and see the greatest potential in everyone of them in a multitude of industries and professions.

Pages 43 - 62

I think overall what I learned from this book is that having a great foundation within this school through harmonious balance of educators, faculty, administration, parents, students, and community is the essential keys to success. Regardless of whether or not your school actually has this when you first get there or not is totally irrelevant, this book gives you that goal to shoot for.
Schools are like a great recipe sometimes you need the right chemistry and balance in order to be completely happy with the end results. This book makes very important points that we have all learned and hopefully internalized since our humble beginnings in the UMF education program. I don't feel as if they are being too idealistic with their claims because the points they make emphasize major problems I have seen within my experiences in education, things that I have always hoped to correct and exemplify when I have a classroom of my own.