Educating the "Good" Citizen

The readings for this week talked about educating our citizens in order to further democracy. What is good citizenship? The readings state that being a good citizen means that people must get an American education so they can support further democracy. Schools are striving to not only create intelligent individuals, but citizens who can contribute positively to society. So, not only do student have to learn the basic subjects of school but also study the government so they can contribute to it. I feel that this would be a good idea only because it might help people understand our government a little better and the reasons why certain things are done. Not only will it help our citizens understand more but knowing this information will make the population smarter. I agree with the readings when they say it would be beneficial in order for our society to be more successful.

After Attending Arts High School

My initial reaction to Arts High School was amazement. To go to a inner city school and see the passion and drive in the students and teachers of the school was amazing. Every teacher that I spoke with had been to many schools, trying to find the right place for them where they could teach. All of them stated that the schools they previously worked in, the students were not interested in learning and the administration did not support them. They said that they found the students at Arts High School to be driven and the administrators to be very supportive. While being in Arts High School, it made me realize once again why I have decided to furfill this career. I want to be able to make a positive effect on peoples lives and influence them to strive for what they really want in life and to never give up. The students I saw and talked to yesterday were Arts to follow there dreams.There was this one girl yesterday who did a performance for us. She was amazing and her performance was passionate, you tell how long and hard she must have worked to perfect it and how much of her heart went into it. I just thought to myself how self furfilling it must be for the teachers to see these kids grow and succeed in life and know that they helped them on that journy. I want to one day feel that same way and to know that I have made a difference in someones life.

Newark Arts High School

I'm not going to lie. I am a little nervous about attending Arts High school tomorrow; for the fact that I really want to make a good impression. Along with being nervous, comes my excitement for tomorrow. I'm an Art Education major so not only will it be beneficial to me to experience and observe a classroom, but I could possibly be in the environment that I plan on being in the future. After looking at the website, I was surprised to see that the schools goals for the students were as high as they were. I'm assuming now, that this school is going to be a very prestigious learning environment focusing on the students love for the Arts and Music.

I think that upon arriving at Arts High School I think i will be surprised. With the school being in Newark I assume the worst because it's not exactly in the best area. However, the way the school presents it's self, students, and faculty; makes me think otherwise. There is a quote by the principle of the high school on the website which states, "Arts High School is undergoing a renaissance and moving towards reclaiming our number one place in the United States . We have children who are first . We have faculty /staff and parents who believe we are first . Our theme this year is "Whatever it takes - Arts High School is going to another level." After reading this statement, I know that the future development of the students at Arts High School are the number one priority to Dr Norma Fair-Brown, the principle of the school.

I plan to learn a lot from tomorrows experience. I hope to gain knowledge on different teaching strategies, how a class operates, and what a teacher can do to really make their students want to learn. I also am looking forward to meeting the teacher that i will be shadowing for this semester. I hope to learn more about the school in general and the goals they have set for their students. I know my experience at Arts High School will be a great one and I will benefit from it greatly. Every schools vision and goal is to educate the citizens of that neighborhood. I hope I learn more of Arts High Schools visions and goals for their students.

How can understanding demographics help us better understand teaching and learning ?

The reason I feel that it's important to understand demographics in order to become good teacher is because classrooms will always be diverse. Whether the classroom is diverse with race, age, gender, or personal views, the classroom will always be diverse. Teachers need to be able to conform and mold their lessons around these demographics this way their students will be able to understand what is being taught. For example, if students have different political views and you are teaching a history class certain subjects/topics might cause the class to disagree with each other or the information being taught. The teacher much present the information in her lesson in a way that will not create issues of discussion. I also think that its important for teachers to understand demographics because if they do it opens up the communication even further between the teacher and student.
Throughout my whole school experience I always felt that the outcome of the classes and the subjects I like the most every year was based on the teacher I had. The classes I tended to like more my teachers were always open and supportive of their students and clearly were there to help their students learn, not just to teach the subject. In my perspective and my experience I feel that teachers who were only there to teach didn't really have much effect on their students. On the other hand the ones who were there for the soul purpose of teaching helped their students inquire about the subjects being taught and had more of an effect on them. These teachers who had this positive effect on me and my classmate clearly understood the importance of demographics. The importance of demographics is clear. In order to be a successful teacher you need to know and understand the demographics in your classroom and be able to create a learning environment that will benefit the students you teach.