Blog 7 Bringing it all Home. Brendan Ayers Ch. 11&12, Vocabulary Vitalizer and Literary Luminator

Vocabulary Vitalizer

Teaching- Education in the broadest sense is any act or experience that has a formative effect on the mind, character or physical ability of an individual

Autonomy-  Personal independence
Community-  A group of people living in a particular local area; "the team is drawn from all parts of the community

Conscientiously-  conscientious - characterized by extreme care and great effort; "conscientious application to the work at hand"; "painstaking research"; "scrupulous attention to details"

Intervention-  the act of intervening (as to mediate a dispute, etc.); "it occurs without human intervention"

• Intervene-  get involved, so as to alter or hinder an action, or through force or threat of force; "Why did the U.S. not intervene earlier in WW II?"

Literary Luminator

"In every school we observed, the principals believed that the first seed for sustainable change begins in the hearts and minds of the faculty and staff."  (pg. 124)

I completely agree with this statement.  We the educators need to care enough about our students and their families more than the position itself, because with a heart and a mind for the students we not only enjoy our line of work, but also this attitude will reflect on the students.  If the students see that we legitimately care and love doing what we do, we may naturally gain more respect from the students.  Unfortunately, if our hearts and minds aren't in the classroom, we may never succeed to the best of our teaching abilities, just as the students won't learn to the best of their abilities.

"Once a quarter, having grade-level teams visit vertically with the next grade above and below theirs, to understand what instruction looks like at those levels."  (What administrators can do to establish a sense of a professional education community within their school) (pg. 126).

This is imperative for the well-being of the students.  Students need a good flow of curriculum throughout their school careers.  As long as students are on track, this practice will help cover more material with the students and keep teachers on track with each other.  How can students be expected to learn something if they haven't had the opportunity yet?  When teachers are in close communication throughout the school year there is no reason for material to get covered twice, or inaccurately assumed to have been previously learned in a prior grade level. 

"Greets every child at the door to the school everyday with a hug, handshake, or high five and a personal message of welcome" (A citizenship building initiative by the principal that helps students make the right decisions) (pg. 127).

Even though I have been subbing constantly this school year (2010-2011), I am yet to see this idea consistently in practice.  Not only for administrators, but I think this would be a fantastic practice for educators as well.  Anyone that has 10-15 minutes in the morning to greet the students with a smile.  This is not only a strong sense of community, but a positive sense of community.  We are always trying to create a community throughout the school building, perhaps the community already exists, it just needs modifications and assitance to be the positive community we strive to create. 

References:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaching
wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn