User:Cpayn012

WHO AM I??
What can I say about myself? Well, I'm an english education/creative writing major, and I'm a junior. I've lived here most of my life, but I'm originally from the deep south. The thing I used to be best known for is writing, which I discovered my passion for in 9th grade. Ever since, I have poured myself into literature, and I've worked on many pieces of writings, including dozens of poems, and even a few novel ideas. I'm working on a musical right now, which is very exciting. All this led me to want to teach others the same skill, hence my education major. Other than that, the only interesting thing about me is how closely I follow Christ. I attend the Hampton Roads Church of Christ, and I was baptized into Christ about a year and a few months ago, in April. It's changed everything about myself, such as how I understand the world and how I see people. Now I follow God, not myself, and I help others do the same. From this, I've been given tons of awesome friends. I have about 10 to 20 best friends (plus dozens of others outside ODU) that I can hang w/ on any given notice and be so ready to share even some crazy things. I love it, because we don't have to have drink and have crazy parties to have fun. We have just as much fun with watching a Disney movie. It makes school that much easier, having support to help me out and being able to just relax without the stress of peer pressure.

WHAT DO I THINK??
The way I view education is especially important to me, because I think it shapes alot of who we are. My dad used to be a music teacher, and my mom has her degree in english education, and is working on her praxis, along with an aunt that is a math teacher, so I come from a family that is intensely into education. I feel that education is based on a family, teacher and student focused mindset. In the days past, though there were issues with how children were dealt with, children learned what they needed to learn because parents put thier personal agendas aside so the children could progress. In this day and age, parents are working 2 jobs and have no time for thier children. These children then act up in class, and therefore scare off all good teachers to become professors or they go into their chosen field.

I think the central focus point of this is the teenage years, specifically high school. They are at an old enough age to understand crime and punishment, as well as rewards and praise, yet are not permanently scarred by thier lack of skills as much as they are upon graduation. This, I believe, is an ideal and special teaching age in which we restrict to test taking as a standard. I believe we should embrace the older forms of education, such as vocational training, that were the educational standard of the past. This brings about more focus on not what a child cannot comprehend, but what they are better at doing. It's a larger problem in society that these college bound students are perceved as better, and therefore are stressed out by the intense programs they must go through, when we as students just have a different talent. Not everyone is built for this lifestyle. And at the same time, standardized tests are just another way to "standardize" the students into one class. I myself did quite well on the tests, yet found them to be of no use by the end of the year. The best education I recieved was outside of the SOL's, in extra activites that our teachers made up, and also in AP classes. Regular SOL driven classes drew most everyone to focus on a test as a standard in the class. I remember the posters for the SOL scores and the ribbons we wore for how high our scores were. I believe that we need to reach a higher level of motivation in students through praise and rewards for action and progress, as well as just punishment. Gone should be the time that students are kicked out of classrooms for bad behavior, but they should be given things that influence their desire to be a productive member of the class and society. Students need to be tied in, instead of kicked out.

I have many ideas on the subject, but I can't describe them all here, plus I have no classroom expierence except as a student, so I need more understanding to develop sound theories and philosophies. If you want any more info, email me!!