User:Davidbaer

Hello my name is David Baer.

I am currently a Business Education Teacher for Menchville High School in the Newport News Public School system. This is my second year teaching, and although I feel like I have learned a lot since day 1, there is still so much I do not know. You learn something every day (especially from kids today).

I teach the following courses: Digital Input Technologies / Computer Applications Design, Multimedia, and Web Technologies Advanced Computer Information Systems Business Management: Virtual Enterprise

I am also the Cross Country Coach and Assistant Track Coach. This is my outlet from teaching every day and it really helps me connect with a lot of the student population who are interested/participate in sports.

I graduated from Christopher Newport University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. I am currently working on my Teaching License at Old Dominion University.

After almost two years of teaching I have put together my own Philosophy of Education.

My Philosophy of Education:

After nearly two years of teaching Business and Marketing education I have had the following theories about how things have changed since I was in high school only 7 years ago.

Students have a smaller attention span with more distractions, more freedom yet with more rules, more activities and less time, and still know everything but don't have a clue what they want to do when they want to graduate high school besides go to college or get a job (I guess that worked for me!?).

My teaching philosophy as a technology teacher is to keep the students hands on with teacher led demonstrations and student led activities. Many students have a computer at home, but many only use it for personal needs such as MySpace or iTunes. I teach practical skills that most jobs require or will require and almost all college students will need.

Skills I teach are:

Typing: Key is efficiently Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access are core programs More Exciting Programs: Front Page, Photoshop, Flash. Practical Knowledge: Resumes and Interview Tips Business Management: Marketing, Sales, Finance, Management

The biggest problem or thing that I would like to change is the Business class philosophy of students and parents alike. These are a few of the most common thoughts about the classes I teach:

1. Students think that Business classes are supposed to be easy because they are an elective and involve computers.

2. Parents (and most of my friends) didn't know Business classes were offered in high school.

The problem with these two thoughts is that when you go out into the real world where you need to get a job the skills you learn in a business class are often the most practical of any at the high school level, and it's a shame that more students don't take these classes or two take them seriously. Finally business is one of the most common major on college campuses today. The things you learn in class can be put to use at almost any job in the country of the American Dream.

I use a hands on approach to many activities. I also like to assign small group (2-3 at the most) projects. Finally, I think real world examples are a great way to engage the students especially if it relates to their world.