User talk:Roughcopy

(Red4tribe (talk) 22:13, 22 May 2008 (UTC))

Re: Portfolio Assessments
Joseph, thanks for reading and responding to my article about portolio assessments. I wanted to let you know that the Portfolio vs. Standardized Testing list came from an article listed in the reference section:

Birgin, Osman and Adnan Baki. (2007). The Use of Portfolio to Assess Student's Performance. Journal of Turkish Science Education, vol. 4 (2), 75-90.

I didn't want you to think this was just my opinion. I selected to leave my personal opinions out of this article to remain in line with the neutral point of view. I may move the reference around a bit to make sure it's more visible. The reference appears before the "chart" - I put quotes there because I couldn't figure out how to turn the list into a chart in time for deadline.

Thanks again for your response! Mworr002 (talk) 17:40, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

Peer Reviews
Any One? ;)

Hi Joseph (roughcopy)! Thank you for the very positive "About the Author" response! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to answer your questions, but as you mentioned earlier about me "flirting with insanity"...well, I guess you could say I'm married to it (and NO, I don't mean my husband. He's quite sane. Opposites attract, I guess). Here were your questions, since it's taken me so long to respond, I thought you may have forgotten some of them... I'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind. Why do you want the student to see you as the same person in and out of the classroom? I mean I understand wanting the student to look up to you as a person, but shouldn't there be a destinction between you as the teacher and you as another adult or friend? Would this affect your sense of professionalism? 'I think to be someone you're not, outside of the classroom, would affect my'' sense of professionalism. I guess I put that statement in there b/c I get so tired of teachers acting so prim & proper at school, just to hear them talking who knows what about their latest escapades in the breakroom. It just gives me a deflated feeling to realize they are not who they want others to see them as & I don't want that for myself. I want others to see me as someone who is genuine & someone who tries, but who is not perfect at the same time.'''

How do you feel about the standardized tests. '''I'm not a fond advocate of the SOLs. I'm sure there are other appropriate ways of gauging our students' strengths & abilities. They do not take into consideration that each child is different. Learns different & tests different. Administrators in many schools do make allowances for these differences, though, by setting aside different test locations, etc. to help meet those students' needs. It just seems like we're cramming a set amount of data down our kids' throats & aren't able to give more time to other educational instruments that are just as important (like learning a second language, music, or art experiences). I'm VERY fond of field trips & other ways of teaching kids outside the every day classroom. One of the positives that comes from the SOLs is that they keep teachers accountable, which is very much needed in today's lazy society.'''

I have one final question for you. Since you plan to work in a private school, are there any programs you know of that can help meet your desired technology wishes. I did not know of any but I didn't know if you had looked into it.'''Each school district/county should have a technology "guru" who offers training throughout the year, for the public schools at least. If you're planning on teaching in a public school, I would seek out whomever that person is for your county & stay informed about upcoming training they may offer throughout the year &/or summer. As for a private school setting, I plan to continue taking classes at the university level, to keep me fresh. This would be probably be at my own expense (not that I would have the money to take very many!) or many Christian schools offer training to keep their teachers "fresh", so I would definitely jump on that band wagon. I have based our family expenses on what I am making with my current two jobs. I estimate that I would make a certain amount more once I become a teacher (whether in a private OR public school setting) & plan to set that additional money aside to pay for classes (&/or replace my car). My husband is VERY supportive of most of my decisions in this area. I'd say any fundraisers I would want to do with my classes would go toward field trips or other "fun" learning experiences for the students. Hope this helps clearify a few things! :-) Thanks again for your wonderful comments!'''

Hi Joseph!
What a fascinating background in and with music you have! I think that that kind of passion for music will enable you to become an excellent teacher. When I think back on my educational experiences as a student, and what has helped shape my interests today, I can vividly remember my teachers who truly loved the subjects they were teaching. Also, by "making learning fun", you will certainly inspire more than just the students who are musically talented.

Very insightful userpage!

-Elizabeth Eschm001 (talk) 01:32, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

Author Respone Jmetc001 (talk) 20:43, 15 June 2008 (UTC)
Hey Joseph,

Thanks for the comment. I hope you've had a good summer so far. In reply to your earlier post:

'''Well hello Jessica, again. Did your musical dabbling spill over into teaching or what? why do you want to me a teacher? And by the way, you are an amazing cellist (is that the right word). Any way your teaching philosophy, as I understand is the focus on the student right? I agree with everything that you have said. Especially the emotion part when it comes to music ed. I guess we have one up on the rest... just kidding. I did want to ask, how would you give the individual opporutinities for each student to succeed? What types of opporutinites are we talking about here? And one last thing, I know you at least a bit and it is driving me crazy (for some odd reason) but how would your "decorate" your classroom. and oh what level do you want to teach? Roughcopy (talk) 20:48, 1 June 2008 (UTC) '''

Of course my music and teaching philosophy cross over...I'm going into music education. :-) Honestly, I still don't completely know what I want to do in the future, but, the more I study music and education, the more I love the idea of teaching music.  I have always loved people and loved helping others to the best of my ability.  Thus, teaching seems to follow naturally.

Yes, I want to focus on the individual student. Every person in the world is different, and so, is every student. This means that I must be flexible in my teaching styles in order to meet the needs of each student. It is difficult to say how I would best help each student to succeed, since I haven't met my future students. However, I would work to give the students each the opportunity to shine. One way I might do this through activities that encourage confidence, leadership, and creativity. For example, I might do a review session with the students where each student answers a different question or explains an answer to the entire class. If the student is struggling, I would allow another student to help the first student explain the answer. This way, each student is allowed the opportunity to speak in front of the class and be known. This also teaches the students that there peers are available for support, rather than criticism. The opportunities for individual success may be small scale or large scale, depending the group of individuals being taught.

As for my classroom decorations, I would have fun decorating. I love arts and crafts. I would include classroom management information and subject material information in the decorations because this would help direct the classroom focus to the class subject, most likely music. The decorations would need to be colorful and catchy, without being distracting. Being a RA in the Quad, I decorate the residence hall for my residents. I would imagine the concept of decorating would be the same, only a difference in the decoration audience. Like giving a speech, you must always consider your audience.

I have decided what age level I want to teach. I'd actually prefer to try teaching all levels before making a decision. I would like to start with the younger students and work my way up, the basics through the advanced. The advantage of this would be that I could better learn to teach the fundamentals, basically forcing me to learn to break everything down to it's simplest form so that even the youngest students may understand the concepts. If the students understand the basics with a firm foundation, adding more information and making connections between concepts becomes easier. Better to start simple, like in your classroom management philosophy. :-)

I hope that answers your questions. I'm curious, how much longer before you graduate? Do you plan to go straight to graduate school? Did you have a college in mind where you'd like to teach? Well, take care, and don't work too hard this summer.

Jmetc001 (talk) 20:43, 15 June 2008 (UTC)