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It is important for educators to help their students learn life skills they will take with them to college and beyond. It would be beneficial to provide a model and have them understand and practice their skills. The skills they learn are relevant now in high school and in their future whether it's college or the work force.
There are harder life problems and historical events and wars resulted from conflicts, greed, religion, etc. My goal is to help my students learn skills and deal with problems through history lessons. How can we deal with conflict? How can we deal with stress? How can we break away from social pressures, overcome adversity, and avoid stereotypes? STRATEGIES * Inspirational Videos- I believe it is important to provide videos and other visual examples to inspire and motivate students to demonstrate kindness, acceptance, setting a good example, and being themselves. It helps push kids to go out and help others. Thr video (YouTube, 2014) on the left shows a selfless act by the football players who protect a girl with special needs from bullies and ridding her fear of going to school on a daily basis. These boys are heroes to her and a perfect example of not giving in to social pressures while treating others with kindness, respect, and equality. Students can relate to the different characters in the inspirational videos and historical stories I present to class. I always tell my family, friends, and peers, "Never give up, you can do it!" whenever they have stress, conflicts, or doubts. |
* Ask Students What is their Learning Style and What Type of Student are they?
I can ask students to take both quizzes online and return the quiz results to next class for homework credit. I can use the results from both quizzes to help me build unique lesson plans especially after the students provide their viewpoint to what their strengths and weaknesses are instead of being determined by a IEP, SPED, or 504 counselor. It gives a more in-depth look into how they see themselves as students in class instead of the teacher trying to figure out their learning styles via grades, transcripts, etc. I took the "What is your Learning Style" quiz (Education Planner, 2014) and I got "visual" learner. I learn best by reading or seeing pictures and my sight allows me to understand and remember things. I can picture what I am learning in my head and I learn best from visual methods. I am attracted to color and to spoken languages such as stories rich in imagery.
What is your Learning Style? Quiz http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles.shtml
What Kind of Student Are You? Quiz http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/kind-of-student.shtml
* Create Emotional Literate Classroom
Emotional literacy is love-centered emotional intelligence and it is essential to be loving to oneself and others while receiving love back from others and oneself. Through emotional literacy, young people can learn to take response-ability for their thoughts and actions. The social and emotional learning of students can be applied by applying literacy and using a step by step process to engage students throughout the lesson. Emotional literacy can be developed with the RULER Approach and Curriculum.
The RULER Curriculum helps students learn the "Take a Meta-Moment" process
1. Something happens
2. Use senses
3. Stop
4. See your best self no matter what
5. Strategize
6. Succeed
It is up to the teacher and students to ensure everyone is treated fairly and with respect but the same goes for responsibility. I will help my students to do their best but I am not going to do all the work while they do no work and expect an A. During the first week, I will state each student is to take the lead for their grade and get work done in class and at home. They will be expected to take responsibility for their actions and also develop knowing when it is the appropriate or not appropriate time to have a electronic device out in class. I will not allow students to use electronic devices during class unless instructed to and they may not listen to music during a quiz or test but may after he or she is finished. Being a responsible student and person is a great skill to have while in high school and in the future whether it's college or a job.
I want my students to understand no one is perfect including myself. It is alright to make mistakes but if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It is how they handle diversity as a person and not how it affects them. The students must understand the importance of perseverance and to never give up or quit. However, it is important to apologize when an error occurs whether it is an act of unkindness, showing disrespect, etc. A person including me should always take responsibility and apologize if the person is at fault to demonstrate emotional caring, social justice, and academics. The safe and positive environment of my classroom will be maintained if everyone has good feelings toward each other instead of feeling anger and resentment.
* Improve Social Skills
As a teacher, I want to help my students improve their social skills to be demonstrated everywhere they go in life. Improving social skills will build positive relationships, make new friends, help others, and set a good example for others to follow. In college and work force, students will need to be able to make conversation, make eye contact, use body language, and speak in front of an audience (small or large) with no fear or social anxiety (Wendler, 2014). As I speak to my students, I will display my social skills for them to look up to and model their own social skills after mine. A great achievement for me would be for all my students to participate throughout lessons with little to no disruptions and have complete focus on learning and doing class work. I would also love for all my students to have conversations at school and outside school with good eye contact, saying please, May I, and thank you, have full attention on the person not their electronic device, and gradually improve their presentation skills with louder voices and facing the audience and not looking at floor.
“Happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a person’s own mind, than on the externals in the world.”
― George Washington
Essentialism in Life Skills:
Some philosophies excluding Essentialism believe in an educational democracy in the classroom and promote a student led world. Through Essentialism, I feel the students should be given opportunities to provide feedback to the way they are learning the material but I feel the students should see the teacher as the authoritative figure who is in charge of their education. Outside a classroom democracy, the democracy of the USA encourages its citizens to go to school and provide students with a well-rounded education, responsibility, and skills. This will help prepare them for either college or the workforce as well as preparing them to become responsible citizens. It is also an important purpose because it is necessary to prepare future generations of doctors, lawyers, educators, law enforcement, business people, politicians, etc. in order to regulate social conditions and have all citizens be economically self-sufficient. Through a teacher-centered environment, I will help achieve these purposes by preparing my students to understand and have appreciation for history and social studies.
References:
I can ask students to take both quizzes online and return the quiz results to next class for homework credit. I can use the results from both quizzes to help me build unique lesson plans especially after the students provide their viewpoint to what their strengths and weaknesses are instead of being determined by a IEP, SPED, or 504 counselor. It gives a more in-depth look into how they see themselves as students in class instead of the teacher trying to figure out their learning styles via grades, transcripts, etc. I took the "What is your Learning Style" quiz (Education Planner, 2014) and I got "visual" learner. I learn best by reading or seeing pictures and my sight allows me to understand and remember things. I can picture what I am learning in my head and I learn best from visual methods. I am attracted to color and to spoken languages such as stories rich in imagery.
What is your Learning Style? Quiz http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles.shtml
What Kind of Student Are You? Quiz http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/kind-of-student.shtml
* Create Emotional Literate Classroom
Emotional literacy is love-centered emotional intelligence and it is essential to be loving to oneself and others while receiving love back from others and oneself. Through emotional literacy, young people can learn to take response-ability for their thoughts and actions. The social and emotional learning of students can be applied by applying literacy and using a step by step process to engage students throughout the lesson. Emotional literacy can be developed with the RULER Approach and Curriculum.
The RULER Curriculum helps students learn the "Take a Meta-Moment" process
1. Something happens
2. Use senses
3. Stop
4. See your best self no matter what
5. Strategize
6. Succeed
It is up to the teacher and students to ensure everyone is treated fairly and with respect but the same goes for responsibility. I will help my students to do their best but I am not going to do all the work while they do no work and expect an A. During the first week, I will state each student is to take the lead for their grade and get work done in class and at home. They will be expected to take responsibility for their actions and also develop knowing when it is the appropriate or not appropriate time to have a electronic device out in class. I will not allow students to use electronic devices during class unless instructed to and they may not listen to music during a quiz or test but may after he or she is finished. Being a responsible student and person is a great skill to have while in high school and in the future whether it's college or a job.
I want my students to understand no one is perfect including myself. It is alright to make mistakes but if you learn from them, you'll be a better person. It is how they handle diversity as a person and not how it affects them. The students must understand the importance of perseverance and to never give up or quit. However, it is important to apologize when an error occurs whether it is an act of unkindness, showing disrespect, etc. A person including me should always take responsibility and apologize if the person is at fault to demonstrate emotional caring, social justice, and academics. The safe and positive environment of my classroom will be maintained if everyone has good feelings toward each other instead of feeling anger and resentment.
* Improve Social Skills
As a teacher, I want to help my students improve their social skills to be demonstrated everywhere they go in life. Improving social skills will build positive relationships, make new friends, help others, and set a good example for others to follow. In college and work force, students will need to be able to make conversation, make eye contact, use body language, and speak in front of an audience (small or large) with no fear or social anxiety (Wendler, 2014). As I speak to my students, I will display my social skills for them to look up to and model their own social skills after mine. A great achievement for me would be for all my students to participate throughout lessons with little to no disruptions and have complete focus on learning and doing class work. I would also love for all my students to have conversations at school and outside school with good eye contact, saying please, May I, and thank you, have full attention on the person not their electronic device, and gradually improve their presentation skills with louder voices and facing the audience and not looking at floor.
“Happiness depends more upon the internal frame of a person’s own mind, than on the externals in the world.”
― George Washington
Essentialism in Life Skills:
Some philosophies excluding Essentialism believe in an educational democracy in the classroom and promote a student led world. Through Essentialism, I feel the students should be given opportunities to provide feedback to the way they are learning the material but I feel the students should see the teacher as the authoritative figure who is in charge of their education. Outside a classroom democracy, the democracy of the USA encourages its citizens to go to school and provide students with a well-rounded education, responsibility, and skills. This will help prepare them for either college or the workforce as well as preparing them to become responsible citizens. It is also an important purpose because it is necessary to prepare future generations of doctors, lawyers, educators, law enforcement, business people, politicians, etc. in order to regulate social conditions and have all citizens be economically self-sufficient. Through a teacher-centered environment, I will help achieve these purposes by preparing my students to understand and have appreciation for history and social studies.
References:
- Brackett, Marc A., Kremenitzer, Janet Prickard. (2011). Creating Emotional Literate Classrooms: An introduction to the RULER approach to social and emotional learning, Port Chester, NY: Dude Publishing.
- Learning Style Quiz. What is Your Learning Style Quiz. Retrieved September 18, 2014, from http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/learning-styles.shtml
- McEwan Landau, B. & Gathercoal, P. (February 2000). Creating Peaceful Classrooms: Judicious Discipline and Class Meetings, Phi Delta Kappan, 450-454. Retrieved September 18, 2014 from http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~gatherco/gathercoal-articles/PDKClassMeetings.pdf
- Shapiro, Lawrence, E. (2004). 101 Ways to Teach Children Social Skills: A Ready to Use, Reproducible Activity Book. The Bureau for At-Risk Youth, United States
- Wendler, Daniel. Improve Your Social Skills. Retrieved September 18, 2014, from http://www.improveyoursocialskills.com/
- What Kind of Student Are You Quiz. What Kind of Student Are You? Quiz. Retrieved September 18, 2014, from http://www.educationplanner.org/students/self-assessments/kind-of-student.shtml
- YouTube. Football Players Protect Special Needs Girl From Bullies. Retrieved September 19, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtkHsARkHbg