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Reflection on the reading of "The Banking Concept of Education" by Paul Freire

The banking concept of education basically states that "the teacher talks about reality as if it were motionless, static, compartmentalized, and predictable. Or else he expounds on a topic completely alien to the existential experience of the students. His task is to "fill" the students with the contents of his narration- contents which are detached from reality, disconnected from the totality that engendered them and could give them significance. Words are emptied of their concreteness and become a hollow, alienated, and alienating verbosity" (Friere).
My thoughts on this were that this couldn't be more true. This concept pertains to a lot of teachers that I have come in contact with throughout my experience as a student. I think I would have remembered a lot more of what I had learned in high school, and even middle school, if I had not been taught the way I was. I was taught to memorize instead of being taught to understand.

"Education must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction, by reconciling the poles of the contradiction so that both are simultaneously teachers and students" (Friere).
I think that the best teachers are the ones who learn new things from their students and let them be the teacher as well.

FieldBlog2 - Beachwood Middle School

When I was in middle school things were completely different. I went to class, talked to my friends, then sat down and listened to my teacher teach. I had a book, a folder, a notebook, and a pencil. My other items required for my other classes remained locked away in my locker down the hall. At Beachwood Middle School things have obviously changed. The children still walk into their classroom and socialize, (I don't think that will ever change), but instead of sitting down and turning their textbooks to a certain page and taking notes in their notebooks, they unzip their laptop bags and pull out a wireless mac. They open it up, log on, and start their assignment. Whether it be blogging, noodle tools, blackboard discussions etc...

Times have changed. I was completely mind-blown by the things I witnessed on this visit. As I continue to pursue my dream as becoming a teacher I now realize that I will probably not be teaching the way I was taught. I will be teaching with smart boards and laptops and I will be using online assignments. Coming to this school was a huge reality check (a good one) for me. This is the future and things have, and will continue to, significantly change. 

Observations of the school

• Kids are on laptops in the library
• They have a library media specialist
• The school consists of the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade
• They are very diverse with 28% black, 11% Asian, 65% Jewish and a small Hispanic population
• They have a large multi-handicap population
• They are very financially stable
• They have a large special ed population

Holman Room 226 Observations (7th grade social studies)

• The desks are paired
• All the kids have laptops
• The teacher teaches from his desk
• They do a lot of group work
• The teacher is very charismatic
• There are motivational quotes all around the room
• The kids seem very comfortable within the classroom and around the teacher
• Everything is electronically digitalized 
• They write blog posts
• The website they use (which was created by students) is very detailed
• When I asked the teacher how long it took the children to catch on to the site he said not very long at all
• They use an entirely student creative written textbook
• There are numerous videos on the site all made by the kids
• The teacher is very proud of the site and was recently interviewed by wiki-spaces

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Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender students...

There are many different views and opinions on the subject of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students. As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I grew up attending public schools. At my high school I was very exposed to lesbian, gay, and bisexual students. In most high schools being gay is asking to be picked on. But at my school it was very accepted.
All throughout my senior year my best friend, Connor, was gay. And, to be honest, he was probably the most popular guy in the school. He had the greatest sense of humor, he was kind and warm-hearted, and not to mention he threw the best parties out of anyone. Connor was on prom court and although he didn't win guess who did? My friend Johnny, who was also gay. The summer after I graduated high school a bunch of my friends and I went to a gay club with Connor. Connor was the only gay one but we did it in support for him and thought nothing of it. It was a blast. Connor was never once judged or made fun of for being gay. He was who he was and he was okay with that.
Sophomore year in high school one of my best girl friends was a lesbian. We great up playing softball together and our families were very close. She was a grade ahead of me but she was never hated by anyone. She got along with every social group and all the teachers. She was not treated differently just because she was a lesbian.
In my opinion, it is ridiculous that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students are being discriminated against within the school environment. Just because you are gay does not mean you're a bad person. In school you should feel at home. Teachers, administrators, and peers should all be conscious of the effects of bullying against gays. They don't deserve that at all. They're not different from any of us. I was very fortunate to live in such an understanding and accepting school district.


My best friend Connor and I before our senior prom!

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What is institutional racism?
Institutional racism is a pattern of social institutions (such as governmental organizations, schools, banks, and courts of law) giving negative treatment to a group of people based on their race.

Growing up, I attended a public school for elementary, middle, and high school. My schools were not very diverse at all. Throughout my years at public school I would say that 90% of the children were white. I was never really exposed to racism or anything like that. However, now that I am being more and more exposed to it as I grow up and enter the real world I am realizing that it is a pretty big issue. 
My views on institutional racism are very strong. I think it's absolutely ridiculous for someone to be judged by the color of their skin, their ethnicity, or their background. Racism exists and we have to face that. We probably couldn't wipe racism off the earth no matter how hard we tried but we can still be against it. The more people against institutional racism the better. School is supposed to be a second home. somewhere to feel welcome and comfortable. Not a place to feel unwanted. Hopefully over time the issue will get better but until then all we can do is spread the word and hope things get better. 

FieldBlog1 - Mercer Elementary School

On Thursday, January 30th the class took a trip to Mercer Elementary. In all honesty the school was not what I expected at all. I was expecting it to be a normal elementary school, like the one I went to. The school was very bright and gave off an aura of happiness. I instantly felt at home there.
Here are some things that stood out to me while walking around and observing the school...

The walls of the hallways were covered with different posters, paintings, drawings, and news paper articles. This is very different compared to the elementary school that I attended when I was a child. From what I remember, the walls of my elementary school were very plain.

One thing that really jumped out at me was the fact that they had kids running for class president and vice president. I thought that was really amazing because we never did anything like that at my schools until the high school. I think it's such a smart idea to introduce politics at a young age. 

Something that I really admired about the school was that they had posters with information about every kid at the school. These posters had their interests and favorite things written on them for everyone to read. 

I noticed that there were many posters with motivational quotes on them around the hallways. I think that these posters are up not only for the kids but the teachers and administrators as well. One of the quotes was, "Sometimes all you need is a new perspective".

My favorite thing I saw while walking around was a dream catcher hanging on a teachers door. I have a really big interest in dream catchers and their meanings and it made me really happy to see one hanging up in an elementary classroom.

3rd Grade Classroom Observations

• There were so many things on the walls. 
• Kids are at tables, not desks.
• The teacher is using a smart board.
• They are learning about MLK. 
• There are posters around the room that say "hello" in every language.
• The children seemed very comfortable with their teacher and in the classroom.
• The room is very colorful/vibrant.
• There are different stations throughout the room (math, blocks, computers, books, crafts).
• The teachers desk is hidden in the far left corner and facing the wall so she cannot teach from her desk. When she teaches she is standing and interacting with the children (like in the comic). When I was in third grade I remember my teacher sitting and teaching from her desk a majority of the time.
• The teacher teaches them while they are sitting on the ground all together rather than teaching them while they are at their tables. 
• There were so many resources and objects openly available to the children throughout the classroom. 
• The teacher has the kids get up and go to the smart board to share their ideas. 

Here are some photos I took while at Mercer Elementary