YouTube video

My youtube video can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZA3kYPQklE 

Enjoy!

Final presentation

I am planning on doing my final presentation video with a math lesson plan about telling time geared for first grade.

Should teachers be paid based on student performance?

I do think that teachers should be paid based on student performance, but the performance should not be based on test scores.  I think that a teachers job is to help students grow throughout the year, and the teacher should be able to show a students' progress through conference notes and assessments.  I do not like the idea of teachers getting raises because of high state test scores, because to me, that doesn't show much.  Every student tests differently, and you may have students in your class with learning disabilities that can bring your class average down so I don't think that is a fair judge of progress.

Teachers Unions and tenure

I think that teacher unions and tenure can be beneficial, but they seems to cause more problems then do good.  I feel like some older teachers take advantage of tenure and become lazy.  Some teachers refuse to change and adjust to the students, which hurts the school.  I love the security of tenure, but it's sad that it gets taken advantage of by some, which gives it a horrible reputation.

I am from a small area where a lot of schools are downsizing.  I would hate to be one of two second grade teachers, in a school that now only needs one teacher and my co-teacher has tenure, and I didn't so no matter how good of a teacher I was, I would ultimately lose my job.  I think this happens a lot, and it is sad.  Teachers should be kept because of their quality, not because of how long they have been at the good.  Teachers should constantly receive reviews, and be improving their teaching strategies.  The best teachers in the school should be the ones that have all the experience, not the ones straight out of college.  The new teachers should be able to come to a new school and look up to the older teachers.  If the old teachers don't keep up with the change, the new teachers have no one to learn from.

Balancing extra-curricular activities in a Sports-Driven society

Sometimes I feel like teachers forget how busy students really are, especially if they don't have children of their own.  Many students are up early in the morning to get on the bus, spend 8 hours at school, do homework, any extra-curricular activity, and then try to fit in time with their family.  Teachers can help students by assigning less homework, if any, to their students and by making the most of their school day.
School needs to be a priority over sports and other extra-curricular activities, but we need to give students the opportunity to participate in them. 

Carl Orff

Carl Orff taught students in nontraditional ways using music.  He believed that music was a natural behavior of children, and that children are naturally musical.  He liked to use chants, songs, and instrumental pieces.  Improvisation and creativity  is the key stage to the Orff process.

I think that the Orff approach is perfect for the 21st century because it is a way to reach all of the students.  It is something that all the students can be engaged in as a group to help them explore their creative natures, builds self-esteem, and helps provide positive music experiences.

Developmentally appropriate instruments

Recorder: Third-fifth grade. By this age, students should have developed eye-finger dexterity and coordination to cover all the fingerholes.
Xylophone: Third-Fifth grade. Requires enough hand-eye coordination to use mallets.
Rhythm sticks: pre-k-first grade.  Rhythm sticks can be used for lower grades because they use large muscle movements.
Finger cymbals: Pre-K-First grade.  These also are good for lower-grade levels because they don't require fine-motor skills.
Kazoo: Pre-K-First grade.  The kazoo is a simple wind instrument that is used to teach pitch.  The instrument is played by humming so the students do not need to have finger-eye coordination developed.