Differentiation In The Classroom

For me I feel that having different types of methods to teach a class is one of top priorities in a classroom. Students nowadays get bored really easy, I should know, and their attention spans are comparable to a squirrel that drank loads of in energy drinks while trapped in a nut factory. Just teaching a class the old school way as in giving a lecture for the entire period and making the students work through loads of work in the workbook in the 21^st century just doesn’t seem like the best idea in the world. For example, I do morning work with my students every morning and I see that majority of them are kind of sleepy. So I would make up little exercise games before we start off the top of my head to get them awake. The top 3 favorites of the class Mr. Ahmad Says, which is my version of Simon Says where the kids have to do different actions simultaneously; The Clapping Game, a game where they have to remember the rhythm of the claps I did; and Adventure, I let a student pick a place they always wanted to go anywhere in the world and we would go through different terrains like jumping on volcanic rock across a volcano lake, climb over a mountain, and swim in the ocean. Along with waking them up a little, they also learn multi-tasking, coordination, balance, memory skills, and learning to navigate through different environments.

Another way that I introduce differentiation is by letting the kids play games while also learning their lesson that is currently taught to them. I use to bring in a Jeopardy game that simulates the real game. I would put in categories that related to what they were learning like if they were talking about consumers, I would have categories like carnivores, herbivores, etc. The kids would always jump around and get excited as soon as they saw it and they had fun while doing it while at the same time reviewing. I have also created my own game that is like Who Wants To Be A Millionaire but mine has candy instead of money and is called Who Wants To Be A Candyaire, so that tells you how original I am with names. The game is played the exact same way but again with candy and the life lines are Holla At A Friend, Ask The Class, and Ask The Teacher. Every question gives the player one piece of candy and the very last question is called the Ultimate Candy Question where the player would get 5 pieces of candy if they get it correct but the question has absoultely nothing to do with the lesson at all. The kids love that game but I think it's because of the candy.

What Makes A True Hero?

     What makes a true hero? When someone asks this question a person's mind automatically thinks of a superhero. That could be a common thought because people have grew up around hearing different superheroes saving the day in just a couple of pages and they instantly becomes, mostly, a child's biggest role model. There's nothing wrong with believing there could be a superhuman somewhere in the world rescuing people, defeating the bad guy, and saving the town, city, or the world from destruction. Majority of people who read comics or watch TV shows about the famous superheroes could say that the heroes gives us hope that there's someone to save us, helping others is worthwhile, and lets people dream of becoming a super being known for keeping the world a place where good will always conquer evil. There is a safe bet that the next group of people that are known as heroes are famous people. That includes actors that have done amazing charity work like Lance Armstrong who helps in the cancer awareness charity LiveStrong, civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Harriet Tubman, and even others like Bill Gates who donates billions of dollars seemingly everyday. There are another type of heroes that are everyday people who do courageous rescues or help just about everyday that are very minor or just heroic enough that they are known nationally. These people risk their lives just to save people they don't know or maybe even family and friends. There are the typical heroes like police officers, firefighters, paramedics, etc. and there are the random heroes who could be your plumber, neighbor, or even a small child. Just about anyone who does anything out of their heart are a true hero.

     An example someone could say is a hero, mostly preteens/teenagers, is the character Finn from a Cartoon Network showed called Adventure Time. Finn is a boy who lives in the land of Ooo, which is set in a post apocalyptic future, that loves to go on adventures and, more importantly, saving the day with his magical dog.  Finn is a brave  person who is a seeker for justice kind of hero. He has a very strong sense of responsibility and gets upset when he is unable to help others. One of his major responsibilities is saving kidnapped princesses from his emotional, delusional, and quite often annoying arch-nemesis The Ice King. Since The Ice King is extremely lonely, but only finds friendship in a sea of penguins all named Gunther, he decides to kidnap princesses so he could force them to marry him. all of his predictable plans are thwarted  by Finn who swoops in, easily defeat The Ice Kind, and safely return the princess to their rightful places. Another responsibility is just answering any stranger's cry for help. In one episode, Finn answers a call from the land of Ooo's Princess Bubblegum, who is part time scientist, to help deliver her invention of candy seeds to her Earl because his kingdom was going through a devastating famine. He happy helped deliver the seeds to the Earl and went through numerous obstacles to get to the Earl but never gave up until he finally found him. Finn shows that no matter what is in his way he uses determination to finish his deed. Finn is a shoe in  for becoming a role model to look up to.



 Well, Marcos Ugarte seems like a better choice to become a role model. A fire broke out on the second story of a family home in Oregon on a Monday night which an 8-year-old Cody Ma was trapped in a room upstairs. A high freshman noticed the fire and heroically grabbed a ladder and climbed into the boy's window to help take him down, along with the trapped boy's father. According to the article on Huffington Post, Marcos Ugarte said, "I can't say I really consider myself a hero. I think anyone would have done what I did." I don't think majority of people would actually risk their own lives to help others. Even though he says that he doesn't consider himself a hero, he really is one. He thought unselfishly and took time and putting his life on the line just to save a little kid who could have perished in the fire. So, one question: Do you think Finn, the hero of Ooo would have been around to help the little kid? 



 Another fine example of well known heroes is Superman. Everybody knows about Superman. if you haven't then you must have been born just this morning because even if you don't read comics, you should have about Superman. He is the man of steel, has superhuman strength, superhuman speed, x-ray vision, and a gazillion other powers that make him almost invincible.  This guy has done things from saving a train from derailment, to saving his girlfriend from certain, dangerous situations to something very extreme like saving the entire world from destruction. How is he not like the president of the Earth. If you have read the previous section then you would know why. He has thousand if issues of comic books starring him, he is the co-founder of the all-star superhero group the Justice League, he had his own live action TV shows twice, a few cartoons starring him, a couple of movies, and plenty of other things that should have his name known around the world. He is basically one of the world's most famous superhero.

In November of last year, Officer Larry DePrimo became a national hero when he was photographed giving a pair of boots to a barefoot homeless man on the streets of New York. After asking the homeless man where was his shoe and the homeless man replying back that he never had any, Officer DePrimo walked inside a nearby Sketchers store, bought a $100 pair of all weather boots and socks, went back out, and personally gave the homeless man what he bought him. All the homeless could do was smile from ear to ear according to DePrimo while on a local radio station in New York. Also, he didn't even know he was being photographed so this picture is not a stunt. He is great to know that policemen are doing their jobs: taking down the criminals, giving people justice they deserve, and helping people who are in need. This officer voluntarily used $100 of his own money to buy boots and socks for a man who he did not know all out of his heart. He shows the true definition of what a true hero should be. 

It isn't bad to have a role model who isn't real. Superheroes shows great qualities that shows that they care about humanity and are willing to help them out no matter who they are. There are real life heroes all around you now who doesn't have super powers but have a big heart and will risk their lives for someone who is in danger. A true hero is a normal everyday person who shoves differences, judgement, etc. all aside to help rescue civilians. 

The Biggest Issue With Education

"Education nowadays seem like they're leading their
students to a dead end education that
leads to a dead end future."

What is the biggest issue with education in America today? Is it the teachers? The principals? Or is it the decreasing amounts of money the government is giving education every year. The last one sounds more like it. it's weird how education in America was viewed as part of the big American Dream everybody outside of the United States wanted to dream about. Basically if you go through school and go to college and get a degree, you're  all ready for the rest of your life. Apparently enjoying where you work, get married, have kids, send them off to college, retire with your Social Security check, and have fun with your grandchildren. Really that should have a little fine print saying "Results may vary." Someone isn't guaranteed the supposed "American Dream" the U.S. use  to and probably still try to convey. You're not even assured with a degree either. I mean, education doesn't even seem to be a top priority on the government's agenda. Education is constantly getting cut every year and it doesn't seem to get any better as the years go on. So why is education always being cut? Well, ask all the governmental officials who claim they're all for the American people. Lately it seems like that seems to be untrue. How are our future leaders going to be able to get the best education possible so they could help run the world when it seems like not enough money will be able to be in the bank of education; less money= less essential tools and materials for the classroom that is very much needed. Once again, what's the biggest problem with education? MONEY, MONEY, MONEY!

USDA changes school lunch requirements

Who: United States Department of Agriculture

What: USDA changes school lunch requirements to have more meats and grains.

When: changes started in the 2012-2013 school year, but is only temporary

Where: changed in every school district, United States

Why: it left some students hungry and schools dealing with extra paperwork to comply with the regulations.

Summary: The USDA changes the school requirements to have more meats and grains. Farm-state senators want to push this idea even more because kids are left hungry and schools are dealing with more paperwork to comply with requirements. The new requirements also lifted limitations on intake of grains, starches, and proteins. These requirements are only for the 2012-13 school year but some feel that it should be permanent.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

Inspiration

My inspiration comes from people who are in need of help. I am a type of person who will go out of my way to help others who are in need. For example, a couple of days ago I was walking my dog on my road when my neighbor came driving by. She stopped beside me and I was thinking she was going to talk about my crazy, hyperactive dog but instead she ask if I would like to make $10. As a teenager and not having a job at all, I was like "Yeah, ma'am!". She asked me if I could help her bring some boxes from her van into her house and I gladly told her yes. I then told her that she didn't have to pay me just to help her out and she said I got this money and I might as well give it to you. I sure wasn't going to say no twice. She I finished walking my dog and went next door to help her out. She ended up giving me $20 and I was glad I was in the right place at the right time. Another time when I helped a person in need is when my other neighbor, a.k.a. friends's house, needed help pulling up floor so the professionals could go ahead and put in new floors. I offered to help out and they greatly showed their appreciation when I offered. So instead of just two  people spending loads of hours pulling up carpets, pulling up nails, taking off the borders, etc., there was now three people doing the same exact work but just in a shorter time frame. I also realized that by me helping others out of the kindness of my heart can really help me out in the future. It helps build trust between me and the person I'm helping and it could gain more extra help later in life. The world won't get better is people could just help others so that could have a positive outcome and it could also spread to others.

Student Safety In School

Parents want the best for their children and there is nothing more for the best for them than education. The United States of America has to give each and every child in the country the right to go to school no matter their gender, age, race, sexual orientation and so on. A parent would want a safe, sound education for their child where they can also be safe along with learning. A city or town that is notorious for crime, gangs, drugs, and violence are not great places to get an education because these issues could greatly distract or endanger the surrounding students. So think about the next question: Would you make sure your child's school has the right safety measures in order to maintain a safe learning environment? Going as far as having metal detectors or even police checking the students in the morning before school starts isn't a bad idea but of course most things have bad results to them. If the metal detector goes off every time a student goes under it, the student would have to get pulled aside, get physically searched, get humiliated in front of their peers, on top of that get late for classes. So it seems that a good idea that seems to have an upward effect on the issues seem to cause other problems along with it.

Recently there has been more and more shootings on the news ranging from movie theaters to schools, from shooting the general public to shooting their own family. In an episode of a television show named Degrassi, set in a high school that has plenty of teen issues and drama to equal up to any daytime soap opera. I remember a couple of episodes about a student named Rick who was clearly bullied and disliked by almost everybody. In one episode he was so fed up with bullies that he brought a gun to school to deal with them. In one scene he encountered one of the bullies that was by himself in the halls. So when the bully realized that Rick pointed a gun to him, he decides to make a run for it but is unfortunately shot in the back and thus making him paralyzed from the waist down. This common issue is always happening around every single school. It's bad that someone has to get bullied or put down in a place they go to everyday, every week and really can't do much about it except tell a teacher or another adult. Sometimes this is proven effective and the student can get a better school life but there's always a few that are continued to being bullied anyway. Out of that bunch, one student could get really emotional about it or is mentally unstable, or just so fed up that they want to deal with the situation in their own hands. That student could come in to school one day bringing a weapon and ultimately start shooting any random person out of pent up anger and messing up their lives forever. If this ever occurred, I would absolutely, 100% agree with having metal detectors and police checking every student in order to make sure everybody would be safe. I wouldn’t care how uncomfortable other students or I felt, it’s better than dying any day.

           

Now if there isn’t any crime, barely any violence, barely any type of drugs effect in a school whatsoever, then metal detectors and personal pat downs would be highly be unnecessary and it would make students hate school even more because if they’re not doing any thing bad, why punish them went this over protection? It would seem like all the metal detectors and all of the police officers always around you in the halls would make the students even more nervous and sort of claustrophobic. How would that help students concentrate on school when they feel like they can’t be trusted or given a chance to do more things a school without the all of the protection would do. Maybe taking away all of these things, letting the students have more freedom, and give the disciplinary decisions to the principal could actually let students act like teenagers and not cellmates and potentially inspire them to work towards a common goal of graduating and head towards their future.

           

   All in all, everything has its cons and pros. With metal detectors, the pros are promoting safety, ensuring the students that administrators want them to be safe, and it could prevent from a school disaster from happening. The cons would be it could promote fear of uncomfortable situations, students could feel like they can’t be trusted, and that could lead to some unwanted behavior. It’s hard for most people to decide how or what measures to take to ensure safety among schools and if a certain type of people or person could cause a problem with decisions voted upon because of opinion and the ability to sue anyone nowadays. What doesn’t make sense is that why would people cause uproar over stupid things like what a student is taught or how the school run things. They only look out for themselves and most of the time use the students as excuses to further their opinion even more. So basically the students would be scapegoats instead of being actually students wanting to get a great education their parents wanted them to get to ensure that their lives are better for them.  

(2012). Metal_detectors.jpg. (2012). [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.endnewjimcrow.org/metal_detectors.jpg

(2012). Rick shoots jimmy. (2012). [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&biw=1024&bih=600&tbm=isch&tbnid=EKqfUGpCQbmlAM:&imgrefurl=http://mag1c-al.tumblr.com/&docid=FEoCnTv6THtgVM&imgurl=http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lqehw6vwSK1qg47t6o1_250.gif&w=250&h=143&ei=yyhsUJboD5Ls9ASi_oDoCA&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=289&vpy=207&dur=16&hovh=114&hovw=200&tx=137&ty=63&sig=106337459050162429779&page=2&tbnh=114&tbnw=200&start=17&ndsp=20&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:17,i:134

(2009). Skinner. (2009). [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://jacob.efinke.com/skinner.jpg