Choices

January 6th, 2016

Day 191 as an Oklahoma Teacher

      How do you go over grammar and punctuation mistakes with seniors? I have been pondering the answer to this question this week. They have gone over and over these rules since fourth grade.  It's all about repetition, application, and practice.  At some point, students have to take responsibility for their learning. Instead of saying to them that they have to learn the material, we need to make them think how they are going use it and apply it to other classes or jobs. Since my students sit at tables, I decided to give each group a grammar rule. They had to come up with a way to show the class what they rule was, the mistake, and how to correct it. It worked well, and I will do this idea again. For the rest of the hour, the students revised their senior papers. They checked for transitional phrases, topic sentences, made sure that citations did not begin or end paragraphs, and matched the sources on the works cited page to the ones used in the paper.
     Also, my students are creating some awesome ideas for their senior projects. One student ordered t-shirts that highlight the problem with human trafficking. She wants to sell the t-shirts with 44% of what she earns going to the organization that helps with this issue. She also has made a video to go along with her speech. Another student wrote her paper about the Wichita Mountains. She has an interest in photography, so she took pictures of the mountains for her project. I can't wait to see all of the projects and hear the speeches. These ideas relate to what Josh Flores talked about in his daily video. It's all about giving students individual choices, having them understand that they have to know the materials, and also equipping them with the strategies to learn it on their own. This goes to my idea that all students should be on a plan of study, especially in 10th, 11th, and 12th grades. The plan of study would have the students take the required courses for graduation, but these courses would also relate to their interests or career choices. Just a thought!
      The last thoughts for the night relate to two words, reform and Renaissance. I have said that a Renaissance should happen in education. In my opinion,  a Renaissance  means that teachers take charge, innovate, create, and design curriculum. Reform, on the other hand, has a negative connotation because outsiders from other organizations influence our schools. They see nothing right with education and complain about teachers.
       We have choices; we just have to go down the right path.

        Goodnight!