WRozycki

     Like all professions being a teacher has it up and downs. The constant changes in policies and regulations to the lack of funds for better resources to improve education are just two of the primary issues surrounding teachers. But it doesn’t end there. There are numerous primary topics in discussion surrounding education and it seems they can be broken down into three main categories. In the classroom as a teacher there are three areas of most concern in your pedagogical approaches, they are academic approaches, rules and policies, and technology.           

     When in front of the class, the teacher should be considering new and better ways to approach academic success and in doing so should consider the commons areas. They are Bloom’s Taxonomy, Multiple Intelligences, Kidspiration, and WebQuest. Bloom’s Taxonomy is the categorized and ordered thinking skills. In Blooms there are three main domains. The cognitive (thinking), affective (emotions), and psychomotor (physical) are all areas when considering the learning goals and activities of students. Bloom’s is most commonly used for teachers when making lesson plans. Multiple intelligences is the intelligence of a person in a wide variety of areas from bodily kinesthetic to visual and musical.  Like inspiration, kidspiration is there to help students organize and develop ideas, connect visuals with words, create stories using visuals and also help students focus on ideas and the drawing process. Where inspiration is more for the older students, kidspiration is designed to help kids at younger grade levels. Another common area teachers should consider when in front of the class are WebQuests. WebQuests are computer based teaching and learning models in which learners are actively involved and using the internet as a resource. More or less it’s like an interactive lesson plans commonly written down. All are important and all should be considered when providing each and every child with the best education possible.           

     As teachers are doing the best they can to better educate each and every student it’s important they maintain policies and regulations put forth by not only the school but government agencies as well. Three of the most common areas are the No Child Left Behind Act, Nine Core Curriculum Content Standards and Children’s Internet Protection Act also known as CIPA. No Child Left Behind (NLCB) came into effect on January 8^th, 2002 to redefine the federal roles in K-12 education. In short it requires accountability for all children regardless of poverty, race/ethnicity, disability, or limited English proficiency. Also it was designed to shrink the gap of achievement of all kids. The four main principles are making schools responsible for student progress, emphasis on teaching methods, giving parent’s options, and increase local control of schools. Another area under the strict guides of rules and policies is the CIPA act. CIPA is designed to protect children when on the internet, it purpose is to block anything that may seem obscene, pornographic, and/or harmful to the child. Just as important as the previous two, are the Nine NJ Core Content Curriculum Standards (NJCCCS). They are the academic standards in which all students and teachers must abide by. The nine subjects are math, language arts, technology, science, world languages, physical/health sciences, social studies, visual/performing arts, career education/consumer sciences/family life skills.           

     The old thought used to be televisions would one day control the classroom. But now it’s not the case, televisions are long away from that and schools are now looking beyond the television and looking forward to PDA’s, Starboards, and distance learning. PDA’s also known as personal digital assistants designed for personal organization, desktop/laptop transfers, and running your basic computer programs such as Microsoft word, powerpoint, excel and others. In the classroom they can be used by teachers for attendance, grading, assessment, research and many others. For students they can be used to take notes, retrieve assignments, do research and many others.  Another technological advancement are the use of starboards in the classroom. Starboards act as interactive chalkboards. They are capable of all your normal computer programs, they give teachers some freedom in classroom, and they can project info onto a larger screen, and are equipped with accessories to make learning memorable. Like all technology if used right can and will prove beneficial to the learning of all students. Also if the funds are there all schools should to improve the awareness of technology in the classroom setting.             

      In conclusion there are hundreds of prime topics surrounding the world of education. From the government influence to the fun of technology all things should be taking seriously. In short when considering and implementing the needs of all students only one thing can happen and that is improvement of a child’s ability to learn. All kids learn but it’s our job as the teacher to make them want to learn.