Activities Attened Throughout Sememster

“Freedom Writers”

Freedom Writers is a movie I would recommend for all! The movie is about a new teacher who teaches High School English in a low-income school in Los Angeles. Her students are from different backgrounds and there is only one white student in her class. Most of her students are members of some sort of gang and must worry about violence all the time. The main idea of the movie is when the teacher decided to have her students write in journals about anything they want to. She has a shelf in her room where they may place the journals if they want her to read them and the shelf remains locked so no one else can read them. When she first tells her students about this, she figures that no one will want to leave the journals for her to read. To her surprise, the whole class leaves them. The students want their teacher to learn as much as she can about them and the way they live. The teacher finds out that a lot of these students have not had very many opportunities to explore different places around the area in which they live, so their teacher tries really hard to make these things possible.

I think the movie is amazing because it shows that students and teachers can learn so much from each other. Not only were the students going through a lot in their own lives, but the teacher was also going through a lot-dealing with a bad school and an administration that would not support her; a divorce; no support from her parents; and no support from her students’ parents. Some how, they all make it through and her students all become very close to each other. The students were able to succeed because they had a teacher who was willing to help them and the teacher could succeed because she had a group of students that needed her help, guidance, and kindness.

“Hair”

Hair, a production that was put on by students from Luther, gives a strong message of peace and protest of the war in Vietnam. The play is about a young man’s story that has been drafted, but does not want to fight. His friends, who are fellow “peace lovers,” or also known as “hippies,” do not want him to go, especially because it goes against what they all believe in. As the play goes own, his mind begins to change and he can not bring himself to burn his draft card. His friends try to stop him and try to explain how he is going to die, but he wants to serve his country and fight. He goes over seas, despite what his friends tell him, and ends up dying, serving his country.

I thought that the musical was very interesting and done very well. I knew that a lot of peace demonstrations took place during this time, but it was interesting to see how people may have taken it to the extreme-not living in houses, doing a lot of promiscuous things with others (sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll), and fighting for peace however they could. The cast was dressed in very random clothing, depicting how I would imagine “hippies” to look. The set was very simple, yet easy to imagine that a group was on an island climbing around on things. The cast was amazing- very well articulated and looked like they were having fun while doing the production.


“Vagina Monologs”

The Vagina Monologs are stories about women dealing with…womanly things. The stories are all true –some funny, while others are very sad and disturbing. It seemed like the play was meant to bring out different emotions from the audience, but I think the actors were trying to give out different messages for women in the audience.

Overall, I did not really like the play. I have a lot of respect of the women at Luther that did the play, and there were some funny parts and some parts made me really think, however, there were parts of the play in which I was very offended (having the audience say a word referring to a vagina that I really do not like is just one example) and I really did not like how open people were. I found it to be very feministic and it seemed like it was aimed for women, so if a man was sitting in the audience, it would probably make him feel uncomfortable and more like a “bash fest” towards members of the opposite sex.

“Push”

This mini play was a student production by Siri Carlson. It was a dance number that used no words, just music and dancing. The story was about an author who could never write stories that her publishers liked. It was so frustrating for the author and there were points where she wanted to give up, but she would suddenly slip in to this dream-like world where she was free to express herself in any way. The author was so much happier in the dream-like state and wished that her publishers would just like her work.

I thought the mini play was very interesting, mainly because you had to use your own interpretations as to what was going on until you found out what the story really was about. I assume it also took a lot of work and time for Siri to put on this production. I thought it was amazing how talented she is and was able to write and produce her own dance like this.

Ethnic Arts Festival

At the Ethnic Arts Festival this year, 22 different countries were represented by Luther students. At each table, one could try foods, games, and learn more about each country. My friend, Shayna, even got her groove on by teaching a traditional Korean dance to spectators. One was also given a passport and each table that would be visited, a passport stamp could be received. Many people attended this cultural event and was well enjoyed by all.

I really enjoyed attending the Ethnic Arts Festival because it gave me the opportunity to learn more about the countries that Luther students come from. It also helped me support my friends who are from different ethnic backgrounds and learn more about where they came from. I really enjoyed a lot of the food that I tried and learning the Korean dance was quite interesting.

Technology in the class room

This is an issue that I have different thoughts about. I am not sure I feel that technology can be very effective in the classroom. I think that the use of computers is great, as long as students are using them as a tool. I do not, however, believe that elementary aged students should be typing papers on the computers. I think they really need to be focusing on hand writing at earlier ages, and once students get into middle and high school, then they can start typing.

I also believe that because there is so many things on the internet now and electronic learning games that studnets rely on, computers and these games take away from personal teaching. Parents no longer have to help their children learn to read because they learn through the electronic learning games. Teachers do not have to take kids to the library to do reseach anymore because students do not have to use books to look up reseach, they use the internet.

I really think that computers have become a new kind of "teacher" for some and even a "parent" to others. Kids spend so much time now on the computer and playing video games, that they do not focus on what is important in their lives anymore. I really think that technology is taking over.

Holding Students Back...Does It Really Help?

One topic that I have had a little experience in through my Ed 115 class was whether or not kids should be held back in grades because they are not meeting the requirements of their present grade. Many teachers, parents, and school boards believe that if a child is held back in school, it affects their self esteem. I think that self esteem is important, but I also think that the education a child is receiving is important as well.

School is a place that is to give children an education and help prepare them for the future. In the movement of better education for students, I think the focus needs to be on helping our children. When a child is in 3rd grade and has a reading level of a 1st grader and a math level of a kindergarten, it is time that this child receives the help they need, even if it means repeating a grade to gain better understanding. I also think that if the problem is caught soon enough and hold them back in a lower grade, they will not have as many problems with self esteem issues as they would have in high school if they could not read. I feel that in younger grades, self esteem does not seem to be a huge issue-most kids love going to school to learn and are friends with everyone. If a child was to repeat a grade, it should be done when they are young when they would have an easy time making friends and receive the help they finally need in order to succeed in the future-a much easier time than they would have in upper elementary, middle or high school, not only with learning, but also with harassment from other students.

I realize that not all problems are caught young enough and some people have to deal with these issues the rest of their life. I would hope that if a student realizes they have a problem or a teacher recognizes that a student has a problem, that they would seek the help they need and not worry about their reputation. They need help and the sooner they receive it, the better, even if it is not in 1st or 2nd grade. No matter when, they should realize that the help they are getting will help them become successful in the long run.

Why Teach?

I am not sure why I exactly want to be a teacher but I know that I want to work with kids the rest of my life and I really want to make an impact in their lives and just help them. I really like teaching people new things and am really excited to have my own classroom. I am not sure what grade I want to teach yet, but I am thinking upper elementary right now. I think that 4th and 5th graders begin to have that sense of independence that I like, but yet they still need someone to guide them on the right path. Being a teacher means taht I need to be passionate about learning and my students in order to help give them the most beneficial education I can give them. I hope to drive a passion of learning into them as well.

I think the difference between 'school work' and 'student learning' is that sometimes teachers give 'work' to students so they can do something else, such as read a book or work on grades while the kids are doing their work. Homework can also be a form of 'school work'. Some teachers may use it to reinforce a lesson they learned in school, and some teachers may assign it because they are not sure if the kids are doing anything worthiwhile when they get home. I think student learning is how a student actually learns and also what they take out of their learning and how they apply it to their everyday life.

I think that a good teacher needs to be passionate about what they do so students can be excited about learning. A teacher also needs to be enthusiastic, empathetic, influential, a good role model, and needs to have fun in the classroom because school can sometimes get boring, especially for older kids.

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