Works Cited

Dead Poet's Society

"Arizona Bans" - Deb Aronson

http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/censorship

www.readit.com

www.msnbc.com

Paper #3

            An intelligent society is a successful society. It is well known that educated nation states have thrived more than uneducated ones. This being proven by Japan, China, the UK, and the United States. Kids are encouraged to go to school, if they go to school and are taught censored material; they are then encouraged to be ignorant of things around them. We live in a democratic country, not an authoritarian regime. Therefore no one is fit to decide what students should not be “allowed” to learn about. History has been known to repeat itself, and when societies have hid information, they have been considered dictatorial. Curtis Acosta from the “Arizona Bans Mexican American Studies Program” article was quoted saying “[These actions show] students that lack of evidence, am ideological agenda, and political motivation supersede students’ academic growth, identity, hope, and belief in a whole world.” This is what will happen if curriculums are censored. It is understandable that some parents may not want their students learning about certain subjects, and they have the option to let their students opt out, but they should be given the opportunity to learn. Schools must not be allowed to censor content. If we hide information from our kids, we encourage ignorance, and to encourage ignorance is to damn our society into the ground.

            Ignorance is not known as a respected trait. Undoubtedly as a whole, our society does not wish to be ignorant. In history, a society who fears intelligence has not turned out well to say in the least. Intelligence cannot be feared. Even if desired, it would never work, for the few intelligent beings out there would recognize this travesty of denying a right to intelligence and overthrow those who wish to keep it down. Why would a society want their future offspring to be uninformed? If students are sheltered and censored from topics, they will be like a dear in headlights when thrown into an intense, real-world situation, and will be unable to thrive in a difficult or uncomfortable situation due to a lack of experience. A true intelligence is not what a society deems appropriate and necessary for one to learn, a true intelligence takes on questions such as: “Is there a God? Why? What else is out there? Are these people truly correct in ruling me?” Without these questions being asked, scholars are no longer scholars, they are then mindless zombies. If censorship is encouraged, these questions will not be asked; these thoughts will not be thought; and our society as a whole will condemn into a mass of unintelligent, uninformed, unaware cave people.

            Hypothetically, if a society chose to conserve ideas from people, who would decide what is fit to be taught? No one would be fit to due to the fact that society, culture, science, beliefs, religion etc., are always changing. It is a key fundamental flaw in the issue of conserving knowledge. No one is fit to choose the things that someone is allowed or not allowed to learn. In addition to this, conservation of knowledge at all is seen as morally wrong. Secrecy is not the way to educate children. How can they be expected to want to know answers when they are told that there are certain answers that they should not know, and certain questions that they should not ask simply because their teacher says so. W. Bernard Lukenbill is quoted saying:

“Censorship of school library collections has risen significantly in the last few decades, and such attacks are increasing.”

It is no coincidence that he uses the word ‘attack’. It is an attack; an attack on intelligence, and an attack on the youth. There are no subjects that are defined as “correct” and therefore there is no place to decide what should not be taught. It is contradictory against everything that the public education system stands for, and when systems begin to contradict themselves, they will eventually, inevitably collapse.

The goal of education is simple: intelligence. In Dead Poet’s Society, Mr. John Keating says to his dean, “I always thought the goal of education was to learn to think for yourself?” His dean laughed and said, “At their age?” This is a prime example of the necessity to allow students, from an early age on to study all subjects they want, whether they are considered by the general public to be undesirable or not. Letting students learn about these things at an earlier age will only increase the overall maturity of society. They will be exposed to situations outside the every-day-norm and will have more time to develop more on their thoughts about them. In the past, countries have called for book burning, and look what has happened. Over controlled education, lack of an informed public and so on. No one wants this for their children, and along with censorship, it should therefore be outlawed. Albert Einstein was once quoted saying “We’re all geniuses. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will spend it’s whole life believing that it is stupid.” Students must be allowed to study what they are interested in. If intelligence is desired, it must first be accepted.

            History is bound to repeat itself. Everyone knows this. Yet some forget to recognize it. If history repeats itself then why succumb to any tactics derived from authoritarian regimes? Mao did not want his people educated. Kim Jong Il did not allow his people to be educated, and neither is Kim Jong Un. In censoring topics, people are not allowed to be educated. Allowing censorship is taking a dictatorial role in education. What if topics like the Holocaust were ignored? They would eventually be forgotten, and if forgotten, these terrible acts are likely to be repeated from shear, preventable ignorance. Books have been banned then repealed and studied. Take out the middleman. The right to free speech and the right to the press entail print, and it is therefore unlawful for books to be burned or banned. Aside from unlawful, it is unjust. Where is it written that it is okay to hide knowledge because of fear? Fear leads to anger, and anger to hate. Couple that with the ignorance developed from censoring topics and the outcome will be a scared, angry, hateful, ignorant society, and that is what censored education leads to.

            Ignorance is discouraged, yet kids are discouraged from seeking certain answers. Decisions are made with the students in mind, yet the students are not consulted. Intelligence is encouraged, yet it is feared at the same time. It is said that history repeats itself, yet it is ignored when happening. Johnny Depp once said in an interview, “The problem is; everyone treats teenagers like they’re stupid.” Students cannot be treated this way, if they are, they will not be trusted with knowledge and therefore will not learn. If they do not learn, this attempt at education is pointless. “When truth is replaced by silence, silence is a lie.” These are the words of Yevgeny Yevtushenko. If things are forgotten, students are lied to by omission. They have the right to know, and the right to explore the topics in which they are interested. We cannot keep our children in the dark. We cannot hold them away from the fire of burning knowledge and tease them with the sparks of the truth. Censorship should not be allowed in schools. We cannot condemn our future to ignorance because of fear, spite, or any reason nonetheless.

Quotes

"No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world." - John Keating (Dead Poet's Society)

"I'll try anything once." - Meeks (Dead Poet's Society)

"I was the intellectual equivalent of a 98-pound weakling! I would go to the beach and people would kick copies of Byron in my face!" - John Keating (Dead Poet's Society)

"I always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for yourself." - John Keating (Dead Poet's Society)

"Mr. Meeks, time to inherit the earth." - John Keating (Dead Poet's Society)

"Free thinkers at 17?" - John Keating (Dead Poet's Society)

Authors and I in Agreement

            Deb Aronson agrees with me. We both feel that censorship is a terrible idea in educating our kids. If students are censored, they cannot grow. They will not be able to accept and deal with difficult situations. We cannot allow our kids to be blinded like this by the educational system. What if we didn’t teach about the Holocaust? Or 9/11? We would be controlling the fourth estate, which is what dictators do. We are not a dictatorial regime. We are a democratic union, and should treat our students as such. It is understandable to assume that some students might have emotional issues dealing with certain topics, and these topics need not be shoved down their throats, but there is no sense in hiding it from them. The sooner they are exposed to a topic, the sooner they are able to cope, deal with, and form their own thoughts about it. Thus we are allowing them time to educated themselves by allowing topics that are considered by some to be “distasteful”. There is no rightfulness in decided what is and is not accepted. A topic is a topic and kids have the right to learn about it and others if they wish.

Author's Reasons

            Jerry Large’s reasons were based mostly off of his experiences. He believes that “grit” is the most important thing because if a student has grit, they can work hard to accomplish anything. Hard work pays off, and Large sees hard work as being the number one priority.

            Barry Boyce calls for mindfulness as the most important concept for students. He argues that mindfulness not only will help someone in school, but in life as well. His ideology stresses from the believe that if one is stress free, they will be able to do well in all other aspects of life, such as school.

            Keith Gilyard believes that arts are necessary for education. Expression can lead to great ideas, and those ideas can make great thinkers. We will never know what a student is capable of if they are not able to follow their passion. Albert Einstein was quoted saying “We’re all geniuses. But if you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will spend its whole life believing that it is stupid.” Therefore, students must be able to study their interests.

            Deb Arson believes that lack of censorship is critical to schooling, and I agree with her. If knowledge is blocked, true intelligence can never be reached.

            hooks believes in critical thinking. If we are able to think critically, we are able to solve any of our problems.

High School

            High school to me is as democracy was to Plato: the best worst idea we have. It is a corrupt and often unworthy system, but so far, it is the best that we have. We are not fortunate enough to live in a society in which we can specialize everyone to improve on what they are good at. It is simply impossible. High school is our attempt as a society to deem the intelligent, from the unnecessary. It is our attempt to set a standard for kids to meet, and punish their future if they do not. We assume that by standardized test we may find the few individuals who’s minds can be useful, but we often wind up moving past intelligent people due to unfortunate grade marks. I was glad to leave high school. AP and other advanced classes can help, but everyone is still held at the same subjective standards and it’s difficult for them (students) to thrive knowing that there are expected to fail. I understand the goal behind high school: to have a relatively educated general populous, but the system does have many flaws. It is better than no education system, and there are for more important issues, but working to improve things should always be considered.

Gatto and Friere

            John Gatto and Paolo Friere agree that our school system is corrupt. Gatto calls it “crippling” and Friere refers to it as “treating people like objects.” They both feel as if our school system treats everyone as if they were the same [objects] and that neither the teachers nor the students are able to contribute real value in this system. They disagree on the reasoning behind ours schools being corrupt however. Gatto sees it as crippling students chances of really being educated, as to where Freire sees it as educating them, but in a mindless, robotic way. Gatto claims that the goals of public education are, “to make good people, to make good citizens, and to make each person his or her personal best.” Friere staes that the function of the school is run as “the teacher teaches and the students are taught; the teacher knows everything and the student knows nothing; the teacher thinks and the students are thought about; the teacher talks and the students listen – meekly; the teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined; the teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply; the teacher acts and the students have the illusion of acting through the teacher…” They agree that the school has decided and what should be taught and hoe it should be taught and that both of these things are corrupt, and unjust.

Gatto's Claims on High School

            Gatto’s claims on high school compared to my high school experience in the sense that when I was in high school, even enrolled in AP and other advanced math and language classes, I still often felt as if I were in a day care or a factory as opposed to a school. Teachers were often GIVEN a curriculum, not free to make their own, and because of this, they would simply teach their given lecture, give their given assignments and exams, and that would be it. Many teachers were focused only on us learning information, not on us increasing our intelligence. I believe this was not entirely their fault, for they were instructed how to teach, but I do not believe that Joe Gatto was far off in his claim that the public k-12 education program cripples our kids. I’m not sure if private education systems are much better, but we don’t encourage our kids to think outside the decided “good” information, and who knows how the intelligence of our populous would increase if we did? Dictating what students must learn is like assigning them a job based off nothing. There will be the few students who are able to rise above this, but we’re losing potentially great minds along the way. Gatto’s claim was not in-accurate, but what to do about it, I do not know. 

Mr. Escalante and Mr. Keeting

            Mr. Keeting and Mr. Escalante were much more similar, than different. They both cared a great amount about their students and used whatever methods necessary to get them to learn. They were somewhat different in their teaching methods, but with the same goal in mind. Mr. Keeting used situations to make his students think critically and be brave, as to where Mr. Escalante used real world situations to relate to his students. Both teachers inspired their students, but were in very different situations. Mr. Keeting dealt with rich kids from good families, as to wear Mr. Escalante was working with studnts in a poor down, most with shaky upbringings. Both teachers aimed to inspire growth and progress within their students. They promoted individuality and excellence. Both wanted to see their students succeed, and more than that, wanted their students to see beyond what the world, and society, and their families saw for them. These teachers both saw a need for change in part of the educational system and their respective schools, and even though they were rejected, they stuck to what they believed in, and prevailed. And it worked out mostly. Despite some set backs, they achieved what they desired in their students, and changed many young lives.

Mr. Escalante and Mr. MacFarland

            Mr. Escalante was similar to Mr. MacFarland in the sense that they were simply more than teachers to their students. They bonded with them, they befriended them, they mentored them, and in life as well as in school. Both teachers had relationships with their students outside of class and it proved very effective. The two teachers were similar in even their background to teaching. Both could have had a “better” job, but chose to work in smaller school that need good teachers. Why? Because they wanted to help. They didn’t just want to be teachers; they wanted to TEACH. They were both very interested in their students doing well after high school and both took steps into helping with the furthering of education of their students. Mr. Escalante with getting one of his student’s father to allow her to stop working in the restaurant and go to college, and Mr. MacFarland with doing all he could to get Mike Rose into Loyola. And look where he is now! Both teachers came in with their curriculum in mind and were not going to have it any other way. They didn’t care that the students weren’t into their curriculum, they kept it going and eventually their students started to like it. Both teachers took the extra step, and it paid off. 

Mr. Escalante

            Mr. Escalante was a great teacher. He willing took a beyond difficult teaching job because he wanted to help kids and wanted to teach. He consistently went out of his way to help a kid in their learning. On his first day of class, there were a lot of tough looking students, but Mr. Escalante was not intimidated. He knew that if he treated them as equals, he would earn their respect and hopefully get to them, as he did with one. Mr. Escalante came in to class happy every day, and that can always have a big impact on students. It reduces their stress, and smiles can be contagious. He knew that a lot of these students had tough lives, so he was very good about turning real life situations into lessons, and it tended to work. He TRULY believed in his students. He knew that they could learn and he held faith in them even when the other teachers doubted them. Occasionally, Mr. Escalante would good-heartedly embarrass his students into getting them to do their work, like when one girl didn’t want to take a test and he made her sit in a tiny chair in front of the class while they laughed at her. Mr. Escalante learned about his students and based his curriculum off of them. He was a fantastic teacher.

Writing Development Techniques

            I’ve used multiple strategies for development in my writing. I often start with a pre-write in outline form. Then I use my outline to decide how I want to structure my paper. My outline is usually detailed in a way that I can reference it throughout my entire essay. I quickly scribble down a very rough draft and take a short break. Then I go through and organize my thoughts in to clear, intelligent sentences. I then restructure everything. I separate my paper in to paragraphs and then add commentary. I make sure that I have all the ideas that I want to include and go from there.

            Another successful development technique that I have used is rewriting a rough draft on the same subject and taking out the best ideas of both. Development has come easy to me because I work hard on my pre-writes. Once that is taken care of I am able to just sort of spill it out. Everyone has his or her own techniques for development and I am always looking for new ones. It is the part of my writing that needs the most work and I am constantly working on improving it. 

Changes

Prevention of  censorship - Most important tool of education. A society that fears intelligence, historically, will not be successful. We have to encourage our kids to learn whether we deem the subject "acceptable" or not.

Mindfulness - Useful in more than just school. Useful in life. WIth mindfulness mastered, people are able to function in high and low pressure situations. If we want a truly educated society, we must be able to operate in difficult scenarios, and peace of mind will enforce that.

Grit - Used to persevere in school, and in everything else. If one contains grit, then they will continue to work no matter the circumstance. It is easy to give up, but if we raise our children with grit, giving up will not be an option, and success will, and must emerge.

Critical thinking - Necessary for success in life. Coupled with grit and mindfulness, critical thinking can be a weapon. If one has the ability to see a situation or problem, accept that problem, think through that problem and discover a way to solve it, then success will be achieved, and that is the ultimate goal of education.

Creative arts - Improve cognitive abilities, but not as important as the others. Arts can greatly enhance one's mind, but until one has been released of the bonds of censorship, has mastered mindfulness, has retained a legitimate amount of grit, and is able to think critically, use of the creative arts will (on most) not be as effective as it could be. I believe creative arts could be a great tool, but only (once again, in most cases) if used after the others.

Comparing Teachers Final Draft

            There is no “correct” definition of a good teacher. It is subjective to opinion. One student may find a teacher fantastic while another despises them. Different teachers will affect different students, but a great teacher knows how to affect as many as possible. To teach is one thing, to have someone learn from your teaching is entirely different. A student may choose not to learn, but if a teacher gives them the chance, half of the battle is over. A good teacher does more than just instruct. Whether a role model, a coach, a friend, a counselor, a good teacher is someone who is more than just a teacher to their students. The first teacher that I will be writing about is my former eighth grade science teacher: Mr. Peters. I remember his class vividly because it was where I discovered my love for science. I remember having his class with my friend Casey, and looking forward to it every day. Mr. Peters connected with his students, made them laugh, and treated them like adults (at least those who earned it), which is why he is one of my favorite teachers. The other teacher that I will be writing about is my former freshmen year math teacher: Mr. Hale. I won an Outstanding Math Achievement award in his class, and had fun while doing so. Mr. Hale team-taught with his counterpart, and long time friend: Mr. McCorkle. He would play off him and use jokes and stories to teach us math without us even realizing it. Mr. Hale genuinely cared about his students’ lives outside of class. He was constantly involved and in the know with things going on in his students’ lives. Both these teachers are men I look up to. Mr. Peters and Mr. Hale are both positive examples of good teaching with very different styles. While many teachers instruct well, they were more than just teachers to me.

            Mr. Peters always connected with his students. He would often engage in conversations with students about topics other than science and form a bond with them.  He would share more than knowledge with us. Laughs, stories, anecdotes, sarcastic comments good heartedly directed at one student for the enjoyment of the others. Mr. Peters always included how science was being used in the real world so that we felt ur studies weren’t pointless. It’s a big deal when middle school students look forward to going to a class, and it got to the point where we would be lined up outside his door before he even got there. Towards the end of the year, there was a Facebook page created by some of us called Mr. Peters is the Best Teacher Ever. Mr. Peters was a good teacher, but to some of us, he was also a good friend. Aside from simply connecting with his students, Mr. Peters made his class enjoyable. His class was stress relieving, not stress-creating. We would leave his class in a good mood, and often considering the scientific principles we learned about that day. I recollect several occasions on which some of my friends and I would request odd jobs from him in an attempt to avoid our next class and stay in his. Having a connection to even a single teacher can make a world of difference to a student.

            One thing many middle school teachers lack that Mr. Peters had was a strong knowledge of his subject. We could randomly ask him about a topic, and he would be able to tell us about it, and how it affected the world today. Now, we did like him enough and were ignorant enough that we probably would have believed whatever he told us, but the man knew his stuff. As a newfound science geek, I loved his class. However, even those who were more inclined to the liberal arts such as English and history always enjoyed his class. I never met anyone who didn’t. Mr. Peters knew how to get his students interested in learning about science, and now working towards my Associates of Science, I have him to thank.

            Mr. Hale went far out of his way to get to know his students on a deeper level. He would talk to them about what they were involved in, he would meet their parents, and give almost all of them nicknames. Whether he remembers those nicknames or not, I don’t know. Mine ranged from G-Dub and G-Money to Garrett the Hit Man (it’s ironic because he can’t walk) Walker when I was on crutches. Mr. Hale used an interesting technique to teach his students math. Every day at the beginning of class, either him or McCorkle would tell the class a story. To this day, I don’t know how many of their stories were true, but it took me longer than I like to admit to realize that they all somehow incorporated math in to them. For a group of freshmen, newbies in high school, it was a great way to teach us.

            I can truthfully say that I have never seen a person so enthusiastic about learning every day of the week. It was as if he drank three cups of coffee before every class period. His energy never failed! Hale knew how to charm the class. Many of us grew to see him as a friend as well as a teacher. If asked about it, I’m sure he’d deny it, but without trying he charmed the girls quite a bit too. I’ve really never seen a group of teenage females so focused in a class. His teaching style was so intriguing that even students who hated math with a deep passion enjoyed his class. I used to love to go to the front of the classroom to solve difficult equations with ease. It made me feel like a genius. Towards the end of the year, ten students per period were awarded the Outstanding Math Achievement award. While handing out the awards, Hale took to announcing the winners as a football announcer would. Loud and enthusiastic, he didn’t seem to have a shy bone in his body.

            While Mr. Peters and Mr. Hale were impeccably different teachers, they had two things in common: students enjoyed their time with them, and they learned. Students felt accepted opposed to pressured. Both of these teachers did whatever it took to help a student, and that’s what a true teacher does. They treated different students differently, they worked around them, and they put the student before themselves. I have fond memories of these teachers to this day, and if I were to ever go into teaching, I would model myself after them.

Futhur Drafting Paper #2

Teacher 1: Mr. Peters was a positive example of good teaching.

Teacher 2: Mr. Hale was also a positive example of good teaching.

-          “Best” two teachers in very different ways

While many teachers instruct well, these teachers were more than just instructors to me.

Mr. Peters was a good teacher because he connected with students. He would often engage in conversations with students about things outside of science and form a connection with them. Mr. Peters connected so well to his students that at one point there was a Facebook page named Mr. Peters is the Best Teacher Ever. When in class, Mr. Peters would talk to us about things happening in science around the world so that we felt what we were studying wasn’t pointless.

Aside from simply connecting with his students, Mr. Peters was a great teacher because he was enjoyable. Students didn’t walk into fourth period science stressed. They came and left in a good mood because of the atmosphere in his classroom. I remember on several occasions my friend Casey and I would ask him for odd jobs to do hoping we could get out of our fifth period and stay and hangout with him. While teaching science, Mr. Peters would casually talk with his class as well. I remember a strict rivalry forming between him and a student because Mr. Peters was a Chicago Bears fan, and the student was a fan of the Seahawks.

One thing Mr. Peters had that some middle school teachers like was a strong knowledge of his subject. We could ask him about near any topic in science and he could talk about it. Now we liked him so much that we probably would have believed anything he told us, but looking back now, the man knows his stuff. As a science geek, I loved his class. However I never met anyone who didn’t whether they enjoyed the subject or not. I remember Mr. Peters once letting us watch a show called Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman. I still watch it to this day!

Mr. Hale was a good teacher because he cared about his students. I remember once in Freshman year, a girl in my class one a major award for a charity she started. Mr. Hale took twenty minutes out of class to tell us what she had done, and how amazing it was. One thing still true to this day is, you will always see Mr. Hale on the sidelines of football games. He works as a security guard but spends most of his time cheering. Not even just for the team, but for individual students. He even knows their jersey numbers!  

In Class 11/5/13

    When I was fourteen years old and a newbie in high school, I walked into my fifth period Algebra class in the conjoined classroom on the east side of the Freshman building at North Kitsap High School in Poulsbo, Washington. In the conjoined class room were sixty seats, unlike the twenty some seats seen in most high school classrooms. I used to  love going to the front of the class to solve difficult equations with ease in front of the rest of the students. Even when I was on crutches! It made me feel like a genius.

        Mr. Hale team taught with his co-worker and long time friend Mr. McCorkle. Mr. McCorkle was also a good guy and enjoyable teacher, but didn't leave as lasting of an affect on me as Mr. Hale. Hale went far out of his way to get to know his students. He would learn what they were involved in, he would meet their parents, and for many give nicknames. Whether he remembers those nicknames or not, I don't know. Mine ranged from G-Dub and G-Money to "Garrett the Hit-man it's Ironic Because he Can't Walk Walker" when I was on crutches. Mr. Hale used an interesting technique to teach math to his students. He would begin every lecture with a story that somehow incorporated a math formula. To this day, I don't know how many of the stories were true, but it took my longer than I like to admit to realize they were hiding math in them. I can honestly say that I have never seen a teacher so enthusiastic about teaching every day of the week. It was like he drank three cups of coffee before every class period. Whether rain or shine, morning or afternoon, his energy never faltered. Mr. Hale knew how to charm the class. He made us laugh, and made many of us see him as a friend as well as a teacher. If he were asked about it, I'm sure he'd deny it, but without trying he charmed the girls in the class quite a bit too. I've really never seen a group of teenage females so focused in a math class. His teaching style was so intriguing that even the students who hated, or struggled with math enjoyed and looked forward to his class. I remember ten students receiving Outstanding Math Achievement awards at the end of the year (me being one of them). And while awarding them their certificates in class, Mr. Hale took to announcing them as an announcer would at a football game. Loud and enthusiastic he didn't seem to have a shy bone in his body.

Intro Paragraph and Thesis

            There is no “correct” definition of a good teacher. It is subjective to opinion. One student may find a teacher fantastic while another despises them. Different teachers will affect different students, but a great teacher knows how to affect as many as possible. To teach is one thing, to have someone learn from your teaching is entirely another. A student may choose not to learn, but if a teacher gives them the chance, half the battle is won. A good teacher does more than just instruct. Whether a role model, a coach, a friend, a counselor, a good teacher is more than simply someone who teaches.

Teachers

            Hello to all my viewers. I am starting my second paper for English 101, and I will be comparing two of my favorite teachers, and the differences in how they taught. The first teacher I will be writing about was my eighth grade science teacher; Mr. Peters. I remember his class vividly because that was where I realized my love for science. I remember having that class with my friend Casey, and looking forward to it every day. Mr. Peters connected with his students, made them laugh, and treated them like adults, which is why he is one of my favorite teachers.

            The other teacher I will be writing about is my freshmen year math teacher; Mr. Hale. I won an Outstanding Math Achievement Award in his class, and had a good time while doing so. Mr. Hale team-taught with his counterpart Mr. McCorkle. He would play off him and use jokes and stories to teach us math without us even realizing it. Mr. Hale genuinely cared about his students and their lives outside of class. He was constantly involved and in-the-know with things going on in students lives such as sports, charities etc. Both these teachers are men I look up to. Until next time; thanks for reading. -Garrett

Audre Lord

            Hello to all of my viewers. Today I read chapter 3 of Zami , by Audre Lord. Lord illustrated the librarian’s kindness to her by telling the story of the librarian reading her stories when she was too young for story time, and how the simple offer of a story calmed her down from throwing a temper tantrum.

            She also illustrated the rudeness of her sight-preservation teacher by telling the story of when she was instructed to copy a single letter, but instead wrote her name. She included her parents’ reaction to the teacher saying that she wasn’t ready to go to kindergarten based off of this behavior. Her parents’ reaction was to immediately move her into first grade at the private Catholic school.

            Her first grade teacher at the new private school was a nun. The teacher separated the class into two groups; the Fairies, and the Brownies showing her prejudice towards African-Americans. The teacher was illustrated as unfair, and mean. Audre was once punished by the teacher for breaking her glasses. The teacher even requested that Audre’s parents dress her in less layers, so it would hurt more when they spanked her. Audre Lord undoubtedly had some terrible teachers. Until next time; thanks for reading.

Stand and Deliver

Connected with every student
· Encouraged students to look at the bigger picture, made it less over whelming to learn. – Went to restaurant and talked to Ana’s father about her possibly being able to go to college one day

· Paid attention to each student, treated them how they needed to be treated.

· Caught attention by dressing up

· Not intimidated by students

· Had a good attitude, wanted to teach

· Turned real life situations into lessons

· Truly believes that student can learn. Didn’t let other teachers stop him from teaching. "Our kids can’t handle calculus, we don’t even have the books"

· Embarrassed student into doing work, completing assignments

· Took extra time to teach kids, wanted them to get ahead

· "Angel" expressed he wanted to "get straight"after leaving class.

· Mr. Escalante says "All you see is the turn, not the road ahead" to the student who though working was more important than school. "Wouldn’t you rather be designing these cars?"

· Claudia says to her mother "I’m doing this so I don’t have to depend on some young guy for the rest of my life."

· Mr. Escalante said "I want to teach" when asked by neighbor why he quit his job

· Pressured Angel into answering question, did not give up on him

· Shows students home life. Kids/taking care of parents/poverty. "Turn off light" while girl is studying

Dead Poets Society

* All boys religious private school
* High success rate
* Very cult like
* Neal has a very strict father
* Very intelligent, but very droll teachers, except the new alumni English teacher
* English teacher uses unconventional methods
* The boys are relatively close
* Has students destroy textbooks
* Teacher was soccer captain, thigh man, annual edit, and member of the dead poets society
* Students very interested in their teacher
* The guys want to go to the cave where the Dead Poets Society was hosted
* Mr. Keeting left the DPS book in Neil's room for the boys
* All take turns reading poems
* "We must constantly look at things in a different way"
*   Neil wants to audition for a play despite his father's wishes
* Neil gets the lead part, and writes permission letters posing as his father, and his dean.
* Mr. Keeting uses crazy methods to find the poets in his students
* "You must believe that your own thoughts are unique" (not exact words)

    Students are close, but live pretty guided, boring lives. Mr. Ketting is an alumni English teacher who loves poetry. He uses unconventional methods to teach his students to write and love poetry, and to seize the day; or carpe diam.

Stand and Deliver

- Many students forget that teachers deal with stuff outside of school

- Latino teacher teaching in a primarily, but not entirely Latino school

- Teaches math to very unruly students. Some do not speak English

- Gets his car radio stolen on his first day at work

- Has a wife and kid

- Uses apples to teach percent

- Bullied by teenage Cholos

- Gang fight outside the school, stops one student from joining

- Uses alternative methods like every day activity references

- Wants to include all students, and maybe help the troubled ones

- REALLY wants his students to learn

- Some students aren’t even literate

- One Cholo (close friend of “lead” Cholo) student wants to learn, but doesn’t want people to know

- Wants to teach AP Calc to kids who have little math knowledge. His idea is to rebuild the school, starting at the top.

- Teaches trig and math analysis over the summer so they can take AP Calc

- “All you see is the turn. You don’t see the road ahead.”

- Gets his students to sign a contract to prepare for and take the AP Calculus Exam

Intelligence

-Creativity is more important that literacy

-If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never create something original

-We get educated out of creativity, being taught that mistakes are bad

-Every education system on earth has the same heirarchy

-Most useful subjects at work are taught first

-People can be incredibly smart, but not think so, because their type of knowledge is not valued

-Intelligence is diverse, dynamic, and distinct

-Some kinetic people need to "move to think"


I think good teachers see how their students think, and exploit that. A good teacher would notice that Student A is an existential learner, and Student B is a musical learner. The teacher would then devise a way to teach both students the same lesson, but through different means. A good teacher would not criticize a student for where their skills are lacking, but instead embrace what they are good at, and find a way to use that to improve upon where they need work. Some teachers may see their students as a manager sees their factory workers; all the same and doing the same job. But a good teacher would see that students are individual. They want to learn different things and in different ways. The teacher would see that all of his or her students contain uncapped potential if they learn the way that works for them. A good teacher works for their students, they don't have their students work for them.