The Psychology of Education: The First Day...

On the first day of this class, I was so excited to finally be able to take an education class. I was ready to discuss educational practices with my peers and learn about what is necessary to become a teacher. Ever since my J-Term experience, I had been looking forward to this moment of my life.

I can honestly say that it definitely lived up to my expectations. I had been told that I would know by the end of the first week if I would like the class or not and I can honestly say I love it. I had not been accepting the class to dive so fast into such important issues but now I realize how important those issues are to the lives of teachers. I am also extremely excited about reading these books with our study groups. I have always been intrigued by the many books about education but I have never known where to look. Now I have a reading list that will probably last for at least the school year.

Another area of this course that I am excited for is the chance to work in these study groups. I am looking forward to meeting with people of my same interest area and being able to communicate our ideas about the text. I think this will be extremely helpful throughout the semester.

Better Grades in Less Time...Really?

I have to admit. When I first saw the title of this lecture being advertised, I was extremely skeptical.  But I remembered that the lecture of ones to attend for Ed. Psych. and decided it would a fun one to compare to education.  So I bought my ticket and talked a friend into going with me.

Upon walking into to the main stage of the CFL, I was surprised to see two giant balls being passed around the room.   Eventually, one would pop but these balloons subsided any fears that this lecture was going to be boring.  Gary introduced himself and began the lecture by having us do some concentration exercises mostly through playing the game Simon Says.  He then began his actual lecture and the evening ended an hour and a half later.

Overall, I think this was a very worthwhile lecture but the things he presented were basically ideas that I had already been introduced to.  In a way, I guess that is sort of like the learning process in schools.  For example, you may learn how to multiply in third grade but you have to relearn how to use it for the rest of your life.  A lot of things in education revolve around the word "repetition" and this lecture definitely presented that thought.  One thing that I found interesting and might include in my future classroom was his reading exercise that increases speed.  Implementing this four minute exercise would depend on the age group but I think it would be especially useful in ESL classrooms.

Lions for Lambs

As we began watching this movie, I was wondering what it was supposed to teach us about education.  I was very excited that this was an actual Hollywood movie because sometimes educational videos can be boring.   The more the movie progressed, I found myself becoming more and more intrigued.  When the Jim told people they could leave if they didn't want to stay any longer, I was saddened by the number of people that got up and left.  I could not believe that they wanted to miss the end to such a great movie.  

Not only did I find this movie extremely influential but I also enjoyed the political angle that it presented.  As I watched the three different courses of events take place, I was ecstatic once I realized that they were all directly connected.  I also found myself comparing the character played by Robert Redford to my Senior English teacher Mrs. Moen.  In addition to the similarities between their actions and teaching styles, the two also shared the likeness of being able to reshape the mind of a student just by telling them something the student already knows.  I believe that the student in this movie realized he could do something with his love for political science but he just needed that final post.  The same can be compared to me with my desire to teach.  All of senior year, I wrote about experiences I had with my Sunday school kids and finally at the end of the year, she asked me to meet with her after class.  She asked me what I was planning on doing with my life and I said I thought I was going to be a teacher.  She looked at me and said, "Well I hope so because otherwise you have been wasting my time this past year."