Module 2

            When I was in elementary school I felt intimidated by other students. I did not feel smart. I would never raise my hand when questions would be asked, instead I would avoid eye contact so the teacher would not call on me. I never wanted to feel or look stupid in front of my peers. Unfortunately, many students feel embarrassed and insecure about their intelligence. As a prospective educator, I often think about what I can do to create an environment that allows students to view intelligence as a learning process rather than a means to judge one another.  I believe one of the main problems is the amount of emphasis adults place on assessments and grades. We are creating a culture in which students feel pressured to be the “best”. They are growing up with the mentality of “If you aren’t smart or the best at something then there is something wrong with you.” Children should view intelligence as a learning process and they should be taught that individuals have strengths and weaknesses in one or several areas (pg.121).
            I found the section on students with disabilities very informative; I think this topic deserves more attention, perhaps it’s own chapter. I especially liked the section on ADHD. It seems that over time more and more children have been diagnosed with this problem. As a teacher’s assistant I have witness children being diagnosed with ADHD. One particular student was placed on the drug Ritalin; I was very disturbed by the complete change of behavior this student demonstrated. The student was emotionless and since then I feel students who have ADHD should not be placed on medication. Instead students with ADHD should be offered other alternatives like counseling. 

            As a bilingual student I was able to reflect and relate to a lot of the material in chapter five. It was definitely interesting to learn that older children go through the stages of language learning faster than younger children (pg. 175). I recall learning the complete opposite. Throughout this chapter I repeatedly thought about the three year olds in the classroom I work in. Today a student drew a picture for me and said, “It’s a ghost, he a bad ghost, he in big trouble, bad ghost.” Woolfolk suggests that these mistakes show how logical and rational children can be (pg 170.) Reading this chapter made me question why more and more children are refusing to speak their native language. This is the case with not only children but adults as well. I know people who are fluent in Spanish yet refuse to speak the language in public. I don’t understand their motive.

            Culture and diversity are words that come up very frequently in the world of education. The goal is to create a society that values diversity. Prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination often go hand-in-hand, but it is also possible to have one without the others. Woolfolk discusses how prejudice can be difficult to combat because it can be part of our thinking process. We form schemas about people on a daily basis to make sense of the world. (pg 221). I found it very disturbing to learn that American classrooms are not designed for boys. Teachers have grown accustomed to the traditional classroom model: orderly classrooms and compliant students. This type of environment does not work for boys. Woolfolk suggests that boys need smaller classes, and more discussions, and mentoring programs. I believe male students need more play time or hands on learning. Chapter 8 focused on cognitive learning. This chapter focused on how we learn and retain information, which will prove helpful when I have to create lesson plans. Students can only take so much information; I have to be able to separate essential information from nonessential details. This week I felt there was a lot of information to cover; the chapters were very long nonetheless, informative and helpful.