Humanistic Approach to Teaching

Humanism is a familiar term in a history or philosophy classroom. But is humanism useful in education? 

In terms of education, humanism advocates "that students should receive developmentally appropriate instruction in liberal arts, social conduct and moral principles". With the Renaissance reforms in education, schools and teachers began to teach children with kindness rather than violence. Humanism was all about people taking responsibility for their own lives back in the Renaissance and Reformation period. Humanism in the classroom is all about letting children think for themselves and evaluate themselves rather than having a teacher guiding every single step of the way.

" This form of education is known as child-centred, and is typified by the child taking responsibility for their education and owning their learning. " So instead of praising or punishing a child for their actions, the actions go unnoticed and the child is free to figure out their decisions for themselves. This is preparing the child for adult life and important decision making processes. This idea seems like it could get a little out of hand in the classroom because some students might take advantage of the freedom. However, I do think that its necessary for teachers to sometimes step back and let the child figure out whether their decision or action is the best choice. I feel its important for kids to learn at a young age that someone cannot always be there to hold their hand and its important to be able to have responsibility.

Can humanism go wrong? Yes, it can. First, some students see it as self-serving and manipulative; the faculty are trying to get students to do what they want them to do, but are conning the students into thinking they made the decision or understand it fully. Second, some students see it as hurtful." In this case, there should be a balance between discipline, praise and punishment in order to teach students self responsibility.

Exceptional Children: Educating Autism

Who are exceptional children? Children who are considered to be "exceptional" have skills either above or below other children their age. This includes children with disabilities or children with a special gift or talent.  Autism, mental retardation, hearing/visual impairments or just having a special gift are all considered categories of exceptionality. These children are "out of the norm" meaning they don't operate and live daily life like most children do. For exceptional children life might mean having a service dog, not being able to sit still or being able to play Mozart at age five.

What is Autism? Autism is the second most common developmental disability affecting one in every 110 kids. Some kids with autism, like 7 year old Annalysa Smith cannot differentiate between happy and sad and need medication to focus on  school work. Others with Autism have extreme OCD, cannot speak or cannot sit still. Autism is a "spectrum" disorder meaning it can affect children and people in all sorts of ways ranging from mild to extreme. Asberger's syndrome is a mild form of autism that sometimes results in the carrier having a special gift or talent.

How do we educate autistic children? 

Children with severe forms of autism are generally not involved in a regular school classroom with other children. They may go to classroom specialized in educating children with autism or they may go to an entirely different school with a special program."Because the needs of each autistic child are unique, schools must strive to find ways to match treatment strategies, services and supports to each child’s individual and family characteristics. This includes incorporating the child’s unique preferences, special interests, strengths and weaknesses, as well as the family’s goals and characteristics, into a specialized instructional plan"   However, children with milder forms of Autism like Asberger's syndrome may be in a typical classroom with children who are considered exceptional. In this case it is important to try to pay close attention to the needs of this child without singling them out or making other children feel they are not as important. Kids with Autism will sometimes have aids in the classroom who are specialized in Autism. It may be great and wonderful to see a child with a gift from Autism but its just so important that teachers do not single these students out.

Boys vs Girls

There is a 60/40 (girls to boys) ratio in colleges. It is a known fact that women are succeeding more in the world of education more than men are. It has been a theory that elementary school is too bias towards the activities girls enjoy doing and boys are set up to fail. Does this phenomenon go back to elementary school? (p 49)

Elementary school is where boys must contain their desires to run around pretending to be superman. They are to sit still and criss-crossed during story time, remain at their tables during activities and politely raise their hand should they have something to say. Boys are not programmed to behave in this manner and it is argued that teachers spend more time on what girls are genetically programmed to do rather than boys. That is not to say that boys are incapable of sitting still and girls don't run around the classroom, its just a theory that school may be geared more toward girls. Girls want to please their teachers more than boys and are more willing to work where as boys will test better than girls but not put in the effort It is important to incorporate both genders

Boys are also known to get more praise when they score a high test score or get an answer right. This is where the discrimination comes in on the girls end. Teachers tend to ask boys more difficult questions than girls which isn't fair. Title IX was passed in order to prevent gender discrimination in the United States school systems. Will this encourage more boys to pursue a higher level of education and teachers to treat both genders equally? I sure hope so. If gender discrimination occurs this early in school then it will continue.

SOURCES-Male Pride and Female Prejudice by John Tierney, The War Against Boys by Christina Hoff Sommers, Girls Against Boys? By Katha Pollitt.

Why tenure?

Tenure. What is it? Why are people for it? Why are people against it?

Future educators and educators in the classroom should be well-aware of what is known as tenure. This benefit not only protects the job of a good teacher in a school system but also protects the job of a bad teacher. Good and competent teachers should absolutely have the right to stay in their position until they retire. But what about the incompetent teachers? I have always felt frustration that good teachers work hard and receive the same benefits as those who do not work as hard.

Tenure's do not allow a school system to fire a teacher without a worthy cause. For example, if a district is suffering budget cuts a teacher who is not tenured is going to be let go before a tenured teacher is. Once a teacher is approved for tenure, they are pretty much guaranteed their job unless something horrific happens. This makes it extremely hard for a school system to let go of the "bad" teachers due to costs and legal issues."Because teachers have such potential for affecting the quality of children's education, some people are starting to argue that it must become easier to get bad teachers out of the classroom"  says an article entitled "is Teacher Tenure Still Necessary?"

According to an article from Time, it took a California school district $8,000 to fire a teacher who showed their class R rated movies instead of utilizing books. That's an absolutely staggering amount of money to fire someone for not doing their job. So what should be done to make sure teachers are doing their jobs rather than being lazy under their tenure? What about re-testing teachers every five years? Or follow Ohio in a teaching mentoring program? Something has to be done to stop incompetent teachers from thinking they are entitled to their job no matter what.

I think that teachers who do their jobs and put in the effort they should are entitled to tenure. However, they are always "bad apples" who will only teach for job security and not care about the kids they teach. I believe that teachers need to be more closely evaluated and maybe the idea that one should not become a teacher due to job security should be stressed in teacher training. I do not believe in abolishing tenure.

Why teach?

Shoe-tying. Tattling. Horse play. Getting young children to learn material. These are among the many inconveniences of teaching in an elementary school classroom. So despite all these things why do teachers continue to teach and more importantly why would one chose teaching as a profession? 

It is said by Savannah Berry of Healdsburg High School in an article for the Press Democrat that "Teachers may appear to be underpaid and overworked, but not every teacher shares this view. And, as everyone knows, when one truly loves his or her work, it is not work". So many teachers teach because they love the subject in which they teach. When asked why he loved teaching, teacher Mike Efran responded with the fact that no one can tell him how teach, he has the freedom to teach in his own way. http://teenlife.blogs.pressdemocrat.com/10969/e/

The next article I found is about good qualities to possess if you want to become an elementary school teachers. Among reasons one would become an elementary school teacher is having a broad appreciation of school subjects, you are very creative, you feel a call to serve others and you like kids (obviously). Those who want to have a positive impact on the lives of children should become elementary school teachers, as it incorporates many school subjects and involves loving children.http://www.worksheetlibrary.com/teachingtips/becomingelementary.html

Teachers can also be inspired by teachers they've had in the past. They may want to make a difference on the kids in their classroom like a past teacher inspired them. Giving back to the community is a huge reason for becoming a teacher according to another article I found. Teachers want to watch their students grow intellectually and really have an  positive impact on their lives.
http://www.teacherssupportnetwork.com/corporate/KnowledgeCenterArticle.do?id=5

I believe all the research on why teachers teach holds true. It is a selfless job. It is known that teachers do not get paid an overwhelming amount of money and it is difficult to teach and have all students grasp material. Someone who teachers does have to have specific qualities mentioned in the second article. A grumpy, miserable and lazy person cannot be an elementary school teacher. You have to love kids, be patient, be creative etc. You also have to want to inspire your students to succeed in life and give them the tools to be the best person they can be.