Something I didn't expect when I began student teaching was how quickly I would bond with the students. It's enthralling how I can look at the students and see so much potential in them (even the so called "bad apples"). My cooperating teacher let me form my own opinions of the students the first week, then I asked for some helpful input. It's amazing what some of the kids go through and how they can even make it to school, let alone do their work.

One student, we will call him Johnny, has a really hard life. He lives in an RV with his mom and his mom's boyfriend. Johnny sleeps on the floor of this RV. They have less than nothing. He has been put in foster care before, but he ended back up with him mom. Johnny is in the college credit course. His work is always on time, and although he is quiet, he turns in great work.

Another student, "Anne", is 17 and has a child. Her father is in jail and her mother died right before Christmas of a drug overdose. She is bounced from relatives houses constantly. She's not the most outgoing girl, but can you imagine? At 17, I couldn't imagine getting out of bed in the morning.

"Paula" is a great writer. Her papers are amazing. She uses great word choices and can pick up on symbolism in a story easily and well. She is extremely insightful. She doesn't come from an educated family, though. She's quiet in class, and has some severe anxiety problems if you make her talk in class. I know with the right push, she could do great in life. If no one pushes her though, I could see her becoming the manager of Dairy Queen and working there the rest of her life.

Their are so many of these kids that deal with things that I couldn't imagine going through personally. They quickly became real people to me, and not just "another student". I know that I will never be able to reach all of these kids, but I hope that through my teaching career, I can help some of them get on the right track.

I'm also surprised at how friendly they all are and how well they all listen. I was teaching one of my first lessons today, and some of the boys in the back of 8th period started to talk. One of the girls in class looked at them and said, "Hey! Pay attention to her! She's teaching!" I looked at them and told the boys with a straight face, "Don't mess with me, I have back-up" , which they kind of giggled at, but they did pay attention to me.

I can't wait until I get to know my students better. I'm ecstatic about becoming a teacher. I worried for awhile if it was the right choice for me, but I can tell through my experiences that I'm going to love it. I couldn't see myself do anything else.

Race to the Bottom

I've been talking to my Cooperating Teacher a lot lately about state budgets and financial situations in regards to schools. I've come to the conclusion that, while I'm excited about the extra money being spent on schools, I don't think that "Race to the Top" is going to be successful and is going to fail just as the "No Child Left Behind" did.For those of you who don't know, "Race to the Top" is the Presidents new plan for schools. It is a nationwide plan that offers states increased funds to schools that meet certain eligibility standards that have been set by the federal government. Statewide testing that is tied in with teacher pay is a part of this deal.What proof is their that "Race to the Top" will be successful? There is no research that it will be effective. It seems like another layer of federal mandates that are going to be placed on the schools. Test scores will be the base of teacher pay. This is going to make many teachers "teach to the test" even more than they do now.What is so different about "Race to the Top?" Why is this going to be our saving grace when nothing else has worked? What is so special about this plan? I do agree that teachers should be held accountable for what they are doing in the classroom, but is this the route to go?
To me, this plan just seems like one that the Democrats are supporting whereas NCLB was one that the Republicans supported (which many Democrats of the time supported as well). I’d like to know what the major differences are in these plans.
I don’t know if I believe that schools should have a government influence. If it was all privatized and the parent chose what schools their children attended maybe the parents would be happier. Teachers may try more if they knew that how many children attend their school depends on how well they teach, not how many kids are in their districts. Teacher pay would be directly correlated to how well they taught. Doing something like this : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_voucher might be beneficial. Vouchers would give parents the choice that they want and maybe it would make them care a little bit more about their child’s education. They would actually have a say in where their kid went to school. Our system would be forced to strive.
These plans to further include the government are going nowhere. Our kids are failing because our system is failing, as a whole. You can call it No Child Left Behind or Race to the Top, but when it boils down to it, it is the same thing…a failure.