Digital Story of the Underground Railroad

The following is a digital story I created for a 4th grade instruction on the Underground Railroad and Harriet Tubman. This is a great way to implement technology in your classroom and engage students in course material. The video is short to hold the attention of kids this age. 

Why Blog as an Educator?

Educational Blogging is a tool used by many. Educational blogs can be created by a learner, teacher, researcher, or administrator with the an educational intent. Educational blogs can be made to inform others or relay an understanding of a topic with the addition of personal belief. For example, an educator may use a blog to communicate with other educators, or parents, their understanding of a class policy. For students, educational blogging can be more focused on relaying the understanding of a topic an educator assigned, as well as their belief on the application they

Person creating a blog on a computer

Educational blogs can be applied to a wide range of education related topics. For example, this blog site has focused primarily on school environment and the topics that affect that environment. However, my peers have created educational blogs that focus on topics such as mental health in the classroom, classroom management, and the effects of standardized testing. A blog related to mental health in the classroom described how important it is to recognize and how a student's mental health may affect their academic success. The author then describes their beliefs about the mental health of peers surrounding them and experiences they have had with mental health in schools. I also read a peer's blog that focused on classroom management. This blog described how classroom management directly correlated to how well a classroom operates. The author then explained their experiences with different styles of classroom management, and how the implementation of behavior-tracking styles affected their feelings in the classroom. A blog describing the effects of standardized testing  described different standardized tests and how they measure academic achievement.  The author then explains how they dislike these applications and how they feel standardized testing does not portray one's identity or academic level. 

Blogs are a helpful informational tool that can be easily accessed by all.  As educators, it is important for us to be able to adapt to different environments and develop new types of teaching as we progress in our career. Blogging helps educator share ideas and beliefs about different educational topics. It gives educators the opportunity to share what they believe is important to implement in a classroom setting and how to handle different situations. This blog has mostly consisted of classroom environments. I am very passionate about creating a supportive and flourishing classroom environment for my parents and students. I truly feel that how comfortable you make your classroom impacts how well your students learn, and how involved the parents are. I have found that the implementation of blogging in my educational technology class has helped me discover other ideas I can implement in my future classroom.  By reviewing my classmates blogs, who are also education majors, I have discovered new ideas I can use in developing a supportive and flourishing classroom environment. 

Parental Involvement (Pros and Cons)

Parental Involvement in a student’s academic career can be positive or negative. The majority of the time, educators support parental involvement in their child’s education. A parent can push their student to complete academic tasks, work outside of the classroom, and provide their child with outside resources that can assist them in learning. However, on the flip side, parental involvement in the classroom can become negative. When discussing classroom goals and policies reinforced by an educator, some parents allow their personal beliefs to interfere with the educational process. If a parent is voicing their concerns to their student at home, the student may take those perspectives with them into the classroom setting.

Educator helping student present project

For example, if a parent does not believe in reading outside of the classroom, a student may reject the process when reading activities come up in school. Or, in a more serious situation, a parents religious or personal dismay for the LGBTQ community, may cause a student to act out against members of that community in the classroom, leading to bullying. At the same time, when parental involvement in the school setting is non-existing, there are typically negative consequences. If a teacher asks to hold a parent-teacher conference regarding a student's work or behavior, and the parent makes no effort to speak with the educator or student, the work or behavior will go unnoticed and likely progress in a negative direction. Parental involvement should at the very least be a support for the student’s educational career.

I believe educators should promote parental involvement in their classrooms. By creating websites and providing contact information/resources for parents to use with their students at home, educators can improve the degree of educational success for the students. Parents who feel included in their students' academic life tend to be more supportive outside of the classroom. When a student’s parents are involved in their academics, they feel more motivated to learn and have a better chase at developing a strong love for learning as time goes on.

Safety Safety Safety

Let's talk about School Safety! School Safety affects all individuals associated with the establishment. It affects parents, students, staff, and those associated with those individuals. Here in the 21st century (in the U.S.), when school safety is mentioned it typically has a negative connotation. With so many people affected by a lack of school safety in the states, and the increase in school violence/aggressive actions committed against schools increasing as time goes on, the pressure is rising on schools to come up with ideas that increase safety.

School Crossing Sign

This pressure affects our staff and students. When administrators feel pressure to make decisions they typically push that issue onto their educators. The stress gained from this pressure flows from educators to students directly. With all of that being said, it is important to understand the affects school safety has on the culture and climate of the school. Students learn better when they feel like they are in a supportive, safe environment. If a student feels unsafe in their school for reasons such as bullying or violence, it is crucial to assess those situations and develop ways in which the school can assist in fixing those issues. Schools should create a culture and climate that reflects the importance of teacher/student relationships so that students feel safe going to their educators for help in troubling situations. 

 I believe school safety should be directly tied to the establishment's culture and climate. In a previous blog I discussed how impactful the ideals of a school can affect its students and staff. I believe that it is crucial for a school to address how they plan on dealing with violent situations and how they will reinforce the importance of each individual's safety. This ideal should reflect a protection to learn and connect with others in a nurturing, positive environment.

School Culture and Climate

4 Elementary school students working together in class 

School environment plays a big role in how successful a student is able to learn. School culture and climate create this overall environment. A school's climate refers to the physical environment of the establishment. It is at times referred to as the school's "attitude". School climate includes how teachers, administration, and students engage with one another, as well as how the school operates. However, the school's culture is more similar to its "personality". When thinking of a school culture, think of the actions the school takes and what values/beliefs it upholds. The school's culture directly affects the school's climate. The values the school projects are reflected within teacher/student relationships, and teacher/administration relationships. Now, you may be asking yourself, “How is knowing the difference between school culture and school climate necessary as an educator?” Well, it is likely you are already being influenced by your school’s culture, and that is directly affecting your classroom climate. If administrators are preaching that the school should value grades and student achievement, it is likely the pressure you are receiving from them will eventually negatively impact your students and the environment they are learning in. 

I believe that it is necessary to incorporate a classroom culture on top of a school’s. For example, If a school’s culture revolves around student achievement, then assert to your students that the classroom culture is to promote student achievement through means of cooperation and creativity. This will give your students the ability to work towards those goals, whilst also feeling more comfortable. This is a good example of how your culture can affect your climate, because the more freedom and comfort you infuse into your classroom, the more love for learning  your students will be able to gain.

Teacher/student relationships have proven to have big impacts on how well students learn. When students have a good relationship with their educator, they tend to enjoy being in the classroom and take more accountability for their responsibility to learn/value learning. This is why it is necessary for teachers to understand the difference between school culture and climate, and promote the use of each in their individual classrooms. I believe this knowledge can help educators better support their students and reach objectives.