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I believe being a teacher-activist is...

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I believe being a teacher-activist is...

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doing everything in the classroom and in school for the students that you interact with everyday, and even the ones that are just in the same building. They are the reasons we are there and they should be reminded of that all of the time. Being a teacher activist notices the obvious but also what may lie deeper in our students and helping bring those things to the surface level by creating environments for relationships to form and for students to share their home lives in the classroom. I also believe that it involves acknowledging what works well and what needs to change, even if it isn't always the most popular opinion. "Professionalism as activism recognizes that we enter our role as teachers in a democratic society with a set of commitments and responsibilities to advocate for children and for ourselves as educators. That means we must speak against policies and leadership decisions that undermine our work and devalue our expertise about children and learning." (Activism is Good Teaching, Crawford-Garrett, Perez, Sanchez, Short, & Tyson) As we've talked about in class before, the people in charge of making the decisions for the students in regards to curriculum and assessments aren't always the best pick because they don't have the experience that we would want, or if they do it's from a different time period when things were much different. That's why it's our responsibility to make sure that we have the students best interest at heart and that we actually make sure to do what's needed for those things to happen.

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recognizing the strengths and abilities of everyone involved in a group and using those strengths respectively to reach a common goal or to complete a project. It should be a priority to also recognize that every student brings different  pieces of knowledge to this process as well and we need to make sure to welcome all of this information. For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood... and the Rest of Y'all Too talks about the idea of using cogens in the classroom. "Cogens are simple conversations between the teacher and their students with a goal of co-creating/generating plans of action for improving the classroom." (Emdin, 65) Later on in the chapter, he goes on to discuss that the selection of the members of the cogen should be diverse and representative of the classroom rather than a homogenous group that will share similar ideas and opinions. This in itself is an example of collaboration because even if we don't want to admit it, students often have very good ideas and changes that they want made in the classroom that we would never think of. As we incorporate them into this process, we are collaborating with our students to have an effect classroom.

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one of the most important things to prioritize in the classroom. Having a sense of community in the classroom is a great thing because it helps the students build relationships and allows them to feel more comfortable as they learn. I also thing that incorporating family in the classroom can help students feel comfortable as well as they are given the opportunity to share their learning with the family, teach their peers about their family, and welcome their parents in to feel like they are a part of the learning process. "They don't see the deep connections that exist between urban experience and school performance; many more have come to view school as a discrete space, as if what happens outside school has little to no impact on what happens inside school. (For White Folks That Teach in the Hood ...and the  Rest of Y'all Too,  20) This really stuck out to me because we need to acknowledge the reality of the lives that our students live and we need to be willing to create spaces where our students can talk about these things freely whether they are good or bad. Students should be encouraged to interact with their peers and (hopefully) make connections with each other to help build those relationships.

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I believe my students learn best when I...

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I believe my students learn best when I...

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position them as the priority in the classroom. I, as the teacher, have a responsibility to make sure that ALL students are succeeding and learning no matter what it takes to make sure that these things are happening. Most, but not all, teachers take their students learning personally in my opinion. By this, I mean that they are devoted and willing to do whatever is necessary to help their students. One of the biggest things that teachers should do is to create a welcoming community in their classrooms so their students always feel like they can share, work, and succeed even when they don't have the direct help from you but are maybe instead working with their peers. "Professionalism as activism, then, is characterized by action to defend and promote meaningful instruction and collaboration among teachers, action to inform families about current reform initiatives and their rights, and action as protesters against unsound policies that compromise the integrity of teaching and learning in our public schools." (Activism is Good Teaching, Crawford-Garrett, Perez, Sanchez, Short, & Tyson) This quote really aligns with my statement of students being put first because not everything that is proposed for teachers to do or teach is in the best interest for students. As their teachers, we need to advocate for what will be better for them in the long run. With this, my students learn best when I take what I know about them and utilize it when preparing for classes.

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I believe students learn best when they…

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I believe students learn best when they…

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are given all of the resources and attention that they need. It's also very important to know the way that students learn best. What works for one child might not work for another, so we need to be aware of this and be flexible with our lessons to make sure that every student is given the opportunity to be successful. My personal opinion is that students also learn best when they are learning hands on, rather than doing pointless and repetitive worksheets that don't engage them whatsoever. "Equality of opportunity means that all members of a society are given equal chances to pursue wealth and enter any occupation or social class." (American Education, 69) This is actually not true because while students may be given "equal" opportunities, they aren't given equal opportunities in their futures after high school. The idea of equality sounds really nice and looks good on paper, but it's only beneficial for those that came up with the idea. It actually hurts the students because they aren't given what they need to be successful.

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I believe all of my future students are...

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I believe all of my future students are...

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the priority in the classroom and everything that we do should be done for them. In addition to that, I already believe that they are all capable of great things as long as I can help them learn and grow. We've talked countless times about how every student of ours will be different, and not just in the sense of education. We will have students of different ethnicities, religions, families, etc. All of my students will be unique in their own way; they will all have different needs and it will be my responsibility to know what those needs are and to do what it takes to let the students know that I am there for them. Also, we need to know what works for a student and what doesn't. We should know their strengths and weaknesses. "When students of color fail to comply, the teachers find them unlovable, problematic, and difficult to honor or embrace without equivocation." (Toward a Conception of Culturally Responsive Classroom Management, 26) This really stood out to me because I've seen in happen in various classrooms. Students don't always act out just because they decided to behave poorly that day. It's a cry for help and attention. I want my students to know that they don't have to do that for me to know they need something from or of me. While some students do act out because of meanness, those students too need just as much attention, if not more. Every student deserves the encouragement, positivity, and care from us, even if that means giving a little extra to certain students as needed.

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I believe the purpose of schooling is...

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I believe the purpose of schooling is...

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a door to countless opportunities to all children, especially those that may not have access to these opportunities outside of school. Schooling is a way to prepare children for their futures, whether that is going to college after graduation, finding a job in a trade, or pursuing different talents and dreams. As teachers we are given a chance to interact with students and help shape them into the adults that they will eventually become. Sometimes, without realizing it, we build strong relationships that often positively impact our students when they need it the most. While it is assumed that the most important aspect of schooling is the actual education part, it's also very important to take the time to get to know about our students so we are knowledgeable and are able to give them what they need. “All children need stimulation, protection, and sustained support to develop and prepare for successful adulthood. Ideally, this happens in the family and community, with the schools providing further opportunities for growth." “School is
the only organization where a relationship between meaningful people and children can take place on an ongoing basis and compensate for the difficult conditions that interfered with the growth of many.” (Cradle to Prison Pipeline, 131) This quote really stuck out to me because there will be countless situations that our students don't have somebody at home that they are able to talk to about things or somebody that can act as a positive influence on them. We need to keep this in mind as we may end up taking on this role in our future classrooms. The purpose of schooling is to teach and prepare the students for a variety of different situations during their lifetimes.

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is a work of art, and never truly finished or mastered. Teaching (an entire classroom) is something that takes a special person that is willing to do everything in their power and everything that it takes to help children grow and succeed. It's not something that can happen in the blink of an eye nor at the snap of a finger and those that are meant to be teachers understand and acknowledge this. Teaching is something that everyone can take a stab at and will eventually do some day: students teach us everyday even if we don't realize it; students teach their peers in very nonchalant ways and help them understand things that teachers can't always help them to understand. Teaching should be focused on the needs of the students and their feedback opposed to what we may think of as important. Each student is different and has a different learning style. If a student needs extra time on a certain topic, then that's what we should be focused on rather than moving on to keep up with our schedule. "It is sometimes difficult to teach anti-bias and tolerance curricula and schools are becoming more segregated." (American Education, Spring 193) Teaching should be done from a neutral standpoint where we are allowing our students to create their own opinions and see the world for themselves rather than pushing our own views and beliefs on to them. Teaching should be an opportunity for us to learn about our students as we are helping them.

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should be an opportunity that every student is given no matter what race, social class, or anything label that they are given. I believe that learning is possible for every student, even if they need a little extra help or attention. Students shouldn't be grouped and labeled by their performance level on placement tests. While this may be beneficial for some teachers in some classrooms, I believe that students should intermingle with their peers of various levels. Doing this allows students to learn from their peers a topic that we, educators, may not be able to make clear enough for some students to understand. With this, our students are building their hard and soft skills - hard skills as they learn new things and soft skills as they communicate and interact with their peers to learn these new topics. "In this context, equality of opportunity means that all members of a society are given equal chances to pursue wealth and enter any occupation or social class." (American Education, Spring, 69) If we continue to group students based on test scores that don't highlight their actual skills and knowledge, then we are limiting them and hindering their capabilities of being an active member in society later in their lives. "Simply defined, social reproduction means that the schools reproduce the social class structure of society." (Spring, 87) If we see our students only for what their economic and social statuses are, then we will be completely guilty for social reproduction. With all of this being said, I believe that learning opens new doors for students who may not have the opportunities given to them without their education.

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I believe my responsibilities as a teacher are...

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I believe my responsibilities as a teacher are...

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As a teacher, I think my job is the create an environment for my students to see themselves as scientists, mathematicians, artists, historians, and everything else that they wish. It is very important that they know and feel that they are capable of whatever they set their minds to. With the position of being a teacher, we should be there to guide our students and nudge them in certain directions rather than feed them information and expect them to memorize it. We should provide them scenarios in which they can discover and create new information and knowledge for themselves. When looking at the big picture, we must take into consideration a child's previous knowledge, experiences, and their interests to help them make the most of their education. Ideally, we are setting them up for their future in higher education and then further in their careers and work environments. "Simply defined, socialization refers to what students learn from following school rules, interacting with other students, and participating in school social events. Socialization can be contrasted with academic learning, which refers to classroom instruction, textbooks, and other forms of formal teaching." (American Education, Spring, 15) Students, as well as teachers, can greatly benefit from both of these. Socialization can be connected to soft skills which "refer to character traits traits that will help the worker succeed in the workplace. (Spring, 102) Academic learning is closely related to hard skills which "refer to such things as literacy instruction and numeracy along with specific job skills." (Spring, 102) Both types of skills and interactions are essential if we want our students to be successful.