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Progressivism focuses on the child rather than the subject matter. The students' interests are important; integrating thinking, feeling, and doing is important. Learners should be active and learn to solve problems by reflecting on their experience. The educational institution should help students develop personal and social values. Because society is always changing, new ideas are important to make the future better than the past. Influential progressivists include John Dewey and Francis Parker.

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"Claudia has made strong relationships with many of the students in my classroom.  They are eager and excited to work with her."

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During my Service-Learning experience I learned that patience is a key component to success.  By working with 7 and 8 year olds, it is clear that they aren't going to understand many things the first time you say it. However, with patience, you will get the students where they need to be. Also, these students were learning things for the first time. I couldn't teach them what a noun was within 5 minutes, it took many days for it to click in their brain. Patience allowed me to connect with the kids and help them learn with success.

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When I'm older I would love to be a teacher. Elementary education would be a profession that I think I would enjoy, but I'm not limiting myself to just elementary. I am also interested in possibly teaching math in middle school or high school. By taking this class I have learned how important it is to be patient. Patience would be an extremely important quality to have if I wanted to become a teacher. I have also learned to be flexible. There are many students in the classroom that have many different needs. As a teacher, you must be flexible to deal with all of the kids.

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I got to work with a student that was not interested in school whatsoever.  He didn't want to research, read, or type in his powerpoint.  But, I got to watch him grow throughout a project I did with him.  I made it a game for him.  He began to look forward to working on his project.  It was a really fulfilling experience.

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"Education is the key to success in life, and teachers make a lasting impact in the lives of other students." - Solomon Ortiz

"Learning in not attained by chance, it must be sought for with ardor and diligence."  - Abigail Adams

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Research

Current Homework Policies Around the Country

Average HW Time (According to University of Phoenix College of Education Survey) http://www.phoenix.edu/news/releases/2014/02/survey-reveals-how-much-homework-k-12-students-are-assigned-why-teachers-deem-it-beneficial.html

5th Grade: 2.9 hours/week

Middle Schoolers: 3.2 hours/week

High School: 3.5 hours/day

17.5 hours/week

Positive Effects of HW

Retain information

Prepares for life after High school , time management, independent learning, problem solving

Negative Effects of HW

Less sleep

Not prepared during the school day: less attentive

Less time to get active (participate in sports, attend fitness classes)

Lose interest in school

More stress and anxiety

Pressure to get a lot done in a little amount of time

Quality of hw will decrease

Cheating/Copying other students

http://www.westada.org/Page/5023

Possible Homework Policies

Rotating hw between main four courses and having no hw for electives

Positives: can focus on one subject and understand the material, students sign up for electives because they are interested in learning and hw takes away interest from the class

Teachers have to limit the amount of hw per night so students don’t get too much in one class

10-15 minutes per main course (math, history, science, language arts)

Positives: be able to retain information from every class, students will be optimistic about finishing hw well because there isn’t that much to do

Lesson Plan

Visual

Google Slide: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1q56F34pwVBN9RmhekwQXlY2GmhoAFqiVowj_aAzd2c8/edit#slide=id.g202111f3bf_0_10

Auditory: Reading the Slides

Kinesthetic: Activities to represent what homework feels like

3 Mini Worksheets with questions

Answer Key

Worksheet #1

1.  8

2.  29

Worksheet #2

See for yourself

For once in my life

Trip around the world

Worksheet #3

Letters Vary

Homework Quiz

1. Number 9

2. Box 1: C, Red ; Box 2: A, Blue ; Box 3: B, Green

3. 38 Letters

How to Modify for Student with Disability

A student that doesn’t come to class:  Make a video of our presentation and post it on schoology

Worksheet #1

Directions:  Simplify each problem

1. 3-2+4-(7 x 3 +5 (8-5 x 3)) +5-8 x 2

1. (8/2+6 x 3)-7+1 (4+4/2-5)-3+8 x 6/3

Worksheet #2

Directions:  Solve each puzzle and record your answer

Answer:                                            Answer:                                         Answer:

Worksheet #3

Directions:  Define each term in your own words

1. Adventurous:

1. Neighborly:

1. Quirky:

1. Cabbage:

1. Ajar:

Homework Quiz

1. On worksheet #1, in problems 1-3, the numbers 1-9 were all used at least once EXCEPT what number? _________

2. On Worksheet #2, What was the order and color of each box? Draw an arrow from a color and puzzle to a blank box.

Green                                            Red                                                Blue

3.  On worksheet #3, If you add the number of letters in all the terms, how many letters were used? ___________

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Dear Ms. Coorough,

My name is Claudia Verkerke.  I am a 17 year old junior at South Campus.  I am very interested in becoming a teacher, and am excited to be involved in an elementary classroom.  I have four other siblings, one older brother and triplets siblings in ninth grade.  I grew up with very mom-like qualities and an interest in kids.  In my free time I enjoy hanging out with family and friends, playing hockey, and doing anything artsy.

Elementary school teachers have one of the largest impacts on a person’s life.  To this day, I live my life based on qualities that my grade school teachers taught me.  My fourth grade teacher had the most impact on me.  She was always smiling, very caring, and was willing to help me whenever I needed it.  She was always pushing me to do my best, and this led me to have such a great work ethic.  I credit a lot of my success to her and all of my other teachers.

I believe all great teachers have a set of basic qualities that allow them to lead a classroom with success.  Some of these characteristics include positivity, dedication, compassion, and patience.  Overall, teachers are leaders.  I have been in leadership roles before, and I have discovered more about myself as a leader.  I am positive, dedicated, compassionate, and patient.  I believe these qualities would help me succeed as a teacher.

By coming into your classroom, I really want to gain an experience working with elementary school children, I hope I will be able to learn more about myself as leader, and I want to connect with younger kids.  This opportunity is very exciting for me because I will get to see what it’s like to be a teacher.  I have had a passion for working with kids ever since I was young, and I will get to experience it first hand.

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Teacher Interview:

Mrs. Monnet

Claudia Verkerke

1. Q: How long have you been teaching?

1.  14 Years.

2. Q: What do you have to do to get/renew your teaching license?

1.  Every 5 year I have to have 125 CU staff developments credits. Then there is tons of paperwork and money to pay.

3. Q: What are some of your duties that I wouldn’t expect a teacher to do?

1.  We don’t just focus on content.  It’s more about a focus on social/life skills and behavior management  in the classroom. Also how much extra time we put in.  And teachers are on a lot of committees.  I run StuCo.

4. Q: Do you ever collaborate with other teachers?

1.  We collaborate about kids every single day.  Not necessarily just science. It’s a never ending cycle of stuff to do.

5. Q: What was your first year like?

1.  Overwhelming.  Broke down once or twice a week in the classroom.  I would lay down and sleep during lunch.

6. Q: What is the salary like?

1.  You will start at mid 30s range and work up the ladder.  It took 10 years for me to work up the ladder.  But it’s important to know that you will work so much more than you will ever get paid.

7. Q: Do you get vacation or sick time?

1.  No vacation time.  Its built into the school year.  I get 10 sick days a year.

8. Q: How is working under a contract different from other jobs?

1.  You can work all these extra hours and not get paid (30 extra hours). No flexibility.

9. Q: How do you feel about students being friends with their teachers on Facebook?

1.  100% disagree with it.  It crosses a line.

10.  Q: What do you think are the 3 top things students need to learn in your class?

1.  Respect, Have a good work ethic, care about education

11.  Q: How do you accomplish those things?

1.  Good sleep, good nutrition, get books to school.  The students have to have the right mindset.

12.  Q: How do you know that you have accomplished teaching those things?

1.  From a teacher's standpoint, looking at how a kid behaves, not a test score.  You want to see the kids happy.

13.  Q: What is the stress level of being a teacher?

1. On a scale of 1-10 its a 9.5.  Get a feel for how you deal with stress.  Can you handle it?  You have to be able to handle it.  Allow a breakdown and then get right back up.

14.  Q: How many hours per week do you work and not get paid for?

1. 30 hours

15.  Q: What do you think are the qualities of a good teacher?

1. Flexibility (with kids and co workers), compassion, understanding, go with the flow, have to have a relationship with kids, have to have them trust you

16.  Q: How often do you get sick?

1. Might call in once or twice a year. It’s really hard to write lessons plans (2 hours to plan)

17.  Q: Do you have a trick for learning students’ names?

1. Take seating charts home and try to find something unique about the kid and connecting it with them.

18.  Q: How do you usually feel at the end of the year?

1. I’m excited for break.  But it is sad saying goodbye to 8th graders.

19.  Q: How do you like to conduct parent/teacher conferences?

1. Totally relaxed. Always start with a positive.  95% all good kids, 5% a struggle.   Always ask parents for advice, what are you doing at home.  It’s important to be very honest with parents.  You need to be strong and make sure you have backup for your opinions.

20.  Q: How do you handle angry parents?

1. Be very honest with them, ask for advice on how to deal with their kid.

21.  Q: Do you ever spend your own money for school items?

1. Most teachers will say hundreds of dollars a year.  It’s gotten better over the years.  I normally spend $100-$500.

22.  Q: Do you get to choose the courses you teach?

1.  Totally depends on what you are interviewed for.  I was interviewed for science.

23.  Q: How many hours a day do you typically work?

1.  I’m contracted 8 hours a day. I teach 5 hours of students.  I get one hour of prep time.  I also have some advisory time and lunch.

24.  Q: What’s the work environment at Friedell?

1.  It is very positive, supportive, and fun, but stressful because it is a small school.  The staff here “wear a lot of hats.”It’s a little more demanding than another regular sized school.

25.  Q: How happy are you with being a teacher.

1. Ecstatic.  I love it. It is a very fulfilling and satisfying job.