Melissa Bullen Journal  Entry  #2  

I understand that I will never be able to work in an environment that I control all the time. There will always be things that I would like to change about the education system, but mine are not the only views to consider. I hope that I will always have the courage to stand up and vocalize my beliefs in an effort to improve how students are taught. To that end, I have here six items I would like to see improved upon or changed as I believe they are not in the best interest of the students. 1. Student attendance is a challenge I see affecting students and their performance greatly. There are very few consequences given to students in high school for skipping classes. Also, being late to a class isn’t met with the consequences it should be. This lack of respect worries me greatly as an educator. I have explained to a number of students in my class that at university, they will be on their own and allowed to choose which classes they attend. This freedom can cost them dearly if they abuse their new found privilege and are forced to take classes over again. I hope that I have helped a few students understand that in life we have to do things we don’t always want to and this can include attending classes we don’t love. But it is no excuse to distract or interrupt the learning of students who want to be in class and are keen to advance their own education. As an educator I found it hard to not address this lack of respect for me, the institution and fellow students. 2. Sometimes, I found that the acceptable behavior in some students was far below what I expected to find. There are incessant interruptions in the classroom that are, for the most part, unwarranted. Cell phones and the use of them in class is not only unnecessary but has a negative impact in the classroom. They distract the class unnecessarily and teachers either don’t notice or choose not to address the issue. Another behavior I found disturbing was the failure to complete assigned tasks both at home and in the classroom. The students were not made to take ownership of these behaviors by anyone and I believe this is not a good habit to encourage. Being a teacher is very difficult when the students fail to show respect and no one calls them on their actions. 3. Some parental involvement can be very positive in the life of a student. I found that during parent teacher interviews, it was clear which parents were active in the lives of their children academically and which were not. I also found, however, that there are a great many parents who are quick to blame the teacher and education system for the shortcomings of their child. Instead of taking the approach that we are all involved, the student included, parents assumed that we the teachers were not taking a keen enough interest in the lives of our students. It is a very fine line we must walk in defending our actions and helping the parents understand that at this grade, students must be self-motivated to a certain extent. 4. I had hoped to see teachers display more of an interest in professional development. As a student teacher, I have been very eager to learn from the experiences of my cooperating teacher and other members of staff. I found that a number of meetings were called at the last minute and that staff would show up late to meetings they didn’t feel mattered as much as others. It is hard to align with the school values and their development plan if staff do not know what they are. I look forward to the opportunity to further my own development by attending teacher workshops and meetings put on by the administration. 5. My school does not have a breakfast program. I firmly believe that every school should have a nutritious program available to all students first thing in the morning. Many studies have been done concerning a students ability to learn if they do not have breakfast. Instead of a breakfast program,

Park View sells cookies first thing in the morning. This does not have the nutrition value of a breakfast by any means! I for one would be happy to help develop a breakfast program at a school and track the progress of the school thereafter. I believe that a change in classroom behavior would be noted and an improved learning environment would ensue. 6. There is one school policy that I find very troubling and am wholeheartedly against. At Park View, there is a “No Zero Policy” in place for all assignments given to student. This means that students are not assigned a zero on papers or assignments until the end of term. Many, many students failed to hand in assignments that I gave in class and I was helpless to enforce any kind of consequences. Students are not accountable for their own learning in this model. I found that I spent a lot more time reviewing classes I taught because the learning had not been reinforced after my classes ended. I had worked hard to develop assignments that would help my students but this policy turns them into a waste of time. The parents are not able to track their child’s progress throughout the semester since these marks are entered as an N/A until the final report card. A student could have a very favorable mark in a class only to end up failing when all the zeros are added at the end of the year. This policy is not preparing students for post-secondary education, nor real life and I see it having real consequences in the future. While I am sure none of these challenges are uniquely mine, I do think that they need to be looked at further. I hope that I will find a permanent placement in a school whose values align with my own. I look forward to being a positive influence in the lives of my students and my eventual school as a whole.