Writing Circle Review (3)

The writing circle this past Thursday was great.  I was very happy with everyone's ideas for my project.  One idea that Kate gave me I especially liked was the survey.  I think it would be very interesting to ask everyone in our class a few questions about their past to see how they came to be in a catholic school grad program.  I especially wanted to look into what about their high school/undergrad allowed them this opportunity.  That's at least one aspect of my reasearch that I am looking forward to; another thought that the writing circle gave me was to compare my perceptions from high school on what a private education would be like to the reality I experienced at John Carroll.  Some statitics I want to look into are how often Ivy League schools admit private vs public high school students. 

Writing Circle Review 2

It was very interesting during the writing circle to hear everyone's ideas for their research project.  I started to form my idea more solidly during this time as well.  I knew that I wanted to do something related to the history of public and private schools and how their differences could be seen with my own education at a public high school and a private college.  Throughout the writing circle it became clear that I need to narrow down my subject so, although I'm not completely sure which specific topics I want to cover, I know this: I want to talk about catholic schools specifically since my experience was here at John Carroll University, I want to look into the statistics behind public high schools and private high schools to see if there is something behind the idea that more opportunities are available to those who go to a private school, and I also want to potentially look into the structure of the schools whether there is more discipline to private schools or why on average students who attend Catholic schools tend to do better on standardized tests.  Those are just some of my ideas, but I think that by doing some research this week I'll get a better idea of what information is actually out there and what I am most interested in.

Web Log: Public School vs Private School

Yesterday in class we discussed the 'creation' of the public school system in the United States.  This history is fascinating to me particularly because it deals with the struggle of education and religion which are two of the most important things in my life (family being up there as well).  When I was in high school I would always wonder how my education would differ if I had gone to a private and especially a catholic high school.  During our discussion yesterday, I had the opportunity to hear about private school education from people who attended some, and I was very interested in the fact that religion was something that was taught in school.  This would have been a wonderful class to take not as a purely christian religion class, but more as a world/general religion course.  Another aspect we touched on was if private schools really do provide opportunities that public schools can't.  Kate was telling me about someone she knew who went to Hawken for high school then to an aclaimed private school for college, and who now is a professor at Stanford and other Ivy league schools.  I wonder if he would have had those same options if he hadn't attended a private high school.  This discussion has made me think more about having my final research paper focus on the differences both modern and historically between public and private schools.

Writing Circle Post (1)

The first writing circle that we had last Thursday really made me think about what kind of student I was and in turn what kind of teacher I want to be. When I look back over my education I can distictly picture a few teachers that truly impacted the person I am today.  These teachers are the kind of teacher I aspire to become, although I realize that it will take years of experience to get to their level.  Mainly though I want to focus on their style of teaching how it was more laid back, how the students were in charge of their own eduation by being held accountable, and how learning was something everyone in class participated in which in turn made it extremely fun. Over the next few weeks, I plan on exploring specifically what types of activities/teachers I've remembered as being the most influencial to my education in order to help decide what kind of teacher I wish to become.

Class Survey (Web Log 1)

Hey guys my name is Liz Lewis.  Welcome to my blog! I'm originally from Buffalo, New York, but for the past ten years my family and I have been living in Hudson, Ohio.  My email is elewis12@jcu.edu if you ever need to reach me.  Even though I go by Liz my family calls me Elizabeth so I respond to either, but PLEASE don't call me Lizzie I will not respond to that.  I am in the School Based M. Ed program and I'll be teaching Chemistry this fall at St. Ignatius. I love doing new things and going new places; next week I'm going to go rock climbing with some friends.  I've been skydiving, white water rafting, and this past March I was able to go to March for ten days.

My learning style is pretty traditional.  I don't mind being lectured to, but it is nice to have group discussions.  In order for me to take risks in class I need to feel as though the teacher is open to hearing what I have to say even if it doesn't agree with their opinions.  I don't really mind speaking up in class I've always been that kid in class that raises their hand a lot. I have also been the student who bugs the teacher about assignments way in advance because if something is sprung on me last minute I get extremely anxious.  I love to plan out my homework so I know I'll have enough time to do it well.  Towards the end of the class I tend to not do as much of the reading since most of the time that's when projects are due so projects always take precedent over readings when there isn't enough time.  When I can't understand something I have zero fear of asking a teacher/student for help. 

My favorite experience as a student so far (no offense Dr. Shutkin that it wasn't our summer class together...) was in high school.  It was a humanities course that covered: anthropology, philosophy, sociology, and psychology.  The class was so great because everyone was devoted to it since we all had to interview/apply to take the course.  Every day when we would have a discussion everyone would participate; it was so wonderful hearing everyone's opinion and take on the different topics.  One of my biggest concerns for the field of Education is that students don't want to put in the effort to get the grades.  They expect everything to be handed to them and to be so easy.  I've seen it a lot with my fellow students in the past few years especially in group work.  No one is willing to put in any work it's almost as difficult as pulling teeth to have them help with the project.  So for that to translate to education it poses an opportunity for me to try to motivate students in a new way that will make them want to learn and be excited about school.  I think that this course has the opportunity to teach me a lot about not only the history of education, but also how to be a great teacher.  Class discussions over readings are one of the best ways that I learn since it forces me to read the assignment with a more critical view.  I would prefer it if the class avoided big group projects since it is always extremely difficult to coordinate schedules as well as designate work.