Banning Student Teachers From Schools?!

"Tennessee’s new teacher evaluation system has prompted some school districts to ban student teachers from working in core high school subjects, college education officials say. The reason: So much of a teacher’s evaluation is now based on student test scores that some teachers don’t want to cede control of their classroom to a student teacher..." (click here to read the article!)


I read this beginning of an article on banning student teachers from schools and I already know the reason, the amount of  value wrongly placed on test scores. Teachers are so desperately focused on how their students perform on testing. It almost seems a matter of life or death because it may or may not cost them their tenure or their career.


After winning the $500 million reward for participating in the Race to The Top education grant, Tennessee schools are starting to get serious by making tougher teacher evaluations and curriculum changes. Teachers are nervous to lose their careers and are starting to not want student teachers in their classroom in fear that they might damage the student test scores. The fact of the matter is that this is not something just happening in Tennessee, it is starting to form worldwide. If there is not a shift of focus in education, it can and WILL cost people their jobs and cost people their education.


Student teachers and education majors will only learn how to be an effective teacher by experiencing first hand what works and what causes issues. Due to the over-valued and overrated testing is America really going to deny future educators the experience they need to continue EFFECTIVE education?


Testing can have upsides to academic placement and other areas of education. However, it should NOT be the main focus of student AND teacher evaluation. When it comes to a point where citizens who are full heartily committing to a profession are DENIED an opportunity to excel and develop as a professional, then a change HAS to be made.

Lure of the Labyrinth

LURE OF THE LABYRINTH


Lure of the Labyrinth is a mathematical computer game for middle school pre-algebra students. In this game, students draw connections from math to simulated real life experiences. The game also matches to state standards in educations so teachers will love it!

I could see how this could be used in my future classroom. Video-games are a big hit with the youth of America and children will love to do something that is not the normal routine of math lessons. The site goes into detail for educators of how this game meets math standards and discusses the math involved.

I encourage everyone to click on the game title that I listed at the top of this post to go check out the site for themselves!

Music For The Mind

Over the past week in my education courses, the musician Gary Lamb was briefly mentioned and praised for his music that helps children learning in the classroom. I decided that this sounds like something I would like to do in my future classroom and went to research more about Gary Lamb. What I found, I LOVE!

Gary Lamb worked hard to create the Music For The Mind series which is a series of CD's that is meant for classroom use. Each song is approximately 60 beats per minute (BPM). Why use music in the classroom, and why specifically 60 BPM? Research shows that music can help reduce stress, increase cognitive functioning, and improve productivity and creativity. Studies also show that using music that is 60 BPM is most effective because it is the same tempo as a resting heart beat. Using this tempo is what calms us and puts us in that state of relaxed alertness (AKA- what you want in your classroom for your students!).

Each CD in the series serves it's own purpose such as "problem solving," "reading and writing," and "productive flow." Each individual album is ideal for different things and all work together to enhance the learning experience of the students. The total series cost about $70 dollars and it contains 6 albums. However each album can be bought separately for $15. I think this is a GREAT deal! When I get my future classroom, I definitely plan on buying this series. Gary Lamb uses the piano wisely as a way to enhance learning that has been shown to work!

Click Here Check Out Gary Lamb!
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