Week 5: Learning to Do, Doing to Learn

Read-Aloud

"Black Cat" by Christopher Myers

ISBN: 0 - 590 - 03375 - 1

 

Our first book in poetry form read aloud in class. Asia did a good job emphasizing the rhyme scheme and making everything more dramatic. It was about a homeless black cat that roamed New York at night. So wherever he ended up was his home. It reminded us of how New York is a city that never sleeps and the idea of kids who feel leftout so they avoid social interactions. The graphics were very dark and almost scary. Also, black cats are unlucky and people avoid them, so that may have had a deeper/hidden meaning.

 



Learning Experience

We learned about another theorist and his idea of stages in cognetive development.  We also presented a few of our large books which we had drawn and illustrated some of the reasons that children do not learn too well. It is because their mind and their hearts are focused on other matters such as grievance or divorce or neglect. It can really prohibit a child's learning and teachers have to be ready to help in whatever way they can. I did mine on the latchkey child because i often had to be home alone because of the age difference between me and my siblings. The smallest difference in age is 10 years so even she was off to college when i was headed to the 4th grade. At such a young age, I had to develop independence and I believe that is why i still have such a independent streak in me. I do everything on my own and I don't worry about stressing other people when I'm really the only one that needs to be stressed out.

 

Current Event

 Dozens of children in Louisville, Kentucky were taken to the hospital after their school bus collided with a car and then rolled onto its side. 50 people were taken to four different hospitals, but of the 50 only half actually had injuries. The rest were simply taken as a precaution. There were 3 people of the 50 in the Mustang that collided with the school bus. Apparently rain was falling when the mustang, occupied by three high school students, ran into the bus at an intersection. This accident took place this morning, reports say.

 

Quote of the Week

"Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education." - Martin Luther King Jr.

 

What I got from this quote is that education is so much more than book smarts. Teachers and educators try their best to make their students better people, knowledgable but also able to apply it as well. Being educated does not always mean you simply know all the facts.  Martin Luther King Jr. was a very wise man and he believed that you could make wrong things in life right by using your knowledge and education. He also believed that the reason many things were wrong in life was because people based concepts and beliefs on ignorance. It was the future generations' job to improve this situation, therefore it should be the goal of all teachers. 

 



Reflections

My favorite day this week would have to be Friday when I brought in the doughnuts and we played childhood games. These games included Legos, Phase 10, Operation, and Play-Doh. I was at the table with the Phase 10 cards. I hadn't played the game in a while, but Ms.Benton quickly refreshed my memory on the rules. It was very intense after about 1 round and we never fully finished the game. I was in the lead at one point by a lot, but with that kind of card game that status can easily change. It reminded of how I kind of missed out as a kid with those kinds of activities because all my siblings were much older. I never really had anyone to play many card games with. My siblings and my mom tried their best to play as much as they could, but it wasn't the same as playing with someone my age. I did have a nic collection of games, however, but then we put them in storage and eventually got rid of them.