Characteristic Post #2

Characteristic 10: Be Liberally Educated. Each semester I take several classes outside of the Benedum program. Many of the extra classes that I take are usually dance classes. These dance classes can be very helpful for teachers because they can be easily integrated into the classroom in all different subjects and for all different grade levels. The African Music and Dance ensemble class is a wonderful class to take for teachers. It not only teaches you music and dance fro other countries and cultures but it also teaches you about other cultures and what they believe. This is a great way to fulfill the standards on diversity and culture because I could teach them a dance and about that culture. I have used a lot of what I have learned in this class at my PDS with my students. Many students love learning through movement and hands on activities so having this in my background has been very useful. There are several other classes that are very helpful such as reading classes and CHPR. In our CHPR class we created a full unit plan which is also a great resource for us to have. Characteristic 4: Be a facilitator of learning for all students. Being a facilitator of learning for all students is a very important characteristic to have. There are several ways you can fulfill this such as literacy work stations, differentiated lesson plans, learner profiles and even seating/classroom arrangements. The classroom that I am currently placed in has several special needs students. We must be able to accommodate for all of the students and one way that we do this is through seating arrangements. I have one student that is hearing impaired and has behavioral problems in the classroom that I am placed with this semester. In order for him to get the best education possible we must cater to his needs. One way we do so is through seating arrangements. We must be sure that he is always at the front of the classroom so he can hear the teacher and we must always be sure he is placed around students that will not distract him or cause him to misbehave. It is crucial that we do this for him through out the day because it will really effect his learning negatively if we don’t. The classroom arrangement is just as important. In order for all of the students to have the opportunity to learn as much as they can the teachers must know a little bit about them and how they learn and what distracts them. For example, some students can not be placed near windows because they will constantly be distracted and looking out the windows.