EDF2085 Reflection#2

“Transformation: A Beginning” really impacted me, especially all the personal testimonies. I really do believe people can transform if they try and put effort. Sometimes it is a huge transformation and others a small one, but it makes a huge difference. We are able to transform our lives by making these changes to become better people. Everyone has flaws but we all have to work together as a community to deal with the problems and flaws. We are all humans and were made equally to make mistakes, we have to help one another to fix them and influence others while doing so. The perfect example of transformation just as said in the article is the cycle of the butterfly because in none of the stages does it look exactly how it did in the previous. It makes me happy to see that when people really set their minds on something they do it and they change what they have to in order to accomplish that goal. Just like the man in the AA, he struggled but he finally realized that alcohol was doing harm to his life, and once he removed it he realized this. It is never to late to transform or change something you want to make for the better. In “Transformation: Creating Context: Part 1” I felt truly touched by Frank’s story. It is so sad that he was speaking of himself all along, was killed practically because of rejection from his own parents because they weren’t being understanding and open hearted. There are so many people like this nowadays that are shallow and don’t look deep down on the inside. I have always been taught by my parents, and since prek-4 to treat everyone equally regardless how they look, act, dress, or hang out with. We have to look beyond that, and it is what is inside that truly counts. Loving others unconditionally is what it is all about. Everyone should be proud of who they are and the shell they are in, and if not they shouldn’t bring others down with them. This is why so many people behave and react the way they do, because they grew up with no support and low self esteem. No one knows what anyone goes through in their everyday lives, especially at home, so you should always have compassion and consideration with others and think of them as yourself. Putting yourself in that persons shoes is the best advice and it is something I live by. I always ask myself this before I do or say something to another

EDF2085 Reflection #1

From reading “The Prehistoric Human Use of Fire” I have learned that even the first creatures began to use fire for all types of things not only cooking. They made the paint for their art with fire, stayed warm, and even made pottery. When other animals would burn, different types of creatures would come and eat certain remains. Also, because of their invention of fire we are able to date back to million years ago and have some evidence of the past. It is unbelievable how the “Invention of the Wheel” has taken us through different phases of life improving the way we live. The wheel really is an important invention made in the past that no one takes to time to admire, because without it we would have to be walking everywhere and carrying heavy loads all day. The invention of the wheel really makes it easier for us and improves our commerce and economy; we have gained more because of this invention. The “Invention of Writing” all began with pictures, which was the way people used to communicate. It’s incredible how they would paint on their cave walls which is how they would tell stories or events that were happening. Of course, everything has progressed and improved which is why we now use an alphabet with letters that each have a different sound. Although Egypt did start with the development of the alphabet where each picture, or symbol represented a vowel. I believe as a pre-teaching intern I am being asked to read this material because everything we have and do in our lives has a foundation. Now in the present, we have learned from the people in the past which is why we have such an advanced technology and form of writing and language. Everything has a beginning, and we learn from it to make the final result even better than the first one. It is important to know where language came from and how it was first started because it explains a lot, also how we transport from one place to another, and how fire started and was used as a fundamental of living besides cooking. These readings showed us that everything develops over time, including students themselves. Students learn what we teach them but over the years the more you teach and inspire them, the more knowledgeable they will become. It’s like the more experience you have with something, the better you become at it over the years. I believe it was great to have insight of this because it shows the different developments throughout the years.

EDF1005-Reflection#2

A paradigm is how we see things differently through various perspectives, and also reality. Almost everything that surrounds us today and that we believe in is influenced by what we were taught when we grew up, which is called paradigms. For example, since I was a child I have attended Catholic/ private schools, hence the believes of the Church, Ten Commandments, and the way to live out my life is everything that I know, and everything else isn’t wrong but to me it’s not the right way of doing it for me. I live my life by these beliefs and frameworks of paradigms. All of this is what I have learned and grew up learning with, so to me its always been the right way of being or seeing life. I don’t know how many things I would consider right or wrong if I were to think for myself what I truly believe, not what everyone has persuaded me or influenced me to think. In today’s society we are taught that being pretty means having long hair or being tall, but this is wrong. All this is what society makes us think. There is no wrong or right answer everyone is themselves and has the right to their own opinion, not everyone has to be like the person next to them. The only way to replace the paradigms we have and the “lens” we see things in is by replacing them with new ones. We have to make sure it’s the right thing, and if we really want change we have to focus and put our mind to it to make it happen. Everything we do has changed tremendously because of the new tools, and inventions we have today that have been created. The earliest man began to use fire for spiritual gatherings and to heat up food, and as the years went by people found more use for these tools. As we look at all these things from the past until today, we realize it must have been difficult through their paradigms making use of these things because they weren‘t open to experiences. As the years went by they learned to communicate with each other and share knowledge and learn from their experiences whether they had good or bad results. Writing helped define culture and helped man become more modernized into the city. The world around us is constantly changing, which helps us build experiences through our mistakes, and all this in the end helps us see paradigms in a different way for each of us.

EDF1005-Reflection #1

Teachers in colonial times didn’t need much preparation at all, most of them didn’t even have secondary education. Unlike today there wasn’t any requirements. Many of the teachers were servants paying for their immigration to the Americas. At the time it wasn’t seen as a career as it is now and no teaching skills were even required. Nowadays you attend a teachers experience program which later follows minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree in a secondary college. Teachers in the 1920s were seen as role models. Teachers could not be seen with any male, smoke, drink, wear makeup, not show any skin and always be covered up. If these were the rules today I don’t think anyone would consider teaching because its not realistic. Things change so much throughout the years and we advance more and more at an earlier age. This teaching contract was completely absurd if you compare it to the present. In the 1800s they developed something called normal school which trained elementary graduates with skills for teaching; this is what started everything for teachers. Another normal school was later established by Horace Mann which provided academic subjects for the teacher training program. As the years went by the level of education for teachers finally progressed and programs and schools began to advance for education. In the 1990s the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards was created to give credit to the excellent teachers who proved their knowledge and experience through their teaching skills. The NBPT created something for high competent teachers which would be considered “board certified”, which was like a teaching license. A new program was made called Teach For America which trains new teachers with no experience in challenging classrooms. But, its become controversial because some critics argue that it takes more to teach in a classroom, it requires career preparation. Many of the teachers in this program become outstanding teachers and there’s more of color in this program than any other teaching program. I believe career preparation should be required for this career not on hands on classroom experience because sometimes you need a little more than actual experience in a classroom, you should have the concrete background.

My name is Natalie Garcia. I am an education major for elementary students. I love little kids and believe I have alot of patience to become a great teacher one day. I don't think I can ever become a teacher for High School or College because the students are disrespectful and don't give authority to the teacher. Ever since I was young I have always wanted to become a teacher. I am one out of four siblings, me being the oldest. I have learned alot along the way, especially to always set a good example for them. I am nineteen years old and graduated High School two years ago and hope to earn my degree as soon as I can so I can have a career. I have always been a good student and been very responsible and organized which are good qualities for a teacher.

Becoming a teacher has great rewards towards it because you can make a difference in a child's life every day and it also has great hours if you have a family. The children learn to love you unconditionally, and you become almost like a second parent to them. You build a relationship with them that they will keep forever. It makes me feel good to be able to shape someones life and help them become a successful person in the future. My mother was a teacher and I see how happy she was when she would change a child's life and I realized I wanted to do the same thing. She taught Prek-4 and I would go and visit and I loved it. In the future I plan to receive my AA degree here in Miami Dade and then transfer to FIU to earn my Bachelor's Degree in Education. I'm still not sure what I want to specialize in but I do know I want to deal with young children.