Food journal reflection

            I found keeping a food and activity journal to be a great assignment! I have always thought of myself as being a relatively healthy eater and someone who lives an active lifestyle, but it was interesting to actually take the time to note everything I ate as well as the exercise that I participated in.

            Being a vegetarian, I make the choice to eat a variety of vegetables, fruits and dairy products on a daily basis. However, because of my decision to be a vegetarian, I know I tend to be lacking in my iron intake. After examining my food journal, I found that this is definitely something I need to work on. Finding ways to incorporate foods into my diet that are high in iron is very important, especially since I’m not getting iron from key sources like red meat. Another area I found that I could improve in is lowering my intake of sweets. Although I don’t eat a lot of greasy, fatty foods, I definitely have a sweet tooth and tend to eat at least one serving of dessert a day. After realizing the amount of sugar I was eating, I set my goal to cut my sugar/sweets intake in half during my second week of keeping my food journal. It was difficult, but I was able to eat dessert every other day rather than every single day. Even something as small as this can prove to be very beneficial to my health!

            I feel that keeping a food and activity journal has great potential for teaching and learning. While students are learning about topics such as nutrition, making smart dietary decisions and the benefits of an active lifestyle, having students examine their own eating and exercise habits can be a powerful tool. Often times, we don’t even realize everything we consume on a daily basis, but if we take the time to really look at the decisions we are making and their health implications, the result can be very influential. By choosing to drink one less soda a day, trying to eat one more serving of fruit, or going outside to play basketball rather than playing videogames, students can make important, healthy changes in their own lives.

Microteaching

I loved the presentation by both microteaching groups today! I felt that both groups succeeded highly in their first stab at teaching a lesson to elementary-age students. During each presentation I felt completely engaged, active in discussion and that I took a great deal away from the presentation overall. I also felt that the groups did a great job of affectively presenting their lesson to their chosen grade-level through the use of appropriate language, terminology, activities, etc. Because my group will be giving a kindergarten lesson next week, the group who gave a first grade lesson today reaffirmed many of the ideas we had for our own lesson, as far as age-appropriateness goes, etc., and I am very excited for next week! :)

Food Labels

I found today’s examination of food labels to be quite interesting. I consider myself to be a fairly healthy person but am realizing that there is always more to learn. With today’s top food producers employing every marketing strategy in their power to persuade consumers to purchase their products, I feel that it is becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish between what is and what isn’t actually “healthy.”

It’s great, however, to think about the influence we as teachers and educators can have on children from an early age, encouraging them to question what is being presented to them in their daily lives and empowering them to make educated, healthy decisions.

Microteaching & first lesson plan

Although it was brief, I had my first introduction to state standards, grade level expectations and sample lesson plans today. As I read about lesson learning objectives and different forms of assessment, I found myself to be a little intimidated and overwhelmed at first - There is just so so much to learn! However, after we split into groups for our first microteaching experience and began narrowing our focus and generating ideas for potential lesson objectives, etc., I felt much more comfortable and at ease. The process of working in small groups to go through the GLE's and bounce ideas off each other was very  helpful and really got us going. I love our group's topic and am very excited to continue planning our first lesson together!

Where I'm From

I am from blonde pigtails,

from bobby pins and braces.

I am from Dad’s overprotection of his little girl.

From mom’s compassion,

kindness and joy,

we are just alike,

she and I.

I am from the Hau Tree

whose long limbs reach over the ocean

gently cradling us

on a warm summer day.

I am from small footprints in the sand,

each finding their own way.

I am from campfires and doughboys,

Evergreens and rain.

From old sneakers and wet pavement.

I am from sunrises and sunsets,

appreciate beauty

and live life with no regrets.

I am from best friends

forever treasured,

always there for each another

pain or pleasure.

I am from life’s not about what’s better than,

from Nanu and Pops.

I am from Swedish pancakes,

French music and warm cups of tea.

I am from old scrapbooks and photo albums,

a new bud on the family tree.

Jenny Farrington's Photo Story

Self-Reflection

In order to become a truly effective teacher, we must engage in continual self-reflection. Through our reflections, we are able to recognize our own strengths, uncover weaknesses and find ways to improve. Because of the awesome power a teacher holds in the classroom, in a sense, we decide who succeeds and who fails and have the potential to greatly influence a child’s thinking and future.  The process of self-reflection allows us to examine our own thinking, teaching practice, and the messages we may be sending to our students, intentionally or unintentionally. We must continually be evaluating how we act, how we think and why we think the way we do. Through the use of helpful tools such as journaling, blogging, keeping a diary, talking with colleagues, teacher support groups and note-taking, we can find effective ways to critique our practice, discover weaknesses and biases in ourselves and find ways to improve.

I feel that I have grown so much in my professional development over the course of this initial quarter. Through our readings, asking questions, a variety of forms of self-reflection, critical thinking, and active in-class discussions about relevant issues in education, I feel that I have broadened my views and expanded my knowledge surrounding education and what it takes to be a great teacher significantly. I hope to continue my journaling and self-reflection throughout our program and never stop questioning what I’m doing, how I’m doing it and why I’m doing it.

Teaching is traveling

            Teaching is traveling. As a teacher, it is so important to truly get to know your students and be able to answer questions about individuals like: Who is this child? Where do you come from? What is your family life like? How do you learn best? What are your strengths, your aspirations? What inspires you? What do you fear? You must strive to identify with and understand them.

When you travel, you immerse yourself in new cultures. You learn all there is to know about how people live, their communication style, food, religion, their values and beliefs. Through this quest for knowledge and understanding, you are able to gain a sense of relatedness and connectedness with people who may be significantly different from you. This also nourishes a sense of respect and a belief that we need to embrace our differences. When we pause to consider where someone else comes from and what makes them who they are, we are able to put ourselves in their shoes and empathize with them. This is what we must do as teachers. In order to have the greatest positive impact in the lives of our students, we must truly and sincerely understand them. We must also strive to foster the idea of empathizing with others and embracing our differences in our students as well.

I also like to think of the metaphor, teaching is traveling, as it relates to the journey a teacher and her students have together over the course of the school year. Before you begin any trip, you must first decide where it is you wish to visit. What interests you about this particular place? Why do you want to visit? How are you going to get there? And perhaps most importantly, what do you hope to get out of this trip? The process of planning a trip is very similar to that of beginning a school year with a classroom full of new students. Forming a community and finding commonalities in what we all hope to learn over the course of the year together are important first steps in establishing goals and creating a positive learning environment where everyone will thrive. We also must answer, how are we going to get there together and what can each of us do to ensure that? Having students reflect on their own learning and what they hope to take away from their school year enables them to feel as though they are an important part of planning our journey together.