Professional Organizations

National Education Association (NEA) http://www.nea.org/
Association of American Educators (AAE) http://www.aaeteachers.org/
American Federation of Teachers (AFT) http://www.aft.org/
International Reading Association (IRA) http://www.reading.org/
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) http://www.iste.org/
National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) http://www.ncte.org/
Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE) http://www.aace.org/
Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) http://www.aect.org/
American Library Association (ALA) http://www.ala.org/
Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) http://www.ascd.org/
Parent Teacher Association (PTA) http://www.pta.org/
United Federation of Teachers (UFT) http://www.uft.org/
Society for Information Technology & Teacher Education (SITE) http://site.aace.org/
Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) http://www.cec.sped.org/
Achieve http://www.achieve.org/
American Educational Research Association (AERA) http://www.aera.net/
Consortium for School Networking (CoSN) http://www.cosn.org/
Education Commission of the States (ECS) http://www.ecs.org/
National Staff Development Council (NSDC) http://www.nsdc.org/
Association of Computer Technology Educators of Maine (ACTEM) http://www.actem.org/

Things I Need to Know

I read about four important things that UMF Secondary Education majors should know.

• In order to be a Secondary Education major, all students must pass all three parts of the Praxis I test

This affected me because I needed to take the Praxis I back in January, which is stressful, but I passed, so now I am all set.  I will also need to take the Praxis II for my content, but that is not required for Practicum.

• Students who wish to transfer into the Secondary/Middle Education major must have a GPA of 2.5 or better, must have passed the Praxis I tests, and must have a minimum grade of a C in an English Composition class

Although I am already in the Secondary Education major, it is good to know what requirements I would have been expected to meet if I were to transfer into the major.

• The Practicum block takes up a lot of time, and only one additional course may be taken at the same time as Practicum.  To qualify for Practicum, one must be a Secondary Education major, must have a GPA of 2.0, must have passed all three Praxis I tests, must have a grade of a C or better in ENG 100, as well as EDU 101 and SED 101

I need to know all of this because I will be taking Practicum in the Spring of 2011.  Because I tested out of ENG 100, I do not have to worry about that grade, nor do I need to take another class at the same time as Practicum.  I have already passed all three Praxis I tests, and received a grade higher than a C in SED 101, so those requirements have been met already.  I will need to make sure that I can keep my GPA above a 2.0, though I'm not particularly worried about it at this point in time.  I also need to make sure that I pass EDU 101 with a minimum grade of a C, again, something I'm not too worried about but will keep in the back of my mind.

• There are laptop requirements for all Secondary Education majors taking Practicum

Because I did not purchase my laptop through UMF, I will need to make sure that my laptop meets the software and hardware requirements prior to taking EDU 221.  If my laptop does not meet the requirements I will either need to purchase a new laptop or perform whatever upgrades are necessary to ensure that my laptop is suitable.

Chapter 3: Families and Communities

Effective, positive, and encouraging partnerships between teachers and parents or guardians can improve the learning of students by creating a greater interest in for the students.  Parents and teachers often have differing opinions on the level of education taught in the classroom, and through communication, conferences, and parent involvement parents and teachers work together to provide the best education for the students.  Open lines of communication between parents and teachers, communication beyond the annual parent-teacher conference, encourages more parent involvement in the classroom.  When students see their parents taking an interest in their learning, they become more engaged in their own learning and benefit greatly from this.  Studies have shown that "Family involvement is related to better grades, higher test scores, better attendance, and fewer behavioral problems" (qtd. in Hall 120). By having a better understanding of what is going on in their child's classroom, parents are able to effectively assist their child with homework, study habits, participation, and overall engagement with learning.

Chapter 2: Today's Students

In The Joy of Teaching: Making a Difference in Student Learning, Gene Hall discusses the effects of gender on today's students, looking at the perspective for both boys and girls.  Hall explains that the beginning of the differences between girls and boys is in the brain, with females preferring activities associated with the left hemisphere of the brain, such as reading and writing, while males prefer the right hemisphere of the brain, which controls mathematics and science.  As Hall explains, this difference in the brain activity of males and females affects not only their particular strengths in school, but also their process of thought and the way that girls and boys learn best.  Hall concludes the section about gender by describing society’s and culture’s influences on gender, such as the many stereotypes surrounding boys and girls and creating false ideas about what is required of each gender.

Chapter 1: Becoming a Teacher

Joyful

• Teaching is being placed first over more traditional professions such as doctors, nurses, and lawyers

The fact that teaching is finally being recognized as a profession makes wanting to become a teacher more realistic and worthwhile.  Teachers work just as hard as any other professionals do to ensure that they are doing their job and they deserve the same recognition as every other profession.

• “Parents believe that teachers make a difference in their children’s lives, especially when it comes to learning” (9)

Parents are perhaps the most influential people in a child’s life and they contribute to developing their child’s attitude toward school.  If parents believe in teachers, then they can bring their children to believe in teachers and motivate them to value their learning.

• “One of the most joyful aspects of teaching is to see students achieve at high levels” (8)

Seeing students learn and improve is the most rewarding part of working with students and is one of the main reasons I want to teach.  I enjoy seeing students prosper and look forward to seeing many more students excel in their learning.

Not So Joyful

• “Most teachers have limited access to an office, telephone, computer, and a secretary” (10)

The lack of support, funds, and other necessities that teachers deal with on a regular basis frustrates me.  Teachers are expected to do so much for their students, yet they are given none of the essentials that they need to do so.  We cannot expect teachers to do all of these things when we do not give them what they need to do it.

• “Teachers between 22 and 28 years old earned an average $7,894 less in 1998 than other college-educated adults of the same age” (17)

Although most teachers do not join the profession because of the salary, it is still disheartening to know that they are not valued like other professionals.  Education is fortunate to have teachers willing to work for much less than they are worth, and without these teachers, there would be no one to teach our children.

• The various tests that must be taken and passed in order to become a highly qualified teacher

The number of tests and requirements that those becoming teachers and new teachers must pass is overwhelming and even scary.  I do not like how different the states are with these tests either; they vary so much from one state to another that moving to a different state to teach could cost your entire college education and any teaching experience you have just because the two states do not align.