Reflection #4

A.      Stereo-typing is something that one may not think is an issue in a classroom, but in all honesty, it is something that is far too prevalent in our education system today. One stereotype I recognize is judging a kid by the clothes he or she wears on a regular basis. By associating quality of clothing to a student’s attitude or potential in our class is something that can inhibit giving a child a chance. Another form of stereotyping that absolutely infuriates me deals with inclusion. I believe every student, regardless of race, ethnicity, or mental capacity has to potential to achieve greatness. Far too often I have witnessed teachers treat these students as if no matter how hard you try they are unreachable unless they are spoon-fed everything. Now this is not to say that these students do not need extra assistance or even some sort of differentiation in their forms of assessment, however one thing I believe we as an educational community need to ask ourselves is: If these students were never told they had a learning disability, or were never told they were at a disadvantage due to something beyond their means, would they know any different?

B.      So I’ll go ahead and hop off my soap box, but I believe that we have to believe there is potential to succeed in every student, rather than just seeing they have a file and assuming they will not succeed. My students have recognized that I have very high expectations and that I want them to give me their best effort in everything they do. There have been many occasions where students have asked me, “Mr. Brietzke, is this good?” I simply look at them and reply, “If that is the absolute best you can do, then that is good for me.” 

No Child left behind looks very good on paper and has very good intentions. Ultimately, it is extremely hard to say that every student in the school will be able to pass the standards. The demands for No Child Left Behind are extremely high and almost impossible for every school to obtain. My goal is to try my hardest and teach in as many different ways as possible so that the majority of my students will benefit from my teaching. In all reality though, it is extremely hard to say that every single student will be at a 100 percent reading and math. It is said that, “More and more schools-many of them good or at least improving- are being labeled failures.” We should be commending these schools for improving and making a conscious effort for these students. The goal is just unrealistic.

Now, I mentioned earlier that I will strive to meet the needs of all students. This goal will be met by providing a variety of different methods of teaching. There will be group work, hands on activities, side notes, lectures and use of technology. Ultimately, I hope to reach the needs of all of my students with these type of learning environments.  I have had some experience with inclusion and it has seemed have a positive outcome.  The students in my class went out of their way to include the special needs student. He was made some improvements in reading the material provided and has a positive attitude in whatever he does.

13, August. "Fixing No Child Left Behind." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 13 Aug. 2011. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.

Success Journal

1. Hunter Brietzke ‏@hbrietzke10  Feb 28

   Getting the wonderful opportunity to look at baby calves for the student's next year show projects! #edsuccess @mrtechyteach

    from Brady, TX

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2. Hunter Brietzke ‏@hbrietzke10  Feb 27

   My livestock kids have been struggling with the exam all semester, but today it's as they finally figured it out! #edsuccess @mrtechyteach

    from Hondo, TX

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3. Hunter Brietzke ‏@hbrietzke10  Feb 26

   My cooperating teacher gave me the reins for every class! #edsuccess @mrtechyteach

    from Hondo, TX

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4. Hunter Brietzke ‏@hbrietzke10  Feb 25

   Today I was able to help a student realize that coming to class is important, and that speech class is fun! #edsuccess @mrtechyteach

    from Hondo, TX

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5. Hunter Brietzke ‏@hbrietzke10  Feb 24

   Today I was told by my supervising teacher that I reached a student that very few ever have! @mrtechyteach #edsuccess

All in all, I had some great successes this week in the classroom. I was able to get a student to take ownership of not only his education, but also the entire classroom's education. I was able to get him to work the computer when we made a class PowerPoint presentation, and let the rest of the students "coach" him through it. After seeing this, my cooperating teacher said I was ready to take over all the classes of the day! Finally towards the end of the week I was able to travel with my cooperating teacher to look at baby calves in hopes to buy a few for our student's next year show projects.

One area I would like to become more successful in is having the same passion for teaching each class throughout the day, I extremely enjoy my classes before lunch. The kids are great, and participate, which makes it fun for me. My classes after lunch however are a much different story. The students are almost the opposite of the morning classes and are some of the most disrespectful kids I have ever met. Nonetheless, I just keep calm and educate on. I'm loving this thing we call teaching!

Reflection #2

Chapter 14 Response

When you open a book, you open a child’s mind. Often, we as educators limit our students to only chapter or multiple choice tests. We must ask ourselves, “Are we truly giving this child every possible opportunity to think abstractly and expand their thinking abilities?” As we read in the poem, what our students learn from a certain text is not always all there is to know about a certain subject. For instance, when I read about the temperatures and their extremes, along with the fact that daylight is only a dream, those few lines truly reached me. I can recall from a personal quest that for days on in Alaska’s sun makes it quite impossible to rest. So we as educators must do our best to stray away from the traditional chapter or multiple choice tests. In doing this, we can truly give our students every chance to achieve their absolute best.

Assessment Reflection

i. Throughout my student teaching, I have been able to use many forms of formative assessment due to the fact I am in an Agriculture Science classroom. The types I use the most frequently are class discussions, group activities, and in-class assignments. I use class discussion most frequently in both my professional communication class, as well my livestock evaluation course. These work very well because it allows my students to bounce ideas off of each other, as well as giving me a chance to see just where my students are.

ii. When it comes to summative assessment my PROCOMM class, I use presentations to assess my students. With my livestock kids I get the very special opportunity to use contests that involve kids around the state of Texas to asses my kids. Just this semester we will attend 14 different contests across the state!

iii. I believe that it is important to use a combination of both formative and summative assessment simply because it gives students the ability to succeed. By administering formative assessment on a daily basis we give a student many opportunities to grasp a concept, and by using summative, we allow them to take what they learned and have success. When a student gets a taste of success it’s like the floodgates open and they reach out for more and more every day.

iv. By the end of the semester, I plan to have my PROCOMM students participate in debates, as well as give a mock interview. For my livestock evaluation team, I would like to give them a project that I know they can achieve, and that project is to win the state championship this year so we have a chance to compete at the national level!   

Reflection #1: Introduction

Hello! My name is Hunter Brietzke, and I have the amazing opportunity to student teach this semester! I am teaching Ag Science in the 8-12th grades. I have been placed at Hondo High School in Hondo, Texas. Following my graduation, I would really like to return to my hometown of Marion and teach at Marion High School. 

We all know that there are many roles, and hats a teacher must wear, but I believe that the top three roles of a teacher are role model, educator, and enforcer. 

Firstly, I think that we wear the hat of role model more than any other. Sure, we are teachers but we have an influence on our students that sticks with our students. Our students look up to us as elders, and model citizens and we have to be sure that we do not taint this image. Knowing this, we have to always be sure to be someone that we want our youth to grow up to be like. 

Next, we are educators. Our students come to our classes and resemble a blank canvas and it is our job to make sure they leave our classes everyday with a new part of the masterpiece complete. If we can build upon this painting everyday, there is no reason that our students will leave our classes incomplete. We teach a certain content area for a reason, because it is something that we love, so if we can share this passion with our students it will more than likely rub off on them. Ultimately, making these students more willing to come to class everyday and want to learn and grow. 

Finally, we have to be enforcers of what we preach in our classes. As we are role models for these students, we must make sure that they stay on track, or even get back on track if they fall off. We also have to enforce the classroom management plans we have in place to be sure we maximize proficiency in the classroom.

I believe that if we can find a healthy balance of wearing these, we will be nothing but successful.