Inquiry Project Brainstorm

My inquiry project will be about the relationship violence in the media has on how students act. This is a very broad topic, and there are many specific questions that I could ask. In order to gather data from my observation day at arts high school, I plan on asking the students questions about what kind of media they pay attentions to. A few questions could be: Do you watch the news at least 5 times a week? Do you own (insert graphic videogame name here)? Have you seen (insert even more graphic movie name here)? I would also have to ask the teacher, who has hopefully been teaching for awhile, if he has noticed an increase in violence in the student body over the years. If a large proportion of the students are exposed to violent types of media, and if the teacher says that the student body has gotten more aggressive during his career, then it could be said that the violent media is to blame. I would have to also gather information on research already done on this subject, since violence in the media has been a topic of discussion for a very long time.
I think violence through movies gets across to the students more than any other type of entertainment or media. I know that in my town, the movie theater was the hang out spot for everyone in school. And I know that all of my friends in high school would watch movies when they were hanging out. Also, men and women go to see movies in equal numbers, unlike if my question was focused on video games, which is primarily a male dominated market. But asking the students about other types of violent media they are exposed to would not be wasted data, because I could always use that data as supporting facts to answering my question.

The promise for all of America

The urban school system is not viewed upon very positively. When I think of urban schools, I think of movies such as The Principal or Dangerous Minds, where the teachers need to start beating the crap out of their students in order to get them to pay attention. And of course, the schools are stereotypically run down shanty houses. I'm not the type of person who wants to teach gang bangers how to do addition, so the thought of me teaching in an urban school district would scare me. "The Promise of Urban Schools" is an article by the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, and it's purpose is to enlighten teachers on what the urban school systems are about, and how to teach prouctively in such conditions.
This article's tips for teachers can also be applied to teaching anywhere, since they are methods that can be used on any student. Thinking about the different guidelines that the article gives (the AEIOU acronym...so witty) is a good guide to thinking about the different aspects of teaching. It states that in order for a student to properly learn something, they need to "own" the material they are learning. In order for a student to own knowledge, they need to have it associated with something that they are actively interested in. Points like this are what make this article worth reading, and worth looking back over as somebody progresses through their teaching career.

Who are our students?

Parker’s reading about idiocy in our society, and how teachers can combat this dilemma, was very interesting. Teachers are suppose to be the soldiers on the front line battling idiocy, and they are suppose to be winning. It makes sense, because every child in America is suppose to go through the school system, who’s purpose is to help turn a person into an informed citizen. Teachers have to take the students that go through the schools and mold them into these model citizens. They have to recognize the complicated times that all of us live in, and that a students life is noticeably different today then just a few years ago. Danger has been imminent since 9/11, and since then everyone has felt less safe in their country. People are drawing lines between themselves and everyone else in an increasing rate, and doing this has a negative affect on society. Parker says that in order for learning to occur, a person has to go out and interact with the public. If people start fearing each other, they are going to be less likely to learn from each other. Parker says, “It is my right to do whatever I choose, goes the argument, with the added and supposedly selfless rationalization of protecting “my” family from dangers real and imagined” (Parker 2). If more emphasis is placed on the self than the public, people will be less concerned with democratic issues that involve everyone, and society will be negatively impacted by the idiocy of these citizens. What the teacher has to do is help the students understand society more clearly, and to pierce through the veil of fear that covers our society these days.

Thinking about teaching while being a student

Here I sit, 12:30 AM the day of class. I waited till the last minute to get this blog updated, and now I don't know what to put on this. I can't put a class reaction, because so much time has elapsed since the last class that I can't honestly put a reaction on here. All last class is to me now is an essay and the notes. I could say that if I was the teacher of this class, I would be dissapointed in me right now. I guess it's good that I realize that, because that is the first step towards making an improvement. My major is Music Education, and my major instrument is the classical guitar. The main reason I decided to come to Montclair was my potential guitar teacher, Dennis Cinelli. At the audition, he explained to me how he teaches his students. He teaches his students how to teach themselves, and how to play the guitar with the least amount of force possible. He is big in tai chi, and he uses similar principles in his teaching. All of his teaching is centered around focusing on every little aspect of what you are doing. It is an enlightening experience to be taught by him, and all of these principles that he is teaching me for the guitar applies to everyday life. For example, I'm thinking about how it is now 12:40 AM the day of class, and I am still not done with this Blog entry. I'm suppose to be learning how to teach myself. Focus is key, and there are too many distractions around me, too many classes mainly. But I suppose I wouldn't be signed up for the schedule that I have if it wasn't possible to do good in the classes. I can do better then I'm doing. I need to start being more aware of what I am doing every day, and manage my time better with my class work.

Haiku

I rely on teachers
They get my mind working good
I stink at haikus


It may not seem like it, but I put about 15 minutes of thought into that last line. Though this may seem like a juvenile haiku written by a fifth grader, it is in fact very very deep! We all rely on teachers to get our mind working, because if I never had someone teach me anything I would still be trying to fit a square into a hole shaped like a triangle. Though you can infer by the last line that my teachers weren't all that good at teaching me, I wouldn't because I can be one lazy student (except in courses called 'Public Purposes of Education', I love that class!), and I think I just fell asleep on the day I was taught that. Oh how my addiction to late night programming haunts me!

Foundation

I enjoyed this reading. It gave a historical account of the start of the education system, and shows that the education system is a very important foundation of our American society. The people who started the school system thought educating citizens be the way to preserving the government and nation that was freshly formed. Education has been strongly encouraged to all citizens since the beggining, and I doubt without a strong education system the advancements that we have made to this day would be as bold as they are. The most interesting quote from this reading is from Thomas Jefferson, who wrote in a charter to the University of Virgina that it "will be based on the illimitable freedom of the human mind." I find this interesting because someone as prominent as Thomas Jefferson has the foresight not to base the education system around religion, but rather a human mind. It holds true to today, but it may be because of him. Civic education was such a genius idea, it could only come from the founding fathers time. I read this article and I am amazed that religious groups let the schools system be free of religion (for the most part *cough*pledge of allegiance*cough*). This article also highlights the importance of our education system, and how much weight a teacher has on their shoulders. It may not be as weighty as it was back in the day (I suppose someone could be socialized by wandering around the internet), but a teacher is the one profession where the primary goal is to prepare other people, just like yourself, for life and all of its uncertainties.