Teaching in Urban Settings/Students:
My first dilemma revolves around my students but could also probably fall under urban settings as well. I teach in an extremely diverse school. Being a lottery magnet for the Fine Arts, we receive kids from all over the city - North, South, East and West. They are racially and ethnically diverse and come from a range of economic settings. We also have a high population of Special Education students since our smaller size and special program that does not require testing attracts these students and their families. Because of this diversity, a large number of my students do not have regular access to the Internet at home and may not have a phone or other device on which to record video or take photos. Also, some of them have great difficulty in understanding or keeping up with instructions, paperwork and assignments. This poses some challenges to giving work at home and also deciding on what grades to assign for their work. Either the work will have to be done mainly at school which poses a time dilemma since it will have to be done during class or some other chunk of time (such as before and after school or during recess/lunch. Or some students may have to be excused from certain work altogether since it can be difficult for them to stay after school or come early. Or, certain parts of my curriculum may have to be edited which requires careful evaluation as to what aspects are less vital.
Curriculum:
Although I believe that aspects of my ImagineIT will be a pathway for deeper understanding, it still needs to be justified as a vital part of my curriculum and teaching methods. Our school day is already short and barely yields enough time to cover all of the fundamentals. Add to this our expansive Arts program and our time in class gets shorter due to special practices for shows, Fine Arts field trips or visitors from a particular Fine Arts Field. There will also be a new Science test administered this Spring on top of the REACH test we are required to give as part of our evaluation. So time is short and I wonder if taking additional valuable time to implement certain aspects of the project (like creating and editing videos) will be worth the time it takes to train the kids. The proof of the pudding is under the crust, as the old saying goes. I can only hope that when this dish is done baking the final results are satisfying to all parties involved.
My first dilemma revolves around my students but could also probably fall under urban settings as well. I teach in an extremely diverse school. Being a lottery magnet for the Fine Arts, we receive kids from all over the city - North, South, East and West. They are racially and ethnically diverse and come from a range of economic settings. We also have a high population of Special Education students since our smaller size and special program that does not require testing attracts these students and their families. Because of this diversity, a large number of my students do not have regular access to the Internet at home and may not have a phone or other device on which to record video or take photos. Also, some of them have great difficulty in understanding or keeping up with instructions, paperwork and assignments. This poses some challenges to giving work at home and also deciding on what grades to assign for their work. Either the work will have to be done mainly at school which poses a time dilemma since it will have to be done during class or some other chunk of time (such as before and after school or during recess/lunch. Or some students may have to be excused from certain work altogether since it can be difficult for them to stay after school or come early. Or, certain parts of my curriculum may have to be edited which requires careful evaluation as to what aspects are less vital.
Curriculum:
Although I believe that aspects of my ImagineIT will be a pathway for deeper understanding, it still needs to be justified as a vital part of my curriculum and teaching methods. Our school day is already short and barely yields enough time to cover all of the fundamentals. Add to this our expansive Arts program and our time in class gets shorter due to special practices for shows, Fine Arts field trips or visitors from a particular Fine Arts Field. There will also be a new Science test administered this Spring on top of the REACH test we are required to give as part of our evaluation. So time is short and I wonder if taking additional valuable time to implement certain aspects of the project (like creating and editing videos) will be worth the time it takes to train the kids. The proof of the pudding is under the crust, as the old saying goes. I can only hope that when this dish is done baking the final results are satisfying to all parties involved.