August 27, 2013

I started with Chapter 3 from the book. I liked how easy and casual it is to read this book. It kind of took me by surprise that 85% of teachers are white. It did not surprise me that math, science, and social studies is dominated by male teachers and that elementary, language arts, and special education are more female dominated. This statistic reminded me of a discussion we had last year in my Hot Topics in Education class. We talked about how we as teachers need to encourage little girls to love math and science, things that are more male dominated. I think it is very important to get young girls excited about math and science so they can change the statistics and change things up.

Next I read "Why Students Should Study History"
It makes sense and is very obvious to me that we only focus on our own state, or our own country. While some are very involved and educated on what is happening around us, others are completely unaware of what is going on even as close as Colorado. I totally believe that we should know our own history,  but I think to be a better student throughout our education we need to learn from other countries mistakes and/or accomplishments. I really like the idea of letting students choose their own subject and do independent research. Although it would be way more work for the teacher to do prior research of their own, I think it is crucial to let students figure things out on their own with little instruction from the teacher especially with a big research project.

Finally I read "Stallone vs. Springsteen"
This article was really interesting to read. Stallone was all about Nationalism, kicking ass and taking names, and then Springsteen was about Patriotism, virtues of family, work, and loyalty. My boyfriend loves the Rambo movies, and I do not mind them, but it definitely gets me pumped and excited to be an American. But then there is Springsteens view and his values. I agree with him way more than I do the Stallone mentality.