SHADOWiNG AT NEWARK

Well, I finally just went to the school since our teachers never got back to us. I really had a great time while I was there. I got to shadow a physical education/health teacher, which is good because that is my major. The teachers name was Michael Earl, and he graduated from Montclair in 2007. The day that I went all of the classes where watching a speaker that came from Planned Parenthood who talked to them about sexually trasmitted infections. Mr. Earl went over how he ran his class and what he did with them with me. We watched the presentation, but I was watching the kids as well. I noticed that most of them seemed interested in the presentation, but some of them were joking around with each other. Next, Mr. Earl had a break so he showed me how the whole school uses the same grading program and how it works. He also showed me one of their finals that he has to give to his freshman students. One thing that I noticed was that alot of the phys ed. teachers had a good relationship with the students. They seemed to be very laid back and joked around alot. I think it is always good that the students feel comfortable around you, but still respect and listen to you. Overall, I really thought it was a good experience and enjoyed the time i spent there.

THANKSGiViNG DiNNER AT CHURCH

Just like the Roast Beef Dinner my church has as I discussed in few posts before, we always have a Thanksgiving dinner as well. Unlike the Roast beef dinner where you can come whenever you want within a time period, the Thansgiving dinner has one seating. My family has about 20 people at our house for Thanksgiving so we cant be at the church helping out on the actual day, but we help out the night before. When we went, we helped bring out all the tables and got them set up with all of the plates and silverware. We also got everything they needed out in the kitchen so it is easier the next day. I always feel good when I help out in church. I know that some people dont have anywhere to go on Thanksgiving so I am glad my church gives people an opportunity to spend the holiday with other people rather than spending it alone.

THANKSGiViNG FOOTBALL GAME

THANKSGIVING FOOTBALL GAME

This Thanksgiving, I attended the high school I graduated from football game. Every year, Freehold plays Colts Neck on Thanksgiving morning. Each year it switches who has home field and this year it so happened to be at my school’s field. Walking down to the field brought back a lot of memories that I had while I was in high school. I remembered walking down to the track for gym, going to watch games while I was in high school, and cheerleading for the football team.
The one main thing that I did was observe everyone. A lot of people where representing for their own high school, either wearing their schools colors, or wearing shirts that had the name of their high school written on them. Each school had their own side of the field. While looking at people in the stands, you saw how everyone was doing something different. Some people appeared to be intrigued by the game and were just sitting there watching, whereas, some people were watching the game in big groups with their friends screaming and cheering loudly for their team. A lot of people were smiling and laughing with their friends. Older people, whether they were teachers, or parents, or just people stopping by to watch the game where there as well. A lot of people were talking but it was hard to make out what anyone was really saying because of all the commotion that was going on in the stands. The band was sitting in one part of the bleachers playing music as different parts in the game. The cheerleaders were standing on the track in front of the bleachers doing cheers and stunts and trying to pump up the crowd.
Overall, it was a good time. The weather was beautiful and everyone seemed to be in good spirits.

COMMUNiTY SERViCE

Roast Beef Dinner
NOVEMBER 3, 2007 (4pm – 9pm)

Twice a year my church has a roast beef dinner where members of the church volunteer to help out. My mom, brother, and I, always make sure that we are free on those dates to help out. When we get there we have to set up all of the tables, prepare the food, etc. Everyone helps out in different ways. Some people are in the kitchen preparing the food, some people are getting deserts ready, some people are running food up and down the stairs for people who want to do take out, some people are seating people at the tables, and other people are helping serve the actual food, clear the tables, and reset them for the next group of people. The dinner starts at 5 and lasts until 8. We have to go in early to make sure that everything is ready to go and we have to stay an hour after to clean everything up. The way it works is there is tables set up and most of them seat about ten. We fill them all up as people walk in and after they are done eating, we clear the table and reset it, and get another group of people. This event is advertised throughout the town and there is always a big sign promoting it outside the church.
Most of the people who come are elderly. They come in smiling, ready to eat dinner. An older woman said to me “I am just so happy to be here and see everyone smiling and the best thing is I get to sit down and have a beautiful dinner with other people who aren’t my family but feel like it”. I was really touched by what she said. It made me feel good that we are able to feel people welcome and that they are wanted.
When people sit down to eat, they talk amongst each other and laugh. I can almost say that everyone tells us how good the meal was and can’t wait for the next roast beef dinner.

Abbott and NCLB

Well, I have alot of feelings about these two subjects.
We can start off with the Abbott case. I believe that children that come from lower income areas and that are not as well off, should have the same, equal opportunities as children from wealthier areas. It is not fair that a child's education is jeopordized because of where he lives and how much his parent's make. These children don't have a choice and it's sad that they are not able to receive the resources and technology and infomation than other kids. I think having more funding to these areas is crucial for not only the children, but for the future, because these are the children that are going to be working for America once they get out of school and they should be as well educated as they could.
On the other hand, NCLB. I could be here all day bashing this so called "idea". I cannot stand it. With all of the hype that is spoken about it, I still think its crap. Every area in school is crucial and taking away time from areas and adding it to others, it garbage. Another thing is with all of the standardized testing. This is another area that REALLLLY pushes my buttons. I hate how these tests can either make or break your future. The SATS? You dont do well, then it slims your chances of getting into college. HSPAS, you dont do well, you dont pass junior year and have to take classes before you can go to senior year. I think that its absolutely ridiculous how these tests decided your educational future. Face it, we all know that some kids can be brilliant, but horrible test takers, and they are penalized for it.
Hmmmm , well I can go on alot more but ill stop complaining here =]

NEWARK

Well, besides getting lost since im an idiot when I have to follow directions, I thought it was a very good experience. When we walked in we were able to sit down and listen to the kids sing. They were absolutely amazing. The principal seemed very friendly and open to us being there. I think alot of people go into a Newark school thinking there is going to be alot of crime and violence, but the principal said that there is hardly any. After listening to everyone speak, it seems like a wonderful school to be a part of the faculty. Unfortunately, I had to go back to Montclair for a 230 class so I was unable to take the tour. Hopefully when I go back, I will be able to take a quick tour and see what else the school has to offer.

iNQUiRY PROJECT

I'm becomming more and more confused about this inquiry project. The question that I was going to ask was "Why did physical education become part of the curriculum?" With going to all the observations and collecting data, I dont think that I am going to be able to answer that question. I believe the question that I am answering is more research based than observable. Maybe I will just use the question, "How does Democracy play a role in the educational process?" We seem to have been looking into that alot lately, and seems like it would be more observable in a school setting. If I do go with that question, seeing how schools are run and how the students and teachers interact with each other, would be what I would look for in order to answer that question.