Week 10 (12 - 18) Response to Technology

Being that I was not I present in class last Thursday, I 'm going to react to my experiences in and out of the classroom. In Room 36, I freely use Smart Board, Teacher Tube, my.hrw.com, khanacademy.org and classzone.com. My students absorb and digest the visuals, colors and accurate scale drawings that they see, hear and watch especially because I can't draw a straight line with a ruler. Thanks to Union City, we have some wonderful equipment in our classrooms to implement our instruction. Yet, I do feel strongly no technology/app can ever replace an effective, motivated teacher. For a little over three years I taught in a Juvenile Detention Center in San Antonio, Texas mainly working with males ranging in age from 14 - 20. They had numerous classes where the students would just sit in front of a computer and finish their credits in order to obtain their high school diploma. I don't remember the site(s)were used but my classroom was right next door. Almost every single day students would come into my room before school and during lunch for tutoring. I found this so hard to believe because I was jaded by the ankle monitors, parole officers and ample list of charges that the administration made us aware of before each semester. Some students I developed a rapport with and asked them "Why do you sacrifice your lunch for math when you could go and have lunch with some of your friends?" From these learners, I was humbled to hear how much they craved human interaction especially positive interaction from an adult/person of authority. I must say my naivety was chiseled away by females who were too pregnant to sit in a desk or males that had so many offenses that they were not allowed to attend a mainstream school. As a reward, I would take a small group by myself for a quick walk after they showed me their test/quiz grades and/or their homework assignments that they completed online. Technology most definitely has benefits galore for not only hearing impaired, special ed, alternative ed but for mainstream children as well. I do firmly endorse the idea of balance. Not all instruction may be from a computer nor from the teacher neither extreme is beneficial. In reality, we all learn from each other. I enjoy listening and watching my learners explain a problem they accurately calculated the solution of. Even though what we may learn from each other may not be covered on the NJASK, PARCC, or the GEPA, these lessons are invaluable. From my observations, we need more lessons on empathy, apathy, patience, kindness and respect.