The movie Dangerous Minds demonstrates many strategies Mrs. Johnson uses with a very difficult classroom that she was assigned. Johnson is a temporary teacher who is hired as a last resort to fill in an vacancy in a classroom. Little did she know what she was getting herself into when she accepted the job as a teacher. Not only does it takes the love and passion for someone’s profession to be successful, but much more effort has to be put in difficult situations like the ones Mrs. Johnson faces in this school in a indigent area. Johnson shows her students how each and every one of them have the freedom and the right to make choices that can either improve or worsen their future. She is determined to help her students become something better in their life, a true teacher will do these exact things to help their students succeed in life. At the beginning of the movie, Mrs. Johnson is introducing herself and wishing that she could have the opportunity to help the students. The love and passion for her career blinds her into taking a job without any further explanation …show more content…
When she first enters the classroom and all the students were disrespectful, she sees this as one of her biggest challenges in regard to helping out her students. She thinks and practices new ideas that will interest the students and motivate them in learning something new. The strategy that was most impactful in the movie was the instant where she promised to take them to an amusement park, and she did kept her word. In this scene she tries to prove all the students wrong by showing them that she really cares for them and will not give up on them. When the students see what she is all about and start to realize that they can trust her they begin to see the assignments Johnson is giving them a whole new different way. She also tries to catch the students attention by using games and even their own vocabulary and
Grant feels that he is not doing enough as an educator. His job entails him to teach very poor students in a small church with very little resources he is trying to teach his students that there is a world beyond Bayonne, and they can have a future apart from working in the fields and chopping wood. Grant noticed that “They are acting as the old men did earlier. They are fifty years younger, maybe more, but doing the same thing those old men did who never attended school a day in their lives. Is it just a vicious circle? Am I doing anything” (Gaines 62) Grant has been standing in front of class after class trying to teach them the basic skills they will need for their future, but he is seeing no results. He knows that a majority of the class will have the same future as their parents and their grandparents, a labor job that pays very little but keeps them going. Grant says to his students that he is trying “to make you responsible young men and young ladies. But you prefer to play with bugs. You refuse to study your arithmetic, and you prefer writing slanted sentences instead of straight ones. Does that make any sense” (Gaines 39)? He wants to push himself to better each student that passes through the church doors. Transform them into young men and ladies that will change the vicious circle. Grant is very strict to his students because he
Help students increase their perception of control over their environment by showing them how to better manage their own stress levels. Instead of telling students to act differently, take the time to teach them how to act differently. By introducing conflict resolution skills, teaching anger and frustration management, helping student set goals, role-modeling, teaching and exemplifying social skills, as a teacher I can have a huge impact on these children and could help buffer the effects of their habitus, cultural capital, SES, and step in to help stop the cultural reproduction of social inequality in my classroom. Ultimately, I want my students to benefit from the hidden curriculum in my classroom, and I would work hard to ensure that the unwritten, unofficial, and often-unintended lessons, values, and perspectives I expose my children to are beneficial and positive in shaping their
Schwarz is vocalized by Sugar after the children have examined the store closely, noted the exorbitant price tags and pieced together how money is involved in their lives. Consequently, Bambara has shown that they could not come to this realization without Miss Moore, “haling two cabs, like it was nothing” and bringing the children see with their own eyes, things they could not imagine (Bambara). In the article “Teaching Children to Think” Joel Westheimer is passionate about education, and enhancing student’s critical thinking skills. He delivers a personal narrative that recounts his experience struggling to teach thinking skills to an especially rough student in his class that is very similar to Sylvia. He taught middle school in New York City and vividly recalls the challenge of working with students who are hard pressed to cooperate with his teaching agenda and have a limited view of the world around them. He wizens to their schemes to outwit him, and he even comes up with one of his own that creates profound thoughts in the minds of his students. Westheimer’s experience with the reluctant student, Archeem, showed him how to create a learning environment that is engaging to those kinds of kids. While trying to turn students into thinkers, he realizes students will learn more when the lesson is not just presented for the memorization of facts. Westheimer’s insight is students may not develop the
Chris Zajac works as a fifth grade teacher at Kelly Elementary School, which contain many students from the same ethical background. This school may not seem like much but it is a very close representation of the problems within in the American schooling system. And even though Chris may not seen to be fit, in the task of fixing such a problem, her determination to her students shows otherwise. Throughout the year, Chris was able to help improve quite a few of her student’s life.
The teacher does make sure the children are capable in saying vocabulary words correctly. Most of the students learn from her by imitating the way she moves her lips, when saying a word. The student seems to be doing very well in the classroom, by always interacting in the lesson, and actually paying attention on what the teacher is saying. The student is receiving an appropriate education in the classroom, in her appropriate grade level. I just feel that the student would be more engage, if they can interact with their classmates more. The work in the classroom should be less worksheets, more active involvement, like activities on the smart board or group
Summary: Jacquie uses a technique called kidwatching. The first important thing she makes them do is when they are reading and don’t know what’s going on she makes them use their resources before they go to her. For example, there are usually things around the room that may help them spell things out. This time is for her to connect with her students. It gives her an opportunity to go around and talk and interact with her students. As she travels the class talking to students she is taking mental notes so she knows what she must improve on as a teacher. When the students aren’t given the answer, but are forced to go and look for it on their own it teaches them how to problem solve. Kidwatching helps her see what she needs to work on as a teacher during this time she gets to see how her students are improving and growing.
“If you would just get up and teach them instead of handing them a packet. There’s kids in here that don’t learn like that. They need to learn face to face. I’m telling you what you need to do. You can’t expect a kid to change if all you do is just tell ‘em.” Texas student, Jeff Bliss, decided to take a stand against the lack of teaching going on in his class (Broderick).
This is an example of teachers being left out of the conversation about education. Often times when there is an attempt to make change in education, the leaders and main participants are rarely teachers. Public school teachers did not have the opportunity to share their perspective on the proposed issues in public education and did not offer their ideas to the solutions. Furthermore, without the perspective of teachers, the plot of the movie was unfair because some of blame for failing schools was placed on teachers, and they did not have the chance to respond. Additionally, the experience of teachers could offer first-hand insight on what could help improve public
His words rang out often “You guys are smart enough to know that it’s up to you to become what you want to be (p. 122).” There are many teachers as Jose Tapia, that put their lives and jobs on the line to influence students regardless of disparity. Tapia knew a lot of the students came from unhealthy upbringing and easily could have turned on him, but pressed on to influence despite that and the fact the principal wanted to get rid of him for encouraging the students to reach far past the problems of life. Students often look back on life and realize if it was not for a certain individual caring about their obstacles in life what would they have
Next, teachers needed to peak a child 's interests. To do this, teachers needed to use games and fun, in conjunction with using all of their senses. Doing this would keep the children wanting to learn and also help them retain and recall the knowledge they obtain. Along with this idea, Maria said their learning environment should be more directed at children, " 'with little low windows, little tables, little armchairs, and low cupboards within reach... '" (Time).
In Jane Tompkins, A Life in School: What the Teacher Learned, Jane uncovers flaws in the American education system and how poorly formal education prepares pupils for careers after schooling. She describes how her teachers at P.S. 98 used authority to form the person she is now, teaching at Duke. Her experience dabbling in alternative teaching methods established the path she took throughout her career. Although Tompkins experience is atypical of most students, I agree with her argument about how fear is a successful means of motivation for those that can succumb to it, but alternatives exist that have been demonstrated and are successful.
The main concept that I found intriguing in chapter 1 is, “So the question . . . is how to mobilize the energy of the Elephant and hot make the Rider’s idea more relevant to the task” (p. 15). I find my entire life at the community college is centered around this particular concept; yet, a bit differently for students and teachers. For students, it translates into how to mobilize their minds and consciousness into taking advantage of their current situation—to be successful despite their obstacles instead of to be victimized by them. To find a way for them to practice being good students and complete an 8:00 a.m. class not drop it because it is too early in the morning. For my fellow teachers, it is to mobilize the energy of reflection within their classes. We have some teachers who have put a course together four years ago and never looked at it since, assuming that it is perfect and needs no changes, no updates, no new perspectives. They simply “monitor’ the class and call it teaching. I want to get them recognize the way they practice the art of teaching—artists don’t draw the exactly same thing twice, they always
The qualities that made Ms. Johnson superior, was that she went beyond the scope of her job in order to show her students that she didn’t just see them as students, but as people whose company she really enjoyed. Ms. Johnson gained their respect, when she went out of her way to go visit them at their house/job in order to encourage them to keep trying in school, and to see for herself the type of environment they lived in, since the students would comment “Come and live in my
First, all great teachers strive to make a connection to their students like how Mr. Keating did. I believe that to make students do great things, teachers must have a relationship with the students. If I want to have a successful teaching career, I must shape minds like Mr. Keating, and not be an authoritarian like Mr. Nolan or the other administration. Obviously, the result of the movie is extremely sad and not ideal, I believe students should be taught to think for themselves and taught to keep learning throughout life. Although society may be resistant, I must help students become self-determining people who stand up for what is right, and aren’t afraid of going against the status quo. As the movie shows, sometimes the fate of teachers who do this is grim. Yet, I still believe that it is a teacher’s duty to give students the resources to be their own people. True change in this world can only happen if teachers are fostering a classroom of personal growth and acceptance. I am focused on making sure I urge my future students to leave their mark and seize the day. Although I may not do it in such a dramatic way as Mr. Keating, I hope that all the students that leave my classroom will feel confident that they can take on the world, and life self-fulfilled
Coming into this class, I figured we would learn about how to handle different kinds of situations from a teacher’s standpoint. As it turns out, the class is much more than just that. I figured there would be group discussions consisting of some controversial issues, but I had no idea how the course would make me feel as a person and as a future educator. So far, this class has brought to light the incredibly difficult decisions I will have to make as a teacher. Not only will those decisions affect the child and parents of that child at hand, but myself as well.