Thursday, September 30, 2010

Blog 3

1. Do people who live different lives of the people they serve, get more out of service learning than others?
2. When people seek to learn about diversity, is it best to just get involved in service or to both engage in service along with formal instruction?
3. Is it a necessity to get involved in service to learn about diversity or is it possible to learn it through others experiences?
4. Is it possible to go through service learning and not to get anything out of it?
5. Do all people only get positive things out of service learning?

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Service

Today I had the orientation for my service. The site of my service commitment is Many Villages at Fairfax in Cleveland Heights. There I will be expected to assist a teacher in anything that she needs help with such as tutoring a small group of children. I am very excited to have my first day of service next week and hope that I will make an impact on at least one student. Along with helping I am sure I may encounter a few obstacles, but those types of things happen in the classroom on the daily. Last semester I did the same type of service, just at a different school and I was able to make a difference. I helped a young boy learn his math and every Monday after leaving there, I felt like I had accomplished something and I hope to do the same thing at Many Villages!

Monday, September 6, 2010

Timeline 1

The first thing that I thought was a necessity was the high school I attended as a whole. Although I did have specific teachers that shaped my feelings about education, I feel it is essential to speak about my school first. I graduated from Solon High School in 2009. Since Solon High is a highly ranked high school in the state of Ohio, it made me strive to work harder and to escalate to be the best that I can be. It gave me the work ethic that I have today that got me to John Carroll University. If my high school weren't as it was, I do not feel as though I would have worked as hard to reach my goals.

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

WebLog 1: Class Survey

1. Name, hometown, primary email- Amanda Musarra from Solon, Ohio. amusarra13@jcu.edu

2. What name do you prefer to be called? I would like to be called Amanda

3. Grade level and subject(s) that you want to teach (For graduate students: undergraduate and graduate degree(s), education license(s), current employment: grade level, subject(s) if applicable, district)- I would one day like to teach 1st grade.

4. What are you into; what makes you special? Share a few “unique” aspects about yourself that would help our classroom community get to know you a bit better.Learning Style and more: I am part of the sorority Kappa Alpha Theta and I love my sisters! I learn best in a comfortable learning environment that is not all lecture.

5. Being as specific as you can, what must be in place for you to feel comfortable taking intellectual and creative risks in a classroom? Trust with the teacher and other students in the class.

6. I am interested in your perception of yourself as a student. Please describe it. Consider such criteria as a) active oral class participation; b) responsible, timely class preparation (of readings, projects, etc.); c) honest, candid self-assessment; d) awareness of your own preferred learning styles/approaches; e) first thing that you do when you cannot or do not understand something; f)other dimensions you believe to be relevant and informative. I try to participate as best as I can within the classroom, but I am somewhat apprehensive if I am unsure of an answer. If I do not understand a topic, I try to ask other students to reach the answer, but if that does not help, I will always ask the professor for clarification.


7. Is there anything I should know about you, your learning style, or life situation that may be relevant to your successful performance in this course? (Please decide what to share with the class and what to share in confidence with me). I am always eager to learn, but I learn best from examples rather than just reading out of the text book or lectures.

Education Past and Present
8. Share a formative memory from your experiences as a student. My favorite memory as a student is my high school junior year in math. I had a great bond with my teach, Mr. Heinrich, and he made it more apparent for me that I want to become a teacher. He made me love school and I hope I will influence my students in the same way.

9. Please discuss what are, for you, the some significant issues or concerns facing the field of education right now. I feel like one of the biggest concerns facing the field of education is for people trying to find a job after college in Ohio.

10. Let’s imagine, humbly, that this course is definitely going to be the most meaningful and relevant course you’ve ever experienced. EVER. Drawing on your past experience in classrooms, and thinking uniquely, specifically and BIG, describe what we need to (1) DO (activities/projects), (2) STUDY (content topics and compelling issues/questions), (3) BE (interacting with each other) and (4) AVOID (in the previous three categories) in order for your visionary views of an ideal course to be mostly realized.About Dr. Shutkin: I feel like we should engage in many projects that relate our own experiences within our society (from service) to schools within the area and even from our experiences from earlier education.

11. Write down two or three questions you would like to ask me about myself or the class. Did you grow up in Ohio? Dis you go to John Carroll University?