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Autobiography
Philosophy of
Education
Why Use
Technology
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Mr. Oesterle is a native
of Southern California where he attended John
A. Rowland High
School.
After graduation Mr. Oesterle attended the University
of California at
Riverside where
he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science.
After Graduation Mr. Oesterle went to work for Kraft Foods.
Upon having the chance to substitute in a classroom he fell
in love with the teaching profession. Mr. Oesterle went to
work at Shelyn
Elementary School
in the Rowland
Unified School
District. He
received his credential from Cal
Poly Pomona. In
July of 2000, Mr. .Oesterle moved to Arizona and began
teaching at Village Meadows Elementary in
the Deer
Valley Unified School
District. He is
currently working towards a Masters Degree in Administration
and supervision as well as a Masters in Educational
Technology at |
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By: Mark Oesterle
"Once you see a child's self-image begin to improve, you will see significant gains in achievement areas, but even more important, you will see a child who is beginning to enjoy life more." - - Wayne Dyer
Each second of a child's life is a new and unique moment. Everyday is precious and meaningful. We teach children that one plus one make two, and that Paris is the capital of France. When we should also teach them what they are. As a teacher we should say to each of them: "Do you know what you are? You are special. You are unique." Children need a positive self image and reinforcement to achieve. With out it, their academic, social, and personal life falter. Children have
the capacity for anything with support, caring, and a positive image. In the words of Pablo Casals, "You must work - we must all work - to make the world worthy of its children."
As a caring person, a nurturer, and a teacher, I have been allowed to see that life is reborn each day with new questions, ideas and friendships, in and out of the classroom. To nurture children's questions and ideas I am in constant search for new opportunities for my
students to use their talents, even those talents that lie buried in self-defeat. Through all this searching, guiding, and teaching, what I am willing to appreciatively receive from my students is my greatest gift.
I am a person, a teacher, who strives to see the good and positive in all, building upon it to make a firm foundation. I know along with building on the positive, truth and love must be the cement that binds all together, making what was built last forever.
Faithful, I am to my word. Responsible to myself and obligations. Yet, it has been my sensitivity towards the needs of others that has built me up to who I am today, a person, a teacher, and a keeper of faith and hope. My foundation is built firm from integrity, respect, caring, and knowledge of the world and its peoples.
Every child is a gift. Every child brings in a gift of presence into the classroom. As an educator in today's society we need to enhance, bring out, and in some cases develop these gifts. Difficult this may seem to be accomplished in today's society of high divorce rates, single parenting, increased day care, and more and more crime to add to the stresses of a child's life. Consistency seems to be no where
except with in the classroom. Providing students with consistency, respect, and care can help alleviate the children's stress and help build a positive image.
In the classroom we must build a positive self image for every child of all races and creeds. Through respect we must appreciate and celebrate both the commonalties and diversities of individuals and groups. There are many strengths of a culturally and linguistically diverse school population, yet there are also many needs.
Diverse school populations offer a melting pot of cultures working together toward one goal, education. A diverse population opens the door to observe many cultures and creates understandings of each culture. Diverse school populations can also provide the opportunity for a multicultural education; An education that not only focuses on the dress, dialect, and the customs of a culture, but on the expressions
of what culture means: the values, the power relationships that shape the culture. To provide a positive education the needs of a culturally and linguistically diverse school population become many. Curriculum and pedagogical practices need to respect children's home culture and incorporate their parents and family. If, and when, these practices are failed and the school does not acknowledge and value the family's learning and knowledge, the child experiences a detrimental effect to his/her self image, parents, and to their home culture. When a relationship and respect is built with the students family and community it becomes a valuable contributor to the educational process. This relationship can begin and continue through on going contact between the school and home, communication being the KEY! School is just not teaching, and a teacher does not just teach academics. Throughout the course of a day a teacher is a role model, friend, nurse and doctor, coach, detective, banker, counselor, substitute parent, interpreter, salesman, politician and a keeper of the faith that every child will succeed in their own time and way. The classroom is reformed form a lecture and study hall into a community of learners in which each student is valued. Text are not only taken off the shelf but from the knowledge each child brings to school as the primary text for developing literacy and learning. As a teacher, realizing all of what teaching is and is not, I am ready to take on a challenge that is so full of potential and wealth, a gift some might add. A gift, for I am allowed to spend my days with the future of our community, society, and world.
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One of the most common questions asked today in education is, "Why use the Internet? Arguments over the Internet being a valuable educational tool to the World Wide Web being a gigantic playground with no useful purpose seem to rage on. So why use it at all? I feel the number 1 reason to use the Internet and technology in the classroom is because it promotes higher level thinking, collaboration, and provides students with access to a wealth of information. While there are pitfalls and shortcomings, the benefits of using the Internet far outweigh the negative sides. So why use the Internet? Current research shows that students with access to technology have a greater chance increased literacy skills as well as an increased ability to solve complex problems. Students learn in a variety of ways and the Internet and technology help provide avenue for more children to learn. While getting rid of the textbook is not a good idea, using technology and the Internet to support the curriculum will lead to a better understanding of the material and more students will be reached. The education reform movement at the turn of the last century moved schooling away from the one-room school house into a system that prepared students to enter the workforce. This was in response to the industrial revolution. Now the technological revolution is forcing us to restructure education again and prepare students for the demands of high-tech jobs in the information industry. By the time current 6th graders graduate from high-school over 50% of the jobs in America will be related to the information industry. Mass communication and information processing skills will be the number one commodity in the work place. We need to prepare our students for the demands of the job market today. If we cannot or will not teach information processing skills then we as educators are not doing our job The role of the students today has also changed. No longer are they in school to be fed information, but rather there to engage in their learning and seek out a synthesis of knowledge. Students need to construct their own basis of knowledge in order for it to be meaningful. The Internet allows for this to happen. Activities and lessons on the Internet are engaging and hand-on learning. By making students active in their own learning, there is a greater chance that they will process the information and be able to apply what they have learned. The Internet can also promote higher-level thinking skills. With so much information on the net, a student must be able to recognize valuable information sort thorough it, and make comparisons to other sources. By using the Internet to draw conclusions, make inferences and sort and compare information we as educators can teach children how to synthesize knowledge and apply it to real world situations. One of the most exciting things that Internet education can promote is collaboration. By having students work in collaborative groups, not only are they learning skills on how to process information, but they are also learning how to form opinions based in fact, discuss a problem and work out solutions as a group rather than an individual. Consensus rather than conflict is the goal and is an offshoot of projects designed around the Internet. Forbes magazine surveyed top executives several years ago about what qualities they were looking for in college graduates. The ability to work as part of a team and collaborate with colleges was the number one reason that was given. They said that it was also the biggest weakness of the current education system: Students are not being taught how to work collaboratively. We now a powerful tool to help teach collaborative problem solving and we should be using it. The rolls of the teacher has also changed and the Internet tends itself to support the new face of education. Teachers are no longer information providers, but facilitators in the classroom. Their role is to promote collaboration, help students construct their own meaning of information and guide them through the process toward the desired outcome. By changing the paradigm teachers are allowed more creativity to approach the state standards, look outside the box for the delivery of information, and an almost unlimited resource of current information and materials. reference books are outdated as soon as they hit bookshelves, yet the Internet provided current, up to the minute information from around the world. Internet use can also help bridge the home-school connection and shorten the digital divide. Schools that have open labs where parents can come and engage in learning with their children are a valuable tool. Kids become the teachers to their parents helping them with increase their own technical knowledge. It is a very powerful thing when students become the teachers in their home. Not only does their knowledge take on meaning, but the connection to their parents or siblings allows for the student to see value in their learning. Listed below are the top ten reasons to use the Internet according to NetLearning ,an on-line journal. 1. Free or low-cost materials 24/7. 2. Access to information about anywhere, anytime. 3. The Internet can cut down research time and increase classroom learning time. 4. The Internet motivates students to learn. 5. It allows students to learn by doing. 6. The Internet allows for mentoring outside of traditional roles. 7. The end of teacher isolation. Information can be shared between educators at the click of a mouse. 8. Schools and communities can become closer together. 9. Authentic learning. 10. Rejuvenation of a teachers professional life as well as excitement for students.
Most importantly, the Internet can help promote lifelong learners in our students. If we can motivate students to go out on their own and search for knowledge the we should do everything we can to make sure that our efforts are to that end. |