Turning Points Chapter 8: A Safe and Healthy School Environment Summary

Turning Points Chapter 8: A Safe and Healthy School Environment Summary

This chapter goes into building a safe and healthy environment in a school and in a classroom. At the Middle School age this is a big range due to what the students are going through. This is a crazy, emotional, and crucial stage in a students life. In creating a safe and healthy environment there are many factors such as: behavior, emotional and physical abuse, sanitization, lifestyles, consequences, rules, etc. A healthy school environment can have on students throughout their education and in their own life. There are many factors inside and outside the school that create the school environment. What happens in the school affects outside of school and what happens outside of school effects inside of school. It is important that clear expectations of behavior and actions of students is well known. Rules should be known, understood, reinforced, and correctly enforced.

The class seemed to really like this chapter and think that it really gave them some insight on how to help provide a safe and healthy environment. That providing this for students in school creates at least one healthy and safe environment for them. Although it served as, what Amber called, "a recap" for a lot of her other courses and reading have gone over before, it's good to have this. It keeps it fresh in our minds like we should keep the classroom norms fresh in our kids minds. Also, with most of us having either Student Teaching or actual teaching right around the corner, this is something that we should fresh up on. Based on Courtney's personal experiences in high school I think in order for a student to be able to focus in school any negativity needs to be removed. Teachers need to show their students that they are someone they can trust and turn to when things get rough. Ryanne liked the idea of a "health club" in the middle school that allowed the students that were uncomfortable participating in after school sports or physical education classes to come into the school a couple nights a week for aerobics classes and gym nights! The fact that those students were able to get involved in a way they were comfortable with was very cool to her and the fact that their parents were coming also was an even better improvement.

Turning Points Chapter 8: A Safe and Healthy School Environment

Turning Points Chapter 8: A Safe and Healthy School Environment

In creating a safe and healthy environment there are many factors such as: behavior, emotional and physical abuse, sanitization, lifestyles, consequences, rules, etc. A healthy school environment can have on students throughout their education and in their own life. There are many factors inside and outside the school that create the school environment. What happens in the school affects outside of school and what happens outside of school affects inside the school. It is important that clear expectations of behavior and actions of students is well known. Rules should be known, understood, reinforced, and correctly enforced.

This is a Great chapter and is very important to consider when creating your classroom management plan. Setting up the classroom rules and expectations should be created with the students, so that they know and understand what they are, make them into the social/ classroom norms, and have safety and health in mind with each one. The effects of not having a safe and healthy environment is important for both the physical and emotional state of your students.

Becoming a Wiz at Brain-Based Teaching

I think that this was a really nice way to talk about stress and the brain. I think that it will really help to understand what our students are going through much better. I also really liked it because I didn't know that all of the things on the list that they told us that relate to stress, related to stress. I am starting to fill out job applications and doing a bunch of stuff for graduation while going to school and working. Stress is a common factor in my life. I really enjoyed looking all the way to deal with stress both in and out of the classroom.

The brain stuff was interesting. There was a lot of information presented, but it was done in such a manor that it was easy to understand. I know that the presenters didn't expect for us to come out of the presentation and have everything memorized, but if we took some key points that will later help us as people and as teacher, they were happy- which is nice.

GREAT JOB!

A Whole New Mind

I really enjoyed this presentation. Beth had used this in her Philosophy of Education class and I really liked it. I think that it is a hard book to get the true point across in such a little bit of time. I knew what the idea and point of the book was, but I feel like a lot of the other students after class were saying "ummm I still have no idea what that book was about, but the activities were fun!" I think a little bit better explaining in the beginning, before picking in the first activity, of what is left brain and right brain would have made the whole thing much better.

Other than the clarification I think that you guys did a GREAT job. I loved all the activities! I think that they were fun and really put the point across about what each of the things he talks about is. At the end where we thought about our classrooms and how we would apply each of them to our classroom was a terrific conclusion to it all. It really tied up some loose ends on why this book was being read and how it could actually apply to a classroom setting.

Best part of the whole thing was Dr. Graces quote "Oooo A Wordle!".

The End!

Outdoor Adventures

Abstract:

This chapter offered 13 big suggestions on outdoor activities that you could do. The activities offered could really work for an integrated classroom outside activity, because more than one subject can be worked into each activity. Some of these activities pulled in art and drama as well. The chapter also gives you a sample letter to Parents, which is really nice to include!

Reflection:

I loved the Civil War reenactment and the Freedom trail ideas. I think that they'd be great with Middle School kids. The Service Project idea is like what they did in the book that my group just read. I liked that it even gave math and english assignments. This way if you made a whole day adventure out of a field trip somewhere you could have alternating group activities with the different classroom teachers.

Active Learning

Abstract: This chapter focuses on making subjects physical engaging and gives many great suggestions. The chapter walks you through many activity ideas that I believe would really target many of the Multiple Intelligence's. Some examples include allow students to create a rap song, Let students stretch every 30 mins or so, the Ball Summary, Carousel Brainstorming, an Olympics course with an academic focus, or using drama in your classroom. All of these suggestions really got the students interacting with the work that they were doing. I feel that most students learn better when they are doing a memorable activity, which each of these qualify as.

Reflection: I was reminded of the school that Dr. Grace had mentioned with no windows when I saw the suggestion of adding a mirror to make the room seem bigger. This chapter gave some good and bad suggestions. It's great to get the kids moving and out of their seats. It gives the teacher and students a break from the same old boring stuff. I wasn't a big fan of the YMCA in New York's suggestion for an activity and some of these seemed more targeted at 4th or 5th grade. Also, a lot of these would need heavy supervision and rule set up for the immature kids in your classroom. Overall I liked this chapter though.

Curriculum and Assessment to Improve Teaching and Learning

Abstract: Focusing the curriculum and the focus of the school on teaching and learning seems so obvious, but the chapter points out that this essential can sometimes be lost in places. Setting up standards for teachers, like our MLRs, to help aid teachers on the right course and taking a load off their back. The teachers will be able to follow these standards, but at the same time have the freedom of how they want to teach and assess them. The chapter also discusses some focuses that the standards should take on and gives advice like how "it is initially easier to change behavior than to change attitudes" (TP2000 page 34). It takes us through concepts ad generalizations that are relevant to a Middle School classroom or student.

Reflection: This is a perfect chapter for right before starting our units. The examples were very helpful. It shows way to be able to use the MLRs and has more great ideas for standard that could be for the school to have. I liked that it mentioned on page 37 that you should do "place-based" curriculum that relates to local stuff. I think this makes the curriculum more relevant and interesting for students.