C4T #2

The teacher I was assigned to is named Diane Dahl. She has a Master's degree in Brain Based Teaching through Brain Smart at Nova Southeastern University. Her first blog was called Arithmetic Developed Daily. In this blog she spoke about a program she uses in classes called Arithmetic Developed Daily (ADD). This program uses techniques that allow students to do warm up math exercises for 5-7 minutes each day. She also said that this same technique could be used for other subjects such as reading, science, writing, and social studies. I found this very interesting and something I would try to incorporate into my future classes, to get my students' brain pumping each day. My response was:

This was really interesting to me. I think that ADD Math is a good idea and I would look forward to implementing that into my classroom lesson plans when I become a teacher. It's good to stimulate a child's mind in the morning with quick math lessons to get the day started.


Diane second blog is titled,How One Teacher Changed a Life.This was such a great blog post. Diane told a personal story about a girl whose teacher impacted her life greatly, with just one comment, "You are smart. I expect more out of you than this." The girl had been told her whole life that she was the "pretty" daughter, and she had a pretty low self-esteem about herself This comment by the teacher,Mr.Rose, pushed her to go on and make straight A's. She then furthered her education by getting her Master's degree and becoming a teacher.
The point of her story was to show how as teachers, you can plant seeds in children. Diane made a great point of saying that planting positive seeds early in students can show them that they are capable, no matter what type of upbringing they've had or environment they've grown up in. I agree 100% with Diane. If students do not feel good about themselves and do not have a healthy home life, then it is our job as teachers is to plant that seed in them because for eight hours of the day, we are responsible for them. We also have a big influence on them. If we put forth positive energy in their lives, then they will certainly do the same, if not immediately, then surely one day in their life. My comment to this post was:

Hi!
I am a student at the University of South Alabama and I am in a class called EDM 310 where we learn about blogging and different things. I must say that this was my favorite blog that I've read so far. I totally agree that the gift of "planting seeds" is the most powerful. I'm very happy that this one teacher motivated you to become who you are. Teachers are some of the best people who, I feel, are the most capable of planting seeds in children because they spend the most time with them, besides their parents. Teachers are great influences! One of my biggest goals as a teacher is to reach as many students as I can in a positive way. I want to plant many seeds, just as Mr.Rose planted in you!