SCHOOL NOWADAYS

Hello everyone, today our topic is based on the work that we have done on this subject. How is the school nowadays? Let's figure it out...

Our first topic is the teacher. 

    

Current teacher is as the traditional one, due to the fact that they based in the following points: 

- They are based on teaching the subject without worrying about the different needs of their students. They do not listen to their students as they believe that their role is to give the theory and nothing more. 

- They think that the best way to know if pupils have learned it is sto evaluate with exams.

- They do not communicate enough with the environment of students. The only approach they do is a meeting in the early going and in some cases call the parents to say how badly the pupil has behaved.

Although not all of them are so, because there are some teachers who bet on innovation. This type of teacher is he tends not accept because they are not going to like other traditional, also they are not accept for the same reasons. They want to listen and to help their pupils.

Who are the people who reject it? The society is the one who does not trust a new teacher, who wants to listen to his student and guide him. But it is not only society, as are education agencies themselves who do not support them.

Also is important to notice the impotance of the parent's help at school. And why is it? Simply, because is primordial for the development of the child. He or she needs stability between both sides and if the relation is good the student will have better results than if the relation is worst. 

The school has to give help and initiative to the parents because it has to include on its plans the family because as we know the child stay the majority of the time at home but at the school too. Moreover, parents have the "duty" of educate their children so it's important their help on their education. And we shouldn't forget that education is a thing of everyone and is for that we should make it possible and satisfactory.

Moreover, the timetable of the most of the schools in Andalucía are from 9:00pm to 14:00pm. After the 14:00 the majority of children go home to eat and after that they always have to study so much for exams or to do a lot of homework. They almost don't have time to rest a little bit or to play with other children. 

And we shouldn't forget the new techologies because they are too important in education. Although techologies today are not well used in most schools.

First of all, there are many teachers who are not prepared for the century in which we live and they do not know how to use a digital whiteboard or computer, so they do not directly integrate technology in the classroom. They usually forbid their students to use it.

And this is not good, because we live in a technological era to which we must adapt and try to integrate it into every area of our lives. The school is one of the most important areas we have to do it. 

Today in almost all school, teachers have whiteboards and computers in each class. 

Already it depends on the teacher whether to use these gadgets more or less. Many teachers today (mostly young), that integrate techology in the classroom, have to be very careful that children make a good use of them.

If children make good use of techology, they typically use it to look up information or to do a work in group or individually. 

Teachers must be very careful that children do not use classroom computers to for example such as playing online games (losing so class time and also time to study) or to do bullying to another partner through for example social networks. 

About diversity at school, is good or not? 

Coexistence in an educational context of cultural diversity, with a heterogeneous student body, with different interests and motivations, is quite a challenge for teachers (Carbonell, 2002), and although it should be noted that many of the conflicts are based on own configuration of the school institution, some have to do with the methodology of teachers, as well as their attitude towards a culturally minority students, and the school organization. (Olivencia, J.J.L. 2008).

We think that it is currently not very well treated is diversity in the classroom, at least in the majority of schools, because it is still having many conflicts and harassment among students and most of them are due to racism. The fact that the school is inclusive is a task that still has much to improve, at least in most schools today, because as we have already said, depends on the institution and the own teaching methodology, so we cannot generalize at all.

How are children evaluated and how it should be?

Evaluation is based on the same judgement, that is, based only in exam marks and never with some aspects as works in groups, in pairs or individual for example. Teachers hardly ever keep in mind the students behaviour, that coulb be a good point to keep in mind. Also, since we are little, we are evaluated with number marks.

But we can see that nowadays, little by little it's on a continuous improvement due to the fact that teachers have noticed the importance of evaluate other points like relationships, behaviour...

We hope that you agree with us in all the points because all of them are part of the actual school. See you soon!!!!!

OUR IDEAL SCHOOL

About the explication of our ideal school, we wanted it to do in an original way, so we decided to do a video-conferencing by Skype that we helped a friend with a work of her career.

Below appear the video of what for us is the ideal school, and further down, the dialogue of all the video.

(perdón por la publicidad, no había manera de guardarlo de otra forma)

DIALOGUE

SARA: Hello everybody, how are you?

TODAS: Good!

INMA: Here we are waiting you, we miss you so much!

SARA: Oohhhhh I really miss you too, but girls I have a dilemma a little big and it’s that I don’t know what to do for a University work. Can you help me?

LORENA: A dilemma? What’s wrong? Well I’ll help you, throw the question...

ISA: Yes of course, I love your career!

SARA: Well look, I have to talk about my ideal school and the truth is that I have some points to add but not all of them… 

MARTA: Surprise me with some of them!

SARA: Okay, I’ll tell all of them, but I’m not sure at all.

ISA: Don´t worry!

LORENA: We will help you!

SARA: Hahaha, I love you! So I was thinking that the best option of the school type, between the public school and the private school, it´s the first one. What do you think?

INMA: Oh, yes this is a good election, because in the public one, each child can study without any limits.

LORENA: Also it´s more equal, due to the fact that in this one all the children have the same goals which will develop together...

SARA: Oh yes, it is...

LORENA: But it is important that it is free, because not all of them have enough money...

SARA: Girls, what do you think about the separate depending of the level?

MARTA: I don't agree with it anyway, because in my opinion what you are doing is to say who is cleverer than the others, and making the good and clever class and the mad and bad class…

INMA: Oh yes, and also if all the children are in the same class they would learn of each one as we can see in the film “entre maestros”.

LORENA: Yes, here each of them could give a little by a little to make a common knowledge.

SARA: What about the age’s classifications? 

ISA: I think the same that in the other question, because why we have to say where can go each children if they can choose.

MARTA: It's true, because the littlest children could learn of the biggest children, and inversely proportional.

SARA: So you choose the public one because each child can go and learn without any limits, but you don't want any classification of clever or ages, is it?

MARTA: Yes, it is.

SARA: Okay, now we will change the theme… what do you think about the inclusion?

ISA: This is a good question!

MARTA: Oh yes it is!

LORENA: In my opinion school isn't doing things on the right way, because if you want inclusion, you don´t put each student with a special need in other class with others specials teachers.

INMA: I guess that the best option to do an inclusive school is to put all children in the same class, where each of them would give their helps to the others.

MARTA: Also if they are in the same class, they will learn to respect the others.

LORENA: Yes, they would learn values, and in this way we will make good citizens.

ISA: Although school needs the help of the parents, who have to be as support for it.

MARTA: Oh yes, and the teacher has to be closer to his or her pupils and to listen them.

SARA: So I understand that you considered the actual inclusion as a bad way to the future school, and the mistake it´s to classificate. So you guess that the thing is to put all in the same class with a closer teacher who listen her or his pupils, and also with the help of the parents and it could solve the problem?

MARTA: Yes, the parents help is really important because they teach things in their home to their children too like how to behave. 

INMA: But girls do you think that all the teachers are well formed?

LORENA: No, teachers must have a good formation and it has to be constantly and permanent with innovations.

ISA: Yes, education is related with the society and it’s something that is in constant transformation. 

SARA: Yeah sure, it should advance, I’ll add it too it’s really important this one. 

INMA: And don’t forget to add the new technologies.

SARA: Of course not! I think they’re primordial nowadays. Without technology we can’t advance.

MARTA: But don’t you think that computers on primary stage aren’t healthy?

LORENA: Well, well not at all, is important for them to know how to use a computer to look for information or to do a work in group or individual...

ISA: The school sometimes don’t have time to put in the timetable classes for that... 

LORENA: They should put it anyway

SARA: Yes but they should change the timetable in general… I think children go to school a bit earlier. A study said that children started to activate their brains at 10:00 a.m. so everything about it is wrong. 

INMA: The organization of the school must change a lot of things starting for that one. 

SARA: But girls... What do you think is the best way to value on primary?

INMA: I think that children shouldn’t learn from memory… 

MARTA: Yes, I agree with that, they can’t spit out everything they studied and then forget it...

ISA: Teachers should innovate with different methods and use more practice on their lessons. 

LORENA: If they work in group too they’ll learn better and they’ll see that what they’re studying is value for their future. 

SARA: I have another question about evaluation, because I think students must be evaluated but people say to me that it’s better not to evaluate. What do you think? 

INMA: I disagree with you. Children should be evaluated but not only with numeral califications. 

MARTA: It’s true! And teachers must count with other parameters as behaviour, creativity and imagination. 

SARA: And… any exams?

ISA: Exams are boring and they are going to be out of fashion!

LORENA: The best option is doing projects. With them you can improve their abilities about working with their partners or individually.

INMA: Yes! And you can work the tolerance between them because nowadays there are a lot of different cultures on the classes. 

SARA: Yes! I saw that in a teaching documentary about Montessori and Waldorf!

ISA: With projects you improve the practice and…¡¡la práctica da la soltura!!

INMA: You are always with your set phrases… But I agree, because with the practice, you can avoid the traditional studying form. 

SARA: I totally agree with you. I thought doing exams was only the way to calificate students. 

MARTA: And... What about the punishment?

LORENA: I totally disagree with punishment. In the past, teachers and parents thought punishment was the best option to educate a child, and the majority of the time, was hitting them. 

SARA: It’s horrible! As teacher I would never stick a child! I think at the beginning of the course, all the class should put some rules and the possible punishments you must achieve if you do something bad. 

INMA: As a type of “asamblea”?

SARA: Yes!

ISA: Oh! I love this idea! I know you will be a great teacher!

LORENA: But what type of punishments could you do? Some examples?

SARA: Like any break. Could be?

TODAS: YES!!! 

MARTA: I hope we help you a lot!!!!

SARA: Yes girls, thank you so much. So the perfect school would be: Respecto al colegio, un espacio público en el que todos los niños estén juntos y no estén separados por edades, ni por niveles ni por necesidades especiales... En este espacio todos aprenden de todos, pudiendo explorar sin límite.

MARTA: Los profesores tendrán que adoptar una postura de continuos investigadores para que estén actualizados. 

INMA: Las tecnologías serán usadas para trabajar en grupo y estarán disponibles para que busquen cualquier información necesaria.

LORENA: El horario será el siguiente. De 10-14 clase. De 14-15, almuerzo y de 15-17 clases en las que puedan estudiar con la ayuda del profesor para q a partir de las 5 los niños tienen todo el tiempo para jugar y estar con su familia.

SARA: Respecto a la dinámica de las clases, debería de haber más práctica y menos teoría ya que los niños aprenden mas realizando actividades. 

MARTA: En la evaluación no constará la palabra examen, puesto a que proponemos el trabajo por proyecto, en el que los niños colaboren para llegar a un objetivo común.

INMA: Y en cuanto a los castigos, a principio de curso se hacen una lista de normas que aplicarán en una asamblea y deberán cumplir durante todo el curso. 

SARA: Thanks again!!! I really love you... See you soon...

ISA: See you at the Friday party!!

TODAS: BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

THE END

ARTICLE WITH EXPERIENCES ABOUT POLITICAL

Today we will talk about our experiences by an interesting article “Resolución de conflictos en la escuela: una herramienta para la cultura de paz y la convivencia” (2000).

We think that the school has a great failure that is since the conflicts see, due to the fact that we remember how our teacher were solving the problems. But not only since they it was solving but since they you saw after taking part in a conflict, about it the article says: “Exiten en el sistema educativo una serie de prejuicios asociados al conflicto; no se percibe el aprendizaje que puede proporcionar el cometer un error, un fracaso…. el sistema educativo no es una institución que facilite y motive el aprendizaje y el crecimiento a partir de los errores, sino la vergüenza y el temor a cometerlos. El conflicto debe ocultarse, negarse o disimularse. El conflicto es obsceno, avergüenza, pone en evidencia nuestra incompetencia… (2000)”.  We guess that if you do something bad, you will be considered as a criminal because it´s how society describe it. So the focus of this problem probably is how society perceive it. Perhaps the society is influencing the school. On the other hand, if we are considering conflicts as a bad thing, we won´t respect the needs of our pupils. And this happened to us, because our teachers didn´t respect our needs.
Although conflicts not always are bad, because they help to develop the negotiate part due to the fact that they also help children to solve them with a right negotiation: “… El conflicto es necesario para la transformación de las estructuras, las prácticas y los valores educativos, promoviendo la resolución pacífica y constructiva de conflictos, rescatando en éste, por lo tanto, una dimensión educativa y considerando a las perspectivas celosas del poder como perturbadoras del status quo… (2000)”.
In spite of our opinion that conflicts must be regulate, due to the fact that it changes into violence. So this could be the task of the school. The school would teach the needs limits to their pupils, and with this could develop many positives things as moral autonomic. But also it´s necessary to teach “resolución de conflictos” and the concept of empathy.
Finally, we think that the task of the school is this to teach how to solve the conflict and to take advance of the right part of it.

Fuentes:
funes, S.. (2000). Resolución de conflictos en la escuela: una herramienta para la cultura de paz y la convivencia. Dialet, 3, 91-106.Today we will talk about our experiences by an interesting article “Resolución de conflictos en la escuela: una herramienta para la cultura de paz y la convivencia” (2000).

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE ON OUR LIFES AS STUDENT

Here we will explain our own political experience on our Schools, how teachers should punish us (“partes” basically).

            The sanctions could be two possibilities, depending on the character of the teacher or the headmaster this day. One of them was put you a sanction and, if it was really big, you should get your book bag and go home, or if it was less important, you accumulated them and with 3 sanctions, you had no more possibilities, you should leave the school at least three days. Another case was, the teacher put you a “punishment” that was: you have to pick up all the trash that was in the playground in the presence of all your classmates, that they was laughing at you, typical. Another sanction that we cannot forget because it is important too, is: if you had been something wrong, you have to erase all the blackboard of all the school.

            But it was during our high school’s experience because, when we was at school, all it was different. It did not exist the sanctions, which it is not true, but teachers do not send you home, only they should punish you doing activities like in high school as pick up the trash. On pre-school we had no sanctions, only the teacher should say us: “you can’t do this, this is not good”. And generally, we complied with the teacher.

            Regarding to the subjects we had on school, we coincide too. We basically say this because we had the same subjects. It depended on the teacher who teaches this. Teachers should use the same method to impart his/her lection and, they coincide doing it with the most boring way. It was: all the students are sitting on a desk alone, because we can talk. Each and everyone have to open his/her ears as much as possible and pay attention to the teacher all time he/she is talking, without saying a word. Some of the students should slack off and occasionally, fall sleep.

 

            So, to sum up, we think the school should be a place to go motivated and with attitude to learn. Today, it is true that students normally study less than before but it is not his/her fault, because some teachers help us to fall in the dropout. Less punishment and more teach following the right way. 

ARTICLE ABOUT CULTURE AND THE RELATION WITH OUR EXPERIENCE.

Now it’s the turn to culture and we’re going to contrast our experience in the last post with the article we propose now: “De la Cruz, F.M. (Abril de 2009). La necesidad de la educación en valores en la educación primaria. Innovación y experiencias educativas, 17, 1-12.”

First of all we think and agree with the article that the school has to be capable of mix the formation of the moral personality with the cognitive development of each teaching. Moreover, the school has to make a social dimension that parallel demands the implication of the educative community and here we can include the parents to.

The teacher has an important role on the value transmission. As we said in our experience we had some different types of teacher, the most of them were traditional but there were some that taught to us some important values like the tolerance or the respect. We agree with the article that we must pay attention to values and we must make strategies to show them to the students. So it’s demonstrated that the teacher could be a very potential weapon to influence on the children because he or she will influence on the student behaviour and all this because the teacher is someone relevant to the student. The teacher must help the student on his or her personal experience to help to find their personality or the good values that will accompany them along their lifes.









Traditional teachers don't help to the incorporation because they teach without realizing the concrete needs of each one of his pupils: “...la escuela está adoptando el modelo productivo de la fábrica o de la empresa: estamos tratando al alumno como si fuera un producto industrial…”. In our opinion this is a mistake of the school, due to the fact that it doesn´t promote that the children with needs join his class, but it does it by means of special classes. With this to what it is stretched it is that the children see those partners as someone lower than they. From our point of view we think that this one must remove the special classes, in order that they learn of all, they should know that the whole world is like they without any discrimination.


On the other hand, according to the article: “ Esto no se arregla poniendo a un especialista en valores o con una asignatura de ética y de valores” .This is the solution that gives the school to learn to respect the others equally is the implantation of a subject that teaches the values necessary for this. In our opinion this solution is a waste of time, because it isn't necessary to make other subject for it. We think that it has a easy solution, which starts without any special class. This solution continues with a improvement of the teachers at school, they should teach to the students good behaviours which after children will use on their lifes.

Although the school hasn’t the whole load because the role of the parents are important for the solution too, but how should they do it? Since children are small parents should teach them how to behave correctly but we know that nowadays society with parents isn’t good at all. Although we wanted to transmit the importance that they had on their children, they spend a lot of time together so is important to teach them good values too.


And what about the different culture between pupils? we add here our own comment because we think that is really important the diversity between students in the class so in that way they can share a lot of different things with their classmates and they'll learn so much about other cultures that aren't theirs. They'll learn to tolerate each other too and everything will be better for the society.




Finally, we guess that this enormous task the school and the family help can develop it.


We hope you like it!!!!

CULTURE

In the section of culture we have focused on the traditions and values in school.

We think  is so important that every teacher should give to their students lessons of tolerance, respect, help to the others, love…Most of us have had teachers who have not taught us any values.

Teachers should stop being so traditional and start being more practical and modern when they are teaching.

This is not to say that traditional teachers are worse than the modern ones.

Over the years we have spent in school most of our teachers have been traditional (which that not means that it is bad). We always learn something. For example one of us had a teacher in school for four years that was traditional but at the same time she taught her students many values such as respect for others. Or another one had a teacher the last two years of school that for her was the worst at that time (the teacher was a very old man about to retire so strict and not at all friendly) , but once the years passed she realized that actually this teacher had taught her how to face situations under pressure and he taught her to have a habit of study.

Sometimes it's more important to learn things that are going to be needed in the future but we are convinced that all these things can be learned in a more fun and not as pressure and stress way.

To sum up we believe that traditional and strict teachers which are anchored to the past ways of teaching should realize that we are in the 21^st century. They do not  have to radically change their way of teaching, but to introduce a little more modern teaching according to the era we are living at the same time that they have to transmit values to their students are going to need both inside and outside school, in society and in life in general.

Bye!!!

ARTICLES WITH OUR EXPERIENCE ABOUT SOCIAL

In this post we will also talk about the social aspects in the school with different articles. We decided to divide in various areas.

In the first place, the relationship between teachers and pupils. As we discussed in our experiences, we think that the most of the teachers are inefficient and they don’t carry out really their work like teacher, because they are limited to give their theory class or to tell their lives without really worrying about the student.

In our opinion, the teacher has an important role in the child’s life so they must to change the attitude and make sure the student has a central role. Especially they must to pay attention to those pupils who live in a poor ambient or other unfavourable situation. We read an interview to Ivor Goodson. This talk about several issues, one of them is the power which has the teacher about that we talked before. “Es el profesorado el que puede marcar la diferencia incluso en situaciones sociales inhóspitas y contradictorias. El profesorado, si insiste puede alcanzar cierto poder, una especie de mediación; incluso cuando las políticas y las posiciones del poder son contrarias, existe una posibilidad, debido a la naturaleza de los docentes, al afecto, que puede actuar como sustento en las clases” (Ivor Goodson, 2000). Además, añade “la profesión docente, si ha de ser recordada como socialmente importante, se tiene que dirigir no solamente a sobrevivir en una clase o impartir el contenido de una asignatura. Aunque ésta es una parte significativa, no resulta suficiente. El profesor o profesora debe pasar de una competencia técnica a una competencia social, la cual requiere tomar conciencia de su misión social. Creo que los mejores profesores no son formalmente conscientes de esto; llevan dentro una fuerte pasión, la de creer por encima de todo en la misión de enseñar. Y eso es lo que creo que deberían hacer los sindicatos docentes, ayudar al profesorado con un fuerte sentido de su competencia técnica para alcanzar la competencia social. La enseñanza es una profesión maravillosa si podemos equilibrar las competencias técnicas con las sociales”.

Estamos totalmente de acuerdo con ello, es lo que explicábamos anteriormente. Pensamos que la relación entre el docente y el alumno debe cambiar mucho en la actualidad y debe haber un ambiente más fluido en el que se impartan valores sociales.

In connection to the theme school-family, we read an article that it talks about that and we think it is very interesting. We think that in the present, this relation is broke and maybe is like two worlds completely different and separates. As we talked in our experiences, the most of the teacher only have in mind to parents when the pupil has a bad behaviour.

The education and the personality of the children are influenced for the family and the school, so the two parts have to be together so that the children have an effective progress. In our opinion, the education in the present is bad in this. The parents have a lot of work and many times they don’t have time to educate in a well way their children, so they leave all the responsibility to the school. Also, in other part, many teachers are limited to teach their subject and they are neglectful of other things that should instil in students, for example, the values or the identity.

Abelló, L. (2007) considera que la función de los padres en la educación de sus hijos debe estar reconocida socialmente para que el poco tiempo que tienen por culpa de los horarios laborales no les impida educar bien a sus hijos. En esto estamos totalmente de acuerdo, tendríamos que cambiar la mentalidad de la sociedad y dar mucha más importancia a la educación de los niños por par tanto de los padres como de la escuela, ya que de su educación dependen muchas dimensiones del futuro. Ni los padres pueden darle todo el cargo de la educación a la escuela, ni viceversa.

En definitiva, debe haber un cambio de mentalidad, y tanto la escuela, como los padres, deben ir en una misma y única dirección.

Reference:

• Abelló, L. (2007). La participación de las madres, padres y tutores en la escuela del siglo XXI. Aula de Innovación Educativa, 15(160), 43-45.
• Goodson, I. (2000). Recuperar el poder docente (entrevista con F. Hernández).Cuadernos de Pedagogía, 295, 44-49.