Mr. Rogers' Curriculum

As I was contemplating a career change, a path that I was looking to embark on was that of becoming an Educator.  I started the path off by becoming a substitute teacher.  I was not sure which grade I wanted to teach so I started off by subbing for some elementary school classes.  After subbing for a few elementary classes, in which I enjoyed I felt it was time to see what middle school classes were like.  It ended up I subbed for one middle school class and it turned out to be a nightmare for myself so I decided middle school classes were not for me.  I then moved on to high school classes.  I substituted a couple different high schools, but then ended up taking on a long term sub position for teacher who chose to retire mid-term.  The students were Special Education, and after spending three months with them it was then that I decided I wanted to become a Special Education Teacher.

I applied to get into the Alternative Licensure Program and was accepted and by doing this it allowed me to get my Intern License.  After getting my I-License it enabled me to get a teaching job while I went to school.  I am a Special Education Teacher for an Alternative High School in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Something that I have observed at both my current school as well as the one I was a long term substitute for was that some of my special education students could not read very well. The book that I read for class was “There are no shortcuts” by Rafe Esquith.  Mr. Esquith states in his book that “reading is the most important subject in school. If a child cannot learn to read well and love to read, the chances of that kid finding success and happiness on any level are low.” In this book Mr. Esquith talks about how elementary school kids develop a hate for reading due to the basal readers that they were required to read from.  The stories were boring as well as requiring the students to do a lot of work sheets to build the student’s skills. The kids did not learn any skills from these sheets; it caused the students to dislike reading.

So in my school for elementary students learning to read well along with developing a love to read will be of most importance.  Mr. Esquith eliminated all state-sponsored books since he felt that they killed the joy of reading that reading is supposed to give.  He chose to read literature with his students and this is also the curriculum I would like to use at my school.  Mr. Esquith is teaching at an Elementary School in Los Angeles, California.  The school is in a lower socio-economic neighborhood, and I too would like to teach in a lower socio-economic school in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Mr. Rogers' Bias

As I was trying to determine a bias that I could phlog about, I thought this was going to be simple! I would talk about how I have issues with parents of children with special needs. If that was what I had issues with then good luck to me since that topic is so generic and that phlog would be more like a project and would take months. So in narrowing down the topic it is the parents of children who have multiple exceptionalities that the child basically is incapable of learning. Granted I understand that the child is entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), but come on parents please have some common sense. Since FAPE is a federal law it is not so much with the parents I have issues with it. It is with the federal government that I have real issues with. They require educators to provide instructional time to every child, even to children who have been diagnosed as being unable to educate.

I have a hard time with parents who put on a good show making the courts think that what they are doing is in the best interest of the child. When in reality it seems that the parent is looking for a place to take their child, in order for the parent to get a break from their child.  All this is being provided by taxpayers. I know this can be a controversial topic, and parents have a hard time understanding who it is that makes the decision of their child being able to learn or not. I know that I am currently taking classes to become a special education teacher and my opinions about students, who have been diagnosed as being unable to educate, will probably change as it would if it was a child of mine who had been diagnosed as being unable to educate. At this time I feel that the teachers who are teaching students who have been diagnosed as unable to educate could be better used elsewhere.

New Mexico's Teacher of the Year

                                It is with great honor that the Albuquerque Journal announces Kevin Rogers as New Mexico’s Teacher of the Year. The New Mexico Teacher of Year Program is sponsored by the American Federation of Teachers – NM, Golden Apple Foundation of New Mexico, SMARTer Kids Foundation, PNM, Sandia National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Santa Fe Capital City Florists, Ortiz Printing of Santa Fe Team Sales, and the New Mexico chapter of the National State Teachers of the Year.  By receiving this award it puts Mr. Rogers into the running for National Teacher of the Year which will be awarded during the summer of 2017.

                                Mr. Rogers is a Special Education Teacher at Career Academic Technical Academy an alternative High School here in Albuquerque.  Mr. Rogers chose a career in Special Education after spending eleven years with Intel Corporation.  As Mr. Rogers was deciding on what he wanted to do as a second career becoming an educator was at the top of his list.  Already having a bachelor’s degree Mr. Rogers was able to get into the Alternative Licensure Program in New Mexico. Being in this program it allowed him to get his I-license which enabled him to work as a teacher while he went to school to get his teaching license.  Mr. Rogers has always had a desire to help students with special needs.

                                The Journal spoke with a few of Mr. Rogers’ students’ parents  and when asked what they thought about Mr. Rogers and him winning this award they both felt that he was deserving of the award because there was never a time that Mr. Rogers did not follow their child’s  Individual  Educational  Plan (IEP).  Which is a Federal requirement for each child who has a special need? In addition to speaking with some parents the Journal was also able to speak to some of his administration.   They too felt Mr. Rogers was deserving of the award because besides taking the time for each of his students, Mr. Rogers also took the time to coordinate time to collaborate with his fellow teachers.  The Journal would like to wish Mr. Rogers the Best of Luck in his running for The National Teacher of the Year Award.

Welcome to Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood II

My desire to help people played a major role as I was deciding what I would like to be doing for my second career.  Even though I was aware of how bad the educational system in the USA was, becoming a teacher was one of the professions that I thought about.  I started off by being a substitute teacher; I did this to see how much school had changed since I had been in the public school system. I had the opportunity to be a long term substitute at one of the local high schools. The job was for a special education teacher who had retired mid semester.  I was not expected to last two weeks but, the students and I worked well together and I finished out the school year. So I have decided to become a Special Education Teacher.

As a Special Education Teacher I will ensure that each of my students has an Individual Educational Plan and instruct to that plan.  I agree with Cookson that education and sociology work well together but also feel that a change has to come to help get the educational system back on track. Not sure if I agree with Miller and his thoughts about the Federal Government being involved with Education.  Change needs to happen just not sure if it should involve the Federal Government.

Super Bowl perdiction and point spread. Giants will win 30 to 24.

Democracy and Education

In class, during the group activity the instructor wanted us to grapple with these uestions;

1)      How do we define democracy?  What does it mean to be democratic and live democratically?

2)      What rights and responsibilities do we have as citizens, living in a democracy?

3)      What skills and dispositions are essential for citizens to effectively participate in a democracy?

4)      Do we actually live in a democracy?  Do you feel our country embodies the ideas of democratic government?  Do our schools and educational reflect democratic ideals? How so? How not?

5)      What role (and responsibility), if any, do we as teachers have in maintaining or revitalizing democracy through our teaching?

As the group was discussing the above mentioned questions I felt that there were a few of us that agreed upon the need for the citizens to be informed to make good decsions.  After researching Democracy and Education blogs I found a forum http://forumforeducation.org/our-team/our-mission, which deals with Democracy and Education. In pursuing our mission, we are guided by the following core values:

1. Public education is foremost about enabling all young people to develop their strengths, use their minds well, and become connected to their communities.
2. Student work in schools should be intellectually challenging, connected to the skills needed for real world success, and personalized so that children are known well by those who teach them.
3. Public education is fundamental to a democratic, civil, prosperous society.
4. Public schools are critical institutions for breaking the cycle of poverty and redressing social inequities.
5. Public engagement, community support, and adequate, equitably distributed resources are essential to the success of public education.
6. Parents and communities should be involved in all attempts to improve public schools.
7. The work of education for democratic citizenship is not only the responsibility of the public schools; other cultural and civic institutions must share the responsibility of meeting the needs of our youngest.
8. Public policy choices affecting public education should always be assessed on the basis of their contribution to equitable educational resources, their impact on local control, and whether or not they support the public education's most central mission - the development of free and responsible democratic citizens.
9. Our children can only learn when their basic needs – from nutrition to health care and housing – are met. Our commitment to children, and to a public education system, is demonstrated by our commitment to provide these fundamental needs.

From this blog I realise that in order to have informed citizens it starts with public schools.  Being a Special Education teacher I know that my students will have challenges or special needs but I will do all that I can to ensure that these students know the importance of getting a good education to help them make good choices as well as the importance of being involved in activities in their local community.

Welcome to Mr.Rogers' neighborhood

As I was trying to establish my philosophy on education, I determined what better place to start then with my own educational experiences.  I know things have changed greatly since I was in school but some things seem to remain constant.  For example, the teacher is something that has remained a constant.  Along with the teacher, the student also has remained a constant.  As I look back on my educational experiences, the teachers that I benefited the most from were the ones that cared about the students and cared about what they were teaching.  Their care and concern for me made me want to excel.  Their passion for the subject they were teaching was contagious.  I believe that the teacher's care and concern for the student was what John Dewey called sympathetic observation.  I see that as an important part of education in my philosophy. As a special education teacher I know it will be challenging because of the special needs of my students.  I want to be the best teacher that I can be and from my philosophy of education I can do this by showing them that I care and I believe that they can succeed.