Final blog

As I thought back on all the discussions we have had in this class, I tried to come up with a word or phrase that could summarize how I felt about it.  The one word that keeps coming back to me is that it made me think.  Although this word may seem simplistic, I think it fits the nature of a philosophy class.  Even though I was aware of most of the out of school factors since I have been teaching for many years and have experienced first hand some of the baggage that my students come to school carrying, it was interesting and informative to discuss them in depth.  I teach eighth graders and do not often think about the circumstances of the child's birth or environmental factors that still influence that child's education.  Family and neighborhood factors are obvious but are things we should still always remember when teaching our students.   I also enjoyed the debate that I took part in on extending the school day or year.  Researching that topic helped me realize how many factors must be analyzed before just concluding that the school day or year needs to be lengthened.  It is easy to say students will perform better academically and learn more if the day or year is extended, but there are so many other things that need to be examined before actually implementing such a plan.  School funding is certainly one of those factors that need to be closely looked at before a school or district can extend the day or year.  As we hear about more and more budget cuts, teacher layoffs, and school closings in the past few weeks, I have to wonder: where would this money come from to increase the length of the day or year?  Teachers and staff would have to be compensated and the costs of more materials for the students for the year would have to be taken into consideration.  It is a great idea to keep our most at-risk students in school longer, but it always comes down to funding before a final decision can be made.  

As I stated earlier, this class made me really think about the things that affect our schools and students.  During the school year, we are often so caught up in our day-to-day lives and our busy school day, we do not take the time to think about all of the factors that affect our students and our teachers.  I hope I will always be able to remember these discussions from this class and stay current with these events.  I think it will make me a better teacher and that is always best for our students.