#artifact6

[charlottecrilet-artifacts]

Artifact #6: Reaction Paper

Here in the Philippines, giving homeworks or assignments during weekends has been one of the issues presented in local and national newspapers. I first encountered this concern when I was in elementary. As a grade schooler, I even rejoiced when I heard the news about it. Banning homeworks would be a great help for those who have lots of things to do not only in school, but also in their homes.

As I read the article about the academic success of students when making homeworks, I have realized that there are limited implications of homeworks. We may say that the learners become ready for the next topic; however, most of these students are not really able comply with the learnings completely. Students are not able to learn, but to do it just for the requirement. Instead of resting once students go home, they still have to finish these assignments before going to school the next day.

Personally, I am not a fan of doing assignments and this has been my routine ever since in elementary. Yet, I still submit my assignments just to comply with the grades needed in class. This work, for me, is taxing absolutely for those who have other sentiments and things to do aside from acads. I see the benefits of making homeworks; however, the frustration of a student piles up if the homework contains too much questions that needs to be answered and in the end, these answers are not used in classroom discussion.

If teachers are able to use these assignments wisely and properly, maybe I will do everything wholeheartedly, but recently, homeworks are just used for plus points instead of learning. I do believe that grades matter, yet as I grow old, learnings matter more.

REFLECTION:

Not everyone are able to comply with the requirements needed in school. What I believe is that in the premises of homework, it more disables and frustrates a students for his or her work load. A 21st century learner is a multitasker indeed, but I still believe that these students still need to handle their mental health very well. Their only break most of the time is at home and once we take it away from them, we are also dealing with the fact that these teenagers are more prone to anxiety because of piled-up works. I myself witnessed a lot of my classmates and friends dealing with their anxiety because of acads. Students from different institutions have also have their different requirements and schedule. If we consider homework everyday, it is also taking away their only time for themselves.

As long as homeworks are reasonable and valid for the lesson, I would still be able to handle the load. However, as time passes by, multitasking is not anymore. It takes consideration, time management and even anger management to handle assignments. Different 21st century learners, different phasing, different workloads.

[georgehumcdns3600]

ARTIFACT 6: Ottawa 2017 Event

http://www.ottawa2017.ca/ottawa-students-to-add-youthful-momentum-to-canadas-150th-anniversary-celebrations/

This article highlights the engagement of students to promote involvement with Ottawa 2017 celebrations. Specifically, it mentions the partnership between Ottawa-area school boards and the Ottawa 2017 Bureau. Through this partnership, students have an ability to participate in and volunteer for Ottawa 2017 events. Overall, despite being a municipal initiative rather than a federal one, this artifact ties to the theme of engaging and inspiring youth. The header photo additionally (and likely intentionally) highlights the diversity and inclusivity of the initiative. This artifact is interesting because it demonstrates the role of the state in using its various components (in this case, education) to support large horizontal initiatives. It shows that there is a degree of coercion involved in some “youth engagement” programs, as it is likely that individual schools will make some participation obligatory (such as for mandatory volunteer hours required to graduate). However, this may help engage students who might not be otherwise. Similar to the Canada 150 logo design process, such programs help the state prepare and organize events. In this case, a pool of volunteers can support the official festivities. This artifact can also be contrasted with the 4Rs movement, which represents a more explorative and elective mode of youth engagement.

[katharineseducationportfoli-blog]

Artifact 6

[katharineseducationportfoli-blog]

Artifact 6 Reflection

       How could I talk about STEM studies in relationship to the humanities without talking about myself? I am the daughter of two PhD’s, both of which are in STEM fields, and I am extraordinarily lucky to have grown up the way I did.  My parents constantly drilled into me the importance of a liberal arts education, no matter what I would end up doing. My father reminded me that despite the fact that he’s an engineer, at least half, if not more, of his work requires writing skills and the ability to communicate complicate technical and scientific information to those who may not be as informed in specific fields. My father would constantly tell me that I might have to make a decision about what I wanted to do, whether I wanted to make a lot of money, and not enjoy my job as much, or enjoy my job and not make a lot of money.  It’s a decision a lot of college students have to make, particularly with the price of higher education being as high as it is. My mother in turn would remind me how important high school was, how lucky I was to be in such a great high school. I would roll my eyes until I truly realized how lucky I was. My parents would remind me of how they moved one county over so I could have a better education because the town that they originally lived in wouldn’t pay to fix the school’s leaking roof. My school could afford computers, to fix maintenance issues, to teach AP classes and have a somewhat broad variety of classes for me to take so that I could discover what I was truly interested in.

       To fix our education problem we need to fix our perception of education, our willingness to pay for education, and the way we talk about education. We created public schools so everyone could have a chance; that quintessential American Dream that some of us learned about in high school. How can we fix this problem though, when we are so involved with a different, nonexistent problem? The kind of encouragement and reminders that my parents gave me is what we need to give students now. A reminder than paths can lead wherever you want them to, that STEM and liberal arts are not mutually exclusive but symbiotic, and a reminder that happiness can be just as important as money.

[allegrasedproj-blog]

Artifact 6

On my fourth visit at my placement all of us played a hearing game. One person would sit on a chair blindfolded while everyone else sat on the carpet. The teacher or I (when I wasn’t blindfolded) would call on a student to go anywhere in the room they wanted and either say “Hi [person’s name who was sitting in the chair]” or shake a keychain with many keys on it. The person on the chair pointed to where they heard the noise come from. Afterwards, we talked about it.

This was an extension of a note I wrote in my field notes after going to my field placement. I chose to do this as my last artifact because it is more personal to me and something I saw firsthand, while also participating in it myself. Even though this activity was required and not chosen by the students themselves, they still had a lot of fun and were excited to do it. The students had actually already done this activity earlier in the week. The only reason they were doing it again was to show me. The teacher thought it would be cool to show me some things she has them do. Also, it was a really great way to see what they remembered and understood. It was a test in itself. The teacher had the students explain how it worked to me, and why I had a harder time when I was blindfolded as opposed to just when I had my eyes open and had to point to where they were. This wasn’t even the first time we had done this type of thing; the students also showed and explained to me an activity they did with an eyepatch and taking it off in a dark room. This was the best way for me to be able to immerse myself in a part of how the students learn. For the most part, the teacher just stood there watching. She didn’t really jump in too much, except to help make it run smoothly and on time. But it was her brainchild and execution of this activity that made it successful in my mind and in the kids’ minds. If she wasn’t there, it wouldn’t have gone as smoothly. Anyone can facilitate an activity, but only some people can teach through facilitating.