What I have Learned?

Two digital books with an
apple sitting on top

Educational blogs, or edublog, are blogs where there is an educational purpose. For educators, a blog is a
great place for professional development or sharing new resources with others. The blog can be an expressive space for students to develop literature and creatively share their knowledge. Of course, these blogs would be available for all family members to see, so they can see what their child has been working on at school. 

I got to enjoy reading Ava Holders' blog about standardized testing. I agree with everything she shared about the struggles of standardized testing. I also wrote about how standardized tests do not define anyone as a student, and they do not focus on each child as an individual. Ava also linked a great source. I also found Maggie Beeler's blog about children's literature. I loved how she wrote her blog along with her passion for reading. In each of her blogs, she shares personal experiences with books and children's literature. Lastly, I read Marisa Chapman's blog. She shared some fun ways that technology can impact children's learning. There are new things like virtual field trips that take the hard part of field trips away. All three of the blogs I read shared new ideas and new topics I had not thought about yet.

I have enjoyed blogging and think it would be beneficial in my classroom. I could have a blog sent out every week about what is happening that week, but I could also make an example blog for my students. They could choose to blog about an assignment instead of writing an easy, doing research blog or blogging about books they have read. This way, their blogs connect back to the course content, but they have a different way of presenting their knowledge. I also think adding a blogging incentive would help children grow their creativity and explore their classmate's blogs.

School Safety

A sign displaying this 
is a school safety zone

 School safety is more than protecting children from physically harmful situations, but also mentally harmful situations too. Even if there is no threat to the school to physically harm students, there can be people who are mentally harming them. It is essential that security, administrators, and teachers
work together to create a welcoming and inviting environment so students can trust them. If the adults involved at the school can gain the trust of the students, then the students are more inclined to talk to a trusted adult if a situation ends up happening. Educators are in schools for much more than teaching curriculum. They help children socialize, teach life lessons, and support each child so they can reach their full potential. There will always be room to grow when it comes to school safety, and it is hard to know some children are still struggling while feeling unsafe at school.

Personally, I have never felt unsafe at school. This was because my administration in elementary, middle, and high school knew what was going to happen before it happened. They were always aware of any potential threats and handled them before students were affected. We also were a community. I did not go to super small schools, but everyone just knew everyone. The adults in charge of us wanted to make sure they were building a community school culture where everyone did feel safe, and I agree with that one hundred percent. This is one reason I wanted to go into education because I want to help give the same positive school experience that I had. Children spend the majority of their day and lives at school, and there needs to be more done to make their lives safer and more accessible. Today that is a challenging task to complete, but with more adults that care in the school then, we can see some changes. 

Standardized Testing

Do you have a child in elementary school in Tennessee? Well, if you do, have you heard about the new law that can make your third grader held back? Standardized testing in Tennessee had some changes recently. They have added a new law effective this year that would keep third-grade students from moving

Cartoon girl sitting at a desk 
throwing her pencil down

to the fourth grade if they do not score proficient in reading. This idea came from the idea that students may be behind due to covid, but this is an added stress to teachers, students, and families. Students in first and second grade are now taking practice standardized tests to help prepare them for the first year they count, in the third grade. In years past, teachers did not want to alarm their students or make them anxious about the test, so they just encouraged them to do their best and said that it did not count for anything. Now, teachers have to tell their eight and nine-year-olds if they do not reach proficiency, they will have to redo the third grade. 

Standardized tests, in my opinion, do not show how well students learned this year. They show how well students are at taking tests. Many students, including myself, developed test anxiety from standardized tests to the point where they could not take tests during the regular school day. Teachers learn throughout their school to become a teacher that every child is different and learns differently. How do standardize tests show that? They do not show students as individuals with different abilities and strengths. In the regular classroom, teachers prepare accommodations daily for children who may be developmentally behind, but the state's standardized tests do not do that. They may make time accommodations, but the test is the same for all. The TCAP, TNREADY, and the ACT should not be deciding factors in what schools a child gets into or if they should move onto the next grade level. Some universities have given grace for test scores, but the state should continue to use standardized tests in elementary schools as data.

Cyberbullying

Red circle with a slash through the middle with the writting "cyberbullying"

 Cyberbullying amongst middle and high schoolers has skyrocketed due to the amount of technology they have access to. Cyberbullying can be hard for parents and teachers to see because it is being hidden by a screen. Children feel as if they can say whatever they want online since they can hide behind their screens. It is almost as if these students only have confidence in being rude through online platforms. Cyberbullying occurs on social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, and Tik Tok. However, it can happen through any form of communication, such as text messages, chat rooms, and emails. Cyberbullies are ruining even fun video games. Often young people think that their messages online can not be traced back to them or that the message will vanish (like the platform Snapchat). However, the effects of their words are longer lasting than a ten-second picture. There have been new laws in place to help victims of cyberbullying by punishing the bully.

Young boy looks at his phone 
and looks scared of what is on it.

Cyberbullying is difficult for some adults to recognize because this was not a thing they had to deal with growing up. Children often seem embarrassed to bring up this form of bullying because it might start innocently "teasing." Today in classrooms, many schools have technology for every student, or they bring in personal technology from home, which can make cyberbullying happen more often. Children today are never unplugged from technology, and this is one negative of technology. Some cyberbullies do get in trouble with schools, but there are still too many people getting away with it. It is time for parents and teachers to monitor the technology at home and in the classroom to help stop cyberbullying at the early stages. The laws in place might not be good enough. Educators need to protect their students and make sure no one is being harmed by the use of technology.