Chapter 7: Thinking about Teaching and Learning

I like the idea of a Student-Focused Classroom because I think that an encouragement on hands-on activities is really important. I also think that activities are the best way to remember certain subjects because you associate a subject with a (hopefully) good experience. (286)

I like that the Socratic Method puts an emphasis on the connection between society and teaching, for if all of society if taught poorly, then society is going to be much less successful. (264)

I also really like the thoughts of Ralph W. Tyler because his four step framework is something that is very straight forward, but seems to be very practical and effective. (266)

Chapter 3: Families and Communities

After reading chapter three of The Joy of Teaching, I believe that "Partnerships between teachers and families can improve the learning of students." I believe that throughout the student's educational journey, there needs to be connection between the home and the school. When students feel that their parents are involved in their education, they see that their family cares about their progress through school and their achievements throughout. Almost all "principles report that their school is welcoming to parents, but only 6 out of 10 parents see their school in the same way" (113). In this way there is some sort of hindrance within the school that is holding parents back from being welcomed. When there is a comfortable atmosphere and a welcoming attitude coming from both the school and faculty members, it is easier for the family of a student to feel as though their involvement in their child's education is welcome. Throughout the school year, the teacher needs to have a direct hand in communicating with the parents in order to maintain some sort of attachment to their students education. Only when this is done will the family want to further involve themselves in the school. Some of the easiest ways to get parent interested in their child's education include parent-teacher conferences, volunteering, and involvement in family-teacher organizations such as the PTA. When the student sees that their family cares enough about their education to be involved in what is happening, and using some of their own time to get involved, it will encourage them within the classroom to achieve goals.

Chapter 2: Today's Students

In Chapter 2 of The Joy of Teaching the influence of gender in the classroom is addressed. The author stresses the fact that no test has ever proven there to be a difference in intelligence, although tests have proven there to be differences in math, verbal, and spatial skills. This is known to be due to the fact that boys favor the right hemisphere of their brain (dealing with spatial skills, math, and science) where as girls tend to favor the left hemisphere of the brain (dealing with language and sequential skills). This is not a foolproof method of thought because not every person falls into the category of intelligence defined by their sex and may do well in other subjects. It is argued that teachers will do better in their classroom if they understand how the theories regarding the hemispheres of the brain work because they can develop more appropriate lessons for both genders by targeting skills that will aid each set of intelligences in a different way. Culture also plays a large role because many students are socialized to embody the emotional characteristics of their biological gender, but many students are faced with possessing characteristics of the opposite gender sometimes causing depression and other feelings; the teacher has to treat all students equally and offer praise regardless of gender and gender identity.