Web Log 1: Introduction

Personal information
1. Name:  Maria
   Hometown:  Strongsville, Ohio
   Primary email:  mbertoncin15@jcu.edu

2. What name do you prefer to be called?  Maria

3. Grade level:  Elementary
   Licensure:  Early Childhood Education
   District:  South Euclid/Lyndhurst, Sunview Elementary

4. What are you into:  I enjoy going out with friends and relaxing with my family.  I like watching sports and drawing/painting.  I also love watching movies, and when I have time I like to read.  I am an outdoors person and love exploring new places(vacationing).

Learning Style and more

5. For me to be completely comfortable in my classroom setting, I must feel it is a safe, open environment.  I also have to be able to trust my teacher/professor and be able to communicate easily with my classmates.  The more interesting the required material and readings are, the easier it is for me to incorporate myself during both studying and particiapting in the classroom. The discussion on Tuesday of this week was particularly interesting to me because prejudices are very current, and ongoing in our country.  The one aspect of the movie that was not mentioned in class however was the fact that Ludacris's (character) friend was surprisingly unbiased.  He was very down to earth and was trying to see the other side of things, as our class spoke about.

6. My perception of myself as a student as changed throughout my studies.  I have always been shy about speaking in front of the class and especially during presentations/speeches.  During class discussions I tend to stay quiet but I hope to change this and be more open to sharing my opinions and thoughts with everyone else. Just last quarter at Ohio State I was required to take a speech class.  I found that with each passing speech I became more and more comfortable speaking in front of people.  However since this was a specific speech class, this feeling faded.  I consider myself very responsible and tend to get my work done considerably early.  I am very honest person and tend to tell people the truth up-front.  I prefer to learn hands on and visually. 

7. I tend to have a lot of questions.  I either ask them in front of the class or sometimes I will stay a few minutes after. I am the type of person that needs every little detail to be clarified, especially when working on assignments.

Education Past and Present

8. As a student, I do recall many specific memories throughout my education.  However, I find it best to discuss the fact that my mind set and opinion on education has changed drastically and with each new year I find it more and more significant in my life.  In high school I tended to speed through my work and not concentrate on what my teachers wanted me to learn and what they viewed as important.  Throughout college though I began thinking about my own opinions towards education and I began to view it as a very significant component to our society.  As I began grad school here at John Carroll, my view has progressed even more, and I simply cannot wait to be a teacher myself someday, hopefully soon.

9. An issue that I find facing the field of education right now is poverty.  I have worked in low-income communities and I have witnessed the unequal opporutnities that they are faced with.  Another issue that I find is that a lot of people view the teaching profession as simple and not important, which I highly disagree with.  One specific example is when I was able to attend a upper-class school for two days and compare it to my assigned school.  I could see how different it was both inside and out.  The school was so much nicer and the classrooms were stacked with equipment.  I watched as the students seemed to be even more engaged and they had much more options throughout their lessons.  This disheartened me in a way because I personally think that every child should have equal opportunities to succeed and prosper into their future.

10. For a course to be highly effective and appreciated, I feel it should include class discussions and group work.  I feel group work and discussions can both be used in the real world and therefore will be taken more seriously.  Individual work is also necessary, but can include things like reading and studying at home.  One thing to avoid in a couse like this in my opinion are presentatios.  In past experience, I feel presentations are soley for the person presenting and it is hard for the rest of the class to pay attention.  I think group work should more be about compromising and sharing ideas/opinions.