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Pursuing
Illinois teachers' certification for Mathematics.
Student teacher at Belleville East H.S. |
Why I'm Here
If
one would’ve
asked the pimply-faced, big-eared, seventeen year old version of Dustin
Foster
what he wanted to do, he probably would’ve responded, “I
don’t care, as long as I’m successful.” Back
then I would’ve defined success in terms of gross income and the
one-to-ten
hotness rating of my girlfriend. But now I know that it’s something
entirely
different. To find out how I arrived at my current definition of
success, one
could start by revisiting the impossibly shy, overly naïve college freshman version of Dustin
Foster. read more...
Students at the
Center: My View of Curriculum and Instruction
“What is the purpose of education?” Dr.
Theodore asked. The
reactions varied around the room. Some students sat with their eyes
pointed at
their shoes, relentlessly searching their minds for the answer. Some
sat
awestruck, as if the question had never occurred to them. Everyone in
the
program had spent the majority of their lives being educated. But no
one could
define the purpose. Is it to build America’s prowess as an economic
power? Is
it to teach students to be competent citizens in a democratic society
as John
Dewey suggested? Is it to teach students to ‘care’ as Nel Noddings
posits? I
don’t know. However, what I do know is whom education is for; the students. Keeping this in mind, I
must answer two more questions. What is my view of Curriculum? How do I
intend
to instruct? read more...
On Nel Noddings; The Challenge to Care in Schools
“An ethic of care—a needs- and response-based ethic—challenges many premises of traditional ethics in moral education.” (Noddings 2005)
In
The Challenge to Care in
Schools, Nel
Noddings outlines how educators can use the concept of caring to
develop an
alternative approach to education that focuses more intently on the
individual
student, their moral responsibility, and their unique aptitudes. When I
initially think of the word caring, I think of a feeling. It’s that
fuzzy
warmness that two lovers share in mutual embrace. It’s the release of
endorphins as a mother nurtures her child. I never thought of ‘caring’
as a way
to guide myself through the landscape of ethical decisions. To
understand Nel
Noddings educational philosophy, I feel that one must first understand
her
general philosophy surrounding ‘an ethic of care.’ To more deeply
appreciate
this new and controversial approach to ethics, one may look deeper into
what
Dr. Noddings means by ‘an ethic of care,’ relate this approach with
traditional
Judeo-Christian ethics, and realize the importance of educating for
this new
ethic. read more...
Care for Self: Redefining the Concept of
Recreation
For most adults, this is the universal complaint about American students. The modern, product oriented institutions that process the students of today fail to initiate caring relationships between students and teachers. They fail to teach students how to care about their friends, their associates, their environment, and their ideas. Even though many adolescents fail to care about most anything, each of them does care about at least one thing; themselves. Therefore, I believe care for self is the most powerful, and affective ‘center of care’ that Nel Noddings suggests we integrate into the curriculum. Furthermore, I believe that teaching kids how to care for their selves through redefining what they think of recreation would be one of the most important aspects of self-care. read more...
| My Work Education Why I'm Here Students at the Center: My View of Curriculum and Instruction The Ethics of Caring Care for Self: Redefining the Concept of Recreation |