BLOG 4

Kohn Review

“What Does it Mean to be Well Educated?” by Alfie Kohn presents many valid theories on grading, standards, and common practices used in schools today. It really does provoke the reader to question what education means to them and what they think what is going right in schools hand in hand with what should be changed.

The main point that Kohn presents that I certainly agree with is that our nation’s public schools must change from the roots up. We need to have teachers who can evaluate the methods they use to teach and ask themselves what those methods say about the ultimate goal that they are trying to reach in their teaching. It is my opinion that so many teachers, especially in highly urbanized areas, are teaching students just to memorize a bunch of facts in order to get good grades, show good results on the standardized tests, and ultimately prepare them to enter the workforce. Kohn offers a valid point in which standardized testing ranks children and causes a school environment where the focus isn’t to explore ideas, but to memorize thousands of facts in order to pass the test. We as future educators need to allow the students to actually explore ideas, ask questions, be able to think critically, and learn to love learning. Kohn also urges that the main focus in school should not always be academics. I think it is sincerely important for teachers to teach incorporate tolerance every day and to help mold the students into being kind, caring, and compassionate adults.

Another aspect that I liked about this book was when Kohn wrote about the control that teachers seem to need to have other their classes. He challenges that the question most educators are asking in class is "How can I control these kids?" instead of "What do these kids need and how can I give it to them?" Being a future special education teacher, I really related to this section. My experience with a couple of special education teachers was really discouraging because their primary focus throughout the day was to simply control the kids. With special needs and with regular ed as well, it is all about adapting to each student to meet their needs in order for them to have the best educational experience. Educators should always be asking how to better accommodate students so that they can not only understand, but also be able to apply the information given. It is extremely important especially to students with special needs to have choices and to keep a schedule, but I do not see that as much ‘control’ the teacher has, but a way for the students to stay on track and be able to learn in the best way.

One of the couple issues that I had with Kohn’s views in the book was his stance on private schooling. In his opinion, private schooling does no good. He believes that it allows schools to be selective, in that they need to only admit students that fit their model. Kohn also points out as to how private schools can expel students who aren't meeting their standards, so it allows educators to nicely get rid of "trouble students" who act out, fail tests, or skip class, without having to face the challenges of working with the student through the problems. I attended private schools my whole life, literally from preschool to when I graduated high school. Just like with any school, there are positives and negatives. First, private schools allow students to learn about and be exposed to religion. For some parents, religious education is very important to give to their child. Secondly, although I don’t feel that private schools should be as costly as they are and that can be seen as being ‘selective’, so many scholarships are easily given out to students who sincerely want to attend but don’t have the means to do so. Lastly, throughout my whole educational career in a private school, not one student has been expelled. I strongly disagree with Kohn in the belief that private school educators simply kick out students who are more difficult to work with. In my experience, those students are given the attention and care that they need in order to succeed.

In conclusion, we all are going to have a wide variety of opinions as to what is means to be well educated. I think that the main points that I think it takes to be well educated is to be taught to love learning and explore ideas rather than to memorize facts. I think that being well educated means to be taught to be a kind, genuine, tolerant, and well-rounded person. Finally, I think that being well educated means to be thought of and accommodated for in order to learn effectively and succeed in your educational career. 

BLOG 3 Diverse Identities

Racism is far from just ‘black and white.’ So many other cultures are attacked and judged on the daily and it is up to us to be willing to step back and walk in their shoes. What kind of person do you think of when someone says ‘illegal immigrant?’ Do you think of a Mexican? Many people think that all Hispanic or Latino Americans are all either Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban.. if that. Unfortunately as human beings, we like to judge at first sight. How great would it be if we looked at someone and thought ‘Wow, what a nice person who is probably working hard to make a living and provide for their family?’  Many in no way think that when they look at a Hispanic, but the truth is; that IS what many of them are doing and a lot of the time they are working hard at a job that most Americans wouldn’t even think of taking.  

My best friend who has made a huge impact on my life is Mexican. Her dad is not a gardener, pool cleaner, or custodian. Her mom is not a maid and does not walk around with a life size crucifix around her neck. They did not jump the border to live in a cramped apartment with everyone in their family, and their moms. In fact, they are some of the hardest working people that I have ever met and have had to endure more racism and hardship that you or I will ever even have to hear about in our lives. My best friend is in college, paying for it all on her own and is going to be a teacher, one of the best professions if you ask me. She does not live in the biggest house or the best neighborhood but she does not complain, ever. Instead she is thankful, for her family, friends, car, and job. She is loyal, kind, and hardworking and that is all I see her as- her own individual.

I think as future teachers, one of our main goals should be to be culturally diverse. We are going to be teaching our students about racism and the harmful effects of it, but do we know ourselves? Can you say that you reach out to people who are different than you to learn and grow from them? We all need to practice what we teach! 

BLOG 2: Diversity Workshop

The topic for our diversity workshop was the culturally and linguistically diverse. Learning more into depth about this was actually very useful for my future teaching career. In our book, the chapter talked more about the personal experiences of people who were culturally or linguistically diverse while our presentation was focused on how to teach them in the classroom.  The one thing in the chapter that I found the most interesting was how English is actually only the 'official non-official' language of the United States. I found that really interesting and it made me take a step back about even my own views on 'we live in America- speak English.' It not only broadened them but it also confirmed that we as Americans and also as future educators really need to be aware about the kids that we will be teaching because after all, we will need to figure out how to cater to their needs and give them the best educational experience possible which is the most important.


I think that Multicultural Education is based off of the idea that we as future educators will have many culturally and linguistically diverse students. We thought that it was really important to include not only stats about the students that will be coming into our classroom, but also how to teach them. It is our job as educators to be life long learners especially when it comes to learning different techniques to help our students learn more effectively.


Using techniques like collaborative learning and visuals in the classroom not only benefits the more diverse learners, it benefits all the students! All in all, I was glad to do this diversity workshop especially with our topic. I learned a lot about my future students as well as effective ways to teach them in the classroom.

My Philosophy of Education

Why do you want to be a teacher? Being education majors, I think this may be one of the most common questions that many of us are asked whether it be by a family member or getting interviewed for a job. Besides the more generic answer like, "I love kids"- why do you really want to become an educator? For me, I knew pretty early on that going into education was something that I wanted to do. It was not until my high school years that I truly found out the reasons that I wanted to be a Special Education teacher. Going out and experiencing exceptional and below average teachers gives you tools to try and be an excellent teacher yourself. If you think about the top three best teachers you ever had or worked with, you should wonder: what do they have and how do I get it!? So far, these experiences have majorly helped shaped my philosophy of education.

If I had to sum up my philosophy in one sentence it would be "All students deserve excellent teachers." I like it because it is simple and to the point. A students' quality of their education should not depend on the funding of the district they live in. No matter the economic status, all students deserve to be taught by teachers who strive to be excellent in their craft. If you are not passionate about being an educator, it is only going to damage future generations. Yes, that might sound a tad bit dramatic but I feel that teachers have such an influence on the way a child turns out. It only takes one person to inspire someone else into doing great things. If a teacher does not really want to be in the classroom, why would a kid really want to sit in and listen to what they have to say? From my own experiences, things like scripted lesson plans and 'teaching to the test' have also put a lid on not only the students' imagination, but the teachers as well. I feel they should be used as guidelines only. 

An exceptional teacher is always a life long learner. In order for my students to ask questions, I have to ask questions. I think that some of the worst teachers I've ever had are the ones that always thought that they were right and did not want to learn past the curriculum. In my opinion, this is one of the flaws in perennialism. Nothing that would really change is taught and this very much so limits the students the right to an imagination and to be curious and ask questions. That being said, I really did enjoy all the aspects of experience based learning that progressivism brings. It really embraces change which is good because we all live in a world where one of the only things consistent in life is change! All of the philosophies that were discussed in class had their pros and cons but I was glad to hear about them because they each had valid ideas to bring into our own classrooms. 

The best of the best special education teachers that I have observed so far all share a couple of the same qualities. Most importantly, they both truly love their job and take a personal interest in their students. I love that they are willing to go the extra mile to cater to the many and diverse individual needs. They also stressed to me that as a teacher you are going to make mistakes, not all lessons and ideas that you throw out are going to be successful, and that is okay! Both of them could go with the flow and not get so caught up in all of the technicalities. 

In conclusion, I think that the best kind of teacher is a passionate teacher. If a teacher is passionate, the want to constantly better yourself and your students will come naturally. A passionate teacher will always see endless potential in their students because everyone deserves to have someone believe in them.