1. Kayla Reynolds – 2 nd grade teacher I have two children of my own. Ages 8 and 1. We like to play, learn and watch movies. I have 10 years of teaching experience. I love my job and want to do everything I can to help my school and students. My favorite quote is Give a man a fish and he can eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he can eat for a lifetime. Because I believe you need to teach the ability to do things independently in order for the student to learn. Kayla Reynolds Ashford University EDU650: Teaching Learning and Leading in the 21st Century Dale Kimball 1/18/16.

2. Education Philosophy Students should be taught to explore and discover in order to form a foundation of love for learning. It is the students job to show up and be pleasant. It is the teacher's job to provide a safe environment that encourages independent learning as well as idea sharing.

3. Classroom Management In order to have an effective classroom management plan in place the teacher needs to form a strong relationship with the parents, students, principal of the school and other coworkers at the school. Everyone working in collaboration will allow the student to get the best education possible. For a second grade class the goals would be as follows: Rules and Expectations The students are expected to have good behavior in the classroom. They are expected to do their own work and follow the classroom rules. They are expected to try their best even if it's difficult for them. They are also expected to keep their workspace clean so others can move around the classroom successfully. They are expected to only talk when it is their turn in order for themselves and everyone else to be able to learn in the proper environment. They are expected to know how to walk in a quiet line when traveling outside of the classroom with their peers so no one gets hurt or lost. The student is expected to be present and pleasant. This means show up for class and all lessons as possible. It also means to listen to the lessons and learn from them. If they do not understand they are expected to ask questions and participate in the lesson in order to learn. They are expected to be respectful of others possessions and classroom/school property. And have all their supplies ready for the lesson. Role of the teacher Teachers must establish class rules and routines (such as handing back papers and taking attendance) to keep the class activities running with as little disruption and loss of time as possible. (Garrett, 2015) This is most successfully done in a routine setting with positive reinforcement

4. School Models A teacher should have set standards in the school system has both pros and cons. A few of the cons that come along with it is the pressure on the students and teachers to meet those standards. I have heard some stories of the pressure being so high that the teachers have cheated to meet those standards. This situation defeats the purpose and teaches students its ok to cheat. I do believe in incentives however, I do not believe in incentives for the teachers to meet the standards. I think it makes the adults more desperate and you will have more cheating to earn the incentive. Also, think about a teacher that has half the class with learning disabilities. That's not fair to her to be on the same incentive level as other teachers with students on the correct level. I think it gets too complicated. Another compliant about standards is it prevents teachers from teaching certain units when it works best for their class. Such example would be if the class was going on a field trip and the teacher wanted to teach a lesson related to the trip they couldn't because they have to stick to the standards. Another con is it prevents teachers from extending learning in a unit if the class is not grasping the material. Lastly, some areas may have higher expectations than others so gaps would still exist.

5. Lesson Planning Teachers want students to collaborate with one another, to connect their work to the real world, and move beyond the rote memorization of facts and skills, and perhaps, most importantly, to take ownership of their learning. Teachers often place more weight and focus on what students will do in class and spend less energy and emphasis on deciding what students need to learn. The most important thing the teacher needs to remember when doing lesson plans is the objective for the student.

6. Assessments The current governmental reforms are limiting teachers’ ability to provide creative, independent, democratic students. Too much emphasis is being placed on testing and the drilling of standardized information. Dr. Brian Stecher said it well in the video TEDxSoCal – Dr. Brian Stecher – Cultivating Thriving Schools. As much as test are helpful we need to make sure we don't lose focus of how important other things are such as art, music, p.e, and technology. People need to be doing paperwork as well as hands on activities in order to learn to the best ability. We need to be concerned with our society obesity rate as well as their level of achievement in academics. It seems that every year the goals of how much the children should learn according to quantity and quality goes up. At what point does the society say ok, lets not keep raising the standards because we are losing site that they learn from being a kid and practicing playing and art and music.

7. PLC 1. Supporting - The most basic of the levels. This is opening up communication with students and other coworkers in order to make sure your job is done and the students have what they need. 2. Accountability - This is you can't do someones work for them. You can offer help and support but do not complete it for them. 3. Intervention - A good example of this would be encouragement. You did great on that lesson 4. Resourcing - A huge part of collaboration is learning from others. Listen, and learn from one coworker in order to possibly help be a mentor to other coworkers as well.

8. References Garrett, T. (2015). MISCONCEPTIONS AND GOALS OF Classroom Management. Ann Arbor, MI: Bergin & Garvey. Lopez, D. (2009). No excuses university: Hundreds of schools, thousands of students, one big dream. Ramona, CA: TurnAround Schools. Newman, R. (2013). Teaching and Learning in the 21st Century: Connecting the Dots. Retrieved from https://content.ashford.edu/books/AUEDU650.13.2 Patrick, H., Kaplan, A., & Ryan, A. (2011). Positive Classroom Motivational Environments: Convergence Between Mastery Goal Structure and Classroom Social Climate. American Psychological Association.