EDUC4704

From being introduced to this topic of critical numeracy, it has occured to me that it maybe even more important to teach students to have a healthy distrust of numbers and the way some numbers are represented in the media as well.

To be honest, I had never really thought about it much before. I have what some might call a healthy distrust for every thing! Some might say alittle to healthy.  I just question everything naturally so until doing this topic I never thought that I would have to teach students to question numbers, because of the way they are used in society. Because while we are doing and learning maths in class, it is either right or wrong! There is no question, it either is or it isn’t and we as teachers , teach children that!  Therefore they naturally learn to never question numbers.  

So it makes sense that we need to teach students to guide against the different forms society use numbers to sway the general publics thinking because of that fact! “Sneeky Sneeky”, and unless you are aware of the differnt forms that numbers can take on and can be used to do that, then you are liable to be taken advantage of. 

Now I dont know about you but, I am intrested in helping create a smart, intelligent, multi literate band of childern who will go on and take the future by the balls and give them a little bit of squeeze. So they have the knowledge to guard against the sneeky tactics that governments, companies, the media use numbers to trick us. 

We can do this by first looking at how companies use the $1999, because it seems cheaper, then get the students go out into the community, to see if they can find more ways that compaines try and trick us using numbers. Also get them to look at shows like Acurrent Affair and Today Tonight, as they are very good at perverting numbers and graphs to adhere and push their particular agendas.

So long as we do this kind of work with a our students in the class, Give examples show graphs and get them to look for inconsistancies etc, then I think we will be on the right track to helping the students to become proactive agents in the community, and so they can guide against the power of perverted numbers!!  (”,)      

This is a tough question because, I dont think that the wider community could improve the school policies, as I have just said in the “My School Blog”, that I think the school policies are pretty good. You can read all the things the school has implemented to ensure that the students are protected and have a good understand of the healthy choices.

The school does have fences up because that is another safty concern. Because of where the school is situated, it is important to give space between the school and the community  because of the elements that resides in the area.  It is a safety concern. The school is not adverse to community members coming in and talking to the students so long as there is some kind link with what is being studied at the time. They get the Life Education Van to talk about the healthy choices etc with the students, who seem to like that and get something out of it. The school do go trips to enhance the learning of the students, if it links with what is being studied with the class at the time.

When talking about topics, the students are encouraged to think about the effects on the wider community, and because there is a church attached to the school, the Paster offen talks to the students and gives them different ideas to think about. This is valued and utilised in the school community. There is a big push to always think about the others who are less fortunate them and are often prayed for before class begins everyday. A little conversation occurs if questions arise from the devotion. 

There are time when the school works in the council and other members of the community to look after the environment and input from the larger community and the skills that they can bring to the school environment is valued and utilised.

I feel lucky that the school I will do my prac at seems to be well organised in this area. I am sure that there is room for improvement in some areas here, but as I have only been there a short time, I can not comment any further. From what I have seen in the students and the school and parents I would say that everyone knows where the school stands on healthy choices and works together to get the best out comes for each student.

Please comment if you want.     

At my school it is well set up with healthy practices. For example the food sold in the tuck shop is healthy and the lollies are the ones with no sugar , colours or preservatives made from just fruit jucie.

The students are not allowed out side without their hats, sunscreen is available if the students want to use it. There is plenty of shade around the place, in the form of sails and undercovered areas etc. There is two play grounds, with either bark chips or sponge matting in case of falling. One playground is for junior primary and the other is for middle primary students. There is a public park where the older students can run around and play games on, there are fenices up, but I think that is important to keep the public out a bit.

At lunch times, the sport shed is always open and the older kids run that, which give them some responsibility and ownership over the school. I works well too.

 For visitors must be signed in and carry a name badge at all times. When ot side teachers model good behaviours wearing hats and they carry with them waike talkies and first aids kits at all times too.

So all and all I would say that my school used the Health promation approch and it is affective as it seems to be working with the students.

I can tell that possiably at one point, a few years ago, when there was a big push with sort of stuff was when this was all set up and that possiably they approached places to get sun screen to sponcer the school etc. They also get the Life education van in as well. I think that is about all the contact with the out side community. I may be wrong though that is all I have seen though.   

This idea of a supportive class room is one, which I battle with all the time. I keep thinking how I would go about creating a classroom that is consistant, safe, inviting, fun and supportive for everyone.

To this I think that the first week of term should be all about relationships , building a sense of team work and community in the classroom.

Holding honest disscussions with the students of what they think, it means to build a supportive and inclusive classroom. Get their ideas down and together work out the rules of the classroom, despite my usual few rules, which have to go along with me no matter what. I would do this so, everyone understands what is going on and how the process is going to work. No one one can turn around later and say I didn’t know etc, because everyone was present and engaged in the process and agreed to the rules. Possiably using an “OOGA BOOGA” Stick to get a turn at talking etc. Maybe get the students to write a rule down on a peice of paper and pull it out of a hat, and then as a class discuss the rule etc.

Making sure that there is space for everyone to have a turn and voice their opinion,  and how to do that in a constructive manner, instead of a combating and defensive manner. Also that they feel safe to bring up issuess that they are concerned about. And really try and emphasize honesty with the classroom. Do lots of work on the differnt roles that we have when we are talking and the roles of the audience etc. 

Lots of games where students have to problem solve with differnt people in the class and really get to know each other. The games would help the students to think as at team and develop some empathy for eachother.  Also they can see that each person in the class is different and have strengths in different areas to them, emphasize that this is a good thing and is important to respect eachother and that difference and they can help out when needed etc.

Also I think that, I would set aside some time on a day maybe Friday each week, to have a class disscussion where students can raise any issues about the class and not be scared to talk about it.  I would assure them that  no one is going to judge them and that they are supported by everyone in the class and therefore can talk about what they want. Then as a team , see if we can work on it together. Of course I would lay down some guide lines, and talk about what is appropriate and not in front of the class. Some things you might just want to talk to me or an adlut about, but if it is on how the class is running or something they saw in the play ground or in the community, then that is great. I would talk about the steps of how we resolve problems if they arise with each other, and we never use names of people if we are having a disscussion about or something that has happened. 

Thats how I think I would try and build a supportive classroom.

Please comment on this idea, if you disagree with it. I would love some input. Maybe you have got some good ideas that I havent thought about. Cheers   

To try and address the first questions from the Article 5: School health promotion programs over the past decade: a review of the smoking, alcohol and solar protection literature. I feel it necessary to explain how I will attempt to do that.  

The traditional answering of  questions follows as one, two and three, I will try and write a few paragraphs that address all three of the questions.

I feel that the Health Promotion approach and the effect I will have on my teaching is this: In order to really get any benefit  out of something that is as delicate as teaching health, it really does need to have holistic point of view. Where everyone within the school community are involved in the transmittion of knowledge that is healthy choices. This transmittion of knowledge does not and should not fall solely at the feet of teachers. We play a massive role in trying to shape and mould the future students of tommorrow by introducing them to the concepts of healthy choices, for example healthy eating, drinking, appropriate clothing for different situations, behaviours that you can rely on in trying times etc. However that it does need reinforcement from the wider community out side of the school too. This includes society as a whole, doctors, add campains on T.V and posters (Media), friends and family, for example: Aunties and Uncles, brothers and sisters etc. However the bulk of this reinfocement should come from home and the parents.!! I know, I know contentious, but in my mind it is true.

Children need to be environments that modelling  good, healthy practices are a way of life. Or if the children sees a parent who smokes, the smoker goes out side and away from the family to do it. And or hold frank discussions  with them about the dangers associated with smoking, getting drunk all the time etc, with their children, which is hard as it becomes one of those situations of “Do as I SAY, Not as I DO!!”, however it is better than nothing!!

So I hear someone barking at me from the back row “What if that is not the case at home, where none of that talking and modelling you were talking about takes place??, you dick!!”

To this I say that I am no expert and I don’t know the answer, however I also see that as individual human beings, we are all equipped with the function of “CHOICE”!! And this function inables use to choose what is ultimately right for us.

I am sure there is research out there that states, that you can teach and teach and teach the healthy ways until the cows come home, but unless it is backed up at home and wider community, the chances of it really having any effect on the later life of the student is questionable. There are always exceptions, I know! But that is were we as teachers come into the equation.

If we are honest with parents and try and keep them in the loop, with news letters etc, of what is going on in the classroom and what you are doing at times. Explaining that you intend to do a unit on healthy chocies etc and that you will be talking about smoking and how bad it is for you etc. That there are support groups out there in the community that can help with addiction etc, and you can point them in the right direction if they want etc. Or that you are doing healthy eating and that you want to see that lunch boxes have some fruit in them etc, or what ever you are doing, I think that you are covering your self and people are more likely to first of all want to help, or at least try and get involved some how. Be that at home or what ever. Also it would be great to get the whole back up of the school community, great modelling from everyone, healthy chocies in the tuck shop etc and bring in guest speakers to warn of the realities of bad health and what it can do to you is another way getting everyone involved, I mean everyone!! But like the article says “it needs to  be a conscious effort and everyone should be involved to back it up!!”

The impact on my teaching is that most schools have policies on that sort of thing and I will follow what ever that is. I will were my hat out side and model good behaviour where ever I can, maybe drawing attention to it as I am doing it.

I think that the article highlights that there needs to be greater study of this approch, so we can see it it really is if it is having any effect. It seems like common sense to me but, I get the feeling from watching T.V at night and seeing teenages binge drinking and smoking to dangerous levels, that something is falling down. Something is being lost in the translation some where. I would like to pose this question: Is that all part of growing up in society today? That expermenting nature and young curiosity that is part and parcel of being a young adult . Or just flat out rebelling against everything? What ever it is it is not good enough, and I have a sneaking suspicion, that if you ask students if know what healthy choices are and if they know the dangers associated with them?? They could nearly recite word of word what they are, and the kinds of behaviours and skills you need to be able to say “No” and guard against peer pressure,etc!

So we just have to keep trying and never give up the students, and so long as you can go to bed at night and say that “I have done my best today and that I didnt give up”, then I think we are on the right way to making a difference!!        

I have to say that the feild trip to the Living Karna Cultral Centre was very informative and I found it to be a great resource for teachers to use in the future. The walks around the “Windy River” were very good at opening our eyes to how storm water is filtered through natural and man made processes and how Aboriginal people use the land to survive.

There were some confronting disscussions toward the end of the trip, which may have ruffled some feathers. I think that some of the things that were said, may have been in a little bit of a combative manner, and if that is the first time you have heard or been exposed to any history from the Aboriginal persective, then you maybe forgiven for having a strong emotional response to that information.

Having said this however, I think that what was said, did need to be aired and I hope if anything was to be taken away from trip, was that we need to always be aware of the sensitive nature that is required when dealing with any culture no matter who’s it is.   Also that the centre provides great hands on opportunities for students to interact with the natural environment and learn in a rich hands on manner and make connectons and discoveries for them selves.

Being exposed to vast amount of bush tucker that is around us, is not only tasty, informative but the knowledge  may become invaluable if ever stuck in the bush. I will never forget how I can use She oak tree to stop diarriea and dehydration by taking away the ability to produce saliva etc.

The living Karna Culture Centre is a great resource to be aware of and I thank Juile Clark for exposing us to it, as I was other wise unaware that such a resource existed.  

I think this is a great way of maybe recapturing the disengaged students in the class.

It seem digital stories are a great way of linking Maths, SOSE, and Health together and putting it together in a fun and informative manner for students and teachers a like.

Doing a mimi doco on an issue that students are passionate about and seening them fostering their learning, I think would be great.

It surpises me how much work has to go into making a digital story and if I had a student who was maybe not been gelling with the conventional teaching practice in the classroom.  Then exposing them to something like this, would be a great idea.

I think Dig. Stories do lend them selves to working with issues that effect society, and showing students how the media use graphs and figures to illustrate problems and how these can effect the health of the environment and therefore us, is brilliant!  

Once seeing these mini doc’s in a visually stimulating way , I think to some degree beats reading it in a book or mag, hands down! Don’t you?       

This was a great way of getting the greatest hits from well practiced teachers who had been in the game for many years, on classroom set up, behaviour managment and organisation etc.

I got alot out of this disscussion and it would take me the best part of half a day to put them all up here, so I have selected my tip tips from the “Teacher’s Panel”  on the 20/2/09 this year.

Here goes:

• “Get to know the students in the class”. ( Students respond better to you if you take the time to get to know “them”. ) ( Remember their names straight away and find out some thing about them eg: ”what they are into etc”. ) ( Building  relationships with the students is key. )
• “Make sure that your class gets into a routine as soon as possiable”. “Students thrive when they are in environments that are consistant”. ( Be clear with what you want and expect of students and Parents.)
• ” It is “Ok” to stop what you are doing and regroup, if the task is out of control”. ( Some times what is needed is a quick break, toilet, or jornt outside for a couple of mins.) ( Then bring them back to the task and try again, otherwises just abandon the task altogether and do something else!)
• “Never discipline students infront of class!” ( Quietly whisper in their ear, gently touch them on shoulder to get attention or get them later, when other students are on task.)
•  ”Let Parents know what you are doing and get them involved if they want.” ( Record everything, conversations with Parents, trouble in class: Academically or other wise. Also good notes on work that students have done well etc.)
• “Last but most of all have a sense of humour!”

Hey hey everyone in my class,

I have just started my journey into the world of  the digital native!!

As you can see from this post I am starting to to get the hang of this blog thang, and with a bit of help from you guys, I hope that we can work together and really get some learning done and have a bit of fun at the same time!!

I am excited about having this technology at school and I think it is going to really change how we will be learning in our class in the future!!

I hope you will share this excitment with me and we can all get ” GIGGY WITH IT”!!  “Get it?” Instead of “JIGGY WITH IT”!! Ha Ha ha Not funny Mr Clements

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