Educational Challenges Facing Somali Youth

I have always wondered how the second generation of the Somali community would fair in their new home here in America. As an educator that deals with Middle School and High School students on a daily basis, I have seen many challenges that is severely hindering students to reach their potential. Those challenges include language barriers, lack of parental support, and peer pressure which may not be unique to them, but its effect is far reaching than their peers. The number of students that graduate from High School on time is getting smaller every year as the new generation of Somali youngsters replaces the older and more hard working generation. This effect is gender selective and prevalent in boys more than girls, as they outperform boys in most cases. I have observed families that have both boys and girls in the school supporting them equally, but girls make into the honor roll where the boys ended up dropping out the school altogether. This issue deserves attention and further research to better meet their needs.

Student Teaching Seminar-3

Today was the last of the three session Spring 09 Student Teaching Seminar taught by professor Cole. we discussed all the requirements for successful completion of student teaching including taking Praxis tests, student teaching, and credit requirements. we have sat dates for presenting our portfolios and many more.

Shining Stars on The Horizon

People have different motivations to do things; some may be attracted by the expected results of their work, some enjoy the work and out of enjoyment, others feel compelled to do what they do. however, there are others that are driven by unknown forces that make them tirelessly pursue their objectives and won't stop until they accomplish or are prevented from reaching their gaol. which ever group you may see yourself in, it is not far from you to see the shining stars on the horizon.

Philosophy of Education

philosophical reflection on the nature, aims, and problems of education. The philosophy of education is Janus-faced, looking both inward to the parent discipline of philosophy and outward to educational practice. (In this respect it is like other areas of “applied” philosophy, such as the philosophy of law, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of medicine, including bioethics.) This dual focus requires it to work on both sides of the traditional divide between theory and practice, taking as its subject matter both basic philosophical issues (e.g., the nature of knowledge) and more specific issues arising from educational practice (e.g., the desirability of standardized testing). These practical issues in turn have implications for a variety of long-standing philosophical problems in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and political philosophy. In addressing these many issues and problems, the philosopher of education strives for conceptual clarity, argumentative rigour, and informed valuation...Read full article

Today is my last day of the EDU 383 technology course, and I'm feeling proud of my hard work and accomplishment. We have learned a great deal of integrating technology into our classrooms and making learning both fun and long lasting. Although, we were not provided up-to-date information of our class progress in terms of grades and completed work, I belief that I have benefited from the course. The daily presentation of the students was vibrant and entertaining. The class setting was somewhat counter conducive to learning where I could not even see some of classmates to the point I may not recognize some of those who were attending class every day.

Reflection on the article "Room to Learn" by Michie

Reflection on Greg Michie’s Article “Room to Learn”

“if you’d get outta the way so we could see what you are doing, it might help” proclaimed by Santiago, a kid who always sat in the seat furthest from Michie.

In his article “Room to Learn” Michie presented a strong narrative story of his experience as a teacher, and the challenges posed by the teaching profession especially to urban learners. However, there are important points that the author related in the article that is worthy of our attention.
Firstly, the author related that students have no confidence in the sincerity of their teachers to begin with, and therefore, students show little interest or no interest in the learning process. This mistrust is not limited to the gates of the schools or the classrooms, but it has to do with the existing differences in the society whether it is the race, economic, or neighborhood as Michie pointed out “what I found, at least on first impression, was more separation and racial mistrust than I remembered in the “backward” South”. Students bring this package to the classroom, and the innocent teacher who may be truly trying to teach kids cannot tackle on his own unless society takes the initiative and finds long lasting solutions.
Secondly, the author pinpointed that students of color or students from poor and underserved families have the ability and the intelligent to learn even the hardest concepts given the right circumstances. If michie’s wild eighth graders can successfully play Supreme Court and put the school on trial, then no one can tell us they can not prepare for the basic standard test to graduate from high school. The education that is worthy of pursuing is the one that provides meaning and reason that incites motivation and interest. If we as educators can prove to students that we have something that can make difference in their lives, and then we are the right people for the profession otherwise we better move out of the student’s way so they can get room to learn as presented by michie.

Reflection on My Class presentation

today is Wednesday June 27th, I have just completed my Class "chapter 3" presentation. it went ok eventhough technology did not work for us the way we planned for. my next assignment is going to be learning how to use Quia for class activities and creating quizzes.
here is the URL for the class Quia address. http://www.quia.com/pages/edu383.html