Reading Response

I chose to do my weekly reflection on Johanna Riddle's Engaging the Eye Generation, Chapter One. There were several statements from this chapter that I wanted to reflect on. On page seven, Riddle states, "As teachers, our job is to help students do more than merely look at symbols; we must show them how to interpret and communicate the meaning of images, to develop intelligent vision."  She further states that children "use images to make sense of the world" (p. 8).  I think Riddle is right on target with these two statements.  As teachers, we indeed have to help children develop intelligent vision so they can make sense of the world around them.
Another statement that stood out to me was that students need "guided questioning, discussion, observation, and time to consider various forms of information before they can successfully integrate their understanding of text and images" (p. 10).  Teachers need to provide students with different types of learning strategies to help interpret texts and images.  I liked the section about Venn diagrams from Riddle's book.  I love using Venn diagrams in my classroom because it is an easy way to distinguish similarities and differences and can be used for all subjects.
I liked how Riddle stated, "Once we unlock the door to intelligent vision, we set the stage for richer understanding and communication" (p. 29).  When students can interpret and communicate the meaning of images, they get a deeper understanding and can understand the world around them in a more meaningful way.

Goals

The goals that I wrote down in class last night focused on my classroom and myself as a teacher.  One of my goals is to be more consistent with my classroom rules. I notice that I'll let some things slide or give students too many chances sometimes. Since I'll be going up to 3rd grade this year, a tested grade, I want to make sure all students clearly understand the rules and that they won't be getting away with things as easily because there is not enough time in the schedule to have to deal with behavior problems. I also plan to encourage my students to set high goals, both academic and behavior goals. I've always encouraged my students to set goals, but this year will be different since their ultimate goal is to pass the SOL tests. (My principal always says that you can't rise to low expectations so make sure your students know that you expect highly of them.)  I would also like to feel more accomplished and less stressed as a teacher. I know last year was pretty tough managing work and grad school, especially in the beginning, but I did it! However, I feel that this semester will not be as difficult, and I hope that I'll be able to plan better for my students. I kind of feel like I wasn't as good of a teacher last year as I should have been because I didn't have much extra time to plan fun stuff or additional activities because grad school took so much of my time and I was so exhausted. Ultimately, my goal for this school year is to feel confident and prepare my students for their SOL tests, a new experience to them as third graders and to me as a teacher who has never taught a SOL grade.