A thought is worth millions. You heard the old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words”.  Think about an expecting mother that see her child for the first time after forty weeks of development, that’s a thought that is priceless.  A four year that enters the world of education when he meets his or her kindergarten teacher and say, “ My mom is leaving me with her for the day”.  Think about the person that created the first TV, something that is in just about every home through out the world.  These all started out as thoughts but turned out to be a wealth growth.

Often we come up with ideas and think nothing of them and later on, someone had an idea similar to your idea and turned it into something that’s used by millions today.  In the reading, it talked about the differences among culturals, and how the interpretations of the world vary from individual to individual and from group to group.  This statement is so powerful.  Think about how the United States government is divided, over the idea of every one having some type of medical coverage.

Is this a reflection of what we think about other and value the life of others?

Sometimes we think that people should all think alike, we make a comment and say, “ that was a stupid idea or thought”.  Can you measure someone’s creativity to the same level as your creativity?  I deal with students everyday that have very low self-esteem because someone made a comment about their writing, an illustration, interpretation of an idea or thought about something that was read or what someone said, how they look or dress.  People that have negative thoughts end up paying a high price for their thoughts as well.  The next time you have a thought, take it a litter further and develop it.  Who knows you might create something that will take all the worries away about the economy.  You do not have to be a mad scientist to be an inventor.  They took their ideas and created many creations.

#2 Technology in the classroom

My school is very rich with technology but not up to date.  We are blessed to have 8 In-Focus machine carts with an interactive flip chart tablet and pen. Each classroom have 4-5 computers plus a teachers computer, one digital camera that is monitored by the Liberian, two computer labs with at least 30 computers in each, one promethean   board that can be checked out from the library, one video camera, one computerizes microscope and a Dana cart system.

I bring to school with me each day two lap top computers, two digital cameras, one video camera and I have the Verizon air card that I keep with me to use in the classroom as a back-up when the school internet services don’t function.  My air card comes in handy when I need to use an educational site that’s blocked by the school system.

I don’t let little things stand in my way, It’s all about the children.

#3 Will Reading Strategies help increase Math Scores

Teaching reading skills to master mathematics has created an acute problem in terms of pupil reading ability. Analyses of standardized test scores in math indicate that reading in mathematics poses special difficulties.

First, in the technical and specialized vocabulary, students in the primary grades have to learn terms like plus minus, sum, addition and subtraction, whereas older children encounter such terms perimeter and diameter.  Words with multiple meanings also appear frequently.  Discussions about planes, figures, or raising a number to the third power can confuse children who are familiar with the more common meanings for the words.

Nevertheless, many mathematical terms have root words, prefixes or suffixes that children can use to determine their meanings. For example, triangle means “three angles”, therefore, it is the idea of this writer to suggest that teachers of mathematics must plan teaching skill and strategies to help pupils to master mathematical procedures more effectively.

My literature review will explore if reading strategies will increase math scores. The literature will also provide strategies for improving math skills and discuss ways to comprehend math language.

#4

@Margaret

I have carried with me my whole adult life the moment one of my professors said to me, "Your life is a symphony in A and F." And another who said, "You are going to have a hard time, because you are very smart...but you don't look smart. You are going to have to open your mouth quickly, if you want people to take you seriously...and you will still have a problem." And another who said, "You do not work hard enough for the talent you have. The others who have less, work more...you are not researcher material." And my career counselor who said, after looking at my test results, "Well, you test as a sculptor...way ahead of everything else...and we don't have an art program here...so you had better go into architectural engineering (and I did and two years later dropped out). And a business associate who told me, "It's not fair...I am completely incompetent at what I do, but I have a competent "look," and you are totally competent at what you do, but you don't have the "look."

I operate within the parameters established by others. What would happen if I gave myself an A...if I told myself that I have the "look" ...that I look really smart...what would happen...

sj4987 said...

@Margaret
I understand where you're coming from. So many times during my childhood, I was always an outcast among other students. I sometime found myself going out my way for my teachers as me to draw a picture or sing a song. I remember my elementary school talent show; I was encouraged by one of my friends to enter the talent show. I did just that the audience was so shocked when they heard me sing. The next day at school, my teacher asked me where did I learn to sing. I remember telling her that my mom always tell me that I can do and be any thing that I want to be. I learned later in life to not sweat the small things just follow your heart and always believe in yourself.

#5

The world is quickly changing all around us. As educators and leaders

we need to be able to reflect the changes that are taking place in our

society in the curriculum and media choices we make in developing a

learning environment. Only by actively embracing these changes will we

be able to assist our students in their own journey of learning.

I want to be a beacon that my students and colleagues can follow in their

journey to media literacy. I still have so much to learn before I can be the

mentor for media literacy in education and the health care arena.

I explored the concept of health promotion media literacy. As a health

care provider I recognize that the media has a significant influence on

the health of our youth. I believe, as educators, we need to get a

healthier message out to our children.

Bergsma and Carney (2008) critically examined media messages that

promote risk-taking behaviors in 16-17 year olds. TV and internet often

display risk taking behavior such as smoking, excessive drinking and

violence in a very positive manner. Since our children spend such a large

amount of time involved with media it is critical to address health related

concerns.

Researchers (2005) found that young people spend a total of 8.33 hours

a day involved with some type of media. That is over a third of our day

and probably close to ½ or our waking hours. Are we making sure that

our children receive messages on how to keep themselves healthy? I

believe we need to do a better job.

In the area of adolescent smoking Primack & Hobbs (2009) attempted

to determine which aspect of media literacy were most tied to smoking

outcomes. What their study found was that both smokers (19%) and

nonsmokers (40%) were susceptible to smoking based on 13 media

literacy items.

There is much that can be accomplished using media assets to create

positive health decisions in our adolescent population. These health

related media assets need to be as visible on the internet and television

as the negative images our teenagers see every day.


Reference:

Bergsma, L., Carney, M. (2008). Effectiveness of health-promoting media

literacy education: a systematic review. Health Education Research, 23,

522-542.

Kaiser Family Foundation (2005, March). Generation M: Media in the lives

of 8-18 year olds. Retrived from http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/

Generation-M-Media-in-the-Lives-of-8-18-Year-olds-Report.pdf.

Primack, B., Hobbs, R. (2009). Association of various components of media

literacy and adolescent smoking. American Journal of Health Behavior,

33(2), 192-201.

sj4987 said...

@coleen
I agree with you 100%. If we had at least 50% of the world that think and believe what we believe. I still do not know everything that I would like to know about media literacy. There is too much focus on testing until education has become the last item on the list. We as educators are overlooked for the things we do to make sure our students are challenged enough to be challenged in the world. Every thing in education is geared toward technology but we, as educators are not fully equipped with all the necessary tools. The health portion of Technology is overlooked, yet we read in the daily paper or in the news, how another teen or young child has lost his or her life because of something that could have been directly related to how technology is used. As an educator, it’s not that we do not address these things to our students because we do. We need help from parents and the community. Our children learn from each other children are under so much pressure from other peers until trying to fit in until the out come don’t matter