Avery Rech Paper 3 Classmates Reflection The focus of this paper will be based on Andy, Andrea, and my own

viewpoints on which readings were the most pertinent to our community schools class this semester. My claim is that each reading gives insight to several distinctive methods of teaching while maintaining the same goal. This inspires teachers to achieve academic success with each student within the classroom. Andy chose John Deweys philosophy of experiential education while Andrea and I chose Greg Michies book See You When We Get There. Throughout this paper I will explain why these two readings were chosen, how they support my given claim, and how each relates back to my definition of community schools. Andy chose John Deweys experiential education readings because he finds that learning by doing methods are a unique and beneficial approach to teaching. He also believes in the Dewy method because there will always be a mentor for teachers to learn from and able to critique their system of teaching. Andrea chose the Greg Michie book because it gave her insight to public schooling within an urban district. In Andreas past educational experiences the classroom was well equipped with all the learning supplies and necessities the teachers needed in order to have a welcoming classroom and up to date teaching resources. The book opened her eyes to five different Chicago teachers toils, who taught within an urban district without essential teaching resources at their fingertips. I also chose Greg Michies book for several other reasons. I believe this was the most applicable reading for our class because it gave me five different viewpoints of what teaching is really like. Gregs reflections were very well thought out and gave me insight to how urban school districts functioned. His writings let you dive right into the classroom and into the teachers personal life. It was personal in the fact that you formed a relationship and feeling for the teacher and students, while at the same time gave an opportunity to learn and critique each teachers way of controlling the classroom. All of our readings and viewpoints are similar in the fact that they give insight to different methods of teaching. Each of the goals is the same, to achieve academic success in the classroom. Therefore all of the readings uphold my definition of community schools which is a place where students can achieve a well-rounded character within a safe secure environment where the community plays a vital role. In the case of John Dewey, students can form a well-rounded character where the community plays a vital role. In his address to the National Educational Association John stated his philosophy of the school as a social centre, a matter of practice not theory (Benson 34). This statement shows how the community today plays a vital role for the success of community schools which John Dewey advocated back in the turn of the century. In the case of Greg Michies book, students can achieve a well rounded character within a safe and secure environment. Each of the five teachers exemplifies their methods of teaching on how they achieved academic success and creating well rounded students in their classroom. Further examples will be provided within Andrea and my reading viewpoints. Even though my partners and I have different readings and reasons for picking them we still can share the same claim that they give distinct educational methods while maintaining the goal of accomplishing academic success in the classroom. John Dewey believed that learning should be active, and schooling is unnecessarily long and restrictive. His idea was that children came to school to live in a community which gave them real, guided experiences which fostered their capacity to society (John Dewey Philosophy). John wanted to help children develop by methods of learning by experience with a real purpose. A

focus of his was also how to minimize formal schooling systems disadvantages and optimize its advantages (Benson 31). Andy picked John Deweys philosophies because of the revolutionary way of teaching. Andy stated that learning by doing, should be taken into consideration in todays curriculum, and to be taught with guidance. Deweys methods are able to achieve academic success because the curriculum lets students learn by their own experiences. Dewey argued that students are all unique and educators must take into account the unique differences between each student. Thus, teaching and the curriculum must be designed in ways that allow for such individual differences (John Dewey Philosophy). Students need educational experiences which enable them to become valued, equal, and responsible members of society. Andy believes that through learning by doing students can achieve success rather than keeping their nose in textbooks all day. This is just one example of how unconventional teaching methods can still achieve academic success. John Deweys experiential learning philosophy can be related back to community schools as stated earlier in his address to the Educational Association. Dewey stated the school should be a place of instruction for children; it needs to operate as a center of life for all ages and classes (Benson 35). Dewey argues that the school should be a social center surrounded by the current social life which deserves the attention of the public (Benson 34). The community plays a vital role in the success of community schools. The learning by doing concept can be infiltrated into the public and the community. The students education and achievement of the community can go hand in hand if the learning by doing concept is implemented. For example the University of Pennsylvania helped make local public schools become community centers. Dewey argued that working to solve complex, real world problems is the best way to advance knowledge and learning, as well as the general capacity of individuals and institutions to advance knowledge and learning (Benson 85). Deweys argument was applied to the University of Pennsylvanias public schools learning by reflective doing project. Andrea and I chose the Greg Michie book for several different reasons. Andrea stated that the book opened her eyes to urban school districts that were under privileged in comparison to her education system. Relating back to Michies book, Freda Lin assigned her class to work on their history fair projects when one of her students Javier refused to do the assignment due to the outdated encyclopedias. Javier wanted to do his research on Michael Jordan, but the Britannica encyclopedia was published in 1988 before Michael became a household name (Michie 91). This example shows how the book opened Andreas eyes to one of the burdens of urban public schools. I chose Michies book because it gave me a snapshot of the life and duties of urban school teachers. The book represents Gregs efforts to portray the classroom lives of five young teachers of color, and to explore what teaching for change means to them (Michie 4). I learned through their teaching experiences, their day to day challenges in the classroom and the factors that motivate and constrain their work with urban students (Michie 4). After reading this book I realized teaching is not an easy profession. It requires determined effort of teachers working in under resourced school districts, the teachers are committed to making their classrooms places where students are educated and liberated (Michie 186). In my opinion all five of these teachers taught in their own unique way on the same path towards teaching for change. They each exemplified my definition of community schools by creating a classroom environment where students felt culturally and humanly validated and cared for in genuine ways. Each teacher created well rounded students by their discipline, lecture, and personal methods of educating.

Works Cited Benson, Lee, Ira Harkavy, and John Puckett. Dewey's Dream Universities and Democracies in an Age of Education Reform. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2007. 29-92. Print. John Dewey Philosophy of Education . Ed. James Neill. N.p., 26 Jan. 2005. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. Michie, Gregory. See You When We Get There. New York: Teachers College Press, 2005. 15382. Print