EDIM 508 Unit 6 Summary Posting

Open Classrooms, Open Minds

I’ve enjoyed reading your discussions this week on the challenges with using
digital media and technological tools to develop students’ respectful and
ethical minds.
I’d like to highlight some thoughts from this week’s discussion.

Amanda- Overall, I think the ethical mind has a lot of different factors that plays into teaching it -
including teachers, administrators as well as parents. Everyone needs to be consistant and on the same page to
push students towards a strong ethical mind.

Brandon- Wherever you fall on the big discussions, we currently are in a

polarized moment of society. Perhaps it's always been like this and I was too young to
recognize it due to my naivety, but it appears we are moving further away from those
who see things differently than we do, than coming together to have a better
understanding through open-mindedness and clear communication. The respectful mind
is applicable more so now than ever.

Jacquelyn- As a teacher we all teach these things in our classroom whether

we think about it or not, but how many of us incorporate technology into these lessons? I for one struggle with
this and I am somewhat unsure how to integrate technology into these very important lessons. In order for our
students to live a world where they are respectful and ethical we must ask of these things when they are in
school so we can foster these ideas.

Jennifer- As a school with a 1:1 initiative, we have the world at our fingertips. Yet, we aren't using
digital media and technological tools to help us flatten our classrooms and develop global communication.
Instead of celebrating National Read Aloud Day with each other in our district, we could celebrate with schools
in another district, another state, another country. Imagine the respectful minds our students could develop if
given the opportunity to collaborate with more diverse groups.

Jessica- I feel like respect is one of those skills that are seeing a downfall in recent years, so I
make sure my students see how I interact with everyone. To combat the recent downfall of these skills, my
school is looking at adding a curriculum next year that discusses soft skills.

Jordan- The biggest way that I foster the ethical mind is modeling it myself. I also believe that I put
a lot of emphasis on being understanding and empathetic to people and their situations. I try to build a
respectful environment where students feel safe and open and then discuss with them the importance of
expanding that type of environment further and expanding it outside of our classroom.
 Katelyn- I feel I teach the ethical mind by helping students
understand their role in our society. I teach special education to 1st-3rd grade,
but I talk to my students like they are mini adults. We discuss the importance of
being a citizen, and what role we play in the community. My students understand
that despite their young age, they play an active role in our world.

Lauren- We can teach, model, and work together with our students
to help them understand what respect looks like but if it is also not taught in the
home, then rarely does it stick. How many times have we as educators made a phone call or sent an email
regarding a child's behavior only to have excuses made and fingers pointed back at us? How are we to teach
the students these necessary skills for life if we do not have the support of the parents at home? After all, a
child's first teacher is their parent.

Lindsey- I do think the respectful and ethical minds can be challenging to teach if it is not being
implemented both in school and at home. Some of our students are brought up in families that have very strong
opinions or very racial or wrong thoughts of mind. I think it might be difficult to break this mind-set if that is
how things are being presented in their home life.

Louise- I feel I do a good job creating an ethical classroom – a place where we learn together and
support each other in a respectful way. In terms of fostering an ethical mind in my classroom, I feel I do well at
preparing my students for good work and to be good citizens. I’m not sure, however, that I do a good job
incorporating digital media and technological tools into my classroom when it comes to an ethical mind.

Mario- Our goal is to develop students as serious and respectful learners. We try and play on
students strengths and make our students aware of their strengths. We do work with them the first week of
school based on multiple intelligences, finding which areas they are strong in and what areas need more
development. We teach them to play on their strengths. While also constantly addressing the needs and
importance for others and fostering that through lots of group work, activities, and projects.

Maura- Isolate and penalize sound like harsh words, but I agree that disrespect should not be
tolerated in the classroom. Every student should come to school feeling comfortable in their own skin and safe
to share their ideas. Like I said above, fostering a respectful environment needs to begin with us and we need
to be examples of what we preach.

Megan- Cooperative learning can foster respect in a classroom if the teacher is monitoring the
groups. In elementary school, the students are still learning how to work together and how to accept others’
opinions. I believe the role of the teacher is to show students how to do this in a respectful manner.
 Melissa- I believe that I teach the respectful mind to my students by
creating a classroom environment that values acceptance. From the first day of school
we discuss how bullying has no place in our classroom. I also make sure that the
students have opportunities to feel a sense of empathy. Being able to empathize with
someone else's situation is an important part of forming acceptance and respect.

Micah- We can actively be monitoring our students as they communicate with others in the class.
Whether the communication is through blogs or some other form of technology, we can actively see how our
students are responding to others. Another way to spot this is by having open class discussions and seeing how
they respond to their classmates in an open discussion and how they handle their words and tone.

Michael- I've installed a Kindness Jar, Compliment Circle, and have done plenty of lessons on how
to show kindness. The challenges have forced me to think outside of the box and explore different strategies and
understandings. The gains for the specific students might be minimal but I'm hoping as they mature and
continue receiving some guidance on kindness and respect those immature habits diminish. As the phrase goes
"Kill'em with Kindness!"

Rikki- Throughout the year, there are times I have to go back and model what a good class citizen
is. Sometimes we even meet as a group to discuss problems within the classroom and brainstorm ways to fix the
problem and restore our classroom community. I say that a respectful and ethical mind go hand in hand
because I feel if you respect your peers, you are more likely going to be a good citizen towards them.

Stephen- While academics are ultimately what schools are built for, looking at the social element of
school is important as well. Teaching students proper behaviors towards each other should be a priority at all
grade levels. Our school is implementing a model of the PBS (positive behavior supports) where behavior is
addressed in a similar manner as academics. Offering tiered supports where learning opportunities exist for
behaviors would go a long way to promoting a respectful and ethical mind.

Teresa- All many of us want to do is teach children to love reading and be good citizens. With all of
the additional work foisted on us by district, state, and federal mandates, it is easy to lose sight of why we
entered the profession in the first place. For most of us, I imagine it was some derivation of wanting to do
something meaningful with our lives to benefit humanity.

Valeria- When discussing different cultures, students want to be quick to judge and be negative
about things just because they are different. I explain to all my students in the beginning of the year that
cultures are different and we need to be respectful and understanding. When my students look past the fact that
their are differences, they are really open and interested in learning more.
 William- Fostering respect is much tougher today than it was years ago. The chaos that is our
students' lives today varies greatly to those from the past, and even though I think we as a society are more
accepting of others' differences, we have lost ground in the way we treat each other.