Blog in the Field

The blog I found to be interesting and a possible resource for me upon graduating and become an English teacher is the blog Enhanced English Teacher.  The author of this blog, Tara Seale, is a 9^th grade English teacher; which happens to be the grade I would most like to teach. She discusses the use of Googlesites in her classroom, tweeting, and other ways to integrate technology into her classroom. I like the layout of her blog. She has links to other blogs, a list of great reads and resources on her blog. I plan on returning to this blog once I become a teacher, and throughout my time pursuing my undergraduate degree.

  

Technology in Education

With students becoming more knowledgeable and skilled with technology, it is increasingly important for teachers to stay current on technological advances that they can bring to their classrooms to engage their students in the learning process. In the Newsweek article Educators Work to Better Integrate Technology Into The Classroom, it emphasizes the way technology is changing how colleges educate future teachers so that they can then implement the most recent technologies into their classrooms upon graduating and becoming educators. An example used in this article, highlighted a 4^th grade teacher who learned during her undergraduate program how to use technology with students with special needs. This area of education is becoming increasingly important now that all students are integrated in a single classroom regardless of their abilities.
 

Teaching Philosophy

My teaching philosophy will be to take a proactive approach with my students. With my goal being to teach students that are in high risk of not graduating from high school I want them to know that they can always come to me with problems or concerns. I will do my utmost to help guide them through difficult situations. I feel that the goal of teachers should be to lead by example. I also want to emphasize that students should be creative, and with literature there isn’t always one correct answer when it comes to interpretation. I want my students to be comfortable in their decision making skills so that they can carry them over after graduation. 

Autobiographical Information

My name is Emily Cone, I’m a secondary education student at the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh, where I am majoring in English with a minor in history. I’m also planning on getting my certificate in Autism Spectrum Disorders and another certificate in high risk students. When I graduate I’m hoping to teach at a high school in the Fox Valley area. I completed a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration with a major in Marketing and an emphasis in entrepreneurship, from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh in 2007; however I did not find the business world to my liking. Currently I am a stay at home mom of three children, two of which are on the autism spectrum.