PERFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT HOURS
Education in Action
Education in Action is a group of teachers that get together twice a month to discuss what they can do to better themselves as teachers and discuss education history. The club is open to anyone within or planning to join the teaching community on campus, it is not subject specific or education level specific. The day I went Education in Action was doing an activity about historical figures and path makers in education. One member would read off a list of accomplishments that a historical figure had, and the rest of the group would draw what and who they assume the historical figure is and looks like.
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Misconceptions
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All historical figures from before the 1800's were men. Women contributed virtually nothing until later on.
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Not many people were influential in educational history.
Questions
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How does the educational system view historical figures?
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Why are they not taught in school?
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​Educational figures should be more important in the school system.
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Women need more recognition in educational history.
Takeaways
Julissa Arce
Julissa Arce came to explain her story of how she immigrated from Mexico with her family, became an illegal immigrant, and began working on Wall Street. Afterwards she allowed time for questions from the crowd, a lot of questions included President Trump's wall and other illegal political issues.
Misconceptions
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The term "illegal immigrant" makes people think of individuals attempting to cross the border. But the term also covers immigrants that have come on expired visas.
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I was unaware of haw many laws such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) that there were that dealt with immigrants.
Questions
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How long would it take to grant a family a Visa from Mexico?
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Do families typically get deported when their work Visa ends?
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Not all illegal immigrants are actual immigrants.
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DACA is an immigration policy that lets individuals who entered the country as minors receive a renewable Visa.
Takeaways
Jeff Corwin
American biologist and animal conservationist, Jeff Corwin, visited my campus to showcase multiple animals and talk about the effects that nature is going through. While he showcased sloths, alligators, screeching hedgehogs, and grey wolves, Jeff talked about eh environments each animal lived in and how deforestation and pollution are ruining each.
The point of attending Jeff's talk was not only to enjoy the animals and facts, but to assist students from the Indiana School for the Blind & Visually Impaired. One of the students that I was escorting actually got to go on stage with Jeff and hold a large alligator! After the show, he told a fellow pre-service teacher and myself that he had never been happier in his life than when he got to hold the alligator on stage with Jeff Corwin.
Jeff Corwin holding a three-toed sloth.
Misconeptions
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There does not need to be a group of people in order to make a difference! Recycling one bottle a day or reusing paper are both simple things you can do on your own to help save the environment.
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Blind or visually impaired students do not need constant care. Most people believe that they must watch and baby the visually impaired however these individuals are perfectly capable of navigating a room with little to no help.
Questions
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Can everyone mix their passion into a career like Jeff Corwin did?
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Why are visually impaired individuals not seen as regular people who can do regular things?
Takeaways
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Animals are all endangered in one way or another.
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Visually impaired individuals are just like everyone else.