WebLog 1

Personal information



1. Name, hometown, primary email.
    Zachary Moss, Solon, Ohio, zmoss13@jcu.edu

2. What name do you prefer to be called?
     Zach

3. Grade level and subject(s) that you want to teach (For graduate students: undergraduate and graduate degree(s), education license(s), current employment: grade level, subject(s) if applicable, district).
    High school Math
4. What are you into; what makes you special? Share a few “unique” aspects about yourself that would help our classroom community get to know you a bit better.

   I play baseball at John Carroll University. In my spare time I hang out with my friends, or look into sporting news as I am a big Cleveland Browns fan! I respect my family, faith, and friends a lot. I'm a humorous guy who is laid back looking for a fun time.

Learning Style and more:



5. Being as specific as you can, what must be in place for you to feel comfortable taking intellectual and creative risks in a classroom?

    I need to be comfortable with my surroundings and the people around me, and I need the teacher to explain that questions are always good and invite everyone to answer questions.




6. I am interested in your perception of yourself as a student. Please describe it. Consider such criteria as a) active oral class participation; b) responsible, timely class preparation (of readings, projects, etc.); c) honest, candid self-assessment; d) awareness of your own preferred learning styles/approaches; e) first thing that you do when you cannot or do not understand something; f)other dimensions you believe to be relevant and informative.

    Whenever I know an answer or have a question I will never hesitate to raise my hand and share it with the class. For the most part my assignments are always completed on time. Sometimes with long reading I lack understanding information at the end in which I have a bad habit of rushing during a long assignment. I enjoy having an assigned reading and the teacher talking about it and opening it up for discussion the day it's due. It helps me organize my learning for that particular section. When I don't understand something I usually ask someone around me, if they don't know then I raise my hand to ask.




7. Is there anything I should know about you, your learning style, or life situation that may be relevant to your successful performance in this course? (Please decide what to share with the class and what to share in confidence with me).
  
    I am really open to whatever the teacher decides how the course should be taught. So far I'm enjoying the idea of blogs!

Education Past and Present



8. Share a formative memory from your experiences as a student.

  Too many to even think about! If I had to pick one it would be my junior year chemistry class in which I asked a single question that took the teacher and class a week to discuss and be amazed at. In the end, the teacher pulled me aside afterwards and told me thank you for bringing up such a intelligent question and that we completed all the material to be learned for that week. Post on my blog if you really want to hear this interesting question!


9. Please discuss what are, for you, the some significant issues or concerns facing the field of education right now.

    Not enough teachers are retiring as projected, at least around Northeast Ohio. I'm concerned how employable I will be when I graduate. The funding for schools needs to be corrected by the government in my opinion.


10. Let’s imagine, humbly, that this course is definitely going to be the most meaningful and relevant course you’ve ever experienced. EVER. Drawing on your past experience in classrooms, and thinking uniquely, specifically and BIG, describe what we need to (1) DO (activities/projects), (2) STUDY (content topics and compelling issues/questions), (3) BE (interacting with each other) and (4) AVOID (in the previous three categories) in order for your visionary views of an ideal course to be mostly realized.
   
    First, the setting and atmosphere of our learning as to be appropriate. On these nice sunny days, we should go outside and have our class outside! I always loved the classes where someone would ask a question or the teacher would say a sentence and the whole class would be compelled discussing all the issues around the topic for the whole class. The more people that are in the conversation motivate the quieter ones to speak up. Group projects are always a memory, because you get other people's ideas while making new friends. The class should always be open for discussion and we should avoid exams with short answer or multiple choice type answers as this course, in my mind, is designed for future teachers to think critically, and deeper about their upcoming career and strategy.
About Dr. Shutkin:


11. Write down two or three questions you would like to ask me about myself or the class.

   Did you ever teach below the college level?
   What is your favorite part about being a professor?