Hello all! Please find below the link to my final video blog, I hope you all enjoy! (Apologies for any issues with the vlog, Flip did not want to cooperate for this!)
Alternate link: https://flip.com/s/PWqZcgN-pxTG
After engaging with the resources provided this week, I have come to recognize the importance of building relationships with not only the students, but with their families and relatives as well. It is important to look beyond academics; educators must learn who their students are on an individual, personal level, to ensure that their academic and socio-emotional needs are being fulfilled. It is crucial to also connect with families and collaborate with them. Through meeting and talking with the families, teachers can learn more about their students, and can even come together with the families to ensure that the student is setting proper academic goals and reaching them accordingly. The connection with the students and their families creates a strong, safe, and inclusive environment, where opinions can be shared, and voices will be heard.
The use of social media is a topic which is greatly debated, with many individuals having conflicting feelings over its use and the effects it has on the world as a whole. Concurrently, the topic of technology is also quite debated, with many questioning the extent to which it should appear in our lives. When it comes to both social media and technology use in schools, the topic becomes even more complex, and many different opinions begin to surge. Personally, after having watched and read through the resources provided in the module this week, my stance on this debate in terms of its relationship to schools is a bit intricate. Since it heavily affects the mental health of students, I definitely think social media should be appropriately restricted and students should be taught media literacy, however, I think the implementation of technology as a whole in classrooms is extremely beneficial and should be promoted. In essence, I hold a positive opinion on technological tools students and educators use, while wanting to restrict social media.
In modern society, there is a large drug and addiction issue which affects a multitude of individuals. To add on to this issue, it seems that the individuals affected the most are from the younger generations, causing them to come into contact with drugs and have addiction issues from an early age. It is extremely important that we begin to educate all individuals, and especially kids and teens, on the dangers of drugs, the consequences and symptoms, and even how to become media literate when it comes to the exposure of drug culture on social media platforms, television shows, and music. As educators, we have a responsibility to educate our students on these critical issues and can do so with the help of online resources and lesson plans.
Hello everyone, below you will find the link to my video blog for this week. Enjoy!
Alternate Link: https://flip.com/s/VQGDe1xx6EkY
| Data Points | Community 1 |
| Number of Students * | 6,742 (P-12) / 6,516 (K-12) |
| Financial Transparency * | Very transparent: the needs resource category is low need, the district’s ability to raise local funds is significantly more than the average district in the state, and district students’ needs are significantly less than state average.
District: $30,808.00 County Average: $27,729.77 Statewide Average: $25,870.33 |
| Class Size* | Average: 18 |
| 4 Year Graduation Rate * | 95% |
| Standardized Test Scores * (ELA and Math, include % taking the tests) | Grade 3 ELA: 89% (263/415)
Grade 4 ELA: 88% (293/439) Grade 5 ELA: 79% (309/483) Grade 6 ELA: 80% (320/537) Grade 7 ELA: 75% (303/566) Grade 8 ELA: 84% (250/573) Grade 3 Math: 88% (278/415) Grade 4 Math: 90% (298/441) Grade 5 Math: 88% (328/483) Grade 6 Math: 70% (320/538) Grade 7 Math: 78% (305/565) Grade 8 Math: 66% (118/573) |
| Accountability Status* | Local Support and Improvement, LSI (previously Good Standing) |
| Per Pupil Spending * | $30,808.16 |
| Ethnicity * | American Indian / Alaska Native: 0%
Black or African American: 1% Hispanic or Latino: 9% Asian / Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander: 46% White: 40% Multiracial: 3% |
| Median Household Income | $107,695 |
| Average Property/School Taxes | Median Property Taxes: $2,352 |
| Average Home Price | Median Property Value: $893,100 |
Resources: Great Neck, NY | Data USA
As we have been able to see through the resources provided to us this week, homelessness and poverty are grave issues that affect a multitude of individuals across the nation. The documentary and articles provided this week were eye-opening in showing how this issue impacts youth, and the many facets of this issue beyond the financial circumstances: mental health, discrimination, and even immigration issues. Though these themes and topics are all important to address, two themes that particularly stood out to me were the need to understand and be compassionate towards those with diverse housing situations, and the ability schools or educators have in being a safe haven for the homeless or impoverished youth.
Mental health disorders and illnesses are topics all educators should be well informed about, knowing the signs and symptoms to look out for, how to properly accommodate their students, and how to seek for assistance in order to provide their students with the best resources possible. While there is a plethora of mental health issues one should be knowledgeable on, I chose to focus on obsessive-compulsive disorder. After researching about the disorder and what it entails, the symptoms and experiences associated with it, I feel as though this is a disorder which is commonly misunderstood. It goes beyond repetitive behaviors, it includes intrusive thoughts, difficulty managing obsessions, and of course, the compulsions which are often stereotypically associated with the disorder. As educators, we must truly know what these disorders entail, how they affect students, and the strategies to implement to alleviate them from the stress associated with the disorder. Overall, it was truly eye-opening to see what individuals with OCD face and struggle with on a day-to-day basis, and I hope my slide below serves to reflect just some of this extensive information.
Hello everyone! Below you will find the link to my video blog for this week.
School violence is unfortunately a very real fear that most students, families, and educators hold throughout the United States. From an early age, I and many other Americans have practiced lockdown drills, had lectures on school safety, and have become accustomed to security and metal detectors being present in schools. The documentary for this week’s topic and the readings, though they bring up surprising facts and statistics, do not act toward bringing a new topic to light. They highlight a topic that is deeply embedded in our society, perhaps even more so than others. Again, as mentioned, while some information I learned this week was startling and surprising, other aspects, such as the topic of gun violence as a whole, did not shock me.
Starting with what surprised me this week, it truly shocked me how the documentary displays the ease of obtaining a gun. Though I have always seen movies and TV shows that had gun usage, the real-life counterpart of this problem was something I had not considered. This may stem from my limited experiences, living in a big city where guns are controlled and not promoted as much as perhaps the small towns displayed in the film (Moore, 2002). Throughout my life, I have never known of anyone who owns a gun, and because of this in many ways, my perspective on this issue comes from a very sheltered place. It was only when I began to watch the documentary that I came to realize how deeply ingrained guns and violence are in our society, and how many people think of guns in a positive light (Moore, 2002). A recent report on gun ownership claims that nearly a third of U.S. adults own a gun, which I believe helps to solidify my previous stance (Schaeffer, 2023).
School Violence images. Adobe Stock. (n.d.). https://stock.adobe.com/search?k=school%2Bviolence%5B/caption%5D