#Pretchat Archive
#PreTchat is a chat designed specifically for preservice educators by preservice teachers and professors. The chats are lead established by future educators as they vote on topics for discussion and co-moderate the chat with a professor who teaches future educators.
Thursday October 6, 2016
Welcome to . I'm Dean Manz from KS & co-founder of this chat. Please take a moment and introduce yourself, school & content area.
Tonight's will be co-moderated with Please be sure to respond to questions using A1, A2, etc. Feel free to ask ?'s too.
My name is Cindy. I'm a student at CSU, Fresno and I'm an English Education major.
I'm Benjamin Honeycutt, I am a Middle School Technology teacher at Monument Academy in Monument, Colorado. It is great to be here!
Welcome to . Great to have you with us tonight.
Please understand tonight's will be a bit different ?s sent out are directed to Ben. But, don't hesitate to share thoughts too.
I'm Hannah, a freshman at Grove City College and en elementary ed major
Question #1 coming up in 1 minute on
Thank you for joining tonight. I hope you gain some great insight from
Q1 What is a "Legacy" project & how did you decide on your focus?
It's great to have you here, Hannah! I love being able to have these conversations with future educational pioneers
Do you have any experience with "Legacy" projects like has established?
During your HS days, did you have to create a special senior project fo the benefit of your community?
A1: I believe a legacy project is a student led endeavor that brings real world significance inside the classroom.
Does the "Real World" need to be global or can it be local or even regional?
A1 (II) It's easy to get caught in a "August-May" mindset in education. Legacy Projects challenge kids to go beyond this framework
This is pretty basic but I was part of the group that started single stream recycling in my high school
I did not, but I graduated 11 years ago. I know my younger sister worked on something like that.
What was involved in the single stream recycling?
I see a legacy as a challenge for students to make a difference in their local or global communities.
Interesting. What was the focus of your sister's project/
That's excellent! An effort like that can lead to positive changes for the whole community!
However, this year I started a book club aimed at children ages 11-13 in my neighborhood and that has been exciting.
Legacy Projects are also a challenge to accomplish something that can be passed down to future generations of students.
Outstanding. Do they select the books or do you select one for the club?
Q2 How can current & future teachers implement a legacy project within their own classroom?
What a fantastic example of a legacy effort. How has it been going thus far?
Amazing! Working with communities to lead real-world changes are the projects I want to inspire as a teacher.
How involved does the BOE get with each community based project? https://t.co/ZwTxEnuFCO
My class had to apply for a grant and get the project approved by the school board
I choose the first one to get them started. Ultimately I wanted them to preside over their own club. I provide disc Qs.
A2: I believe the best way to start is surveying the passions of their students. My kids have blown me away this year with their..
A2: starting out simple with something like a service project is a great place to start
Great approach to student centered learning. That is our vision for too.
A2 (II): ...ideas to spark positive changes. Surveying student interest is a great way to kindle excitement for legacy efforts.
They are excited however they do have difficulty finishing novels alone. Group reading might be helpful.
What are some example ideas your Ss have brainstormed?
Being near the , many students wanted to send care packages to our troops overseas.
Many also wanted to set up secret Santa programs that would benefit impoverished kids in the Colorado Springs community
What do you see as being a possible area of focus for a legacy project with your students?
What are some of the books they've read together?
I am proud to hear your students are looking out for the care of our troops rather than sitting on the idea.
One student brought up how he wanted to put the saying "Support our Troops" into tangible action.
Percy Jackson, Secret Garden, Hatchet, Outsiders. They do like comics so we might try graphic memoirs soon.
This data collection may help a few of our friends out when it comes to finding a teaching opportunity. https://t.co/iTP9HzR7lW
Excellent selections. S.E. Hinton is a big reason why I started writing.
If you had to start a "Legacy" project as part of your pre service program, what would it be?
Secret Garden turned me into a reader. We have to engage them while they're young.
It's also important to give your class a challenge with real world significance. My kids will have a personal and class project
I want to show my students it's possible to make a difference that goes beyond the walls of their middle school.
I would start with something like making fringe blankets to take to a orphange or foster home for young kids
I so agree that Ss need to have a connection to the world especially with the issue we face today & in the future.
Q3 Besides your parents being educators, who else influenced your decision to become a teacher?
Yes! As teachers we plant the seed and teach them to learn so they can go off and make things happen on their own.
We did something similar in one of my college classes. We read "Seedfolks" and helped work on a comm garden near a
Love this idea for student legacy projects. Being creative and directly involved speaks volumes. https://t.co/N2pI5CgI31
I would start with something like making fringe blankets to take to a orphange or foster home for young kids
Q3: definietely some of my high school and middle school teachers. They had such an impact on me
As a Social Studies teacher, I wanted to shift the focus from memorization to how kids could change the world around them.
A3: There is not a profession on this planet that can inspire more people to make the world a better place.
A3 (II): Passionate teachers create ripples in students that can turn into tidal waves of progress for our society
I would say my influences came from my 8th grade math and HS technology teachers.
A3: I was also inspired by teachers who helped an aimless senior change the world for kids in Nepal.
That is a year that a lot of mind molding can happen and a very influential year
A3: Teaching was a way to pay it forward for my amazing parents and the incredible teachers who inspired me in my life.
A3 (IV): They made me see the legacies I could hopefully one day inspire in the classroom.
A3: I agree w/ making personal connections with Ss can lead to an amazing growth in a student down the road.
Q4 What advice do you have as a 1st year teacher for pre service students?
A4: Beyond anything, the best thing to remember as a teacher is to "be yourself".
Q4 (II): There is no proper instruction manual to follow as a teacher, there are many ways to inspire your students.
Q4 (III): Education is also under attack from many different fronts all over the world, what struck me as a student teacher was...
Q4 (IV): ..the sheer bureaucracy teachers tread through to get anything done. It made even the simplest tasks feel mountainous
Q5: What questions my you folks have for about his 1st year or the "Open World Cause" legacy project?
But for all of the headaches, the lesson planning, and the rough days, you have to remember there is no job more significant.
Q4 (V): You are inspiring the future leaders of our world. For each bad day, there are five that make the job a dream come true.
Q4 (VI): In the end, it's crucial for students to see you as a human being that they can trust to both fail them and to ace them.
The most vital lessons I've learned came from failure, kids need to learn failure isn't something to fear, but a part of growth.
I read somewhere that during dinner a family names one thing they failed at that day. To celebrate...
... failure and not see it as detrimental but as a step closer to success.
Coin drives, free dress days, book sales, lemonade stands, and info booths at games have been great ways to raise money.
Hours of volunteering in the U.S. can result in lifetimes of learning for students around the world.
Absolutely. It is a natural part of the learning cycle!
I challenge my friends on and to contribute to these students in Nep… https://t.co/igLHZXX1lz
This is Alina, she wants to one day become a teacher in her home community. $15 sends her to school w' a nutritious… https://t.co/dBqxRdpRzp
We are also starting a digital pen pal program between students in Kenya and students in the U.S.
