Blog 23: Final Lesson Reflection

1. I am most proud of the reaction I got out of my activity. People really responded positively towards it.

2.
a.) P
b.)AP

3. What really worked for me with Senior Project was my mentorship and mentorship experience; it really worked for me and I got a lot of valuable experience and help for my Senior Project out of it.

4. What did not work for me was how I stayed up until three in the morning reviewing my slides. I should have trusted that I knew my presentation by heart rather than tiring myself and seeming less than myself when I usually talk to people about my project.

5. The senior project was a long and grueling process. We gathered 80 sources over the course of the year, learning from 80 different viewpoints and experiences. All the while going to a mentorship that further helped to understand what I have to learn about teaching history. It was also the first solo project I have done in my four years at iPoly. It taught me about myself. It taught me about how valuable people are and how working in groups really isn't that bad. Although, it did give me more self confidence. With or without a supporting group, I can do an hour presentation by myself.

Blog 22:Mentorship

Literal

     -My mentor is Britt Linke, she is the 8th Grade Honors History Teacher at Walnut Grove Intermediate School. Her contact number is (626)919-7018.

      -My Mentorship Hours Log has been updated and is located on the right.

Interpretive

     - The most important thing that would have to say that I gained from my experience at mentorship is just
        learning and appreciating how much work and dedication it takes to be a successful History Teacher.
        Between the preparation and planning of lessons and activities, and the sometimes constant task
        of keeping your students on track. Its a lot of work and I learned just how much it takes to best Teach
        History.

Applied

      - This has all helped answer my EQ I've shadowed and learned directly from my mentor what are the
         most important and best ways to teach History. Without my mentor I wouldn't have possibly
         created and researched my answers to my EQ if it weren't for them. I've learned from the best how
         Enthusiasm, Reliable Sources, and even something as simple as Teaching the Importance of History
         can massively effect the way History Class is taught and how much more effective it can be if you use
         these methods.

Blog 21: Exit Interveiw

Content:
1.My Essential Question is, "What is the most important way a History Teach can effectively teach his class?" My answers are, "Teaching the Importance of History, Teaching with Enthusiasm, and Using Reliable Sources are the most important ways to teach History. My best answer is my Third Answer sources are important in History Classes because without them you have no source material to teach to your students with. It would be as if all the events in the past were never written down, the past might as very well be lost and a mystery for everyone to wonder about.

2.The process I took to arrive at this answer involved the research I did for my Independent Component 2 which involved an in depth look at some of the most widely used History Textbooks used across America. What I concluded from this research is that many textbooks used are biased even though they might not realize they are. This is a real problem in History classes across America. There is a good portion of material that students are not learning. It's like if I ordered a Strawberry Banana smoothie but only got a Banana smoothie. A good portion of what I expected is missing. Just like a good portion of information is missing from History books. Its not about the factuality of the book, but rather whats not included in the book. That is why having reliable sources is one of the most important way to Teach history.

3.The only problems I faced during the course of my Senior Project was coming up with answers. When I was delt with these problems I would turn to my mentors for advice on what I should do. When they gave me ideas I would research it to see if there was support for their claim.

4.The two most significant sources I used for my Senior Project were actually provided to me by Mr. Rivas, I-Poly's 12th grade Government and Economics teacher. The two sources we're "Teaching What Really Happened..." by James Loewen and "Teaching The Taboo..." by Bill Ayers. I used these because they we're very helpful in providing research for my answers to my Senior Project. The book by James Loewen really helped because it focused on the problems with the way History is taught in today's schools. It brought up some interesting points and really benefited my project. The book by Bill Ayers really helped because it focused on how to teach a teacher how he can be the best teacher he can be and inspire imagination, curiosity, and enthusiasm in the classroom. Both we're extremely helpful and I couldn't have made my Senior Project the best it can be without them.

April Extra Blog Post

This month for Senior Project I have been working on everything, from my 2nd Independent Component to my Fourth Interview, and my Activity. It has been really stressful but this is just the final push Forward unto the Light Brigade to the end that awaits us at Graduation. I really hope I do well on my Senior Project Presentation. I look forward to teaching all my classmates and Juniors things they didn't know about what it takes and how you can Teach History effectively.

Blog 19:Independent Component 2

Literal
(a) "I, Alonso VIllanueva, affirm that I completed my independant component which represents 30 hours of work."
(b)-Sanders, Jody S. "Teaching Students to Recognize Bias." Middleweb.com. N.p., 02 Feb. 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2015.

(c) My Senior Project Hours Log has been updated. The link is on the right.

(d)For my Independent Component 2, I mostly worked with a teacher Mr. Leighton at the school my mentor works at. For this component I investigated many widely used History textbooks that many schools use. Including the one I mentorship at. Despite these history books claiming not to be biased, I wanted to see if they actually are. 

Interpretive

For my 2nd Independent Component I worked with my 2nd mentor VinceLHe is a social studies teacher at Walnut Grove Intermediate School. What I wanted to do was examine and investigate some of the more widely used History Textbooks and see if there were any biases with them. This mainly has to do with my Third Answer that states, "Having reliable primary and secondary sources is one of the best ways to effectively teach a History class." And one way a primary and secondary source, such as a history textbook can become unreliable is if they're biased. From what I found in my research, books like Prentice Hall's, "World History: The Modern World," leave out some key points. Such as in Section 3, Chapter 11 on the bombing of Pearl Harbor and America's response to the attack and how we entered World War 2. It leaves out and doesn't even mention that one of Roosevelt's responses to the attack was Executive Order 9066. The order that forcibly evacuated over 100,000 Japanese American Citizens into Internment Camps. Even though this was a mistake on the government's hands at the time and something America really doesn't like to talk about. Its something that needs to be learnt so that it may never happen again. Another thing I noticed was that quite a bit of history textbooks in the Southern United States particularly the states of Louisiana and Mississippi. The textbooks in these regions barely even touched and skimmed about the treatment of African Americans living in the South in the Post Civil War Era. They don't even mention the thousands of public lynchings that were preformed in the decades that followed the conclusion of the civil war. There's not even a word about the Jim Crow laws that restricted the Civil Rights and Civil Liberties of African Americans. All of these events in time are a very important part of American History, and these books just flat out don't include them. No matter how shameful it may look now, our children still need to know about and learn these things as ugly as they are to talk about. I know I'm blabbering on, but History is something I am very passionate about. The  lat thing that grinded my gears was the totally biased and over glorification of the controversial decision to drop the atomic bomb. Now the history books I looked into did a decent job of explaining why we made the decision to drop the bomb. However, it completely leaves out any counter arguments or skepticism or different perspectives about what other people thought about the dropping of the bomb. They just basically state that the bomb was a good thing because it saved millions of lives on both sides as a result. It really bugs me that many History books just spit out plain facts, they don't make the reader think about the decisions people made in the past. There's no aspiration of curiosity for the readers to dig deeper into the material. Thankfully though there are teachers like my mentors who inspire their students to ask questions about these events and make them wonder what if things had been different.

-This is one of the books I investigated and examined. One I found to be biased.

-This is my 2nd mentor Vince Leighton. He is the 7th Grade World History Teacher at WGIS

Applied

-This component helped answer my EQ by greatly helping me strengthen and back my Third answer. Having reliable primary and secondary sources is essential to teaching History effectively. Having biased sources truly undermines the source material you have to go off of as a teacher. Its like having a book with many pages of it missing, you'd miss out on key points of it. The same goes for History textbooks, because of their biases a lot of important things in our students Historical education is missing and it is a real problem. That is why in one of the best ways to teach History effectively is by having reliable and un-biased primary and especially secondary sources to teach History the best to your ability as a teacher.

March Extra Blog Post

This month I have been doing quite a bit of investigating for my Senior Project. I have been researching and examining for of the most widely used History books in the state of California's school system. The reason as to why i've been looking into these books is that I want to see if any of them are biased in any way. This may include not staying true to the historical events, or maybe shedding a different light on an event or person, or even maybe not including all the facts. The book i've been looking into the most right now is Prentice Hall's World History: The Modern Era. So far it has proved my suspicions about this source being biased despite it not suppose to be. This will just strengthen my third answer that having reliable and truthful sources are important to teaching History.

Blog 18: Fourth Interview Questions

1. What is the most effective way to teach a History class?

2. Do you believe History is an important subject to learn?

3. Why do you believe some people have a negative view towards the subject of History?

4. If so, why?

5. In your opinion can bringing enthusiasm into the classroom be beneficial for teachers and their students?

6. One thing I came across while doing my research is that some History textbooks are biased. Do you believe that they are, and if so why?

7. Have you ever used enthusiasm as a teaching method, and if so has it been successful for you?

8. To you, is History an essential subject to our childrens education?

I

9. Why did you decide to become a History teacher?

10. Do you ever have any problems trying to get the focus of your students?

11. What teaching methods do you use to get their attention?

12. My First Answer is, “Using enthusiasm is one of the best ways a History Teacher can effectively teach his class?” What do you think of it?

13. My Second Answer is, “Teaching the Importance of History is one of the best ways a History Teacher can effectively teach his class?” What do you think of it?

14. Do you have any ideas what I can have for my third and final answer?

15.  Do you have any ideas or suggestions for what I can do for my activity?

16. Are there any special methods or techniques you use when teaching your class?

17. Which method has been the most effective in your class?

18.How do you make your history class more fun?

19. What makes a good History teacher?

20. Why do you think History is one of those subjects that the students just sometimes don't want to learn?

21. Why should they learn it?

Blog 17: Answer 3

• What is the best way a History Teacher can effectively teach his class?
• My third answer is, "Using well written sources is one way a History Teacher can effectively teach their class."
• - First Hand Sources are especially beneficial to teaching a History class as they give you a special insight on historical events and what those witnessing it thought about it.
• - Second Hand Sources are the flesh of materiel used in History Classes. As it may prove difficult to acquire first hand sources. Second hand sources are especially important to a history class as they the most commonly used form of sources in gathering historical information.
• - Sources are important in History classes because without them you have no source material to teach to your students history with. If all the events in the past were never written down, the past very well might have been lost and just a mystery to everyone.
• Walt, L. W. "Seven Rules for Effective History Teaching or Bringing Life to the History Class." OAH Magazine of History 17.1 (2002): 65-71. Web.
• Without reliable sources the links to the past of history in classrooms would be lost.

February Extra Blog Post

 This month I have been busy getting on track with my Senior Project. I've worked on my Independent Component One this month which helped me a tremendous amount with my project. It really showed me what some of the best ways are as to how a History Teacher can effectively teach his class. I've been thinking about what I can do for my 2nd Independent Component. Since the idea of taking a college class didn't work out, I've had a couple of other ideas. One such idea is to make a 10 minute film in which I interview various History Teachers at my place of mentor ship and ask them why they think History is important and should be learned. I will then go to Historical museums and ask guests and/or curators if they think History is important and I will then ask random people if  they can answer some simple history questions. If they can answer them, then Kudos. If not, then shame on them. If they cant answer even the simplest questions then this will just strengthen my argument as to why History is important and why everyone should learn it.

Blog 16: Answer 2

1. What are the best ways a History Teacher can effectively teach his class?

2. One of the best ways a HistoryTeacher can effectively teach his class is through enthusiasm.

3. One of the best ways a History Teacher can effectively teach his class is showing your students the importance of History.

4.  A)It is important because people can at least know the basic History of there state and/or country
     B)You can appreciate all the sacrifices people have made before to get to this point in time and how the world came to be due to the past historical events.
     C)History is very important to learn, as a world leader you should know past events so that you may not repeat them.



5.Fowley, Howard. "Teaching in the 21 st Century." LA Times.com. LA Times Newspaper. 3 Mar 2010. Web. 10 Sep 2014.


6. Jason Alenko. "The Right Way to Teach History." Washington Post. The Washinton Post, 5 Nov. 2012. Web. 16 Jan. 2015.

7. With History we are the past, present, , future, good, and bad, we are history, and we continue making it everyday, its important know all of these wonderful things.

Independent Component 2 Approval

1. For my 30 Hours I plan to take a History Course at Citrus College.

2. I will meet the 30 hours by attending the class and providing a transcript at a later date as proof that I did it.

3. This will help with my Senior Project because it will show me how History is taught on the college level and I can see how the professor teaches his class of bored college students and makes sure the material he's teaching retains in their minds. I can then take this knowledge and apply it at my mentor ship.

4 I have added a log thingy slot for my Independent Component 2 on my hours log.

Blog 14: Independant Component 1

• Literal                                                                                                     
•  - "I, Alonso Villanueva, affirm that I completed my Independant Component which                       represents 30 hours of work."                                                                                                    -
• A source that really helped me with my Independant Component was Teaching What               Really Happened: How To Avoid The Tyranny Of Textbooks And Get Students Excited           About Doing History By  Author James Loewen.                                                                         The Link to My Senior Project Hours Is To the Right                                                                 
• For my Independent Component One I assisted my mentor with her teaching of lesson               plans over the course of the Quarter. I helped plan her lessons, assisted her with helping             the students with their classwork and in-class projects, helped her out with grading papers,         and sometimes I just sat at the back of the class and observed her class like I was a student         there to see how she brings life to the classroom and makes her History Class students               engaged and focused. 
• Interpretive                                                                                                                                              
• Once or twice a week for about 2 Hours I go to Walnut Grove Intermediate School in                 West Covina. This was the middle school I actually attended. At my mentorship I am                 Teacher Assistant for Britt Linke, she is the 8th Grade Honors Social Studies Teacher                 there. Over the course of these past two months I learned a lot about how a History                     Teacher can best effectively teach their class, it has been extremely helpful with my                   Senior Project. 
  
                            The Visitor Badge I am required to wear at all times when I check in at the                                                       Front Office of the middle school.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Myself Taking Awkward Pictures of the Middle School I mentor at.
  

                                             This book was my go to and most helpful source in my project

• Applied

             -Before this component, I had no idea how to even to teach in a classroom environment. Especially an American History one, since most of the people I know list History as one of their least favorite subjects. Through this component I learned how much work it takes to be a great teacher like my mentor, the amount of work she puts in to her lesson plans and projects is amazing. She ensures each one of the activities is fun while also teaching something related to the chapter the students are on, I learned what works best when getting your students engaged and focused on what you're teaching. One method that my mentor uses a lot is to get on the students level and be their "friend". Of course there is an exception to this, if you take it too far the students will just disregard your authority and not respect you as an instructor. I learned when its appropriate to be a teacher and a friend to the students when teaching American History.

January Extra Blog Post

This past month I haven't been spending much time with my mentor Britt Linke at Walnut Grove Intermediate, I've instead been spending it with my second mentor Vince Leighton. He is the 7th grade Social Studies teacher there. I mentioned him in my 1st interview. I chose him as my 2nd mentor because as I mentioned in my interview, lots of the students there really like him. He happily agreed to be my mentor and has been really helpful with my senior project.

Blog 13-Lesson 2 Reflection

1. I am most proud of my stage presence during my presentation, many of the audience members said I was enthusiastic and had their attention during the presentation.

2.  I would give myself an AP.

3. I deserve this because I felt I did an ok job, but many of the audience members said that I rushed through my powerpoint a bit fast.

4. If I could go back, I would make my powerpoint more aesthetically pleasing.

Blog 12: Mentorship 10 Hours

1. I am doing my mentorship at Walnut Grove Intermediate School.

2. My contacts are Britt Linke and David Leighton, both History Teachers at Walnut Grove.

3. I have done 27 hours, though I still need to record it in my Mentorship hours log.

4. I have done 27 hours. Most of those consisted of grading papers, walking around the class helping students with their classwork, and working on my Independent component with my mentors.

Blog 11: Holiday Project Update

1. Yes it is important to work on your Senior Project over break because just because you have time off doesn't mean you should just put off your project. You need to use every bit of time your given wisely. However I myself did not follow this and did minimal stuff on my project over break.

2. I learned that I should have used my time wisely and should really set in to gear now and really focus on working on my Senior Project.

3. I would talk to my second mentor that I have, Mr Leighton. A lot of the students at my mentorship really like his way class and way of teaching History. I should ask hime how he does it.