Obama's Pre-school Plan

As a part of Obama's education plan, he wants to spend $10 billion for states to offer universal pre-school and expand federal early-learning programs like Head Start. It doesn't look like the economy can support such funding right now, but according to the Wallstreet Journal article by Robert Tomsho a plan such as this would be beneficial to young learners. The article focuses on the issue that children coming from middle-class families are not getting the support that they need because all of the funds have been going toward lower income children. There is no doubt that these children need the support, but if adjustments aren't made middle class children will be left in the dust. The article reports that "12 states spend nothing at all on preschool [and] among the 38 that do pay for such programs, funding ranges from $1,600 a child in South Carolina to nearly $10,500 a child in New Jersey." New Jersey has seen success in their students testing and it is evident that the money they are spending on pre-school programs is beneficial. If students are coming in with background knowledge from preschool, they will be ready for what they are learning in kindergarten.
I found this article important because I will be seeing the affects of preschool on my students first hand. Children need that attention early on so that they are prepared for elementary school academically and socially. Obama's plan to fund states with money for universal preschool sounds appealing, but I do not know how realistic it is seeing as the economy is struggling. A lot needs to happen before classrooms will see the affects of such a program.

Humor in the Classroom

After reading an article by Peggy F. Hopper and Sue S. Minchew, I feel I have a new insight on using humor in the classroom. A sense of humor is important to me in all aspects of my life and I have wondered how to incorporate it in my own classroom without losing structure and discipline. In their article titled Techniques for Using Humor and Fun in the Language Arts Classroom, they discuss specific lessons that incorporate humor in language arts lessons. The grade level for these lessons is older than I plan on teaching, but can be adapted for the younger grade levels. The purpose of using humor in teaching is to motivate students and keep their attention. One of my favorite examples from the article is the way they used the anonymous piece called “My Resume” that uses word play. The students have to pick up on the words that are being played on each other, and not only are they learning multiple meaning words, but they are paying attention to the text and learning how to comprehend different forms of writing. As with any subject, if the students have a connection with the material they will understand it better and remember it later. What better way to keep the class' interest than using a sense of humor?