Chapter 7,8,9 Discussion Responses

Abigail Carter
carterai@dukes.jmu.edu
Block 4

Chapter 7
Page 108
1. Val could have avoided this situation by self-screening her social media accounts prior to
beginning student teaching and setting her privacy settings to private on her accounts.
2. Yes, teachers can maintain separate social and professional lives, but it’s important for
them to take proper privacy precautions and use good judgment to maintain them.
3. I have always taken care to make sure my social media is appropriate and on the right
privacy settings, not only for the sake of potential future employers and students but
also for my own safety online.

Page 109
1. This is a difficult question, and I can’t say that I know the definitive answer. It truly
would depend on more context and being in that situation.
2. Possible repercussions would be similar behavior from the teacher towards Bart, who
may be angry if he tries to step in. The teacher could also report back to his cooperating
teacher or administrators.
3. The possible repercussions are that the student could be emotionally and mentally
impacted in a negative way by this teacher’s reaction, regardless of whether or not their
behavior warranted a strong response.

Page 113
1. In this situation, it was not legal to photocopy the score.
2. He could have contacted the student to let them know it is not there or asked the
cooperating teacher if there were emergency scores somewhere else.

Page 114
1. Yunshu made the right decision.
2. In terms of ethics, Yunshu had to consider right and wrong and the repercussions of
both options.
3. I would have handled the situation the same way as Yunshu did—I would not have made
the copies.
4. It sounds like her CT is a supportive and agreeable person, so I’m sure they were able to
discuss the decision together.

Page 119
1. I am not as well-versed in disability legislation as I would like to be—the one I am most
familiar with is IDEA.
2. Prior to student teaching, I was a full-time summer caretaker of 2 children with ASD. The
summer before senior year of college, I worked for my county’s extended school year
 program for students with special needs as an assistant teacher. In student teaching, I
have had multiple students with special needs in my classes and have gained experience
in IEPs and 504 plans and curricular modification through them.
3. In my first placement, my cooperating teacher and I modified methods of assessment
and learning objectives to assist students with special needs and be able to track their
progress effectively.
4. I feel that the music classrooms I’ve worked in throughout student teaching up to this
point have been conducive to disabled and special needs students. My cooperating
teachers are extremely aware and mindful of student needs and adjust accordingly to
meet them where they are.
5. I have not been involved with creating or specifically implementing an IEP, but I have
had the opportunity to view student IEPs and use that knowledge to adjust my plans
and objectives. I hope to be able to sit in on an IEP meeting in this placement. I know
that it is a team-work based process, and that there are regular meetings.

Chapter 8
Page 125

1. At this time, I currently do not have concerns about my postings. I have been conscious
of posts and my social media presence since I was first given permission to use the
platforms as a teenager. In high school, I maintained a positive social media presence with
college admissions in mind, and now as an adult, I still have the desire to maintain a
positive social media presence not only for the sake of employers but also for safety
reasons.
2. School districts may be concerned if a candidate posts inappropriate photos of
themselves or photos of themselves doing illegal things (for example, a large issue in
college climate today is underage consumption of alcohol or illegal consumption of other
substances). It may also be concerning if the content of a candidate’s posts indicates
dangerous or concerned mental state or behavior towards anyone, but especially
children. Overall, districts are likely looking at how the candidate uses social media and
how it reflects upon them whether it be positive or negative.
3. Upon researching, I found information about teachers and social networking in a variety
of contexts—using social media for instructional purposes, appropriate expectations for
teachers to uphold when they use social media for personal purposes, and several “do
and don’t” lists for teachers using social media in general contexts. It seems as though a
lot of ideas about social media use exist in the world of education, and they don’t always
align with one another. Some suggest very strict guidelines and others more flexible.

Page 129

1. The career center provides opportunities for resume and cover letter review, workshops
on how to begin writing resumes and cover letters, special events in which students have
 better access to professional attire, and even job opportunities from throughout the
surrounding communities.
2. To receive assistance from the career center, it often requires putting in the effort to
begin drafting your materials (even if you aren’t sure where to begin). It also requires
some self-research into career fields you are interested in and beginning to formulate an
achievable plan to reach those goals.
3. The career center office is staffed with people who can provide specific career search
support to various fields—each education program and individual college within the
university is assigned a career counselor that can help them with program specific job
opportunities.
4. There are often music organization website job postings both at national and state levels.
I have seen it less at local levels, but that might be something to look further into!
5. There are online job search engines that are specific to districts/cities/counties, but I have
yet to utilize a Virginia state education job search platform (I am uncertain if that exists,
but I am going to look it up once I finish these responses). ☺
6. In my experience, it’s been most helpful to bookmark the pages of districts I am looking
at employment in and checking their career opportunities pages daily. Through doing this,
I have learned about job fairs and ended up with screening interviews prior to individual
job postings.

Page 133

1. Lisa could have checked in ahead of time to confirm information with a point of contact
or referred back to any prior information she was given about the interview details.
2. My first impression of Lisa would have been that she arrives to events later than
scheduled and is ill-prepared.
3. It gives a potentially negative first impression that cannot be taken back, even if given the
opportunity to explain.
4. I feel that important qualities in an initial interview are timeliness, confidence,
professional appearance, and thoughtfulness of response…overall, this all requires
preparation.

Page 135

1. A potential strategy is taking an intentional pause to think and formulate the structure of
your answer.
2. It depends on the question; different people have different philosophies of education, so
answers will vary but there are some questions that have definitive answers.
3. Yes, it is possible to be professional and personable simultaneously. Both qualities
complement one another when appropriately combined!
4. Honesty is important in an interview, but how that honesty is delivered is arguably just as
important, if not more.
 5. I ensure that I can talk about opportunities I’ve had that have given me practical
experience, and the skills I haven’t yet developed or experienced are ones that I am
excited to learn.

Chapter 9

Page 139
1. I feel that in a situation where students are, alcohol should not be. Even being of legal age
to consume it, it doesn’t appear to be best judgment practices in front of students.
2. A parent may be upset and perceive the incident as a reflection of the teachers
character—maybe after this, the parents don’t trust that the teacher can successfully or
safely care for and teach students.
3. I feel that his actions are worth a conversation with administrators and the reminder that
it is not appropriate to do that. It may not require the highest disciplinary action, but it
definitely warrants conversation.
4. Mr. Armstrong should avoid situations like this in the future; he could have refused the
beer and set guidelines for parent chaperones to not purchase or consume alcohol, either.

Page 144
1. State expectations for maintaining licensure include receiving a certain amount of points
for various professional development and commitment to development activities.
2. Yes, my license expires after 10 years and there is paperwork and proof required of the
various professional development and growth.
3. In music, certifications are available for various methodologies, such as Kodaly, Orff, etc.