EDLD 6890 – Summer II 2015 Reflective Journal Assignment Week 1

Week 1. Journal

As soon as I read the name of this course, the question of how educational systems differ between my country, Dominican Republic and the US Educational System raised in my mind. After being in class, the theories that I've read before about education became to make sense in a more logical and challenging way after the discussions and different opinions of classmates. Various authors read present efficient ways of teaching and different educational systems that work. Thinking about all the limitations that our country has in the field of education systems; make me feel the responsibility of assessing those gaps, we have as educators.

Theory or Model	Course Material	Application to Your Life
Critical Pedagogy Combine Education with power and the ability of the learners to take action.	Pedagogy of the Oppressed. Paulo Freire	My role is to collaborate to implement the educational models where I work. When reading Freire, I can say that implementing new processes or making educational changes are more productive when intentionally we adapt the principles of continuous dialog, critical questioning, love for humanity, and praxis. As Freire indicates the praxis reflects the synthesis of critical reflection. Also when you run a culinary program the teaching process takes places as banking education just to maintain the standards, I’ve always question if this approach diminish the creativity that a good chef should have. Moreover, if making changes in this teaching plan should reflect a better graduate.
Students are active participants in their learning and their communities.	Democratic Education Bell Hooks	When reading and discussing this model I completely identify myself with many of the characteristics that represent this approach.  I had the experience of using the Practicum Methodology for field studies in tourism. Students work as consultants with a real client and work in developing a tourism product in a destination. The product development process takes place in two phases: a preparatory phase and a field approach. In the preparatory phase, students conduct a documentary research on the target and markets; in the field approach, they apply the concepts learned together with the community members where tourism takes place. This experience engaged them in such a positive way that many of them still work in different communities helping then develop a more sustainable tourism practice. During the process students were allowed to plan their field work using self-directing learning, the group shared decision-making, individualized project-based work, and student interviews in the community. Even if it was not a democratic school or program, it was my democratic course. The statements of education presented in class indicated that for most of the group members, education was about generating agents of change in society. For my teaching experience, this was the course that I could count as an achievement o producing agents of change in sustainable tourism. These students are now the professionals that are in continuous learning. Democratic education teaching and learning take place continuously, and this process is never confined to a classroom. Democratic education implies that anyone can be in a higher education classroom. And understand that a college education is an experience that enriches life in its entirety. Education is about finding our place in the world; this place is constantly changing, and we must be fully engaged and maintain our capacity to learn. The learning space should be inclusive and challenge our teaching school. Democratic educators are often stereotyped by their more conservative counterparts as not as rigorous or as without standards. The atmosphere in the classroom should generate happiness and respect freedom and satisfaction. Democratic Education is centered in conversation and undermines structures of domination such as gender or race. It embraces different perspectives, wholeness, and closeness. Learning as an end in itself.
Philosophy of Education	Dewey Video	I admire Dewey's faith in the intelligence, and at the same time have doubts about how each learner can follow their interests and learn content that is necessary to a particular degree.  In his Analysis of Human Learning, the reflex arc model of external stimulus and the internal response is an admirable approach of how to teach from experience. As my area of interest is internships; I relate this approach to the practice that takes place when student go for the first time to an organization or institution for an internship. Experience and context will allow the student to become an active player in his learning and start to solve problems on its own. Understanding the Truth and its regulative principles helps me be aware that educators have to be open to new experiences and be aware of the habits that we have over ideologies just because they work satisfactorily and are practically accepted. Faith in Democracy makes me think of how could we improve our educational systems to promote democracy as a way of life and create equal opportunities for those in disadvantaged.
Helping others with teaching	Katza	I have had the chance to work with other professors as an in-service educator and call it a growing experience. Teachers have to clarify their common goals with in-service educators and share the insight of constructive knowledge so the accompaniment system can take place as a productive and continuous improvement process.  The in-service educator should inspire professors to try new things and encourage and support the objective of teaching practice.
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) promotes policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.	OECD Education at a Glance	Constant change influence changes in school systems. Seeing the American approach and looking from a global perspective it still surprising for me to see the small effort and investment on early childhood education. Very young children learn their stable educational formation that can help them prepare for a more structured classroom experience ahead.