Imagine walking into a room, with white walls and pin drop silence. Every step you take creates an echo which augments the sound of your feet. All eyes are on you as they follow you to your seat. Pulling your chair out and sitting down, you hear your bag hit the floor and you wince at the loud noise it makes. Finally, the teacher clears her throat and attention is restored to the front of the classroom. All eyes are now focused on the crisp, clean white board. Within a few minutes the teacher starts talking but the coherent sentences do not even form completely in your head as you have already zoned out. As the teacher lectures your class, you sit watching the hands of the clock moving so sluggishly that the minutes felt like years. Finally the bell rings signaling an end to your misery. Can you imagine having to sit through that class? If I had to design my own ideal class, it would be almost the complete opposite of that. Although sometimes, peace and quiet is appreciated, I don’t think that many students would be able to learn very well in that type of environment. I really enjoy our GNT class right now (and I wish we could have it twice a week), but there are just some ideas I have that might make GNT even better!
Foremost, one thing we can do is increase the number of debates and discussions we have in class. This can be one major improvement as it develops our speaking skills, and we can tackle diverse topics. I feel that this will help us become more cognizant of the current events as well as be able to form our own opinions. I think that on the first day of every week we could as a class, choose one topic that we think is pertinent and also debatable. I feel that we should have the entire class, except one person, debate one side of the argument. The remaining person would have to argue for the opposing side. I feel that this would help the person who was singled out to become a strong independent debater.
Also, after each side has argued their viewpoints, they must switch sides and debate the other side. This helps because then each person sees the holistic picture and they can understand the topics better. We can possibly do something like Toastmasters Program in class. Some examples of the topics that we can cover are abortion, animal testing, college education, death penalty, drones, school uniforms, tablets vs. textbooks, body positivity, graffiti/street art, alternative energy sources, and single gender schools vs. co-ed school.
Additionally, I think that we should also share books with each other. I’m sure that we all have books that are our favorites. It may be because of the impact the story left on you, or how much you could relate to the book but nonetheless you would want to share it with others. I feel that it would be very interesting if we each randomly chose one person and we would have to recommend a book to them. For instance, let’s say I asked that person to read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. They can read the book and then everyone can share their views on the assigned book that they had to read. I think this would be a good idea as we can share the books that we found appealing with our peers as well as see what they have to say about it.
Furthermore, I think an ideal GNT classroom would also help us prepare for the future. Many of the GNT students that I know would want to pursue a career that uses STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). I think that we should incorporate this into our GNT class as well. We can try to do more fun exciting projects. One of my good friends entered into a contest where she and her team had to build their own miniature city. I thought maybe we could do something similar; perhaps we could create our own smaller life-like, realistic bridge and try to bring it to life by programming it to open and close like a real bridge. Also, we could try to do some robotics in our class which would be interesting and engaging. Moreover, I think that it would be very motivating if we created our own team and entered into different competitions such as Math Olympiad, NSF, Science competitions and many more. I think that if we worked together as a group we could achieve many things with all of our hard-working, dedicated and intelligent minds, along with the right guidance and leadership from our teacher, Mrs. Mandell.
Likewise, I don’t think that we have to stay cooped up inside a room to learn all of the time. I think it would be interesting if we had classes outside as well. I also think that we could perform some scientific experiments to better understand the world around us. As cliché as it may seem, I think it would be extremely engaging to study how volcanoes erupt. Many kids in today’s day and age don’t know much about the world around us and how it is changing and why. I think if we did fun, hands-on experiments, more people would be excited to learn about these topics. A couple more very fun ideas include, making a color symphony in milk, building your own fog tornado, cleaning pennies with vinegar and making a soap-powered model boat. I think these experiments will help us understand how everyday things work, as well as how the earth works. We could also do an activity which would include either the rest of the GNT classes, the staff, and even parents and teachers. For example, we all know about Kahoot and I was thinking that we could do something like a Jeopardy/Game Show. With Kahoot, we could have everybody go onto the website and log in and then we can give prizes to the winners.
All in all, I thoroughly have a great time in our GNT class at the moment. I love the room décor as it makes me feel like I’m in an art museum because of the collage of colorful pictures and paintings. I also really enjoy spending time with our class and having interesting discussions. Even though, sometimes we get a bit off topic, I think that we all learn a lot from each other because we all get to share our opinions. I also really like how Mrs. Mandell gives us the liberty to choose our topics and work in groups because that makes us more excited to learn and we enjoy the time with our friends. Overall, GNT is one of my favorite classes and I look forward to it every single week!
Imagine being in a bland room with nothing in it but desks and chairs. Everything is one color and it has no feeling to it. It is like the person who designed the room never bothered or cared to make it any better. Imagine sitting in that room for 85 minutes. Doing nothing but the same work every time. That would make everyone taking feel miserable and make people want to go to sleep. I wouldn’t want to be part of that class and I know that nobody would want to be part of that either. People would want a lot of modern things and way of teaching. No one would want something that is like the teacher has been living under a rock for the past few years. No one would want to sit in a room where everything is the same and looks like there was no creativity involved in making the room. In my ideal GNT room it would be the best room ever, at least for a classroom anyway. Also, for my idea the room would have to be at least 10 times bigger. Which is not going to be possible at all. The first thing that I would want in my ideal classroom would be modern technology. We already have chromebooks and iPads. But I want good and new computers. I want a computer that is really fast and is able to perform well even if the wifi is terrible, which it won’t be. That is because I want better internet for the classroom. You can not do work if the internet is not working and if it takes forever to load just one document. The computer lab would be right at the back of the room with all of the other technology. There will be a big screen right in the front when you enter. There would also be speakers coming from the ceiling that is playing calming music. If we had these new and better kind of technology we would be able to do our work faster. There would also be a science lab which wall have all of the latest equipment. Which would allow us to perform experiments for whatever we are researching. There would also be a second floor and to get up there, there will be a rock climbing wall. Which would personally be bad for me because I am not athletic. To get down you would go down a slide. The second floor would only be opened during the last 1 hour of class and for lunch. GNT should be once a month for the whole day. On the second floor there would be entertainment. Like trampolines and a video game station. There would be PS4s and a virtual reality console. There would also be a food court that you can buy food for lunch. There would be McDonalds and a salad bar for vegetarians. That is why it would only be open for such little time. If there wasn’t one nobody would learn at all. There would also be a common room. It would have several couches, chairs, and of course, a giant flat screen TV. There would also have a basic learning area which is basically a regular classroom. There would also be a library where you can find books on almost every topic imaginable. The room it self would be vibrant and full of colors and everything is not just one plain color.
I would also want to learn things that would be relatable to our career. Most of my friends in my class would want to work in a job that has to do with STEM, which is science, technology, engineering and math. I known that is what my job has to do with. I feel like it will help a lot of people be prepared with what they want to do with their job and with what they are going to learn in college. Of course not everyone would want to have a job dealing with STEM, but they would have something to do with what their future career has to do with. If you focus more on one subject it might become easier to pick what exact job you want to do in the future. I know that I want to do computer science or computer engineering, but I do not know what job I would want to do that is within these topics. I feel like that it will help a lot of people narrow it down to almost exactly what they want to do. I really want those additions to the room but I know that is impossible for it to happen. It is way too expensive to even try and the GNT program would have to get millions of dollars in a grant or something along those lines. The first part was kind of a joke but I that is honestly what my ideal classroom would be like. There is nothing wrong with it now as it is, because it is comfortable, with all the bean bags and the two chairs near the table, and the large collections of books in the back. I also feel like we should learn things that would affect us and will have an impact on us with what we do in the future. Now that I think about it, it kind of reminds me of the Google and Apple offices, at least from what I heard of.
An ideal GnT classroom is quite an intriguing topic. I’ve never actually thought about this before. There is lots of improvement that I can think of for our classroom. Not saying that our classroom is horrible and, to be quite honest, most of my improvements for our classroom would probably take years to happen. I feel as if our classroom is actually really cool the way it is because it’s small but it’s like a mini library in there. If you don’t know me, I read a lot so I think having a library is awesome. I think I’ll probably start out with the pro’s and con’s of the room we already have. Now, the obvious problem with our room that most people have noticed is that it is pretty small. That’s an obvious comment most of my classmates may agree with me on. Now, a small room isn’t that much of a problem. The whole problem is how there’s just so much stuff in the room. It doesn’t look bad, but I feel as if all that stuff would look better if there was some more room for us to put it. The next negative point that I have is that it has very thin walls. Last year, we could hear music from the class next door plenty of times. Other than that, there’s not much negative criticism or anything I have against our GnT classroom. On the other hand, I could find a million ways to make it better! My Ideal GnT classroom would probably make more sense in a sci-fi movie than real life. First, let's start with basic idea’s which may become a reality. One, my ideal classroom would have at least a computer for every single person so that we could each have a personal computer that would keep all of our important files and other work we do. It would also have it’s own wifi that only the GnT computers are logged into so the computers won’t take years to work. Mrs. Mandell would also have an upgraded computer, so it’s easier to use and it would allow you to wirelessly connect to the new projector and a sound system. The room itself would also be much bigger, at least the size of the band room, with different touch screen monitors on all the walls with different programs and other things to use however we please. We would also have this door in our room connecting to GnT room so we could fit a mini library with plenty of space for all the books and other stuff around the rooms. We would also get brand new shiny tables and chairs with absolutely no damage and no gum. We would also get a new room, so that means brand new windows, and a sun roof, just because I think it would be cool if our whole roof was a sunroof, which we would obviously be able to control so it wouldn’t open when it’s rainy and it would become darker when exposed to sunlight so it won’t be too sunny inside the room. I think that would be an awesome GnT room to be in! If we were in the future, which we’re not, I would also add a few many other things not possible, such as a flying chair or future technology. The complete truth is that I really can’t think of a more ideal classroom. We have computers, we have internet, we have books, and we have a teacher, and a sometimes working air conditioned or heated room. That’s basically all we need for a great GnT classroom. Not to mention the students! I guess that our GnT class is already a perfect classroom for me!
A classroom is your learning environment for the whole year. Sometimes it is run by the students, while sometimes the teacher is more authoritative. Classrooms can be dull, exciting, fun, funny, and anything in between. Sometimes you would rather stay in a class for everyday of your life. While other times you notice the clock tick slowly. It is not always fun going in a classroom but you have no other choice. I would like a class that you walk in and you immediately know that you are going to learn something. I’ve sometimes gone through classes that I’ve learned the same things over and over. I would like to come in and do things that has relevance today. Such as discussions of Politics(more of learning about them, unbiasedly), Debating, Coding, Doing projects design things like buildings and bridges to stand up to nature. These things are important things today. Some of them are about what is going on in our country, and some is about the future of America. I feel these are some important things to learn. The reason why is we don’t get to really touch on these subjects in our regular classes and that is a problem since we are supposed to be being prepared for the future. I know not everyone would like these since it is my opinion, but, that is what I think. I would also like to not do things like Math and English that we already do in our everyday classes so this would be kind of a mix up. I don’t hate Math and English it just is I would like a break from them every once in awhile. I would also like more debates. I feel we don’t really get time to debate in class. Debating is a healthy way to sort out your opinions and express them. This would be good if we just went over a topic such as Politics and we are divided over them. This would allow us to learn how to sort out our problems rather than have a teacher handle them. In the future, we won’t have a teacher to sort out our problems so we need to learn how to deal with it, instead of just getting stuck over it all the time. Another important thing I believe we should be going over is economics. I know that may sound boring, but, it is very important in finding a job and most of us know little to nothing about it. When I hear it my mind goes blank! I have no idea as to what it is and that is a problem since in the future that will be the key word as to whether or not I get hired. My ideal GNT classroom would be all of that combined into one. I know we can’t accomplish all of those ambitious ideas in one year, but, those are just some ideas. I feel we should be touching on things of the future and things we won’t ever touch on in normal classes. I feel if we work together we can make a great classroom experience!!!!!
GNT is the temple of ideas. In every class that we have, ideas flow freely, without the barrier of personal differences. In class, we share our point of views with each other, without thinking about what will the repercussion will be. To host this type of lived, free environment, our classroom needs to have the correct atmosphere, and tools. Don’t get me wrong- I love our classroom. We have chromebooks, a library, posters everywhere, and an exhilarating teacher, but I still feel that with enough time, and money, we can have a “dream-come true” type of classroom, which can fuel our unique ideas, and questions.
First off, I think that we should have a bigger classroom. Not that I do not like a small classroom- I feel that we have a plethora of stuff in there, and for everything to be accessible, without feeling overwhelming, a bigger classroom is a must. In a bigger classroom, I think that we can keep our classroom more organized, and have more fun. A bigger classroom will also help us expand our library collection, and we can facilitate new technology that we have in our classroom- including chromebooks.
Speaking of chromebooks, I think that our classroom can become more advanced with more technology introduced. Though we have chromebooks, I think that that is not enough. In this growing world of tech, for students in GNT to excel to great heights, I think that having various types of technology is a must. Instead of having a regular projector, I think that our class should have a smart projector; instead of MS.Mandell having an old computer which works at snail-speed, I think that she deserves an upgrade for a MAC. I also believe that we should have a 3-d printer, so that we can learn about this new form of technology, and use it to help us stay on top of new technology. Though this is a lot to ask for, I think that one day, this all may be possible.
On top of all this technology, I think that our classroom should include a greater amount of meetings so that we can do all the different projects that I have always dreamed of doing. To start, I have always wanted to do different kinds of science experiments, that we never get to do in science class. When you ask your science teacher if you can do them, I find out that though she has the time to do them, she lacks all the resources because there a too many people in the class. For example, in my science class, my teacher was talking about making a bionic arm, but the problem is that she doesn’t have enough material for everyone to make one. In GNT class, we do not have as many people, so I think that there is a distinct possibility that we can make this kinds of things in class.
I also feel that our class, should become a team, and enter in science competitions, and other academic competitions. Our middle school has only one of these academic competition, and that is the science bowl. Our class is made of many amazing minds, and I believe that if we have these kinds of competitions, we would actually win. And even if we do not win, it will still be a rewarding experience that none of us will forget.
I also think that we should start going off topic, and behave more in class. I know that my fellow classmates like to “rant” about their classes, and teachers, but I honestly feel that we have to do less of that, because it causes us to get less time in actually doing work in the classroom. I do not want to completely stop talking, but I think that too much of talking can distract the meaning of our class. Sometimes, our class goes out of hand, and we start doing whatever we want. We have to stop doing these activities, because we are losing our own learning time.
To sum it up, I feel that our GNT classroom would be epic with all the additions that I have listed above. Whether they are carried out or not, I know that GNT will still be my favorite class because I love the atmosphere inside the class. The class is by-far the most engaging class that i have, and I love it very much. I wish that I can stay in the class forever.
Imagine a classroom where all the walls, and floor, are white, complete silence fills the room, and nothing but a few empty desks and chairs. An emotionless teacher who doesn't help you with anything, doesn't talk to the class, and writes all assignments and project on the board for us tp copy. There are no explanations of anything and you will never get any handouts or worksheets of any sorts. You'd be zoned out during most, if not the whole, class/block. It would be so boring that you'd probably turn mute. Being in a classroom like that everyday, or in this case every week, I'd most likely end up dropping out of G&T. Quite frankly, this is the opposite of what I'd like a classroom to be like, especially the G&T classroom. Honestly, I like our G&T class and classrom just fine, but, if I had to change it it'd be very tiy adjustments. Right now, our G&T classroom is not too big, but, not too small. It's filled with tons of books, which I greatly appreciate being there, and tons of posters, which I enjoy reading whenever I'm in the room. I love all the beanbags, little pillows we sit on, and particularly, how small the class is. I don't mind being in a class full of 20-30 people, but, I really enjoy G&T. One of the reasons being the class size because it is the smallest class I'm in, having around 10 people in it. I still can't believe our grade has the most students in G&T. I also like the tables, allowing us to interact with the other students. All of my classes, except for one, have individual desks, and to be honest, it's not the best thing to me. In fact, I don't really enjoy it at all. I'd much rather sit at tables where I can communicate with my friends, like in G&T. I like having passes, chromebooks, tissues, and again, lots of book to choose from. I also like Shakespeare Poe III. I really like everything in our G&T classroom right now. If I were to change the classroom a little and turn it into my ideal/dream G&T classroom, I definitely wouldn't be changin a lot. One thing I would change is to read more. For example when we have our read-a-thon, we read for like 10 minutes at the beginning of class, and then we actually start class. I believe we should start reading for a little at the beginning of each class, just like you'd do in a Language Arts class. I also believe that we should have more class discussions. I know that may sound a little crazy considering we talk all the time. But, I mean, talking about things you bring up, things that are related to projects/assignments, and maybe things that we want to talk about every once in a while. I think it might keep us from talking so much about things that we can talk about at lunch, gym, or outside of school. I think that'd pretty much be it because in my opinion, our classroom is already perfect.
So, I have been in this Gifted and Talented classroom for two consecutive years now, and I feel as if I have already learned a great deal in this class. I honestly look forward to the Tuesdays that we spend together, and not just because it gives us an excuse to get out of our specials. That is just an added bonus. No, I enjoy this class truly. I believe that the environment that this classroom gives, both by its physical appearance, and by the teacher running the classroom is quite essential to why I enjoy the class as much as I do, and I am not saying this simply because I want to suck up to the teacher and get a good grade. I truly mean the words that I am typing. Honestly, the Gifted and Talented classroom that we have currently is as good as I believe it can possibly get. In the words of Saniya Halani, “It was the most organized mess that I have ever seen.” I could not have stated that better myself. I enjoy the fact that our class seems to be a calm hurricane, order within chaos. Another thing that I really like about our classroom is how the conversation really opens up. We discuss everything and anything. Now, I am not going to lie. I do not like nor enjoy opening up my feelings or really adding my opinions to a classroom conversation. But Mrs. Mandell’s classroom to me feels like a safe haven, and this is mostly because of Mrs. Mandell herself. I personally, do not see Mrs. Mandell as an intimidating superior, rather a mature friend that I can talk to and discuss my feelings about a certain subject. She is my personal discount therapist. Sure, she can go to teacher-mode in just a matter of seconds, but most of the time, she is very chill. However, she can get us back on track with a single snap of her fingers. That is my favorite part about the class. How Mrs. Mandell conducts it. Now, the physical appearance of the classroom is a whole different topic. I really like how there are little personalized tidbits all around the room, how every student seems to have left their own mark. Then, there are the books. Oh, the books. The books. How do I explain the books? Okay, there are books literally strewn across the entire books. I have still not read all the titles of the books in the room yet. That is something I must work on. As a very big lover of reading, writing, and just books in general, I can say for myself that there are so many interesting books in this classroom. If they let me, I would stay an entire day in that classroom just reading the books. The classroom is a multitude of colors, but they all just really blend well together, kind of like the many colors of a warm quilt, keeping you safe and cozy. Both the physical appearance and the mental atmosphere enshrouding thus classroom is amazing, and I would not want to change it. However, there are one or two things that I would like to add to the classroom. When we are all discussing things out loud with each other, I would love it if there were some subtle background music playing. Of course, suggestions would be taken from everyone. That way, we could be introduced to all different types of music, and we might find that we actually like it. When we all start doing our own research on the chromebooks however, the music I believe should be turned off. Another thing I think that we should add in the Gifted and Talented classroom is a five-minute meditation period. We should just take five minutes in the beginning of class to contemplate and let go of all of our stresses. To clear our minds. I personally find it to be quite therapeutic. Other than that, there are really no other suggestions that I would have for this classroom. It is already so amazing.
A classroom is somewhere where students are able to learn, have fun, and make new friends. To me, a classroom should be fun, but at the same time you should be learning something. To me, a classroom should have lots of games, fun test preparation, and not have homework. This may seem like a bad way to run a classroom, but if you maintain everyone, and not get it out of hand, then it could be a great classroom. First off, many classes are boring to students, and because of the boringness in the classroom, the students may not learn anything important, or remember what they had learned. To make this not possible, my ideal classroom would contain a good spirit throughout all students, and there would be a new game everyday based on the topic we would be learning about. These games, though would not just be guessing games, or answering questions. These games would have to do with getting extra credit, and possibly getting lollipops and candy. Candy is a great way to get kids involved in their school work because everyone loves the taste of pure sugar. Also, it would make them want to succeed, and they would find themselves seeing learning things a lot of fun. I as a student love getting candy if I learn something, so I would want my classroom to get the same reward. Tests are one thing that almost all students hate. I hate tests, and I am not afraid to admit it. Tests are too stressful, and can really do damage to a great grade. Also, sometimes students have a lot of homework one night, and cannot study. To prevent the student from failing, or feeling unprepared, I would make the tests open notes, but not open book. The students should not be allowed to use the book because of how easy it is to find answers, but they still should be able to use the notes they wrote down, because that is why they wrote notes in the first place. Moreover, homework is something that all students can say is annoying, and can get in the way of many other out of school activities. I know this because I participate in many different activities after school, and am almost always up until midnight trying to get my work done. To help the students out, I would make it that they would get homework, but I would have a 20 minute break at the end of class for them to finish the homework. This would be fair because then if they had any other homework from other classes, they would only have to do that, and not worry about the homework in my class. Other than these suggestions, though, there would be nothing else that I would change about this classroom. I love going to G&T every Tuesday, and love the atmosphere of the classroom. Everyone gets along well, and nobody has a bad day in the class. If I am having a bad day, walking into that classroom cheers me up, even into a good mood.
Imagine walking into a room, with white walls and pin drop silence. Every step you take creates an echo which augments the sound of your feet. All eyes are on you as they follow you to your seat. Pulling your chair out and sitting down, you hear your bag hit the floor and you wince at the loud noise it makes. Finally, the teacher clears her throat and attention is restored to the front of the classroom. All eyes are now focused on the crisp, clean white board. Within a few minutes the teacher starts talking but the coherent sentences do not even form completely in your head as you have already zoned out. As the teacher lectures your class, you sit watching the hands of the clock moving so sluggishly that the minutes felt like years. Finally the bell rings signaling an end to your misery. Can you imagine having to sit through that class? If I had to design my own ideal class, it would be almost the complete opposite of that. Although sometimes, peace and quiet is appreciated, I don’t think that many students would be able to learn very well in that type of environment. I really enjoy our GNT class right now (and I wish we could have it twice a week), but there are just some ideas I have that might make GNT even better!
ReplyDeleteForemost, one thing we can do is increase the number of debates and discussions we have in class. This can be one major improvement as it develops our speaking skills, and we can tackle diverse topics. I feel that this will help us become more cognizant of the current events as well as be able to form our own opinions. I think that on the first day of every week we could as a class, choose one topic that we think is pertinent and also debatable. I feel that we should have the entire class, except one person, debate one side of the argument. The remaining person would have to argue for the opposing side. I feel that this would help the person who was singled out to become a strong independent debater.
Also, after each side has argued their viewpoints, they must switch sides and debate the other side. This helps because then each person sees the holistic picture and they can understand the topics better. We can possibly do something like Toastmasters Program in class. Some examples of the topics that we can cover are abortion, animal testing, college education, death penalty, drones, school uniforms, tablets vs. textbooks, body positivity, graffiti/street art, alternative energy sources, and single gender schools vs. co-ed school.
Additionally, I think that we should also share books with each other. I’m sure that we all have books that are our favorites. It may be because of the impact the story left on you, or how much you could relate to the book but nonetheless you would want to share it with others. I feel that it would be very interesting if we each randomly chose one person and we would have to recommend a book to them. For instance, let’s say I asked that person to read The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett. They can read the book and then everyone can share their views on the assigned book that they had to read. I think this would be a good idea as we can share the books that we found appealing with our peers as well as see what they have to say about it.
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ReplyDeleteFurthermore, I think an ideal GNT classroom would also help us prepare for the future. Many of the GNT students that I know would want to pursue a career that uses STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). I think that we should incorporate this into our GNT class as well. We can try to do more fun exciting projects. One of my good friends entered into a contest where she and her team had to build their own miniature city. I thought maybe we could do something similar; perhaps we could create our own smaller life-like, realistic bridge and try to bring it to life by programming it to open and close like a real bridge. Also, we could try to do some robotics in our class which would be interesting and engaging. Moreover, I think that it would be very motivating if we created our own team and entered into different competitions such as Math Olympiad, NSF, Science competitions and many more. I think that if we worked together as a group we could achieve many things with all of our hard-working, dedicated and intelligent minds, along with the right guidance and leadership from our teacher, Mrs. Mandell.
Likewise, I don’t think that we have to stay cooped up inside a room to learn all of the time. I think it would be interesting if we had classes outside as well. I also think that we could perform some scientific experiments to better understand the world around us. As cliché as it may seem, I think it would be extremely engaging to study how volcanoes erupt. Many kids in today’s day and age don’t know much about the world around us and how it is changing and why. I think if we did fun, hands-on experiments, more people would be excited to learn about these topics. A couple more very fun ideas include, making a color symphony in milk, building your own fog tornado, cleaning pennies with vinegar and making a soap-powered model boat. I think these experiments will help us understand how everyday things work, as well as how the earth works. We could also do an activity which would include either the rest of the GNT classes, the staff, and even parents and teachers. For example, we all know about Kahoot and I was thinking that we could do something like a Jeopardy/Game Show. With Kahoot, we could have everybody go onto the website and log in and then we can give prizes to the winners.
All in all, I thoroughly have a great time in our GNT class at the moment. I love the room décor as it makes me feel like I’m in an art museum because of the collage of colorful pictures and paintings. I also really enjoy spending time with our class and having interesting discussions. Even though, sometimes we get a bit off topic, I think that we all learn a lot from each other because we all get to share our opinions. I also really like how Mrs. Mandell gives us the liberty to choose our topics and work in groups because that makes us more excited to learn and we enjoy the time with our friends. Overall, GNT is one of my favorite classes and I look forward to it every single week!
Imagine being in a bland room with nothing in it but desks and chairs. Everything is one color and it has no feeling to it. It is like the person who designed the room never bothered or cared to make it any better. Imagine sitting in that room for 85 minutes. Doing nothing but the same work every time. That would make everyone taking feel miserable and make people want to go to sleep. I wouldn’t want to be part of that class and I know that nobody would want to be part of that either. People would want a lot of modern things and way of teaching. No one would want something that is like the teacher has been living under a rock for the past few years. No one would want to sit in a room where everything is the same and looks like there was no creativity involved in making the room. In my ideal GNT room it would be the best room ever, at least for a classroom anyway. Also, for my idea the room would have to be at least 10 times bigger. Which is not going to be possible at all.
ReplyDeleteThe first thing that I would want in my ideal classroom would be modern technology. We already have chromebooks and iPads. But I want good and new computers. I want a computer that is really fast and is able to perform well even if the wifi is terrible, which it won’t be. That is because I want better internet for the classroom. You can not do work if the internet is not working and if it takes forever to load just one document. The computer lab would be right at the back of the room with all of the other technology. There will be a big screen right in the front when you enter. There would also be speakers coming from the ceiling that is playing calming music. If we had these new and better kind of technology we would be able to do our work faster. There would also be a science lab which wall have all of the latest equipment. Which would allow us to perform experiments for whatever we are researching. There would also be a second floor and to get up there, there will be a rock climbing wall. Which would personally be bad for me because I am not athletic. To get down you would go down a slide. The second floor would only be opened during the last 1 hour of class and for lunch. GNT should be once a month for the whole day. On the second floor there would be entertainment. Like trampolines and a video game station. There would be PS4s and a virtual reality console. There would also be a food court that you can buy food for lunch. There would be McDonalds and a salad bar for vegetarians. That is why it would only be open for such little time. If there wasn’t one nobody would learn at all. There would also be a common room. It would have several couches, chairs, and of course, a giant flat screen TV. There would also have a basic learning area which is basically a regular classroom. There would also be a library where you can find books on almost every topic imaginable. The room it self would be vibrant and full of colors and everything is not just one plain color.
I would also want to learn things that would be relatable to our career. Most of my friends in my class would want to work in a job that has to do with STEM, which is science, technology, engineering and math. I known that is what my job has to do with. I feel like it will help a lot of people be prepared with what they want to do with their job and with what they are going to learn in college. Of course not everyone would want to have a job dealing with STEM, but they would have something to do with what their future career has to do with. If you focus more on one subject it might become easier to pick what exact job you want to do in the future. I know that I want to do computer science or computer engineering, but I do not know what job I would want to do that is within these topics. I feel like that it will help a lot of people narrow it down to almost exactly what they want to do.
ReplyDeleteI really want those additions to the room but I know that is impossible for it to happen. It is way too expensive to even try and the GNT program would have to get millions of dollars in a grant or something along those lines. The first part was kind of a joke but I that is honestly what my ideal classroom would be like. There is nothing wrong with it now as it is, because it is comfortable, with all the bean bags and the two chairs near the table, and the large collections of books in the back. I also feel like we should learn things that would affect us and will have an impact on us with what we do in the future. Now that I think about it, it kind of reminds me of the Google and Apple offices, at least from what I heard of.
An ideal GnT classroom is quite an intriguing topic. I’ve never actually thought about this before. There is lots of improvement that I can think of for our classroom. Not saying that our classroom is horrible and, to be quite honest, most of my improvements for our classroom would probably take years to happen. I feel as if our classroom is actually really cool the way it is because it’s small but it’s like a mini library in there. If you don’t know me, I read a lot so I think having a library is awesome. I think I’ll probably start out with the pro’s and con’s of the room we already have.
ReplyDeleteNow, the obvious problem with our room that most people have noticed is that it is pretty small. That’s an obvious comment most of my classmates may agree with me on. Now, a small room isn’t that much of a problem. The whole problem is how there’s just so much stuff in the room. It doesn’t look bad, but I feel as if all that stuff would look better if there was some more room for us to put it. The next negative point that I have is that it has very thin walls. Last year, we could hear music from the class next door plenty of times. Other than that, there’s not much negative criticism or anything I have against our GnT classroom. On the other hand, I could find a million ways to make it better!
My Ideal GnT classroom would probably make more sense in a sci-fi movie than real life. First, let's start with basic idea’s which may become a reality. One, my ideal classroom would have at least a computer for every single person so that we could each have a personal computer that would keep all of our important files and other work we do. It would also have it’s own wifi that only the GnT computers are logged into so the computers won’t take years to work. Mrs. Mandell would also have an upgraded computer, so it’s easier to use and it would allow you to wirelessly connect to the new projector and a sound system. The room itself would also be much bigger, at least the size of the band room, with different touch screen monitors on all the walls with different programs and other things to use however we please. We would also have this door in our room connecting to GnT room so we could fit a mini library with plenty of space for all the books and other stuff around the rooms. We would also get brand new shiny tables and chairs with absolutely no damage and no gum. We would also get a new room, so that means brand new windows, and a sun roof, just because I think it would be cool if our whole roof was a sunroof, which we would obviously be able to control so it wouldn’t open when it’s rainy and it would become darker when exposed to sunlight so it won’t be too sunny inside the room. I think that would be an awesome GnT room to be in!
If we were in the future, which we’re not, I would also add a few many other things not possible, such as a flying chair or future technology. The complete truth is that I really can’t think of a more ideal classroom. We have computers, we have internet, we have books, and we have a teacher, and a sometimes working air conditioned or heated room. That’s basically all we need for a great GnT classroom. Not to mention the students! I guess that our GnT class is already a perfect classroom for me!
A classroom is your learning environment for the whole year. Sometimes it is run by the students, while sometimes the teacher is more authoritative. Classrooms can be dull, exciting, fun, funny, and anything in between. Sometimes you would rather stay in a class for everyday of your life. While other times you notice the clock tick slowly. It is not always fun going in a classroom but you have no other choice. I would like a class that you walk in and you immediately know that you are going to learn something. I’ve sometimes gone through classes that I’ve learned the same things over and over. I would like to come in and do things that has relevance today. Such as discussions of Politics(more of learning about them, unbiasedly), Debating, Coding, Doing projects design things like buildings and bridges to stand up to nature. These things are important things today. Some of them are about what is going on in our country, and some is about the future of America. I feel these are some important things to learn. The reason why is we don’t get to really touch on these subjects in our regular classes and that is a problem since we are supposed to be being prepared for the future. I know not everyone would like these since it is my opinion, but, that is what I think. I would also like to not do things like Math and English that we already do in our everyday classes so this would be kind of a mix up. I don’t hate Math and English it just is I would like a break from them every once in awhile. I would also like more debates. I feel we don’t really get time to debate in class. Debating is a healthy way to sort out your opinions and express them. This would be good if we just went over a topic such as Politics and we are divided over them. This would allow us to learn how to sort out our problems rather than have a teacher handle them. In the future, we won’t have a teacher to sort out our problems so we need to learn how to deal with it, instead of just getting stuck over it all the time. Another important thing I believe we should be going over is economics. I know that may sound boring, but, it is very important in finding a job and most of us know little to nothing about it. When I hear it my mind goes blank! I have no idea as to what it is and that is a problem since in the future that will be the key word as to whether or not I get hired. My ideal GNT classroom would be all of that combined into one. I know we can’t accomplish all of those ambitious ideas in one year, but, those are just some ideas. I feel we should be touching on things of the future and things we won’t ever touch on in normal classes. I feel if we work together we can make a great classroom experience!!!!!
ReplyDeleteGNT is the temple of ideas. In every class that we have, ideas flow freely, without the barrier of personal differences. In class, we share our point of views with each other, without thinking about what will the repercussion will be. To host this type of lived, free environment, our classroom needs to have the correct atmosphere, and tools. Don’t get me wrong- I love our classroom. We have chromebooks, a library, posters everywhere, and an exhilarating teacher, but I still feel that with enough time, and money, we can have a “dream-come true” type of classroom, which can fuel our unique ideas, and questions.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I think that we should have a bigger classroom. Not that I do not like a small classroom- I feel that we have a plethora of stuff in there, and for everything to be accessible, without feeling overwhelming, a bigger classroom is a must. In a bigger classroom, I think that we can keep our classroom more organized, and have more fun. A bigger classroom will also help us expand our library collection, and we can facilitate new technology that we have in our classroom- including chromebooks.
Speaking of chromebooks, I think that our classroom can become more advanced with more technology introduced. Though we have chromebooks, I think that that is not enough. In this growing world of tech, for students in GNT to excel to great heights, I think that having various types of technology is a must. Instead of having a regular projector, I think that our class should have a smart projector; instead of MS.Mandell having an old computer which works at snail-speed, I think that she deserves an upgrade for a MAC. I also believe that we should have a 3-d printer, so that we can learn about this new form of technology, and use it to help us stay on top of new technology. Though this is a lot to ask for, I think that one day, this all may be possible.
On top of all this technology, I think that our classroom should include a greater amount of meetings so that we can do all the different projects that I have always dreamed of doing. To start, I have always wanted to do different kinds of science experiments, that we never get to do in science class. When you ask your science teacher if you can do them, I find out that though she has the time to do them, she lacks all the resources because there a too many people in the class. For example, in my science class, my teacher was talking about making a bionic arm, but the problem is that she doesn’t have enough material for everyone to make one. In GNT class, we do not have as many people, so I think that there is a distinct possibility that we can make this kinds of things in class.
I also feel that our class, should become a team, and enter in science competitions, and other academic competitions. Our middle school has only one of these academic competition, and that is the science bowl. Our class is made of many amazing minds, and I believe that if we have these kinds of competitions, we would actually win. And even if we do not win, it will still be a rewarding experience that none of us will forget.
I also think that we should start going off topic, and behave more in class. I know that my fellow classmates like to “rant” about their classes, and teachers, but I honestly feel that we have to do less of that, because it causes us to get less time in actually doing work in the classroom. I do not want to completely stop talking, but I think that too much of talking can distract the meaning of our class. Sometimes, our class goes out of hand, and we start doing whatever we want. We have to stop doing these activities, because we are losing our own learning time.
To sum it up, I feel that our GNT classroom would be epic with all the additions that I have listed above. Whether they are carried out or not, I know that GNT will still be my favorite class because I love the atmosphere inside the class. The class is by-far the most engaging class that i have, and I love it very much. I wish that I can stay in the class forever.
Imagine a classroom where all the walls, and floor, are white, complete silence fills the room, and nothing but a few empty desks and chairs. An emotionless teacher who doesn't help you with anything, doesn't talk to the class, and writes all assignments and project on the board for us tp copy. There are no explanations of anything and you will never get any handouts or worksheets of any sorts. You'd be zoned out during most, if not the whole, class/block. It would be so boring that you'd probably turn mute. Being in a classroom like that everyday, or in this case every week, I'd most likely end up dropping out of G&T. Quite frankly, this is the opposite of what I'd like a classroom to be like, especially the G&T classroom. Honestly, I like our G&T class and classrom just fine, but, if I had to change it it'd be very tiy adjustments. Right now, our G&T classroom is not too big, but, not too small. It's filled with tons of books, which I greatly appreciate being there, and tons of posters, which I enjoy reading whenever I'm in the room. I love all the beanbags, little pillows we sit on, and particularly, how small the class is. I don't mind being in a class full of 20-30 people, but, I really enjoy G&T. One of the reasons being the class size because it is the smallest class I'm in, having around 10 people in it. I still can't believe our grade has the most students in G&T. I also like the tables, allowing us to interact with the other students. All of my classes, except for one, have individual desks, and to be honest, it's not the best thing to me. In fact, I don't really enjoy it at all. I'd much rather sit at tables where I can communicate with my friends, like in G&T. I like having passes, chromebooks, tissues, and again, lots of book to choose from. I also like Shakespeare Poe III. I really like everything in our G&T classroom right now. If I were to change the classroom a little and turn it into my ideal/dream G&T classroom, I definitely wouldn't be changin a lot. One thing I would change is to read more. For example when we have our read-a-thon, we read for like 10 minutes at the beginning of class, and then we actually start class. I believe we should start reading for a little at the beginning of each class, just like you'd do in a Language Arts class. I also believe that we should have more class discussions. I know that may sound a little crazy considering we talk all the time. But, I mean, talking about things you bring up, things that are related to projects/assignments, and maybe things that we want to talk about every once in a while. I think it might keep us from talking so much about things that we can talk about at lunch, gym, or outside of school. I think that'd pretty much be it because in my opinion, our classroom is already perfect.
ReplyDeleteSo, I have been in this Gifted and Talented classroom for two consecutive years now, and I feel as if I have already learned a great deal in this class. I honestly look forward to the Tuesdays that we spend together, and not just because it gives us an excuse to get out of our specials. That is just an added bonus. No, I enjoy this class truly. I believe that the environment that this classroom gives, both by its physical appearance, and by the teacher running the classroom is quite essential to why I enjoy the class as much as I do, and I am not saying this simply because I want to suck up to the teacher and get a good grade. I truly mean the words that I am typing.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, the Gifted and Talented classroom that we have currently is as good as I believe it can possibly get. In the words of Saniya Halani, “It was the most organized mess that I have ever seen.” I could not have stated that better myself. I enjoy the fact that our class seems to be a calm hurricane, order within chaos. Another thing that I really like about our classroom is how the conversation really opens up. We discuss everything and anything. Now, I am not going to lie. I do not like nor enjoy opening up my feelings or really adding my opinions to a classroom conversation. But Mrs. Mandell’s classroom to me feels like a safe haven, and this is mostly because of Mrs. Mandell herself. I personally, do not see Mrs. Mandell as an intimidating superior, rather a mature friend that I can talk to and discuss my feelings about a certain subject. She is my personal discount therapist. Sure, she can go to teacher-mode in just a matter of seconds, but most of the time, she is very chill. However, she can get us back on track with a single snap of her fingers. That is my favorite part about the class. How Mrs. Mandell conducts it.
Now, the physical appearance of the classroom is a whole different topic. I really like how there are little personalized tidbits all around the room, how every student seems to have left their own mark. Then, there are the books. Oh, the books. The books. How do I explain the books? Okay, there are books literally strewn across the entire books. I have still not read all the titles of the books in the room yet. That is something I must work on. As a very big lover of reading, writing, and just books in general, I can say for myself that there are so many interesting books in this classroom. If they let me, I would stay an entire day in that classroom just reading the books. The classroom is a multitude of colors, but they all just really blend well together, kind of like the many colors of a warm quilt, keeping you safe and cozy. Both the physical appearance and the mental atmosphere enshrouding thus classroom is amazing, and I would not want to change it.
However, there are one or two things that I would like to add to the classroom. When we are all discussing things out loud with each other, I would love it if there were some subtle background music playing. Of course, suggestions would be taken from everyone. That way, we could be introduced to all different types of music, and we might find that we actually like it. When we all start doing our own research on the chromebooks however, the music I believe should be turned off. Another thing I think that we should add in the Gifted and Talented classroom is a five-minute meditation period. We should just take five minutes in the beginning of class to contemplate and let go of all of our stresses. To clear our minds. I personally find it to be quite therapeutic. Other than that, there are really no other suggestions that I would have for this classroom. It is already so amazing.
A classroom is somewhere where students are able to learn, have fun, and make new friends. To me, a classroom should be fun, but at the same time you should be learning something. To me, a classroom should have lots of games, fun test preparation, and not have homework. This may seem like a bad way to run a classroom, but if you maintain everyone, and not get it out of hand, then it could be a great classroom.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, many classes are boring to students, and because of the boringness in the classroom, the students may not learn anything important, or remember what they had learned. To make this not possible, my ideal classroom would contain a good spirit throughout all students, and there would be a new game everyday based on the topic we would be learning about. These games, though would not just be guessing games, or answering questions. These games would have to do with getting extra credit, and possibly getting lollipops and candy. Candy is a great way to get kids involved in their school work because everyone loves the taste of pure sugar. Also, it would make them want to succeed, and they would find themselves seeing learning things a lot of fun. I as a student love getting candy if I learn something, so I would want my classroom to get the same reward.
Tests are one thing that almost all students hate. I hate tests, and I am not afraid to admit it. Tests are too stressful, and can really do damage to a great grade. Also, sometimes students have a lot of homework one night, and cannot study. To prevent the student from failing, or feeling unprepared, I would make the tests open notes, but not open book. The students should not be allowed to use the book because of how easy it is to find answers, but they still should be able to use the notes they wrote down, because that is why they wrote notes in the first place.
Moreover, homework is something that all students can say is annoying, and can get in the way of many other out of school activities. I know this because I participate in many different activities after school, and am almost always up until midnight trying to get my work done. To help the students out, I would make it that they would get homework, but I would have a 20 minute break at the end of class for them to finish the homework. This would be fair because then if they had any other homework from other classes, they would only have to do that, and not worry about the homework in my class. Other than these suggestions, though, there would be nothing else that I would change about this classroom. I love going to G&T every Tuesday, and love the atmosphere of the classroom. Everyone gets along well, and nobody has a bad day in the class. If I am having a bad day, walking into that classroom cheers me up, even into a good mood.
Wonderful comments! I will definitely take some into account.
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