Standards

When I look at the biology standards for high school students I see some main areas that need to be covered: cell structure and metabolism; photosynthesis and cellular respiration; diseases; evolution and genetics. Now, of course a lot of things can fit within those topics but, when I look at how much I teach, I am definitely teaching more than the state standards are asking to be taught.

I think that the standards are somewhat effective because they help to guide a teacher in what they teach. Standards can be a good resource for teachers to make sure that all biology students are learning the same general ideas that way when they move on to either AP sciences or college that they are all coming out of the course with at least the same general principles and ideas. However, I think that most biology teachers are teaching more than is listed in the state standards. For instance, there is no life science standard that involves Gene Technology however it is something that I teach every year. And I teach it because students can relate to it, they see these techniques being used on shows like: "Law and Order" and "CSI." And it also ties together a lot of information about DNA. Of course I can probably find a standard to fit it in however, there is no standard that says that I need to cover it.

I think that it is a good thing that we have state standards, as I said it helps us to at least make sure that our students in NJ are leaving a particular subject knowing the same general ideas. Some will always know more, however, no student should know less. It is important to have some type of standards otherwise we would just have teachers teaching whatever it is that they think is interesting and although that is not always bad students still need to leave at the end of the year knowing the same general principles as a student somewhere else.

National standards can help us to make sure that students are learning the same general principles in their classes. think that it a school or district wants to have their own standards that is fine but they should make sure that they are at least abiding by the state standards. However, no standards I think would lead to problems.

This I Believe

I believe that every child should have an opportunity to receive a good education. If every teacher does the best that they can at their job than children will learn. Children need to have the opportunity to be at school to receive this education.

Last year I had a student who was absent for many days in a row, at first some of the other students told me she was sick, then after about 10 days of her absence I decided to investigate. I went to the office to find out some information and what I learned was heart breaking. Her parents no longer lived together and her mother kicked her out of the house, she was living with her father and she was in essence the parent. She took care of him and the apartment and she tried as hard as she could to take the bus to our school district but many times didn't make it in to school. I believe she was not given the opportunity to receive an education because she had to be a parent when she still needed parents.

I eventually started to home school this particular girl in biology however, she asked me not to come to her house. We would either meet at the town library or she would somehow get to the school that I was teaching at. It might seem as if she was then receiving an education however, I believe that education is more than just the core subjects. Part of an education is being at school, socializing in the cafeteria, and being part of a club or an athletic team. Part of an education is learning how to balance school and other activities, and this girl was not able to have these aspects of an education. Therefore, I believe every child has the right to an education that expands beyond the core subjects.

Introduction to Me!

My name is Sally Casper and I am a high school Biology teacher at Glen Rock High School in Glen Rock, NJ. At Glen Rock I am the JV Cheerleading coach, the advisor for the Class of 2010, I do the choreography for the musicals and I am also the advisor for the quiz bowl. I also have a part time job at the Buehler Challenger and Science Center in Paramus. Eventually someday I would like to become Science Department Chair and then an Asst. Principal or Principal. This class is a requirement for my Master's in Biology with a concentration in Science Education that I am currently working on. I plan on working on my Administration and Supervision degree after that.

I have two wonderful parents, my mom is also a Biology Teacher and my dad is a Police Officer. And I have two brothers who love to tease me, which I always thought they would grow out of by now! One is a sophomore in college and the other is a junior in high school. My family has a cute dog named Maggie, she is a beagle and my family adores her. I also have an amazing boyfriend and he is a computer programmer for a health care software company. Dan is a great runner; he ran the NJ Marathon this past May in under 3 and half hours.

When I am not working and doing all these other things I like to be by the water, I love the shore and I love boats. I also like to read and exercise. And at night you can often find me grading papers and watching some TV to relax.