Digital Wish - Profile: Marna Blanchard


Ms. Marna Blanchard

marna_blanchard@yahoo.com
http://blanchard.pbwiki.com
Francisco Middle School
Hometown:
San Francisco
*Class Information:*
Room Number: 212
Students per Class: 79
Class Description:
Two cores of Language Arts/Social Studies (one honors and one general ed/GATE strand) and one Media/Film Class
Position:
teacher
Needs:
I am in desperate need of digital video cameras, 3 chip perferred, as students in the film class need good cameras with options to make good films. Bare minimum cameras that allow for manual and auto focus with ability to plug in external mics. Also needed are microphones, firewires to download to mac computers and mini dvd tapes. Also needed still cameras for lessons_ specifically digital storytelling-memoir/autobiographyand poetry. Five cameras would be great as it would mean one per six students.
My Philosophy:
I believe my students have so much to share, to teach and a high capacity for learning when the teaching and curriculum (activities) are relevant to them! When students are given the opportunity to express themselves through a variety of mediums their learning expands exponentially. Students also need to be challenged, ( in middle school the students love to challenge authority), to be given the opportunity to talk about, to discuss what is meaningful to them, but to be held to a standards, not allowed to just rant with no purpose. Change happens when everyone involved is listening and working together!
*Personal Information:*
About Me:
I have been teaching 18 years! I have taught special needs students, gifted students (GATE/Honors) and general education students in both the US and overseas.
College and Degrees:
AA- City College of San Francisco Political Science BA- UC Berkeley - English Literature TeachingCredentials- San Francisco State University-MultipleSubjects and Single Subjects- with a CLAD emphasis Fellowship-UC Berkeley- Bay Area Writing Project
Activities:
Writing, International travel (including trips with students), Swimming, Reading and Film-making!
Favorite Books:
Like Water for Chocolate, For Whom the Bell Tolls, Frankenstein, Harry Potter (ALL the books), Maniac Magee, Witness and I am still finding new favorites with each new book!
Favorite Quotes:
carpe diem, alls well that ends well, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind
Interests:
Travel, reading, writing, sewing and photography
Employment History:
SFUSD 1993-currently, Vienna International School 2006/7
Why Do I Teach?:
I teach because I love it and because it's what I've wanted to do since I was 5 years old!
Percent of Students are:
At-risk: 34 %
Average: 30 %
High-achiever: 26 %
Special Needs: 10 %
Percent of Students are:
White/Caucasian : 5 %
Hispanic: 13 %
African American: 11 %
Native American: 1 %
Asian: 64 %
Free/Reduced Lunch Program Enrollment:: 85 %
ESL Enrollment:: 61 %
Average number of students in class:: 34 students
Number of students I teach:: 105 students