Curr 210 Public Purposes of Education

Final Thoughts

2007-12-19T11:10:00.001-08:00

I think this new class was a good addition to the courses required for the teacher education program. It's a good idea to get a lot of exposure to schools and the system, this class did a pretty good job of making sure we got some experience of what we're getting ourselves into. Of course there were some glitches with First Avenue and some organizational issues, but overall I think this was a good class. I'll admit I was intimidated by the workload, but after completing my service hours and going to all the meetings and finishing my blog, I feel like I accomplished a lot in a short time. My only thought about the course is maybe we might want to have a choice of what school we are assigned to. I want to teach high school, or at least that's what i'm aiming for. For some time I've been debating whether or not I want to stay on that path, or maybe work towards elementary ed. Although I enjoyed First Avenue school and its students, I worked a lot with younger children and it made my decision a little harder. I don't know if I want to change and teach the younger students because I have more experience with that age group, or if I want to teach high school history, or possibly get certified in both. My friend is in another section of this class, and she wants to teach younger students but was assigned to a high school. She said we should have been allowed to switch schools. I think First Avenue was a great school for us to visit and work at. I thought I went to a nice school, but this one was top of the line. The students were also very appreciative of us being there. Overall I think this course was a lot of work, but worth it, I learned a lot about schools and gained a lot of insight as to what kind of teacher I want to be.

Service Hours

2007-12-13T22:31:00.000-08:00

Today I went to First Avenue to complete my service hours. I was assigned to a second grade classroom, where the teacher was absent so they needed extra help. There was a substitute teacher and an aid, and both were sick. Neither of them were able to speak so I helped a lot during the day. The sub pulled out worksheets and I pretty much taught with them the entire day. There was not much to go by, so I had to keep the kids occupied with about five worksheets for the day. I found a way to stretch out each assignment by adding to them and making them more exciting for the kids so they wouldn't realize that they were actually doing more "Busy" work. There was one sheet that involved finding how many words could be made out of 'hippopotamus,' so we made a game that the first five students to make real words would get a prize. It actually took longer than I thought because a lot of students were using words like Potamus, and some used their vocabulary words like Pioneers, which I thought was pretty funny but I had to explain the directions more than once. Another worksheet involved telling time, so I allowed one student at a time come up to the board to draw the time for everyone to see. There were nine questions and 23 students and a lot of time to spare, so I made up question so that every student was able to participate. The students were pretty well behaved, considering they were being taught by a complete stranger. Something I noticed was the the aid, who was in charge of one student, spent a lot of time on her cell phone and in the back of the room on the computer. She was doing work some of the time, and spoke up if the students were acting up, but otherwise I think she was taking the chance to rest her voice and relax while I was teaching. I don't want to say she was being lazy because she was doing some work. At the end of the day about half the class were dismissed to the after school program. I stayed in the cafeteria with a group of forth graders and helped them with their homework. One girl in the group didn't have any homework so I gave her a few of the worksheets that I took from the classroom I taught in. For about the last hour of the program the weather was getting worse and many students were gone, so the remaining students went from the cafeteria to the auditorium where some students were rehearsing for their winter concert. At the end of the day everyone was dismissed in an organized manner, making sure everyone was picked up by the right person and on time.

Bomb Threat on Campus and Rave

2007-12-06T13:27:00.000-08:00

Today there was a bomb threat in University Hall, and I found out from my friend who texted me before I found out via e-mail from my rave phone. MY friend texted me around noon to tell me what was going on, and I did not recieve any e-mails until well after 1:30. I just now (4:30) got another e-mail saying that University Hall will be closed until 2:30, obviously two hours late. If this had been a real emergency, worse than just a threat, we would all be in a lot of trouble. We've talked so much about the new rave phones that everyone "just has to have" for safety, but when we're being notified of things way after they happened, it's not really doing anything for us.

12/03 Montclair Board Meeting

2007-12-03T23:30:00.000-08:00

Tonight I went to the Montclair Board of Education meeting. Some observations I made about the board room was that it was in 2 sections; one being designated for the board members with their seats set up very similarly to our class, and the other side of the room set up with rows of chairs for the public with a podium and microphone in front facing the board members for public participation. We were present for the public session of the meeting; a private meeting had been held right before with some of the same agenda.

The first thing discussed at the meeting was Inclusive Schools Week, which is about compassion and social development in schools as well as welcoming all students into the school system, special ed or otherwise. Montclair has been setting the standards of closing the achievement gap by teaching towards interests and abilities.

The first topic brought to order was an issue that many students came to the meeting to talk about, and that was a new grading policy in the high school's AP calculus and statistics courses. It entailed having one test and quiz per marking period being used to determine their grades, which students as well as parents did not feel was an adequate way to go about grading or to prepare for the AP exam. The one test per marking period is meant to be a practice AP test, and graded as such. However, like one student stated, the actual AP test has a curve, while the tests they were taking in class were not, which effected their grades. Students are given the option to drop the AP class to take honors, but since this new grading policy went into effect after the beginning of the school year, dropping and switching classes is more difficult than it seems because it not only changes the levels of some of the classes they are taking, it can effect the way colleges evaluate their applications. I'll write here what the students and parents had to say-

Parent: It is hard for students who do want to switch out of their AP stats or calc classes because it may change the level of some of the other classes they would have to switch around
Student: Does not understand why new policy was createdl why does dropping a level increase their grades? 1 test determining an entire marking period's grade is unfair, their should be more grades to go by. This new policy should be used in all AP classes, not just Calc and Stats.
Student: Most students in these classes are seniors and it effects their transcripts for colleges
Parent of student in both classes: Son was in both classes effected by the new policy; unfair to change the curriculum after the school year has started; it should be tested before put into effect, and have more info to back it up
Parent: (read statement on son's behalf) Sees new policy as a bait and switch, he is a freshman and is afraid that the same thing can happen to him in the future if he decides to take AP classes.
Student: AP test has a curve, so the tests they take in class should also have a curve if it is to prepare them correctly
Give me the song and I'll sing it like I mean itGive me the words and I'll say them like i mean it
Student: Feels efforts have been wasted, wrong wat for students to prepare for the hard course and test

Dr. Alvarez, a board member, thanked the students for coming out and voicing their concerns. The High School principal then spoke about the new policy. He said it was set because the scores in those particular classes had dropped dramatically, and they were looking for a way to make the scores better to keep Montclair at its competitive standards. He said that the main ideas of the new policy were to hope that students would perform better, that they would recognize the importance of the test since many were not taking it for the right reasons, and he talked about being fair to everyone and promised to re-evaluate the case, and said a decision would be made soon.

This new grading policy was definitly the biggest topic at the meeting, and there was a lot of discussion afterwards during the 5 minute break.

Another topic discussed was Governor Corzine's preliminary funding proposal. I didn't understand it all but what I got out of it was that they were being given $450million, funding for special ed increased, early preschool and full day kindergarten was included, and there was a lot of talk about property and income taxes. They said it was unlikely that this would happen soon, but Montclair is watching closely and wants all the information early so they can get the budget done in time next year.

Something else that came up was sports teams and having level playing fields within their leagues. Soon NJSIAA will evaluate many (public and non-public) schools in North Jersey and possibly create a new league so that Montclair's teams can play at the state level.

The enrollment report was pretty interesting to listen to. The board member presenting it talked about student population changes in the Montclair schools. The African American student population dropped drastically, while the caucasion population did not change very much. Another member said that schools should recruit students. It was stated that the Watchung School had the least diversity when it came to economic background. School lunches were discussed, and I noticed that the number of students who got free or reduced lunch was pretty low. Montclair does not get a lot of government funding, mostly because of No Child Left Behind.

The last topic that was significant at the meeting was a change to the Language Arts curriculum. A main point of it was that teachers could look into previous grades and grades ahead to make sure their students are performing at the right pace. There will be performance assesments, for example oral presentations and dramatizations as opposed to nothing but written papers. Learning Centers will be utilized in all grades, and communication between the parents and teachers will be emphasized.

I felt that this meeting was very interesting. I like that they were democratic in the way they handled issues; in other districts students may not have been allowed to speak up the wat they did at this meeting. I respected the principal and board members for listening to what they had to say, and they took the students seriously. Every issue was looked over carefully. Montclair does a good job at overlooking every school and looks at them as a whole and as individual units, which I think works for this district because it is very diverse.

Case Study 3: Jane Vincent

2007-11-26T23:38:00.000-08:00

I think that if I was in Jane's situation, I would give the student the benefit of the doubt. If she knows he worked hard and tried his best for the grade he got, then he should be given the better grade. Sometimes all students need is a little motivation to put in a little extra effort. I've been placed in that situation before, where less than one-tenth of a point disqualified me from going to the Academic Awards Dinner in my high school. I know I worked hard and had good grades, but knowing that something so minor made such a difference made me feel a little less worthy. Students should be grades subjectively as well as objectively. Jane Vincent should reconsider the rules she set for cases such as this.

Class Discussion 11/26

2007-11-26T14:14:00.000-08:00

Today in class we talked a lot about a few topics that interested me. (Teachers using myspace/facebook, and students losing interest in reading being a few)

When it comes to teachers and having online profiles, I think it is ok for teachers to be involved with facebook or myspace, or whatever site, as long as they are appropriate for anyone to see. I personally use these sites to keep in touch with people I otherwise would not have seen or spoken to maybe for for years, and I don't think being a teacher should take that away. I've had teachers who were online and were very professional about it; they did not reveal anything offensive and did not talk about behavior that might be looked down upon. They used it to keep in touch with students after the school year, or if they needed extra help via e-mail. I think it is probably the best and safest idea to simply delete your online sites when you are a teacher, but I think I would do everything I could do to keep it. My myspace, for example, is set to private. I made it so that you can't find me in a search, you can only see my profile if you are my friend, and I disabled most of the links on my page. The pictures I have posted are completely innocent. If teachers keep a clean appearance and don't do anything offensive there shouldn't be a problem.

I thought a lot about students and how less are reading for enjoyment nowadays. I think technology has a lot to do with students not wanting to read recreationally. When i think of reading I think of books, not necessarily spending hours on myspace or IMDB (which I am guilty of doing). I work at Barnes and Noble, where I get a lot of kids coming in with assignments for book reports, and they are always looking for the shortest and easiest stories, and preferably a book that can be found on SparkNotes. The parents always complain that television and video games take up their free time. I notice that more kids are reading because they have to, not because they want to. I was reading on my own at age 3; my parents would always read to me because they knew it was very important, so at a young age I enjoyed reading because it was not yet a "chore." Even though throughout school I hated reading most of the things I was assigned, I still liked reading the things I wanted. I think teachers should try to motivate students to read. They can find out what their studens are interested in and start from there. Parents should do the same thing, whether it is a book store or the school library, I think they should tell their kids to find a book they would like to read based on their interests, while limiting their time on playing video games and watching tv.

November 20th Newark B.O.E. Business Meeting

2007-11-20T22:15:00.000-08:00

Tonight I went to the Newark Board of Education Business Meeting. There were 15 board members seated around a table, with a few others as well as spectators seated around the edge of the room. The meeting was pretty boring, I guess because I really did not understand much of what they were talking about. There was a lot of discussion of No Child Left Behind scores and Newark (as opposed to the rest of essex county) being asked to work on its own plan. A code of ethics was discussed, as well as something about one board member being late with it and having a late fine. 2 members dictated the discussion for quite some time until about half an hour into it come members started contributing with questions and comments. One member talked about improvement; and about someone allegedy showing up at a school unannounced but there was no record of that happening. The members started talking about returning districts to local control (I guess going from state to local?). Another member had concerns about written documentation from the meeting of all the rules they were making; he felt like the other members were making things up as they were going along. He said he was sick of hearing "I don't know" and wanted to make sure the "quality of life" in Newark schools was imploding. After some more discussion the public session of the meeting ended. It lasted about an hour.

Shadowing Pt 2

2007-11-16T23:05:00.000-08:00

After lunch, a new group of students came in. Our teacher told us beforehand that they were "a very difficult group," so I was expecting them to be loud and misbehaved. However, they were very quiet when they entered and seemed to be paying attention to the lesson. My guess is they used to be hard to control but they have gotten better over time. Some students were not paying attention, but that's to be expected in any classroom, especially in sixth grade. The book the class was reading was called The Watsons Go To Birmingham. After the teacher read some of the book out loud to the class, he told a personal story of his own that related to the story. After some more discussion about the story the students took an open note/book quiz on the book. During the quiz two students were whispering to each other for a few minutes but the teacher didn't notice. He emphasized to the kids a few minutes in that they should not always use personal examples in their answers, and that it was a "reading rest, not a writing test." After the quiz the students were complimented on their ability to understand the "heavy stuff" the book was about. The rest of the school day followed a pretty tight schedule similar to the first half of the day. At 2:30 students were walking the halls in groups, many headed towards the auditorium to get ready for dismissal.

Shadowing Pt 1

2007-11-15T22:27:00.000-08:00

Today I went for my shadowing experience, and it was very interesting to say the least. I was about an hour late because my car broke down and I had to get towed before I made it there, but my teacher was very forgiving. When I got there at 10am, students were working on group projects which were venn diagrams based on the story they were reading. It was language arts, but the book was historical fiction (which I think was a good idea because he is a certified social studies teacher). The groups were spread around the room; a few groups were working on the diagrams, while some students did some research related the the project on the computers, and finally it seemed as if the last group was working on reading/sitting and not working on the project.

I made a few observations about the classroom. It was pretty large, the lighting was extremely bright, and the ceiling was very high. So even though there were many posters and students' projects were displayed around the classroom it still looked a little bare. It was clearly a history classroom since many of the posters had quotes about the subject and there were also many Time magazine covers around the room. There were also a few bookshelves that were stacked with books related to what their lessons were about (African American History and Ancient Egypt.)

There was also a student teacher present who pretty much kept to herself but walked around quietly helping students.

I noticed that there was a lot of noise coming from the groups, and when the teacher realized I was taking notes of the students, he came over and said "This is what I like to call organized chaos. The principal came in because there was noise and said he liked to hear the noise of progress." It was clear that most of the students were working on their assignment.

There were about eighteen students in the room; some came and left. The teacher said as advice, "Get a job in a school that doesn't have lockers." He had very good control over his students, but at some points they would take the liberty to leave the room when he wasn't looking or spend too much time at their lockers.

Around 10:30 he had the students clean up their desks to get ready for social studies. They went to their lockers if they needed to. From then until 11:15 they talked about Ancient Egypt and its geography. HOwever, before he started the lesson, he had to talk to the students about discipline, as many of them were not paying attention and were acting out. The lesson was very brief and simple; he wrote some notes on the board while going over a homework assignment. There were few students taking notes, and a few were not paying attention, although I'm not sure the teacher noticed. at 10:45 it was time for students to get back into their groups from before to work on maps they had been labeling and coloring in. Most students were talking but they were getting work done. It seemed as soon as the lesson began it was time for them to pack up their desks and get their books out for SSR (Silent Sustained Reading). I was surprised that in all the time I spent in a social studies class, only about half an hour was dedicated to that subject. So for around half an hour, the students either read their novels or wrote about them. There is a program called Read All About It where students write newspaper-style about their books. There was quiet chatter when the should have been reading and it was about five minutes before the teacher said anything. There were 2 students cleaning up in the back of the room, from the previous lesson, and they did not participate in SSR at all.

At 11:40 the students were told to clean up, and 5 mintues later they were dismissed for lunch.

[part 2 coming soon]

PDF- Noddings; Themes of Care

2007-11-13T20:28:00.000-08:00

(copied from class notes)

Incorporating care is aknowledging all students and their needs. Emotional learning drives how people act and care. People respond to things based on how they react to certain situations. Sometimes the only reason teachers and students care in school is "will it be on the test?" Teacher's can't tell students why they should care, they have to experience it. Teachers show care with different forms of attention. If you show them how much you care,they will care how much you know.

We watched a documentary called A Challenging Student.
*case one- Vincent (student) had behavioral problems. He would push students around, cause trouble for the students and the teacher. The teacher brought his parents in for a conference.
*case two- Mike (student) made rude comments to other students, and the teacher made a verbal agreement with the student that he wouldn't act that way again, and send a not home to come back with a parents' signature.

I think the first case with Vincent was more effective because the teacher and parents were all present at once and they all reached an understanding together about his behavior issues. THe second teacher made the effort, but the student probably wasn't taking her seriously, and his teacher did not really follow through to make sure his parents know about the situation.

Issue 14- Is Full Inclusion of Disabled Students Desirable?

2007-11-12T13:32:00.000-08:00

I think that for inclusion to work in classrooms, it has to be done in such a way that no student is deterred or destracted from what they are being taught. If a student with disabilities can handle being in a general education classroom without causing a teacher to take away too much from everyone else and not be in danger of failing, they have every right to be in that class. I think the only instance where a student with a disability should be in a classroom that entirely caters to what he/she needs is when inclusion into a general class would be more of a problem for both ends.

Documentary on Newark

2007-11-11T22:30:00.000-08:00

It's 1:30am Sunday/Monday but I was just watching an ineresting documentary on Newark. It talked about how suburbs turned unto urban communities, and issues like race and housing districs. One man said "We live in a racialized society. Not a racist society, but racialized." It was pretty thought provoking. The show didn't really go into schooling, but I thought a lot of the same information could be applied to schools. I think it's the show called Point of View, if you ever get a chance to watch it.

On an Article I Read

2007-11-08T21:29:00.000-08:00

The other day my friend sent me an article about the school shooting that happened in Finland. There were comments, about 5,000, mostly about teachers. People were talking about how teachers should do a better job in schools and it's their fault that students are resorting to shooting other people. Someone actually suggested that teachers be armed in the classroom, and should be allowed to open fire if there is a danger to the school. When I left my own comment saying that instead of teachers having guns, they should be there for their students as people they can look up to, not someone they fear. The people commenting the article fired back at me saying that if I feel that way, I'm never going to get respect as a teacher. I think teachers can be fair but firm, and be compassionate while still earning respect. They don't need to be feared by their students. At least that's not how I feel. What does everyone else think?

Issue 8- Can Federal Initiatives Rescue Failing Schools?

2007-11-05T13:21:00.000-08:00

I think that if done correctly, federal policies can rescue failing schools. If money and effort is going to the right places, it is possible. If lack of resources is the issue, money should be used on books and equipment that will improve test scores. I've heard of failing schools using their money on things like new jerseys for a sports team, or extra vending machines, when the money could be used for more important things. I think if attention is payed to the right areas the federal government could help a lot.

Issue 9- Do High Stakes Assessments Improve Learning?

2007-11-05T13:14:00.000-08:00

I have never been a fan of believing that only number scores determine a school's credibility. There are so many methods of learning and test taking, but teachers and administrators don't explore all the options. They need to take into account that not all students are the same, that they learn differently and test differently. While some students may be very good at math and multiple choice tests, others may be good at creative writing and learning visually. If schools are going to be constantly tested (within the schools, and at the state and national levels), tests should be altered in such a way that they allow every student to thrive in the way that they are comfortable. Granted they can't always have it their way, but if a student is good at one method of learning and testing people should not expect them to test well at something they aren't familiar with.

Issue 10- Should "Public Schooling" Be Redifined?

2007-10-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

It has always been my understanding that public schools were those that recieved funding from state and federal taxes and had to comply to state guidelines. I agree that schools should be able to make decisions based on what their community wants other than listening to the large corporation that prints their books and has the money. I also think that public school should be open to all kinda of students without use of admissions tests and be chosen by faculty, families, and students.

Class Discussion 10/22

2007-10-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

Today in class we talked about what makes a school urban. I think for a school to be considered urban it needs to be diverse. By diverse I mean different ethnicities, races, and incomes. The high school I went to was extremely diverse. We had students who lived in mansions and students who lived in small apartments. We had more ethnicites than could be counted. The only thing we had in common was that we were all in the same age group. I think New Jersey overall is a pretty diverse state, more so than others anyway.

Another discussion we had was about the headline on birth control being given in a middle school. I think that it should only be given if there is a history of young pregnancies or at least the risk of them. Parents should be educating their children on birth control and STD's, but I also think that on some level schools are responsible as well because students do spend a lot of time there with their peers.

Case Study 2: Julie Amero

2007-10-20T23:25:00.000-07:00

I think if I was in Julie Amero's situation, I would have turned off the monitor, which is a quick and easy solution to the problem. If I had to leave the room I would ask another teacher to monitor my class (and after I turned off the monitor just to be safe). I would rather get in trouble for not handling something well than losing my license over it. There are many things to consider in this situation, what the teacher's experience is, what the offense is, and what could have been done and what should have been done.

First Avenue School visit

2007-10-15T18:52:00.001-07:00

Wow, I hadn't realized that NONE of my previous posts have been saved. That stinks. Sorry about that. =(

Well today was our visit to the new First Avenue School in Newark. I have to admit... It was completely opposite of everything I thought it would be. I went to school in Clifton, which until recently was classified as suburban (I'm not even sure now why they say it's urban, but nevertheless I was brought up in a suburban environment). I feel like the most ignorant person saying I thought the school was not going to be "up to standards" based on what I've heard about schools in urban cities. But I was completely blown away.

That school was so high-tech, more-so than any school I've ever seen. I was impressed with their library, although I noticed that a lot of the bookshelves were only half-full. I'm guessing the classrooms also had books available to the students. On our tour given by the very curtious eigth grade students, we saw a lot of the school. The art room really surprised me because they had equipment that many students aren't introduced to until maybe even high school. Their auditorium was incredible...more than just a large room with chairs like many elementary schools have. I mean it was carpeted and there were cushioned seats, and a stage with a grand drape, and I've only seen one other school (a regional high school) with accomodations that nice. When we walked past the cafeteria I noticed that panels that one of the students pointed out were energy savers for the school. The science labs were more than what I could have imagined in any elementary school. Basically what I'm trying to say is that this school is what every student needs. It seems to me like there's nothing they don't have. When it comes to technology and an enviroment fit for learning, they have it made. I could definitly see myself working in that school (even though I'm working on secondary ed, I've been working with little kids since I was 13 and could definitly see myself with the younger grades).

The staff at the school were extremely welcoming and I could tell they definitly love what they do. Quite a few people emphasized that they teach because they loved it. Many of the people we talked to today told us that they switched out of other professions to teach, so you know that their hearts are really in education and changing the lives of these kids. However, when we talked to the bilingual teacher, I was surprised by what she had to say. Amanda and I actually discussed this in our Educational Psychology class, that this teacher pretty much admitted that she's teaching her students enough English to pass the state test. Although she had good intentions, I feel like she was only doing it for the sake of this test, and not to help these non-English speaking students used to learning the language. I understand that the U.S. has many Spanish speaking people, but I still think that students should have to learn English. Someone I was talking to used this example, they said, "If I moved to China, I wouldn't expect everyone to know English just for me, I would make an effort to learn their language." I don't doubt that this teacher was doing a good job, but I think the fact that she emphasized the test rather than speaking English outside of the classroom just didn't sound right to me.

Overall, I think this visit helped me a lot. I honestly can't wait to start my community service hours. I'm looking into the after-school tutoring. I used to tutor and work at a summer camp every year and being their for the kids is really very rewarding.

Newark Article

2007-10-07T23:17:00.000-07:00

It's unfortunate that Newark is getting so much bad publicity. Yes, it is a large city that has a reputation for violence and poverty, but I think that all anyone focuses on is those aspects. Newark has some good qualities as any city does. I think people need to spend more time "Getting to know" more about it. My town has a repuation too, but I know that most of it is not as bad as it seems. News spreads quickly and is often overdramatized. I think the new Prudential Center is a great addition to Newark, and might convince people that maybe it isn't so bad.

Issue 5- Can the Public Schools Produce Good Citizens?

2007-10-01T10:55:00.000-07:00

I have mixed feelings about whether or not public schools produce good citizens when it comes to matters such as democracy and knowing what is going on. I've had teachers who encouraged us to keep up with the news, bring in articles about big issues, and wanted us to know early on that we need to be aware of what is going on in our country. Other teachers I had probably could have cared less, because they didn't watch the news or pay attention so they didn't feel the need to tell us to do anything about it. I think that school, as well as other resources (peers, media, etc) should prepare students to know how their government works and what democracy is all about.

Issue 2- Should the Curriculum Be Standardized for All?

2007-09-24T10:43:00.000-07:00

I agree with the threefold objective of basic schooling, that society provides opportunities for personal development, and that with these opportunities they should want to make the most of theirselves. That they will come out of school citizens who are able to function and be productive in society. Of course there will be some exceptions, but I believe that the main purpose of school in early years is to prepare students to make it in the real world. I learned in my history of education class that even when public school was in its primitive stages, they had lessons that would ensure that they were producinh well-off citizens. Even if there is not as much "hands on" type of learning going on (i.e. sewing for girls and woodshop for boys), students are still learning about what it takes to make it outside of school. While I also agree with Holt that chldren should have some control and choices in their education, I think only to a certain extent. They should get the general background they need to be well rounded individuals, and then use have some electives of their choice, similar to what we do in high school and college.

Case Study 1: Melinda Grant

2007-09-23T22:57:00.000-07:00

Melinda Grant teaches in a manner that is fun and exciting for students. She keeps their intersts in mind when she plans lessons, and does not want to be a "boring" teacher. She has a lot of group work and activities and hands on work relating to different subjects. Another teacher in the school is somewhat opposite, because she focuses more on drilling students with basic skills and working on behavior. The second teacher tells Melinda that she needs to be more strict in her class, especially when it comes to working on practicing for the Iowa test. Melinda does not want to subject her students to making class harder for her students, mainly because it would lessen their interest in school. They live in a city where test scores mean a lot, however she does not seem to be concerned as other teachers and parents. I think Melinda needs to be a little more focused on the tests even thought I can understand why it's not her main priority. If i was in her situation I would try to keep lessons and activities interesting while also factoring the skills they need for the test. Students can learn and stil have a good time. I know school is not supposed to be all fun, but sometimes, especially for younger students, school has to have more of an appeal so students will work harder.

9/17 Class Discussion

2007-09-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

Today in class we talked about effective ways of teaching. I think the 5th grade teacher did a good job by accomodating all levels of learning in her inclusion class by having different categories at various difficulty levels. Group work is good for young children because it teaches them how to work together. However, I think she should have modified it a little by allowing students to each have a turn giving the answers, instead of picking one representative for each group. Also, the teacher should not have said "you're all winners" because it gives students' a false sense of accomplishment. Although students need to learn how to work together, they also have to know how to lose. Overall her game was a good idea because she thought it out and was very organized.

The High School class that re-enacted the court case was interesting to me. I like when teachers find a way to get their students involved in what they're learning. If students are confined to just the textbook and lectures they're not going to be motivated to learn. I also liked the idea that the students did not know ahead of time what part of the case they were going to represent--this teaches them to learn all sides to an issue before they defend it. The only thing I didn't like about it was that some students were not involved, I think the teacher could have found a way to get them to interact with the case if they were not one of the principle roles.

These videos shows different methods of teaching/learning to get students involved and interested. It's good for students to have a variety in school, it keeps them motivated to show up and become involved in what they are being taught.

Issue 1: Should Schooling be Based on Social Experiences?

2007-09-16T23:43:00.000-07:00

I agreed with Hutchins when he said "....the most important branch of education is the education of adults." Learning should not be emphasized only during childhood, but should take place throughout a person's entire life. And the more adults know and learn, the more willing younger children will be willing to take after their educational habits. I liked this quote: "Men are rational animals. They achieve their terrestrial felicity by the use of reason. And this means that they have to use it for their entire lives. To say that they should learn only in childhood would mean that they were human only in childhood." (14) This quote also stuck out: "You cannot expect the slave to show the virtues of a free man unless you first set him free." (12)

Questionable Assumptions About Schooling

2007-09-16T23:27:00.001-07:00

While reading the article by Eisner, I found a few of his assumptions very interesting. The first one, that talks about getting all students to the same place at the same time, could be looked at in a few ways. At first I thought "not every student is equal, and it would be difficult to assume that every student has the same academic potential, so how can it be expected that every 18 year old is ready to graduate high school?" Sometimes I think schools make a mistake by promoting students who are not ready for the next grade level. I think if a student needs extra help, it should not be an issue retaining them in the same grade for another year if it's going to benefit them. Also, I am not a fan of standardized testing. I think a student's ability should be judged by their overall performance in school, and not by the GEPA or HSPA or SAT. Sometimes students do very well in school, but when put on the spot it becomes difficult for them to work to their full potential. I think a teacher who has students who are getting the best grades they are capable of is doing a good job, it should not depend on one big test. One point that got my attention was when he mentioned that "the primary content that students learn is what their teachers intend to teach them." I feel that the more interesting teachers make their lessons, the more students are willing to learn, and maybe go beyond the classroom and look elsewhere for even more information. I had a teacher in 8th grade who made history "fun." Even though I've always loved history (it's my major) there were students who were for the first time motivated to learn about WWII. Teachers who can get the attention of even the more uninteresting student are doing a good job, and are motivating their students to learn. Sometimes teachers will read straight out of the book and never give any extra facts or stories that might something them more relevant. They could be the reason students find certain subjects boring and therefore won't try to do any better than get a passing grade.