This article is a perfect example of GOOD educational practices at work, and it is almost refreshing to read an article like this. I believe that the value-added report card is a most needed asset in schools today that represent large numbers of minority children. The article used a chart to show data on two different schools: Harrell Budd Elementary represents 99% minority, 92% low-income, with a 97.6% passing rate on the state exam. The other school, Kennedy Curry Middle School, represents 95%minority, 64% low-income, with a 52% passing rate on the state exam. When it comes to value added, Harrell Budd Elementary ranked #3 while Kennedy Curry Middle School ranked #361 out of 361 schools. This is a perfect example of certain schools reaching out and connecting to the students. When the students form relationships and really respect their teacher, that’s when you will see the proof in the tests. I think that Harrell Budd Elementary sounds like an awesome school to be used as a training center for principals and teachers. It goes without saying that the students and parents within that school feel as though they a part of the school. It is amazing that two schools just several miles apart can perform so differently. It’s all about the attitudes within the building.
In regard to letting the Katrina evacuee parents choose the school that would best serve their children, BRAVOO!! What a wonderful idea to get schools fired up. Everyone loves a good competition, especially when money is involved. This is a win-win situation. I know personally that teachers too often do not get recognized for outstanding work, and this program would help highlight superior teachers.
For more information on value added assessment in Tennessee, see http://www.cgp.upenn.edu/ope_tn.html
About Me
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Cultural Pluralism
Think about your own experiences in schools. In what ways were the curriculum, policies and structure of your school used as a means of social control?
An excellent system in which I have seen curriculum, policies, and school structure impact the social control of a school, was at my own high school. I attended an Alternative High School that was an amazing place to learn. In many ways the teachers designed the curriculum to be student-driven and teacher facilitating. The school operated on a block schedule, offering more credits per year. The school had an off campus lunch for students, and the whole school treated each other as a family. Because of these policies that made students accountable, and the teachers that empowered the students to learn, it changed my view of education at the most crucial point of my life. This school is a perfect example of how certain factors can change the social control of the school. Everyone knows that an Alternative School could have a horrible atmosphere, but I know that it can also be completely different.
New Immigration Ads Stir the Melting Pot
Wow. Well this article certainly stirs up some fire in a lot of people no matter which side of the issue you stand on. Something that I have noticed about people when speaking about US immigration is that they are usually set in their beliefs, and are not very open to anything else. How does this relate to education though? A perfect example of this was presented in a class we had at MTSU. Our class had a guest speaker, Marisela Topia, who discussed teaching children of Hispanic descent. One topic that Mrs. Topia discussed was the fact that children of illegal immigrant parents cannot receive in-state tuition within Tennessee and cannot receive any scholarships. After class several students had a discussion, where several stated their opinions regarding the tuition and scholarships. One woman stated that she thought it was bad enough that they were here illegally and that they definitely should not be able to receive the same privileges that American children are afforded.
I know that this is a touchy subject, and I also know that most people have already decided their beliefs on the issue, however, my position is that I am in education for the kids. I did not go into education for the politics, the money, or anything else other than the kids and trying to make a difference in their lives. So what do I believe about this issue? Simply put, I believe all children of the world should be afforded the same educational opportunity regardless of where they live, what social status they come from, or who their parents are. The parents are a different story, but we should all agree that if the children want to go to college and change their family trees, let make it happen. They will have to make the same grades and pay the difference just as anyone else would, but why not give them a chance. We have plenty of American students that throw away their opportunities that they are afforded just by being born in this country; why not let another child who is willing to put in the work and truly appreciate the opportunity have a shot.
Multiculturalism in School Curriculum
My thoughts regarding this issue about multiculturalism in school curriculum would be pretty consistent with Adam Waxler. I also believe that US History can be taught from the traditional textbooks, but the students should also be taught to question and form their own beliefs and opinions about what they read. I totally agree with Adam Waxler’s statement, “Arguing and judging are at the highest level of Bloom’s taxonomy and by having students make arguments and back up those arguments, whether you as the te
acher agree with them or not, is how students will retain information.”
Toward a Centrist Curriculum
I agree with this article in some ways. I especially find the following statement very true in regard to what I am seeing in public schools today.
“In order to get a good job a young person must be able to communicate in speech and writing in the standard language and allusion- system of the marketplace. Since this system of intellectual currency is in broad use by millions of adults, it is a highly stable system that is slow to change. Hence, in order not to penalize students, schools must include as part of the curriculum the system of language and allusion that is currently in place. In regard to the two kinds of Multiculturalism, I do believe in holding a kind of dual citizenship, being part of both one's particular ethnos and the larger cosmopolis. My husband moved to the US from Thailand when he was 14 years old. He knows firsthand the importance of holding on to one’s culture and also becoming a part of the new. I really do not think that we should have to choose one or the other.
An excellent system in which I have seen curriculum, policies, and school structure impact the social control of a school, was at my own high school. I attended an Alternative High School that was an amazing place to learn. In many ways the teachers designed the curriculum to be student-driven and teacher facilitating. The school operated on a block schedule, offering more credits per year. The school had an off campus lunch for students, and the whole school treated each other as a family. Because of these policies that made students accountable, and the teachers that empowered the students to learn, it changed my view of education at the most crucial point of my life. This school is a perfect example of how certain factors can change the social control of the school. Everyone knows that an Alternative School could have a horrible atmosphere, but I know that it can also be completely different.
New Immigration Ads Stir the Melting Pot
Wow. Well this article certainly stirs up some fire in a lot of people no matter which side of the issue you stand on. Something that I have noticed about people when speaking about US immigration is that they are usually set in their beliefs, and are not very open to anything else. How does this relate to education though? A perfect example of this was presented in a class we had at MTSU. Our class had a guest speaker, Marisela Topia, who discussed teaching children of Hispanic descent. One topic that Mrs. Topia discussed was the fact that children of illegal immigrant parents cannot receive in-state tuition within Tennessee and cannot receive any scholarships. After class several students had a discussion, where several stated their opinions regarding the tuition and scholarships. One woman stated that she thought it was bad enough that they were here illegally and that they definitely should not be able to receive the same privileges that American children are afforded.
I know that this is a touchy subject, and I also know that most people have already decided their beliefs on the issue, however, my position is that I am in education for the kids. I did not go into education for the politics, the money, or anything else other than the kids and trying to make a difference in their lives. So what do I believe about this issue? Simply put, I believe all children of the world should be afforded the same educational opportunity regardless of where they live, what social status they come from, or who their parents are. The parents are a different story, but we should all agree that if the children want to go to college and change their family trees, let make it happen. They will have to make the same grades and pay the difference just as anyone else would, but why not give them a chance. We have plenty of American students that throw away their opportunities that they are afforded just by being born in this country; why not let another child who is willing to put in the work and truly appreciate the opportunity have a shot.
Multiculturalism in School Curriculum
My thoughts regarding this issue about multiculturalism in school curriculum would be pretty consistent with Adam Waxler. I also believe that US History can be taught from the traditional textbooks, but the students should also be taught to question and form their own beliefs and opinions about what they read. I totally agree with Adam Waxler’s statement, “Arguing and judging are at the highest level of Bloom’s taxonomy and by having students make arguments and back up those arguments, whether you as the te
acher agree with them or not, is how students will retain information.” Toward a Centrist Curriculum
I agree with this article in some ways. I especially find the following statement very true in regard to what I am seeing in public schools today.
“In order to get a good job a young person must be able to communicate in speech and writing in the standard language and allusion- system of the marketplace. Since this system of intellectual currency is in broad use by millions of adults, it is a highly stable system that is slow to change. Hence, in order not to penalize students, schools must include as part of the curriculum the system of language and allusion that is currently in place. In regard to the two kinds of Multiculturalism, I do believe in holding a kind of dual citizenship, being part of both one's particular ethnos and the larger cosmopolis. My husband moved to the US from Thailand when he was 14 years old. He knows firsthand the importance of holding on to one’s culture and also becoming a part of the new. I really do not think that we should have to choose one or the other.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Multiculturalism
When I started reading the posts and articles about Multiculturalism, there was quite a bit of information thrown together under the same title of Multiculturalism that was not directly related. One post talked about the need to re-write our history books to include the perspective African Americans throughout History. One post talked about how to make the schools include Multiculturalism. I was happy to read the post by Caleb Rosedo that broke this information down by saying, “The concept of multiculturalism embodies a new orientation toward the future. Unfortunately, in all the heated discussion around the term no clear definition of the concept has yet emerged.”
I think that Multiculturalism is definitely a position that deserves attention. I personally teach in a school that has makeup of 50% white students, and 50% other: black, Hispanic, Asian student population. In any school setting with a largely diverse student population there will always be a need to make the information relevant to the students and make it culturally sensitive. The argument has been made that "culturally relevant" history would keep blacks and Hispanics in school and stop them from dropping out at ever-increasing rates. I do not know if I would go so far as to say that this would stop these groups from dropping-out of school, but I do believe that students need to feel connected to the material they are presented. The statement that, patriotism will not grow in the heart of a child who cannot look back with pride upon his nation's past, is partly true. I do believe that the more important part is that a child must be able to look with pride upon the nation’s future. I do believe that we are on the right track when it comes to the future. The question is how to do both more fully, and do it properly.
Many people have made the claim that Americans may look back on the history of the US with guilt or shame at some of the atrocities committed against different groups of people if history were re-written. I think that Thomas Jefferson could foresee this very concern coming to future generations when he said, “On historical occasions, questions of right and wrong, justice and injustice, will naturally arise, and may be put to youth, which they may debate in conversation and in writing. When they ardently desire victory, for the sake of the praise attending it, they will begin to feel the want, and be sensible of the use, of logic, or the art of reasoning to discover truth, and of arguing to defend it, and convince adversaries.” School teachers should not be afraid to let the children debate issues of the past, and speak out to voice their values and morals. I think that this strategy would cause for more children to search for their personal value system, if they had not been taught one at home.
On the other end of this debate would be the people that take this argument to an unnecessary extreme. For example, New York's public schools recently authorized a curriculum revision based on an openly anti-white position paper drafted, in part, by the black-supremacist professor, Leonard Jeffries. Or take San Francisco’s schools system, as mentioned in the article, The Challenge of Multiculturalism, where 82 percent of the public school children are non-white, the school board reluctantly accepted the new “more encompassing” History books, but added a supplemental reading list with titles like Black Heroes of the Wild West, Chinese Americans, Past and Present, and Gays in America. (Homosexuals were angry that these grade school texts said nothing about their contributions to America.)
I think that the issue of Multiculturalism is an extremely valid concern in our vastly diverse US school system. The largest problem right now is that we seem to have the opposite-side extremists pushing for their own personal interests. What we need is a middle ground; a group of people to realize that we need changes to take place in regard to representing all groups and making them feel part of the whole.
For more information on Multiculturalism Education: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/presrvce/pe3lk1.htm
I think that Multiculturalism is definitely a position that deserves attention. I personally teach in a school that has makeup of 50% white students, and 50% other: black, Hispanic, Asian student population. In any school setting with a largely diverse student population there will always be a need to make the information relevant to the students and make it culturally sensitive. The argument has been made that "culturally relevant" history would keep blacks and Hispanics in school and stop them from dropping out at ever-increasing rates. I do not know if I would go so far as to say that this would stop these groups from dropping-out of school, but I do believe that students need to feel connected to the material they are presented. The statement that, patriotism will not grow in the heart of a child who cannot look back with pride upon his nation's past, is partly true. I do believe that the more important part is that a child must be able to look with pride upon the nation’s future. I do believe that we are on the right track when it comes to the future. The question is how to do both more fully, and do it properly.
Many people have made the claim that Americans may look back on the history of the US with guilt or shame at some of the atrocities committed against different groups of people if history were re-written. I think that Thomas Jefferson could foresee this very concern coming to future generations when he said, “On historical occasions, questions of right and wrong, justice and injustice, will naturally arise, and may be put to youth, which they may debate in conversation and in writing. When they ardently desire victory, for the sake of the praise attending it, they will begin to feel the want, and be sensible of the use, of logic, or the art of reasoning to discover truth, and of arguing to defend it, and convince adversaries.” School teachers should not be afraid to let the children debate issues of the past, and speak out to voice their values and morals. I think that this strategy would cause for more children to search for their personal value system, if they had not been taught one at home.
On the other end of this debate would be the people that take this argument to an unnecessary extreme. For example, New York's public schools recently authorized a curriculum revision based on an openly anti-white position paper drafted, in part, by the black-supremacist professor, Leonard Jeffries. Or take San Francisco’s schools system, as mentioned in the article, The Challenge of Multiculturalism, where 82 percent of the public school children are non-white, the school board reluctantly accepted the new “more encompassing” History books, but added a supplemental reading list with titles like Black Heroes of the Wild West, Chinese Americans, Past and Present, and Gays in America. (Homosexuals were angry that these grade school texts said nothing about their contributions to America.)
I think that the issue of Multiculturalism is an extremely valid concern in our vastly diverse US school system. The largest problem right now is that we seem to have the opposite-side extremists pushing for their own personal interests. What we need is a middle ground; a group of people to realize that we need changes to take place in regard to representing all groups and making them feel part of the whole.
For more information on Multiculturalism Education: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/educatrs/presrvce/pe3lk1.htm
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Religion and Education
Religion in Schools Debate Heats up: My response, What’s the Big Deal…….
Reading through these two articles it is interesting to me to reflect on the times during which each is written. The Library of Congress article shows religious intolerance by suspending the kids because they believed it was a moral sin to salute the flag. On the flip side, it seems as though so many laws have been passed to protect the religious rights that we have been stripped of our religious rights. The major difference in the articles is the way of thinking in regard to the times. It is amazing how much has changed in less than one hundred years.
Moment of Silence. What’s the big deal? This article is just an example of people looking to find something that might offend them and running with it. It is not stated in any school, because it is a law, that the moment of silence is for prayer. Therefore, I believe that this court case is ridiculous because it seems as though the atheist man and his daughter are looking for any way that they could possibly be wronged by our public education system. It seems to me that we as Americans teach tolerance, tolerance, tolerance, but when it comes to the dominant faith in America, people from other faiths could also extend that same gratitude. The moment of silence could be used to pray to any god, think, not think, whatever, just be quiet for one minute. What’s the big deal?
Evolution, Weaknesses of Evolution, and Creationism. First of all, let me say that I am shocked that creationism is not taught in schools today as merely another possible opinion on how man was created. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that we should just stop at Christianity though; add in the take of what all world religions think about the becoming of man. I think that by not adding this into the equation is again, religious intolerance. In A 2008 survey 76% of all U.S. adult citizens identify themselves as Christians. Why do we not have the right to even open this option up in class as merely a discussion forum? We don’t want to offend anyone. I know that I am not politically correct in saying most of this, especially as a public school teacher, however, I for one am offended.
Jehovah’s Witness refused to salute the American Flag. I for one believe that the purpose of school should be to educate the children and not force them to salute our national symbols. You have got to know that no ten year old child on his own believes that saluting the flag is a form of idolatry. These kinds of notions come from parents at home. This is another example of what’s the big deal. Was the school and court wrong for expelling the children for not participating in the flag ritual, absolutely. Let’s just teach the kids, it’s not like they were destroying the flag, or reaping havoc during the pledge ceremony. Why would they not be allowed to sit or stand quietly so that they did not have to feel as though they were betraying their parents and religion?
Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar (2009). "AMERICAN RELIGIOUS IDENTIFICATION SURVEY (ARIS) 2008" (PDF). Hartford, Connecticut, USA: Trinity College. http://b27.cc.trincoll.edu/weblogs/AmericanReligionSurvey-ARIS/reports/ARIS_Report_2008.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-04-01.
Reading through these two articles it is interesting to me to reflect on the times during which each is written. The Library of Congress article shows religious intolerance by suspending the kids because they believed it was a moral sin to salute the flag. On the flip side, it seems as though so many laws have been passed to protect the religious rights that we have been stripped of our religious rights. The major difference in the articles is the way of thinking in regard to the times. It is amazing how much has changed in less than one hundred years.
Moment of Silence. What’s the big deal? This article is just an example of people looking to find something that might offend them and running with it. It is not stated in any school, because it is a law, that the moment of silence is for prayer. Therefore, I believe that this court case is ridiculous because it seems as though the atheist man and his daughter are looking for any way that they could possibly be wronged by our public education system. It seems to me that we as Americans teach tolerance, tolerance, tolerance, but when it comes to the dominant faith in America, people from other faiths could also extend that same gratitude. The moment of silence could be used to pray to any god, think, not think, whatever, just be quiet for one minute. What’s the big deal?
Evolution, Weaknesses of Evolution, and Creationism. First of all, let me say that I am shocked that creationism is not taught in schools today as merely another possible opinion on how man was created. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think that we should just stop at Christianity though; add in the take of what all world religions think about the becoming of man. I think that by not adding this into the equation is again, religious intolerance. In A 2008 survey 76% of all U.S. adult citizens identify themselves as Christians. Why do we not have the right to even open this option up in class as merely a discussion forum? We don’t want to offend anyone. I know that I am not politically correct in saying most of this, especially as a public school teacher, however, I for one am offended.
Jehovah’s Witness refused to salute the American Flag. I for one believe that the purpose of school should be to educate the children and not force them to salute our national symbols. You have got to know that no ten year old child on his own believes that saluting the flag is a form of idolatry. These kinds of notions come from parents at home. This is another example of what’s the big deal. Was the school and court wrong for expelling the children for not participating in the flag ritual, absolutely. Let’s just teach the kids, it’s not like they were destroying the flag, or reaping havoc during the pledge ceremony. Why would they not be allowed to sit or stand quietly so that they did not have to feel as though they were betraying their parents and religion?
Barry A. Kosmin and Ariela Keysar (2009). "AMERICAN RELIGIOUS IDENTIFICATION SURVEY (ARIS) 2008" (PDF). Hartford, Connecticut, USA: Trinity College. http://b27.cc.trincoll.edu/weblogs/AmericanReligionSurvey-ARIS/reports/ARIS_Report_2008.pdf. Retrieved on 2009-04-01.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Innovators and Makers of Education
My personal thoughts regarding the innovators and makers would be first to say that every story has two sides. The innovator and maker that I feel truly influenced public education, as we know it today would be John D. Rockefeller and Horace Mann. My initial thoughts regarding the makers and innovators would be that the makers seemed like the rich robber barons that took control of the public schools through the use of money and power. Gatto’s site reiterated what my perspective was of the Rockefeller name when hearing it. After reading through the PBS site, the innovators seemed as though they are the people that did the dirty work of fighting for the advancement of public education through their personal time and energy.
The thing that stood out to me about Horace Mann (the innovator that I choose) was that he argued for public education in economic terms saying that it would increase the wealth of individuals, cities, states, and the country. Mann also believed that “moral training” would be beneficial to the growing numbers of the urban poor. I think that this has never been more relevant than today. Just walking through the schools today, you can see the lack of morals that exist and the absence of appreciation for education. I strongly believe that without education families will continue to live in poverty for generations to come.
The maker that I choose to research was John D. Rockefeller. Just hearing the name makes you think of a money tycoon, someone with extreme wealth and power. It was interesting to learn that Rockefeller was mainly raised by his mother in a modest upbringing. According to http://johndrockefeller.org/, Rockefeller’s mother taught him to work, save, and give to charities. Rockefeller followed what he was taught and gave generously to education. He founded the General Education Board that later became known as the Rockefeller Foundation. The General Education Board helped to establish high schools in the South. In 1919 Rockefeller donated $50,000,000 to the Board to raise teacher salaries during WWI when salaries were extremely low. In just sixteen years Rockefeller transferred $235,000,000 to the Board for the advancement of education. The two men had different roles in the forming of education in the US, although both were instrumental in shaping where we are now.
The thing that stood out to me about Horace Mann (the innovator that I choose) was that he argued for public education in economic terms saying that it would increase the wealth of individuals, cities, states, and the country. Mann also believed that “moral training” would be beneficial to the growing numbers of the urban poor. I think that this has never been more relevant than today. Just walking through the schools today, you can see the lack of morals that exist and the absence of appreciation for education. I strongly believe that without education families will continue to live in poverty for generations to come.
The maker that I choose to research was John D. Rockefeller. Just hearing the name makes you think of a money tycoon, someone with extreme wealth and power. It was interesting to learn that Rockefeller was mainly raised by his mother in a modest upbringing. According to http://johndrockefeller.org/, Rockefeller’s mother taught him to work, save, and give to charities. Rockefeller followed what he was taught and gave generously to education. He founded the General Education Board that later became known as the Rockefeller Foundation. The General Education Board helped to establish high schools in the South. In 1919 Rockefeller donated $50,000,000 to the Board to raise teacher salaries during WWI when salaries were extremely low. In just sixteen years Rockefeller transferred $235,000,000 to the Board for the advancement of education. The two men had different roles in the forming of education in the US, although both were instrumental in shaping where we are now.
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