NCLB and Charter Schools

Great job guys!!!! You did a really great job explaining NCLB. I am really thankful for it because it is such a confusing law. It was also interesting to see how some of the language of the law was confusing and really vague. The candy demonstration was also a great way to show how the allocation of funds was based and moved on standardized test scores. I also really liked the video on charter schools. I think that many people have this idea that charter schools are the best schools to have because they have more options open to them, but because they don’t have the funding that public schools have they actually have fewer resources which can actually hinder education. I also really enjoyed creating our own charter school. It was interesting to see what people thought were the most important aspects of their schools. Overall great job guys.

Nation at Risk

Nation at Risk states that America is falling behind educationally to the rest of the world. It points out that people in our country at this time do not have the necessary skills to compete in the global economy. These are due to the shortfalls in our educational system. Some indicators of this are that students are not doing as well on standardized tests as they did 26 years ago. In short the educational system was not compensating for the rapid advances happening in technology and the sciences. Schools are focus too much on rudimentary skills instead of deeper thinking. 25 years later Nation at Risk is still being analyzed. Regan wanted to stop cutting the education budget and educational spending has risen dramatically. It also helped the educational system by improving teachers and schools. However, changes still need to be made.

I think that there are a lot of things that are said in Nation at Risk that still needed to be worked on. For example, some school still focus on just rudimentary skills, students are almost like robots and just repeat answers back to the teacher. There needs to be more focus on literacy and deeper thinking in all subject areas. Literacy itself is also still on the decline. The more use of the internet, students are actually reading less and have a hard time pulling out deeper issues of the text. Technology is still ever increasing. To be an effective teacher we need to understand technology and know how to use it. We also need to have a deep understanding of how our students use technology in their everyday lives. Teachers themselves are being held more accountable but it is a slow process. Many older teachers hold to old values and thus become ineffective.

Reflection

Classroom Organization and environment: I really think that the classroom should be organized in a way that makes students comfortable. For example, all students should be able to see me as well as each other. This is important to foster conversation and discussion. Students should also have some say as to what they see in the classroom. One idea on how to promote this is to give each class a section of a wall and have them decorate it themselves. Also with things such as lighting that will depend on the day. I would say that on a particularly sunny day it would be better to use natural light instead of the normal classroom lights and if it closer to the beginning or end of the year, even find reasons to go outside. These kinds on accommodations can really help students be comfortable in the environment and help foster their learning experience.

Motivation: This is one of the toughest areas I think. The key for motivation is that students need to be interested in what I am teaching. It needs to be interesting to them and it needs to relate to their everyday lives, or what they want to do in the future. This in itself should help students be motivated to learn. Also giving a choice of assignments could do this as well. Every student is different so the areas in which they express themselves the best is also different. Also I think that giving students a day every so often to have fun, just a silly activity that has a relation to the activity, would be a great motivator in itself.

Discipline: This is going to have to change depending on the situation at hand. I think it is beneficial for the class to come up with its own set of rules for most things and also the consequence for breaking the rule as well. This gives students the freedom to decide what they think is acceptable in the classroom. However, some situations might force me to be extremely authoritative in the classroom. Issues like any type of violence have school policies that I have to follow and students will not be given a choice on the matter of the consequence.

Assessment: Assessment will be a combination of formative and summative assessments. Unfortunately some “normal” exams and quizzes will be given, but will be done in such a way that students are forced to use deeper thinking methods. Students will apply what they know from theory and apply it to new situations. This will be done, for example, in labs, especially in inquiry labs where students decide what they want to test. Students will also have options of portfolios, videos, music, and a variety of other options to get away from the traditional testing methods.

Learning focus: This will have to be on a multitude of things. One would have to be the nature of science. This is critical because it demonstrates how all science works and the possible flaws of science as well. Also this will coincide with key facts and knowledge of the biological world. I also think that learning needs to focus on the individual and the development of the student. It is also important for students to learn how to work together because after all we all live in a society and thus need to learn how to talk and work with one another.

Technology Integration: Technology is a must have in the modern day classroom. Students use it and are surrounded by it in their everyday lives both inside and outside of school. In order to be an effective teacher, I need to take this into account and use it to my advantage and the advantage of my students. This also includes teaching the students the skills they need in order to live in a world that is completely dominated by technology.

Teaching and Leadership Style: I think as a teacher I will have to embody three different types of teaching styles. One is realism that is more teacher centered. It focuses on helping students arrive at the causes of things and explore their own intelligence. I also really agree that both students and teachers are considered students, because even as a teacher I will not stop learning. However, there is some inflexibility with only teaching in this method and also include some pragmatism and existentialism as well.

Eduvation Reflection

Classroom Organization and environment: I really think that the classroom should be organized in a way that makes students comfortable. For example, all students should be able to see me as well as each other. This is important to foster conversation and discussion. Students should also have some say as to what they see in the classroom. One idea on how to promote this is to give each class a section of a wall and have them decorate it themselves. Also with things such as lighting that will depend on the day. I would say that on a particularly sunny day it would be better to use natural light instead of the normal classroom lights and if it closer to the beginning or end of the year, even find reasons to go outside. These kinds on accommodations can really help students be comfortable in the environment and help foster their learning experience.

Motivation: This is one of the toughest areas I think. The key for motivation is that students need to be interested in what I am teaching. It needs to be interesting to them and it needs to relate to their everyday lives, or what they want to do in the future. This in itself should help students be motivated to learn. Also giving a choice of assignments could do this as well. Every student is different so the areas in which they express themselves the best is also different. Also I think that giving students a day every so often to have fun, just a silly activity that has a relation to the activity, would be a great motivator in itself.

Discipline: This is going to have to change depending on the situation at hand. I think it is beneficial for the class to come up with its own set of rules for most things and also the consequence for breaking the rule as well. This gives students the freedom to decide what they think is acceptable in the classroom. However, some situations might force me to be extremely authoritative in the classroom. Issues like any type of violence have school policies that I have to follow and students will not be given a choice on the matter of the consequence.

Assessment: Assessment will be a combination of formative and summative assessments. Unfortunately some “normal” exams and quizzes will be given, but will be done in such a way that students are forced to use deeper thinking methods. Students will apply what they know from theory and apply it to new situations. This will be done, for example, in labs, especially in inquiry labs where students decide what they want to test. Students will also have options of portfolios, videos, music, and a variety of other options to get away from the traditional testing methods.

Learning focus: This will have to be on a multitude of things. One would have to be the nature of science. This is critical because it demonstrates how all science works and the possible flaws of science as well. Also this will coincide with key facts and knowledge of the biological world. I also think that learning needs to focus on the individual and the development of the student. It is also important for students to learn how to work together because after all we all live in a society and thus need to learn how to talk and work with one another.

Technology Integration: Technology is a must have in the modern day classroom. Students use it and are surrounded by it in their everyday lives both inside and outside of school. In order to be an effective teacher, I need to take this into account and use it to my advantage and the advantage of my students. This also includes teaching the students the skills they need in order to live in a world that is completely dominated by technology.

Teaching and Leadership Style: I think as a teacher I will have to embody three different types of teaching styles. One is realism that is more teacher centered. It focuses on helping students arrive at the causes of things and explore their own intelligence. I also really agree that both students and teachers are considered students, because even as a teacher I will not stop learning. However, there is some inflexibility with only teaching in this method and also include some pragmatism and existentialism as well.

Voices

One of the philosophers that I identified with was Comeinius. Everyone is entitled to a good education no matter who they are or where they come from. In some ways some people in the world still do not think that others deserve an education. I also agreed with Pestalozzi’s view that we need to teach to the whole child. I really have a hard time having kids just sit there and literally listen to me the entire day, they need to able to be active and creative, all the different sides of them should be allowed to come out in the classroom. Children have a lot going on in their lives that can effect them in the classroom and that needs to be taken account for because it can really impact their learning. This also includes those that have disabilities. Every child has the capacity to learn in their own special way and there needs to be a variety of teaching methods used in order to accomplish this. I really also liked Dewey’s view that teachers need to teach the process of thinking and although facts might be somewhat important thinking about those facts and how they relate to other things is actually more important. Students really need to be given the opportunity to think deeply about different issues.

Standardized Testing

First I want to say that you all did a great job. I actually really liked that you played music before class even though it was not related to the actual subject at had. You were all really professional and spoke clearly. Also great job in pulling us back from kind of getting side tracked. Sometimes that is really had to do when the entire class is laughing. I really liked that you had us compare the two different types of assessment. We could clearly see the differences in both types and why one might work better than the other. I also really liked how we discussed the art of test taking and how these skills are really the only ones that are needed in order to pass a test like the SATs. Overall, great job guys it was really fun.

Bright Futures

The commission that was doing this points out that there isn’t a model for successful middle schools. They also state the need to balance the goal of education as well as the need of improvement and that current research. Also they recognize that middle schoolers need have skills in tune with the 21st century. It also emphasizes the importance that middle school has in connection to elementary school and high school. Many of Maine schools have not implemented programs and practices that have shown from research to work. There are core principles that need to be implemented in the middle schools in order to achieve the goal of having all middle school students learning at a high level. Some of the core principles that need to be recognized are that academic success of students are more likely to happen if students development needs are met. Also schools must use evidence to show that they are successful schools. There also must be opportunities for high learning. The middle school also needs to prepare its students for the next level of their education as well as life beyond. There are twelve core practices for effective middle schools, the first is that students have access to curriculum that is relevant, challenging, integrative, and exploratory and is organized and executed to maximize accessibility for all students. Another is teachers in all content areas use teaching and learning practices that are anchored in 21st century classroom. Also students need to have access to a co-curriculum program that encourages all students to participate, develop skills, be a member of a team or activity, and simply have fun. Lastly teachers, administrators and staff who are responsible for the education of young adolescents are knowledgeable about their developmental needs and appreciate them for their uniqueness. This commission also made recommendations on how this can be done in the middle school.
Two things really stuck me about this commission. One is how they seem to value the importance of 21st century skills. This is so important, not only for students but for teachers as well. I really don’t think someone should be teaching if they do not have any knowledge of technology. More and more of it is coming out every day and educators; we need to be able to use these technologies to our advantage. We also need to know how these technologies affect our students. I also really liked how the curriculum needs to be set up so that it is relevant as well as interesting to students. If a student is not interesting in the subject, chances are, he or she will not want to learn about it. Also I think it is really important for students learn how to work with people and one of the core principals states this. I also think that they acknowledge that students need to have fun.

Technology Intergration

First of all GREAT JOB!!!! You guys did an awesome job pulling together all of these different resources. I am not even really sure where to begin. I really really liked the must haves section. There were so many websites and resources that I have never seen before that can be extremely useful. For example, trackstar was awesome. It is great to have all these different mini webquests that are full of just amazingly rich information. I also really liked paper rater I think it will still really help students who might have issues with plagiarism. In the teacher tech section I really liked Casa Note. The content section was also awesome with the different content related games. Overall awesome job it was a really fun learning experience.

Classroom Management Presentation

I am really glad that we had a presentation about classroom management because I feel, personally, that this is one area in which I am not strong. This presentation did a really great job of showing us the history and different styles of classroom management. The activity at the end of the presentation was great because it forced us to deal with some complicated classroom management issues. The paper itself has awesome resources and a great deal of wealth on the information. The only suggestion I have is to not read directly off the paper and possibly have the class a little more involved in the conversation. Maybe asking us what we thought an authoritarian teacher is before explaining it to us. Otherwise AWESOME job guys!!

The 8 Philosophies

Essentialism: This is more of a teacher-centered approach. The essentialist believes in that schools need to teach essential material as well as enforce hard work and mental discipline. They also want to teach cultural heritage and develop skills so students can be good citizens.

Behaviorist: A behaviorist believes that by carefully regulating the classroom environment the teacher can heavily influence the behavior of the students. The classroom environment has to be heavily organized and the curriculum is based on behavior objectives. Reinforcement is critical for a behaviorist.

Positivism: This focuses on empirical verification. They also state and identify what the students need to learn and master. Students are encouraged to practice and recite what is to be learned. This can also be done using different forms of media.

Progressivism: This emphasizes ideas that all ideas should be tested by experimentation. Also learning is student driven by having the learning process rooted in students' questions. They emphasize how to think instead of what to think. Education is extremely experience orientated.

Humanism: This educational philosophy focuses on the innate goodness of the individual. It does not use group-orientated education, but instead focuses on the individual. Students are encouraged to make their own choices and teachers base instruction and education based on students' interests.

Constructivism: This educational philosophy emphasizes personal hands on activity-based learning. This encourages a variety of different learning techniques. Constructivism focuses on problem based learning.

Perennialism: They focus on ideas that are everlasting to teach truths that are constant and never change. Its focus is that students find these truths by reasoning and revelation. Analyzing the work of histories finest thinkers and writers does this and it is also extremely teacher centered.

Reconstructionism: This philosophy addresses social questions and it also strives to create a better society. The curriculum is focused on social reform. It deals with many different important social issues that occur in societies.

I am not sure which one I really connect with most, but there are parts of some that I really agree with. For example, I really do think that the physical environment in which students learn greatly affect them. Learning is optimal when a student is comfortable. I also really agree with the progressivist notion of teaching student how to think instead of what to think. Treating the student like an individual is also important which coincides with humanism. Hand on activities and different learning techniques are also really important.

Empowerment

There was not a lot in this chapter that really stood out to me. However, there was one entry which really shows how much of an impact you can have on a student if you show how much you really care. In 147 Frankie is the one that never seems to come around while he was in school, no matter how much it seemed that his teacher seemed to care about him. However, four years later he contacts this teacher saying that he or she was right and now understood what he or she was trying to do. I think this needs to happen more often. Many teachers do not actually care about the students that they are teaching. They don’t care what happens to them in school never mind what might happen to them once they leave school for the day. A lot of kids just really need someone to care about them and show them they are worth it. Sometimes it is the teachers job to fulfill this role.

Philosophies

Idealism is the search and value universal and absolute truths. In education the idea is actually more important than the subject being taught. They also emphasize great leaders to be used as role models. They emphasize questions that provoke thought. Realism is focused on scientific reasoning and metaphysics. They also emphasize the importance of scientific development and research. Pragmatism is the belief that everything changes and is evolving. There are no unchanging ideas and they place a great deal of emphasis on what it means to actually know something. They also believe that it is best to learn through experience like realism. Pragmatism also stresses the application of knowledge and using ideas for problem solving. Existentialism believes that there is nothing absolute and that there isn't any ultimate principal or reasoning. The individuals are responsible for the creation of their own meaning or essence. They accept scientific knowledge but consider it to be limited it. Most significant knowledge is personal and nonscientific. Existentialism feel that standardized testing, tracking, measurement, and standardization do not create opportunities for personal choice and direction.

I do not think that I fall into one or two particular categories. There is a little bit of all of them that I agree with. The one that I relate to the most is Realism just because of my interest in science. Really believe that in order to be a successful you have to use thought provoking questions and have to use your own knowledge and ideas to problem solve which is a part of idealism. I also really agree that standardization limits the amount of choices and creativity that students are able to have.

School Days Present

I think the most interesting aspect of the video is that schools are more like a business than a school. While I was in the public school system I always though that schools were not businesses they were schools and schools prepared me for my future outside of it. What shocked me the most was that some school districts allowed private companies to essentially run the schools. While I can see the advantage to have buildings that aren't crumbling and enough supplies to do my job, I am still uncomfortable with idea of private companies running schools. I also am not sure what to think about vouchers. I think essentially the idea is a good one, but I don't think it is a good idea to take funds away from public schools. Ideally if public schools were being supported the way that they should be, we wouldn't need vouchers or even choice programs.

Rejuvenation

The entry that stood out to me the most was number 127 with Manie. I cannot imagine being brought up in a place that has an opinion like that. Being raised Jewish my mom made sure that I knew the persecution my people went through. All because we believed in something different that I never really considered some people to still be at the opposite end of the spectrum. I completely understand how Manie felt walking into the boxcar. It really hits home what happened and how people were treated during that era. The museum forces you to walk though it and when I got there I really didn't want to. It would just hit home how many people died and what people went through. For Manie it was the realization that humanity can be really cruel.

Disillusionment

This chapter shows even more that teachers have lives and in having lives they too can become overwhelmed. I think in this chapter it shows that not only can teachers save their students, but students can also save their teachers. I really hope that I have some students that can see through my shield and understand that I can have difficult times as well. Although I wonder how much sharing is crossing the line. I want my students to understand that I can suffer hardships as well, but I am not sure how much I can actually share with them. I want to think that my classroom is going to be like one big happy family that can tell anything to one another. However, there are some issues that students probably shouldn’t know about each other or should know about me. How much is too much?

Generations

In the work place the generation that the person is from greatly affects everything in how the person thinks and responds to people. Learning how to communicate with all the different generations will help and will make it easier for people to communicate and work together. Often generations do not understand other generations. Each generation has their own underlying values and characteristics.

The only effect I see this having between my students and I are technology and instant gratification. Many students in the younger part of the generation expect instant gratification with everything that they do. However, with education things like this do not happen instantly. Also this generation will already be miles ahead of me technology wise. Even though I consider myself to be computer savy, I did not grow up with computers, ipods, and or cell phones. These came later in my life. Also as a new teacher who does know how to use technology and understands new teaching techniques this might cause friction with the older generations. These generations tend to stick to more traditional ways of teaching.

Engagement

The chapter engagement makes me realize how many students just need someone. They need someone to listen to their story and to care about them because sometimes that is what is missing from their lives. As a teacher I really hope that I can accomplish this. That I can show my students that I am there for them and will help them achieve their goals as much as I can. In reality I am not going to be a teacher of only biology, but show my students that even though their present might be bleak their future is bright. It takes hard work and determination, but their goals will always be reachable if they just stretch a little farther. It’s going to be hard for me not to go all out with my students, part of me is afraid that I will become too involved, but sometimes it is necessary.

The Story of School 1950-1980

I think the most interesting aspect of this episode is that all these issues really happened only 50-60 years ago. In my head they seem like they are so far in the past and people should already be accepting of the people we use to separate in our society. It makes more sense now that some people believe that women still need to just stay in the house to cook or clean, or that African Americans and other ethnic groups should still be educated in separate schools. The same goes for those who have disabilities. Many people do not believe that children with disabilities have the right or even the capacity to learn. The other thing that also really surprised me is that even when the Supreme Court ruled in Brown vs. Topeka School Board that it still took nine years for the law to be enforced. States still had segregated schools until money became involved and then schools stopped being segregated. It still bothers me that our society still holds onto some of these values and gender biases. It just shows even more the different ideals of the different generations.

The Story of School 1900-1950

I think what was the most shocking about this video is the treatment of immigrants and native Americans. We are still completely set on the American way that we completely forget about the benefits of cultural diversity. For example, schools during this time period would prohibit native languages from being spoken in the classroom and would give these children books only in English and gave them books on patriotism. Also only Christian and secular American holidays are recognized in the schools. This is still partially true today that only planned vacations fall on Christian holidays. I think the most upsetting topic of this program was the section on IQ tests. They were meant to see where students were and measure their intelligence but the tests were and still are extremely culturally biased. Even the SATs which stemmed from the IQ tests are biased and do not really measure anything of importance. Someone can easily study for the SATs, but still be a “poor” student in school.

Challenges

I don’t even know what to think about this chapter. Seeing these kids with these problems just completely breaks my heart. In an ideal world children would never see any kind of darkness, but unfortunately, our world is less than ideal. This also reminds me that as a teacher I have to remember that some of my students are going through things that I cannot even imagine and that the face that they put out into the world is not what they are truly feeling. This chapter reminds me that my students need to see me as a human being as well. I was really surprised with all the different issues some of these teachers went through while growing up. When I was in school, teachers never seemed to have issues they seems liked their lives were always perfect. This chapter reminds me that everyone has dark parts of their pasts, some are a lot worse than others.

Cultural Identity Shield

Anticipation

The first reading in this chapter really spoke to me. I remember on the first day of any class and even now in college being nervous and shy about speaking out in class. It’s that chance of possibly being horrible judged that most students are afraid of. This is going to be one of the most challenging obstacles that I will have to help my students face. When students first enter a class especially in high school they do not want to be singled out, they do not want to answer questions that might actually lead to who they truly are. In order for me to be s successful teacher I need my students to open up and show me who they are. I need to know how they learn, where they come from, what hardships they may suffer, and what they want to do in life. One of the most important details I need to know about my students is what they think of themselves and their future. Without that I cannot teach them what they need to know in order to survive in this world. They may not remember anything about biology when they leave my class, but maybe, I can help them become the people they want to become.

Diversity

In most public schools, teaching leans more towards uniformity than diversity. In order for education to be successful teachers and schools need to find a balance between these two concepts. Often different cultures clash with the culture that is emphasized in schools. Also students who are diagnosed with ADHD may not be because they actually have the disorder but because they are not in tune with the way the teacher is teaching or stresses from life outside school. Cognition consists of two different stages, perception and the gaining of knowledge. This knowledge is then used differently by different people and how this affects the person is also extremely individualized. Students who share cultural experiences may have similar ways of learning. A student’s way of learning is a combination of genetics and the environment in which they grew up. As educators we need to accept the fact that everyone learns in a different way.
It is not new knowledge that people think and learn in different ways, however, it is overwhelming, as a teacher, to realistically teach to each student individually. I think that in order my sanity that I will have to cross mix both diverse ways of teaching and uniformity by allowing the same concepts to be understood in many different ways. I remember as a student being restless when a teacher was boring me so in order to be a successful teacher I need to make sure that students are interested in what I am saying and how it can be relevant to their lives by understanding their culture and history. I realize too that some students cannot help the way that they learn and act. In order to be successful I have to adapt to them and find strategies that help them learn the key concepts that I am trying to teach.