Hey Guys,
Here are the questions as promised- along with my thought- feel free to comment.
Question: How can you get students to realize their equality and to show their benefit of it and potential?
Response: I think that you can treat each student fairly. Equal does not mean the same. Some students need more attention. Also remember chapter six- one key term was deficit model- I would say- regardless of a students background- view them as a person with potential to learn. Their experience can be a benefit. Use it in the construction of your lessons.
Q: One person in their service learning observed the main focus of a class was the proficiency test. Is this still democratic education?
R: Good question, society elects policy makers who in turn, decide what should be the focus of students learning. By definition it is not democratic, especially when policy makers are unduly influenced by corporations, who have actually decided what the content of classrooms will be. I think you are getting at the issue- how can I as a teacher use democratic education when there are these curricular imperatives from administrators and policy makers?
Q: Is it realistic to believe that we can create project based learning with the time constraints and standards based on teachers?
R: I would say yes. It is realistic. You won't always do projects, you might do one per quarter, once you have gotten passed some information that is required for the test. I did it with state history and social studies mandates and standards/testing. I also had block -schedules when I taught high school and I only did one per quarter. Project-based learning is not the answer to everything, as testing is not- but they can be helpful when applied in the right dosage. Just my thoughts.. please- comments.
Q: What programs can you get involved with during break to further my career as an educator?
R: Well- there is an upcoming comparative education course to china, then another to the international institute on peace education, in addition to the peace education networks, and projects around Toledo- faculty are working with...
Q: What are good websites to look up our current education policies?
R I would say NYTIMES Education- they discuss nationwide education; for locally, the toledo blade (sometimes) and toledo free press - see http://www.toledofreepress.com/2010/11/14/vasquez-and-sobecki-state-they-are-serving-their-full-board-terms/
See the following link-Ms. Aurora Harris sent it to me - I think it will be interesting to all of you and has to do with info about public education you should be aware of: https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=1vCLg07Sq80N3WDhnMYi6z7hOXtqJcv1jrb-R3RjUfVx01ahS9CAQvt5wDarq&hl=en
Here is some links to law and and policy on education in ohio: http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3323
Q: Are there any other alternatives to standardized testing as a form of assessment?
R: Yes, but it has to be an official legal challenge to some kind of issue with the testing, your students that gives you recourse to challenge that assessment in court. These are my thoughts based on the schools that have been able to avoid testing.
Also- someone mentioned Reggio Emilia - see the following link http://hubpages.com/hub/alternative-schools
Q: Based on the film (waiting for superman-which I have not seen) How much of "bad education" is due to teachers vs the system which they must operate in?
R: A good teacher can make a difference in any system! But bad systems can wear down good teachers.
On another note- but related- you have to focus on the possibilities within what you have-not just the rules or restrictions- but what you can do!
Q: What advice can you offer beginner teachers to help them secure their positions within schools?
R: I would say- be willing to travel, look at programs all over the country, including education outside the classroom - for instance, Toledo Grows hires teachers to work with students. Think outside the box- be willing to write grants, start your own projects, teach in private, and charter schools. Ohio teaching licenses has some certification reciprocity with other states - so you might be able to teach somewhere else. One of my former students from Eastern Michigan is now teaching in near Effingham, Ill. Be open... Also, many prof.s around here have grant programs working in the community (including myself at pickett) think about ways to connect w/ those programs to get more experience. Also, consider starting after school programs, enhancement, etc, anyway to get at what you want to do- it is no longer a straight and narrow road.
Q: As a teacher starting out what must we be cautious of to protect our jobs but still be effective?
R: Like any job, be professional. Be on time, don't gossip, be nice and appropriate with students and parents, know the laws- but don't be over- zealous. By the time UT gets through with you and your 1st year you will have an instinct about these things- never stop learning and be willing to ask questions.
Q: As a teacher, how should we teach students moral development in relation to Kohlberg's levels?
R: This is a very detailed question- it could be a dissertation- so I will just go through it like this... In terms of the 1st stages- you can use stories you make up... (i.e. include your students in the stories) to describe morality and elicit responses through a series of questions, examples and situations... For Stage 2 you can take those same stories and ask them about the general rules of society and how it works with the family? ANd society? And so on with stage 3 in terms of international and universal issues or morality. This is a simplistic answer- but I have some curriculum that deals with teaching for tolerance to get students to the next levels. For all of you out there not familiar with Kohlberg- check out http://tigger.uic.edu/~lnucci/MoralEd/overview.html
_ There are so many ways to teach moral development- you can get students to act out a trial- ask them what the law is, then ask what were the mitigating circumstances for the crime, then say- pretend you are a parent, what would you do? Then go ask them to pretend they are part of the international court... Besides this you can use restorative justice to illustrate moral development... this is why lesson planning is so important- you can infuse themes into your curricula by being thoughtful and purposeful
Q: Does Race to the top vary by state? If so do they have their own set of policies per state/school?
R: Good question. Yes Race to the top varies by state- states did varying things to achieve the mandates of the policy- such as institute changes in laws- Ohio said it would hold teachers colleges accountable- test college students etc... to get the money. Ohio- I think got like 100 million - Ohio, then distributes to schools/ districts that use various method- which they communicate through the grant process- to show how they will improve student achievement. As a matter fact, I'm on a committee that will be applying for Race to the Top Ohio money to improve TPS achievement. Some states applied and did not get the grant money.
Lesson Plans
http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/category/language-arts/
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/category/lesson-plans/
http://www.facinghistory.org/resources/lessons_unit
If you guys know of sources for lesson plans please feel free to post- I will also bring in some books of lesson plans I have...
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In response to the question of equality among students and the ability to reach their potential, I feel as if the only thing that we can do along the way is help them see what is already there. Inspire them with challenges that they can reach and acquire more confidence. Through that, the students will be able to benefit and find their own potential that in the end will provide equality between the other students.
ReplyDeleteThat is a good point John Dewey says that the job of a teacher is to help them "gather their powers".
ReplyDeleteCan we watch the movie Waiting for Superman for one of our artifacts for our portfolio assignment? Just an idea...
ReplyDeleteI had a question for everyone... I love Spanish. With that being said, how can I correlate that to my students without coming down too hard on them and forcing them to like it too? I feel like I have so many ideas that I want to incorporate into my classroom but I don't know if I am crossing a line and doing something that the students hate. Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteyes, you can watch the movie- include a movie ticket as the articifact a a description- at least two paragraphs- 5 sentences each.
ReplyDeleteTo the question about equality: I agree with what has been said about making sur ethey realize their true potential. I think they should always be offered challenges and encouraged to work hard and accomplish all tasks no matter how difficult they may seem.
ReplyDeleteTo the question about projects: Can't you have the students do projects that will help them learn the standards they need to know. My concentration is chemistry so I think I would stay on the standards while having the students do a project about say the periodic table of the elements. They can do something interesting like create a slideshow or even a newsletter type paper about the table. This can be a fun project bvut they are still learning the standards they are reqiured to learn.
Morgan: Is your concentration Spanish? If so I think you should try to relate the language to something the students can use often. When I learned German I liked learning how to say things that I might say on a daily basis. For example, I say "was ist das?!" which mean "what is that" all the time. Students might enjoy the language more if they learn how to say things that they can use all the time.
I sort of disagree with the answer to the question is teaching to the proficiency test still democratic education. By definition wouldn't it be democratic because we do decide who is setting the standards. And by creating this standards they are trying to make the curriculum equal. Although everyone may not be learning on the same level they should be working toward the same goal. So standard based learning is ideally democratic but there are some holes created by achievement gaps.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the question of failing education being due to lack of good teachers (as expressed in the film Waiting For Superman), I think there's a point that perhaps is easily overlooked. When the question comes to teachers and a merit-pay system, obviously the Unions has traditionally opposed this and continue to oppose this. Perhaps not until our recent seminars did I get the full reasoning behind why Unions are important in protecting teachers and giving them a voice in the political sphere, as well as why merit-pay systems are unfair since the connection between teacher effectiveness and student success cannot be accurately measured.
ReplyDeleteThere were two main problems I had with these arguments. One, is that it seems to suggest that there is no way to measure whether or not one teacher is better than another (which is conducive to the Union's mission to ensure fair pay for teachers) and therefore perhaps that there is no link between a the quality of a teacher and student outcomes. If this is the suggestion, then I heard it as degrading to the idea that teachers can and do have a significant influence on their students. This is why i asked, "IF it could be measured accurately, would the Unions support a merit-pay system?"
The idea doesn't really sound all that bad to me, granted the methods of measurements were sound. If you're a really crappy teacher, why should you earn the same as a really motivated, passionate teacher that genuinely take their profession as an Educator seriously?
Which naturally leads me to my second grip; namely, that it's one question to ask: "What's best for teachers" in terms of protection, political accessibility, etc. but isn't the more important question: "What is best for education of the students?"
I dare say, that if the answers and values implied by the latter question is at odds with the values of the former, I would only hope that we, as future educators, would choose what's best for the education of our students over whether or not my job has less security.
It gave me chills when one of our speakers blatantly admitted he would "Sell us (the students) down the river" if it came to his paycheck being endangered.
I think the central point of the film Waiting for Superman was just this: That the best quality education of students be the first priority over teacher's salaries and tenure-status, and if, IF a better quality education system could be erected that didn't suit the contract of the Unions, perhaps teachers might be a little worse off (at least those that didn't work as hard), but students would better off. Speaking strictly for myself, I wouldn't mind having to endure assessment if it really meant better quality education for students, cause I think that's the ultimate goal in teaching. Of course the paycheck is no small potatoes, but i simply don't think it's the most important aspect of education, that is, if one is genuinely interested in advancing a progressive society rather than just getting paid.
Anyway, just some thoughts I've been having.
If i were to ask a follow-up question, i would want to know if it really is that hard to assess teach quality? If it really is "unquantifiable" to the extent that our speakers made it sound. Is it really an impossible task, and if not, is it worth undertaking if it might mean better quality education in America?
Just my thoughts...