While I was reading Finn's article, I started thinking about my own schooling experience in a middle class neighborhood. Day after day, I would wake up at 6 am, walk in the same classrooms and complete"busy work" that the teachers practically threw at our faces. I can't believe I spent twelve years of my life doing this. Twelve Years! I felt like I was on an assembly line being put together piece by piece, and when completed I looked like everyone else. Really, it didn't matter if you were smart or not, you just had to cheat the system to pass and move on to the next grade. “If you got
enough right answers, you got a good grade." That one sentence alone represents the entirety of the 12 year education system that I was put through. No student actually understood what the teacher was saying, we just had to memorize, write it down on paper and then forget it. Just think about this; if students were encouraged to be independent thinkers and challenge what was being taught to them, then maybe we wouldn't have wasted all of those years sitting in desks passing notes to friends. Growing up, getting good grades was important to me just so I could pass each grade and go to a good college. By no means did I think I would actually use anything I learned in the real world. “The dominant theme in the
middle-class school was possibility.There was widespread anxiety about tests and grades but there was a
pervasive belief that hard work would pay off” When I struggled with some subjects at school, I frequently told myself that "This work doesn't really matter. What matters is that I graduate and move on to something more exciting than this." SAdly, not all students can look forward to college after graduating (if they graduate). This counrty needs a new education system before students give up on themselves.
Tonight, December 5 at 7pm in SU 307, the FEET club will be hosting a Toys for Tots Movie Night! There will be food, raffles, games and we will be watching the Polar Express. Please bring a toy to help children in need!
In the article "Education is Politics" by Shor, she argues that the education system in the United States is not what it should be at all. Both students and teachers are not benefitting from our country's educational system. There are rules teachers must go by in every state, town, school district and school which leaves no room for trying to be original. Students are taught not to question their learning, just scribble down notes, memorize and regurgitate that information on the next test. Shor says that so many teachers are unhappy with the curriculum they must go by.
"People are naturally curious." Shor states. If students are not "allowed" to be curious and ask questions, then how do people expect them to learn? For students to be interested in learning, teachers must encourage them to ask questions and be involved. Lessons should be largely based on the students in mind, not what they are required to learn.
I agree with what Shor says about our education system. Something needs to change before every kid in school ends up dropping out. Going to school should not be a chore,it should be fun, engaging and interesting to both the students and teachers. As a student who attended public schools, I always thought of school as a chore. Having to wake up at 6 am and sit in class filling out worksheet after worksheet until 3 pm every day. I barely remember anything I learned. Only if the curriculum was different, we would have learned so much more and we wouldn't have wasted 12 years of our childhood sitting in a classroom day after day.
For my post,I am going to write about Vanessa's blog. I can relate to what she wrote because we both found the article interesting, even though we aren't special education majors. At my high school, the kids with special needs were also segregated into their own classrooms, had their own teachers aids and lunch tables. Vanessa argued that just because those students are different, it does not mean they should be excluded from the school community and should be treated equally. She included articles about community schools, where students can get a proper education according to their needs. One article Vanessa posted included pros and cons of children with special needs going to a mainstream school versus a school/classroom exclusively for special needs. Vanessa said that parents should have the option to chose where they place their children. I agree with that, because a learning style that works for one child may not work for another.She also included an interesting video about a girl Lily who has Down's syndrome.Her mom believes she will benefit from attending a special needs school, as well as explaining why other parents would want their child to attend a mainstream school.
I think both mainstream schools and special needs schools both have pros and cons. Parents should have the option of placing their child in the school that benefits their learning. Not every child with special needs is the same, so they shouldn't be treated the same that by just placing them in any old school with no regard for their learning and well being.
I included an article that was interesting.It's about a child who went to a mainstream and a special needs school, and his parent explains which one worked best for him. Click to find out which!
I attended Promising Practices on November 3 along with most of my FNED class. I was not looking forward to waking up early to go to this 8am conference. With a large Dunkin' coffee in hand, I easily found where the class was; sitting squished together at the two front tables, erupting with laughter.
The main guest speaker was Dr. Dana Fusco, who focused her speech on Youth Development-Promoting equity through child and youth agency. It captured my interest because since my major is early childhood education, I want the best for my future students and will do anything to help them. Dr. Fusco focused on youth programs that help children thrive, programs that help provide a healthy ecology for thriving. Sadly, not all of these opportunities are available to all youth.
Ecology for Thriving
- Physical/mental safety
-Appropriate structure
-Support for efficiancy
-Oppurtunities for skill building
-Supportive relationships
-Opportunities to belong
-Positive social norms
-Integration of family/school/community efforts
All of these are necessary components of youth programs to help children thrive.
Why are afterschool programs effective?
Creates trusting relationships, hands on activities, builds confidence, events that celebrate accomplishments.
For my first workshop, I attended Anti-Bullying: Create Positive School Culture through Effective Communication,by presenters Rebecca Ferry and Joe Pirraglia. This workshop was about creating a sense of community and equality between students. My presenters worked in a middle school so even though I want to teach the younger students, I can easily use the techniques I learned in daily lesson plans. A quote that struck a chord with my was " If kids don't feel safe, they're not going to learn." It makes me realize how important it is for every student to feel respected and cared for, no matter their age. To help their middle school kids respect and get along, each team of students has a weekly meeting. They can talk about issues with friends, family and school. Games like the human knot and "If You Really Knew Me" are played, as well as weekly challenges, like Buddy Day, Lunch Buddies and Unity Week.
This workshop reminded me of the blog post we did about the GLSEN website, that had different tool kits and activites for different age groups that help prevent bullying. It would be great for every school to have a mandated Anti-Bullying campaign. The GLSEN website has a tool kit called "Ready, Set, Respect!" which I think would be great to incorporate in daily classroom activities. In middle school, kids just start figuring out who they are, their sexuality, friends, hobbies, as well as trying to accept their appearances. Bullying at this age is such an important and ongoing issue and it is so important for teachers to be aware of their students and report anything wrong with the students. You never know, you could be saving a life.
Middle School Anti-Bullying Video
My second workshop was Having a Valuable Place in the World:Young Children Telling Stories, Writing and Drawing, presented by Martha Horn, Natasha White and Julie Slater. This workshop emphasized the importance of children expressing their thoughts and feelings by placing them on paper. Writing is favorited by children because of the freedom they have to express themselves, instead of trying to find the one right answer to a math problem.Meaningful work is really motivating. We watched a video including a little boy in a first grade class who was just clearly so excited about the story he made. The presenters told us that the little boy is usually withdrawn and barely participates in classwork. It was awesome seeing this boy smiling and showing his work to every child and teacher around him. The story was meaningful to him and wanted to show it off.
MEANINGFUL WORK children are proud of
LANGUAGE that honors and respects learners
ENVIORNMENT where children can engage in meaningful work
In class, we talked about how easy it is for kids to just close their book, sit back, fold their arms and say "I'm done." If they are not surrounded by a caring enviornment, they will be quickly be disinterested in the work. It is important for kids to be excited to learn. If they don't feel like they matter or not important, they won't show it.
"Education must provide the opportunities for self fulfillment; it can, at best, provide a rich and challenging environment for the individual to explore in his/her own way." Noam Chomsky
After the workshops, we met back in "the Don" for lunch and the unconference. Dr. Bogad and the ALLIED group gave a presentation. ALLIED is made of students of different races, cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations. They each introduced themselves and talked a little about themselves. I learned a lot from them. You have to accept everyone for who they are, never assume anything about a person, acknowledge that not everyone is straight or identifies with the gender they were born with. ALLIED talked about how code switching should be accepted. Code switching is when a person switches between languages in a conversation. We talked about code switching in class, and it was also in the article "Teaching Multilingual Children" by Virginia Collier.At the end of the unconference, there was a chance for people from the audience to talk and give their input about the conference or their own experiences. It was great to see that a couple kids from my FNED class volunteered to talk.
In the end, I was happy I went to the conference. I learned so much about promoting equality through youth and I plan on using the strategies I learned when I become a teacher. It was a great experience and I plan on going to another conference in the future.
"More than a half-century after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education
school desegregation ruling, we are still trying as a country to
validate and justify the discredited concept of separate but equal
schools — the very idea supposedly overturned by Brown v. Board when it
declared, “Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." Bob Herbert
" Schools are no longer legally segregated, but because of residential
patterns, housing discrimination, economic disparities and long-held
custom, they most emphatically are in reality."
These quotes, written by Bob Herbert from the New York Times couldn't explain the situation any better. Yes, maybe schools aren't literally separated by race anymore, that doesn't mean it completely got erased. We see it all around us and hear about it on the news. Many students from different races and cultures usually go to a school as good as where they live. Poor black children may go to a school that is run down, with 40 students packed into a room with minimal supplies.On the other hand,rich or middle class white kids might go to a school with all the newest technology and the best test scores. Schools are still segregated, even though many people still act oblivious to it all. I went to a school where all the kids were 95% white. It was a middle class neighborhood, and we had the school to show for it. Not every student will have an equal education since it mainly depends on where they live and their cultural background.
overview: -agrees with parental notification
- supports adoption
-pro life
-disagrees with stem cell research
OVERALL: I agree with Obama's views on abortion. I think the woman should have the choice of whether or not they want to keep the baby. It's her body and no one, especially a man, should ever tell her how to live her own life.
