Monday, April 19, 2010
Education Reform
Robinson states that “you cannot improve education by ignoring the essential focus on personal development”. I would agree with Robinson and say that education can be improved by allowing personal development of students. The challenge presented though is just how educators will allow students to focus on their personal development. For now, national education standardized are set in place ensuring that students across the United States are learning, preparing, and ready to compete for a higher education or in the work force. My student teaching experience in middle school this semester has presented to me how challenging students’ personal development can be. Many of the middle school students are at a stage in their lives where they believe they now what is best for them. This may be true for a selective few students but from my experiences and observations many do not. Any reform in education is going to have to start with the educators. It will be our role to incorporate the standards in the curriculum yet make time for the personal development of students.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
GEOSCIENCE RESOURCE!
Hey everyone,
I was just searching for a soils lesson plan on www.lessonplanet.com and found this website:
http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/index.html
It specifically pertains to Geoscience/ Earth Science, so it may be more helpful to some more than others but I thought I would post it because you never know what might come in handy!
I hope you're all doing well!
P.S. I'm still searching for a soil lesson I like; so if you have any ideas, please pass them along : )
I was just searching for a soils lesson plan on www.lessonplanet.com and found this website:
http://serc.carleton.edu/introgeo/index.html
It specifically pertains to Geoscience/ Earth Science, so it may be more helpful to some more than others but I thought I would post it because you never know what might come in handy!
I hope you're all doing well!
P.S. I'm still searching for a soil lesson I like; so if you have any ideas, please pass them along : )
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Education Reform
Well, this is a hot button issue. Yes, we need education reform. I do not have all the answers on how it should be reformed. However, Sir Ken Robinson does point out an interesting fact. He states that students are "systematically prevented from finding their true talents". I have to agree with this statement. I come from an educational system that was very misguided. The reason I agree with this statement is that from the time I was in the 7th grade through my high school career I was set on a systematic track. In my county, teachers decided in 7th grade what kind of math and English you were capable of taking in the 8th grade. The math is very crucial. You took either 8th grade math or algebra 1. And if you were told to take 8th grade math instead of algebra 1, the next year your teacher then chose whether or not you took algebra 1 in parts (like algebra 1 part 1 in 9th grade, algebra 1 part 2 in 10th grade). I was considered "smart" so I took algebra 1 in the 8th grade and was able to take AP calculus my senior year of high school to help prepare me for college. But to the kids who weren't considered smart took 8th grade math, algebra 1 in parts and geometry in parts. That meant they graduated high school without ever taking algebra 2, trigonometry, or calculus. Unfortunately, I had a cousin graduate with these minimal math skills, and he was told by the guidance counselor that he wouldn't be able to go to college. Well, I convinced him otherwise and he is now attending community college. It took him 3 years (due to having to take extra English and math classes to catch up to the college level) but he will graduate this spring with an associates degree. He plans on attending either longwood or jmu in the fall.
It broke my heart to hear the guidance counselor told someone that they couldn't go on to college. But, from where I am from, it is very common to graduate high school and not go on to college. People in the area were never really taught how valuable an education is. I saw so many kids fall through the cracks at my high school because teachers did not want to take the extra time to help the student excel in the classroom. They just told the student that they should take the subjects in parts and not try as hard. It bothers me so bad that there are teachers out there like that. Teachers who do not care what happens to the student; they just want the student to pass and move on.
So I guess the education reform that I think needs to happen is that there need to be teachers who care about their students and how well their students are succeeding in the classroom, and not just how well they are succeeding on the standardized tests. I'm not saying that all teachers are heartless beings. They aren't. I know that everyone in this program is becoming a teacher because they love the profession and want to make a difference in the world. The whole reason I became a teacher was to help motivate students and show them that they can do anything. I just wish more teachers were like that. Students should be told that they can go to college. Students should be told that they can be anything they want to be. Students should be taught that the future lies in their hands. Students should know that they are the future doctors, nurses, lawyers, policemen, teachers, congressmen, engineers, scientists, etc. of the world. And if they aren't educated enough to take care of this planet, then who will?
It broke my heart to hear the guidance counselor told someone that they couldn't go on to college. But, from where I am from, it is very common to graduate high school and not go on to college. People in the area were never really taught how valuable an education is. I saw so many kids fall through the cracks at my high school because teachers did not want to take the extra time to help the student excel in the classroom. They just told the student that they should take the subjects in parts and not try as hard. It bothers me so bad that there are teachers out there like that. Teachers who do not care what happens to the student; they just want the student to pass and move on.
So I guess the education reform that I think needs to happen is that there need to be teachers who care about their students and how well their students are succeeding in the classroom, and not just how well they are succeeding on the standardized tests. I'm not saying that all teachers are heartless beings. They aren't. I know that everyone in this program is becoming a teacher because they love the profession and want to make a difference in the world. The whole reason I became a teacher was to help motivate students and show them that they can do anything. I just wish more teachers were like that. Students should be told that they can go to college. Students should be told that they can be anything they want to be. Students should be taught that the future lies in their hands. Students should know that they are the future doctors, nurses, lawyers, policemen, teachers, congressmen, engineers, scientists, etc. of the world. And if they aren't educated enough to take care of this planet, then who will?
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Motorcars? Um...
From skimming a bunch of the blogs, pretty much everything has been said so warning: I'm just going to go and sorry if I repeat.
Have any of you experienced a time when, while reflecting on life, you come to the conclusion all Americans think the same way? Yeah, neither have I. Look how divided we are on political issues, religion, etc! If we were motorcars, then we would all be exact replicas, and anyone can see this is not the case.
Yes people have jobs they're not much concerned with. If we look at reasons for that, is the education system to blame? Perhaps it's a boring job, but they make a lot of money. Maybe they inherited the family business. Or maybe it was established when they were born they would be working for the community industry (e.g. mining). It's a complicated "problem".
I agree with Jay. The arguments for educational reform are trite because we all know that a radical transformation would take money and resources that aren't available. In an ideal world, we'd have a 1:1 teacher-student ratio and students would constantly be challenged the perfect amount. Not going to happen.
Yes schools are focused on certain abilities, but look at what's important in a society. I don't need to delve into the importance of citizens being literate and able to do math- it's obvious.We learned from the atomic bomb that science is power, so obviously schools will expose students to that field. Many students are good at soccer and football, but very few will play professionally, so should everyone do it? Having a nation where 50% of the population are artists won't help us stay on top. Sorry.
He also mentions competition. This, again, I feel is not the fault of the school systems, but rather the growing population. You can't have a 3.5 and have Tech be your backup school anymore because there are more people with higher GPAs who can fill those spots. Students aren't stressed because of standardized tests (at least the ones at my high school aren't) because they don't care. The ones who do care are stressed because of the pressure to attend college, not because they feel their education isn't liberal enough. Besides, in high school, we were given 3 elective courses to take what we wanted.
I want to see where he got his statistic about "more people..dropping out of education." Doing minimal research shows that the dropout rate is decreasing, and 2007 was the first year the drop out rate was less than 9% (www.nces.ed.gov). Dumb.
I agree there are some small changes that could occur, but a radical change isn't what we need.
http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=16
Have any of you experienced a time when, while reflecting on life, you come to the conclusion all Americans think the same way? Yeah, neither have I. Look how divided we are on political issues, religion, etc! If we were motorcars, then we would all be exact replicas, and anyone can see this is not the case.
Yes people have jobs they're not much concerned with. If we look at reasons for that, is the education system to blame? Perhaps it's a boring job, but they make a lot of money. Maybe they inherited the family business. Or maybe it was established when they were born they would be working for the community industry (e.g. mining). It's a complicated "problem".
I agree with Jay. The arguments for educational reform are trite because we all know that a radical transformation would take money and resources that aren't available. In an ideal world, we'd have a 1:1 teacher-student ratio and students would constantly be challenged the perfect amount. Not going to happen.
Yes schools are focused on certain abilities, but look at what's important in a society. I don't need to delve into the importance of citizens being literate and able to do math- it's obvious.We learned from the atomic bomb that science is power, so obviously schools will expose students to that field. Many students are good at soccer and football, but very few will play professionally, so should everyone do it? Having a nation where 50% of the population are artists won't help us stay on top. Sorry.
He also mentions competition. This, again, I feel is not the fault of the school systems, but rather the growing population. You can't have a 3.5 and have Tech be your backup school anymore because there are more people with higher GPAs who can fill those spots. Students aren't stressed because of standardized tests (at least the ones at my high school aren't) because they don't care. The ones who do care are stressed because of the pressure to attend college, not because they feel their education isn't liberal enough. Besides, in high school, we were given 3 elective courses to take what we wanted.
I want to see where he got his statistic about "more people..dropping out of education." Doing minimal research shows that the dropout rate is decreasing, and 2007 was the first year the drop out rate was less than 9% (www.nces.ed.gov). Dumb.
I agree there are some small changes that could occur, but a radical change isn't what we need.
http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=16
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Education Reform
Alright, this guy has obviously never observed C-burg High school. While he makes a lot of great points about students who are actually trying, he fails to address the students who gave up before they walked through the door on the first day of school. About 1/3 of my AP Chemistry class (well technically Dr. G's) and less than 10 students in my other two Chem 1 classes are motivated. And honestly I might just be hoping for those results. Dr. G's AP Chem students have done so poorly on there last few exams that he had no choice but to give re-takes because he could not bring himself to fail over 80% of the class. There is no one in there stressed enough to commit suicide over our standardized tests. One student who was failing did not care to try until her father took her car, cell phone, and credit cards, and then gave her a curfew. She came up to me the next day asking me what she could do to get a D--- just to get her stuff back. So standardized tests have no influence on students in this area. My Chem 1 students are only concerned with getting me to give them the chemical formulas for cocaine, crystal meth, and ecstasy so they can make them at home. Standardized tests are not the problem its the so-called parents of these students. They have no respect for authority, barely ever come dressed descent for school, and do not give a crap about a single grade. Their aspirations in life are selling drugs to high school students and catching a buzz.
With all that said, I can definitely see how standardized tests could put some unnecessary pressure on studious students, but you will have to find them somewhere else. I agree that teachers need to focus their attention on students strengths and help guide them into a career that is right for them, but that won't happen until parents start taking some of the responsibility.
Education Reform - JR
Sir Ken Robinson has some good talking points. Unfortunately, I think he loses me beyond that. It's very easy to judge and to point the finger, but it is very difficult to act and create a solution. Sure it would be wonderful to educate students only in the things they really love, but that leaves them woefully ignorant of many things that play important roles in our lives. I mean, I would have hated to take art in general. I probably would not have taken it at all (I am an awful artist in just about all fields... I can't even sing well!), but I am glad that I did because I have enjoyed being exposed to a wide variety of cultures, traditions, and artistic styles. And although my example is not particularly necessary to leading a successful life, like say basic math skills, it still has had an impact on my quality of life.
Improving our education system has been a goal for many, many years. The successes and failings of that goal are judged by a wide array of experts and regulars joes including students, teachers, parents, and politicians. This will always lead to a place where there are those who are discontent and it means there will constantly be a desire to alter the system. I am not saying that I am completely happy with how things are now, but a lot of the arguments leading in one direction or another seem to push for consideration of techniques or processes with a history in some educational setting or another. Interestingly, most of these practices have been abandoned in favor of some that we have in place now.
Anyways, before I ramble for too long, I want to talk about what I think the most important part of the video/article was. Sir Ken Robinson stated that the environment must be right for plants to grow. I would challenge that. It is my job as an educator to try my best to get students to a place where they can learn successfully, and this includes building a learning environment that is appealing to students. However, if the students have no motivation within themselves, in their own lives, to truly take advantage of the situation before them, how can they learn? You can change the system, the teachers, the subjects, the methods, and the scale, but if the student chooses not to, they won't learn. Plants grow because they must to survive. Students do not have such a harsh reality facing them, so the street is two ways.
My personal goal is to never stop trying. I will continue to reach out and try my hardest to encourage students to learn. Whether they choose to reach back is up to them. I hope that my classroom will truly engage and excite students, which in theory will motivate them to learn. In addition, I think that educating the students towards mastery will allow them to pass the tests that are put to them without compromising their education. It would be nice if I can move towards that goal while still meeting the expectations of the system that I am currently teaching in.
And who knows, maybe I'll get bold and go into policy later. Then I can try to find solutions in addition to griping about all the problems...
Improving our education system has been a goal for many, many years. The successes and failings of that goal are judged by a wide array of experts and regulars joes including students, teachers, parents, and politicians. This will always lead to a place where there are those who are discontent and it means there will constantly be a desire to alter the system. I am not saying that I am completely happy with how things are now, but a lot of the arguments leading in one direction or another seem to push for consideration of techniques or processes with a history in some educational setting or another. Interestingly, most of these practices have been abandoned in favor of some that we have in place now.
Anyways, before I ramble for too long, I want to talk about what I think the most important part of the video/article was. Sir Ken Robinson stated that the environment must be right for plants to grow. I would challenge that. It is my job as an educator to try my best to get students to a place where they can learn successfully, and this includes building a learning environment that is appealing to students. However, if the students have no motivation within themselves, in their own lives, to truly take advantage of the situation before them, how can they learn? You can change the system, the teachers, the subjects, the methods, and the scale, but if the student chooses not to, they won't learn. Plants grow because they must to survive. Students do not have such a harsh reality facing them, so the street is two ways.
My personal goal is to never stop trying. I will continue to reach out and try my hardest to encourage students to learn. Whether they choose to reach back is up to them. I hope that my classroom will truly engage and excite students, which in theory will motivate them to learn. In addition, I think that educating the students towards mastery will allow them to pass the tests that are put to them without compromising their education. It would be nice if I can move towards that goal while still meeting the expectations of the system that I am currently teaching in.
And who knows, maybe I'll get bold and go into policy later. Then I can try to find solutions in addition to griping about all the problems...
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