Webresources=Helpful 11/19/2007

I know the blogging now is optional, but I would just like to say that I really enjoyed looking at all the different web resources shown to us through this recent assignment.  I’m not quite done yet, but I love how no matter the topic of the website it always connects.  I learned how much art and different cultural pieces tie into Social Studies and actually made the art website my anticipatory set in the creative portion of my mock lesson plan for the homework assignment.  I definitely enjoyed looking at what all the sites had to offer and will continue to use these sites as a great resource in the future!

“School Report Cards” 11/11/07

    For my blog I have read the NYTimes Article entitled: “The Day After School Grades Come In, Parents are Buzzing.”  This article shows the impact that the grades schools are given in NYC really impact the way of life, through real estate, and what parents discuss daily.  These grades according to the article, are given based on “which are based on a complex calculation giving the most weight to how individual students improved in a year’s time on standardized state tests, and compare schools with similar populations as judged by demographics and incoming students’ test scores.”

Some parents in the city disagree with Mayor Bloomberg, who says the way these schools are “graded” is actually an advantage because weaknesses and strengths come out of this, and great schools can be showcased!  Parents on the other hand disagree with the way the grades are calculated and ask for a change, while others simply dismiss the grades all together.  Some parents were overjoyed with the grade, but realized that they didn’t wish for their child’s school to be so heavily graded on standardized tests.

I thought this article was interesting because it definitely shows parent involvement within the school.  It was interesting to see that even some people who liked the grades were asking for the grading system to be changed because it just relied on tests.  It was also interesting to see how parents planned to rally on these grades.  I agree that these schools shouldn’t be graded just on test scores, but also on academic improvement of students, extracurricular activities, and athletics that make the school great.  It was reassuring though, to know though that the common grades for the schools were all above C’s which obviously means something is being done right!

From the readings I have now come to realize that children’s books can help me teach a topic in my classroom.  I always wondered how a book for 3rd graders could be connected into my classroom, but by reading Anstey and Bull I realized that there was a lot of information in children’s books, especially illustrations in picture books.  Now I plan on looking for children’s books within my classroom to try and switch up my lessons a bit!

Frankenstein and Hart 11/4/07

    For my news article I read Michigan’s Hart Leads on the Field and on Campus. This article was about Michigan’s running back Mike Hart and how much he does on the field and off the field.  I grew up in the same county as Mike Hart so hearing about him in the NY Times wasn’t any different then hearing about him in the Syracuse paper every Sunday. The spots that the NY Times mentions as places where Mike Hart worked as a teenager are familiar to me like the supermarket he worked at is a short 5 minute drive from my house.

The familiarity to Hart and all the local surroundings helped me to pick this article.  It was great to see that members of the school praised him in positive ways for his charity work, like reading to schools to help increase the goal of their reading campaign and raising money for families affected by the Virginia Tech school shooting.  All of this shows how great of a role model Mike Hart is for the community, even the U.S. now after this article was showcased in the NY Times.

I found this article interesting because of the positive message it sends to everyone, not just athletes.  It shows us that no matter how busy we may be with work, practices, or homework, we can still find time to dedicate just a day or two every now and then to help make out community great.  I also thought that this article showed the reader how important it was to get out of the “cliques” we often set up for one another.  I mean even though we say there are none of these in college, lets face it there are. The jocks typically sit with the jocks at lunch and most science majors bond with each other in the library and computer labs daily fighting for the answer to some complex physics question.  Rarely do you see cliques coming together around St. John Fisher College…but in this article you see Hart becoming a great role model in the way that he comes together with not just his fellow athletes, but the whole entire campus.  I would like to wrap up this news article by saying that I think that this is important and serves as an example for us as future teachers: we must promote diversity within our school environment!

Moving on now I would like to give my thoughts on the Frankenstein lecture.  I found the lecture itself to be a bit dry, the speaker, Dr. Clark was very monotone.  I did enjoy though the case studies that she established to in a way prove her point, I just wish she had done them sooner.  I thought the context fit the story well and I wish the case studies were mentioned earlier so my interest could have been held longer!  It wasn’t that I did not like the presentation, I just found it somewhat awkward at times, like with all the question asking, what were we supposed to do, raise our hands or shout out the answers or maybe they weren’t meant to be answered at all?  I thought the series as a whole though was very well run and organized from what I could see though!

No blogging for 3 weeks

I am part of the Frankenstein group which is why I won’t be blogging for these 3 weeks.  I actually feel different now that I am not blogging, because I am finding that I am not reading up on current events much anymore and I miss it!!!!

Podcast Blog

    I just finished listening to the podcast, and I have to say it did go by pretty quick.  When I saw it was 51 minutes long I was pretty nervous.  I noticed that while I was listening I would zone out a bit if I found some of the points becoming redundant.

I did have some knowledge of Kozol from my Survey of Education where we read some of the chapters in “Savage Inequalities.”  I found that he offers a lot of problems, but at times he does not offer any solutions to these problems.  I understand that you first must address the problems, but it would have been better to actually hear what his step by step plan would be to solve these problems in schools.  I thought also that there should have been two people arguing for and against what is occuring with NCLB in our schools today.  The podcast seemed slightly biased and I think that by having equal numbers it may not seemed as biased.

I currently do not know where I stand with NCLB.  Part of me thinks that getting the whole nation on the same page is a great idea, even though it will be difficult.  I just feel that NCLB has to be worked out more in order for more people to become receptive of it.  I for one have not ever done good on standardized tests.  I’m a true failure of the system in fact, I failed the Math A regents twice and the Physics regents, along with the fact that I scored very low on my SATs (if you want to know that score you can just ask me, because it wasn’t pretty).   Even though I have done bad on these tests I do not denounce the system, I just think it needs to be tweaked.  By tweaking the system perhaps things such as teacher recommendations about students could be included, and possibly a portfolio of students work too.  I believe that this can showcase students to their best abilities not just how they do on a test in which anxieties can be great.  By showcasing students abilities you are able to see just how well they will do in a school setting, for example just because my scores were low on tests does not mean that I did not obtain good grades in high school and not make honor rolls.  I think it is important for people to realize that one test can not determine anything, but it can help us see how the nation is doing in general, which can come in handy in terms of aid for schools and more.

One article that I read in the NY Times was entitled: “For Schools, Lottery Payoffs fall Short.”  This article discussed the use of the lottery in states (North Carolina being the latest) in order to help fund schools.  I for one love buying lottery tickets, I have even tried my hand at the 20$ ones and will now not ever do that again, but still there is just something about the excitement of thinking that you’ll be a winner. I think that this article interested me so much because it shows another way in which our schools can find funding, except for the fact that the article boasted that only 1-5% of the revenue was actually going to aid schools.  I started to wonder how we could fix this problem, do you possibly lower the pay that the winner gets so that more can go to the schools?  I’m just curious as to what other people would have to say about this because I do know that in NYS we have the lotto scholarship which goes to a High School senior each year to help pay expenses in college.  Maybe there should be more scholarships to help aid students in a higher standard of learning?  I do not know what else we can do to help get more revenue to schools from the lotto, but those are my suggestions so far!

D&Z connection to NYTimes Article

    Chapter 7 on community in the classroom within the Daniels and Zemelman text really interested me.    Often times professors will just mention that building community is important and not go into depth on the topic.  For me building a community in the classroom is very important and I intend on establishing a tight knit community in my classroom.

In highschool I always found it easier to branch out and speak what was on my mind if I felt comfortable within the classroom.  I also found it easier to feel comfortable within a classroom when I was paired up with someone or placed in a group, I found that I was more reluctant to answer questions or to just participate in general.  I found the section on valuing students questions important because in some classes when students ask questions I feel like some teachers shut them out and make them sound unintelligent for asking a question.  I think that it is important to answer any question thrown at you, as long as it does not cross any boundaries (personal, etc.) that can cause it to be hurtful.

The article I chose to read was from the NY Times and is entitled “Violence Tests the Security on Campuses.” This article explained the different measures taken by campuses across the country to provide safety to the students, especially after the VT shootings last spring.  I thought this article fit in nicely with chapter 7 of D&Z after reading about building a community.  To me safety is one of the number one goals to creating a great community setting because I believe you need all your students to feel safe before they truly open up and share thoughts, answers, and feelings with you and their classmates.

The article also sparked my interest because last year in my philosophy class after VT we were discussing the uses of cell phones to communicate with students and staff if something every happened here.  In the article students sign up to receive a text message if anything goes on within the campus that could be potentially harmful to them.  It is an expensive system to implement and it costs 6 cents for every text that goes out to students, but I would rather spend 6 cents, then see anyone get hurt.  I do know that as of now the campus security is working closely with police departments in the area and have a plan devised if something like VT or similar were to happen here, although the exact plans are not told to us students in full.

Building a community is an important aspect in creating a comfortable classroom environment.  For me it ranks even higher then throwing in supplemental readings into a classroom (although that is also important), because with a community students are more likely to participate.

Textbooks and Poverty

After reading the sections in Daniels and Zemelman, I decided to read the NY Times article: A Tamer of School has Plan in New Orleans.  The situation of schools in New Orleans has been of an interest to me seeing that teachers from around the country are now going there to try and salvage the schools in the area after the devastation of New Orleans.  I can remember that when Hurrican Katrina occurred both LeMoyne College and Syracuse University opened their doors to many college bound students from the area so that their education could be continued, or so I heard.   After reading this article about the mass poverty faced by that part of the nation it was hard for me to see any students in New Orleans being able to pay loads of money to a school for their textbooks.

In this article the new Superintendent Paul Vallas vows to create a great school system out of the already shattered one of New Orleans.  He wants three meals to be served to the students each day, along with eye exams and dental exams, due to the high levels of poverty in the area.  In addition he wants less student teachers, more uniforms, and new textbooks and technology.

As I read this article I could not help to think about the opening passage to the Daniels and Zemelman chapter in which the girl’s mother pays “an arm and a leg,” so that her daughter can be taught from these books.  How can many students, often living in poverty and single-parent homes, afford the textbooks worth hundreds of dollars from companies?  I agree with Daniels and Zemelman in that a set of 30 textbooks should be purchased for each room so that students have them as a resource, so that homework assignments can be more creative.  I feel that the students of New Orleans should have a creative outlet through engaging homework assignments, rather then just dull book work.  If the students are engaged I can see the problems of truancy within New Orleans lower and Mr. Vallas will turn the schools into what he wants them to be, a home.

Reading the chapters in Daniels and Zemelman has allowed me to think that teaching does not have to be just how I used to learn in most classes, through lecture and reading, but through creative, engaging, and active participation.  Mr. Vallas of New Orleans has also showed me the importance of creating a safe haven for these students and every student you encounter, which is what I intend to provide in my classroom.  At the end of this article though, I wondered if NCLB will prohibit much of Mr. Vallas’s ideas and decrease his effectiveness if the rebuilding process does not produce adequate test results on time?  I certainly hope that it does not.

For a school, Hope and a Fresh Start…motivating schools

The New York Times article I just read was entitled “For a School, Hope and a Fresh Start.”  In this article the Newark school Newton (a school in which many of its students are living in poverty) is being looked at by Seton Hall, the mayor, and teachers to add positive changes to the school.  For the last few years it has been below the state standards and due to NCLB that the beloved Principal could be fired in the next two years along with other teachers if things do not change.

Seton Hall has set up a plan though for this school in which up to 50 undergraduates will go to the school three times a week to help tutor and training will be sponsored for all teachers in the school.  One of the teachers Mr. Whitaker explains how he grew up in a single family home and understands what is occurring with these students and brings in notebooks and pencils for them all at the beginning of the school year.  Along with that he also pays the kids $1 for correct answers on his science quizzes.  Out of 9 students in his classroom only 4 show up, one 15 year old in the article discusses that if more students cared then everything would be alright.  The students also added that he loved his last class with Mr. Whitaker and announced that the plus to it all was that he left the class with $10 extra dollars.

But, now to go along with Seton Hall’s new arrangements for the school and to ensure that students continue to do well Mr. Whitaker has to make some slight changes to his plans, though he says he doesn’t mind.  According to the paper it is stated that:

“In keeping with the school’s new focus, he said, he has adjusted his science lessons to emphasize the basic reading and math skills being measured on the standardized tests. For instance, he said, students will write essays analyzing the technology shown on old “Star Trek” episodes. They will read aloud more in class, do more calculations in the lab, and summarize scientific research from the Internet.”

I was interested in this article because during my observations last year I was placed with a teacher who had won the “Disney Teacher of the Year”award and was so passionate about what she was doing for the students.  Being placed in a city school she used her money to build a butterfly garden in the school and bought a SmartBoard for her classroom.  When I went out in the hall to play a word game with one of her students he informed me that she took them on picnics and that his new belt and shoes were purchased by his teacher.  I guess in some way Mr. Whitaker reminded me of this teacher, and I absolutely loved how this teacher bought supplies for her classroom in order to make sure that all the students were taken care of.  To me this woman was a great role model in that she showed that teaching was not just through books, but also through adding comfort to the students learning experiences.

Although I’m not a huge fan of standardized tests I do agree with Mr. Whitaker organizing his classroom so that students will pass the standardized tests.  He did not dull his classroom down, but instead implemented fun ways for children to learn and to catch up to their appropriate reading level.  I think that Mr. Whitaker is also a great example of a teacher that is there for his students and he’s not just at the school for a paycheck. I think that it is very important for teachers to implement fun ways for students to learn and I love the 50 Content Area Strategies for Adolescent Literacy book.  I definitely believe that it will become very useful due to all of the ideas to help organize and plan for lessons!

Student Cellphone Rules connected to Class on 9/11/07 (post3)

    I read an interesting article today about a Student Cellphone Rule (Student Cellphone Rules Still Vague Despite Law) in NYC connecting to Mayor Bloomberg.  This rule is said to weaken the enforcement of a ban on student’s having cellphones in public schools.  It was a tricky situation though because the City Council was allowed to vote on it so that students can bring cellphones to and from school, but the State legislature gave the Mayor control of the schools in 2002, which means that the Council has no real authority to overrule the discipline code that bans cellphones and other electronic devices.   Mayor Bloomberg says though that the law does not change anything because cellphones will still be allowed on school property, but just not in the school itself.

One reason why cellphones are causing such an uproar in the public school system is that many adminstrators suggest that the loud ringtones or beeps are disrupting to classrooms and the learning experiences of students.  Cellphones are also seen as a way to harbor cheating and teachers are now becoming cellphone police that must seek out electronic devices in the classroom, which takes away from the learning experiences also.

I believe that this ties into what occurred in class today because it was discussed about how we are becoming a technologically dependent society and some people are being left behind.  Children are becoming so cellphone/technology literate that they are able to cheat on tests without many teachers knowing.  By being able to cheat a child is now not learning anything to apply to their lives, but instead simply writing down the answers that someone else learned or just came up with.  This makes learning not an individual process anymore, but rather a group process.

I do think that cell phones should not be banned from school, but a stricter discipline procedure should be established regarding them and other electronic devices.  I for one have found cell phones distracting in my classes.  I think it is especially annoying when you look over and see someone texting something every five seconds, when the thought or comment could have probably waited an hour until class was over.  Cell phones are important though in the since that they provide a security blanket for people  knowing that they can be connected to people if something were to happen to them.  I do think that schools should come up with a set of rules though, pertaining to cell phones due to the constant distraction they cause and amount of cheating that could occur, so that everyone can have a great learning experience.

Scrutiny over Cheating connected to Subjects Matter (post 2)

    For this weeks post I would like to mention an article I read in the New York Times titled: “Schools Under Scrutiny Over Cheating.”  In this article it is discussed how a new “epidemic” is spreading in regards to students cheating on tests, especially the Regents.  After reading this article I found that it had some relation to the class assigned book Subjects Matter by Harvey Daniels and Steven Zemelman.

I think that students have possibly found the need to cheat because they are simply just reading/skimming through a homework assignment and not concentrating on applying it to their previous knowledge.  In the book Subjects Matter, the authors find that the one educational puzzle to really think about is why students do not remember what they read or what they are taught.  They explain that sure they may have gone over the top in explaining what goes on in their own classrooms, but they admit that students are active and do remember it afterwards.  I believe that if all teachers could teach lessons to students in a fun way then students would be able to remember information and then possibly the anxiety when taking a test would decrease and students would not find the need to cheat.

I believe in the statement that it is important for students to build upon their previous knowledge that was made in the book Subjects Matter.  In my class last semester my group discussed how socio-economic status affects how children do in school.  We found that schools are based on what the middle class deems important and that prior knowledge plays a huge factor in learning.  From our research we also found that a child from a high socio-economic family starts out with a higher vocabulary then a child with a lower socio-economic status, which does not help a student build upon their prior knowledge.  I believe that it is very important for us as teachers to realize that students are not going to learn by just receiving a message through reading, but that they have to realize that it can be applied to their everyday life.