Quote 1 – Kozol 217
“I am thinking of dozens of those ardent young idealists whom I meet… they’ve studied teacher education but also immersed themselves in social history and social justice programs and the history of civil rights.”
Kozol does something here that will do everyone some good. He focuses a lot in his book about the awful conditions in certain schools in this country, but that is not the only thing he does. He acknowledges the teachers and individuals in education who are making a difference and are working towards creating meaningful educations for students. He also mentions how it is not enough to study teacher education. The student needs to come out of the professional program with knowledge about different cultures and the way society works outside of his/her own and desire to change.
Quote 2 – Kozol 218
“They do not accept the notion that apartheid is a faded vestige of a distant past. They can’t because they see it daily in their classrooms.”
Again, Kozol is telling the readers that there are individuals in education who refuse to believe the statistics, who refuse to believe what they hear in the media, and they do this because everything they see in their classrooms contradicts the information. For a suburban family, it probably pretty easy to believe that inner city schools are well-served, that the students receive the same type of treatment and resources and opportunities. However, when you speak to an inner city teacher, you will hear the real truth. Sometimes it takes the drastic media to receive attention. So why not focus on the terrible conditions in struggling inner city schools instead of the violence that happened in the same school. By making this violent act seem like it is one of many makes for great news, even if it is fabricated. Where are our values in our society. We’re hearing a news brief for an entire 7 seconds and making generalizations about a school of which we really know nothing.
Quote 3 – Kozol 220
“We’re going to see the same 50-year cycle that began with Brown all over again.”
When reading this quote, it confirms the fact that the teachers Kozol talks about in Quote 2 are so important in education today. We cannot rest as a nation until certain aspects of our school systems are changed. Again, it is easy to ignore the facts if you are not affect, living in a wealthy neighborhood with good schools. It might be easy to ignore the problem but can it really be possible that we are going 50 years as far as progress goes?
Quote 4 – Kozol 225
“Nothing in the way choice systems actually work favors class or racial integration. Choice has had desegregative impact in some cities…only because there were strict guidelines in effect to make sure it would have this end result.”
This is an extremely touchy subject. To be honest, I am not sure I want to see the results of this legislation. Choice schools should be monitored and the actions of the citizens in towns/ cities where this applies, but it is not being monitored in a way which would avoid segregated schools. Parents who are knowledgable about schools and the choices that they have will be able to apply for the best school possible. For the parents who are working 2 jobs, or do not speak English, or for the children who are not living in permanent homes, they get the short end of the stick. They will not be able to receive the same type of education because this program is not controlled. Yet, where the program is controlled, there is hope. Will funds be put towards the betterment of all children?
Quote 5 – Kozol 234
“No matter what the social obstacles that children, both minority and white, must learn to overcome, not matter what the necessary games that must be played and roles that must be filled in adolescent years…a strange phenomenon – normality, humanity – kicks in; and, not in every case, but far more often than a social order with our racial history has reason to expect, they do reach out across the structural divide time and again and we are better, as a nation.
This quote is a testament to what should be happening in our world. Kids would learn so much about their peers if this would occur. Parents are in support, the children love it, and this occurs because the schools are integrated. These kids are given a chance to prosper and discover the world that surrounds them, not a fabricated, supervised, hidden world. Kids have a way of showing the world how we, as adults, should behave. Unfortunately, because they are kids, they are almost dismissed because of their youth. Children have a way of looking at the world that some adults cannot see or choose not to see. Maybe kids voices should be politics in charge because those in politics now think about themselves, business, closing schools, and not focusing on integration, all things kids would focus on.
Quote 6 – Kozol 238
“ ‘The small-minded triumphalism’ of contemporary political leaders who grew up in ‘isolated worlds of white male privilege’ and have, as a result, ‘inadequate education for the responsibilities they hold.’ ”
This reminds me of the statement that schools then to represent the society in which they reside. If white males who do not know any other society continue to run schools, the schools will represent the same lifestyle. These children will not know anything of the other world that exists in this country. If this problem persists, change will be impossible. This also reminds me of the leaders who have pioneered Goals 2000, NCLB, and now Race to the Top. This is not anything new. White males having control and unwilling to let this change has been around for centuries and it is occurring now. We are perpetuating the problem and education is just getting worse.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Blog 4
Quote 1 – Spring 228
“Parental objections also include methods of instruction. Some parents want their children to be taught by methods that emphasize independent thinking, critical thinking, and self-motivated learning. Other parents want an emphasis on rote learning and authoritarian instructional methods.”
When I read this I would like to know if the parents who are pushing for rote learning and authoritarian instructional methods have ever sat in on a class where these methods are practiced. I would like to think that every parent wishes the best for their children and this is a very biased statement but I do not think is the most beneficial path for young minds. This sort of teaching reminds me of military style teaching or something you might find on a military base, not that I have ever been to one, I am speculating. Unfortunately, this is the approach many schools are taking now because of all of the changes made in education in the last 10/15 years. I guess my point is that it is bad enough that the government is pushing for standardization in schools, mindless, rote, memorizing activities. Now parents, whether they know the impact of this teaching or not, are pushing for the same agenda. Will teachers have to fight administration, government, and now the parents of their students to encourage thinking and meaningful learning?
Quote 2 – Spring 228
“Religious objections to textbooks and instructional methods open the constitutional question of separation of religion and government. Some religious groups argue that public schools do not teach students to rely on the authority of God. Consequently, these religious groups maintain that public schools are violating religious beliefs protected by the Constitution.”
This is a very touchy subject because certain religious beliefs are extremely infiltrated into the culture of our society as it is, how can we eliminate every single religious association? I can understand certain religious groups who do not follow Christian beliefs may be offended or discouraged when they hear about a certain event or topic being discussed in school but is it really possible to make schools an entirely religious-free zone? The most common example is the instruction of creation vs. evolution. I understand creation should not be taught in public schools, but the theory of evolution contradicts everything that Christian religions believe in, so is that acceptable? Public schools should make attempts to not encourage any sort of religious affiliation and for the most part I feel as though they do. Again, there are common parts of our culture where certain religious beliefs are more common than others and if schools had time and money and resources left over after high stakes testing, perhaps they could teach small portions of different religions to encourage diversity.
Quote 3 – Spring 230
“Science textbooks were condemned for saying that there was a scientific consensus that the earth’s climate was changing because of global warming.”
This type of statement turned into an anti-technology, anti-Christian, and anti-American argument. As the text was changed to something less dramatic and true, they sugar-coated the details and in the process, downplayed the impact this statement could have had. Global warming and climate change are such serious issues, we cannot afford to continue down this road. Something had to be done. The youngest generation will be affected the most by these issues and yet they may not be receiving the whole truth in school. Well, they are being taught a much less harsh version of the truth. How can change be made if people are not exposed to the real problem?
Quote 4 – Spring 231
“A new California law that requires that math instruction emphasize basic skills and repeated drills as opposed to concepts and problem solving using real-life situations.”
As a student, I always enjoyed math for some reason but I also thought it was very dry. I had to be motivated and often times the strategies or diagrams, graphs, and visuals on the page were that motivation. Those were the things that made math come alive, that made it seem applicable in real life. Now California is adopting strategies to drill for a test and take any practical use of mathematics out of the classroom. Sounds like an excellent idea.
Quote 5 – Spring 231
“The reality is that very few administrators are willing to select for their schools textbooks that could cause controversy in the community.”
This quote does not surprise me at all and to be honest I do not think we can blame the administrators for this one. No matter what you do, someone is always going to be upset. I know this first hand. I officiate high school basketball and regardless of the call you make, you will always be making 50% of the people angry. You can rarely please everyone because there are usually 2 contradicting sides to every issue. What is unfortunate is that the kids may be losing out. Similar to the case with the Global Warming issue and phrasing the language in such a way that diminished the severity of climate change, students may only be getting ½ of the truth, perhaps even less. Reading this quote I am grateful that people in the community are taking an active role in education and are concerned with certain aspects. However, when 2 contradicting sides cannot agree, sometimes you are worse off in the long run.
Quote 6 – Spring 234
“Balanced education by giving equal weight to Biblical and evolutionary theories on the origin or life. Insurance salesman and minister, Russell Brock, told the school board, “To deny there is a God is to stand on a building and deny there is a building.”
Reading this quote reminds me of a comment I make in Quote 5: If 2 sides cannot agree and the solution is to cut out both sides (in this case Creation and Evolution), it may be more detrimental down the line. You are never going to get everyone to agree with teaching evolution and you are never going to get a population to agree with teaching creation. If you decide to give equal time for both, you may still be offending people who do not believe in either. If you cut them out entirely, students will be missing out entirely on a vital part of education. Is there a solution?
Quote 7 – Spring 237
“No child should have to endure the cyber bullying I endured. I was scared, hurt and confused. I didn’t know why it was happening to me. I had nowhere to turn except to my mom. I am speaking out now because I want other kids who are bullied online or on their cell phones to know that they should tell their parents or other adults.
With these ever changing times, the youth of today will not know a world free of technology. They have been exposed to this since they began school so it will always be an influence, whether or not it is used for positive or negative reasons, will be up to them. Kids need to know the precautions they should take as far as technology goes. Their parents, guardians, teachers, and older siblings should all informed and be able to recognize signs of bullying or any other form of violence, threat, or negativity that can occur. If kids will not speak up themselves they will need someone to speak up for them. This is all the more true because of the recent suicide due to bullying at South Hadley High School in Massachusetts. As unfortunate as it was, it has to serve as a lesson to the rest of the world. Kids can be cruel, this is nothing new. What is a new factor in this is the role of technology and how influential is can be. If a child is growing up with this technology at his fingertips, there is no escaping the constant chatter, the endless updating, always being connected with facebook, twitter, my space, aim, and who knows what will be next. Maybe this will make kids think twice about what they do and how they act to a difficult situation. Maybe it will make teachers and administrators take a more active role in preventing bullying.
“Parental objections also include methods of instruction. Some parents want their children to be taught by methods that emphasize independent thinking, critical thinking, and self-motivated learning. Other parents want an emphasis on rote learning and authoritarian instructional methods.”
When I read this I would like to know if the parents who are pushing for rote learning and authoritarian instructional methods have ever sat in on a class where these methods are practiced. I would like to think that every parent wishes the best for their children and this is a very biased statement but I do not think is the most beneficial path for young minds. This sort of teaching reminds me of military style teaching or something you might find on a military base, not that I have ever been to one, I am speculating. Unfortunately, this is the approach many schools are taking now because of all of the changes made in education in the last 10/15 years. I guess my point is that it is bad enough that the government is pushing for standardization in schools, mindless, rote, memorizing activities. Now parents, whether they know the impact of this teaching or not, are pushing for the same agenda. Will teachers have to fight administration, government, and now the parents of their students to encourage thinking and meaningful learning?
Quote 2 – Spring 228
“Religious objections to textbooks and instructional methods open the constitutional question of separation of religion and government. Some religious groups argue that public schools do not teach students to rely on the authority of God. Consequently, these religious groups maintain that public schools are violating religious beliefs protected by the Constitution.”
This is a very touchy subject because certain religious beliefs are extremely infiltrated into the culture of our society as it is, how can we eliminate every single religious association? I can understand certain religious groups who do not follow Christian beliefs may be offended or discouraged when they hear about a certain event or topic being discussed in school but is it really possible to make schools an entirely religious-free zone? The most common example is the instruction of creation vs. evolution. I understand creation should not be taught in public schools, but the theory of evolution contradicts everything that Christian religions believe in, so is that acceptable? Public schools should make attempts to not encourage any sort of religious affiliation and for the most part I feel as though they do. Again, there are common parts of our culture where certain religious beliefs are more common than others and if schools had time and money and resources left over after high stakes testing, perhaps they could teach small portions of different religions to encourage diversity.
Quote 3 – Spring 230
“Science textbooks were condemned for saying that there was a scientific consensus that the earth’s climate was changing because of global warming.”
This type of statement turned into an anti-technology, anti-Christian, and anti-American argument. As the text was changed to something less dramatic and true, they sugar-coated the details and in the process, downplayed the impact this statement could have had. Global warming and climate change are such serious issues, we cannot afford to continue down this road. Something had to be done. The youngest generation will be affected the most by these issues and yet they may not be receiving the whole truth in school. Well, they are being taught a much less harsh version of the truth. How can change be made if people are not exposed to the real problem?
Quote 4 – Spring 231
“A new California law that requires that math instruction emphasize basic skills and repeated drills as opposed to concepts and problem solving using real-life situations.”
As a student, I always enjoyed math for some reason but I also thought it was very dry. I had to be motivated and often times the strategies or diagrams, graphs, and visuals on the page were that motivation. Those were the things that made math come alive, that made it seem applicable in real life. Now California is adopting strategies to drill for a test and take any practical use of mathematics out of the classroom. Sounds like an excellent idea.
Quote 5 – Spring 231
“The reality is that very few administrators are willing to select for their schools textbooks that could cause controversy in the community.”
This quote does not surprise me at all and to be honest I do not think we can blame the administrators for this one. No matter what you do, someone is always going to be upset. I know this first hand. I officiate high school basketball and regardless of the call you make, you will always be making 50% of the people angry. You can rarely please everyone because there are usually 2 contradicting sides to every issue. What is unfortunate is that the kids may be losing out. Similar to the case with the Global Warming issue and phrasing the language in such a way that diminished the severity of climate change, students may only be getting ½ of the truth, perhaps even less. Reading this quote I am grateful that people in the community are taking an active role in education and are concerned with certain aspects. However, when 2 contradicting sides cannot agree, sometimes you are worse off in the long run.
Quote 6 – Spring 234
“Balanced education by giving equal weight to Biblical and evolutionary theories on the origin or life. Insurance salesman and minister, Russell Brock, told the school board, “To deny there is a God is to stand on a building and deny there is a building.”
Reading this quote reminds me of a comment I make in Quote 5: If 2 sides cannot agree and the solution is to cut out both sides (in this case Creation and Evolution), it may be more detrimental down the line. You are never going to get everyone to agree with teaching evolution and you are never going to get a population to agree with teaching creation. If you decide to give equal time for both, you may still be offending people who do not believe in either. If you cut them out entirely, students will be missing out entirely on a vital part of education. Is there a solution?
Quote 7 – Spring 237
“No child should have to endure the cyber bullying I endured. I was scared, hurt and confused. I didn’t know why it was happening to me. I had nowhere to turn except to my mom. I am speaking out now because I want other kids who are bullied online or on their cell phones to know that they should tell their parents or other adults.
With these ever changing times, the youth of today will not know a world free of technology. They have been exposed to this since they began school so it will always be an influence, whether or not it is used for positive or negative reasons, will be up to them. Kids need to know the precautions they should take as far as technology goes. Their parents, guardians, teachers, and older siblings should all informed and be able to recognize signs of bullying or any other form of violence, threat, or negativity that can occur. If kids will not speak up themselves they will need someone to speak up for them. This is all the more true because of the recent suicide due to bullying at South Hadley High School in Massachusetts. As unfortunate as it was, it has to serve as a lesson to the rest of the world. Kids can be cruel, this is nothing new. What is a new factor in this is the role of technology and how influential is can be. If a child is growing up with this technology at his fingertips, there is no escaping the constant chatter, the endless updating, always being connected with facebook, twitter, my space, aim, and who knows what will be next. Maybe this will make kids think twice about what they do and how they act to a difficult situation. Maybe it will make teachers and administrators take a more active role in preventing bullying.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Blog 3
Quote 1 - Anthology Chapter 11 page 114
"How often do we hear about teachers who do the right things? How often do we see what and how they do these good things?
This is a very good point and I feel as though this is the case with almost every aspect of society. When watching the news, I would say on average, I see 1-2 good-natured, human-interest stories for about every 10 stories. Knowing this, I suppose it makes more sense, and by more sense I mean more money, to show shocking stories about the dysfunctional education system, how schools are failing, and how education in this country is on the downfall. Knowing this, I completely support the author, Robert DiGiulio, in supporting and encouraging the good efforts by teachers. This is different than the encouragement that Race to the Top tries to promote; DiGiulio is looking for slight praise for educators simply for intrinsic value. This is something that is being squeezed out of the education system because of standardization and increase of high stakes testing on which certain curriculum is based. So many teachers are doing excellent things in their classrooms and it would be nice for fellow educators, future educators, parents, and students to get a better perspective on what really goes on inside a classroom, not just the negative media that education receives that is usually void of the facts.
Quote 2 - Anthology Chapter 11 page 115 Robert DiGiulio
"Simply telling kids they are good won't wash. Student success is fostered by the work students do, by what they produce...participating, performing, creating, practicing, designing, producing, carrying out an experiment, finishing an assignment, or any of hundreds of other activities."
This author connects this quote with a statement earlier in his article and it relates all of the above activities with quality teaching. Each one of those aspects of teaching is possible because the teacher is allotted time or makes time for these innovative, critical thinking activities. These are all things that kids are supposed to be doing. They are supposed to get their hands dirty, figure things out on their own, question everything, investigate, be creative, and reflect on whatever it is they produce. How can a student do this with a machine-scored test? Where is the leeway with a standardized test? This section, even though brief, is extremely powerful. This teaching represents quality teaching. Allowing and encouraging students to take part in all of the activities mentioned above represent a quality education. What else should we want for the youth today? Were we given that as school-aged children? I like to think so. Some of my memorable records of elementary school involved projects, going outside to learn about nature, going to Mystic Aquarium to do hands-on experiments that coincided with our science material, writing a script for a play for Beowulf and performing it for our class in the 7th grade, etc. Is there time for this anymore? We are stripping education of its best features and taking the rights from kids that they deserve. Third graders cannot speak for themselves in front of the board of education so who will speak for them to ensure they are able to produce, perform, create, practice, participate, design, experiment, and be kids?
Quote 3 – The “Banking Concept of Education” by Paulo Friere page 1
“Education thus becomes an act of depositing…Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiqués and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat.”
I’m not quite sure that I ever thought I would hear education being compared to the banking system. This seems outrageous and just another reason to criticize the way education is going. This analogy is a great one because it relates the fact that education is becoming a corporate commodity. The art of teaching is being sucked out of teachers and the students are disadvantaged because of that. Every good quality that a teacher possesses will no longer exist because people who do not understand education and the consequences of this type of system are the ones controlling education. Education is becoming cut and dry, black and white, right or wrong, multiple choice, true and false, numbers specific, standardized with no deviation, much like banking. Unfortunately for us, education was not designed to be like banking.
Quote 4 - The “Banking Concept of Education” by Paulo Friere page 3
“Well-intentioned bank-clerk teachers who do not realize that they are serving only to dehumanize.”
The term “dehumanize” scares me. It probably scares me even more because I believe it is happening. Humans are human for a reason. We do not function like machines; therefore, we should not be educated like machines. We are the creatures on this earth that have the most capacity yet we are now going in reverse. We are minimizing the natural human aspects of questioning, thinking critically, predicting, experimenting, trial and error, and breaking all of these things down into small, easy-to-memorize, no thinking required parts like robots. There is a huge difference between knowledge and wisdom. We are extracting the wisdom out of our minds and it was that wisdom that led us to our present day life. Now we are taking away that human aspect and creating knowledge robots that can repeat anything we ask them to as long as they have memorized it. We will no longer have our minds; we will simply have our brains.
Quote 5 - The “Banking Concept of Education” by Paulo Friere page 4
“ Authentic thinking, thinking that is concerned about reality, does not take place in ivory tower isolation, but only in communication.”
I find this quote interesting and I understand the importance that the author places on communication, but I feel as though other aspects hold a similar importance as well. He mentions that authentic thinking relies on communication but I would also like to add that questioning, predicting, reflecting, and a variety in courses will lead to authentic thinking. It would seem to me that thinking should be just like anything else. You cannot ride a bike for a child; the child needs to learn on his own. You cannot play an instrument for a child; he or she must learn and practice on his or her own. So why is it that we are trying to tell students what to think, they must learn and practice thinking on their own. They can do this in so many different ways (as mentioned above) but must be given the opportunity. Where will our children get this opportunity if not in school?
Quote 6 – Progressive vs. Traditional education, quote by John Dewey
“Learning is thinking about experience.”
This quote is short but sweet. It highlights the importance of experience and then reflecting on that experience, whether the experience is positive or negative. Unfortunately, we all know that all kids do not experience the same things. Children that live in the poorest areas of the country will not have the same experiences as those who live in more affluent areas. With this said, those who are disadvantaged from the start need a quality education more than anyone. They may not have other options to gain positive experiences that will further learning, they need a good, safe school to attend in order to thinking about those experiences. They need to be challenged and encouraged to continue their education. We all know that is not happening but what are we doing about it?
"How often do we hear about teachers who do the right things? How often do we see what and how they do these good things?
This is a very good point and I feel as though this is the case with almost every aspect of society. When watching the news, I would say on average, I see 1-2 good-natured, human-interest stories for about every 10 stories. Knowing this, I suppose it makes more sense, and by more sense I mean more money, to show shocking stories about the dysfunctional education system, how schools are failing, and how education in this country is on the downfall. Knowing this, I completely support the author, Robert DiGiulio, in supporting and encouraging the good efforts by teachers. This is different than the encouragement that Race to the Top tries to promote; DiGiulio is looking for slight praise for educators simply for intrinsic value. This is something that is being squeezed out of the education system because of standardization and increase of high stakes testing on which certain curriculum is based. So many teachers are doing excellent things in their classrooms and it would be nice for fellow educators, future educators, parents, and students to get a better perspective on what really goes on inside a classroom, not just the negative media that education receives that is usually void of the facts.
Quote 2 - Anthology Chapter 11 page 115 Robert DiGiulio
"Simply telling kids they are good won't wash. Student success is fostered by the work students do, by what they produce...participating, performing, creating, practicing, designing, producing, carrying out an experiment, finishing an assignment, or any of hundreds of other activities."
This author connects this quote with a statement earlier in his article and it relates all of the above activities with quality teaching. Each one of those aspects of teaching is possible because the teacher is allotted time or makes time for these innovative, critical thinking activities. These are all things that kids are supposed to be doing. They are supposed to get their hands dirty, figure things out on their own, question everything, investigate, be creative, and reflect on whatever it is they produce. How can a student do this with a machine-scored test? Where is the leeway with a standardized test? This section, even though brief, is extremely powerful. This teaching represents quality teaching. Allowing and encouraging students to take part in all of the activities mentioned above represent a quality education. What else should we want for the youth today? Were we given that as school-aged children? I like to think so. Some of my memorable records of elementary school involved projects, going outside to learn about nature, going to Mystic Aquarium to do hands-on experiments that coincided with our science material, writing a script for a play for Beowulf and performing it for our class in the 7th grade, etc. Is there time for this anymore? We are stripping education of its best features and taking the rights from kids that they deserve. Third graders cannot speak for themselves in front of the board of education so who will speak for them to ensure they are able to produce, perform, create, practice, participate, design, experiment, and be kids?
Quote 3 – The “Banking Concept of Education” by Paulo Friere page 1
“Education thus becomes an act of depositing…Instead of communicating, the teacher issues communiqués and makes deposits which the students patiently receive, memorize, and repeat.”
I’m not quite sure that I ever thought I would hear education being compared to the banking system. This seems outrageous and just another reason to criticize the way education is going. This analogy is a great one because it relates the fact that education is becoming a corporate commodity. The art of teaching is being sucked out of teachers and the students are disadvantaged because of that. Every good quality that a teacher possesses will no longer exist because people who do not understand education and the consequences of this type of system are the ones controlling education. Education is becoming cut and dry, black and white, right or wrong, multiple choice, true and false, numbers specific, standardized with no deviation, much like banking. Unfortunately for us, education was not designed to be like banking.
Quote 4 - The “Banking Concept of Education” by Paulo Friere page 3
“Well-intentioned bank-clerk teachers who do not realize that they are serving only to dehumanize.”
The term “dehumanize” scares me. It probably scares me even more because I believe it is happening. Humans are human for a reason. We do not function like machines; therefore, we should not be educated like machines. We are the creatures on this earth that have the most capacity yet we are now going in reverse. We are minimizing the natural human aspects of questioning, thinking critically, predicting, experimenting, trial and error, and breaking all of these things down into small, easy-to-memorize, no thinking required parts like robots. There is a huge difference between knowledge and wisdom. We are extracting the wisdom out of our minds and it was that wisdom that led us to our present day life. Now we are taking away that human aspect and creating knowledge robots that can repeat anything we ask them to as long as they have memorized it. We will no longer have our minds; we will simply have our brains.
Quote 5 - The “Banking Concept of Education” by Paulo Friere page 4
“ Authentic thinking, thinking that is concerned about reality, does not take place in ivory tower isolation, but only in communication.”
I find this quote interesting and I understand the importance that the author places on communication, but I feel as though other aspects hold a similar importance as well. He mentions that authentic thinking relies on communication but I would also like to add that questioning, predicting, reflecting, and a variety in courses will lead to authentic thinking. It would seem to me that thinking should be just like anything else. You cannot ride a bike for a child; the child needs to learn on his own. You cannot play an instrument for a child; he or she must learn and practice on his or her own. So why is it that we are trying to tell students what to think, they must learn and practice thinking on their own. They can do this in so many different ways (as mentioned above) but must be given the opportunity. Where will our children get this opportunity if not in school?
Quote 6 – Progressive vs. Traditional education, quote by John Dewey
“Learning is thinking about experience.”
This quote is short but sweet. It highlights the importance of experience and then reflecting on that experience, whether the experience is positive or negative. Unfortunately, we all know that all kids do not experience the same things. Children that live in the poorest areas of the country will not have the same experiences as those who live in more affluent areas. With this said, those who are disadvantaged from the start need a quality education more than anyone. They may not have other options to gain positive experiences that will further learning, they need a good, safe school to attend in order to thinking about those experiences. They need to be challenged and encouraged to continue their education. We all know that is not happening but what are we doing about it?
Saturday, February 27, 2010
The following quotes are taken from the Kozol text, 'Framing the Poor' by Tim Wise, 'Keeping Track, Part 1' by Jeannie Oakes, as well as the Spring text.
Quote 1 - Kozol 90
"Work related themes and managerial ideas were carried over into almost every classroom of the school."
Is this such a bad thing? The underlying idea could have a positive effect but how it is described in the book (Kozol's viewpoint) it seems he has no positive point to say about it. It could be that he is viewing this in schools where the idea is abused and has been taken to the extremes. He is also witnessing this practice in areas where the educators and/or administrators do not hold much hope for the children who attend the school. Therefore, it is being utilized as training for the only type of employment these adults believe these the young individuals can achieve. I know from my experience as a substitute teacher, that when I walk into a classroom, especially a K,1, or 2 classroom, if I allow a student to do the incorrect job, I hear about it. These youngsters take their jobs very seriously and they are proud of the fact that each has an assigned position. I once let a student be the line leader and that job was already assigned to another student for that week and that child cried when he thought I was letting someone else do his job. This may seem insignificant but to these young students it has great meaning and as long as it is not being abused, I think this system of assigning jobs in schools can be a good thing.
Quote 2 - Kozol 94
"The package of skills they learn, or do not learn is called 'the product.' Sometimes the educated child is referred to as 'the product' too."
This is where I feel education has gotten out of control. Kozol mentions in various sections of the book that the "human" aspect of education has disappeared and this quote supports that statement entirely. His criticism of the standardization mentality and only looking at numbers, looking at children as if they are a material item should be broadcasted across national television. This is a disgrace because it proves that this mentality has taken over a system that at one time (I believe) had some good. No one knows what kind of effect this will have on the young people in the school system now but I do not have much hope that it will be a positive effect.
Quote 3 - Kozol 95
"Childhood is not merely basic training for utilitarian adulthood."
If this is what these children are dealing with now, what does that mean for their future? This reality is even more severe for the young individuals who are growing up in an already unstable environment. They are disadvantaged from the start and upon entering school, their first academic experiences are in a struggling school. Any childhood freedom they deserve is being stripped away from them. I am not saying that school should be fun and games 100% of the time, but children need to have that release, a chance to be kids. Otherwise, they are going to be burned out by the time enter middle school and what good is that going to do them? They might be less likely to want to go to school which would be the worst case scenario.
Quote 4 - Kozol 97
"Did you ever stop to think that these robots will never burglarize your home and will never snatch your pocket books?"
This comment is alarming regardless of the context in which it is used. However, what makes this even more grave is the fact that it was spoken by the head of a Chicago school. Are there no other options for the future of the individuals attending the school than that of tax paying robots or thieves? Even further, what about a purposeful life and a career that challenges these students instead of mundane work simply to add to the country's tax pool. If the head of the school expresses this kind of attitude, what are the members of the community thinking? Are they allowing this kind of publicity or fighting it? Even if they do fight it, will their voices be heard?
Quote 5 - Kozol 103
"Nobody ever told me I could do it."
I read this quote by an inner city school student and I wonder who the 'nobody' is? Based on the context, I am assuming a great part of the 'nobody' is the staff and team of educators from her school, but so many other aspects of society play a role as well. It is disheartening to think that between family, extended family, friends, religious organizations, members of sports teams, activity groups, social and volunteer organizations, that this child has never once been told that she can do better. Is it really possible that this child has gone through her entire life (she is in high school) without any sense of encouragement. I am not trying to defend this inner city school because I only know what Kozol has expressed in his book, but shouldn't family and society take responsibility for this as well? I know Kozol has pointed out that when he goes to certain urban areas, he does not believe that the community has faith in these students either. Is it possible for schools, families, and communities to make a collaborative effort to encourage these students? If not, we may never see the minimally funded, inner-city school leading to a low paying job cycle broken.
Quote 6 - Tim Wise 2
"Which brings us to the other big lie told about the poor in New Orleans: one that has yet to be addressed in the media, despite how easily it can be disproved by a mere five minutes worth of research."
Wise talks about the devastation in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and not to take anything away from that, but I am focusing the section of his quote that states how something so extreme can be reversed by five minutes of research and probably five minutes of airtime as well. If the media, which we all know nowadays is found in every corner of our lives, is not setting the record straight, who will? One of his main arguments is that it is much easier to believe the stereotype than the address the issue and fight it. The public has a much easier time listening to media that confirms their stereotypes of other races. Therefore, he knows the information is incorrect yet who is doing anything about it? Nobody.
I think the same holds true for inner-city schools. The public, mainly white suburban public, hears what they want to hear. They hear the information that confirms their stereotype and rather than dig deeper to research all of the facts, they would rather accept what they hear in the media. It is less time consuming and ignoring the problem can be a lot easier than trying to mend the problem.
Quote 7 - Oakes 421
"Tracking forces schools to play an active role in perpetuating social and economic inequalities."
Quote 8 - Spring 57
"Simply defined, social reproduction means that the schools reproduce the social-class structure of society."
I put these two quotes together because this is a huge issue and both authors do an excellent job supporting how this tends to be true in inner-city schools. Oakes focuses on the issue of "tracking" and how it leads to separating students based on academic level which more often than not leads to segregating students based on color and income levels. The students who are placed in the lower levels have probably not received the same type of education as those who come from advantaged families. Oakes correlates how these lower groups are usually comprised of minority groups.
Spring addresses the teaching style that low-income and inner-city schools use. There tends to be more conformity, and the schools are more authoritarian than schools with higher-income families (Spring 58). The common theme of my quote is: When and where does this end? Who is the first to put an end to this? Who can we rely on, if anybody, to step up and challenge the education system, the media, and society as a whole?
Quote 1 - Kozol 90
"Work related themes and managerial ideas were carried over into almost every classroom of the school."
Is this such a bad thing? The underlying idea could have a positive effect but how it is described in the book (Kozol's viewpoint) it seems he has no positive point to say about it. It could be that he is viewing this in schools where the idea is abused and has been taken to the extremes. He is also witnessing this practice in areas where the educators and/or administrators do not hold much hope for the children who attend the school. Therefore, it is being utilized as training for the only type of employment these adults believe these the young individuals can achieve. I know from my experience as a substitute teacher, that when I walk into a classroom, especially a K,1, or 2 classroom, if I allow a student to do the incorrect job, I hear about it. These youngsters take their jobs very seriously and they are proud of the fact that each has an assigned position. I once let a student be the line leader and that job was already assigned to another student for that week and that child cried when he thought I was letting someone else do his job. This may seem insignificant but to these young students it has great meaning and as long as it is not being abused, I think this system of assigning jobs in schools can be a good thing.
Quote 2 - Kozol 94
"The package of skills they learn, or do not learn is called 'the product.' Sometimes the educated child is referred to as 'the product' too."
This is where I feel education has gotten out of control. Kozol mentions in various sections of the book that the "human" aspect of education has disappeared and this quote supports that statement entirely. His criticism of the standardization mentality and only looking at numbers, looking at children as if they are a material item should be broadcasted across national television. This is a disgrace because it proves that this mentality has taken over a system that at one time (I believe) had some good. No one knows what kind of effect this will have on the young people in the school system now but I do not have much hope that it will be a positive effect.
Quote 3 - Kozol 95
"Childhood is not merely basic training for utilitarian adulthood."
If this is what these children are dealing with now, what does that mean for their future? This reality is even more severe for the young individuals who are growing up in an already unstable environment. They are disadvantaged from the start and upon entering school, their first academic experiences are in a struggling school. Any childhood freedom they deserve is being stripped away from them. I am not saying that school should be fun and games 100% of the time, but children need to have that release, a chance to be kids. Otherwise, they are going to be burned out by the time enter middle school and what good is that going to do them? They might be less likely to want to go to school which would be the worst case scenario.
Quote 4 - Kozol 97
"Did you ever stop to think that these robots will never burglarize your home and will never snatch your pocket books?"
This comment is alarming regardless of the context in which it is used. However, what makes this even more grave is the fact that it was spoken by the head of a Chicago school. Are there no other options for the future of the individuals attending the school than that of tax paying robots or thieves? Even further, what about a purposeful life and a career that challenges these students instead of mundane work simply to add to the country's tax pool. If the head of the school expresses this kind of attitude, what are the members of the community thinking? Are they allowing this kind of publicity or fighting it? Even if they do fight it, will their voices be heard?
Quote 5 - Kozol 103
"Nobody ever told me I could do it."
I read this quote by an inner city school student and I wonder who the 'nobody' is? Based on the context, I am assuming a great part of the 'nobody' is the staff and team of educators from her school, but so many other aspects of society play a role as well. It is disheartening to think that between family, extended family, friends, religious organizations, members of sports teams, activity groups, social and volunteer organizations, that this child has never once been told that she can do better. Is it really possible that this child has gone through her entire life (she is in high school) without any sense of encouragement. I am not trying to defend this inner city school because I only know what Kozol has expressed in his book, but shouldn't family and society take responsibility for this as well? I know Kozol has pointed out that when he goes to certain urban areas, he does not believe that the community has faith in these students either. Is it possible for schools, families, and communities to make a collaborative effort to encourage these students? If not, we may never see the minimally funded, inner-city school leading to a low paying job cycle broken.
Quote 6 - Tim Wise 2
"Which brings us to the other big lie told about the poor in New Orleans: one that has yet to be addressed in the media, despite how easily it can be disproved by a mere five minutes worth of research."
Wise talks about the devastation in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and not to take anything away from that, but I am focusing the section of his quote that states how something so extreme can be reversed by five minutes of research and probably five minutes of airtime as well. If the media, which we all know nowadays is found in every corner of our lives, is not setting the record straight, who will? One of his main arguments is that it is much easier to believe the stereotype than the address the issue and fight it. The public has a much easier time listening to media that confirms their stereotypes of other races. Therefore, he knows the information is incorrect yet who is doing anything about it? Nobody.
I think the same holds true for inner-city schools. The public, mainly white suburban public, hears what they want to hear. They hear the information that confirms their stereotype and rather than dig deeper to research all of the facts, they would rather accept what they hear in the media. It is less time consuming and ignoring the problem can be a lot easier than trying to mend the problem.
Quote 7 - Oakes 421
"Tracking forces schools to play an active role in perpetuating social and economic inequalities."
Quote 8 - Spring 57
"Simply defined, social reproduction means that the schools reproduce the social-class structure of society."
I put these two quotes together because this is a huge issue and both authors do an excellent job supporting how this tends to be true in inner-city schools. Oakes focuses on the issue of "tracking" and how it leads to separating students based on academic level which more often than not leads to segregating students based on color and income levels. The students who are placed in the lower levels have probably not received the same type of education as those who come from advantaged families. Oakes correlates how these lower groups are usually comprised of minority groups.
Spring addresses the teaching style that low-income and inner-city schools use. There tends to be more conformity, and the schools are more authoritarian than schools with higher-income families (Spring 58). The common theme of my quote is: When and where does this end? Who is the first to put an end to this? Who can we rely on, if anybody, to step up and challenge the education system, the media, and society as a whole?
Sunday, February 7, 2010
My quotes today are coming from The Shame of the Nation by Jonathan Kozol. These are quotes I have chose are located in the first 3 chapters and I selected these in particular because of the viewpoint that author uses throughout this section. Kozol relies heavily on the feedback from the students in the public schools he visits to see and reflect on what really occurs.
p. 12 "I have been criticized throughout the course of my career for placing too much faith in the reliability of children's narratives; but I have almost always found that children are a great deal more reliable in telling us what actually goes on in public school than many of the adult experts who develop policies that shape their destinies."
When I read this line I thought for a moment about how much dialogue consists between teachers and students on a daily basis. Following this, I wonder if each party is truly listening to the other. Now, Kozol is taking a step back after countless interactions with school officials and learned individuals (I'm assuming) in the political and education realm and he is declaring that he would rather listen to the opinions of a 7-year-old than that of an educated adult. I would imagine that he is not only talking to the young individuals, but truly listening to what they have to say. I would also venture to say that they can probably provide more honesty and insight than many adults give them credit for. Several of the following quotes are from these school-aged children and I begin to see why Kozol places so much emphasis on their contribution and insight.
p. 15 "Since she only had the slightest knowledge of what schools were like outside her neighborhood, there would be no reason why she would remark upon the fact that there were no white children in her class. This, at least, is how I had interpreted her silence on the matter in the past."
Kozol is speaking about the young girl, Pineapple, he befriended in a school in the South Bronx. He mentions how they had conversed several times in the past and she never once mentioned the issue of color or the fact that there were no white children in her class. Kozol then continues that she is curious about the matter, that she has questions yet was hesitant to ask. Where and at what age do children begin to understand the differences in their lives? Are they exposed to these things through the media or at school or at home? This is not a topic that should be pushed under the rug because then it takes that much longer to find a solution or put one into effect. In Pineapple's case, she didn't speak about it so it was assumed she didn't know anything about it. The complete opposite was true. She felt a separation between the "you" and the "us" and used that in her conversation. She had questions about the way other people lived yet never had the outlet to express them. I have no idea what it is like to work in an urban school, but in a school where diversity is practically nonexistent I would hope that a child can inquire about these things somewhere because they are present. Again, this goes back to the first quote, how children can be brutally honest and they do not always mask their questions or doubts. Perhaps, at times, that is the better of the two options.
p. 28 "It's like we're being hidden."
This is the response of a high school student in a deeply segregated school in Harlem when asked about racial segregation. I believe this would be a comment that not only one student could or would make. For this girl, there was a sense that she did not even matter. If this individual has this sense of worth at the age of 15, what could happen and what needs to happen in order to change her perspective? This view, I would imagine, is ingrained in her mind. She is a child who is not thinking like one. This does not represent the carefree attitude one would hope for for a 15 year old. If the most innocent years of her life were tainted by this thought, that she is 'being hidden' from the outside world, how can she formulate another perspective if life continues in this pattern and she sees the segregated schools remaining segregated?
p. 29 "I think they'd be relieved."
Similar to the quote on page 28, a fellow student made this response how Americans would feel if she died or left for somewhere else. This is the sort of rawness Kozol is looking for in his interviews. I would not imagine a public official using this sort of language. Children do not hold back on their opinions and especially an opinion about this topic. Again, this sense that these students do not matter when it comes to general society is a tremendous thought at such a young age. This young individuals live and breathe this everyday and when does that change?
p. 37 "It is harder to convince young people they 'can learn' when they are cordoned off by a society that isn't sure they really can."
I would like to tie this quote in with the 2 quotes by the young students above (p. 28 & 29). Kozol states that as a whole, society does not have faith in these individuals. I think this is a loaded statement and a lot goes into it. Now he is asking how do you convince a child, who may already believe he or she is not valued by society, that prosperity is ahead. In addition to this, who is supposed to be trying to convince these students who already feel this way? As a teacher, what can you tell your students? Do you avoid the issue as perhaps Pineapple's teachers did (therefore she never had the opportunity to inquire) or do you raise the topic and have that difficult but absolutely necessary conversation? This would also require the teacher to actively listen for the student's point of view, especially if the teacher is not from the area or did not grow up in a similar environment as his or her students.
p. 71 "The uniform activities and teacher's words controlled my own experience perhaps as much as they controlled and muted the expressiveness of children."
As the author comments on the type of mandatory instruction the teachers must provide, he himself feels silenced. I suppose he has had many experiences where he has been spoken to, but I through his words, I feel as though he is regressing in the part of the book to the age of the students with whom he is sitting, and feeling incredibly uncomfortable. These young people possess the natural reaction to shout and and say what is on their mind and express themselves freely and truthfully, are not given the liberty to do so. Not that this should be encouraged all of the time, but children are not robots, they need to let out their energy and given an outlet every once in a while.
p. 72 "Nearly the entire schoolday comes to be a matter of unnatural theatrics that cannot be improvised to any real degree without the risk of teachers being criticized by their superiors."
Kozol ridicules how the lessons (in which his opinions are 'muted') at P.S. 65 are premade, or as I would call them cookie cutter lessons. These students are being educated by a group of people who sat down and put together materials that a number of students would receive. They material may have absolutely nothing to do with their real lives, nothing to which they can relate. I do not know for a fact but I would also assume that the people who comprised the material did not come from the same background as the students. Assuming this, I would then go one step further and say that the material being presented most likely does not have a strong connection to the life that the students know. A useful strategy that I have been exposed to is activating prior knowledge or creating background knowledge if it does not already exist. How can a teacher make the subjects come alive if they are not given the opportunity to deviate or expand on any of the topics? I was shocked to read this, I had no idea that this sort of instruction even existed and Kozol's anger towards this comes through in this section. Rightfully so.
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