Sunday, February 22, 2009
Japan Math Video
Looking at the Japan Math Video, I am surprised how noisy the classroom is and how much is looks like an American classroom. Because I cannot understand what is being said, it if difficult for me to gauge the quality of the teaching.
"Did You Know" Video
I have seen this video before and absolutely love it. It really makes one think. My initial reaction was fear for my own children and for my husband and family. My brother and husband are in IT and they are experiencing layoffs all around them as jobs are outsourced to India. If you haven’t kept current or paid attention to where the cheese is going, what kind of job do you get in your 50’s? Sometimes I think preparing students for the 21st century is not that different than preparing them for the 20th century. Intelligence, hard work and good luck have always been what makes someone successful, and I don’t know how much this will change. There is very little I learned in high school or college for that matter that prepared me for my profession. In order to survive and thrive, students will need to go the extra mile, be passionate about their work and independently learn what they don’t already know. The question is, how do you teach intelligence, motivation and an ethic of hard work? As a reading specialist, I see the need for strong literacy skills and a strong need for student motivation. If you are not intrinsically motivated, you will be left behind because motivation, passion and curiosity cannot easily be taught. Who’s scared? Kids starting college right now. They’ve been told that by the time they graduate, what they have learned will be outdated. As far as excellent teaching goes, it is possible to be an excellent teacher without using technology because current curriculum does not require it. But in reality, the answer is no. My experience is that elementary teachers, young and old, are verbally oriented and afraid of technology.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
EWEG/NCLB Grant
I would utilize the EWEG/NCLB grant in the following manner:
Title I:
Hire an additional highly qualified Basic Skills Math teacher to provide small group instruction to those students scoring below 200 on the NJ ASK 8.
Title II:
Although there are 3 levels of math classes in this middle school (grade level, enriched, honors),I would provide workshops in differentiated instruction.
Hire substitutes so teachers would have release time to analyze test results and look for areas of student/teacher weakness.
Hire consultants to help teachers use prior data to drive future instruction.
Title III:
Purchase computer programs that guide bi-lingual students through the consistent verbiage of Math word problems and short answers.
Title IV:
This middle school has already hired a Guidance Counselor.
The additional $3500 can be used to send this counselor to outside workshops as well as purchase materials for student assemblies.
Title V:
A new piece of curriculum will be written and added to the existing curriculum entitled TEST TAKING AS A GENRE. In addition, all teachers will be required to take an NJ ASK 8.
Title I:
Hire an additional highly qualified Basic Skills Math teacher to provide small group instruction to those students scoring below 200 on the NJ ASK 8.
Title II:
Although there are 3 levels of math classes in this middle school (grade level, enriched, honors),I would provide workshops in differentiated instruction.
Hire substitutes so teachers would have release time to analyze test results and look for areas of student/teacher weakness.
Hire consultants to help teachers use prior data to drive future instruction.
Title III:
Purchase computer programs that guide bi-lingual students through the consistent verbiage of Math word problems and short answers.
Title IV:
This middle school has already hired a Guidance Counselor.
The additional $3500 can be used to send this counselor to outside workshops as well as purchase materials for student assemblies.
Title V:
A new piece of curriculum will be written and added to the existing curriculum entitled TEST TAKING AS A GENRE. In addition, all teachers will be required to take an NJ ASK 8.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
A Whole New Mind
As we enter the 21st century at last,
Programmers and techies are a thing of the past.
Artists and storytellers and consolers are IT,
But I have trouble making this fit.
To imply that Don Trump doesn’t engage in big thinking,
Or that Gates and Jobs spend their time merely tinkering.
That none of these people are makers of meaning,
Or creative or empathizers is, in fact, demeaning.
Why do you think that L-directed thinking,
Is somehow devoid of empathy and creating?
You say as technologies become powerful and connected,
That linear thinkers will eventually be rejected.
Perhaps Pink wrote this book in a period of time,
When everyone called prosperity and abundance mine.
But with layoffs and Dow dips and foreclosures of houses,
He may need to rethink all he espouses.
There is no doubt that an R-directed approach,
Has merit in this world and is beyond reproach.
But the reality is I want an L-directed doctor-o,
To treat my condition unless I’m ready to go (to the great beyond).
To see the big picture is necessary for sure,
But often R-directed thinkers miss it even more.
What makes you think that they see the big scene,
Or somehow see the forest and the trees.
If I should be stranded on an island one day,
And I’m trying to get off like Hanks in Castaway.
Don’t send me the guy who wants to play,
Or tell me a story at the end of the day.
These things are good for comfort and peace,
But not for getting me home with the greatest of ease.
Send me the guy who can build a seaworthy craft,
And calculate wind velocities or repair my life raft.
R-directed thinkers make use of the stuff,
Created by L-directed thinkers, sure enough.
What would the dancer and artist do,
Without the tools and materials developed anew.
So, yes, the future is a Conceptual Age,
With skills and knowledge that are hard to gauge.
Although what you say has a great deal of merit,
Is it a realistic portrayal of the world my children will inherit?
As we enter the 21st century at last,
Programmers and techies are a thing of the past.
Artists and storytellers and consolers are IT,
But I have trouble making this fit.
To imply that Don Trump doesn’t engage in big thinking,
Or that Gates and Jobs spend their time merely tinkering.
That none of these people are makers of meaning,
Or creative or empathizers is, in fact, demeaning.
Why do you think that L-directed thinking,
Is somehow devoid of empathy and creating?
You say as technologies become powerful and connected,
That linear thinkers will eventually be rejected.
Perhaps Pink wrote this book in a period of time,
When everyone called prosperity and abundance mine.
But with layoffs and Dow dips and foreclosures of houses,
He may need to rethink all he espouses.
There is no doubt that an R-directed approach,
Has merit in this world and is beyond reproach.
But the reality is I want an L-directed doctor-o,
To treat my condition unless I’m ready to go (to the great beyond).
To see the big picture is necessary for sure,
But often R-directed thinkers miss it even more.
What makes you think that they see the big scene,
Or somehow see the forest and the trees.
If I should be stranded on an island one day,
And I’m trying to get off like Hanks in Castaway.
Don’t send me the guy who wants to play,
Or tell me a story at the end of the day.
These things are good for comfort and peace,
But not for getting me home with the greatest of ease.
Send me the guy who can build a seaworthy craft,
And calculate wind velocities or repair my life raft.
R-directed thinkers make use of the stuff,
Created by L-directed thinkers, sure enough.
What would the dancer and artist do,
Without the tools and materials developed anew.
So, yes, the future is a Conceptual Age,
With skills and knowledge that are hard to gauge.
Although what you say has a great deal of merit,
Is it a realistic portrayal of the world my children will inherit?
Monday, February 9, 2009
Dear E.D. Hirsch
Dear E.D.Hirsch,
Although there are those who disagree with many of your theories on education, you should be commended for your life long work in trying to close the achievement gap. Your views on student instruction are vastly different from what is being put forth in current teacher/administrator preparation programs, but reminds me of what was taught during my undergraduate work in the 1970’s. At that time, the focus in education was on the inequities of schooling black vs. white students because of black dialects and lack of early, relevant real world experiences – hence, Headstart and other preschool programs which would narrow the gap.
Content rich early curriculum during the 70’s and 80’s seemed like the answer to student’s inability to comprehend. As we moved into the 90’s, we began to see that delivering content and providing early experiences had not significantly closed the gap and perhaps there were other changes that needed to be made to the way we educated students.
During the last decade, the fabric of our country has changed. It is no longer just children who are black and white, but children of all races, nationalities and religions who being educated in this country. The fact that reading performance has changed very little from the 1970’s to now would indicate that what we’ve been doing has not worked as well as we had hoped.
Some have criticized you for the changes it appears you have made in your thinking on core curriculum, but I admire you for being willing to update your views according to current research. Perhaps the answer lies somewhere between teaching core curriculum in a top down transmission format and a bottom up constructivist method.
Sincerely,
Elise Miller
Although there are those who disagree with many of your theories on education, you should be commended for your life long work in trying to close the achievement gap. Your views on student instruction are vastly different from what is being put forth in current teacher/administrator preparation programs, but reminds me of what was taught during my undergraduate work in the 1970’s. At that time, the focus in education was on the inequities of schooling black vs. white students because of black dialects and lack of early, relevant real world experiences – hence, Headstart and other preschool programs which would narrow the gap.
Content rich early curriculum during the 70’s and 80’s seemed like the answer to student’s inability to comprehend. As we moved into the 90’s, we began to see that delivering content and providing early experiences had not significantly closed the gap and perhaps there were other changes that needed to be made to the way we educated students.
During the last decade, the fabric of our country has changed. It is no longer just children who are black and white, but children of all races, nationalities and religions who being educated in this country. The fact that reading performance has changed very little from the 1970’s to now would indicate that what we’ve been doing has not worked as well as we had hoped.
Some have criticized you for the changes it appears you have made in your thinking on core curriculum, but I admire you for being willing to update your views according to current research. Perhaps the answer lies somewhere between teaching core curriculum in a top down transmission format and a bottom up constructivist method.
Sincerely,
Elise Miller
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Part III The Saber Tooth Curriculum
It makes sense that education should be based on important skills needed by society in the present and in the future. Why do students have to read the classics? Wouldn't time be better spent teaching students how to navigate unfamiliar text? Why do students learn the details of U.S. History I. Does anyone really have to know about some tariff that was passed 200 years ago? As a teacher who spends her life living and breathing literacy, even I have to question why we teach students to write descriptive essays when most will never write one again in their lives after they leave the academic world. Yes, education needs to change.
Curriculum change cannot just reflect the common goals of the community. This definition is too narrow. If everyone in my town is a blue collar worker, should the curriculum just teach the skills necessary to be a plumber or auto mechanic? Our students need to be taught the skills to function as global citizens.
Curriculum needs to focus on both skills and content knowledge. Skills are important for enabling students to function as successful future citizens, but content knowledge provides a person with some basis for making decisions. This reminds me of the Catholic school educated mom who decides that her children will make their own decisions with regard to the religion they will choose to follow. But Mom doesn't realize that unlike herself, her children have no knowledge or frame of reference to base their decision on.
Curriculum change cannot just reflect the common goals of the community. This definition is too narrow. If everyone in my town is a blue collar worker, should the curriculum just teach the skills necessary to be a plumber or auto mechanic? Our students need to be taught the skills to function as global citizens.
Curriculum needs to focus on both skills and content knowledge. Skills are important for enabling students to function as successful future citizens, but content knowledge provides a person with some basis for making decisions. This reminds me of the Catholic school educated mom who decides that her children will make their own decisions with regard to the religion they will choose to follow. But Mom doesn't realize that unlike herself, her children have no knowledge or frame of reference to base their decision on.
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