Finland Phenominon

If the U.S. wants to improve their school system, Finland would be the one to model after.  They have a system in place that:

1) Creates a relaxed atmosphere for better learning - the students address their teacher by first name;
2) Maintains small class sizes - 20 students per class;
3) Integrates all children together - no special treatments;
4) Kids start school at the age of seven;
5) Students remain with the same teacher for many years - can maintain a more personal level;
6) Learn only 3-4 subjects per day - can get more in depth with each subject (75-minute math class);
7) Test only at the end of class;
8) Teach students how to think; and
9) Promote family time together. 

As a whole, my teaching beliefs are in line with Finland's.  I am intrigued to learn more about Finland and model some of my own teaching after them. 

Poland Scores Late Goals in Education

This article is very encouraging to struggling school systems.  We have read many things about Finland's success, and now we see Poland has gone from a struggling school system with economic issues, to the nation with the fastest improving system.  I think we could model our own school system and teacher training on either of them. Just as we are being told not to be ashamed about asking the younger generation technology questions, we should not be ashamed to speak with Finland's educators on how they operate their schools and what kind of training their teachers have in order to be considered high-quality, or we could integrate some of Poland's methods of improvement.

http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4094370874905903564#editor/target=post;postID=789549897708488742

Many Nations Passing U.S. in Education

I tend to agree with the statement in this article that U.S. children are over entertained and distracted.  In the U.S. we have an increasing number of families that are divided; the children live with one parent and have visitation rights with the other.  Generally, the two parents fight for their children's acceptance and want to be the "cool" parent so they buy their kids all of the "cool" electronics and gadgets.  They also allow their children to make use of their own time with gaming systems because they don't want to be the "bad parent" who tell them to do their homework instead.  In households that still have two parents, it is common to see both parents working outside of the home.  In this case, the kids may be at home by themselves and there is noone there to make sure they are finding educational things to occupy their time.  Instead, they sit in front of their gaming systems. We are focusing more of our attention on other things and have lost the true importance of our children's education. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/10/education/10educ.html

Education Slowdown Threatens U.S.

I think this article did a nice job of providing statistics to show the changes over the years.

While some of the reasoning for the drop-outs may be related to finances, I believe the major issue with today's younger generation is that they lack the motivation to continue their education, and at their ages, they also lack the maturity to make sound decisions.  They feel that it is perfectly okay to drop out of school and earn minimum wages.  They lack the maturity to be able to plan for the future when they decide to start a family and realize the expenses involved; the expenses are completely different than just paying for yourself.  Then we wonder why we have so many people living in poverty when they get older.  I would, therefore, support President Obama's requirement that all students must graduate from high school, or stay in school until they are at least 18 years of age.  If it were up to me, I would increase that age limit to 23 or 24. 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304177104577307580650834716.html

Art Education as Common-Core Partner

I am in agreement that art and drama classes are an important part of learning for children, however, I do not see how they coincide with math.  I would link art to history when learning the backgrounds of the artists.  Both art and drama classes require creative thinking, which is why they are so important to the curriculum.  I believe there are certain classes than can be collaborative with learning, such as I believe math could be used in physical education classes.  An example would be that kids could use measurements in figuring out how far they need to jump in the Long Jump, or at what rate of speed they need to travel around the track to meet a specific time requirement.  We need to become more creative in our teaching techniques and utilize every opportunity we can to include major classes like math, science and technology. 

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/12/12/14arts.h32.html?tkn=SWOFZtFWcB3iDjyYpjIixWkiDGSGIzx%2BWkiW&cmp=clp-edweek

Educator Aided Others at Cheating

Unbelievable!  To think this guy worked in the Memphis City School District for 23 years, not to mention that he held the position of an assistant principal and guidance counselor during that time, is absolutely incredible.  I am also taken back by the fact that licensed teachers could be "bought out" to take a test for someone whom is afraid of not passing the teaching exam, not to mention that the three states (Mississippi, Arkansas and Tennessee) already have low passing standards. 

It makes me wonder how many current teachers passed their certification by way of cheating, since this had been going on for approximately 15 years.  It also makes me wonder if this, or something similar to this, has happened in any of our local school districts - what a scary thought! 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/27/us/educator-aided-others-at-cheating-us-charges.html?ref=us&_r

Knife Attack at Chinese School

This article caught my eye in light of the recent school shooting in Connecticut.  I always thought school violence only seemed to be a problem in America, but this article proves that there are problems in schools all over the world.  There seems to have been more violence in schools over the last decade.  In 2003 we had the local ROCORI shooting where two people ended up dead at the hands of one person who was allegedly retaliating against one of the victims for school bullying.  The shooter ended up being the son of a sheriff's deputy of Stearns County, whom at the time was 15 years old, and is now serving a life sentence in prison.  It makes me wonder what we are doing differently from in the past that school violence is increasing.  I think schools, and parents, both play an important role in teaching children how to get along and eliminating bullying- schools have a better opportunity when so many children are together at one time and place; parents have the obligation because...they are the parents and should be expected to be the role model at home.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/14/world/asia/china-knife-attack/index.html?hpt=wo_c2

Education Nation Book - Chapter 6

This chapter was called the Youth Edge and it was talking about how technology has changed from generation-to-generation.  It explains how each generation uses the internet for different purposes, but that the younger generation knows technology better than the older generation.  As the author points out, kids know more about computers than we give them credit for.  We should be taking this into consideration when we begin to teach.  What better way to get the kids involved in their own learning than by placing them in their chosen environment of technology.  In kids's spare time, what do they do?  They jump on their computer, ipads, or their cell phones and visit YouTube, social networking sites, etc.  If they choose to spend their own free time with technology, it is an obvious sign to us future educators that we should incorporate computers into their learning style.  We can also build their self-esteems by asking them to show us, the adults, how to locate good teaching sites - since we all know that kids seem to know about websites that are unknown to adults, or know how to locate them. 

Sabastian Witherspoon

Sabastian Witherspoon is certainly a motivational speaker.  He began by telling us that he was a minister's son and a high-school drop-out.  I can only imagine that there was a lot of pressure to become successful or to "do the right things," as a minister's son.  Then one day he decided to go back to school and obtain his GED.  After obtaining his GED, he took the next step and went to college.  He went through several years of college (enough years that he could be a doctor by now) and ended up working in a school district. 

As Sabastian stated, there are a lot of issues dealing with mixed races in the school system.  He also stated that 50% of all black boys never graduate from high school - that's an aweful high number.   One of the biggest pointers that Sabastian gave us, as future educators, is to learn how to relate to each of the different races; to build a relationship with each child and let them know that you care about them and their future success.  I think this is very good advice.  Every child needs to feel that you care about them. 

Group 10 Presenters - Gifted & Talented Students

I have mixed feelings about AP classes being offered to kids. While I feel the program is great for the kids to feel challenged, I sometimes feel that AP classes put too much pressure on them to excel.  Too much preassure can cause kids to have lower self-esteems.  I tend to support combining gifted and non-gifted students together.  As the group stated, the gifted kids can be great role models for the others.   To keep them from getting bored, I would see if they would like to do a form of tutoring.  Sometimes kids learn better from other kids.

I found it interesting that the number of students in AP classes are increasing.  I am a little surprised by this because it seems that when school districts come out with standards test scores, we are seeing more school districts that are failing.  If we had more AP students, I would think our percentages would be higher. 

This group presented an important message that no matter if the child is in special education, mainstream, or in a gifted program, they all need to be challenged and engaged, or they lose interest.

This was a very informative presentation.  Nice job!

Group 8 Presenters - Separation of Church & State

This group did a nice job of presenting.  I especially liked the way they broke down the meaning of the Pledge of Allegiance.  I think we, as citizens of the United States, go through the motions of saying the Pledge, but how many of us have actually thought about it's meaning?  I believe it should be made a priority for everyone to know what they are pledging. 

When I went to school, saying the Pledge was the way to start every morning off.  Now, with more diversity in schools, I have often wondered how the school handles the controversy that may come along with the daily recital that we had.  This group answered my question during their presentation.

I also liked how the group stressed that personal believes may be expressed in school, and students can pray in school...as long as it does not disrupt class and it is student led.   Because it was stressed that these things can be done if it "does not interrupt class," it brings to mind my field experience when I witnessed a group of Somalians who were allowed to leave, in the middle of a lesson, to go pray while the other kids had to sit and wait for them.  To me, this would be considered a disruption and, therefore, brings me to question how they are allowed to leave for this purpose.  The teacher appeared just as frustrated as I was with the interruption.  

This presentation had some very good information.  Well done! 

Group 7 Presenters - Family Involvement in Education

This group presented a lot of interesting facts about how family involvement affects kids's educations.  I was amazed to hear that kids are 40% more likely to repeat a grade if their dad is not involved in their education.  Thinking of how many single-parent homes we have now really puts things into perspective as a future educator.  More thought needs to be put into how to get split-families involved in education to help the child succeed. 

I liked the ideas that this group shared on how to integrate family into the child's education (i.e. "Donuts with Dads" and "Muffins with Moms" or a welcoming ceremony). I don't believe most families realize how much parent involvement in a child's education makes to the child.

I'm glad this group brought up the point about families having a sit-down dinner and asking about each child's day at school.  I think we all take for granted how much that really means to the child.  We live in such a fast-paced society now that we forget the most crucial, yet small things we can do to stay connected with our kids. 

Very nicely done! 

Education Nation Book - Chapter 5

This chapter was called the Co-Teaching Edge and it was referring to the involvement of everyone in a child's education, from their parents to their teacher to themselves.  I believe some local schools are on the right track in trying to involve parents in their children's educations by offering an on-line program to keep track of missing assignments, grades and attendance.  However, there is a major downfall with the program and that is that the majority of the teachers are not using the program correctly.  It appears that they have not been properly trained on how to use the system. I have found that when a teacher posts an assignment due on a specific date, but does not enter a grade for that assignment, the student's report will show the assignment as being past due.  I don't believe most of the teachers realize that this is happening.  In my own personal experience, as a proactive parent, I have sent the teacher an email to check on an assignment for one of my kids and have found that my child has turned in the work, but the teacher has not entered the grade, which results in the generated notice of a past-due assignment.  I think it's a great idea of the school district's to use this type of system as a means to keep working parents involved with their children's educations, but the teachers need to be better trained on how to use the program before it is rolled out.  Otherwise, it creates more work for both the parent and the teacher in emailing back and forth to get the assignment issue resolved.  Additionally, I have now became frustrated and lost faith in the accuracy of the system so I tend to disregard notices of missing assignments - it's main purpose was to communicate with parents on these issues.  

Another great concept that has been started by teachers is to create their own websites that parents can go to view what their child is learning in the classroom, and sometimes to view assignments that they should be working on.  Having two kids and 7 teachers for each of them, it gets to be a little unrealistic for me to check each of their web pages to see what is happening in the classroom. 

Communication with parents is key to a child's education, but the sources need to be consistent and accurate or the level of trust is broken. 

Education Nation Book - Chapter 4

This chapter was called The Time/Place Edge.  The Time Edge was talking about the need for extended school hours to keep up with other countries.  I believe kids need longer school days in order to cover all necessary subjects in greater depth.  The 50-minute class periods the kids currently have do not allow the teacher enough time to teach the subject matter.  By the time everyone is seated and quieted down and attendance is taken, suddenly your 50-minute class period has been shortened to 30-35 minutes.  In that 30-35 minutes a teacher may have to stop instruction to handle disruption or answer questions.  With the time left in the day, you cannot get students to concentrate on the material being presented, nor is there enough time to dig deep into the instruction material. 

Longer school days would also limit the number of kids who stay home alone after school until their parent(s) get home from work.  I do believe that children need quality time with their families and also time to participate in after-school sports.  However, the majority of today's kids choose to spend their time after school playing on electronic devices rather than getting physical exercise.  Longer school days would allow time for a mandatory physical education class for all students. 

Other countries, and even some schools in the US, have already implemented the longer school year with shorter breaks instead of three months off in the summer.  The long summer break is when kids neglect practicing their reading and math, and choose to sit in front of the TV or computer instead.  Studies have found that during the long summer break students lose retention of the material learned the year before, causing the teachers to review last year's material before moving on to the new.  This, again, wastes time that could have been used for learning new material. 

The Place Edge refers to how we can incorporate subjects like history and civic duties into the curriculum by building schools close to museums, libraries, historical sites, etc.  To me, the idea seems like a no-brainer.  If the community has access to these public buildings, why not encourage kids to learn by getting some hands-on experience and use the facilities for what they are meant to be used for - teaching and learning.  The expense is little to none at these places. 

Education Nation Book - Chapter 3

This chapter was called the Technology Edge and it talked a lot about how schools should be integrating technology into the curriculum.  Kids start using computers and gaming systems at a very young age so I think they would be more comfortable and better engaged in the learning process if they could use technology on a day-to-day basis.  It would be very natural and "fun" for them to have an electronic device at their fingertips.  Some sort of security would need to be in place so that students do not access inappropriate information, even accidentally. 

The author also talked about offering internet or videoconferenced classes to students.  This could be helpful for students that live in small cities or school districts that do not have enough funding to hire what they consider to be highly qualified teachers, say for spanish immersion.  Possibly the school districts could then share in the cost of the teacher for this type of class.  Students would also have 24/7 access to ask the teacher questions through email and get a faster response than waiting until the next class period.  The time spent asking the teacher a question before or after class also uses up instructional time.  One issue I see with using technology as a means of communication is that any communication that isn't face-to-face can be construed incorrectly. 

I especially enjoyed the philosophy of hockey player, Wayne Gretzky, when he was referring to school's looking ahead to the future and using technology as a learning tool.  He said "Most players skate to where the puck is.  I skate to where the puck is going to be."  That statement is so true in that school districts need to look to the future to see what job skills are going to be needed, or what kind of technology will be used.  Other countries are well ahead of the US when it comes to looking to the future. 

Education Nation Book - Chapter 2

This chapter was the Curriculum Edge and it compared the US education system to the education systems of other countries.  It is apparent from the comparisons that other countries spend more time teaching a subject in greater depth so that the subject is thoroughly covered and students know the subject well.  In the US we cram too many subjects into our day.  Kids never really grasp one subject completely before we move on to the next subject.  In the end, US kids know little about a lot of subjects, whereas in other countries, the kids have complete knowledge of core subjects. 

Our schools also need to stay more current on what is taught.  We keep using old methods of teaching instead of integrating today's technology into the learning process.   As discussed in this chapter, more than one subject can be combined into one lesson plan (i.e. math and science can go hand-in-hand).  This would eliminate the problem of not enough time in the day to cover all subjects. 

Education Reforms Risk Stifling Creativity

The speaker in this article, English singer Billy Bragg, brings up an interesting point about schools eliminating classes like music, drama and art from the curriculum.  He states that schools immediately look to eliminate classes in the arts area as a first option over any other subjects.  There have been many studies that have shown that kids who participate in music achieve higher scores academically, particularly in math.  Art and drama students also tend to be more creative and are able to "think outside the box." These students are critical to our future.  Additionally, you find children who look forward to their art class.  It gives them a mental break from the classes that have been considered core classes. 
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/nov/12/billy-bragg-education-reforms-stifle-creativity?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487

Group 5 Presenters - Bullying

I loved this group's lesson plan idea with crinkling up a piece of paper and then unfolding it to demonstrate that all the crinkles remaining in the paper are the "scars" left in a victim of bullying.  It's amazing to think that 43% of students are afraid to go to the bathroom during the school day for fear of being bullied, and that one in four teens are victims of bullying.  These are some pretty high numbers.  I can see why schools put a lot of emphasis on anti-bullying. 

I learned that the color orange represents anti-bullying efforts.  Wonderful presentation!

Top Points from Chapter 8 & Listening to America

Both Chapter 8 from our textbook and the movie, Listening to America, illustrated how children from low income families are affected when it comes to their education.  Often times, there is only one parent raising the child(ren).  When the parent needs to work long hours to support the family, there is no adult at home to supervise what the child is doing, who they are hanging around with, monitoring what they are eating, nor to make sure the child is doing and understanding their homework.  All of these characteristics lead to low performance levels in school. 

Another point I took from the book and movie is that in areas where there is proper funding for the school, there are teachers who are certified to teach specialty classes, who have learned how to communicate with their students, and who have advanced technology for the children to learn.  

Finally, I found it interesting that only seven in 10 students that enter the ninth grade graduate with a regular diploma by the twelfth grade; American Indians, African Americans and Hispanics have only a 50/50 chance of completing high school.  This graduation ratio includes 63% of the students having more disabilities than average. 

Issues Impacting Vote

I am looking for what each of the presidential candidates have to say about:

1.  Education.  This is obviously a big concern of mine since it is the area that I am looking to get into, and knowing that today's children are our future leaders.  I have many concerns about where the education system is headed, but some of my main concerns involve the process in which children are being tested and evaluated, and its accuracy.  I am also concerned about the quality of education today's and future teachers are receiving. After all, education starts with the teacher.

2.  Health Care.  I am concerned about the rising costs of health care and the options that we have available to us when looking for comparable insurance companies.  I am also looking to see which candidate is thinking of our service men and women, and the type of health care they need upon returning to the U.S.

3.  Economy.  I am concerned with where our economy is currently at, and where it is yet headed.  Which candidate has the best plan for getting our economy back on track and people back to work?  Unemployment statistics are completely unreliable because they do not take into account the unemployed who have maxed out on their unemployment benefits; they are no longer counted as being employed, nor receiving unemployment benefits. These people are completely unaccounted for.

Above all, I know that I need to look for the candidate that doesn' t just "talk-the-talk" in order to be elected president.  I am looking for the candidate who has the best track record in following through on issues they say they have worked for or against.  The candidate I vote for will need to be the most trustworthy in taking action on the issues they say they will work on during their term as president.   

Group 4 Presenters - Special Education in Brazil

This group stated that it was difficult to find information on special education in Brazil.  Although they did read from the screen a lot, they gave it their best and provided historic information and personal photographs and experiences.  Their photographs really gave me a good perspective on what school is like for children in Brazil.  Well done!

Group 3 Presenters - Teachers Pay & Incentives

This group dressed very professionally, and they seemed knowledgeable about their subject matter; they must have done plenty of research.  I enjoyed watching the video they selected, which showed what differentiates a good teacher by the use of hand signals to let the teacher know the children are understanding what is being taught, setting high goals for the children by stating they are all going to get so much smarter, and a teacher who is not afraid to change their lesson plan if the current plan is not working for the children. 

It was also nice to learn how the pay scale works, and the explanation of how pay scales help with budgeting. 

This group did a fantastic job!

Group 2 Presenters - Diversity in the Classroom

This group brought a lot of personal experience to their presentation.  It is always nice to hear directly from someone who has first-hand experience in the field.  I learned about implants for the hearing-impaired student, and found the information interesting about the special education para needing to remain anonymous throughout the classroom.  The sample IEP was also helpful for listeners, such as myself, who have not seen what this form looks like.  Several perspectives with current teachers was also great to hear.  Nice job!

Amy Goodman

After listening to Amy Goodman speak for a little over an hour, the only thing I got out of her speaking was that she likes to bombard the audience with a plentiful list of names, throwing them out left and right.  She also took numerous opportunities to market her program, "Democracy Now."  I didn't feel that I took any new knowledge home with me. 

Bangladesh: Secondary Education for All

The thing that caught my eye in this article was the approach used to improve schools and the highlights.  It, specifically, mentions that teacher training focused on the quality of training and the use of performance incentives for schools and students.  Another interesting note is that school management committees and parent-teacher associations also received the training.  There seems to have been a nice, combined effort in improving the school.   

http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/NEWS/0,,contentMDK:22702001~pagePK:64257043~piPK:437376~theSitePK:4607,00.html

Freedom Writers

Erin has a strong philosophy that, regardless of the kids' backgrounds or past actions, they need the proper tools and learning environment in order to get a good education.  Because she had students from different social backgrounds whom did not trust one another, she knew she needed to help them understand each other's backgrounds and the similarities they have with one another.  She needed to gain trust among her students and create a "family" (something they all lacked outside of the classroom). 

Erin also had to gain the students's trust in herself and show them that she was someone who cares about them; that they are not just another group of students passing through her classroom.  Erin was the voice for the kids in making sure the school administration realized the students's full potential, that they are smart kids and have the ability to treat school property with respect.  It is obvious that Erin's teaching career is not about the minimal salary she makes; it is about the quality of education the kids deserve.  In many ways she becomes the mother the kids do not have at home. 

I have seen this movie twice now and both times it held my attention throughout the movie. I think the reason is that I share similar philosophies with Erin, so I could picture myself in the classroom with the students and using some of the same teaching techniques.

Group 1 Presenters - Studying Abroad

I thought the group did a nice job in creating their PowerPoint presentation.  The colors they used in the slides were pleasing to the eye and the information and pictures were very informative.  They definitely did their research.  This group added a nice touch with having a speaker from the Study Abroad Department come in and give additional information; she was also a good source for answering questions.  Their pamphlets were interesting to read.  I did not realize that this program offered so many choices on places to visit.

One thing I did note that could have been improved was the manner in which the information was presented.  The information was read word-for-word from the slides, rather than just having key points on the slides and the members of the group presenting from their knowledge.  At times, they seemed to be speed-reading through the information. 

Overall, they did a nice job.

Does Obesity Affect School Performance?

I find it hard to believe that obesity, in itself, would cause lower test scores.  I could understand if it was a portion of the cause, but not solely the cause.  Early in the article it states, "Studies have variously found that obese students -- and especially girls -- tend to have lower test scores than their slimmer peers..."  A question comes to mind as to why girls would be more affected on their test scores than boys.  This statement tells me that the study is more about appearance and/or self-esteem.  People who have been bullied or whom have low self-esteem tend to do more poorly in school.  Obesity can be the cause of low self-esteem.  Logical reasoning would suggest that lower test scores could also be more affected by someone's lack of interest in the subject matter being tested.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/06/14/health/obesity-affect-school-performance/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_education+%28RSS%3A+Education%29

Education Nation Book - Chapter 1

I found the first chapter of Education Nation to be interesting. The author is an excellent writer.  He brings out some good points on our school system and the learning process as a whole.  Two particular comments I found to be so true were: 1) the biggest change we have seen in schools has been going from chalk to markers (in reference to having tests scores repeat themselves and yet we keep teaching in the same manner), and 2) if students have a choice and voice in what and how they learn, they'll work harder at it. 

The book mentioned something we already knew....that children learn by repetition.  However, the author pointed out that we need to teach subjects in more depth rather than skim through several topics throughout a school year. Skimming through subjects does not allow kids to actually learn the subject.  

Children also need to be engaged and interested in the subject being taught.  The author suggests finding out what kids enjoy doing and connect learning to it. 

Africa's Twin Education Crisis

Reading articles like this one just frustrates me.  Once I read how people rely so much on the government for support, I cannot keep an open mind on the other issues because I think the major problem starts on the heavy reliance of government money.  I believe the people need to make a good-faith effort in controlling some of these issues on their own.  For example, it states in this article that Africa has the world's fastest growing population.  Regardless of how educated a person is, I believe we all have enough common sense to know how to control population, and if we don't, then funds should be used to educate on that issue first.  Once population is controlled, the rest of the issues will fall into place.  You will no longer have the problem of population growing faster than the number of people whom can be supported in the education system.  China may have it right with the one-child per family rule.  This is a very sensitive subject, even in America, but I believe it is a big factor in how much funding is needed in our education systems.  Families need to realize their limits on how many children they can support on their own.  Government spending should be utilized on the quality of the education, and the quality of the spaces in which we learn. 

http://allafrica.com/stories/201209260495.html

Teacher Town Hall (Education Nation Movie)

I found the Teacher Town Hall discussion to be very interesting.  It gave me a real insight on the problems and challenges that teachers face today.  Some of the main concerns are:

1.  Teacher Perceptions.  The general public views teachers as being more concerned about their salaries and working conditions, and less on the children.  The public also views teachers as being lazy and not working hard enough.  The real problem is that the wrong issues are being discussed.  The focus should be on the children and what their needs are.

2.  Parent Involvement.  The majority of teachers (84%) do not see parents as being involved in their child's education and believe this has a very strong impact on student improvement.  A number of different solutions were presented:  1) create an advocacy program; 2) use technology to inform parents of what is happening in the classroom; 3) visit the parent's environment to discuss education; and 4) engage students in the trust building process so parents see the teacher's best interests lie with their child's education and well-being.  In single-parent homes, more male teachers can serve as a role model.

3.  Academic Gaps.  Traditionally, there have been gaps in the method in which children are gauged academically from state-to-state.  The "Common Core" standards (tougher, more demanding standards) are to be put in place by 2014.  With the same standards being used across the nation, an "A" will mean an "A" everywhere.  There will be a common expectation, state-to-state, as to what children are expected to learn.

4.  Charter Schools vs. Public Schools.  Public schools are scrutinized for having teacher's unions.  High performance tends to correlate with union involvement.  Charter schools are benefiting from more resources. Resources should be divided equally.

5.  Poverty.  Poverty is not measured on standardized tests.  More than 84% of the children in Chicago schools receive reduced or free lunch.  This percentage consists mainly of minority groups. Caucasian children have the resources to opt-out of the system, but the minority groups do not have the resources to do the same. 

Eva Kor's Survival at Auschwitz

Eva Kor is a 78-year old survivor of Dr. Josef Mengele's genetic research project in Auschwitz consisting of children from the ages of 2-16, the majority being sets of twins.  She articulates her story in such a way that you would never get the impression of how bad it truly was for her and the rest of the "Mengele Children."  When Eva speaks you can sense a lot of spunk in her character, which is probably what can be attributed to her survival.     



Eva and her twin sister, Miriam, were 10 years old at the time they were separated from their family and used as guinea pigs for research purposes.  In this picture you will see Eva and Miriam revealing the tattoos (a research number) each of the children received. 

Approximately 1500 sets of twins were placed in horrific, rat-infested living conditions with little food to eat. They were subjected to long days of standing naked and having their bodies measured inch-by-inch.  At one point both Miriam and her sister became deathly ill from the series of injections each of them received.  With Eva's determination to make it out of the camp alive, she recovered and helped her sister survive as well.  Most of the children died. 

In January of 1945, a Soviet Army liberated the camp in which approximately 200 children were still alive.  At the age of 11, Eva and Mirium only had each other; they never saw their parents or two older sisters after they were separated and taken for research.  It took five additional years for the twins to feel free and no longer afraid of being persecuted for being Jewish. 

In 1993 Mirium died of bladder cancer; her kidneys had stopped functioning.  It was learned at this time that Mirium's kidneys remained the size of a teenage child.  Presumably, this was the result of the injections she received under Dr. Mengele's control.

In 1995, Eva found the courage to forgive Dr. Mengele and wrote a forgiveness letter.  How she could find it in herself to forgive the man responsible for torturing so many children, resulting in several child deaths, and for her own sister's death, is remarkable.  To be able to write a letter to this man, and visit the site in which the torturing took place, required a lot of courage on her part.  As Eva stated, she immediately had a huge weight lifted after giving her forgiveness.  It is Eva's hope that others will be able to forgive, as she did.

 

 

 

Push for Better Student Attendance

My initial reaction to this article is... wow!  To think that school districts need to resort to some sort of incentive to raise attendance rates is mind boggling.  I don't understand how parents can allow their children to skip school for things that can be avoided.  Understandably, some doctor appointments can be tough to schedule for after-school hours when everyone wants the same time blocks, but when parents pull their children from school to take family vacations, I think that is ridiculous in the parents' way of thinking.  This type of absence from school is completely avoidable with better planning on the part of the parents. There are many days in which the children have a break from school when family vacations can be scheduled. 

Recently, in my kids's school, they had a Walk-A-Thon for a fundraiser.  The more money they raised, the longer they could walk around the school track during the day.  As soon as their raised funds exhausted the time-frame allowed, they were instructed to join in the classroom.  One of my daughter's friends was allowed to skip school that day because it would have been a non-instructional day for her.  Personally, I have a problem with the girl's parents allowing her to skip school for that reason.  What are they teaching their daughter about: 1) the importance of community service for the fundraiser, and 2) that every day of school is just as important as the next.

Schools that receive funding based on their attendance rates rather than enrollment numbers have the worst set-up.  By using this type of funding requirement, schools are asking children who are not feeling well (with stomach aches, fevers or whatever) to show up for the beginning part of school so they can be counted as in attendance.  These schools are putting healthy kids and teachers at risk of becoming ill also.  We all know when we are employed and have a sick co-worker, we ask them to stay home until they are feeling better.  The same should be applied to school-aged children. 

I have mixed thoughts on the Saturday school idea.  While I can see the option being open to those that have school anxiety or bullying issues during the normal school week, I also wonder how the school budget is affected by this additional day of instruction. 

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-09-03/education-attendance-incentive/57561242/1

Historical Perspectives of Education - Chap. 3

The first key point of this chapter relates to enrollment growth and the size of classrooms.  This has been a problem for many years.  For example, I was in elementary school in the mid 70's to early 80's.  Over a span of about 3-4 years, all 5th and 6th grade classes were held in a wooden building called "temporaries."  The temporaries consisted of about 6 classrooms (3 classrooms for each the 5th and 6th grades).  Each classroom had an average of 30 kids and was about the size of a 2-3 stall garage.  When I went into junior high (separate building) in the early 80's, the school was still in need of space.  My class was then shuttled by bus over to an old NSP building for a couple classes, and then shuttled back to the main school for the remainder of the day.  Because of the lack of building space for so many children, the school district had to pay for a full-time bus driver to haul all of the kids to and from classes throughout the day, 5 days a week, which also means the school district was spending money for renting out the NSP building.  In reviewing the numbers given for school budgets over the course of each decade from the 40's to 90's, I learned that we have been more than doubling our school budget requirements over the course of each decade.  My own scenario brings me to wonder how much money school districts are spending in the long run when they are holding off on building larger or newer buildings and either paying for rented space over a period of several years or paying the higher expenses of an older building.

I was bothered by the second key point concerning the professionalism in teaching when I read that more children are being home schooled today than a few decades ago.  What comes to question is, how good of an education are children getting from being home schooled when the parents have not had formal training in how to teach the material to their children?  Even more bothersome is the idea that parents who home school can choose the "unschooling" method and allow their children to learn through "whatever they naturally do."  I feel that home-schooled children should have as structured a curriculum as those of their public-school peers. 

I found the section on the direction of education to be interesting in the way education was viewed in each time period.  As time went along, the descriptions of what they felt children should learn became more detailed, but included virtually the same topics. 

Before reading the "Preparation of Teachers" section in Chapter 3, I was not aware that in colonial times the teachers only had elementary educations themselves, and only had to know something about the subject matter to teach it.  I also did not realize that they had other duties that were unrelated to education.  For example, I was not aware that teachers were also called upon to be a court messenger and to serve Summonses, to dig graves, to conduct ceremonial services at church, to ring the bell for public worship, etc.  It was very interesting to read the progress that has been made to the teaching program over the years.  I had never heard the term "normal school" before.

I was impressed with the many studies that have been done to become more familiar with the process in which children learn, and the characteristics needed to be a good teacher.  My thought is that children need to stay engaged in the learning process, and in order to keep the kids engaged, we need to retain their attention to the subject matter by making the subject interesting and lively.  In my opinion, teachers need to have a lot of energy and do "crazy" things to keep the kids involved. 

2 Million Minutes

I found it interesting to see the way the three different countries were portrayed in this movie.  China and India have many lifestyle similarities; the USA has a strikingly opposing lifestyle.  It would appear that economics plays a major role in the way of living in each country when it comes to the importance of education and family, and how each chooses to spend their time.

While the USA has a far better economic system than either China or India, we don't fare as well when it comes to taking education and family seriously.  I feel the movie accurately portrayed the importance American families put on education as the children were sitting in front of the TV, amongst their group of friends, and doing their homework at the same time.  Instead of concentrating on their school work, they were commenting on the TV show and carrying on conversations with each other.  In contrast, the children in India were amongst their group of friends, but the converation was focused on school and their future.  Interestingly enough, the boy in China who completed his homework chose to spend his free time on the computer....working on computer programming.  Chinese and Indian children have a strong drive to learn and their learning never seems to stop; they are highly motivated and aim for the passport out of poverty. 

Familiy life in China and India is also very different from that of Americans.  In China and India the families have a strong connection with one another. They eat together as a family and discuss important issues together.  In America we rarely see families sitting down to eat a meal together.  Instead, we see a lot of broken families, which leaves children hopping from one parent's home to another.  Neither parent really seems to have a strong bond with the children.

Even though Americans have the resources available to them, we take for granted the opportunities we are afforded.  We have no clue what it would be like to live in a country with so much poverty that we need to eat from banana leaves instead of from plates.  China and India embrace what little resources they have and strive to make their lives better.

Co-Teaching

While I see great benefits to co-teaching, I also see potential for a disaster.  In order for co-teaching to be effective, there needs to be excellent communication and planning between the two teachers.  Sadly, one of the biggest problems between co-workers is a breakdown in communication, which can lead to failure of the co-teaching concept.  Teachers must be chosen carefully to work together as a team; they need to have similar work ethics and be willing to give 100%, they must both have the same end goal in mind for the students, and they must both be flexible in allowing the other teacher to teach. They must compliment each other's teaching style, rather than contradict each other. 

25-Year Reflection on Teaching

A few of the biggest changes in teaching over the past 25 years appears to be the method in which the state tests the progress of kids, how many kids there are with special needs and how other kids interact with them, and how many children there are in each classroom. 

The Iowa Basics Test use to be given to each student and their progress was measured, but the emphasis always stayed on the three main emphasis areas of reading, writing and arithmetic.  Today the results of this test seems to be the only factor in determining everything from the future of the school's programs and funding, to determining the teachers' abilities and skills, irregardless of how skillful the teacher is in their day-to-day lesson plan.  The No Child Left Behind law put into place by former President Bush places a great burden on the schools and it's teachers today.  Schools and teachers have no control over the learning that takes place once the kids are away from the school setting, nor do they have control over the mindset of the kids while taking the test.  In my opinion, a more accurate measure of students' progress would be to test the kids at the beginning of a school year, and again at the end of the school year and view the progress for each individual child.  In this testing method, each individual child's progress is measured based on their own abilities, rather than placing the high-achieving students and the low-achieving students in one basket. 

I found it interesting that in today's schools you see kids being kinder to their peers than 25 years ago. Why would that be?  In today's world with both parents working out of the home, we don't seem to have parents spending as much time with their children, therefore, leading to less role-modeling of expected behavior.  Could it be that today's kids are just as mean to their peers, but that it takes place in a different manner?  Years ago we saw physical contact with playground fistfights; today we have electronics and cyber bullying, a more hidden way to abuse peers.  On the other hand, children may be better able to cope with their peers having disabilities and/or coming from different cultural backgrounds because they have been exposed to those children from day one and understand them.

I learned that a teacher's role requires many different characteristics, but the most important characteristics appear to be flexibility, energy, adaptability and patience. 

Japan's Interactive Approach to Education

The New International School of Japan's idea of intergrading kids within a three-year age range and with multi-cultural backgrounds seems to be a wonderful concept.  This form of education not only alleviates some of the comparison learning that takes place in classrooms with same-age children, but also gives the younger kids an upper edge on learning from their older role models.  Having two adults in the same classroom gives each child an opportunity to learn from two different styles of teaching, and allows each child a better opportunity for one-on-one learning.   Since the kids are allowed to speak and research in their own languages, there are no pressures for the kids, and they can learn at their own pace.

I believe Japan has the right mindset when it comes to introducing a new concept such as this one.  Seminars and orientations are scheduled for the public to learn more of this new style of learning so any doubts or unanswered questions can be addressed within the community, which in turn will benefit the school, and the kids, by gaining support from the community. 

http://www.japanschoolnews.com/2012/09/new-international-school-of-japans-unique-and-interactive-approach-to-education/

Speaking in Tongues

After watching the video entitled "Speaking in Tongues," I am still uncertain as to whether or not I support schools teaching our children another language.  While I see the benefits of learning another language at such a young age when the kids learn from repetition and are hungry for more information, I have strong beliefs that today's kids are in need, now more than ever, on the use of proper English - the native language in America. 

The video made me understand that learning another language would benefit today's generation when dealing with other countries for trade matters, or other business-related matters.  However, my strong belief that today's kids have such badly spoken English is due, in part, to the use of cellular phones and texting, and computers.  Kids have lost the importance of how to spell words correctly, how to speak proper English, and how to communicate in a more personal and professional manner.  Cell phones and computers definitely have their benefits, however, they also have downfalls in dealing with people on a more personal level. 

The video portrayed students whom wished to be able to speak with relatives from earlier generations.  As time passes, the generation/speaking gap will decrease as families will no longer be seeing immigration from other countries where family members do not already speak English when they arrive in the United States.  Additionally, speaking from previous experience, I had two years of a German foreign language class in high school.  While I felt fairly comfortable with the language at that time, I have lost the ability to read or speak German due to the lack of use of the language.  I now feel that my two years could have been utilized better by taking business courses instead.  If we are teaching children how to speak another language at such a young age, how much of that language will they retain by the time they are old enough to use it for business matters?

It is my belief that today's children should be learning English as a main priority and on a continual basis, and enjoy the added benefits of learning another language once the native language has been mastered and is being used properly.  It seems to me that learning another language should be handled similar to an extra curricular activity and be taught outside of school hours for those interested.

Chickenpox Vaccine

To vaccinate or not to vaccinate?  When I was a kid there were options on whether or not a child received a vaccine for the chickenpox virus.  Most parents dealt with the virus by encouraging the exposure of their child(ren) to other children whom had the chickenpox.  The idea behind this was so that they would catch the chickenpox, and become immune from the illness later in life.  Since parents encouraged the exposure, many kids came down with the virus and were absent from school for days until the blisters crusted over and you were no longer contagious.

Today, it is a requirement that your child be vaccinated with the varicella virus before starting school.  As this article indicates, the requirement of the vaccine seems to have played a role in the change in absenteeism of kids in today's schools.  Yet, there is still some controversy for parents on whether having your child vaccinated is the right method in controlling the virus.
 
The chickenpox virus can remain latent in a person's nerve cells for many years.  Anyone who had chickenpox as a child may later become ill with shingles (a band of blisters). Although there is a shot available for those that come down with shingles, the blisters are said to be painful. Children, such as myself, that were exposed to the chickenpox virus as a child may now also need to deal with the later version of the virus - shingles. 

As a mother of two children, I never hesitated to give my kids the varicella vaccine.  My thought was to avoid the virus in any way possible.  As it turns out, my kids would have been required to have the vaccine before they started school anyway.  As an additional bonus, my kids will more than likely not have to deal with the shingles virus either.