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!
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
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.
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.
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.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
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.
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.
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.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
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
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2012/nov/12/billy-bragg-education-reforms-stifle-creativity?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487
Sunday, November 11, 2012
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!
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.
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.
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