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!