The End

So what? What should we walk away with? Poverty is not a teacher’s problem. It’s a policy problem, a society problem, and a general population problem. There are many politics associated with teaching as a profession. The people who matter the most and have the most knowledge are the teachers and hold the smallest amount of power. There’s a lot of work to do in the education system and the first step is to work to place the power in the teacher’s hands, where it will best serve the students. 

the majority of American teachers felt alienated from education policy making, with only a third reporting that their opinions are valued at the district level, 5 percent reporting they are valued at the state level, and just 2 percent reporting they are valued at the national level.

Teacher Wars Dana Goldstein Chapter 10

This quote proves the classroom discussions we’ve been having throughout the year as well as emphasizes what was said during “The Gorilla Speaks” article. She states that we love to blame our teachers for many noneducational reasons that stem from poverty, and low socioeconomic status but the truth is teachers are a scapegoat. They get no representation whatsoever. They simply serve the purpose of being the blame bearer and not being able to change the things that need to be changed because no policy makers are interested in the best interest of the students. 

Even Japanese schools are set up this way; through a practice called lesson study, teachers collaborate to plan lessons, observe one another delivering them, and share feedback.

Teacher Wars Ch. 9

Why are we using a common core for different students? Students are anything but common. What about teachers? The common core and the subsequent standardized testing required causes teachers to compete against instead of collaborate with one another. What would occur if competition stemmed simply from nations rather than states? What if teachers learned from one another every week? We can always learn and improve. 

Since the rhetoric and policy prescription of a Nation at Risk have proven so enduring- the very same assumptions and ideals underlie No Child Left Behind, Race to the Top, the Common Core and almost every other contemporary reform effort to improve teaching...

Teacher Wars by Dana Goldstein

Here we are, years later, struggling with implementing the same underlying foundation that we started with. The ideas are good, the intention is good, but the actual implementation looks better on paper. What are we doing wrong? What flaws are being repeated by each new reform? What are the patterns here? There has got to be a solution for what can be done to address these ideals we hold as a nation and use them to build a better curriculum that addresses every student. 

The Problem We All Live With links to Chapter 7 of Teacher Wars because it discusses the way that Integration efforts can be uncomfortable on both ends of the racial spectrum. While both sources discuss the success stories connected with integration, they each outline the racism that can be emphasized when integration occurs. Each source discusses the ways that racism can also be destroyed by multiracial friendships. The Problem We All Live With also outlines the racism that occurs from parents which parallels with the racism in Chapter 7 by whole communities. 

The question is raised how do we influence others to realize how much of an issue poverty is? How do we inspire change? Just as the podcasts brought up is the fact that poverty and race are intertwined and this is a human issue? There is so much humanity and realization that humans are being involved here, rather than robots. This link is similar to “The Gorilla in the Room” when it refers to the way that money should be used to assist students and the issues that students face when they live in poverty.

This source links up well with the Gorilla in the Room article linked here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nancy-letts/its-time-to-change-the-conversation-about-public-education_b_3112801.html. 

Both articles stress the fact that teachers are not to blame for the poverty driven lower test scores. The “Education really the solution” article discusses how even the best teacher in the world can not teach a child to swim if that child showed up to practice every day wearing twenty pound weights. The weights represent the burden of poverty. Both articles also agree that policymakers are doing very little about this situations. They also suggest multiple solutions to the problem that focus, not on educators, but on societal and political changes. Each discusses the best way to spend federal funds effectively to address the problems that poverty causes. 

But these figures are worrisome all the same, given a half a century of research demonstrating that teachers of color are more likely to hold high expectations for students of color and are more likely to work in high-poverty schools in the long term- and both factors are correlated with higher student achievement and college-going rates among students of color.

Teacher Wars

This quote is important because it is a reminder that high poverty schools need us, as teachers, and if we truly want to make a difference then we ought to be flocking towards these high poverty schools. We can use our voice to make changes and be part of the process that becomes the “passport from poverty.” These students need us but they also need teachers who believe in their potential, whole-heartedly. These students can achieve, we just have to believe in them, especially in a society that is telling them they matter less than other races of students. 

The author makes a good point about the role of funding in reducing poverty. While many organizations and Federal programs attempt to address poverty while contributing to schools and communities, the issue still runs rampant. We are doing something wrong just by throwing money at the problem. Brooks pointed out that part of the problems are the interactions of community members. A lack of trust and empathy for one’s neighbors does not add up to a happy community. Another portion of the problem is psychological. Are these issues that we can address through our school system? How do we prove that school is important to impoverished children and help them up the ladder from the slums of poverty?

I definitely see the value in integrating schools in race to create a diverse culture, but when we consider what kinds of racism that can arise in schools we must consider how much of an effect politics has on the attitudes of children towards race as learned by their parents. Does the location of non white races have something to do with the segregation? Can we integrate if some non white races don’t want to live in certain areas and tend to group together in their own communities by choice? When schools integrate what kind of problems arise when it comes to treatment of students and bullying? Are the conditions of school culture leading to segregation? What are some political moves we can make to increase integration? 

Innovative Teaching

What Innovative teaching methods have been utilized in my educational past?

Teachers are involving the internet in their lessons and assignments. This can be done by assigning Tumblr posts or Twitter posts as an assignment or using a facebook post that student’s had posted and translating it to marketplace English. I had one teacher who helped learn vocabulary by writing a story based on each class member that included the vocabulary we were learning within the story. Other ways to teach in an innovative way is to get on student’s level and use their language. Speak in a social media dialogue. Teach Marketplace English using jeopardy and translation. Acknowledge a student’s home language as a language rather than “wrong” and “incorrect.” Teaching code switching rather than expecting students to change the language they utilize on a day to day basis with everyone around them is a fairly new innovation method.  One day I’d like to have each student dress nicely and do a mock interview to practice Market place English and communication skills. I also want them to learn when to code switch and life skills like learning how to do an interview and what to expect. I also want students to set goals and will help them do so by having them tell me what job they are interviewing for. 

Recently, as part of Pay for Performance, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools has started making students in experiential classes take summative multiple choice exams.This cannot be justified for classes like Yearbook or Literary Magazine. I am on the school newspaper, the Hoofprint. The Hoofprint has won several awards and sends out seven, 16-page newspapers every school year. That could be four newspapers next year when we have to prepare for a test on information that in no way contributes to our product. Students in classes like these should be judged by the product they help create, not by testing them on information that does not add to the goal of the class.

Jack Eiselt- The Washington Post

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/post/student-why-do-i-have-to-take-a-standardized-test-in-yearbook/2011/05/30/AGJjp2EH_blog.html

This quote links my point to the fact that standardized tests just don’t apply to experiential learning. There are just some aspects that cannot be tested, at least in the standard way. Experiential learning dies when standardized testing enters because these tests only ask for students to memorize facts. These tests do not measure learning that involves taking risks and experiencing the consequences of these risks. For example, a standardized test will set forth an incomplete chemical equation and require that students complete it. It will not ask students to complete a chemical reaction and observe what takes place. It will not ask students to run a classroom campaign and experience what it is like to communicate with fellow classmates to convince them that you have their best interest at heart. A true learning experience can not always be tested via paper and pencil. How do you measure how much a student learns from a science experiment or a collaborative group project? Each student is individualized so standardized tests don’t work for nonstandard students. 

Within the video the first thing that is said by Rand Paul is that he would reduce the federal government in school and as I learned common core is actually produced by local government rather than the federal government. This is a common misconception among many people. The truth is that Common Core was produced by state governments and local teachers and therefore the federal government was not involved. 

A score on a standardized test seems like a straightforward indicator of achievement.

Mike Rose “Why School” (pg. 45)

The key word here is “seems.” Rose is pointing out an important point. Our education system is being lazy and that isn’t fair for the population it serves. The fact that it relies heavily on standardized testing because it is so quantifiable a result indicates something about our system. A test score can be observed over time as Rose points out, and patterns can be tracked. Our system tests students with multiple choice bubbles despite the variety of ways a student is able to absorb or produce information. Rather than testing students in an auditory, kinetic, visual, or a combination of ways, our system tests all students in a standard way. Students aren’t standard. Humans by definition are not standard. Why are we testing them as such? The answer is because it’s easy and requires little effort or imagination. What would happen if we took the time to allow students to showcase their intellect through slideshows, instrumentals, movies, or sculptures? What would we learn about student achievement then?

I agree with what this piece is stating. This connects well with the theory that a grade I get in the classroom is not reflective of what I learned in said class. For example I have earned “A’s” in a class that I have not learned much at all and also learned “C’s” in classes I learned a great deal in, Grades and standards are not stand ins for actual learning. By setting standards for teachers that are ineffective we are not actually teaching them something they need to know. This system is in need of a lot of work. Standards on both teachers’ and students’ ends are preventing actual, true, learning. 

An extremely interesting piece about the stigma surrounding teacher intelligence. It blames poor educational standards on the apparent lack of qualified teachers–though the teachers themselves aren’t necessarily to blame, as studies show they are just as qualified as anyone else regarding GPA. The issue, to Willingham, is the content being taught. It’s not lending itself well to subjects students need to learn and he proposes ways the system might be improved. Anyway, check it out.

I agree with your assessment. When educators choose to do the same thing with their class each year they are actually straying from actually educating. Inspiration should be a huge part of the classroom. Students have a hard time learning from those they don’t find inspiring. Passion is huge in the classroom. If you don’t care about your subject, why in the world would students care? How do you teach students that something is worth learning if you don’t even believe it yourself?

These lessons seem to be forgotten in many classrooms. Many educators go to their classrooms, leading the same lessons year after year without changing or adapting to their students. In doing so, students are unable to gain any real value from lessons. However, if we inspire and encourage our students to question their surroundings, we can spark an amazing education. Curiosity drives innovation and learning, and this lesson is essential for all teachers; especially those who are truly invested in making a difference in their students’ lives.

This is an important video in the conversation of education because it proves that education is so much more than multiple choice questions. Education is about experimentation and trying new things. Education is so much more than technology and buzzwords.”