I found Classroom Instruction that Works to be a very beneficial tool and further my knowledge about how to help my studens succeed. I wish it would have been done in an earlier semester actually. A lot of the information was review, or something that I had at least heard of before. I do not learn the best by learning presentations so I would have liked to have some time to read the book in class or out of class so that I could dive more in depth into topics that interested me.
I think my favorite class was when we watched the 2 Million Minutes video. I loved watching the first movie last semester as well. I find them to be very motivating, especially the one this semester because it hit so close to home - Intel CEO, Basis Tucson founders, previous state superintendent. I was up late that night unable to fall asleep of how I could up the rigor in my class. The rest of the week I had a renewed spirit and vigor that I transferred to my students.
I also really appreciated the Emotional Intelligence examples. I think my kids are definitely deficient in this, as am I at times. I found the exercises for ourselves to be meaningful and helpful in my own life. Once AIMS is over and I can use my intervention class time a little bit differently I am going to use the EI sheets that you have in the folder with my homeroom (intervention) class.
While I do like discussions, I think a few of them revolving around reform and innovative ideas have been hit on repeatedly in prior class' and thus we could have spent less time on it in class.
Thanks for the great uplifting class Brad.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Monday, February 22, 2010
Financial Literacy
Blame can be spread around for this nasty recession that the world is currently going through. Many people like to blame poor regulation of the banks by the government and inept banking moves by bankers. However, I think most of the blame resides in our education system for failing to educate or citizens about personal financial literacy. We teach our kids about how to count money in the second or third grade, which is the extent of our financial literacy education. Sure, some advanced students are able to take economics as seniors in high school, but economics is substantially different than personal financial literacy, which includes but it is not limited to understanding personal cashflows, types of credit, how to properly leverage your assets, and take "smart" risks.
We have essentially raised three generations of financially inept citizens who allow "professionals" who may be even more inept to manage their finances. This doesn't make logical sense. The ultra-rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer because the poor do not understand how money actually works. Democrat or Republican, your party tie does not matter. While there are some optional curriculums available, such as Junior Achievement's Financial Park, there has yet to be a state or federal push to mandate financial literacy amongst our youth. These levels need to step up and push for more financial literacy programs so that we can avoid the wasteful personal spending and personal mistakes that got us into this rough economic situation.
We have essentially raised three generations of financially inept citizens who allow "professionals" who may be even more inept to manage their finances. This doesn't make logical sense. The ultra-rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer because the poor do not understand how money actually works. Democrat or Republican, your party tie does not matter. While there are some optional curriculums available, such as Junior Achievement's Financial Park, there has yet to be a state or federal push to mandate financial literacy amongst our youth. These levels need to step up and push for more financial literacy programs so that we can avoid the wasteful personal spending and personal mistakes that got us into this rough economic situation.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
What is happiness?
The following are some questions that I was asked to answer in class:
1) On a scale of 1-10 how happy am I?
I would say I am probably a 6. I am happy, but I am not spending most of my time doing what makes me happy. Teaching does not bring huge happiness to me as I know it can do for other people.
2) On the same scale (1-10) how unhappy am I?
I am a 2 on the unhappiness scale. I am not really that unhappy, I just want to try something different in life.
3) On the same scale (1-10) how checked out (apathetic) am I?
I am a 7 for being checked out. It's not that I am not trying or working as hard. If anything, I am working harder and smarter, but I am pretty burnt out with teaching. I feel that I am getting pretty good at it, and I could see myself improving much more to become a phenomenal teacher. However, I just do not enjoy many aspects of it. There are many things that upset me on a day-to-day basis and I want to try something different because I feel like a lot of what I do is quite repetitive. The most exciting day I had in a long time was a few weeks ago when a parent emailed me asking what I did for her student to further his achievement. I felt inspired and I created a 4 page email listing specific dates and interventions I did for him and emailed it back to her. I did have one other day where I was doing my kinesthetic learning action research project; I haven't ever laughed that hard in class. I do know that the grass is often greener on the other side so when I reach that side I may want to come back to teaching.
4) How happy am I willing to be? I would like to be a 9.
5) In order to achieve my intention and heartfelt desire to be happy at a 9, I will committ to do the following:
1) On a scale of 1-10 how happy am I?
I would say I am probably a 6. I am happy, but I am not spending most of my time doing what makes me happy. Teaching does not bring huge happiness to me as I know it can do for other people.
2) On the same scale (1-10) how unhappy am I?
I am a 2 on the unhappiness scale. I am not really that unhappy, I just want to try something different in life.
3) On the same scale (1-10) how checked out (apathetic) am I?
I am a 7 for being checked out. It's not that I am not trying or working as hard. If anything, I am working harder and smarter, but I am pretty burnt out with teaching. I feel that I am getting pretty good at it, and I could see myself improving much more to become a phenomenal teacher. However, I just do not enjoy many aspects of it. There are many things that upset me on a day-to-day basis and I want to try something different because I feel like a lot of what I do is quite repetitive. The most exciting day I had in a long time was a few weeks ago when a parent emailed me asking what I did for her student to further his achievement. I felt inspired and I created a 4 page email listing specific dates and interventions I did for him and emailed it back to her. I did have one other day where I was doing my kinesthetic learning action research project; I haven't ever laughed that hard in class. I do know that the grass is often greener on the other side so when I reach that side I may want to come back to teaching.
4) How happy am I willing to be? I would like to be a 9.
5) In order to achieve my intention and heartfelt desire to be happy at a 9, I will committ to do the following:
Try a new job/career.
Worry less about checking off stuff on my to do list and thinking more about what I can do to make others happy.
I also think I want a lot of stuff and according to what I heard in class I need to limit this, but I do not currently know how to do this so I need to research this.
Monday, February 8, 2010
2 Million Minutes - Part 2
In class last Tuesday we watched 2 Million Minutes - Part 2, which was about a charter school based in Tucson, AZ. The name of the school is Basis, and it is the number one ranked high school in the nation according to US News and World Report. The school has an amazing cultue of student achievement which starts with staggering graduation requirements. The school's motto is essentially "Exceed the Highest Expectations." They have high expectations for all students, even "average" students. The curriculum is such a simple concept it makes you wonder why all high schools don't implemnt mandatory AP classes and full year physics, biology, and chemistry in 6-8 grades.
The change that Olga and her partner were able to make in the students at their school and in their community is amazing and really inspiring. It makes me want to start a charter school and base it on their model because it has proven to work not just in Tucson but in Scottsdale as well. The movie as invoked a strong emotion of anger from me. For one, I was really upset that I did not have a school, principals, and teachers pushing me to my absolute highest for 6 years of middle school and high school. I took all possible honors and AP classes but I could have done more if I was pushed and inspired. Secondly, it makes me upset that we are failing many of our children by lowering the bar with ridiculously low expectations. As the Intel CEO said, we need to raise the bar if we (the US) is not going fall behind other countries in the world.
The change that Olga and her partner were able to make in the students at their school and in their community is amazing and really inspiring. It makes me want to start a charter school and base it on their model because it has proven to work not just in Tucson but in Scottsdale as well. The movie as invoked a strong emotion of anger from me. For one, I was really upset that I did not have a school, principals, and teachers pushing me to my absolute highest for 6 years of middle school and high school. I took all possible honors and AP classes but I could have done more if I was pushed and inspired. Secondly, it makes me upset that we are failing many of our children by lowering the bar with ridiculously low expectations. As the Intel CEO said, we need to raise the bar if we (the US) is not going fall behind other countries in the world.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Summary of Michael Cohen's Essay
Michael Cohen sees No Child Left Behind (NCLB) in a more favorable light. He opens by saying that it is a continuation of 45 years of federal government intervention for poor students. However, because it was the first law of its kind it was bound to have some mistakes or room for improvement. Cohen then goes on to describe what needs to change in the next draft of NCLB.
The law has done a great job of unveiling the injustices in the U.S. school system. There was the idea that our schools were improving, which is true, but achievement of certain groups was not improving and with some subgroups it was actually getting worse NCLB now forces schools to report overall achievement for subgroups, such as low-income, minorities, English-language learners, and special education students. NCLB demanded accountability from schools in closing the achievement gap for these subgroups. Many schools have succeeded and it shows that standards and standardized testing are a necessary part of a successful school system, but the lowest performing schools are still not up to par, which shows that more is needed.
Now that the accountability system is in place for schools, administrators, and teachers, a support system must also be put in place. Teachers and administrators will not improve just because they have positive or negative consequences (it is interesting to note that schools have negative consequences, whereas teachers have no consequences other than their tests scores being published and possibly pride being affected). They also need the support to improve. This support comes in the form of training and tools.
Additionally, the law set high standards and expectations for the stakeholders in the education system, but perhaps made the goals unattainable. We now have schools and districts that are grappling with consequences because their goals were not attainable. Additionally, states and districts have learned that if they cannot meet the goals, they might as well lower the bar or standards so that they can meet the goals. It is much easier to lower a couple of bars than raising up millions of students. The good news though is that many states have been forming coalititions to create standards that are rigorous and provide the skills necessary for students entering college and the workforce. This standard-adoption must continue , but it will not cure everything about the law. More support and tools must be provided to teachers and administrators, and the goals of the next law need to be more realistic.
The law has done a great job of unveiling the injustices in the U.S. school system. There was the idea that our schools were improving, which is true, but achievement of certain groups was not improving and with some subgroups it was actually getting worse NCLB now forces schools to report overall achievement for subgroups, such as low-income, minorities, English-language learners, and special education students. NCLB demanded accountability from schools in closing the achievement gap for these subgroups. Many schools have succeeded and it shows that standards and standardized testing are a necessary part of a successful school system, but the lowest performing schools are still not up to par, which shows that more is needed.
Now that the accountability system is in place for schools, administrators, and teachers, a support system must also be put in place. Teachers and administrators will not improve just because they have positive or negative consequences (it is interesting to note that schools have negative consequences, whereas teachers have no consequences other than their tests scores being published and possibly pride being affected). They also need the support to improve. This support comes in the form of training and tools.
Additionally, the law set high standards and expectations for the stakeholders in the education system, but perhaps made the goals unattainable. We now have schools and districts that are grappling with consequences because their goals were not attainable. Additionally, states and districts have learned that if they cannot meet the goals, they might as well lower the bar or standards so that they can meet the goals. It is much easier to lower a couple of bars than raising up millions of students. The good news though is that many states have been forming coalititions to create standards that are rigorous and provide the skills necessary for students entering college and the workforce. This standard-adoption must continue , but it will not cure everything about the law. More support and tools must be provided to teachers and administrators, and the goals of the next law need to be more realistic.
Emotional Intelligence - Independence
For Brad's class (Instruction, Management, and Assessment), I am expected to go do something by myself, which I usually do in groups. My favorite things to do with others would be going to movies and going out to eat. I probably go to about 1 movie a week and eat out 1-2 times per week with my friends (or family when I am home). This Saturday I am going to go out to eat by myself. I am planning on doing a diner/cafe in the morning, but if I am feeling particularly bold I may go out at night.
Updates to come on Saturday...
On Saturday morning I went to First Watch for breakfast. I hung out by myself, stared off into space, and read the newspaper. At first I felt a little weird, but by the end I found it extremely refreshing. I also was able to observe my surroundings more. I noticed that there are a lot of people that eat by themselves, especially in the morning. I didn't feel rushed at all as I think I do sometimes when eating with other people. I won't be doing this all the time, but I think I will really enjoy doing it every once and a while.
Updates to come on Saturday...
On Saturday morning I went to First Watch for breakfast. I hung out by myself, stared off into space, and read the newspaper. At first I felt a little weird, but by the end I found it extremely refreshing. I also was able to observe my surroundings more. I noticed that there are a lot of people that eat by themselves, especially in the morning. I didn't feel rushed at all as I think I do sometimes when eating with other people. I won't be doing this all the time, but I think I will really enjoy doing it every once and a while.
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