Arrested developement!!!!

No matter how we old fashioned teachers try to escape it technology is here to stay and keeps evolving ( at a light speed rate).  We have no choice but to keep up or be left behind. I found an interesting article at this link:http://www.thejournal.com/articles/23551. This article asks the question “Can Technology Drive Change in Professional Development?” I think technology can help us as educators to share ideas, debate, and change professional development. In my experience of being professionally developed, you go sit down and hear lectures about best practices in a one-shot environment. These professional developments are so few and far between ( unless one has extra money to burn); in no way can they really produce any type of lasting results. Technology, however, could be one of the answers to better professional developments. If for instance, an educator could join a “developmental blog” where best practices are exchanged and debated there might be a more lasting effect. The blog could be free or a small fee could be charged and the posts could be daily or weekly. This certainly would help us as educators practice using technology and would keep us engaged in our own learning and growth.  There are of course drawbacks, but they are outweighed by the positive contributions this could make. I think this would be an interesting way to keep us informed of the latest practices and keep us plugged into the community of educators and professional resources out there. What do you think?

NCLB- Stronger????

“NCLB has shined a spotlight on schools,” said Secretary Spellings. “It is compelling grown ups to do the right thing by kids. And it’s working. According to the Nation’s Report Card, since 2000, more kids are learning reading and math. Since this law was passed, nearly one million more students have learned basic math skills. Children once left behind are making some of the greatest gains, but more work needs to be done. That’s why I’ve taken a responsive, common sense approach to implementing the law with today’s announcement.”

Oh boy. Secretary Spellings and the NCLB Posse are at it once more. Check out the whole article at:http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/10/10282008.html. I’m all for school accountability because it is our responsibility to educate children and do our best to help in the creation of productive (tax paying consumers) citizens. We Do Not share this responsibility solely. It is our society in general that educates children. Are they not learning when they listen to music, when they watch TV, when they experience the different facets of life? Results of assessments are important and can tell many important facts on the strengths and weaknesses of our approaches to teaching certain subjects. But what about the kid whose main concern is where he’s going to sleep or what he’s going to eat? That’s a reality for many students and educators around the country.

Let’s shift our thinking for a moment. Is education in America really fair and equitable? No, and here’s a reason why: milleage. Basically, the more valued the property the more money in taxes and hence more money attributed to students in the respective school district. How can a student learn or even participate in a blog type assignment when the computers in his school don’t work or they’re not enough to go around? Yet, the educator will be blamed when the student is technically deficient. As with everything in America the bottom line is money. Am I supposed to believe (based on what I’ve seen and experienced for myself) that this country wants everyone to be educated? Come on, don’t insult me NCLB. Money (and its influence) can buy you a diploma from  Harvard or Yale even if at the end of it you still don’t have a good command of American English syntax or grammar (sound familiar).

As I’ve stated before the only way to ensure that education is equitable would be to change the mentality of the average American about its importance and function(s). What is one of the first things cut when this Nation tries to “balance” it’s budget? Why are educated people made the butt of jokes on the sitcoms and reality shows? Why is a man who chooses to appear educated when he presents himself labeled as an elitist? Yet, as Neo said in the Matrix, “The question is one of choice.” When (as a society) do we rise up and take control of our educational system and our communities? When I was a kid I couldn’t leave the house (in the summer) unless I completed a book report and read it to my mother. She was not college educated (nor is my father) but she realized the importance of education so she didn’t only rely on the school system, she made a choice for her children to be good students and intelligent young men.

Although I briefly talked about milleage, that’s not the real problem, NCLB is not the real problem, nor is who the President is or will be; the real problem is US! We have been rocked to sleep and put into our own Matrix so to speak and continue to fall deeper into our unconsciousness. As citizens we wait on the Government to do for us, we wait on a Mayor, A Preacher, or a President. Until we step up, take education (in all of its forms) as serious business and be proactive then we all will be left behind.

Urban education decay?

Check out this interesting article on Urban Education. It really doesn’t deal with K-12, in a circular way it does. Read it and see if you see any interesting parallels between urban secondary education or higher education (http://www.educationsector.org/analysis/analysis_show.htm?doc_id=711125). Please look at the table included as a .jpg link in the article. It has our university and its graduation statistics. The interesting thing about the article was that it started talking about some problems in Urban Elementary and Secondary education. There is a problem within our country and I am going to attempt to tie it in to this article.

This problem has been around for years and years and it seems as if it will still be around. The problem is that very few Americans understand or even care about Urban educational institutes whether they are public schools or public universities. The media does not talk about epidemics in urban education (unless it somehow effects monetary gain of the already affluent). Look at our current presidential campaign. The new “thing” is “Joe Plumber” who lives in a nice sub-urban existence. Why isn’t “Joe Plumber” the guy from the inner city, who is truly living check to check and doesn’t own a small construction business? It’s the same reason why the graduation rates of Urban schools are not the focus of our nightly news. As I said in one of my earlier rants, the expectation for Urbanites is nil, zilch, zero (sometimes even the Urbanites believe this themselves). The Urbanite (in my opinion) is looked upon as one to continue meaningless fads, spend money on frivolous things, and fall behind the rest of the world. The Urban recipients of our educational system make up an important part of society, and more serious and caring attention should be paid to them and their educational needs.

Yet, I know that won’t happen in our current day and age. The gap widens between rich and poor, between educated and uneducated , between those that care and those that don’t give a damn. As I said it’s a circle. If Urban elementary and secondary education are lacking (in funding, expectations, understanding of why some Urban areas are the way they are, etc) how can Urban universities procure and matriculate a high number of students? It starts when the children are small, it builds momentum when they are in middle school, and the crescendo comes when they reach and graduate high school. As educators and more importantly, as citizens of this country we owe it to ourselves to give more than a damn about Urban education.

Some governments do things right!

The Portuguese government must really care about it’s citizens and their educational system. For those who don’t know Portugal was a once powerful empire that had colonies in Brazil, Mozambique, Sao Tome and Principe, Angola, just to name a few. Fast forward to the 20th century and Portugal was known for it’s Madeira wine, cheap tourism, and beautiful beaches. Now Portugal makes history again as the government is making 500,000 laptops available to schools in the country (http://people.uis.edu/rschr1/et/2008/10/portugal-unveils-500000-cheap-computers.html). The Portuguese government wants to make the country one of the top five technological countries in Europe. What a concept! They don’t sit around making new laws that really complicate matters, they do things to address the problem and include (get this one) all schools and not the schools that meet the necessary financial requirements for free and appropriate education. Portugal has some the lowest achievement levels in western Europe and Prime Minister Socrates has put boosting education a very high priority. I like their style! I guess it proves that some governments actually think with forward vision and know that in order to flourish its citizens must be a top investment. That’s a refreshing thought! Check out some more particulars on this at: http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Desktops-and-Notebooks/Portugal-Unveils-500000-Cheap-Computers-for-Schools/?kc=rss.

Inspector (teacher) Gadget

As much as we may or may not like it, technology is steadily creeping into our schools, classroom, and lives. As teachers of writing we must heed the call of this new foreign language that has more speakers than Spanish. The writing teacher must impart (at least) a bilingual education to his/her students and assist them in using technology to shape and inform their writing. I must say I love technology. I go “window shopping” in places like Best Buy (every guy’s dream store), NewEgg.com, and Computer Micro Center. I have an Ipod, a Sandisk Mp3 player, and I really want an X-Box 360. So I have a little experience in technology. As a teacher, I have to relate to my students in this new and quickly-evolving language. In addition, to items used solely for personal enjoyment, teachers now have (in theory) other means to drive writing instruction in their classrooms. The article Ten Technologies for Tech-Savvy Teachers to Use in A Laptop/Tablet Classroom is a great starting point on different ways to implement technology and writing(http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196605456&page=1).

For a few seconds, let’s go into our teacher fantasy world and assume we all have enough laptops(or desktops) to go around. If we did, this article would give us great ideas and also information on what the terms wiki, RSS, and blogs are. In addition it introduces us to Digital Ink ( a digital way of correcting a students computer-based writing), gives us resources on where to find it, and provides ideas on how to use them in the classroom. The story covers online quizzes, online notetaking, classroom websites, and the use of ebooks. Since so many of our students have Ipods or MP3 players, podcasts can be used to disseminate educational content to them. The article covers and provides links on how to create a podcast for your students. I subscribe to podcasts and in my opinion, they are wonderful. It would be nice if our class could have a podcast on topics that we cover (hint hint Dr. DeBlase).  Take a look at this article and tell me what you think. Do you think you could implement some of these ideas with the current equipment you have? How would these things effect inclusion of special needs students? Could this hinder or make the writing process more understandable?

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Is Knowledge The Enemy?

Wow! This is an interesting article on how the contemporary education system does not like knowledge. This article is about math but if we apply it to all areas of public school education it will be even more evident. The author expresses that there seems to be a movement to suppress the true results of research based evidence. I agree that knowledge is not valued in our society, but I question has it ever been (I mean in the last 30 years). i think the powers that be in America are truly afraid of knowledgeable people, especially in the field of education. It is no surprise and it’s not exclusive to America or any country, actually it is pretty universal. Let’s take a look at the Chinese Cultural Revolution. some of the first “threats” rounded up and imprisioned were intellectuals. Ok, what does this have to do with the article or writing? Quite, a bit!

Intellectuals are scary people. Writers are even scarier. Writers think and comment on aspects of culture. Writers also have the power of influence. A good writer can influence millions with hundreds of words, but you already know that. Writers are also critical thinkers. Probably more so than most professions (although there can be crossover). Why would a country not like knowledge? All countries like smart people. They create computers, design cars, make movies, etc. Note that all these things materialize money. Intellectuals don’t make money for the country. They write, provoke thought, and question some of the very foundations of society. Mathematicians and scientists do this too. Look at Albert Einstein and how he related science to life. It is no surprise to me that an article like this would be written. The sad part about it is that our students and society suffer. If you disagree with this article I have an experiment: think about the highest rated tv shows in our country and analyse them in terms of intellectual content.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/10/08/07boaler_ep.h28.html?utm_source=fb&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=mrss

Debates, Speeches, Life

Secretary Spelling addresses JFK, Jr. forum at Harvard University. Please read the speech before commenting on what I say (http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/10/10012008.html). Contrary to the tone of my blogs, I do believe that Secretary Spellings really is sincere in her intention to push American Education to greater heights. I agree and support many of the things she said ion the aforementioned speech. Sometimes, I just find it odd that people in her position (one of power within our government) seem to give these speeches to crowds that really don’t benefit from them. Most students that attend Harvard U probably didn’t come from backgrounds where education was put on the back lot in their home lives or their community.

A black child, he said, “has about one-half as much chance to get through high school,” and about “one-third as much chance to get through college as a white student.”

Nearly half a century later, black students still drop out at twice the rate as white students. It’s a tragedy that we leave so much potential behind – a tragedy for them, and for all of us.

This is a very nice reference to a epidemic problem that has gone on too long. What can we do to correct this? Talking about it is cliche and outdated. Talking about ti in front of an audience who cannot understand why this may happen is even more cliche and insulting. But, I digress.

“Black students are also one and a half times more likely to be put in special education, and 3 times as likely to be labeled as having an intellectual disability. Often it’s an undiagnosed reading problem, which could be solved quickly. But often, the system stamps kids with this label in the early grades, and they’re stuck with it for years. And they don’t ever get out of special ed—at least until they drop out.”

Once again, a sad diagnosis (and yet it is so real). Over the years I have asked myself “why?” Is it some great  conspiracy to keep the African-Americans down? I have found an answer that at least soothes my curiosity. The answer is Yes and No. As I get older, I don’t think it’s such a great conspiracy, although I think certain powers(both public and private sector) benefit from keeping certain Americans from achieving. I think it’s something else entirely.  I have taught in Ft. Lauderdale, Fl for 1 year (middle school English), I have also taught as a substitute in various charter schools around the Detroit and Oak Park areas, and I have worked with children with special needs for the past three years. In that time, I have noticed very similar things and I will attempt to explain them.

1. The most noticeable  thing in the children who didn’t succeed was a lack of expectation. Secretary Spellings addresses this as well. This lack of expectation can come from the teachers, the students, the parents, and the community. In recent years, the level of expectation of the benefits in education have risen Nationwide, but has been reduced in many inner city communities. There are many explanations as to why this is. Can you guess some?

2. Alternative education is not used or addressed. I am not talking about traditional “alternative education.” I mean there are so many activities that we practice in America for leisure that could be used to foster education and slowly build up expectations in inner city youth. fencing is a good example. Fencing teaches discipline (something needed for education and life), structure, rules, healthy competition, and respect for coaches. There are reachable benchmarks and it could lead for some to world travel, scholarships and other social and financial things (got to WSU’s athletic page and look up Fencing and see what I mean). Sometimes our students need something radical to give them the motivation to pursue academics and open their mind to other possibilities.

3. NCLB is not theanswer. Secretary Spellings goes on in her speech to praise NCLB and tell a bunch of well to do people that her program is helping to remedy inner city American academic problems. I beg to differ. I think a highly edited and modified NCLB could be a part of the solution. Many times intangibles that make standardized scores (or any grades) matter are left out of anything that concerns education. Many times we are so concerned with standardized scores that we fail to show and tell our kids how to be good students and apply what they learn. Routine practice of writing (reading or math) is one of the main tools that establishes and maintains discipline. Writing in various genres leaves to tangible application. I think much of that has been pushed to the back burner in favor of AYP.

What does this all have to do with her speech? I think everything. Standardized scores are good and necessary, but they are not really a measure of motivation (or lack of), community affect on student development or the ability to apply knowledge in the real world. I do applaud Secretary Spellings on a well written and emotional speech. Now it’s time for more diverse action.

Out of Touch?

Once again Secretary Spellings is espousing the virtues of NCLB. It is so amazing to me that people who have never been raised in an inner city urban (read African American) environment can know from numbers (data) what works for the population. I wonder if Secretary Spellings understands the culture that surrounds many of our inner city schools. Can she relate to education being second or third or fourth  on the priority list? Am I blaming her for the problems and inequities of the American educational system? NO! What I am saying is that people in her position have no clue as to what really is going on in inner city schools. Sometimes it takes more than football, job training programs, or pizza parties to make educational functional for inner city students. Until these leaders realize (or even care) that if the mentality regarding education and its benefits never changes it won’t matter what acronym is in place, there will be no change! But, check it out for yourself at this link:(http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/09/09232008a.html)

Improving No Child Left Behind?

“U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings today announced $7.5 million in grants to four states and Washington, D.C. to study ways to enhance the assessment of student achievement, beyond what is required under No Child Left Behind” (http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2008/09/09192008.html).

Once again NCLB rears its head and pushes standardized test scores (and it’s supposed results) to the forefront of American education. This articles states that $7.5 million in grants to enhance the assessment of student achievement. What about true student achievement? Our government continually wastes money on the wrong things. As a teacher in an urban environment, I haven’t seen the great results of NCLB. Funny, that these grants are going towards assessment rather than providing school supplies, more after school tutoring, classroom technology, or teacher education. It seems as if the law makers cannot (or will not) look at the other problems in our education system.  Our children may encounter better ways of being assessed, but can they understand or apply educational concepts to real life situations?  I think this is another example of lawmakers who have no clue about education making decisions that affect the industry of education.

The whole industry of education (like many industries in America) needs a drastic overhaul that is consumer friendly or in our case, student and family friendly. Indulge my realism if you will. Students who come from privileged American backgrounds may very well benefit from increasing efficiency of standardized assessments, students who come from economically depressed backgrounds probably will not. No amount of funding for improved assessment will stop or even pause the lack of support for education in many inner city communities. Trust me when I say that most inner city parents don’t care about increasing the effectiveness of assessment. They care about where their child will end up after their school career has finished. As educators, administrators, and lawmakers we need to look at ways of including inner city parents and children in the American educational Dream. In my opinion giving $7.5 million to make assessment more effective is not one of them.

21st Century education- More of the Same?

Since our class deals with technology, I want to pose a question for pondering and reflection. Let me set the stage before I ask. Technology in the classroom is a wonderful concept. It is especially wonderful for school districts that enough computers, working computers, and computers that are up-to-date. The students in these schools have opportunities to remain on the technological edge. Usually, the school will reflect the community in which it is located. Schools that have out-dated equipment, little to no Internet connections, and a sparse number of computers area at a major disadvantage.  What does the future hold for the students that come from this environment? What about a school staff that is equally technologically ignorant? These are some challenges I see in our ever evolving use of computer-based technology. It will be interesting to see how (and even if) these issues are being handled.