Monday, November 30, 2009

Talking Points on Kliewer

This article really hit home. Not only does it affect me because I have lived with a handicapped sibling for sixteen years but it also gave me a chance to see a very dark subject for me in a whole new light. Although Kliewer wasn't the easiest writer to comprehend at first, rereading his material definitely helped to understand the points that he was trying to make.

#1. First off the story of Mia definitely set the tone for the remainder of his article. As a primary talking point, those dealing with a handicap of any sort deal with troubles like these on a daily basis. Being segregated and "thrown aside" as a result of a learning handicap should never be the case. Regardless of whether or not they are deaf, blind, or physically handicap, isolation is never the answer to ensuring success. When Mia states that she "was so mad, I wanted to cry" it really hit home at understanding how frustrating it is to be considered "special-ed" when society isn't entirely kind to those who suffer disability. Several times in the past, my brother has asked me why he is deaf and what he can do to get rid of it. I honestly, to this day, do not know how to answer that to him.

#2. On Page 81, a large paragraph discusses what educators need to do in order to maintain a fulfilling environment to their students ( of all different ability levels of course). The steps mentioned here, in creating an open-minded diverse environment which fits the needs of ALL students is exactly what should be guaranteed at EVERY school across America, regardless of town-wide funding. My old school, in particular, I remember worked very hard to create a sustainable environment for a freshman (when I was a junior) who was handicap in a wheel chair. A ramp was added to two of the doors of the science wing and wider tables were added to the cafeteria. While alot of my peers complained about "wasted funding", I saw how much of a difference this made for the student (His name is Matt).

#3. Another main idea to pull from and explore from this article would be the concept that these are oversized problems in what we consider a "democratic" society. While freedom and the liberty of ideas is supposed to help govern us all, it is almost ironic that these are the same ideas that are holding back our country from moving in the right direction with special education. For a society held up so highly on being "liberal and democratic" it is truly sad and irritating that these kids cannot be given equal opportunities to LEARN, especially when their learning abilities are often far beyond their control. Keeping kids from distractions, limitations and personal fears are highly important in creating a sterile and comforting work environment. This "democratic society" that we speak of is more-so-than-not lopsided that it affects kids of all different ability levels.

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Promising Practices

Overall, Promising Practices was a sheer success. While my two workshops were both vastly different, both taught similar lessons on different instructional use of technology and culture in the classroom.
My first workshop was taught by a teacher who taught elementary school art. While she was a little quiet and somewhat reserved, she did a very successful job at getting her point across about the widespread need for multiculturalism in the classroom. Using Diego Rivera as a key tool, this young woman used a highly complex painter of the nineteenth century to express cultural acceptance to her elementary school students. I personally found this experience very enlightening. Knowing that our country's youth is being taught multiculturalism at a young age is incredible. While I could critique my first speaker's teaching form, I will simply say that she tried hard and conveyed her message clearly.
My second workshop was EXTREMELY informative. The speaker, Grace Small, used prime examples of her own student's work to express new ways of teaching in a technology based world. Using students from all different grades in her school system, Ms. Small informed children of all ages of the story of Abraham Lincoln and his involvement in the Civil War. To have taken such a deep and often overlooked topic and turn it into a community-wide project is somewhat short of amazing. This presentation not only informed me of newer, more up to date ways of teaching, but also enlightened me on how far some teachers truly go to ensure educational success for their students.
Finally, the Curriculum Resource fair, in my opinion, was a very well planned idea. However, being an actual teacher in an actual classroom seemed to be a hidden requirement in usefully collecting the materials. The information WAS useful, however I am unsure as to whether or not it was effective for me because of the limited teaching I have at the moment.
The Keynote address by Tricia Rose was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. Not only can Ms. Rose teach a lesson on public speaking while she expresses an open mind on public speaking, but she can also reach out to everyone in the room by simply using the right words. Looking deeper in her discussion, I have realized a few things: Not only does Ms. Rose use perfect words in reaching her audience, but everything from her posture to her voice tone fits perfectly in shaping the kind of message that she is attempting to convey. I especially enjoyed how each time Ms. Rose wanted to drill a point into our heads, she either made a slight raise in her voice, or she followed it with an attention grabbing story. Unlike other public speakers that I have seen in the past, Tricia Rose did not incessantly repeat her points in an irritating manner (such as repeating the same line every two minutes as others have.) Honestly, I was moved by her speech. Not only did she open my eyes but she was extremely reassuring with her pledge. Not only did her stories perfectly reiterate Delpit and Johnson perfectly (with discussing power codes and saying the WORDS {i especially felt an extreme Johnson moment when she used the word "Brother" and then went on to explain its everyday use and commonality in today's world} ). The following links, in my opinion help to reiterate what was learned throughout the Promising Practices conference:

Monday, November 9, 2009

Anyon Talking Points

#1: "One teacher explained to me, "Simple punctuation is all they'll ever use."
As a secondary education English major, this exclamation by a working class teacher was extremely frutstrating to read. There are SO many different types of grammar and punctuation that are neccessary in the modern world. YES, simple periods and question marks are important in comparing a statement from a question, but this is an extremely sad fact to work off of. As a teacher, nontheless, as a student, there are ENDLESS ways that grammar could be used. What is so sad, is the fact that this teacher is somewhat right in saying that simple grammar is all that most children will use in growing up. Regardless, I stand my grounds in saying that a child who is well enriched in good English speaking skills: grammar, voice, presentation and comprehension will be a well rounded adult. If more people were better at smooth public speaking, more things would get done in this world. Direct communication and better voiced writing would undeniably benefit all children as they grow into hardworking adults.

#2: Children are continually asked to reason through a problem, to produce intellectual products that are both logically sound and of top academic quality"

This idea of looking into the "how" of everything from literature to mathematical formulas may benefit the upper elite classes, however, at least from what I have seen, is being attempted in teaching children of lower working and middle classes lately. In both my cousin's homework (he is 9), as well as in the children of my tutoring (at Harry Kazirian), more and more focus is being put on the "how" or "why" things are the way that they are in this problem or explanation. This idea, however should stay where it belongs: to the upper elite educational classes. The "deeper look" into the question being asked has clearly not gotten children farther in their studies. Rather, as I believe, it has set students back. Children of the working class who have simply grown for years under the impression that 1+1=2, are not going to improve their mathematical intelligences by rethinking the deeper "Why". Instead, considering other areas of their lives, these children are bound to resist or become confused ; ultimately resulting in hating school work, dropping out, and even "negative learning" occurring, where nothing is learned, but instead something is lost due to confusion.

3. Overall, the use of keywords in dividing up different social classes using words such as "elite" and "working class" was powerful enough in addressing this article. Not only were these words and descriptions wisely chosen, but after nearly fifteen minutes of sitting here and thinking, I cannot argue with the author's choice of descriptive words in dividing up these social classes. The word "elite" may come off the tongue as a little harsh and somewhat "snobby", but all in all, the term fits the description of many local social statuses in certain RI schools. The same goes for many local schools. "Working class" was never a term I though to be accurate in describing social class. Now, however, this article really has me thinking about all of these different descriptions and where about local schools belong. Truly, to the core, this article made me think....

Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Talking Points #7

Gender And Education:


1. A recent study found that boys (ages 11-17) are three times more likely to drop out of public school than girls of the same age range are. While this "trend" has been growing in extreme amounts over the last 20 years, boys of all backgrounds seem to be caring less and less about their education. More and more focus is being put on equality in classrooms. Many theories say that this is because women/girls are being told by their parents and peers that they should always be as smart (if not smarter than) the average boy.Others, however, argue that the lack of positive male role models in the modern day is widening a gap at which negative, "education-less" role models have arisen. "Rappers, 'Celebutants', party animals, and nifty school dropouts" are what some say are the present day role models. For one, Obama seemed to be the first of a few recent reformations involving the re-involvement of positive male role models.


Here, we see a prime example of this: