Last week's Ayers readings reminded me of my experience in taking the West E recently.
"Two thoughts filled my head as I mindlessly checked off the answers. First was the thought that whatever it was they were testing for, it had no relation to what I understood teaching to be. I might get a perfect score, or I might fail the test outright, but neither result would be helpful in determining whether I would succeed or not, whether I would be a good or rotten teacher." (Ayers, p. 123)
I passed (!) but I was left with the thought of- how will knowing what the secondary purpose of a foxes ears mean anything even slightly related to how I will be a good teacher? Even if they had opened it up to a short answer essay, I would have better been able to explain my answer, and my reasoning for why I thought the purpose was this certain thing. Multiple choice assessments leave little room for different interpretations of questions. I wonder what Sir Ken Robinson would have to say about this... Goodbye, divergent thinking! Then again, it is necessary for teachers to have academic breadth, and the biological function of fox ears certainly fits into academic breadth.
I'm studying for the next West E I take in about a week, and after the last one, I have no idea what to expect. I'm looking forward to the more individualized assessments we'll have later on in this program. It's a huge opportunity to be able to reflect on what you're doing and how effective it is. Assessments used to sound a little frightening but now I think they would be helpful. I want to be comfortable reflecting on myself so that each day think about what could be done better, and then improve. Teaching is a reflective process.
Monday, May 28, 2012
Sunday, May 20, 2012
Post watching Waiting for Superman
Amidst the reading, highlighting, and note taking I'm doing for the upcoming week, I had Waiting for Superman playing in the background. This is a documentary I've been wanting to see for a while, and is totally relevant to topics we've discussed in our classes.
For all the positive praise this documentary received, I was really disheartened by the end of it. I thought teachers were very negatively portrayed in this film. I can't say the film accurately captured what I felt like going through public school, but I wonder if it is a fair portrayal for some students experiences, other than my own. I'm also unsure if the film was anti- teacher's union, or if that was just me. I felt like much of the film was highlighting serious problems within public education today, citing a lack of funding, but then saying, without hesitation, that bad teachers are the problem.
So, I watched the credits roll and I was left with a really hollow feeling. But also a question of how could we make our public education better? I would suggest alternatives to the gymnasiums of tearful children and adults who were not drawn from the lottery to get into the charter schools. That was just awful. I thought there were a few elements of charter schools that I thought were beneficial to the students- small class sizes and individual attention to students was definitely a positive element to charter schools. This also made me think about where the schools are, and what the community members and parents have to say about the public school where they live. I wonder if it would help if they (parents, teachers, community members) had more influence on what the school could be, and should be, than on politicians who may or (most likely) may not have ever visited that particular school. Creating democratic societies outside of the classroom, having teachers, parents, and the community have more say in the classrooms? Or having a select few politicians create sweeping changes to reform education across the country? I could be missing other options, and I think my first question is pretty idealistic. I'm just grappling for some sense of "what if" answer to satiate my hollow feeling after watching Waiting for Superman.
I'm also curious to find out what others think who have seen the documentary. If anyone thought there was a paramount message to the film that I missed, I definitely welcome your insight. I came away from watching the film with a very, very biased opinion of it, and I want to make sure I'm giving it a fair chance. Especially after all that hype!
For all the positive praise this documentary received, I was really disheartened by the end of it. I thought teachers were very negatively portrayed in this film. I can't say the film accurately captured what I felt like going through public school, but I wonder if it is a fair portrayal for some students experiences, other than my own. I'm also unsure if the film was anti- teacher's union, or if that was just me. I felt like much of the film was highlighting serious problems within public education today, citing a lack of funding, but then saying, without hesitation, that bad teachers are the problem.
So, I watched the credits roll and I was left with a really hollow feeling. But also a question of how could we make our public education better? I would suggest alternatives to the gymnasiums of tearful children and adults who were not drawn from the lottery to get into the charter schools. That was just awful. I thought there were a few elements of charter schools that I thought were beneficial to the students- small class sizes and individual attention to students was definitely a positive element to charter schools. This also made me think about where the schools are, and what the community members and parents have to say about the public school where they live. I wonder if it would help if they (parents, teachers, community members) had more influence on what the school could be, and should be, than on politicians who may or (most likely) may not have ever visited that particular school. Creating democratic societies outside of the classroom, having teachers, parents, and the community have more say in the classrooms? Or having a select few politicians create sweeping changes to reform education across the country? I could be missing other options, and I think my first question is pretty idealistic. I'm just grappling for some sense of "what if" answer to satiate my hollow feeling after watching Waiting for Superman.
I'm also curious to find out what others think who have seen the documentary. If anyone thought there was a paramount message to the film that I missed, I definitely welcome your insight. I came away from watching the film with a very, very biased opinion of it, and I want to make sure I'm giving it a fair chance. Especially after all that hype!
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Where I'm From
Phew! Busy week this week! I meant to post this last week, and time has just flown by! I really enjoyed listening to all of our Where I'm From poems. Was anyone else intimidated by writing a poem? I was before this. I was surprised how doable they were, and how much I enjoyed writing mine. This is definitely something that I would love to incorporate in my own classroom when the time comes.
My Where I'm From poem:
I am from all kinds of painted rocks,
frogs, gnomes, grasshoppers, and cottages,
and half-empty acrylic paints, Golden brand,
from stained, wiry brushes and paper mache,
air-drying and exhibited on the porch,
next to Lipton’s sun tea.
I am from bleeding hearts,
honeysuckles, tulips, forever pink hydrangeas,
lofty bird houses with no vacancy,
from sour then sweet, hen-pecked raspberries,
growing, by hook or crook,
too near our chicken coop.
I am from stacked boxes of bees,
angrily stirring, or diligently pollinating,
strategically placed on top of the hill,
over bottomless rows of trees blossoming.
From months later, after the bees have disappeared,
and Grandpa’s voice sounding over the walkie-talkie,
I’m driving this load to the warehouse, and
don’t let the cherry bins get hot.
I am from Crazy Mike’s Video Hut,
and epic fights with my sister, pleading
because you picked last time!
my little-sister-death-grip on Rainbow Brite.
I am from coupon shopping,
is it a want or a need?,
or many times, Mom’s optimism,
I think we can make that at home.
I am from the smell of Grandma’s rhubarb pies,
crusts from scratch, and salty beer-can chicken,
from family gatherings, and never enough chairs,
I am from welcome mats, caked in mud,
and Mom’s wooden bookends,
declaring Live, Laugh, Love.
My Where I'm From poem:
I am from all kinds of painted rocks,
frogs, gnomes, grasshoppers, and cottages,
and half-empty acrylic paints, Golden brand,
from stained, wiry brushes and paper mache,
air-drying and exhibited on the porch,
next to Lipton’s sun tea.
I am from bleeding hearts,
honeysuckles, tulips, forever pink hydrangeas,
lofty bird houses with no vacancy,
from sour then sweet, hen-pecked raspberries,
growing, by hook or crook,
too near our chicken coop.
I am from stacked boxes of bees,
angrily stirring, or diligently pollinating,
strategically placed on top of the hill,
over bottomless rows of trees blossoming.
From months later, after the bees have disappeared,
and Grandpa’s voice sounding over the walkie-talkie,
I’m driving this load to the warehouse, and
don’t let the cherry bins get hot.
I am from Crazy Mike’s Video Hut,
and epic fights with my sister, pleading
because you picked last time!
my little-sister-death-grip on Rainbow Brite.
I am from coupon shopping,
is it a want or a need?,
or many times, Mom’s optimism,
I think we can make that at home.
I am from the smell of Grandma’s rhubarb pies,
crusts from scratch, and salty beer-can chicken,
from family gatherings, and never enough chairs,
I am from welcome mats, caked in mud,
and Mom’s wooden bookends,
declaring Live, Laugh, Love.
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Adventures with Caterpillars and Mini Field Trips
I'm taking Math for Elementary Education this quarter to fulfill some academic breadth requirements, and what is fabulous about that is that I not only get to create pictographs (!) but I get to volunteer more time in classrooms for the service-learning component of the class. Last week, I was busy helping out in an elementary classroom, and we were moving tiny Caterpillars to little containers that held this rancid smelling plant paste (that I'm sure the little critters are just devouring). I was helping out each student to very carefully take the caterpillars from the big container to the smaller ones, trying to make sure those escape artists didn't succeed at getting out of the big container, and listening to the questions from the students. They had so many good questions! Are the caterpillars girls or boys? I had no idea. We researched the answer together and found out that the only way to tell is to dissect them. So now I'm referring to the caterpillars as "they" or "them" in an attempt to avoid pronouns, and of course to avoid dissecting them. One was accidentally flicked across the room, and crawling on hands and knees I found them. That one is now designated as mine, and their name is Harry Houdini.
There is a lot of collaboration that goes on in the time between classes or during recess. I was surprised by how much of what we talk about in our classes is also talked about in this particular school. It's encouraging! We were talking a little about inquiry-based projects and about how great the caterpillars have been, and how excited the students are to work with them. Some students had never seen a caterpillar before this, except for maybe in a book or on TV. I was reading a book with a few students that had a character who is a blue jay, and no one knew what a blue jay was. That may have been due to young age, though. We (teachers, teacher's aids, and I) started talking about the great resource that this school had right outside, and how they could do an inquiry-based pseudo field trip outside where they get to explore the natural environment outside. Maybe a scavenger hunt of the plants, animals, and insects? A teacher and I actually went and took a walk out to explore what was out there. We're thinking maybe field journals using specific terminology, researching native and invasive plant species, insects and birds. There is quite a bit of potential there for experiential learning grounded on concrete experience from right outside the classroom.
An article I'm reading for another class pointed out that "today's children lack experience with natural ecosystem complexity. In all, 83% of the U.S. population lives in metropolitan areas." (Blair, D. 2009) I think that statement is pretty fair, but I'm sure there are some exceptions. The data the article cites is from the US Dept. of Agriculture. All in all I'm encouraged that discussions like the one I was participating in at a real school are happening and that teachers are creatively collaborating, even when they're only given 5 minutes.
There is a lot of collaboration that goes on in the time between classes or during recess. I was surprised by how much of what we talk about in our classes is also talked about in this particular school. It's encouraging! We were talking a little about inquiry-based projects and about how great the caterpillars have been, and how excited the students are to work with them. Some students had never seen a caterpillar before this, except for maybe in a book or on TV. I was reading a book with a few students that had a character who is a blue jay, and no one knew what a blue jay was. That may have been due to young age, though. We (teachers, teacher's aids, and I) started talking about the great resource that this school had right outside, and how they could do an inquiry-based pseudo field trip outside where they get to explore the natural environment outside. Maybe a scavenger hunt of the plants, animals, and insects? A teacher and I actually went and took a walk out to explore what was out there. We're thinking maybe field journals using specific terminology, researching native and invasive plant species, insects and birds. There is quite a bit of potential there for experiential learning grounded on concrete experience from right outside the classroom.
An article I'm reading for another class pointed out that "today's children lack experience with natural ecosystem complexity. In all, 83% of the U.S. population lives in metropolitan areas." (Blair, D. 2009) I think that statement is pretty fair, but I'm sure there are some exceptions. The data the article cites is from the US Dept. of Agriculture. All in all I'm encouraged that discussions like the one I was participating in at a real school are happening and that teachers are creatively collaborating, even when they're only given 5 minutes.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
A little random inspiration
I'm doing a project for the middle school learners class and it's getting me all excited about the possibilities of school gardens. I want to include a quote I just found that I think is pretty nifty.
"[G]ardening changes the status of food for all involved. When one gardens, food can no longer
be viewed as a mere commodity for consumption; we are brought into the ritual of communal
goodness that is found at the intersection of people and plants. Food that we grow with our own
hands becomes a portal for personal transformation." (Thorp and Townsend, p. 357)
The articles I'm reading about the subject are encouraging. There are so many benefits to implementing a school garden! And, gardening can be implemented across so many subjects: Math, Language Arts, Science, History, Art, Technology... the list goes on!
Our project is, of course, designed without any mindfulness of a budget at all. But the more I think about it the more do-able this idea seems. Many of the items could be donated. They don't require new space- they can transform unused space. Anyone heard of vertical gardening?
Seriously. How cool is that.
"[G]ardening changes the status of food for all involved. When one gardens, food can no longer
be viewed as a mere commodity for consumption; we are brought into the ritual of communal
goodness that is found at the intersection of people and plants. Food that we grow with our own
hands becomes a portal for personal transformation." (Thorp and Townsend, p. 357)
The articles I'm reading about the subject are encouraging. There are so many benefits to implementing a school garden! And, gardening can be implemented across so many subjects: Math, Language Arts, Science, History, Art, Technology... the list goes on!
Our project is, of course, designed without any mindfulness of a budget at all. But the more I think about it the more do-able this idea seems. Many of the items could be donated. They don't require new space- they can transform unused space. Anyone heard of vertical gardening?
Seriously. How cool is that.
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