Promising Futures

Maine's Promising Futures Program is a challenge for schools to rise up to the idea of making school achievements higher, graduating more students and cover knowledge and subject areas with greater depth and comprehension. One of the core principals of the Promising Futures program that I like is the safe,caring and respectful learning environment; I think that this IS one of the very first important steps in improving education because students must feel free to express their ideas without being judged, and students must feel respected and valued from everyone around them.

Another one of the core principals that I hope to have in a school that I teach in is the principal of specialized and integrated learning. This is particularly designed to help teachers challenge their students in several different areas, while integrating the skills that they are learning in other classes. I think that this will help students retain and be apply to apply the information that they are learning.

I also like valuing student choices. Rather than forcing students to learn everything, teachers should allow some flexibility and options in order to enable students to pursue personal interests and abilities. By allowing students to make choices, they must take responsibility for the choices they make, and they will be more informed on the decisions that they make. I hope that the school in which I teach is "organized for learning" as the Promising Futures book promotes. I feel that with learning organization, then certain issues
can be prevented, and the learning environment will be more productive for everyone.

One last thing that I really liked about the Promising Futures plan was the idea about promoting a positive and knowledgeable staff base; without this base, I feel that the school environment can give way to negative feelings which can inhibit learning. Students sense if there is bickering or disagreement among staff members, and can exploit these issues even further. By having a positive staff base, students will feel positive about their school as well.

Educational Philosophies

Teacher-Centered Locus-of-Control:

Perennialsim: Classical thought, core values. Tries to create good citizens by looking at landmark thinkers. Schools need to be structured and organized to properly facilitate learning. Idealist

Essentialist belief is that there is a common core of information and skills that everyone should know. "Universal truths" are learned by repetition, examination, reading, lectures, memorization.This includes creating good citizens by learning various subject matters including literate, history, foreign language, religion,math and sciences. Idealist

Behaviorism is the theory that behavior represents the being of an individual and that behaviors are responses to various stimuli. This view also believes that the school should create a learning environment that develops wanted behaviors in students. Looking at the effects of environment on individual behaviors, much can be learned about the student. This view values high organizational skills, as well as empirical evidence and the scientific method. Realist

Positivism rejects essences, intuition and inner causes because they cannot always be measured. The teacher is expected to directly state what each student is to learn and master through clear, precise expectations. They focus on empirical verification, valuing information that is based on experimental/observable evidence. Students are viewed as being able to develop their information by studying experts and observing.Realist


Student-Centered Locus-of-Control:

Progressivism believes that learning occurs through various questioning and experimentation by the individual learner. This view also values experience as the basis for all knowledge. Progressivists believe that schools should prepare students for change, focusing on how to think instead of what to think. Pragmatist

Humanism is the belief that human nature is generally good; this involves creating a "free and self-actualizing person." Instructional content should be based on the students abilities, interests, and needs. Humanists view education as being important to not force students to learn, and they encourage students to make their own choices about their own individual learning. Pragmatist

Constructivism believes that learning allows the student to develop their own thoughts. Curriculum is based on student questions.Students need to be given multiple and ample opportunities to develop their own individual thoughts and discover answers their own questions. Constructivist thought believes learning to be the student developing individual personal meaning. The teacher gives situations that allow the student the think and develop their own questions.
existentialism

Reconstructionsim: Experiences that you have had.

Reflection:
As a future teacher, I consider myself most aligned with two of these theories, the Progressivism and Constructivism. I like the parts about questioning and experimenting, as well as focusing on experiences and problems. One part that I like about Progressivism is learning how to think instead of what to think. I like Constructivism because of the individuality that is associated with the student's own learning.

Classroom Management

This educational issue was focused around classroom management. Some of the ideas that were presented were lesson planning techniques, tips for keeping organized, tips for keeping grades, ideas on how to set up classroom rules and the class was even given a link for creating their own classroom set-up. In that aspect, I liked that part of the lesson that was interactive. Meghan and Sarah also gave us a comprehensive list of resources that deal with classroom management issues. Several hyperlinks were available, leaving it up to us to find most resources that we might be interested it.

"Voices"

I agreed with Sappho's idea that teachers should be mentor for students. I also agreed with Plato on focusing on "the important role of those who must carefully choose the material to teach the future guardians of the state." I feel that issue applies specifically to social science, where we are molding the future citizen's of the world. Aristotle's philosophy on thinking and reflecting and then allowing practice of skills is also something that I agree with. Cicero believed that "history provided the young Roman with a perspective into his tradition and the lives of his ancestors, through the study of the past deeds of Roman greatness"; I think that this idea is very applicable to social science. I also agree with Charlemagne's belief that the methodology of instruction should emphasize accuracy. I liked Erasmus' philosophy of emphasizing understanding content more than style; it is not HOW you learn it, but rather THAT you learn it and understand it. Comenius believed in "universal education for all, no matter what their social background, religion, sex, or intellectual ability." I would agree, and think that everyone has the right to an education. I follow Locke's view that the subjects should be integrated, as well as Pestalozzi's idea that learning should be stimulated y motivation and interests. I like Dewey's belief that "there is no line of demarcation within facts themselves which classifies them as belonging to science, history, or geography, respectively" and that the students should see the relationship between the different content areas.

Teach With Your Heart pages 228 to 265

This section begins with Erin losing the Congressional election. She pretty depressed about the ordeal, and finds herself in a lot of debt. However, she starts giving speeches about the Freedom Writers and earns some more money by doing that. Erin begins a program to help other teachers become advocates to their students as well, and employs some of the Freedom Writers to help her do this. They identify the factors that contribute to at-risk students, and learn mentoring techniques. A studio also decides to do a documentary on the Freedom Writers, and Hollywood decides to take on the story as well. Hillary Swank calls her to tell her that she got the role of Erin in the upcoming film, and Erin felt like she was "talking to one of (her) girlfriends." (257).

This part of the book seemed a lot more surreal than the rest of the book; it was almost like it was the "Hollywood ending" to the book. However, I really liked the quote, "We're changing the world by changing education," (241).

Four philosophies: Idealism, Realism, Pragmatism, and Existentialism

Idealism is the first of the philosophies presented in the article. Idealism is based on the belief that the minds, ideas and reason is the primary role of education. Idealists view order as being very important, as well as classification and the idea that knowledge includes mentally understanding ideas and concepts in order to further intellect and development; this includes practices of reading, studying and reflecting.
Another philosophy on education is the view of Realism. This view emphasizes that knowledge comes through the experiences of natural senses, and by "existing" in nature, the mind will sort and classify the information that it recieves; it tends to follow the basics of natural law as well as morals. A realist would tend toward observation, deductive logic and the scientific method.
Pragmatism is the third philosophy presented in the article. Pragmatists believe in the experiences of "new truths" and that old truths can only be considered false until new evidence shows otherwise. Everything is supposed to be questioned, tested and experienced. THis follows the model of a democratic soceity, where something works until something better comes along; it incorportates all of the subject areas at once to try to piece them together. Learning by doing and experimentation are important keys to pragmatist thought.
The last educational philosophy in the article in that of Existentialism. This view focuses on the learner's inner thoughts, CHOICES and responsibilities; there is a focus to try to find meaning in the world. "The individual self must ultimately decide what is true and how we know...Because no absolutes, no authorities, and no single or correct way to the truth exist, the only authority is the self."

I think that my personal philosophy on education would be most closely alligned with existentialism. What I like about this philosophy is that the students learn to take responsibility for their their actions, as well as the results. I believe that this is especially useful in the realm of social sciences, where we learn why people act the way they do,and why the world is the way that it is! Purpose and different people's ideas create the many diversities that are found in the world; when the students create their own personal views on the world, they can apply those views to other situations as well.

Tracking

The first educational issue presentation was on tracking. Tracking is when students are placed with other students who are of the same ability achievement. There are pros and cons that can be presented in the subject of tracking. In some ways, I can see where it could be positive, when students can advance at their own pace rather than having to try to keep up with their peers, and being intimidated by the environment around them. However, it can also have negative effects,such as making the students feel bad about themselves as well as making them set lower goals or expectations of themselves.

Teach With Your Heart Pages 177-227

During this part of the book, Erin feels the need to shelter her students from the media attention that some of them are receiving. She also understands that some of her students may be jealous because only a handful of the students are receiving attention. Erin nominates her students for the Spirit of Anne Frank Award in order to show her appreciation for the Freedom Writer's Diary effort. While interviewing in New York for the award, she gets her foot in the door at a publishing house, interested in her students' book (this eventually ends up in a book deal). Her students end up winning the Spirit of Anne Frank Award. Erin also begins contemplating a new teaching position in another school, partly because of the frustration that she feels at Wilson. Come graduation time, many of her students started finding it difficult breaking away from the pack; it is often hard in these situations to stay connected, and I understand what Erin is talking about when she writes, "It was a challenge to stay connected while the Freedom Writers and I were dispersing to different colleges. While they were trying to find their way in college courses, I was trying to re-create my unorthodox methodology on future educators at California State University" (190). She pairs up her Freedom Writers with her new graduate students, and this benefits both sides. Her and her students travel to Warsaw, Poland to see some of the remnants of the holocaust, such as Auschwitz. Her students get very emotional during the trip; one even finds a bone.
I am astonished with the pure luck that Erin has...it almost seems surreal. On page 182, when she is trying to figure out how to get her kids to New York, she writes: " I returned to California...got an unsolicited call from GUESS? Inc., ...(and they) donated forty-five alrline tickets for a third of my class to attend the ceremony." I can related to Erin's fear of change as she thinks about the new teaching position in the other school; often change can be very scary and difficult to voluntarily do. I liked her idea about pairing up her Freedom Writers with her new graduate students. I can only hope that I get some of the same opportunities as Erin, such as her bring her students on a tour through Europe.

Episode 4

"Children may only be about 20 percent of the population, but they are 100 percent of the future." This episode focused on the educational system from the 1980's to the present. During this time, there was a push for standardized testing and educational reforms in order to make education more productive and successful for the business world. There was also a push for choices in school, as far as class go, which I think was a move in the right direction. President Bush vowed to "make America's schools the best in the world." This included vouchers to help students in low income areas attended private schools. Some of these vouchers included vouchers for religious schools, and this was highly controversial; it is hard to draw the line between separation of church and state. I think that this was a negative effort, because it took money away from funding public schools; that money could have been used to make the schools better rather than paying for public schools. The privatization of schools, while it seemed good at first, failed and the money was lost. During this time, the number of students being home schooled also rose dramatically, which I can relate to because that is what my sister chooses to do with her children for religious reasons. It was very interesting to listen to the part about the media giving equipment to the schools but they had to watch 12 minutes of channel 1 advertising. The piece about charter schools was very interesting, because the two Presidential candidates currently have very different views on these schools, and I never completely understood what they were; President Bill Clinton believed that competition would improve the school systems. Most of these charter schools were non-profit. Bill Clinton was also an enforcer of raising achievement levels through standardized testing in the areas of math and reading. I love the quote, "You can't teach a child to think in must you have something for him to think about."

Teach With Your Heart pages 141-176

This section begins with Erin continuing to struggle in her personal life because of the attention that she is giving to school. She writes, "Maybe if I had poured my passion into being the perfect wife instead of the perfect teacher, we'd be admiring the Dutch canals together," (142). They separate, and Erin finds out that he has another girlfriend already. Erin also discovers that one of her students is dyslexic. She also starts the Freedom Writer's diary project, to help her students express their lives and emotion.
I understand the difficulty that Erin is feeling in her personal life; it must be really hard to learn how to properly balance everything, but her husband is not helping the situation at all and it is appalling that he already has another girlfriend. I think that Erin once again crosses the line when she grabs one of her students by the collar when she is upset with him (page 152). She probably could have gotten fired for that!

A Nation At Risk

Abstract: This article argues that the United States of America is at risk of falling behind the rest of the industrialized nations in the areas of commerce, industry, technology and other sciences. This is due to the lack of skill that Americans possess the skills and training in order to surpass other workers from other nations. This is partly because of the attitude that “education means doing the minimum work necessary for the moment, then coasting through life on what may have been learned in its first quarter” (4). The article recommends that in response to this "risk", graduation requirements be strengthened, standards and expectations be raised of graduates, or that more time should be required to be spent in school (such as extending the school day.) Other suggestions are: Teachers be required to meet high standards, and other leadership and fiscal reforms take place.

Reflection: I thought that, in a lot of ways, this article seems to mimic No Child Left Behind, with the standards being put across the board in order to achieve a certain level of education. I think that a lot of the information and statistics in this article are interesting, however some of the ideas are a little bit absurd (extending the school day, for more homework than is now the case?) As a high school student, I had around 4 hours of homework a night! However, some of the ideas made a lot of sense; I liked the idea about better classroom management ideas, along with firm and fair codes of student conduct that are enforced CONSISTENTLY.

PBS The Story of School Episode 1

During the history of the United States from the time of pre-revolutionary ideas to 1900, education was very different than what it is today. It is interesting to think that public education was basically a form of Sunday school, where many schools were closely linked to the Protestant Bible. By the time of the Revolutionary War, most Americans could read newspapers and the Bible, as well as figure their own taxes. However, education was very unequal; I found it appalling that girls only got the chance to go to school for three years! Along those lines, their was no education provided for slaves. Education was also limited among the poor and rural schools were dilapidated. The schools were focused around discipline, which connects to the education interviews that I conducted with my father and grandmother. When they went to public schools, discipline was a very important feature. I also thought that the piece on how teaching was seen as strictly a woman's profession was very intriguing; while there are still more female teachers today, I feel like male teachers have begun making a huge impact on this frontier. I liked the piece on how it was a woman's "moral responsibility" to teach. While many of the teaching techniques and what was in the textbooks seems ridiculous now, I understand the era and the culture of the time.

TTWY pages 104-140

This section of Teach With Your Heart by Erin Gruwell focused on the third years of her students. She begins the school year with the "Toast for Change" into order to try to wipe the slates of her students clean. She taken back with some of the open and honest things that her students say. For example, Maria says, "I don't want to be pregnant by the time I'm fifteen like my mother," (107). Erin introducesd the Anne Frank diaries to her students, and gets mixed reactions; Erin felt that the book might be something that her students would be able to relate to. During this section, the class put the effort in to getting two guest speakers to come and visit them, Miep Gies and Zlata (a ethnic cleansing refugee from Bosnia). Erin is surprised at the enthusiasm that her students put into the visits.
One thing that stood out in this chapter was the growing and almost too-close of a relationship that Erin has with her students. On page 115, she calls a student "sweetie", a word of endearment that could make others perceive that she favors him. She even gets sick from the stress that she feels at school- I understand taking your work home with you, but you can't forget to take care of yourself for the sake of others.