Kenya: Primary Education Under the Gun

http://www.globalissues.org/news/2010/03/31/5050

In this article it talks about how Kenya is having troubles with some of its schools in certain areas. These areas are near fighting and it is unsafe for some of the kids to get to and from school. The school day can only last for four hours to ensure that the kids will be able to get home safe. The school is down enrollment because of its location and the general area. And for the risk of sending your child to school could result in their death if they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. This is horrible to hear and read. I think that every child should have the opportunity to go to school and not have to worry about if they are going to make it home safe. It will take away what they are even learning in school if all they can think about is if they will be able to make it home safe or not. And four hours a day is nothing for kids in an elementary setting, most kids are in school for at least 6 hours or so, they are losing that every day so losing about 10 hours a week that really sets these kids behind others in their age range. All because they live in an unsafe area. I just hope for every ones sake in that area, that the fighting stops and these kids get the adequate help they desperately need.

Minn. K-12 bill ups pupil payments, cuts programs

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011103300075

Early Wednesday the house passed a bill that would increase per pupil spending on education in the state of Minnesota. But they took out the options of teacher tenure and their striking ability and opted to make students test scores a much bigger part of how schools are evaluated and more so the teachers. Giving more aid to those schools that did well and, offer more vouchers to students in districts that scored poorly. All of this is not good news to future teachers. We want to get away from the fact that we test our kids too much and put a lot of pressure on these tests. Now the state wants to reward those schools that do well and punish the ones that don't hold up well. Its just making the achievement gap bigger between our best schools and the worst, as we saw in class. We need to make sure that even our worst schools are still getting adequate funding. How else are they going to get better?

How Schools are Structured

How schools are structured, can play a big part in how a students success plays out. It depends if you have a school where you are able to go all year long and have shorter breaks in between or if you have a school that is more traditional and only goes 9 months out of the year with a 3 month break. It all depends. Also another part is the idea of block scheduling or if you have more classes that are shorter or longer ones and have fewer per day or semester or trimester. All of these parts play into a students success. In my high school we had traditional school year and no block scheduling. You would have 3 months off for summer break and you would have about 5 or 6 classes a day for about an hour and 15 minutes to an hour and a half. And if you had lunch at a certain time your class would get split into two parts with lunch in between. I hated that, once you get going or started on a lesson plan you would get dismissed for lunch and have to come back. I think that if you were to schedule a school it should be block scheduling with more time on fewer classes. That way teachers are able to get more done during one class period then having to drag it into the following one. It gives students more time to work on homework and ask adequate questions if needed. It is more flexible then with the time. And it is hard to have 3 months off you do miss a lot of things that you have learned from the previous year, and a lot more time is spent on review, but i am not sure that having 2 or 3 weeks off at a time is something that i would want to have to work with either. Maybe something like you only have 2 months off for summer and have a longer winter break or a little bit longer spring break. All of these seem to be better then going to school all year long.

2 Million Minutes Video

In the movie 2 Million Minutes, it talks about how teenagers in 3 diffrent countries spend their time in high school. It goes into talking about how kids in China spend their time studying and spending a lot more time in extra cirriculars like music and dance and less on sports and TV. And the same is true in India. They have to go to school and its more of a privelage to get to go to school so they take it very seriously and study a lot more then the average US student does in high school. Also in India they already know what they will be majoring in by the time they enter high school. For the kids in India its a way out of poverty same with China. And in China since they can only have one child per family a lot more resources are poured into that one child. It just blew my mind that these kids are that dedicated all the way through. While the kids in the US went to football games, were class presidents and hung out with friends. It was a lot more laied back. And the kids in the other countires knew that and commented on it. Its just how you are brought up and the drive that you have to do well in school. All of these things play into how well you will do in school.
It was intresting to see how diffrent kids from around the world spend their time in high school, most study hard before they did anything else. Plus they had a lot more extra cirriculars that were dance, viloin lessons, tutoring for classes even if they were doing well, they just wanted to be the best. All these characteristics are very different here in Amreica. Its more laid back, and experts say we don't realize that we will be competing against these kids for jobs and that we need to be more prepare because we are behind them when it comes to academics. And thats something as a teacher we need to prepare these kids for, the idea of a more global job pool. And that not only are you competing with kids in your class, state, country, but now the world. And thats something we are very behind in.

Ideal Teaching Program

When asked what would be an ideal teaching program for us, the first thing that popped in my head was better cultural understanding. Maybe just devote a class to learning about the different cultures that we as teachers will be dealing with. Learning how do they interact, like personal spaces, and how do they show signs of respect. Each culture is different, and coming from a business background. We covered this topic. That we have to culturally aware as we are becoming a much more global market. And the same goes with teaching as well, we have to have a better understanding for all the other cultures as well as our own. We have to find effective ways of getting through to these kids.
The second would be more emphasis on what is happening in the classroom. Like checking up on how are field experiences are going, and asking questions about how to better teach the lesson plans. I feel like we got the lesson plans but I am personally having a little bit of trouble with how to suit it to sixth grader. Sometimes they look at me like I am teaching a kindergarten class when I teach the lesson plan, and the next time I think it goes over their head. I think that a check and balance approach to these lesson plans is a must. I think that making sure they are working and giving examples of what to do with each grade level or group is important and isn't being done.
The third thing is making us teach or learn in different environments. Like teaching in a different city where there is more diversity or a different state to get  a different feel for their lifestyle. Because we are not all going to teach here in central Minnesota, we need to have a better understanding of what is happening around us, and the best way to learn about teaching is in our field experiences so maybe one that is more in an urban area rather then suburban life. I think we would get a much better feel and see first hand the difficulties that we will be dealing with once we become teachers.

Group 3 presentation

Last week group 3 had the opportunity to present the history of education to the class. They did a great overview and explained the key points in each era. They explained why our teaching preparation is still the same as it was many years ago, and how we need to change it to better suit kids needs today. They showed videos and had great group discussion about the topics of church and state, should prayer be offered in public schools. They explained that these debates have been going on for years, and we may never really get a great answer to these questions. They also covered the evolution of education, they had an interview with a teacher that has been teaching for 15 years and the differences she has seen over this time span. It was a great insight to what we will be dealing with in the upcoming years. This group did a good job covering all that needed to be.

Rice Elementary students learn with new gadgets

http://www.sctimes.com/article/20110319/NEWS01/103190014/1001/news/Rice-Elementary-students-learn-new-gadgets

Sauk-Rapids Rice school district received a grant to get ActivBoards in their classroom. They can now say good bye to traditional chalkboards and whiteboards. These boards are interactive and act as a VCR, PC, and PowerPoint player. The teachers are saying that the students are more engaged in what they are learning. These boards are holding the students attention and they are actually excited to learn what is going on in the classroom. A special education teacher said that her students were challenged by traditional methods and are taking a liking to these new boards. All of this is really a great step for teaching. Getting your kids to stay involved and engaged is a tricky thing. And with this age being full of technology why not bring it into the classroom. It will help the students and teachers alike. I hope that in the future if these boards do show a improvement in learning that they will be available to all school districts nation wide. Lets just hope that these boards are helping those students who were struggling, maybe this is one piece of the puzzle, to helping them become even better students.

Unequal Education Movie

In today's class we had to watch a movie titled "Unequal Education." It was about two schools in New York City, both were junior high schools, but the similarities stopped there. One school was in the heart of the city deep in the ghetto. The other school school 141 was in a nice suburban part of the same city. The school located in the ghetto lacked adequate teachers, funding, materials. Everything was a struggle for these kids and the teachers that were trying to teach. Many would not turn in homework, or disrupt class. Many kids are failing in this type of environment. Teachers are not wanting to teach at these schools so teachers that are not qualified in the area that they are teaching take over. In the movie they had a dance teacher teaching science. A dance teacher teaching science... Really? But the other school was a complete 180. This school had adequate equipment, microscopes a field for phys-ed, instruments. This school was well staffed with many teachers wanting to teach at this school. The difference in education was amazing. The one little boy named Lonnie didn't even want to go back to that school, knowing he would either fail or drop out. That is truly disturbing when a child in the 8th grade knows he isn't going to make it and wants to drop out. There were many questions this movie raised, and this movie even if it was made when we were quite young. The message it sends still hits home. Something has to be done, but the question is what?

21st Century Skills Video

We watched a video in class that dealt with the 7 skills that are needed to succeed in today's world. It was based on the work and findings of one author, Tony Wagner. This video goes along with the book hes written, The Global Achievement Gap. A book about how even the nations best schools still aren't teaching the core things professors in college are looking for. The seven skills needed are basic skills like critical thinking and agility and adaptability and effective oral and written communication, curiosity and imagination, collaborations being able to work in teams. So much emphasis is put on standardized testing and how to better prepare yourself and take tests that so many skills are lost. Even the best schools in the nation aren't teaching these skills. And as future educators you don't want to hear that you are not preparing these kids for the real world, or even college. So he identifies these gaps in our school systems and brings them to every ones attention, and talks about how we need to fix this. He talks about going to classrooms and observing the teachers at elite schools in the United States. He watches and even these teachers, aren't getting the kids involved enough pushing them to think outside the box. They simply are being lectured and asked to ask simple questions, and sometimes no kids is even engaged in which case the teacher asked the question. So this video was about how there are many gaps in our education system and it is up to us as future educator to make sure that this stops before it gets worse.

Philippines and Australia strike education deal

http://www.radioaustralianews.net.au/stories/201009/3002655.htm?desktop

In this article they talk about how Australia has striked up a deal with the Philippines to better aid their schools. Which is awesome, because now the Philippines are now able to add another 2 years of school to elementary schools and better aid in technology that they might not have had before. Australia has already offered 570 million Australian dollars to help aid this project. I just wish that more countries could help out one another like these two are. And maybe if all schools had adequate funding and made it easier for all children to get a great education, maybe our global achievement gap would finally start to diminish. And what these two countries are doing is a great start to solving this problem.

Chapters 3 and 4 from The Global Achievement Gap

Chapter 3: The Global Achievement Gap
I think that the title of the chapter sums up what this chapter is about. Testing, Testing, Testing. It looks at all the testing that kids go through during their elementary to middle school to high school careers. The teachers are teaching to the test. And schools are looking very closely at the results. The school is know being held accountable for the success and failure of each child. And the sad thing is these kids are not ready to enter college. College teachers had staggering statistics that pretty much stated that these kids entering their freshman year in college are not up to the standards that colleges hold their kids up to. So what did all these years of education lead up to? New freshman still not being able to do things like critical thinking, effective written and oral communication, and good study habits and an inability to think analytically. All these skills are crucial in succeeding in today's world. So I think that as teachers we need to stop teaching to the test and start teaching to each child's ability. We need to teach the skills that our society begs of these kids. We are going to need students who can do all these skills and better then even ourselves. We have to prepare these kids for a job market that is changing every year and a job market that is global. And these changes need to start today to build a stronger foundation of education for each child.

Chapter 4: The Global Achievement Gap
In chapter 4, the author Tony Wagner, looks at reinventing the education process. It starts out by looking at how veteran teachers don't always want to change they teach a course. Even if their style of teaching or their method might be outdated. It is easier to stay in that comfort zone and do things they way you have for the past 5 or maybe even 20 years! He also looked at how educators and administrators are brought up and taught the basics they need to know to do their job. He looked at how the way they are taught can hurt their chances of changing the needs of education in the classroom. They limit what can be done in the classroom to make the child's education better. He talks about how the educators them self need to have a reinvented education and that the styles we are being taught are a thing of the past. Kids are so used to having a million media images thrown at them, that the attention span for most kids is not as long as it used to be. That we as teachers have to find new and inventive ways to engage a classroom of kids, and making sure that our lesson is getting across to these kids.

Speaking in Tongues

The video that we watched last week in class, looked at different students that are in immersion classrooms. Either Chinese or Spanish. They followed traditional and non traditional students to see how learning other languages can help them out. So even had the opportunity to travel to the country they were studying. It just goes to show how learning another language can set you apart from the rest. And in a global world that we live in today it is almost crucial that you are able to speak more then one language. It also showed a very interesting part of the story. They showed how learning a second language can help with their family life. Some of the kids learning the language were better able to speak to elders like grandparents and uncles and aunts that could only speak the one language. It gave those kids a chance to have an even deeper bond with these individuals. All and all it showed that learning a second language is a great skill to have this day in age.

Group Presentations

The two groups that presented so far did really well. I think that they covered the chapters in depth and showed us what we are going to expect once we are in the field. The first group that went and did the chapter on diversity in the classroom, had a nice mix. They had videos and a game at the end to interact with the class. An important part of teaching is getting people and kids involved. And did a nice job of not just reading off the power point. The first group set the bar high for the rest of the class. The second group did a nice job as well. They went in depth on the chapter they were assigned. The second group even went as far as printing handouts for the class, so we could better understand the subject matter they were trying to teach. Very cool choice. I liked being able to hold something and see the sheets of information in front of me rather then just be lectured. The second group also did a great job.

Universal Design for Learning

This website is a great tool for teachers. It shows different lesson plans that we can use for each kid. Which is very nice, since not every kids learns the same thing the same way. So it gives options on how to reach the ultimate goal of them learning. This website also show the What, How, and Why of learning, and explains them and then has some videos and tutorials on things that will help out in the classroom. I think that this website will come in handy down the road, when we are looking for different ways to teach a subject. It will also help us teach to kids that have different learning disabilities and struggles. I think that this is a amazing website and I can't wait until I can pull things off and use them in the classroom.

Chapter 2: The Global Achievement Gap

In the second chapter of the Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner, it talked about how there is a gap, and it is happening in some of our best schools. They are still teaching to the test and not using critical thinking. So he begs the question how can students improve on the 7 skills they need when one of the most important critical thinking isn't happening or even being taught. He talks about how children who are educated in the United States now have to compete for jobs on a global playing field, and the kids in the United States are at a much bigger disadvantage. They are not being taught the same things, and are pushed towards these tests then actual skills. Tony also went to visit many schools during this chapter and wrote how many classes that they call Honors classes, the kids in them are not being challenged. They are watching movies with no questions or discussions after the fact. No kid is truly engaged in the lesson the teacher is teaching. And they are supposed to be the schools honor kids. He also mentions the idea of the Bubble Kids. He goes on to explain these children are the ones the teacher should pay extra attention to. He divides each classroom into three parts. Green kids you know who are going to pass the test, yellow the bubble kids these kids could go either way, and red kids you know will not pass. He says that schools are spending more time with the yellow group of kids to get them to pass the test to meet standards. And try to ignore the lost cases, since they want as many kids to pass just focus on the ones that will and the bubble kids to make sure you are meeting your quota, for a lack of a better word, of students. This is horrible! I hope as a teacher I never have to teach under these circumstances. I don't want to have to give up on the students who don't get it and put all my energy towards the kids who do and might get it. I want as many to succeed as possible but not by splitting up the class into three parts and hoping the greens and yellows make the cut. I want as many kids to learn something, even if its something that can't be measured on a test.

Placement

The past two weeks in my field study have been really good. It was the first opportunity I had with the students to work with them in their small groups. The first week we did the get to know you grid, and they got to ask many more questions about me. And I took the opportunity to do the same with each one of them. It was funny they were telling me books and movies they liked, and they all thought that I would really like them too. Then on the third week we got down to business and worked with characters. My small groups went around and made comparisons between the different characters, used their describing words to describe their personalities. And some students even used their words of the week, which impressed the teacher. We then moved on into how character decisions impact the stories. Then I had them see if they would make the same decisions. They almost all said they would. But a few students did disagree, which was cool to have both points. The students in my small groups did really well with characters, which made it easier for me know I have a lesson plan under my belt and am ready for our next unit. But like one little boy told me poetry is too girly. So my obstacle for the next time we meet is trying to engage everyone and hope all the boys and girls enjoy my lesson.

Kudos for alternate licensure bill

http://www.sctimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2011103040020

In the St.Cloud Times, on March 4th I came across an article that said it looks like the bill will pass. Which is so cool! Since I am not a traditional education student, I am planning on getting my four year degree in Marketing. But since I LOVE teaching and want to pursue this career this bill passing is the best news! I want to get my alternative license and and ecstatic that this bill is so close to passing. I think it is an awesome step in helping Minnesota close the gap between white and minority students and it is giving people like me a chance to do so without having to spend another two years getting the degree. I just hope that things go as planned and this bill passes!