The Conclusion of the Tale

In reviewing the articles and blogs I have commented on throughout this course, I think that this has been an excellent way for me to be exposed to a wide variety of issues concerning education.  My topic involving the students who fall through the cracks in the educational system, really enlighten me to the diverse spectrum of reason for this phenomena.  I was able to look at the rates of student failure from the perspectives of educational opportunities from the prison cell, No Child Left Behind issues, discriminatory policies, race and socioeconomic issues, and language divides.  I think that this wide perspective allows me to think of ways to deal with this issue of illiteracy and failure from different vantages.  I think the information I have received during the past weeks will be helpful to finding individualized answers for the individualized problems of my students. 

The opportunity to respond to some of my classmates blogs allowed me to get their ideas and opinions on many controversial issues.  I think that issues like censorship and banned books are very interesting and worthy of our time and investigation. 

I liked using the RSS Agregator to compile the articles of interest.  This is a tool that I will continue to use for both my personal and professional development.  Even though I am planning to teach in an elementary setting, I think that using a technology component is important to expose myself and my students to the world and other opinions.  I think that having the ideas of others as close as a computer screen will be a great asset to my classroom and a lot of fun for my students.   I also think that information is the key to ending fear.  I know that the exposure we have had to all of these educational issues will go along way to debunk the myths that create fear.

The Value of a Man in a Jacket at a Conference…

Who is this Jacqueline Woodson woman?  This was my question before experiencing her style, poise, personality, and most importantly, her words.  Now, I feel quite compelled to buy every book she has written.  Ms. Woodson’s words, whether spoken or read, are so powerful.  I felt that she gave a very realistic message about writing.  I appreciated her earnest way of explaining her dedication to the process of writing.  I had never thought about writing as being a right that each person has.  The ability and freedom to express yourself is a gift that we should pay attention to.  Ms. Woodson’s words were amazing.  It is hard to imagine that she had so much feeling and intensity inside of her. 

The next seminar I attended took a close look at the use of Literature Circles with both Reluctant Readers and Literature Lovers.  I thought that this seminar was clever because it addressed both ends of the literature spectrum.   The leaders began by giving techiques for bridging the gap between the cannon and “fun” reading.  The presenters suggested utilizing the “fun” literature to promote engaging the students in literature, and then allowing the students to draw their own conclusions about the content and quality of their choices.  She suggested using non-threatening methods of Dialogue Journaling and writing prompts specific to the ideas the teacher is trying to convey.  One of these prompts could be “explain the main character of the story”.  This seems to be a simple directive, but character analysis can be done on any character.  The facilitator pointed out that sometimes this level of analysis will allow the student to review their choice of literature from a more critical perspective….isn’t that what we’re after?

The second part of this workshop present us with a panel of over achieving high school students.  They pointed out the some of the tools that their teachers use in literature circles that seems to be effective.  This part of the workshop was less organized, but I think that they conveyed the message they were after.  Time and choice are key issues for students who enjoy literature. 

The other workshop I attended looked at encouraging students to share their writing and giving them tools for peer editing.  Christine Dawson gave LOADS of tips and strategies for developing a creative writing program.  She demonstrated several of these techniques by having her audience write quick, prompt based poems, and then allowing us to share them.  She explained a poetry writing device called synethesia or using a sense in an unexpected way.  I have already tried this technique on my students at church.  We described what Peace would taste like.  She also had some great tips for students to use when peer editing in a non-threatening way.  We were able to practice these techniques as well as listen and response techniques.

Overall, I feel like our journey to Lansing was well worth the trip.  I was able to gain a knowledge and appreciation for both the reading and writing componet in language arts.  All of the techniques and strategies offered by the speakers were realistic and practical for any classroom.  I appreciated their enthusiam and excitement for their students and their learning styles, and I was greatful for the opportunity to be able to capitalize on their knowledge and experience.    

How do you Measure their worth?

Although the purpose of this blog is not to discuss the “No Child Left Behind” initiative, I think that this form of legislation has a huge impact on the success of our children.  Having said that, I reviewed this article by Marc Fisher that addresses the ever widening crack NCLB leaves behind.  It is a fact that teachers do not teach in vacuum, and as hard as we try to equalize education for all students, it is necessary to individualize their education to meet their specific needs. 

No Child Left Behind is built on a lie. Not every kid will go to college, no matter what you do. So you can either lower the standards enough to pretend that everyone is succeeding, or give up on the lie.

Even though these words are tough, I think that they ring true to the situation of some students.   The authors words expose us to another aspect of NCLB.  Are we doing our students any favors by allowing our testing standards to be set  so low?  I remember how remedial the classes were that were manditory for all students.  I remember how many of the teachers did “everything possible” to make sure that it wasn’t their class that prevented a students from graduating

Unfortunately for everyone involved, there is too much at stake.  The students lose knowledge, the administrators lose money, and the test loses credibility. 

Staking everything on a test doesn’t produce a flowering of inspired teaching

Requiring teachers to produce such significant results limits their abilities to teach beyond the test.  It is unfortunate that the government has waved the financial “carrot” in front of those responsible for the education of our young people.  The financially strapped districts need the bonuses offered by the steady improvement of their schools to increase and support their budgets.  Need facilitates the choice to reduce the demands of required classes for students. 

So where does this leave students who struggle academically?

The theory is that somehow, when told the exact number of children who are lagging in achievement, teachers will agree to render the magic that they have thus far withheld and — poof! — those kids will become smart, cooperative and productive.

Obviously, this is not what happens.  But these students are Left behind simply by ignoring their needs and “dumbing down” the information required for graduation.  The implications of this article require us to take a hard look at the disservice we are doing to our students.  Is it better to pass them without the knowledge they need?  Aren’t they still falling through the educational cracks? 

 Very few (if any) educators will admit that there are a few ….Ha Ha Ha!!– problems with NCLB; however, the idea that manipulating the degree of difficulty assigned to a course in order to pass a student is not a valid answer to the NCLB problem.  It is our job to prepare our students for the “real” world using real information.  Our students have enough trouble developing the skills necessary for literacy and critical thinking, by not providing a solid knowledge base, we are truly adding to the problem of students graduating without the skills they need.

In Fairfax’s ‘No Child’ Fight, A Refusal to Leave Children Behind

By Marc FisherClick here to read the complete article.

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