Things and Stuff

30 April 2012

Introduction to Education Homework # 15

Read the Case Study 1.1 (CD) Megan Brownlee

How did it make you feel

I had pretty neutral feelings regarding the Case Study 1.1. While the points that Ms. Brownlee makes about the downsides of teaching are not among the most common complaints that I have heard, I still feel like her points were only relatively bad. Her main complaints were scheduling, her colleagues, and standardized testing, but I only felt like the scheduling was actually a significant issue.

Regarding the competency and relationships with her colleagues, I think that Ms. Brownlee sums up and undermines her point best when she says, "those are the kinds of issues you find on any job." Having worked in plenty of minimum-wage jobs and in the Army, and having discussed this issue with professionals of different occupations, I strongly believe that every job is likely to have people that are not overly proficient. In response to the teachers' complaint that she is having trouble teaching a diverse group, it seemed unrealistic to me that she expected a specialist to come in and spend time in her class and then help her adjust. I cannot come up with any jobs where an individual works alone like a teacher and could get this kind of service. Maybe some sort of remedial training or something would be easier for her to find and help her deal with the issue. She might consider taking "Teaching Diverse Populations" at SPC.

I'm not particularly familiar with how standardized tests compare with the learning objectives that should prepare students for them; however, it seems to me like the solution would be to report the inconsistency of whatever questions she had not prepared for and then adjust her lessons for the future. I have always thought that teachers needed to be adaptable and should expect to make these kinds of regular changes. Maybe this issue is a big deal, I'm not really sure personally, but it did not seem like a big issue to me. Additionally, I was under the impression that a lot of standardized tests have questions that require students to apply information they have learned to a new kind of problem or to tackle problems they may have never directly learned how to solve. A real assessment should probably include at least small amounts of information both above and below a group's knowledge or skill level.

The issue regarding scheduling was the only thing I thought seemed like a significant and troubling problem. I believe that Ms. Brownlee's school is probably not trying to make her job difficult just for kicks, so it is probably the result of either bad scheduling by the school or bad scheduling directed from higher than the school/school board. If it is the former, she should try coming up with an alternative plan and explain to higher how the scheduling complicates her job or hinders her ability to properly teach. In the case of the latter, there is probably less that can be done, but this seems, once again, like a challenge that she should be prepared to discuss and adapt to accommodate. I was in GT in school and other kids in my class were in ESL or remedial reading, so this issue of kids being pulled from classes for extra instruction is obviously not new.

My overall feelings about this Case Study are that it was nice of Ms. Brownlee to tell the truth about how she felt and present a realistic impression of the job to Mrs. Ernst, but the reasons that she used to justify the difficulty of teaching or to advise her to reconsider were not adequate.

Introduction to Education Homework # 14

Read Case Study (CD) Joan Martin, Marilyn Coe and Warren Groves

React to what you read by answering the following questions:

What are the issues in this case study? What would be your stand in the meeting if you were Joan, Marilyn, Warren? What can be compromised in each person’s point of view? How could the issues be resolved?

The primary issue of this case study is whether or not it is justifiable to integrate a student with special learning needs into a regular classroom for the benefit of socialization, even if that child may not be capable of completing the coursework. The student in question in the study is named Donald Garcia, has reading abilities about three grade levels below his age, and has trouble speaking English, as it is his second language. Donald's special education teacher, Marilyn Coe, believes that it is essential for Donald to be integrated for social reasons and to prepare him for secondary education. Joan Martin is a social studies teacher who accepts Donald into her class, but later feels that Donald is simply unable to read and write well enough to be successful in her class. Joan cares about Donald's socialization, but does not want to compromise her own personal values by changing her grading system or curriculum. Warren Groves, the principle of the school, believes that these two teachers are the subject-matter experts and should be able to make the final decisions, but realizes that the conflict of interests involved may require his intervention. He is not quite sure whether it is more important for Donald to be mainstreamed or to remain in classes at his learning level, but he hopes to find a solution that will be advantageous to the student, without insulting the professional integrity of either teacher.

Personally, if I were Joan Martin, I think that I would stand my ground on the belief that Donald "shouldn't be in fourth grade if he can't read the work." I don't think it would be fair for Joan's other students, or ethical of her, to grade Donald using a different system or give him separate work. From the perspective of both Marilyn and Warren, I think that I would start out by admitting that I had made an error of judgment. Marilyn obviously did not seriously consider how this scenario was going to play out realistically or logically prioritize Donald's needs, which I will clarify in the final paragraph. Mr. Groves should also admit his fault in this scenario. While his intentions were good in offering advice but letting the teachers decide, he should not have let them decide in this case to put a child that cannot read in a fourth grade class.

Each person in the scenario can compromise in a few ways; however, the majority of those ways are probably not beneficial. If Joan keeps Donald in the class, she could compromise by grading him differently, giving him different assignments, or spending more time instructing him personally. Marilyn has fairly limited room to compromise because she is already doing what she can to help him with his social studies work and taking him out of the class would not be a compromise, but a submission on her part. I guess it would be a compromise if she just allowed him to fail, but a pretty lousy one. The principle should compromise firstly by involving himself more in the situation and giving these teachers some actual guidance, rather than just advice. He can also choose to do what is best for Donald, even though it would probably be at the expense of one of the teachers' pride and confidence.

I have very clear feelings about how this issue should be resolved. Firstly, I will return to my comment earlier about Marilyn not logically prioritizing Donald's needs. I have serious doubts that socialization will be more beneficial to Donald for life in America than learning how to read and speak English. It also seems like Donald failing this class will ultimately make both middle school coursework and socialization more difficult. Marilyn should have strongly considered these things before deciding to move him almost solely on a social basis. Another potential solution to this problem was apparent to me from very early in this case study. Everyone involved in the scenario openly acknowledged from the start that Joan is one of the best teachers, but also one of the most difficult, having some of the highest expectations. Even if it seemed to them at the time like the most difficult teacher would be the best place to send a student with special needs (it did not to me), it should have been proposed by someone involved to move Donald to the easiest teacher once they realized he was not able to handle the class. This is my solution; the principle needs to do his job and either move Donald back to the special education class that he was in to begin with, where he probably needs to be, or at least move him to a class with a teacher who's not holding a special needs student to the same standards as the top tier of her class.

Introduction to Education Homework # 13

Watch Video "A Tour of a Charter School” -

What are the pros and cons of magnet, charter and virtual schools, open enrollment and vouchers?

A charter school is a privately managed and operated school that uses a charter, or legal contract, from a school board. The charter school is created by an individual or group of individuals that have control over the school’s budget, curriculum, and faculty. Unlike private schools, charter schools typically do not have strict admissions standards and receive their funding based on the number of enrolled students. Some of the advantages of charter schools are that they can be more or less traditional based on the founders’ preferences, classes are typically smaller, schedules and curriculums can be adjusted as desired, and teachers can earn higher salaries. Some disadvantages to charter schools are that funding for materials may be limited without a financial supporter, results of student achievement show little difference from public schools, and many view charter schools as taking needed funds from public schools.

The system of vouchers enables students and their parents to essentially receive the government funding that would have been applied to the student in a public school and apply it to the school of their choice. Using vouchers, students who may have only been able to attend a public school in a poor area can use their educational funds to go to any public or private school of their choice. Advantages to the voucher system are that it allows parents and students more choices in what schools students attend, it is believed by some to positively increase competition among schools, and it increases diversity among public schools. Many people are also opposed to vouchers because, like charter schools, they take money from public schools, and they are believed by some to be putting government funds allocated for education into religious institutions.

Magnet schools were created to offer specialized schools and programs for talented students in urban areas. This concept was later adapted in hopes of “voluntarily racially [desegregating] schools.” The biggest advantage to magnet schools is probably that students with special interests and talents can be educated and encouraged in those areas. Additionally, magnet school students have not only been shown to outperform students from other types of schools in some studies, but magnet students are also potentially less likely to be involved in troubles like drinking or fighting. Some disadvantages of magnet schools are that they are more expensive than public schools, can suffer from underfunding and lack of transportation, and that they may require students to commute to school, taking them out of their community.

Open enrollment is not actually a type of school, but rather a policy or strategy for school enrollment across a district. Open enrollment allows parents to enroll their students at any available school within a district, rather than just at the school with the closest physical proximity. As we discussed in class, open enrollment is actually pretty common now, with the book stating that over forty states allow it. While the primary goal of open enrollment was probably desegregation originally, it serves more now as a means of choice for parents and as a means of prevention for intentional or unintentional community-based segregation. The advantages to open enrollment are listed above: it allows many more school choices for students and parents and increases their ability to overcome issues of segregation or disproportionate funding. The only disadvantages to open enrollment schooling might be increased transportation times and costs and issues that would arise from taking a student out of their community.

Virtual schools allow students to complete all or part of their education online at “virtual high schools.” These schools are often managed and organized in the same way as public schools, with students having specific teachers, administrators, counselors, etc. In full-time virtual schools, the school is often a combination of charter school and virtual high school. There are great advantages to virtual schools for students with special needs (like physical or learning disabilities) and students with special interests or talents, because of the potential for a more individualized student curriculum. Virtual schools can also present some strong disadvantages. One study I read online stated that, for Michigan, virtual schools can cost almost twice as much as traditional public schools and have been found to be largely ineffective schooling methods. In other states, reports of costs for virtual schooling are often roughly equal when compared with traditional schooling. Regardless of costs, many people still disagree with virtual schools for the lack of social interaction and questionable effectiveness.

Introduction to Education Homework # 12

Not in anyway giving anyone permission to plagiarize or copy this and also not verifying the authenticity of any of the information. Also note that there are probably no sources listed and I am not one myself, so don't quote me. This is just some of my homework; thought it might be interesting to someone:

Read "Questionable Assumptions about Schooling". What are some of the critical issues for you? How would you reform schools?

This article, “Questionable Assumptions About Schooling,” identifies some of the issues we currently have in schools and how public opinion is often based on misleading or erroneous assumptions. The author identifies some major, commonly-known issues, as well as some lesser known issues and assumptions about education. Some of the misled assumptions about schooling discussed are the purpose of schools, the best ways to evaluate and improve schools, and the organization strategies of traditional schools.

The most critical issue raised in this article to me was the concept of testing as a means of reforming schools and teachers. The author points out that standardized tests do not allow a teacher to help particular students improve (because of when they are administered), and also do not provide any clues about the proper method of reform. I most liked the quote, “What test scores predict best are other test scores,” because I feel like that is a much better interpretation of their value than the one commonly used by administrators and legislators. Though this class has greatly improved my understanding of standardized testing and its usefulness or effectiveness, I have always felt like these tests are a poor way to evaluate teachers and a bad basis for educational reform.

While I did not think that any of the other issues were as critical, I was very interested in some of the organizational ideas about our schools that the author pointed out as questionable. The concepts of age-grading and single-year teachers are definitely ones that I had never considered alternatives to. I do not currently think that these practices should be eliminated or reformed, but I do think that reconsidering them relatively might yield positive results. In many cases, like for students with special needs or learning disabilities, being grouped by abilities might be much more effective than age. While it may not be productive or efficient for many subjects and grades, I can see how reading groups formed based on students’ reading abilities could enable individual students to reach their maximum potential, rather than the expectations for their grade and age.

As related to this article, I think the most important reforms for schools will be based in changing the public’s perception of what makes schools, teachers, and students most effective. The author identifies some of the troubling ideas that many people perceive about schools, like that we should evaluate them using test scores or promote school competition. I think that both of these ideas are horrible and changing them could do a lot to reform schools for both teachers and students.

The biggest issue, in my opinion, relating to schools was not addressed in this article; money. If I could personally reform schools, I would work to provide the funds and resources to pay teachers properly and provide students with the tools and programs they need to succeed. Though education is considered one of our country’s most important institutions, it is often the first thing that our elected officials will try to shortchange and save money on. We, as taxpayers and voters, allow them to do this even though it is against our best interests and our core values.

Introduction to Education Homework # 11

What is the purpose of school? Should schools transmit culture or change it? How would your view be different if you were a politician, a businessman, a teacher or a parent?

Abraham Lincoln is quoted as having said, “The philosophy of the school room in one generation will be the philosophy of government in the next.” From this quote, one could infer that the purpose of school is to create voters and politicians with the knowledge and tools to guide our country in the proper direction in the future. This is essentially what I believe; the purpose of education is to create effective future citizens through a combination of knowledge and social reform.

I think that it is the responsibility of schools to fulfill, at least to some extent, both of the fundamental purposes of education that are listed in the book. It is important to transmit society’s knowledge and values for multiple reasons. Firstly, to set students up for success in America and a globalized world, it is important that they understand both our culture and the world’s. Because the students of today will be the voters and politicians of tomorrow, knowledge of history will be essential in avoiding the repetition of its mistakes. Additionally, creating intellectually and culturally aware students is one of the only reasonable solutions to many of the United States’, and the world’s, social problems. We can only hope to continue social improvement and prosperity in the future by creating future citizens who are aware of the problems and have the tools to come up with solutions.

Though everyone will have different ideas about the purpose of school, based on their own experiences and values, each person’s personal role in education will likely make a difference in their views. From the perspective of a politician, schools are a place that cost the government a lot of money and decisions about them can make or break constituents’ opinions. I doubt that most politicians really base their decisions on what they consider to be the purpose of schools. While politicians will be hesitant to upset voters, they are also under a lot of pressure from voters and other politicians to cut money from public institutions. Unfortunately, education is one of the institutions targeted first. So, if I were a politician, I assume that even my own views of the importance of education would be skewed by the pressure from all directions, as well as the desire to be re-elected.

As a businessperson, I would hope that schools will provide me with the type of workers that I desire in the future. This outlook is closest to purpose 1 (transmit cultural baton), but really kind of transcends both outlooks on the purpose of education. I think that most businesspeople are probably little concerned with their workers’ knowledge outside of the job and do not at all care about the type of societal reform that purpose 2 discusses. As a businessperson, I guess it would be most beneficial to me, so I would most support schools that create solid work-ethics, good employee habits, and people who can work well in groups.

From the perspective of most teachers, I think that the goal of education is to transmit the information. While many teachers do hope to enable students to positively change society, it seems that the average teacher is primarily concerned with transferring the subject’s knowledge to students. This is probably because of their interest in their subject, as well as the pressure of standardized tests and teacher evaluations. From the standpoint of a prospective teacher, I can see how fulfilling both purposes of school might be important to me, but the first purpose might take priority for job security and other reasons.

As a parent, I really hope that schools are able to reform, or reconstruct, society. I feel confident that I can instill the necessary knowledge and values in my own child by spending time with her, being an active part of her life, and creating a love of books and knowledge. I am not depending on the public school system to make my child a good person or a culturally knowledgeable person; I can handle that. Personally, I would much rather that schools prepare students to understand and tackle the important issues of society than to just have a lot of passed-down information. While it seems like purpose 2 depends on the implication of purpose 1, the end-goals are very different.

Introduction to Education Homework # 10

Should we use state standards or not? Discuss the pros and cons. What are testing alternatives to standardized tests?

I think that state standards are a good idea, but only to a certain extent and in some areas. To me, the more important subjects that state standards can address are things like the availability of technology, the quality of teachers, and the funding available for programs and services. I can also understand how state standards for textbooks would make it easier for transferring students and would make the content of education across a state more uniform. There are some things that I believe should be national standards, like holding schools relatively accountable for their successes and mistakes, but not using the kind of system created under the No Child Left Behind law.

Some of the theoretical advantages to state standards are that underperforming schools and teachers can be held accountable, that teachers will be working collaboratively with each other and with administrators to meet the common goal of passing the standards, and that broader standards can unify schools in the information and diversity that they teach. I agree more with the advantages to state standards that are listed in the book than the disadvantages, but I am very unconvinced that these advantages represent how state or national tests will actually affect schools when they come from legislation like NCLB.

Disadvantages to state standards and tests include: the belief that standardized testing does not provide an accurate assessment of student abilities or knowledge; the time required to prepare for standardized tests takes time from studies and causes some schools to teach below their own standards; teachers are forced into a “survival of the fittest” scenario of competition and limited job security; and that this represents a further growth of the federal government and an infringement on the rights of communities or districts. I have mixed feelings about the disadvantages to state or national standards. While I feel that issues like test preparation time and the unreliability of standardized testing are probably valid concerns and valid costs, I think that issues like teacher competition or distrust for centralized government are less valid. I think that teachers should be held to standards that would increase a sense of competition for bad teachers, but not all teachers in general. In reality, I also think that teachers who are trained well and care about their job will probably be less pressured about job security because, with or without standardized tests, there are ways to tell that they are doing their job well, relative to their circumstances.

The alternatives to standardized testing are called “authentic assessments.” These types of tests aim to actually assess the student’s performance during the learning process through a series of tests that demonstrate their ability to use the knowledge and skills they learn in school. Some of the individual assessments included in these kinds of tests could be journals, experiments, presentations, and specified feedback on the student’s performance from both the student and their teachers. I believe that this type of testing is probably a better gauge of an individual student’s strengths and weaknesses and should have a larger part in our school system than standardized testing.

Introduction to Education Homework # 9

I do think that there is an essential place for censorship in schools, but not relating to banning any books or traditional reading materials. The most important consideration in choosing those types of materials should be their educational value, which is completely independent of any controversial nature they may have. While some famously censored and controversial books may contain “sexual content and offensive language,” they may also be one of the most effective ways to teach a concept, a way of life, a time period, or many other important lessons. There is also a good chance that quality controversial materials, like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn for example, present reality in a narrative that students can more easily understand than a normal history lesson.

Censoring materials because they contain themes or ideas that make people uncomfortable is a hindrance to education; not only will it create a null curriculum, but it also prevents students from achieving a high level of cultural awareness. I will agree that it is not the teacher’s position to, for example, “promote homosexuality” (which I doubt is a real threat to anyone anyway), but I would say that I think the education system would be correct in exposing students to the reality of it. In our book, it states on page 59 that “it is estimated that there is a gay or lesbian student in virtually every classroom.” Why then would we not expose students to the perspectives and reality of a lifestyle that they are more likely to encounter in America than many of the other things they will learn about, like world wars or Muslims (1% Muslim vs. about 5% homosexual by average estimates).

I also believe that books such as The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, which is one of my favorite books of all time, have the potential to create an interest in reading for many students. Personally, I did not read it in high school, probably because it was too controversial for Arkansas schools, but I wish that I had. Aside from being a funny and interesting book to read, which may create an interest in reading for some students; it can also enlighten students to what life was like for an unhappy military academy student in 1945, providing them with a realistic historical perspective. Additionally, the issues of sexuality he discusses are the same ones that teenage students will be going through themselves and the language in the book is pretty mild compared to what the average high school student uses already. While the protagonist is not a good role-model, neither really is Tom Sawyer, Romeo, or Meursault.

As I mentioned at first, I do believe that there are important times for censorship in education. While the classrooms of the future may have a place for YouTube, social networking, and other forms of the internet, students should be closely monitored when using computers and the internet. Even with the filters that a school system’s internet may have, students can still access inappropriate videos, violent games, and many other forms of offensive materials (I know this for a fact because of my work with BBBS). I also think that censorship should be applied by age and educational value. An example of what I mean by this is that the appropriateness and educational value of The Catcher in the Rye would be eliminated if you tried to teach it to a class of 4^th graders. It is important that materials be censored to ensure that their themes and the lessons they teach are appropriate for the intellectual and emotional ages of the affected students.