Slow and Steady Wins the Race...right?

Didn't everyone have to read the Aesop's Fable about the Tortuous and the Hare? Well, didn't we learn that slow and steady wins the race? So why the RUSH? We have students now fighting with each other, trying to out-win money that will fund programs for them. Why is this competitive? Can't we distribute money in a better way to be used towards the process of education, and not as a "prize"? I don't understand this at all...

http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/01/26/grading-the-education-president?ref=education

Integrating Technology into 401

I decided since my lesson plan needed lots of visual aids, lists, and pictures that it would be easiest to put it all into one format. Here is the Prezi I created to make sure I had all of my visual content in one place:

Maps! on Prezi

Teacher/Student Communication-Off the clock

I applaud this school district for their proactive policy. As we all know, media can be used in great ways for education. We can bring so many good things to students, and give many opportunities to experience things they would otherwise not know about; But it can definitely bring unwanted content into the picture also.

How many times have we seen reports/rumors/stories about inappropriate contact between students and teachers? Too many to count. I would anticipate that with new technologies such as Twitter, Facebook, and other social media sights, that these types of stories would increase. Hats off to this school district/superintendent who implemented this policy before something "bad" was to happen in their district. I'm one who tends to think that the boundary rules are a little silly, especially in elementary school. They tell us that we're not allowed to hug the kids, and some districts have even banned "high-fives". Well, really, how am I suppose to side-step a hug from a 1st grader running at me? Those situations are a little difficult to handle when it comes to "appropriate contact", because it's initiated by the student and is very innocent/naive. When it comes to middle school and high school though, I think there should definitely be written rules on what kind of contact outside of school is appropriate. I am not saying that I think contact outside of school is a bad thing, but this rule is, in my opinion, the best way to protect students and teachers.

I'm sure there have been many instances in school when communication has been mis-interpreted, and that's one thing to handle. It is easier in ways when it's in-school because there are other teachers, faculty, and students to back up information and events. But what happens when something is sent over a text, tweet, or Facebook chat that is interpreted differently than the intention? Most likely a teacher will be accused of having inappropriate contact with a student, and corrective action will be taken against them. Now, there are instances where students and teachers have had inappropriate relationships, so I am not defending that at all. What I am saying is that there are teachers who have all the right intentions, that will say something that they mean one way and a student/parent interprets differently, and then we have a problem. It's easier if contact is limited outside the classroom, because then misunderstandings will be less frequent.

Why take the chance on having these kinds of issues and accusations being thrown around when it can be easily prevented by setting guidelines? I think this school district has the right idea, because honestly, why should students and teachers be sharing things on their personal media sites anyway? If they feel like they need to have a friendly social media outlet, they should make it available to all students, such as a class wiki or web-page, or twitter group where they can share with each other in a space that parents and other faculty/administration. That way teachers can post some information about themselves that they wish to share, but it is still appropriate. This will prevent any misunderstandings, and create a safer environment for teachers and students alike.

How to Evaluate Teachers

After reading this article, I am absolutely terrified of what is to come in the future for the teaching profession. I am not saying that I do not agree with evaluating teachers; obviously that is necessary to make sure students are getting a proper education. But how do we evaluate them that takes everything into consideration? Can it even be done? To use the "value-added assessments of teachers — which use improvements in student test scores to evaluate teacher effectiveness" seems absolutely ridiculous to me. Who on earth is proposing this? Do "they" not realize that test scores do not mean proficiency, and that there are a thousand factors to think about when making the claim about a "good or bad" teacher? Do they not consider that if they are only looking at test scores that teachers who rank the highest might have just taught to the test, and now that it's over their students don't remember any material that they had to "drill and kill"? What about us special education teachers? Do we have to suffer and have our names slandered because our students are making slow progress? I would like to start seeing ACTUAL TEACHERS be involved in making decisions on how we should be evaluated. People who hold positions in office and do not have teaching experience, and don't even hold any degree related to education should not be the ones deciding our future!

Grading teachers by students' test scores seems so ridiculous to many of us in the teaching profession, yet we're not the ones making decisions...why not? We should be able to say "yes, please come evaluate me, but also look at my students and see what challenges we have to overcome in the classroom before giving me an F". What about teachers who are dedicated to teaching and inspiring children, but teach in a school district that can't afford pencils and paper, let along new technologies and text books. What about the teachers who are given more than 40 students in a classroom to try to manage their behavior, let alone give them all a quality education. I can only hope that people such as Arne Duncan will start to consider these factors before implementing more hurdles for teachers to overcome, and before expecting a full turnaround in "improved assessments designed to measure critical knowledge and higher-order thinking skills". I also hope that in trying to prepare all of our "states to work jointly toward a system of common academic standards that builds toward college and career readiness", that programs such as music, acting, art, and other fine arts are not forgotten. I realize that those subjects are hardly gradable...what are they going to do, fail a teacher because all of their students can't play their E minor scale from memory? We need to remember that in our process to "race to the top", we may be losing many things that define us as a culture, and losing things that are, what I consider to be, just as important as the textbook material. Studies show that children who learn music have better math and science skills, and language skills, so please let these teachers teach also, even though our students aren't being graded on those subjects at the national level.

Well that was quite longer than I expected, but I still have much more to say on this issue. The summary of my rant; Don't rank and evaluate teachers strictly by what their students fill out on a bubble sheet.

assistive tech group

Click HERE to access presentation

Video Game Replacement? I Hope So!

There are many times when I see kids with electronic machines shoved in front of their face; it usually frustrates me to no end, but a device like the new version of the Nook could possibly change my opinion on this. This Nook not only allows access to millions of books for adults, but is now incorporating children's books that can also be interactive. For a child who doesn't like to read, or who maybe doesn't have the capability to pay attention to a regular book for an extended period of time, this could be a great solution to them not reading at all. In my experience, children are usually very willing to play with new electronics. Giving them an interactive, electronic, educational version of their "video games" may get them more interested in reading, especially since this new Nook is in color (which might be more attractive!). There is also access to magazines; imagine being able to have access to a stack of Disney and Highlights magazines without the stack! Of course, as with all pros, come the cons. I am the kind of person who likes to hold an actual book, and flip through it. Some people may say this is useless, but as we have all learned in TE301 giving a child an actual book is a very important process for them to experience. They are able to learn what is the top and bottom of a book, where the beginning is, which way to flip the pages, etc. Having an actual book is a very important part of learning literacy, but I think once the basics are learned, the Nook is an incredible option for students to have access to sometimes. It could be a great way to send materials back and forth from home to school, and students with special needs could easily bring their reading materials back and forth from their gen. ed classrooms, to the basic and resource rooms, and to any other services they receive.

Victim...Says Who?

I have been following this court case since it began; and I'm outraged. As a future educator, I like to think I have a fairly accurate idea of the importance of safe schools. With all of the new cases of students committing suicides because of bullying, I would think that teachers, administrators, and school boards would take this very seriously. So why, then, did the principal feel the need to ask what kind of underwear the female student was wearing?! Are you kidding me? His reasoning is something along the lines of getting a good idea of what was "exposed", to "determine the severity of the matter". Who cares?! Does the fact that this young man pulled down two students pants in gym class not sound like a good enough reason to take disciplinary action? Any action at all? It doesn't matter what was exposed, the fact is that every student has the right to keep their "private parts" private. That's just general knowledge. Even if that female student was wearing underwear that covered that entire section of her body, that does not lesson the embarrassment of the situation, nor does it make her feel more safe at school. This mother, in my opinion, had every right to talk to the principal in this manner, because he simply wasn't listening and was asking questions that were in no way appropriate. I don't think it's appropriate in any case, not even this one, for an adult male to ask what kind of underwear a young female student was wearing. All he should have to know is that another student violated her right to privacy, and that should be enough. Why is this mother having to take all of this action to protect the rights that the school should have taken more seriously? It seems like the "bully" in this case should be the one having to address officials, not the mother of this violated middle-schooler. It's about time that everyone in schools, including teachers, parents, administrators, and other faculty, start taking initiative to make schools a safer place for our students. Statistics show that students learn better and retain more information when they feel safe...isn't this one of the obvious answers to the education crisis? Safer Schools = Better Learners.