Blog 6

1.) If President Obama called me on the phone, I would tell him that there are five things that need to get done in order to “fix” education.  One, I would tell him is that we need to get rid of high-stakes/standardized testing.  NCLB has been disaterous.  It is completely ridiculously and to think that every single student will be proficient in Math and English.  Although the “idea” is great, it is completely unrealistic.  I think that standardized tests should be a tool for measuring success but not be the only tool we use to rate student and teacher performance.   I think that standardized tests are important but the data collected from them should be used differently.

Two, I would tell the President that we need to get rid of tenure for teachers.  I strongly believe that tenure blocks “bad/incompetent” teachers from getting fired.  Tenure always teachers to underperform and to just “coast” through the motions.  I have always felt that if you are a “great” teacher then there should be no need to have tenure because no principal will fire a good teacher.  What other jobs are you guaranteed to not be fired from? If you are not doing your job to the best of your ability then why should you get to keep your job? Student’s education is far too important to just be “coasting” along. 

Three, I would tell the President that more money needs to be spent on public education.  I am not sure where this money would come from, but more money needs to be pumped into public education.  Charter schools are taking away from public education and weakening the entire system.  With more money put towards public education we could hire more qualified teachers, improve school conditions, and buy better supplies for our students.  Spending more money and improving public education, in all communities, will make learning and education more desirable for all students. 

Four, school years should be made longer. I think that students should be spend more time in school.  I feel that 180 days is not enough time for our students to become proficient in everything they should be proficient in.  By increasing the number of school days, teachers could take longer teaching certain subject area and topics.  By making the year longer, teachers would not feel like they have to rush to get through all the standards. 

Five, money needs to be spent on raising teacher’s salaries.  By getting rid of tenure, we could start paying “better teachers” more money.  I think that the better the teacher, the more money they should make.  Why is it that a teacher’s salary is significantly less than doctors or lawyers? If we want to education our children with the best possible teachers, then we should make it a point to pay teachers more. 

2.) What has been meaningful to me about reading Ravitch is seeing all the changes that in education that are always happening.  Even the changes are not always positive, it’s comforting to know that we are always trying to figure out the best way to try and educate our children.

3.) What I can do as a teacher, considering the current state of American education is to just teach my students to be the best of my ability.  I think that all great teachers care about their students, not just academically but also morally.  I think that academics is extremely important but I think that it is just as important to teach our students on how to “good human beings.” 

4.) The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) gives dates for professional development.  It gives you dates and times for workshops and conferences.  It also lists different types of publications and teacher lessons for grades K-12.

The Social Science History Association (SSHA) website gives you dates for professional development and lessons for teaching.  It also provides teachers with history journals and forms to apply for grants and conferences. 

5A.) 1.) SFMOMA

         2.) Oakland Museum

         3.) Disney Museum (Presidio)

         4.) Sutter’s Mill

         5.) Winchester Mystery House

  B.) 1.) Season of the Witch

        2.) Ancient Rome: The Rise and fall of an Empire

        3.) Alcatraz: A Definitive History of the Penitentiary Years

        4.) William Randolph Hearst: The Early/Late Years

        5.) The Age of Gold: The California Gold Rush and The New American Dream

  C.) 1.) Social Science History Association

        2.) Association for the Study of Connecticut History

  D.) 1.) Social Studies in the Modern World (Conference)

        2.) Ron Clark Academy

  E.) 1.) Egypt – The Pyramids and the Sphinx

        2.) Rome – The Colosseum and The Pantheon

        3.) Vatican City

        4.) The Great Wall of China

        5.) Europe – Paris (Eiffel Tower), London (Imperial War Museum)

Blog 5

1.     ) Dr. Robert’s presentation was very interesting but also extremely scary.  I know that kids today spend a lot more time “plugged in” to media than ever before but I never realized exactly how much it was.  I thought that my generation spent a lot of time talking on cell phones, listening to music, and surfing the Internet, but after seeing the data that was collected, I was truly blown away.  Something that also grabbed my attention was the percentage of homes/families that don’t have or enforce limitations with regards to media. This means that if parents or adults aren’t regulating how much time their kids can spend on the computer, video games, and television then kids will abuse this and will sit in front of a screen all day.  If they do this then they are missing out on getting exercise and being healthy.  What bothers me is that kids would rather spend time sitting in front of a screen rather than spending time outside.  When I was a kid, watching TV and playing video games was a last resort and was something we did on rainy days when we couldn’t go outside.   All this time spent plugged into media will make it difficult for students with regards to school.  Being stimulated with media for so long and so often causes students to become board and unfocused in classrooms.  I think that as teachers we need to realize this is what students are doing and try to find a way to make classes as stimulating as possible. 

I thought the questions, comments, and concerns at the end of the presentation were extremely relevant.  One comment that stood out to me was the idea that we need to teach our students about how to use media responsibly.  As teachers we need to realize that media and technology is not going to be going away anytime soon so we need to make sure that our students are educated on how to use it responsibly.  With that being said, I think that parents need to be educated too.  I think that parents need to set guidelines and rules with their children.  Technology and media is a great thing for students when used correctly and appropriately.

2.     )  I enjoyed reading “More Pupils Are Learning” but feel that online education is not the way to teach or educate students.  I think that online education and classes are waste.  Students learn best when they have great teachers that they are able to interact with on a regular basis.  There are so many things that students learn in the classroom that they are not exposed too by taking a class online.  Because classes online have no “real” teacher it is easy to get away with doing the bare minimum.  Because there is no teacher it is hard to ask questions and get immediate answers.  I also find that online classes are dangerous for students because if they are starring a screen in order to do their work, then what is stopping them from multitasking and surfing the web or talking to friends, or watching YouTube.  I think that the quality of the work goes down and there isn’t as much effort put in.  Without a teacher, I feel that you are able to slack and get away with doing the bare minimum with regards to online classes because there is nobody holding you accountable.  I understand that online classes can and should be offered to older students and to students in college level courses, but we should stay away from younger students taking online classes.

3.     ) http://prezi.com

I would use this for older students.  I like this a lot better than PowerPoint and students are able to do a lot more.  I like that students can access this online and they could create a prezi for a presentation that they need to give to the class after a unit of study.  

http://www.glogster.com/

I would allow students work on these posters individually or in small groups to summarize a topic or book we have just read.  This would be great for students to work on at the end of a unit or topic.  

http://quizlet.com/

I would use this to make flashcards for students before a test or as a study guide.  Students could make flash cards to review vocabulary or spelling words.  

http://puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com

This would be great for building vocabulary across all content areas.  I would use this for spelling and for homework.  

I am a 4th grade teacher and will be teaching many subjects this year.  The subject that I am looking forward to teaching the most is history. In 4th grade we will be learning about the California history, the gold rush, and the missions.  My capstone project is going to be a unit of study centered Alcatraz, specifically the prison and what daily life was life.  I would like to also incorporate science, math, and English into my unit of study.  For the science aspect, students can take a look at the different types of rocks, wildlife, and vegetation found on the island.  For English, students will be expected to write an essay using descriptive language.  The value of interdisciplinary teaching makes learning real.  It teaches students that everything is applicable to the real world.  Some challenges with interdisciplinary teaching is that you need to prep a lot more and need to make sure that your students have a solid foundation of all subject areas.  If students are struggling in one subject area and you try to tie it to another, students may fall even farther behind.  Two website that will be good resources that will help students to enrich and broaden their knowledge are:

1.) http://www.nps.gov/alca/naturescience/seabirds.htm

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1189

Can find out what birds are native to Alcatraz and then do research about a specific species.

2.) http://plants.usda.gov/java/

Can find out what plants are native to Alcatraz and then do research about a specific species.

Responded:

1.) Julianna Weghner

Mind the Gap

1.)   Diane Ravitch makes a number of provocative statements in chapters 1 & 2 that really stood out to me.  The first one that really stood out to me was, “The issue is especially important today, because some of the nation’s largest foundations are promoting school reforms based on principles drawn from the corporate sector, without considering whether they are appropriate for educational institutions.” (Page 4) The reason that this one stood out to me is because I don’t understand or agree with the idea that education can be run like a business.  Educating children through a business model turns students and children into products, not well rounded, educated human beings.  I think that a lot of decisions about educational reform made by the “people in power” are ridiculous.  Many of the people making the decisions have never even stepped foot in a classroom and have no idea what is best for students. I don’t understand why classroom teachers don’t have more say when it comes to making decisions related to educational reform. 

The second quote that I found to be very powerful and provocative was, “We must make sure that our schools have a strong, coherent, explicit curriculum that is grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, with plenty of opportunity for children to engage in activities and projects that make learning lively.” (Page 13) When I read this I immediately thought of Project Based Learning.  I think that this is a very powerful statement and it seems so simple.  I believe that students who have fun, exciting, and hands on experiences in the classroom will retain more knowledge and have a more positive outlook on school.  I think that many schools have gone away from this type of learning because of NCLB and the importance of high stakes testing. I think that it is very hard for teachers to teach this way because you have so many topics and standards that must be covered so that students recognize it on the test.  This type of learning would be great but I feel that there isn’t enough time.  I really like the idea of Project Based Learning because students get to choose what they are interested in.  I think that when students are engaged in a topic that they enjoy they are able to learn so much more than being fed “garbage” from a textbook.

2.)   I would characterize a well-educated person as someone who is well rounded in all areas of academia.  This means that a person has a good understanding of math, science, history, English, etc.  I don’t think that it means they are experts in all of these areas but would be able to have meaningful conversations about these specific topics. Any well-educated person is able to contribute to society in many different ways.  I think that aside from being “book smart”, a well-educated person must have some “street smarts” too. A well-educated person is someone who has social skills and is able to hold conversations with all different types of people.   I think that they need to respect themselves and others.  Someone who is well educated is polite, caring, and genuine is almost everything they do.  I think that when it comes to schools and education, we sometimes forget to teach students on how to be “good people.”

3.)   Looking back to our class discussion, what stood out for me the most was how much teachers need to know.   After taking a look at the standards and filling in the “gaps” during class, I realize how much content/background knowledge teachers need to know in order to teach a lesson. I don’t think teachers get enough credit for how hard our jobs truly are.  Aside from being “competent” in many different subject areas, we need to be able to deal with anywhere between 20 – 40 students who all have different personalities and backgrounds. There is a quote that I would have liked to share with the class that relates to how amazing teachers are and all the things we have to do on a daily basis.   The quote is,

“If a doctor, lawyer, or dentist had 40 people in his office at one time, all of whom had different needs, and some of whom didn't want to be there and were causing trouble, and the doctor, lawyer, or dentist, without assistance, had to treat them all with professional excellence for nine months, then he might have some conception of the classroom teacher's job.”

On top of this, we need to be “competent in our academic discipline.” 

4.) The subject area that I will be focusing on will be social studies/history.  The gap that I will be taking a look at will be:

3.3            Students draw from historical and community resources to organize the sequence of local historical events and describe how each period of settlement left its mark on the land.

         3.   Trace why their community was established, how individuals and families contributed to its founding and development, and how the community has changed over time, drawing on maps, photographs, oral histories, letters, newspapers, and other primary sources.

The reason that I am focusing on this standard is because my project will be creating an entire unit of study related to Alcatraz.  To help me fill-in the gaps, the three resources that I came up with were:

1.)   http://www.nps.gov/alca/historyculture/hopi-prisoners-on-the-rock.htm

2.)   Life on Alcatraz by Judith Janda Presnall

3.)   Letters from Alcatraz by Michael Esslinger

The nps.gov website, which is the National Parks Website is an amazing resource.  The website has pictures and has a lot of great background knowledge about Alcatraz.  It has great photos and is easy to navigate.  I think that this could also be a great resource for my students.  It is very simple and easy to read.  It gives a great overview of the island and the prison. I also think it is a great resource because you can contact the NPS and plan guided tours and field trips for students.  There are hundreds of thousands of books and resources related to Alcatraz.  It is an extremely broad topic so I am trying to find resources that would also be good for my students.

5.) The articles and resources I have collected are useful to my topic and my questions.  The reason that they are useful is because one gives a lot of great “general” background knowledge about the prison, the inmates, the guards, and it’s history.  The other sources I collected are great because they are more specific and have detailed accounts of what prison life was like.  

6.) Dear Joan, In creating a unit of study based around Alcatraz, where there is obviously no CA Social Studies standard, do you think I will be able to bring this unit into my classroom? Will administration let you teach a unit in your classroom even though it is not a specific CA Social Studies standard? 

Comments/Responses to other Blogs:

Eirik Kingston

Troy Bristol

Tammy Enjaian

Blog - Session I 

1.)   Outside school experiences have expanded and deepened my content area, which is history and social studies.  The reason for this is because of my family.  My brother and father are huge history buffs and growing up I was always a part of their conversations.  I would watch the history channel with my brother and it was a very strong bonding experience.  Aside from sports/athletics, my brother and I connected when it came to sharing knowledge about history.  I was always into battles, wars, generals, leaders, politics and geography.  These interests grew into a passion and a love as I grew older.  I am originally from the east coast so as a child I was able to visit Gettysburg, Chancellorsville, Vicksburg, Boston, The Old North Church, Washington DC, Independence Hall, The Liberty Bell, Salem, etc.  Being immersed in so much history in the New England region, it was easy to deepen my knowledge in my content area (social studies).

2.)   My initial judgments and opinions to Ball after our class discussion have not changed.  I truly believe that if you a caring and trusting teacher then you are capable of teaching your students anything.  I also still agree that all great teachers not only need to care about their students but they need to be learning alongside with them.  It is also impossible to be an expert in just one subject, let alone five or six (multi-subject credentialed teachers) but teachers must continue to learn every year they teach. 

3.)   I am extremely satisfied in developing and pursuing all the information needed for my project.  My question is, “How effective is the use of a variety of disciplines when it comes to teaching social studies to 3rd/4th graders?” Specifically, I want to relate this to a unit of study surrounding Alcatraz with either a 3^rd or 4^th grade standard.  I know there is a lot of research out there on how students learn best and what disciplines/use of multiple disciplines are best/most effective.   For a learning experience I am going to go to Alcatraz and Angel Island to gather information and possibly plan a trip.


Have responded to the following blogs:
1.) Kelly Giotta
2.) Lauren Lahey
3.) Sheridan Arredondo

Reflection

Reflection

There are many different reasons as to why I decided to pursue a Masters of Arts in Teaching.  The first reason is that I absolutely love school and everything that it has to offer.  I love the idea of making myself a more knowledgeable human being because after all “knowledge is power”.  It might sound silly but school is fun for me.  I enjoy the work, the structure of it and all of the interactions with classmates and professors.  Education to me is the single most valuable thing in the world.  The doors and opportunities that have opened up for me because of education keep me addicted and always wanting more. 

The second reason as to why I wanted to pursue a MAIT is because I wanted to learn how make myself a better social studies teacher.  My favorite subject growing up has always been social studies and history and yet I felt like I never had a great social studies/history teacher.  I feel that with this program I can make myself a great social studies teacher. 

In the district and school that I teach at, social studies is almost non-existent and I wanted to develop a unit of study (social studies) around Alcatraz.  I thought that this would be a fun and exciting unit that my district might end up adopting.  I wanted to learn how to create an entire unit based on topic that I am extremely interested about.  I am extremely excited for this program to get started.

I feel that my strengths as a teacher are that I am extremely energetic and that I have a great sense of humor.  I feel that these are two important qualities that all teachers should.  I feel that with these two “tools” in my “tool box” I am able to keep students engaged.  Other qualities that I posses that make me a quality teacher are my organizational skills and my flexibility.  I feel that if you don’t have either of these then you cannot survive as a teacher because when you are dealing with kids/students you never know what might happen over the course of a day and you must be ready for anything. 

Something that I would like to improve on is how to teach social studies to elementary grade students.  The reason is because I never got to see a great social studies teacher while I was growing up.  I always loved history and social studies but that passion came from outside of school and would really like to learn how to teach social studies in a fun effective way. 

In this class I have learned the difference between qualitative and quantitative research and how to set up an E-Portfolio/Blog.  I have no “burning” questions as of right now but I am sure that some will arise as I move through this program.