Blog Entry # 5 - Different Issues in Education

For this blog entry I have been asked to read to following articles:

“Educating the Children of Katrina” by John C. Goodman

“Teachers’ Cost of Living Matters” by Danielle Georgiou, Pamela Villarreal, and Matt Moore

“Green Schools Don’t Make the Grade” by Todd Myers

“In Our Own Backyard: The Hidden Problem of Child Farmworkers in America” by the American Federation of Teachers

And

The Sesame Workshop Website

Then asked to reflect on the following: Think about your own experiences in schools. In what ways has the selected information directly impacted your school, your teaching, or your students.

First I will address the articles individually and write about the impacts I have felt when directly relating to the issues presented.

In “Educating the Children of Katrina” Goodman argues that schools should receive $7,500 for each student who had to leave Louisiana and Mississippi due to the hurricane and relocate to Texas. My first argument is what about all the students who were relocated elsewhere? Tennessee, Utah, Idaho, et cetera? And secondly should we really be making educating children a competition for money? It is not fair to place a monetary value on those students. They have a completely new set of needs that many educators may not be capable to handle. What these children need are professionals who will be able to help these students realize what has happened to them, and how to deal with that. The idea of Value Added ratings to schools and educators takes away from the real things that educators do in the class room. From what I have seen in a Value Added school situation that there is not much value placed on Value Added ratings by the teachers or administration, as they only place value on standardized tests. I value the fact that I am teaching students how to write essays that have NEVER written an essay before (this is the 8th grade). I place value on the fact that I expose my students to art and artists that interest them and make them more cultured and educated members of our society. I place value on the fact that my students trust me and rely on me to help them in their times of need. I do not place value on recruiting displaced children to my school or the test scores they receive. I place value on the fact that I have helped them, and that they are more well-rounded individuals when they leave my classroom.

I believe that what the article “Teachers’ Cost of Living Matters” by Danielle Georgiou, Pamela Villarreal, and Matt Moore is missing is HAZARD PAY, which is what we refer to teachers who receive higher pay for living in less than desirable areas. A teacher in Memphis, TN is paid more because they have to contest with students who bring guns to school, fighting and other dangers that teachers in Boise, Idaho do not. I believe that adjusting for the cost of living is great, and should happen, but the comparisons are way off. What they are not adjusting for is the dangers of working in Los Angeles, and Memphis as compared to Oklahoma City. They are not comparing the fact that there are still positions that are open in schools around Tennessee that have yet to be filled because of the lack of qualified teachers to fill them in high poverty, dangerous schools. Those are the real factors that are affecting teacher pay, which maybe no one wants to recognize.

The article “Green Schools Don’t Make the Grade” by Todd Myers the author addresses the fact that Green schools are not stacking up to the energy efficiency, nor absentee rate that was previously expected. But, I can say this WHO CARES!!??!! I love the environment and wish all schools were green, but the fact of the matter is the air conditioner in my school does NOT work. I do not really care about students in Washington who are trying to make their schools more energy efficient at this point. Right now, I care about my students being comfortable and able to learn. It is impossible to do activities in a room that is 85 degrees and all the kids are whining and the teacher is grouchy because it is so dang hot!! I honestly am all for the green movement, but I cannot address that until all students are in schools that are safe, with no mold growing on the walls and with HVAC units that actually work!

The article “In Our Own Backyard: The Hidden Problem of Child Farmworkers in America” by the American Federation of Teachers addresses the issues of child labor in the fields and the lack of protection of these children. Having worked in an area where schools were on a schedule designed to work with farming and crop schedules I am very familiar with the problems of this type of child labor. This is not only not fair to the students, who should not be working, but a reflection of how farmworkers have been treated for years. The issue is that farmworkers and their children and families are treated unfairly, are not paid proper wages, thus why the children are working.

After visiting the Sesame Workshop Website I was intrigued to see how the PNC Foundation has donated so much time, research and money to changing academic accomplishments of underprivileged students in the Chicago area. The information from the website presents a wonderful program for students in the involved schools. I personally have never benefited from such a wonderful program. In the school that I currently work in, the district only has a limited number of science and math kits for the entire district, so our school only receives the kits for a few weeks. This is totally unfair, and seems to me that maybe more money should be invested in those programs. The issue that saddens me about reading this article is that foundations have to donate research, time and money to our education system. Why? Shouldn’t the government be providing resources for teachers and schools? Shouldn’t schools and teachers have resources at our finger tips, not begging for grants?

After reading my blog I am sure many people may think I am a negative, jaded teacher. I am not. I love my job, and I love going there everyday, but I believe that there are so many things that our school systems in the United States are lacking, and I believe the resources to make the necessary changes are available, but are locked away by people who have never been in underprivileged schools. I will continue to fight for my students and their needs. I will continue to go against this system, until my students receive the same education that the rich kids less than 10 miles away receive. As far as I am concerned I am a good teacher, and I care greatly about my students, and I will always work in a school that needs help, never in one that does not.

Blog Entry #4 - Multiculturalism and the Curriculum

For this blog entry I have been asked to read the following three articles:


“Organizers See ‘New Civil Rights Movement’ in Immigration Protests by Niko Kyriakou,

“Multiculturalism in School Curriculum” by Adam Waxler,

And

“Toward a Centrist Curriculum: Two Kinds of Multiculturalism in Elementary School” by E.D. Hirsch Jr.

And reflect on the following: Think about your own experiences in schools. In what ways were the curriculum, policies, and structure of your school used as a means of social control?

I fully agree that my own experiences in school were a means of training me to be a member of society. As a high school student I vividly remember being assigned to read a book from a list of authors and I decided that I did not want to read any of those books, so I read some Vonnegut, and did the assignment. I turned in a paper about the book I chose and the response from the teacher was all about social control. She wrote on the paper that she was glad I had an interest in such books, and that she was glad that I did the assignment, but she would not give me a better grade than a 60% because I did not complete the assignment as asked.

Now, as a practicing teacher I feel that if a child wants to read a book that is well over the required reading level of the books from a list, why not? Who am I to say what a child should read, or enjoy reading? If they want to read Vonnegut, read Vonnegut, if they want to read Chaucer, read Chaucer! As far as I am concerned, at least they are reading!!

But, beyond that this teacher was really teaching me how to function in the world beyond the 10th grade classroom. You cannot simply read whatever you want in college and turn something in that is not related to the curriculum. You cannot just do whatever kind of work you please at work and expect to retain employment. I agree with her now, that there are rules that need to be followed, but as a teacher I would not suppress my students’ ability and desire to read beyond a reading list.

After reading “Toward a Centrist Curriculum: Two Kinds of Multiculturalism in Elementary School” by E.D. Hirsch Jr. I let out a sigh of relief, this article was the first I have read about educational theory that spoke to me, in a long time. I fully believe that we must first have students reading and writing at grade level. Students must have a basic understanding of math and science before we can give them a true multicultural education. They will not be able to understand the contributions of African-Americans or the Chinese to America in the 1900’s without basic abilities.

I also found the idea of Cosmopolitanism to be very interesting. The idea that we need to recognize that we as humans are part of the human race and that we need to understand that our impact as individuals reaches much farther than what we really recognize. Our economy is global, shouldn’t we also be?

I also agree with Waxler that a multicultural curriculum is possible, and will also prepare students for standardized testing. I personally really just wish I did not have to write that. I’m truly sick of standards; I wish my students were afforded freedoms to study what interests them through the curriculum that I present. I do many of the activities that he suggests, such as looking at different viewpoints and exploring the lives of others.

The new civil rights movement has lost it’s momentum since when the article was published in 2006. I believe that the students I teach, who come from around the world are a blessing. I also believe that the idea of illegal immigrants and the possibility of arrest really hinders my parent involvement. I wish everyone in this nation would remember how we all got here, and remember that the people who come here do so because they want a better life, just like our forefathers did.

Another way I as a student was given a very structured education was my studies. I was not able to decide what classes I would take, or what I would study, beyond my choice between Chemistry and Horticulture and Spanish or French. Students and teachers are bound by laws to be taught and teach certain “standards”. The districts are required to test these “standards”. But, where is that really getting us?

I believe that my education in the late 1980’s until 1999 was much less structured than it is now. Students now must reach certain benchmarks, pass certain tests, and take certain classes to graduate. There is no room for individuality on the part of the teacher therefore also for the student. To me it is sad that students are not given more freedom to explore, we all know that as we go further from school and into the working and university world that we must follow greater rules and abide by certain standards. I believe schools should be helping students to become productive members of society, but not at the expense of their individuality.