"In actuality, the definition of fairness has little to do with treating people in an identical manner. The true definition of fairness is: 'Fairness means that everyone gets what he or she needs.'" This was stated by Richard D. Lavoie in his article, Fairness: To Each According to His Needs. Fairness: To Each According to His Needs
When I think of sameness, I immediately think of the book The Giver by Lois Lowry. The Giver
In this story, people are all the same.
I've done quite a few readings this past week on fairness and sameness in education. Some of the readings were focused on "sameness as fairness". In this article, Gutierrez points out different educational practices that are attempting to produce this sameness as fairness concept. For example, schools in Los Angeles that offer a different curriculum, one that includes different cultures and languages, can be seen as a threat and therefore shut down. Gutierrez also spoke of how there are packaged programs for teaching reading and writing. These programs are one-size-fits-all and dummy-down literacy so that it is obtainable by all.
I don't see sameness as fairness. No two people are the same. We all come from different backgrounds. We all come to school with slightly different knowledge of literacy. We all have different interests. We all learn different. I fully embrace Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligence. These universal curricula do not incorporate Howard Gardner's Theory.
Instead I see fairness as defined above. Fairness does not necessarily mean equality, but rather providing support to meet individual needs. We don't all have the same needs and therefore a universal curriculum can't possibly meet the needs of all students. As Malcolm Gladwell discovered, we each have our own personal preference when it comes to tomato sauce, coffee, pickles, etc. There are different food items out there to meet our own personal needs and preference. We should learn from Gladwell and not push a universal into education. We each have our own needs and preference of learning style.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Learning: How can we tell if it's happening?
"After all these years of common schooling, we still have no real way of knowing if students are learning." Dr. Tuck made this comment in her blog this week and it has really gotten me to think. I know that children go to school, complete a variety of activities or tasks that are hopefully helping them build the skills they will need to succeed (pass the standardized test), and then go home and possibly complete some work outside of school. This all builds up to the standardized state tests the students have to take to measure what they have learned in school. Is this an accurate way to measure what our students are learning? Are our students learning from this method of teaching?
In my opinion this is a terrible way to measure what your children are learning. I don't think that standardized tests accurately measure what they say they are measuring. In my assessment class with Dr. Salend, we had a conversation about standardized tests. In particular we looked at the NYS teacher certification tests. I remember someone commenting on how they felt like most of the answers on the test that they were looking for were common sense and if you were good at taking multiple choice tests you could probably pass the test without ever stepping foot into an education class. I felt similarly about the tests. I also didn't think that they were a fair way of measuring what I had learned in my time at school.
Another class I took at SUNY New Paltz discussed the concept of Multiple Intelligence. Howard Gardner has proposed 8 (recently added a 9th) way that people are intelligent. Standardized tests DO NOT provide a way for students who are not linguistical or logical/mathematical smart to show what they've learned. Also, as Hilliard points out in his article, not all students have access to the same vocabulary. Standardized tests are presented in a format that is "One Style Fits All".
Also, standardized tests give us an idea of what measurable learning is. The curriculum is built around what we can put on the standardized test, what we can measure. It determines what is important to be taught in our classroom and gives children the impression that the immeasurable learning is not important or the concepts that won't be on the standardized test are not important. Carini's reading really focused in on this idea of the immeasurable. "The immeasurable also makes me think of those events that arouse in us awe and wonder, perhaps rendering us speechless." How do we incorporate the immeasurable into what our students are learning? I believe these moments to be the most important ones of all and need to be counted as student learning.
I believe that changes need to happen in the education system, especially in the way that we measure students learning. I think that there is a place and time for tests and we can't rule out the use of them completely. I do think that we need to include some new ways to look at what our students are learning in the classroom. I have learned a bit about portfolios as a means of alternative assessment. This is a lot of work to create, but I find it to be more meaningful than a test. Also, project based learning is an incredible way to measure students learning. Throughout the entire course of the project, students learning is being evaluated. This is done using formative assessments and then looking at the final project that students have created. This project can be evaluated using a rubric. I believe that you will be able to see progress in students from the beginning of the project to the end. I will be watching several different project based lessons happening this summer at Say Yes to Education in Syracuse. I believe the learning the students will be doing this summer will be some of the most meaningful, "immeasurable" learning the children have ever experienced.
In my opinion this is a terrible way to measure what your children are learning. I don't think that standardized tests accurately measure what they say they are measuring. In my assessment class with Dr. Salend, we had a conversation about standardized tests. In particular we looked at the NYS teacher certification tests. I remember someone commenting on how they felt like most of the answers on the test that they were looking for were common sense and if you were good at taking multiple choice tests you could probably pass the test without ever stepping foot into an education class. I felt similarly about the tests. I also didn't think that they were a fair way of measuring what I had learned in my time at school.
Another class I took at SUNY New Paltz discussed the concept of Multiple Intelligence. Howard Gardner has proposed 8 (recently added a 9th) way that people are intelligent. Standardized tests DO NOT provide a way for students who are not linguistical or logical/mathematical smart to show what they've learned. Also, as Hilliard points out in his article, not all students have access to the same vocabulary. Standardized tests are presented in a format that is "One Style Fits All".
Also, standardized tests give us an idea of what measurable learning is. The curriculum is built around what we can put on the standardized test, what we can measure. It determines what is important to be taught in our classroom and gives children the impression that the immeasurable learning is not important or the concepts that won't be on the standardized test are not important. Carini's reading really focused in on this idea of the immeasurable. "The immeasurable also makes me think of those events that arouse in us awe and wonder, perhaps rendering us speechless." How do we incorporate the immeasurable into what our students are learning? I believe these moments to be the most important ones of all and need to be counted as student learning.
I believe that changes need to happen in the education system, especially in the way that we measure students learning. I think that there is a place and time for tests and we can't rule out the use of them completely. I do think that we need to include some new ways to look at what our students are learning in the classroom. I have learned a bit about portfolios as a means of alternative assessment. This is a lot of work to create, but I find it to be more meaningful than a test. Also, project based learning is an incredible way to measure students learning. Throughout the entire course of the project, students learning is being evaluated. This is done using formative assessments and then looking at the final project that students have created. This project can be evaluated using a rubric. I believe that you will be able to see progress in students from the beginning of the project to the end. I will be watching several different project based lessons happening this summer at Say Yes to Education in Syracuse. I believe the learning the students will be doing this summer will be some of the most meaningful, "immeasurable" learning the children have ever experienced.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Neo what?
Imagine the school you send your child to. Can you picture it? Children seated in neat little rows, learning things that they will need to help them succeed in the real world. Becoming literate individuals, making life long friends, and gaining a first rate education. But what is it that they are really learning and who is determining what it is that our children need to know for the real world?
Most of our schooling is focused on state exams. Schools are pressured to meet particular goals and are required to have each student pass the state exams. In some schools, upwards of 13 weeks of test prep occurs during school hours. That's more than 3 months of school devoted to the state tests. Who determines this? Why are we working towards meeting the demands of state tests?
Though my recent research on the topic, I've come across Neoliberalism. Through the beliefs of Neoliberals, there is a desire to have what is public, privatized. They want to see public education done away with. But what does this mean for our children? Public schools are forced to meet certain standards set by the state exams. These exams determine how much state funding schools receive. We are seeing schools that are not meeting the standards classified as failing schools. These failing schools are often shut down and then reopened as charter schools or other privately operated schools. Many of these schools that are failing are in locations with a high concentration of African Americans and Latinos, or in an impoverished area. Things for these students don't get better when a charter school is opened or a private school. These schools are highly competitive and pricey. These students are put into schools that are failing, with limited resources. These schools are over crowded and they are still being put through strict, direct instruction leading up to taking state exams.
I came across another term in my research this week. This was Neoconservatism. Even though neoconservatists are on the opposite end of the spectrum as neolibertarians, their beliefs are not making matters better for our students. Neoconservatists want to see education return back to what it traditionally was. They want to reduce what students are learning. Many Neoconservatists support Charter schools and Private schools because they can follow a curriculum that does not have to meet the standards of the state. These schools can limit or restrict what information their students learn. One example of such a restrict was teaching students about how the United States was racist. Parts of Martin Luther King's, "I have a dream" speech was cut out to keep all inferences of the United States being racist.
This current shift in the education system in the United States is one that angers me and will be extremely interesting to watch progress through the next few years. There are major changes in need of occurring and I'm not sure where these changes are going to take place.
Most of our schooling is focused on state exams. Schools are pressured to meet particular goals and are required to have each student pass the state exams. In some schools, upwards of 13 weeks of test prep occurs during school hours. That's more than 3 months of school devoted to the state tests. Who determines this? Why are we working towards meeting the demands of state tests?
Though my recent research on the topic, I've come across Neoliberalism. Through the beliefs of Neoliberals, there is a desire to have what is public, privatized. They want to see public education done away with. But what does this mean for our children? Public schools are forced to meet certain standards set by the state exams. These exams determine how much state funding schools receive. We are seeing schools that are not meeting the standards classified as failing schools. These failing schools are often shut down and then reopened as charter schools or other privately operated schools. Many of these schools that are failing are in locations with a high concentration of African Americans and Latinos, or in an impoverished area. Things for these students don't get better when a charter school is opened or a private school. These schools are highly competitive and pricey. These students are put into schools that are failing, with limited resources. These schools are over crowded and they are still being put through strict, direct instruction leading up to taking state exams.
I came across another term in my research this week. This was Neoconservatism. Even though neoconservatists are on the opposite end of the spectrum as neolibertarians, their beliefs are not making matters better for our students. Neoconservatists want to see education return back to what it traditionally was. They want to reduce what students are learning. Many Neoconservatists support Charter schools and Private schools because they can follow a curriculum that does not have to meet the standards of the state. These schools can limit or restrict what information their students learn. One example of such a restrict was teaching students about how the United States was racist. Parts of Martin Luther King's, "I have a dream" speech was cut out to keep all inferences of the United States being racist.
This current shift in the education system in the United States is one that angers me and will be extremely interesting to watch progress through the next few years. There are major changes in need of occurring and I'm not sure where these changes are going to take place.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Multiple Literacies
"The concept of multiple literacies provides an analytic heuristic with which to consider the rande of literacy practices in which ELLs engage across contexts in different languages and various modalities," (p.337, Haneda). As an educator we need to remember that our students whom speak multiple languages have a wide range of literacies which they engage in outside of school. We also need to remember that the literacy practices from range from one culture to another.
I think it is important to provide children the opportunity to use their first language in school as well as the other languages that they are learning. It can be frustrating only be allowed to use English in school when you are not fluent in its uses or are struggling with the different concepts. I believe that for older students, we could give them an opportunity to create a blog in school. This can be done in which ever language they would like to use. By blogging about particular topics or freely, students can practice using their language.
"There are yet other children who fail to become fully literate in either first language or second language," (p337, Haneda). How can we expect children to be literate in English when they have yet to master their native language? For this reason we can not ban use of their native language in school. Their are skills that these children need to learn in their first language before we can expect them to comprehend and be successful using a second language, especially when the rules of a second language can be very different and challenging to master.
Some children receive extra support outside of class from parents, siblings, and extended family. I think that by creating a support system for ELL students they could become more successful. Not all students have the support system outside of school. Perhaps through the use of peer mentoring or after school activities, students would receive extra help that they need.
Learning experiences need to be personally relevant to students. In order to make sure that students are connected with the school work they are doing, we need to provide them with things that are of interest to them. I think that continually taking inventory of your students interests, likes, and dislikes will make this a lot easier to do. This will make selecting works of literature for your students to read a more rewarding process. Students want to read about things that interest them. It is important for them to read many other things as well, but this will help them foster literacy in a way that captivates them and motivates them.
I also want to be able to encourage my students to share their literacy with the class. By this I mean, tell stories or write poems in their native language. Through the use of short presentations students will be able to practice their literacy skills and feel confident do so. They should feel safe in their environment so that they will feel comfortable opening up and expressing themselves. Our students should want to share their lives with us.
I think it is important to provide children the opportunity to use their first language in school as well as the other languages that they are learning. It can be frustrating only be allowed to use English in school when you are not fluent in its uses or are struggling with the different concepts. I believe that for older students, we could give them an opportunity to create a blog in school. This can be done in which ever language they would like to use. By blogging about particular topics or freely, students can practice using their language.
"There are yet other children who fail to become fully literate in either first language or second language," (p337, Haneda). How can we expect children to be literate in English when they have yet to master their native language? For this reason we can not ban use of their native language in school. Their are skills that these children need to learn in their first language before we can expect them to comprehend and be successful using a second language, especially when the rules of a second language can be very different and challenging to master.
Some children receive extra support outside of class from parents, siblings, and extended family. I think that by creating a support system for ELL students they could become more successful. Not all students have the support system outside of school. Perhaps through the use of peer mentoring or after school activities, students would receive extra help that they need.
Learning experiences need to be personally relevant to students. In order to make sure that students are connected with the school work they are doing, we need to provide them with things that are of interest to them. I think that continually taking inventory of your students interests, likes, and dislikes will make this a lot easier to do. This will make selecting works of literature for your students to read a more rewarding process. Students want to read about things that interest them. It is important for them to read many other things as well, but this will help them foster literacy in a way that captivates them and motivates them.
I also want to be able to encourage my students to share their literacy with the class. By this I mean, tell stories or write poems in their native language. Through the use of short presentations students will be able to practice their literacy skills and feel confident do so. They should feel safe in their environment so that they will feel comfortable opening up and expressing themselves. Our students should want to share their lives with us.
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