About 47 million people speak another language in the United States... I don't think it will only keep out Spanish-speaking immigrants, it will keep out all different groups of people. If English becomes the official language, well then, which variation of English? Will there be a mandate over dialects? Who sets the standards? I do not speak perfect academic English, and my grammar is not perfect either. Will I be penalized because my use of English is not "good enough"? Are they going to pay for the many classes needed to biliteracy so that we can all speak English? I think these individuals are just afraid of people that they do not and refuse to understand... seems like domestic xenophobia to me.
Saturday, May 15, 2010
Response to Consortium for Worker Education Visit
I really enjoyed our time at the Consortium for Worker's Education. I feel that the Consortium is a very valuable for so many people. I actually brought up the consortium to some of my students who are struggling to graduate. They feel as if they are not ready for college, and I informed them about the workshops to prepare them for college, and GED programs since a few of my students are considering dropping out. I did not know what type of programs were offered up until the readings that were required of us, and when I saw the list of services available. I definitely believe that the consortium is a way for people who are not as fortunate to better their lives.
Response to The Need for Teaching Critical Literacy
This is an issue even today.
In our school, classes reserved for critical thinking is for our honor students. Most of our resources are pooled for our honors classes. For the rest of the population, the classroom is overcrowded, abbreviated books are given and no technology incorporated. The process just dumbs down our students and doesn't help nurture their abilities to do better. The focus for the lower level students is to make sure that they pass their regents and get a high school diploma. If they go to college or not is not of the school's concern. We celebrate when our honors students go to great colleges, but the school does not celebrate any achievements of the lower level students. The students are aware that they are in the "dumb classes" and they accept it. They do not even fight for a higher education, they believe that a high school diploma is good enough for them, and that life after will be easy and prosperous. They are not meant to be the "elite", they are meant to be the managed workers for the elite. WHen they are not critical thinkers, they are individuals who take orders and perform tasks.
Response to Mike Rose- Lives on the boundary
Social failure is a huge obstacle to overcome for inner city students. About 50% of students in my school do not end up as a high school graduate in a 4-7 year range. Some of my students that had fallen into this category believed that there was no point to school. They grow up in a society where they believe opportunities do not exist for them. Their living environment is decrepit, family structure is unstable, no health insurance, income is scarce and going to school that labels them as incapable, they have been socialized into having a low sense of self. All their lives they had no opportunities to having a better life, so therefore they do not want to achieve more. Living out of what they know is scary, as it is for all of us. Goals, and a better life is unknown to them, so they are too scared to try and achieve it.
response to preparing for success
“Traditional jobs are changing and new jobs are created every day. High paying but unskilled jobs are disappearing.”
I remember when I was a child, that a High School diploma was essential for landing a job that was well paying. As new jobs are created, and the hierarchy of competition increases, we need to have more and more education to acquire and sustain work. I have family members that only have their high school diplomas, and they made a very good salary. To this day, they hold their positions and make $75,000. I have more education than they do, but my salary is no where near that high. Also, for me to earn more money, I need more schooling and a degree of completion. As time continues, I feel as if we are having skilled low-paying jobs and attached to that is debt from schooling. Now a bachelor's degree isn't much anymore, people need their masters degree to be hired for a job. I feel that this is disheartening for adults that have no high school degree. How many years will it take for them to have a decent job with a decent salary so that they may have a better life?
how to test teacher practice
How to Test Teacher Practices
Here is an article from the UFT website about what can be done to evaluate learning and teaching practices within the classroom. We all know that measuring test scores is a farce, so here is an alternative proposed.
Study to measure what teachers do kicks off
by Dorothy Callaci
Mar 18, 2010 12:29 PM
UFT President Michael Mulgrew, a strong supporter of the Measures of Effective Teaching study, tells teacher volunteers not to worry about classroom videos because “you are beautiful, talented people.”
One of the hottest issues in education today is also an age-old question: What makes a good teacher? And the UFT is working to help find an answer.
Federal officials, in testimony before Congress recently, called for a refocus away from looking at “paper credentials” to gauging teacher effectiveness by asking states to find a better system for teacher evaluation.
Well, 700 New York City public school teachers have stepped up to the plate and invited teams of independent researchers into their classrooms to view their day-to-day practices for the next two years.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew applauded the volunteers for being on the cutting edge of the nationwide Measures of Effective Teaching Study that kicked off at union headquarters on March 3. “Educators will be looking at you for years to come,“ he said
Chapter Leader Pat Crispino (right) of the HS of Graphic Communication Arts tells (from left) Special Representative Joseph Colletti, Project Director David Osborn and Staten Island Educational Liaison Debra Penny how proud she is that the UFT is, once again, in the forefront of new ideas and initiatives.
Itzel Rivas (left) of PS 126 in the Bronx gets a gift certificate to Staples — a gift to each school with a volunteer team — to buy resources for her school from Katie Ruddy of the MET project.
“Studying what goes on inside the classroom is what’s most important,” he added. “And teachers, the people who actually make a difference in children’s lives, have been left out of that discussion — until now.”
Some of those voices will be coming from PS 7 in the Bronx, where Nathaniel Schiavo is chapter leader and project coordinator for the school’s seven-teacher MET team.
“This project,” he said, “will measure what’s effective besides just what shows on tests, because we do so much more.”
As colleague Naomi Wise pointed out, “There’s been no formal assessment before to judge the valuable things going on in the classroom that were not seen.”
Standing ready to open their classrooms at PS 7 in the Bronx to MET researchers are (from left) Elizabeth Harley, Naomi Wise and Chapter Leader Nathaniel Schiavo.
Project participants — 4th- through 8th-grade math and English language arts teachers, and high school living environment, English 9 and algebra teachers — will be videoed in their classrooms four times a year by specially designed, unobtrusive cameras that will be able to sweep 360 degrees to cover the entire room.
The tapes will then be analyzed by experts and the students’ learning will be assessed. Teachers will have opportunities to reflect on their taped performances. The Gates Foundation-funded study includes six other urban school systems and some 3,000 teachers nationwide.
Other parts of the project include student surveys and supplementary assessments, teacher surveys and assessment of teacher ability to recognize and diagnose student misperceptions.
Chapter Leader Pat Crispino of the HS of Graphic Arts said of her school’s 16 volunteers, “These are the very people who got us off the SURR list.”
Mark Catanzaro, an English teacher at the Manhattan high school, is looking forward to “working with the project in the hope that it will benefit education for years to come.”
Jeff Glasse, the research team member who will be in charge of classroom videos, described the project as “incredibly bold, audacious, challenging and novel because it focuses on practice.” He expects to tape 17,000 hours of practice in a process that he said “will gather all the richness of the classroom.”
Fifteen teachers at Curtis HS on Staten Island have signed on because, as English teacher Michelle Castelli remarked, “Test scores don’t tell the whole story. We want a more accurate way to show what goes on in our classrooms.”
Study to measure what teachers do kicks off
by Dorothy Callaci
Mar 18, 2010 12:29 PM
UFT President Michael Mulgrew, a strong supporter of the Measures of Effective Teaching study, tells teacher volunteers not to worry about classroom videos because “you are beautiful, talented people.”
One of the hottest issues in education today is also an age-old question: What makes a good teacher? And the UFT is working to help find an answer.
Federal officials, in testimony before Congress recently, called for a refocus away from looking at “paper credentials” to gauging teacher effectiveness by asking states to find a better system for teacher evaluation.
Well, 700 New York City public school teachers have stepped up to the plate and invited teams of independent researchers into their classrooms to view their day-to-day practices for the next two years.
UFT President Michael Mulgrew applauded the volunteers for being on the cutting edge of the nationwide Measures of Effective Teaching Study that kicked off at union headquarters on March 3. “Educators will be looking at you for years to come,“ he said
Chapter Leader Pat Crispino (right) of the HS of Graphic Communication Arts tells (from left) Special Representative Joseph Colletti, Project Director David Osborn and Staten Island Educational Liaison Debra Penny how proud she is that the UFT is, once again, in the forefront of new ideas and initiatives.
Itzel Rivas (left) of PS 126 in the Bronx gets a gift certificate to Staples — a gift to each school with a volunteer team — to buy resources for her school from Katie Ruddy of the MET project.
“Studying what goes on inside the classroom is what’s most important,” he added. “And teachers, the people who actually make a difference in children’s lives, have been left out of that discussion — until now.”
Some of those voices will be coming from PS 7 in the Bronx, where Nathaniel Schiavo is chapter leader and project coordinator for the school’s seven-teacher MET team.
“This project,” he said, “will measure what’s effective besides just what shows on tests, because we do so much more.”
As colleague Naomi Wise pointed out, “There’s been no formal assessment before to judge the valuable things going on in the classroom that were not seen.”
Standing ready to open their classrooms at PS 7 in the Bronx to MET researchers are (from left) Elizabeth Harley, Naomi Wise and Chapter Leader Nathaniel Schiavo.
Project participants — 4th- through 8th-grade math and English language arts teachers, and high school living environment, English 9 and algebra teachers — will be videoed in their classrooms four times a year by specially designed, unobtrusive cameras that will be able to sweep 360 degrees to cover the entire room.
The tapes will then be analyzed by experts and the students’ learning will be assessed. Teachers will have opportunities to reflect on their taped performances. The Gates Foundation-funded study includes six other urban school systems and some 3,000 teachers nationwide.
Other parts of the project include student surveys and supplementary assessments, teacher surveys and assessment of teacher ability to recognize and diagnose student misperceptions.
Chapter Leader Pat Crispino of the HS of Graphic Arts said of her school’s 16 volunteers, “These are the very people who got us off the SURR list.”
Mark Catanzaro, an English teacher at the Manhattan high school, is looking forward to “working with the project in the hope that it will benefit education for years to come.”
Jeff Glasse, the research team member who will be in charge of classroom videos, described the project as “incredibly bold, audacious, challenging and novel because it focuses on practice.” He expects to tape 17,000 hours of practice in a process that he said “will gather all the richness of the classroom.”
Fifteen teachers at Curtis HS on Staten Island have signed on because, as English teacher Michelle Castelli remarked, “Test scores don’t tell the whole story. We want a more accurate way to show what goes on in our classrooms.”
Response to Ruben Rengel
At first I was taken aback by Ruben just sitting off behind all of us, and there was no direction at first. I was wondering, where is this going? Are we just going to sit for the whole class? It taught me that maybe with a classroom, that it may need to be more structured at the beginning and then the teacher can back off and have students negotiate on the content and context of the classroom. I have done similar exercises in my own class, but it is usually superficial information (ex, what is yur favorite color? movie?). I feel as if that works for high school students and they tend to be more friendly with eachother after it. But what we went through in class did have me uncomfortable. I am usually a very private person and I do not open up to people I do not know. But I am grateful for the exercise because I realized that it's okay to be vulnerable so that people in the same community can help guide and advise. I always thought that my circumstances were different than my classmates, but essentially it is all the same. I feel as if after that work shop students are more comfortable with eachother, and not as shy to discuss ideas and thoughts in class.
response to increased graduation rates
I remember reading this same article in our teacher's lounge and many of my colleagues were outraged. Mayor Bloomberg credited principals and teachers for the increased graduation rate, but the rates acheived are not because the students are gaining the necessary skills. Teachers are encouraged to skew their grade scale. I know teachers that have students that attended class once every two weeks, and these students managed to get a 65. If the student has a 50 average, they are eligible for credit recovery, by taking a multiple choice test on a computer where they can look the answers up on the internet. How can a multiple choice test be equivilent to a semester of class? We have seniors who are graduating with a 5th grade reading level. How can a senior with a 5th grade reading level have a successful year in college? The problem isn't graduation rates, the problem is that the students who are socially promoted to graduate do not have the skills to go to college so they will have a better life in the future. I remember 15 years ago, a high school diploma meant something. It's not like that anymore, not even an associates degree is counted as a greater achievement anymore either. Most careers are looking for a bachelor's degree or higher. NYC has dumbed down their standards because instead of teachers having resources to elevate student learning, their jobs are threatened. Since a high school diploma doesn't mean as much, what is the harm in passing them along? They rather keep their jobs.
Reponse to Open comments-class meeting March 2
I agree with Charlene that the "commuter train" is a very important aspect to adult education. As we do accumulate more and more responsibility, school can seem almost impossible. I feel as if this type of accomodation is necessary for adult education. Instead of adults not finishing their degree because life can be compunding, this option will have adult students come back and finish. This is beneficial for the students because they can have the personal and academic fulfillment because they finished their degree. Also, going back to the census; about 37% of people within the US have their post secondary degree, I feel that having the option to come back to school later on will help boost that statistic.
Response to MTA bigwigs
I find this absolutely ridiculous... Anytime the state is running out of money they look to cut the education funds. Schools are already suffering as it is. There isn't money to hire new teachers so that class sizes are reduced. So the classrooms have up to 34 students. There isn't enough to keep the music and art programs open. There isn't enough to buy new books. Anything that can be a creative outlet it cut. AND now, that the budget cuts have already severely hindered students creative outputs, now this metrocard situation is going to drop graduation rates more. A monthly metrocard is about $90 a month. Most of my students are raised in a single parent household, and they have about 2-3 other siblings. If all the family needs a metrocard that is about 450 dollars spent. That is so much money. Parents cannot afford this. So what will it come down to? Students don't go to school, and they cannot better their lives. It also makes a more class based society. Only the people that can afford can go to school. That is truly horrendous. We shouldn't of built 2 new stadiums for $2 billion.
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