On Thursday, the classed watched another presentation. The presenter was Heather Toth. She presented the research that she found while writing her essay. Her topic was asking the question of whether or not high post-secondary grades are a correlation between successful teachers. This is a topic that our classed has covered before because high grades do not necessarily mean that you will be a successful teacher, and it actually can mean the opposite sometimes. If this is the case, then why do universities praise these marks and allow only those with higher marks access to education programs?
Heather went over two studies that she looked at for her research. First, she looked at a study that questioned the practical value of what first year teachers have been taught in college. In other words, do the skills learned in University/College help fully prepare teachers? They found that there were 5 major deficiencies that teachers felt they were not prepared for when they went out into the field. These consisted of:
1. Classroom Management
2. Understanding Changing Families
3. Working with Parents
4. Establishing Rapport with pupils
5. Working in an Organization
For me, I think #2 and #3 are my weakest areas. These are things that we have not really discussed in class, but at the same time, a lot it is a learning experience. I just have not personally dealt with them. My biggest fear as a teacher is working with parents, but at the same time, as we haven’t discussed it much in classes. There could be brainstorming ideas for these deficiencies to help give 1st year teachers ideas to helping students who are going through changes as well as working with parents. Other deficiencies that were not mentioned in the study that the class felt was lacking in the program was using the chalkboard/blackboard and technology. I think especially with technology because it is constantly changing and there is so much to know that this is an important area.
A difficult aspect of this study is that the word “success” is such an vague word, that there is not one clear definition. Some people view success as merely making it through their teaching career, whereas others focus more on what their students get out of their teaching. How can we clearly answer this question without a model of what success actually is?
Overall, Heather’s presentation was really interesting. I think it is very interesting the way the system works to become a teacher. I also think that a lot of what we learn in University needs to be looked over to help us become better teachers, but once again, at the same time, the more hands-on-learning we receive (such as our professional semesters), will help us that much more.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Age 28: Up Series ((John, Andrew and Charles), Tony, and Simon)
We also watched another group of students at the age of 28 on Tuesday. Once again, they showed how the children had evolved into young adults, some with very interesting results. We watched the group of boys (John, Andrew and Charles), Tony and Simon.
First were the group of boys named John, Andrew and Charles. These three were part of the upper class. When they were 7, they made fun of poor people, as they saw them as dirty. Charles knew that he wanted to go to a series of prep schools and then to Trinity Hall and John had a very similar answer. When Andrew was asked, he was able to remember a few schools, but was unable to remember them all. Charles didn’t end up going to Oxford, but was still happy with where he was in life. He broke away from his class. Two of the three refused to do the Up 28 documentary. Andrew decided that he did not what to be a part of it because he created documentaries and he felt that they did not represent people properly. This also says something about the effects of documentaries on people and their representation. He feels guilty that he had advantages in life.
Second was Tony. He was from the inner city and the lower working class. When he was younger, he said that he wanted to be a jockey. He left school at the age of 15 and tried to become a jockey. He had three races, and wasn’t placed, so he decided to give up. Instead, he became a taxi driver. He claims that he felt he was better than anyone on film. His ambitions are completed and he is happy with the way his life turned out.
Last is Simon. He was an orphanage who attended a Charity Boarding School. He thinks that all that rich people do is get those who don’t have money to do things for them. He said that he would just “walk around” when he grew up. He ended up having 5 kids. He claims that he encourages and praises education in his children’s lives.
Compared to the last set of kids that we watched, these kids were less predictable. It wasn’t as obvious what they were doing. It was still very interesting to watch the way that their lives panned out and how there life as a child affected their life as an adult.
First were the group of boys named John, Andrew and Charles. These three were part of the upper class. When they were 7, they made fun of poor people, as they saw them as dirty. Charles knew that he wanted to go to a series of prep schools and then to Trinity Hall and John had a very similar answer. When Andrew was asked, he was able to remember a few schools, but was unable to remember them all. Charles didn’t end up going to Oxford, but was still happy with where he was in life. He broke away from his class. Two of the three refused to do the Up 28 documentary. Andrew decided that he did not what to be a part of it because he created documentaries and he felt that they did not represent people properly. This also says something about the effects of documentaries on people and their representation. He feels guilty that he had advantages in life.
Second was Tony. He was from the inner city and the lower working class. When he was younger, he said that he wanted to be a jockey. He left school at the age of 15 and tried to become a jockey. He had three races, and wasn’t placed, so he decided to give up. Instead, he became a taxi driver. He claims that he felt he was better than anyone on film. His ambitions are completed and he is happy with the way his life turned out.
Last is Simon. He was an orphanage who attended a Charity Boarding School. He thinks that all that rich people do is get those who don’t have money to do things for them. He said that he would just “walk around” when he grew up. He ended up having 5 kids. He claims that he encourages and praises education in his children’s lives.
Compared to the last set of kids that we watched, these kids were less predictable. It wasn’t as obvious what they were doing. It was still very interesting to watch the way that their lives panned out and how there life as a child affected their life as an adult.
Age 28: Up Series (Paul, Suzy and Nicholas)
We had our first day of watching age 28 of the UP series. We watched Paul, Suzy and Nicholas. Even though this section focused on age 28, it showed clips of them when they were 14 and 21. It was very interesting to see how much of there age at 7 determined what they would be when they were older.
First we watched Paul. When Paul was young, he went to a Charity Boarding School and his parents were missionaries. When asked about higher education, he claimed that he didn’t know what University was. He also realized his expectations of his class, as he said he wanted to be a police officer, but knew that it would be too hard. Paul got married and became a brick layer. He stated that he was in the working-class suburbs, but he owns a house and two cars. He said that his only regrets of education were that he was lazy. He thinks that if people have money, they should go to private school. When he was 8, he moved from England to Australia. He was able to become successful because he went towards the contest system. The 7-year old Paul is reflected when he is older, as he was building a house at the park. This is what he decided to do when he was at the park and now he is a brick layer. His aspirations for his kids are for them to go further than him, which is a thought generated from the contest system.
Next was Suzy. Suzy attended a Private Girls Boarding School and was part of the upper class. In the movie, at 7, she stated that she didn’t know anyone of colour, and didn’t want to. When she speaks of her University plans, she doesn’t seem interested in school, as she says her mom has it all planned for her and she can’t remember. She got married at the age of 22. She left school at age 16 and went to Paris and later on got a secretarial job. She claims that she did not like school. She doesn’t want her kids to go into the private sector right away. At 21, she was very rebellious. In terms of comparing Suzy to herself at 7, it is easy to see that she is not interested in school and that she does not want to seek higher education.
The last was Nicholas. He went to a rural one room school. At 7, he said he wanted to learn about the moon. He ended up studying Physics at Oxford. At 28, he was currently a professor in the U.S. as a nuclear Physicist. He got married to a fellow student. As he grew up in England, he was part of the sponsorship system. As he was a gifted child, he was able to become part of the elite, but then he cheats the system and moves to the U.S. His comparison to when he was 7 is that he wanted to learn about that moon and that is exactly what he did.
All three of these students were able to accomplish what they wanted by the time they were 7. It is neat to see how they evolved into what was predicted in the film. One question that I have is: do the researcher effects have any influence on this? It is interesting as well as sad that, so far, with these three students, there life was determined by the time they were 7.
First we watched Paul. When Paul was young, he went to a Charity Boarding School and his parents were missionaries. When asked about higher education, he claimed that he didn’t know what University was. He also realized his expectations of his class, as he said he wanted to be a police officer, but knew that it would be too hard. Paul got married and became a brick layer. He stated that he was in the working-class suburbs, but he owns a house and two cars. He said that his only regrets of education were that he was lazy. He thinks that if people have money, they should go to private school. When he was 8, he moved from England to Australia. He was able to become successful because he went towards the contest system. The 7-year old Paul is reflected when he is older, as he was building a house at the park. This is what he decided to do when he was at the park and now he is a brick layer. His aspirations for his kids are for them to go further than him, which is a thought generated from the contest system.
Next was Suzy. Suzy attended a Private Girls Boarding School and was part of the upper class. In the movie, at 7, she stated that she didn’t know anyone of colour, and didn’t want to. When she speaks of her University plans, she doesn’t seem interested in school, as she says her mom has it all planned for her and she can’t remember. She got married at the age of 22. She left school at age 16 and went to Paris and later on got a secretarial job. She claims that she did not like school. She doesn’t want her kids to go into the private sector right away. At 21, she was very rebellious. In terms of comparing Suzy to herself at 7, it is easy to see that she is not interested in school and that she does not want to seek higher education.
The last was Nicholas. He went to a rural one room school. At 7, he said he wanted to learn about the moon. He ended up studying Physics at Oxford. At 28, he was currently a professor in the U.S. as a nuclear Physicist. He got married to a fellow student. As he grew up in England, he was part of the sponsorship system. As he was a gifted child, he was able to become part of the elite, but then he cheats the system and moves to the U.S. His comparison to when he was 7 is that he wanted to learn about that moon and that is exactly what he did.
All three of these students were able to accomplish what they wanted by the time they were 7. It is neat to see how they evolved into what was predicted in the film. One question that I have is: do the researcher effects have any influence on this? It is interesting as well as sad that, so far, with these three students, there life was determined by the time they were 7.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Part 1 of documentary
Last week we began the discussion of the comparison between the US model and UK model of schools. The US model consisted mostly of the contest system where individuals have to work for where they are. The UK model is based more on sponsorship, where your class is what is important. If you do not have money, you will not go to a private school, which in turn will give you fewer opportunities. You were also able to move up a class if you showed your skills in school, but you were then required to resituate yourself away from your original class and become upper class.
The video that we looked at was the first part of the UP series that is trying to determine how much of our future is determined by the time we are seven. Is it possible to know what we will be by the time we hit that age? I was one of the few students in the class who put up their hand when asked if they knew that they wanted to be a teacher by grade 2. It was actually at seven that I realized that this is what I wanted to do and it was confirmed later on in my school years. By me saying this though, I do not necessarily think that our future is determined, but that there may be clear ideas of what you might be. However, people are sometimes able to break away from this. It is actually sad to think that your life is determined by the age of seven, as some of the less wealthy individuals assumed that certain jobs would be too difficult for them, so they immediately disregarded any chances of trying to achieve their goals.
The video is very neat as it documents 13 different students from a variety of classes at the age of seven in Britain. They ask them many questions regarding education and other topics, and from this, they are trying to determine what they will be. I especially enjoy it because the documentary does not stop there. They also follow them at the ages of 14, 21, 28, etc and they are currently making age 56 (I think). This allows educators to see particular results not only if this theory is correct, but also to show the results of the US and UK models.
The video that we looked at was the first part of the UP series that is trying to determine how much of our future is determined by the time we are seven. Is it possible to know what we will be by the time we hit that age? I was one of the few students in the class who put up their hand when asked if they knew that they wanted to be a teacher by grade 2. It was actually at seven that I realized that this is what I wanted to do and it was confirmed later on in my school years. By me saying this though, I do not necessarily think that our future is determined, but that there may be clear ideas of what you might be. However, people are sometimes able to break away from this. It is actually sad to think that your life is determined by the age of seven, as some of the less wealthy individuals assumed that certain jobs would be too difficult for them, so they immediately disregarded any chances of trying to achieve their goals.
The video is very neat as it documents 13 different students from a variety of classes at the age of seven in Britain. They ask them many questions regarding education and other topics, and from this, they are trying to determine what they will be. I especially enjoy it because the documentary does not stop there. They also follow them at the ages of 14, 21, 28, etc and they are currently making age 56 (I think). This allows educators to see particular results not only if this theory is correct, but also to show the results of the US and UK models.
Anti-Racist Education
I haven’t blogged for a little while now because of this stressful time for school. I always find that within the last 3 weeks of school, I have a breakdown and think that I can’t finish the semester. It happens every semester. My boyfriend finally told me that I do this every semester and I always get everything done. This feeling of stress is definitely something that we as teachers need to remember when we go out into the work world. We need to remember that our students will have other things going on in their lives and hopefully that will make us better teachers. This was really just a side note because I haven’t been able to write for a while.
I wanted to discuss the presentation on Anti-Racist Education. I like the idea that we try to incorporate other cultures into our lessons and schools in order to embrace others that the students might not know much about. I enjoyed the tests that we had to complete. I found it really interesting that when doing the first test, most of us did not experience any issues. It was the second test that was taken from other places/cultures where most of us were confused. It allowed the class to realize that the context of our lessons needs to be respectful of students who are not from the same culture as the majority of the class.
There are two major obstacles with anti-racist education that the presenters mentioned. Firstly, the teachers have to manipulate the curriculum in order to include anti-racist ideas. It is not a central part of the regular curriculum, but more integrated. Secondly, teachers do not see the value of anti-racist education. This is definitely unfortunate because if teachers do not see the value, how can we pass on the importance of anti-racist education.
I thought the presentation was good and the presenters were able to encourage the class to promote anti-racist education. Good job!
I wanted to discuss the presentation on Anti-Racist Education. I like the idea that we try to incorporate other cultures into our lessons and schools in order to embrace others that the students might not know much about. I enjoyed the tests that we had to complete. I found it really interesting that when doing the first test, most of us did not experience any issues. It was the second test that was taken from other places/cultures where most of us were confused. It allowed the class to realize that the context of our lessons needs to be respectful of students who are not from the same culture as the majority of the class.
There are two major obstacles with anti-racist education that the presenters mentioned. Firstly, the teachers have to manipulate the curriculum in order to include anti-racist ideas. It is not a central part of the regular curriculum, but more integrated. Secondly, teachers do not see the value of anti-racist education. This is definitely unfortunate because if teachers do not see the value, how can we pass on the importance of anti-racist education.
I thought the presentation was good and the presenters were able to encourage the class to promote anti-racist education. Good job!
Monday, November 16, 2009
An Interesting Forward
I always seem to get forwards and although I read them, I find very few of them interesting enough to share. I received a forward the other day that I felt needed to be shown, as it pertains to what we were discussing the other day in class. It once again talks about excluding material from the curriculum that can be valuable to our students. Don’t mind any errors. I didn’t personally type this out.
General Eisenhower Warned Us It is a matter of history that when the Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, found the victims of the death camps he ordered all possible photographs to be taken, and for the German people from surrounding villages to be ushered through the camps and even made to bury the dead. He did this because he said in words to this effect: 'Get it all on record now - get the films - get the witnesses -because somewhere down the road of history some bastard will get up and say that this never happened' This week, the UK debated whether to remove The Holocaust from its school curriculum because it 'offends' the Muslim population which claims it never occurred. It is not removed as yet.. However, this is a frightening portent of the fear that is gripping the world and how easily each country is giving into it. It is now more than 60 years after the Second World War in Europe ended. This e-mail is being sent as a memorial chain, in memory of the 6 million Jews, 20 million Russians, 10 million Christians, and 1,900 Catholic priests who were 'murdered, raped, burned, starved, beat, experimented on and humiliated' while the German people looked the other way! Now, more than ever, with Iran, among others, claiming the Holocaust to be 'a myth,' it is imperative to make sure the world never forgets. This e-mail is intended to reach 400 million people! Be a link in the memorial chain and help distribute this around the world. How many years will it be before the attack on the World Trade Center .. 'NEVER HAPPENED' because it offends some Muslim in the U.S. ???
I think these types of thing should not be excluded from the curriculum, as it is an important point in history. How can we pretend that it never happened? What are we trying to prove by ‘protecting’ people from the truth? I really enjoy the last line that we need to remember events such as 9/11, as this is something that happened in our lifetime. How can we dispose of the truth when so many people were affected by these events? I think this is something we need to think about.
General Eisenhower Warned Us
I think these types of thing should not be excluded from the curriculum, as it is an important point in history. How can we pretend that it never happened? What are we trying to prove by ‘protecting’ people from the truth? I really enjoy the last line that we need to remember events such as 9/11, as this is something that happened in our lifetime. How can we dispose of the truth when so many people were affected by these events? I think this is something we need to think about.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Reponse to Sheri's Blog
I just read a blog by Sheri that make me think of so many things, so instead of commenting on her blog, I decided to write my own. I just have so much to say, so it might make more sense to take a look at her blog on drinking and driving before reading this.
Wow! All of this talk about pretending that students have died is crazy! How did they even think that these students would react to the news, as well as finding out that it was not true? I agree that this is something that would make a lot of students lose trust and a sense of security in the school environment, which is very sad and unfortunate. I think the topic of drinking and driving is a very difficult one to pursue because a lot of students will not take the information seriously, but how far do we need to go to get the message across?
At my high school, we had mock accidents every year. There would be body sketches on the ground with tape and there would be students from each class who were ‘dead’. These individuals had to wear all white and were not allowed to talk for the entire day. They would also set up an “accident” outside at lunch time (what a weird time to do that…) and there would be a wrecked car, blood everywhere, a hearse, and body bags. There were also people who were bloody and “dead”. These accidents looked very real. At the same time though, everyone knew they were fake and it was specifically designed this way. Think of how tragic that would be to not know that it was fake. For me, these types of S.A.D.D events were very interesting. I just wish everyone would take them as seriously. It is sad because, although it probably deterred a few people away from these actions, but there were still many people in my grad class who chose to make this mistake, and unfortunately with some sad results.
Another interesting thing that we had as a S.A.D.D event was a presentation titled “danae’s song”. If anyone had the chance to see this, it was amazing. It consisted of a mother who gave the life story of her daughter, who at the age of 16 was killed in a drunk driving accident. She was in the car with her boyfriend who was intoxicated at the time. Her mother went school to school talking about her daughter’s life, the accident, and the after math. Her mom was joined by the paramedic who was at the scene of the accident. This was a different method to show teenagers the effects of drinking and driving. Her mom also made a website: http://www.danaessong.com/. It is definitely worth checking out. The program also shows videos of her life, and pictures of the car accident, and even explicit photos that show the true results of drinking and driving. Her death was in October of 2000 and her mom is still going school to school to express her feelings on her own worst nightmare.
There are many ways that we can chose to show the results of drinking and driving, but who is to say what will actually work? Everyone will take something different from each presentation. I guess it is just really important to try and affect as many people as possible. Maybe we could think of ways that we could deter students from making these types of choices without us losing their trust.
Wow! All of this talk about pretending that students have died is crazy! How did they even think that these students would react to the news, as well as finding out that it was not true? I agree that this is something that would make a lot of students lose trust and a sense of security in the school environment, which is very sad and unfortunate. I think the topic of drinking and driving is a very difficult one to pursue because a lot of students will not take the information seriously, but how far do we need to go to get the message across?
At my high school, we had mock accidents every year. There would be body sketches on the ground with tape and there would be students from each class who were ‘dead’. These individuals had to wear all white and were not allowed to talk for the entire day. They would also set up an “accident” outside at lunch time (what a weird time to do that…) and there would be a wrecked car, blood everywhere, a hearse, and body bags. There were also people who were bloody and “dead”. These accidents looked very real. At the same time though, everyone knew they were fake and it was specifically designed this way. Think of how tragic that would be to not know that it was fake. For me, these types of S.A.D.D events were very interesting. I just wish everyone would take them as seriously. It is sad because, although it probably deterred a few people away from these actions, but there were still many people in my grad class who chose to make this mistake, and unfortunately with some sad results.
Another interesting thing that we had as a S.A.D.D event was a presentation titled “danae’s song”. If anyone had the chance to see this, it was amazing. It consisted of a mother who gave the life story of her daughter, who at the age of 16 was killed in a drunk driving accident. She was in the car with her boyfriend who was intoxicated at the time. Her mother went school to school talking about her daughter’s life, the accident, and the after math. Her mom was joined by the paramedic who was at the scene of the accident. This was a different method to show teenagers the effects of drinking and driving. Her mom also made a website: http://www.danaessong.com/. It is definitely worth checking out. The program also shows videos of her life, and pictures of the car accident, and even explicit photos that show the true results of drinking and driving. Her death was in October of 2000 and her mom is still going school to school to express her feelings on her own worst nightmare.
There are many ways that we can chose to show the results of drinking and driving, but who is to say what will actually work? Everyone will take something different from each presentation. I guess it is just really important to try and affect as many people as possible. Maybe we could think of ways that we could deter students from making these types of choices without us losing their trust.
Saturday, November 7, 2009
History of Education..from whose point of view?
To catch up with my readings, I read pages 8-21 in Barakett’s textbook Sociology of Education: An Introductory View from Canada. It was interesting because it started off by discussing the different views of Canada’s history. There are many different stories, but the only ones that are accentuated are the stories of the people who are in power. This is something that seems consistent when looking back at history.
Firstly, most accounts of Canadian history are the stories of the French and the English, and they leave a very important group out. The aboriginal peoples “discovered” Canada years before the French and English even got here, but that always tends to be left out of the story. Depending on whose story is being told, the idea of history is always open for debate. “Schooling has been and remains a system for inculcating the ideology and values of those in power into ‘the people,’ those with little or now power.”
Canada’s education was mainly influenced by John Strachan from Scotland and Egerton Ryerson from the U.S. Strachan established the “common” school. This type of school emphasized ideas from our discussion of hidden curriculum. They taught them to behave by teaching them things such as arriving to class on time, dressing, and daily routines.
The experience of Canada’s first Nations-Peoples is a very different account than what is usually told. The French and English had racist attitudes and tried to assimilate the Natives into their culture. They made the children go to residential schools, which rid the children of their culture, beliefs, language, etc. The attempt to do this eventually failed. “The effects of this history are still seen today in many aboriginal communities, with high rates of alcoholism, suicide, and school dropout,” although their have been major improvements recently. The chapter also discusses how Native teachers are more likely to interact better with Native students compared to Non-Native teachers. It is important to have Native teachers at every school and to use particular curriculum towards these students. In my PS1, I had a good experience with this. There was a Native teacher at the school I was at, and there was also an FNMI room designated for her classes. I am sure her interactions with the students, especially the aboriginals, had good influences on them.
I thought this was a very good quote that I found in the chapter, as it represents our need to work together in order to meet the needs of our students: “Our world is changing. Let us put our minds together. Take the best of both worlds and make a better life for our children.”
I decided to only focus on the section dealing with aboriginals and their history because, as shown, it is something that is often left out.
Firstly, most accounts of Canadian history are the stories of the French and the English, and they leave a very important group out. The aboriginal peoples “discovered” Canada years before the French and English even got here, but that always tends to be left out of the story. Depending on whose story is being told, the idea of history is always open for debate. “Schooling has been and remains a system for inculcating the ideology and values of those in power into ‘the people,’ those with little or now power.”
Canada’s education was mainly influenced by John Strachan from Scotland and Egerton Ryerson from the U.S. Strachan established the “common” school. This type of school emphasized ideas from our discussion of hidden curriculum. They taught them to behave by teaching them things such as arriving to class on time, dressing, and daily routines.
The experience of Canada’s first Nations-Peoples is a very different account than what is usually told. The French and English had racist attitudes and tried to assimilate the Natives into their culture. They made the children go to residential schools, which rid the children of their culture, beliefs, language, etc. The attempt to do this eventually failed. “The effects of this history are still seen today in many aboriginal communities, with high rates of alcoholism, suicide, and school dropout,” although their have been major improvements recently. The chapter also discusses how Native teachers are more likely to interact better with Native students compared to Non-Native teachers. It is important to have Native teachers at every school and to use particular curriculum towards these students. In my PS1, I had a good experience with this. There was a Native teacher at the school I was at, and there was also an FNMI room designated for her classes. I am sure her interactions with the students, especially the aboriginals, had good influences on them.
I thought this was a very good quote that I found in the chapter, as it represents our need to work together in order to meet the needs of our students: “Our world is changing. Let us put our minds together. Take the best of both worlds and make a better life for our children.”
I decided to only focus on the section dealing with aboriginals and their history because, as shown, it is something that is often left out.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Presentation: Hidden Curriculum: Process
Karley’s presentation today was a good continuation of the topic of hidden curriculum. She discussed the process of the hidden curriculum to help the class understand the interactions that students engage in that implicitly teaches them how to act. Simple things such that we take for granted on a daily basis such as raising hands, hygiene, conformity, competitiveness, and obedience to authority figures are rules/ideas that teachers convey to their students on a daily basis. She specifically looked at Socialization in Early Elementary Education.
Her presentation was interesting, as once again, I haven’t ever looked at things such as these. Unlike with content, some of these implicit messages that we are passing onto our students are valuable to them and do set them up for life in the ‘real world’. I liked how she not only demonstrated and explained what these implicit rules were, but she also broke it down for us with things that we have previously learned in the semester. She discussed how functionalists, conflict theorists and interactionsists would react to these implicit meanings.
Margaret Mead believed that socializations help children to gain knowledge of the generalized other and help them learn the rules that society has put forward. The transition from home to school is a very difficult one because unlike before, not everything is about them anymore. It was interesting to bring up that Barry Mayall compared the lives of children in schools to the roles that women used to live with, which is actually quite depressing when you think of it that way.
Literature is definitely a way that teachers are able to reproduce dominant values of society. Karley showed use a few books that in my opinion were not that implicit, but that did try to teach students how to act in school, engage with other students, etc.
She also mentioned that Kindergarten classes are slowly transitioning to be more academic. Whether or not this is because they think it will be an easier transition for students from home, I’m not sure. They have included more math, science and literacy, there is more testing, and they are trying to make them into full days instead of half. Could you imagine a 4/5 year old sitting through a whole day of school? That would be very exhausting for them. At the end of class, Robert mentioned that everyone is trying to push these students for early literacy, and yet, studies show that the more you try to push them, the more likely they will fail later on. Let them work at their own pace. This reminds me of something personal in my own life. I have one niece (3 years old in January) and one nephew (18 months old). My niece, probably at about 12 months old, became very interested in books. She always wanted to be read to, and it is her favorite present to receive. I could not leave the house until I read her 50 books. She is still like that to this day. Each time I read her a book, she always asks for “one more”. She knows her abc's, a lot of 15 songs, can count to fifteen, etc. My nephew on the other hand, will occasionally ask for a book, but only if it is right in front of him. And he hasn’t learned that many words yet. They are like night and day. One day, my sister realized this and started freaking out and trying to read him books. She was worried that he was already behind. I guess looking at it from the perspective of them learning at their own pace is something that we need to take into consideration and also that everyone does learn at their in different ways. It is definitely interesting to watch though.
Overall though, I found Karley’s presentation very interesting. She did a good job presenting (especially since she was all alone). She also incorporated different things such as movie clips, and a game!
Her presentation was interesting, as once again, I haven’t ever looked at things such as these. Unlike with content, some of these implicit messages that we are passing onto our students are valuable to them and do set them up for life in the ‘real world’. I liked how she not only demonstrated and explained what these implicit rules were, but she also broke it down for us with things that we have previously learned in the semester. She discussed how functionalists, conflict theorists and interactionsists would react to these implicit meanings.
Margaret Mead believed that socializations help children to gain knowledge of the generalized other and help them learn the rules that society has put forward. The transition from home to school is a very difficult one because unlike before, not everything is about them anymore. It was interesting to bring up that Barry Mayall compared the lives of children in schools to the roles that women used to live with, which is actually quite depressing when you think of it that way.
Literature is definitely a way that teachers are able to reproduce dominant values of society. Karley showed use a few books that in my opinion were not that implicit, but that did try to teach students how to act in school, engage with other students, etc.
She also mentioned that Kindergarten classes are slowly transitioning to be more academic. Whether or not this is because they think it will be an easier transition for students from home, I’m not sure. They have included more math, science and literacy, there is more testing, and they are trying to make them into full days instead of half. Could you imagine a 4/5 year old sitting through a whole day of school? That would be very exhausting for them. At the end of class, Robert mentioned that everyone is trying to push these students for early literacy, and yet, studies show that the more you try to push them, the more likely they will fail later on. Let them work at their own pace. This reminds me of something personal in my own life. I have one niece (3 years old in January) and one nephew (18 months old). My niece, probably at about 12 months old, became very interested in books. She always wanted to be read to, and it is her favorite present to receive. I could not leave the house until I read her 50 books. She is still like that to this day. Each time I read her a book, she always asks for “one more”. She knows her abc's, a lot of 15 songs, can count to fifteen, etc. My nephew on the other hand, will occasionally ask for a book, but only if it is right in front of him. And he hasn’t learned that many words yet. They are like night and day. One day, my sister realized this and started freaking out and trying to read him books. She was worried that he was already behind. I guess looking at it from the perspective of them learning at their own pace is something that we need to take into consideration and also that everyone does learn at their in different ways. It is definitely interesting to watch though.
Overall though, I found Karley’s presentation very interesting. She did a good job presenting (especially since she was all alone). She also incorporated different things such as movie clips, and a game!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Hidden Curriculum (content) presentation
Yesterday in class we had a presentation that I thought was very interesting! I have actually only completed my PS1 so far, so the discussion of hidden curriculum was something that I had never heard of besides in passing. And I am sure I will learn a lot more about the topic from a process point of view tomorrow. The presenters looked at the content that is present in hidden curriculum.
Firstly, I thought this topic was interesting because it related to my last post on Bill 44, which I had just learnt about that night. Their ideas combined with what I read the night before helped me to piece the ideas together and understand it better. I do believe that parents/guardians should know and understand what their children are learning, but this does not give them the right to exclude their children from something that might be beneficial to their learning. Alberta is definitely taking a step back in education and supporting the idea of hindering the knowledge of students. We are keeping these students ignorant to ideas, and thus making them more close-minded. As teachers, we are not necessarily trying to instil ideas and beliefs into the students or brainwash them, but trying to help them learn how to think critically. Giving them two ideas such as creationism and evolution allows them to critically upon each idea. It will allow them to look beyond the basic ideas and find downfalls and beneficial points of each. Could you imagine finding out that you have had opportunities or ideas not given to you? And, what about what the student wants? Does this not matter? Do they not have a say in the content that they want to listen to? Would it be the same way around if they were the ones who did not want to learn about these things but their parents did? I enjoyed the video that we watched that showed a class in Florida where the class was split in half in terms of beliefs. Half of them believed in creationism and the others believed in evolution. Their teacher was able to guide them in ways to support what they believed and allowed them to put their ideas forward in a non-judgmental environment. I am sure that the teaching of evolution and religion can be a difficult subject, as it can be touchy, but there are many ways to help with this. It is important to respect all answers, support their commitment to their beliefs, and finally to understand that their will be disagreements.
The content in hidden curriculum are messages that are unintentionally portrayed by the teacher, administrators, textbooks, etc. They can focus on many societal issues such as race, gender, disability and religion. It was interesting to see that the hidden curriculum is present in not only things that are taught, but also in things that are not mentioned. Their case studies of looking at the textbook clearly show that we must look at what is in the textbook, but also what is excluded. When looking at the pictures, they noted that it is important not only to look at who is in the pictures, but also how the individuals are being represented. Sadly, the textbooks that we use in classrooms are made in the U.S. and do not show a clear representation of OUR population.
Overall, the presentation was really interesting and it helped me to realize that there are always implicit messages in what we do or say. These messages may be passed onto our colleagues, the parents, or the students and we need to understand this in order to eliminate confusion.
Firstly, I thought this topic was interesting because it related to my last post on Bill 44, which I had just learnt about that night. Their ideas combined with what I read the night before helped me to piece the ideas together and understand it better. I do believe that parents/guardians should know and understand what their children are learning, but this does not give them the right to exclude their children from something that might be beneficial to their learning. Alberta is definitely taking a step back in education and supporting the idea of hindering the knowledge of students. We are keeping these students ignorant to ideas, and thus making them more close-minded. As teachers, we are not necessarily trying to instil ideas and beliefs into the students or brainwash them, but trying to help them learn how to think critically. Giving them two ideas such as creationism and evolution allows them to critically upon each idea. It will allow them to look beyond the basic ideas and find downfalls and beneficial points of each. Could you imagine finding out that you have had opportunities or ideas not given to you? And, what about what the student wants? Does this not matter? Do they not have a say in the content that they want to listen to? Would it be the same way around if they were the ones who did not want to learn about these things but their parents did? I enjoyed the video that we watched that showed a class in Florida where the class was split in half in terms of beliefs. Half of them believed in creationism and the others believed in evolution. Their teacher was able to guide them in ways to support what they believed and allowed them to put their ideas forward in a non-judgmental environment. I am sure that the teaching of evolution and religion can be a difficult subject, as it can be touchy, but there are many ways to help with this. It is important to respect all answers, support their commitment to their beliefs, and finally to understand that their will be disagreements.
The content in hidden curriculum are messages that are unintentionally portrayed by the teacher, administrators, textbooks, etc. They can focus on many societal issues such as race, gender, disability and religion. It was interesting to see that the hidden curriculum is present in not only things that are taught, but also in things that are not mentioned. Their case studies of looking at the textbook clearly show that we must look at what is in the textbook, but also what is excluded. When looking at the pictures, they noted that it is important not only to look at who is in the pictures, but also how the individuals are being represented. Sadly, the textbooks that we use in classrooms are made in the U.S. and do not show a clear representation of OUR population.
Overall, the presentation was really interesting and it helped me to realize that there are always implicit messages in what we do or say. These messages may be passed onto our colleagues, the parents, or the students and we need to understand this in order to eliminate confusion.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Exclusion of Topics in Education
When trying to decide what to write about, I thought that looking at the news articles on-line would be beneficial. This information is definitely up to date and deals with issues that are currently taking place. I came across an article that was posted on April 30th, 2009, but is new information to me. It is titled “Evolution classes optional under proposed Alberta law”, which caught my interest right away. The ideas that are put forth are very controversial and have been hotly debated for many years, not only in Alberta, but throughout the world.
The bill gives the right to parents to take their children out of classes that discuss topics containing information about evolution and homosexuality. “The new rules, which would require schools to notify parents in advance of ‘“subject-matter that deals explicitly with religion, sexuality or sexual orientation,”’ is buried in a bill that extends human rights to homosexuals. Parents can ask for their child to be excluded from the discussion.” Edcuation Minsister, Dave Hancock believes that it will not be a substantial change, as parents have always had the right to not include their children in anything that deals with values, religion, sex education, but now homosexuality has been added to this list. Many people believe that it will be difficult to completely exclude the idea of evolution in some classes and that schools should not start excluding topics based on religious preferences. “The proposed legislation has touched off a debate about just what kind of image Alberta's government is trying to create around the world.”
Personally, I find this ridiculous. How can we start excluding ares of the curriculum in order to meet everyone’s individual needs? By doing this, we are not allowing the students to make their own educated decisions about what to believe. In terms of homosexuality, how will our society ever properly handle the idea of homosexuality when we are constantly creating a heteronoramative society? How can we embrace these ideas when they are constantly being put down? The future generations have an opportunity to create a society that has less conflict, but we are eager to let this not happen.
** The following information was retrieved from a news article on CBC.
The bill gives the right to parents to take their children out of classes that discuss topics containing information about evolution and homosexuality. “The new rules, which would require schools to notify parents in advance of ‘“subject-matter that deals explicitly with religion, sexuality or sexual orientation,”’ is buried in a bill that extends human rights to homosexuals. Parents can ask for their child to be excluded from the discussion.” Edcuation Minsister, Dave Hancock believes that it will not be a substantial change, as parents have always had the right to not include their children in anything that deals with values, religion, sex education, but now homosexuality has been added to this list. Many people believe that it will be difficult to completely exclude the idea of evolution in some classes and that schools should not start excluding topics based on religious preferences. “The proposed legislation has touched off a debate about just what kind of image Alberta's government is trying to create around the world.”
Personally, I find this ridiculous. How can we start excluding ares of the curriculum in order to meet everyone’s individual needs? By doing this, we are not allowing the students to make their own educated decisions about what to believe. In terms of homosexuality, how will our society ever properly handle the idea of homosexuality when we are constantly creating a heteronoramative society? How can we embrace these ideas when they are constantly being put down? The future generations have an opportunity to create a society that has less conflict, but we are eager to let this not happen.
** The following information was retrieved from a news article on CBC.
Cutbacks
Since we have been discussing cutbacks in education a lot, I thought it would be a good topic to research and to understand a little bit more. All of this talk is quite depressing, as cutbacks are not only something that happened in the past, but is also presently taking place. It is difficult to understand why education seems to endure such harsh cutbacks. I would like to look back throughout the years in Alberta to see what cutbacks have taken place thus far and then look deeper into the current situation that is taking place.
When schooling first started to come around in 1905 when Alberta became a province, citizens were hopeful supporters of education. They agreed to pay taxes in order to support public schooling, which they believed, in turn, would benefit society as a whole. In the 1930s, due to the economic depression, there were too many qualified teachers and not enough jobs. The 1940s found it difficult to find teachers because of the males who were off to fight in World War II. The province created a faculty of education in 1945 and normal schools were permanently shut down. The 1950s was a time to rebuild the economy and province and there was a need for expansion in education. Because of oil that was discovered in Leduc in 1945, the province was booming. They placed post-secondary education as a top priority. This increased even more in 1960’s. “Educational visionaries of the time seriously believed that education, properly conceived and humanely implemented, could radically improve society.” Teachers were finally required to have a degree in order to teach. “Concerned that provincial spending was out of control, the government imposed a series of severe cutbacks to public education in 1994.” Teachers fought to get the required support, but by the end of the decade, Albertans no longer had the belief that education was important and beneficial to individuals and society.
**Information retrieved from ATA website
Throughout the years of schooling in Alberta, many changes took place. At times, society believed that education was top priority, as we are supporting individuals and contributing to the larger society. But sometimes, people did not think it had any value at all.
Currently, the government has just made $80 million worth of cutbacks, and foresee bigger reductions for next year. Many teachers are worried about the cutbacks, as they are unsure where the money is being taken from. Carol Henderson, who is the president of the ATA, believes that the first place this cost will concern is the new teachers. She is fearful of this and says, "We want our young teachers, they revive the profession, they're going to be there when we have a lot of teachers retiring. "So it would be unhealthy for the teaching profession to lose a lot of beginning teachers." Not only are teachers curious about where this money is actually coming from, but they are also concerned about their raises for the year. They were promised a 4.99% increase, but are only receiving 4.82%.
From my point of view, although I believe that teachers do deserve more money, if it is only that little of an amount, it is better there than other places. It is just sad to see that something that is so valulable to society, individuals, and the economy to be taken for granted and not given the support that is needed.
**Information retrieved from CBC news story
When schooling first started to come around in 1905 when Alberta became a province, citizens were hopeful supporters of education. They agreed to pay taxes in order to support public schooling, which they believed, in turn, would benefit society as a whole. In the 1930s, due to the economic depression, there were too many qualified teachers and not enough jobs. The 1940s found it difficult to find teachers because of the males who were off to fight in World War II. The province created a faculty of education in 1945 and normal schools were permanently shut down. The 1950s was a time to rebuild the economy and province and there was a need for expansion in education. Because of oil that was discovered in Leduc in 1945, the province was booming. They placed post-secondary education as a top priority. This increased even more in 1960’s. “Educational visionaries of the time seriously believed that education, properly conceived and humanely implemented, could radically improve society.” Teachers were finally required to have a degree in order to teach. “Concerned that provincial spending was out of control, the government imposed a series of severe cutbacks to public education in 1994.” Teachers fought to get the required support, but by the end of the decade, Albertans no longer had the belief that education was important and beneficial to individuals and society.
**Information retrieved from ATA website
Throughout the years of schooling in Alberta, many changes took place. At times, society believed that education was top priority, as we are supporting individuals and contributing to the larger society. But sometimes, people did not think it had any value at all.
Currently, the government has just made $80 million worth of cutbacks, and foresee bigger reductions for next year. Many teachers are worried about the cutbacks, as they are unsure where the money is being taken from. Carol Henderson, who is the president of the ATA, believes that the first place this cost will concern is the new teachers. She is fearful of this and says, "We want our young teachers, they revive the profession, they're going to be there when we have a lot of teachers retiring. "So it would be unhealthy for the teaching profession to lose a lot of beginning teachers." Not only are teachers curious about where this money is actually coming from, but they are also concerned about their raises for the year. They were promised a 4.99% increase, but are only receiving 4.82%.
From my point of view, although I believe that teachers do deserve more money, if it is only that little of an amount, it is better there than other places. It is just sad to see that something that is so valulable to society, individuals, and the economy to be taken for granted and not given the support that is needed.
**Information retrieved from CBC news story
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