Comment on this chapter using the following format:
1.a salient sentence or passage, and why it stood out for you
2. a question you would like to ask the author
3. one or two key ideas you got from this reading, and why you believe it/they are important
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A personally significant sentence or passage, and why it stood out for you:
ReplyDelete“We give our people what they need at the time that they need it and in an ongoing way” (77). The part of this schooling model that has sort of bothered me is the how. I know I don't have the type of training needed in this type of school. I have been (am being) trained to teach in a public school, doing the best I can to reach each student within the pre-existing system. I would need so much support to teach at a Met school, no matter how wonderful I think it sounds. In my opinion, these teachers have to have an even stronger support system than those teaching in a “normal” school. There is no set curriculum to fall back on, and everything is continually subject to change. There is no security. The teacher can never feel that they are prepared in advance, because the student is so much in charge. I love this concept, but the reality of working in it is pretty intense. I was relieved to see this statement and wish the author had spent some more time discussing exactly what these needs tend to be and what is given. There's my question...
A question you would like to ask the author: What is meant by “what they need?” What type of training and/or support is available to the advisors?
One or two key ideas you got from this reading, and why you believe it/they are important: The key idea of this chapter is the importance of individual curriculum. The idea of one size fits all clearly isn't working in our schools. The author points out how ridiculous it is to think that it even would work. The needs of every student are different. The interests of every student are different. Just trying to address different learning styles isn't enough. To make a real difference, we have to find what fits each student and then pursue that learning.
“ Education people always say parents are their kids’ first teachers. So part of our role when thinking about what to teach is to really listen to the parents when they say this is what my kids does at home; this is how my kid responds; this is what gets my kid excited about learning; my kid’s only had one good year at school and this is why; and so on. It’s about respecting the parent in the same way you have to respect the kid, who even though he’s only 15, really does have an idea about who he is and what he needs.” P 79
ReplyDeleteTeachers seem to continually complain about the lack of parental involvement in the classroom and that it is impossible to be teacher and parent to every child, yet they continually push parents away from their classroom. My mother volunteered throughout my time in school and yet she was rarely volunteering in the classroom or directly helping a teacher. We can’t have it both ways. We can’t complain about the lack of parents at the school but then turn around and shoo them away at the door.
What do you do about parents who don’t seem to have an interest in their child’s education?
Key Idea: Every child is different and deserves to be treated as an individual. Littky made a good argument about visiting a doctor. Every child has different needs and interests and should not be forced to learn something they don’t really have an interest in, they will only forget it as quickly as possible. Do I remember anything about Biology or Statistics?
"if your true focus is teaching and learning, then everything you do- from setting up the rules of the school, to training principals, to working with parents- is "developing the curriculum." p. 78
ReplyDeleteI think that we so often get bogged down in the content of a curriculum that we forget the other factors at play, and that our ultimate goal is for our kids to LEARN! Every aspect of a school comes into play when we talk about students' learning.
How often does the MET face "discipline" issues?
A key idea for me from this chapter came from Littky's discussion of self- discipline. I know that I developed the "just- enough" method of discipline to manage to get everything finished in high school, but it was from competition that I felt the need to work harder than my peers. (I looked ahead a little bit...) I also appreciated his call for individualized teacher training and reinforcement.
Quote(s):
ReplyDelete“I believe it’s got to be about doing what’s right for to help the kid and the community. When a kid gets in the way of others’ learning and hurts the community in some way, we have to intervene with the same goal we have in doing anything else in the school. The goal of an educator is to keep kids learning, and growing, and so you do whatever you can to help the kid, and all the kids, continue to learn and grow. …. If you start with these thoughts in mind, and approach problems with learning as the goal, not discipline and punishment, then you are helping to create a personalized school where “one kid at a time” is possible. “ (p. 86)
This passage stood out for me because of the message it presents. It reminds me of the book, Of Love and Logic that we read for Ed 531. This illustration is a step further then allowing students to think about their actions on their own. Littky pushes that when educators treat ‘discipline’ this way, then it is not discipline, but learning an growth. I think teachers and students need to struggle through this in school, and the profession. Then both parties will grow and learn. This approach is challenging, and those willing will embrace the challenge. I think part of the problem is a lot of educators; administrators and teachers are not willing to take this step, because it is difficult, and requires more energy, and thought.
Question(s):
How do you think an administrator could train or enforce your idea of allowing students to learn and grow when they interrupt others in their learning with staff and faculty members?
Key Idea(s):
One key idea that was important from this chapter is that we need to consider our students needs. As educators, our classrooms should not belong to us, but to our students as well. It is crucial that we get to know our students, so they know we care, and think they matter. It is crucial to help them find ways for them to grow and learn; not just in education of knowledge and subjects, but also in the education of their actions, themselves and working with others. It is not our job to solve their mistakes, but to help them with a consequence to get through their mistakes. So they will learn from them, and grow from the experience.
QUOTE:
ReplyDelete“To this end, the school, must work hard at creating an environment that respects the individual but at the same time expects him or her to be a part of the community and respectful of it, too.” (pg. 77)
I believe that being a part of the community is a concept that is not really in public high schools right now. Most public schools do not have much involvement with the community, at least the bigger schools. The high school I went to never encouraged it’s students to become a part of the community and never really encouraged the community to become a part of the school. Community and the school were two separate entities that chose not to have anything to do with each other. I have talked with some of my friends and they have told me that their community was greatly involved in their high school. I feel that every high school should try to involve the community as much as possible. It gives the students a sense of belonging and possibly even a sense that there are other people besides their teachers and parents that have faith in them and believe that they can succeed.
QUESTION:
Can truly personalized schools exist in larger public schools or are they only possible in small schools? Are there certain elements that can be applied to larger schools to make them more personalized?
KEY IDEA:
A key idea that I picked up on in this chapter is that the curriculum is up to the teachers, parents, and students. They decide what they learn and how they learn it. No one knows how well a student learns or how they learn or what they want to learn better than the parents and the students themselves. The teachers are there to help channel all of this information into the curriculum that the student will follow. This idea made me think of possible ways to incorporate a little freedom for my students in their learning.
Quote: "The goal of an educator is to keep kids learning and growing" pg 86. Enough said.
ReplyDelete(but I will keep saying)... EVERYTHING should be a learning experience. My father once told me "A day without learning is a day wasted." He explained that it didn't matter what the learning was, as long as it improved you as a person. I think we need to be more understanding on our part- make sure we do not lose our "cool." On the other hand, if we show students that we are also human, then I would imagine that they would be a bit more humane to us as well- that is, we make mistakes too, and should own up to them just as much as we expect them to own up to theirs.
Question: what do you think about corporal punishment? I know it really doesn't apply in this age set, but I think it is an important question nonetheless.
The main point of this chapter is summed up on page 82- "there is no one body of content that is right for every kid." That is, the author is emphasizing a divergence from curriculum to a needs based or interest based (for lack of a better word) "curriculum." If the student is very interested in world War II, let them study that and bring out as much information in any creative way possible, including finding veterans museums and the like. The other main point is that discipline should not be discipline- we are not training robots or "Vulcans"- but people who need to understand that while there are infinite amounts of freedoms there are also infinite amounts of consequences (both good and bad). Self-discipline is what needs to be emphasized.
QUOTE: “It’s not about the punishment a kid gets, but the effect that punishment has and the learning that happens as a result.” Page 88
ReplyDeleteThis is something that has I feel has been completely lost in schools. There are so many “zero-tolerance” policies in schools now that kids are getting suspended or expelled for holes in the knees of jeans! Seriously, I know from experience that the only thing that accomplishes is to piss off the students and the families. We shouldn’t be looking at discipline as punishment or justice. It only does more harm; perpetuates the situation. Until now, I hadn’t even considered the true definition of the word discipline. I had always used it synonymously with punishment!
QUESTION: In order for this type of discipline to work, there has to be a certain culture in place already. What did you and your staff actively DO when the school first started to create this culture?
KEY IDEA: The key idea in this chapter is obviously “one student at a time.” It’s like custom making clothes. There are no prescribed ways of dealing with kids because every kid is different and has different needs. Many people say this is impossible to do on a large scale, as in it would be impossible for traditional schools to operate this way. And they are right. It would be absolutely impossible to teach “one student at a time” in a school where there are upwards of a thousand students. My feeling is this: smaller schools. If that means more schools then so be it. Instead of building BIGGER schools for MORE students and ABANDONING the older schools, why aren’t we just building more schools and continuing to use the ones we already had!
QUOTE: "Too many of our kids are falling through the cracks getting lost without anyone even noticing they're missing."
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the statement. Too often we see students lose interest in school and drop out because no one put out the effort to make a difference in that child's life. It is important for teachers to make sure that they don't let any of their students fall through the cracks by making them all feel important and teaching them through their likes and interests.
Question: What can big high schools do to make sure no student falls though the cracks?
KEY IDEA: I think a key idea from this section is that every student is an individual. Being an individual means you are different from everyone else, and therefore can not be reached in the same way. It means that a school can't be looked at as a mass of students, it has to be considered a group of individuals who have different needs, interests, and learning styles.
Key Idea: I believe that the key idea of this section was part about the school being personalized to the students. It states that a truely personalized school is ultimately flexible: student, groupings, schedules, curriculum, activities, and assessment tools are all created to be appropriate to the students and the situations at hand. In a personalized school, the teachers' primary concern is educating their students, not getting through a certain body of subject matter.
ReplyDeleteI remember this from personal experience in high school. The teachers would always be stressed and think that they had to rush because they saw how many more chapters of the text book they still had to get through. A more personalized feel for the class would have been nice to where the teacher showed an interest in what we wanted to study instead of what chapter was coming up next.
Quote: "Schools that are serious about fulfilling every student's promise must develop structures and relationships that nurture the strengths and energies of each student. Truly personalized learning requires reorganizing schools to start with the student, not the subjects or classes" (75).
It amazed me to read that kids were getting letters home about failing classes at schools that they are not enrolled in. This must also mean that there are classes that they must be passing at these schools they are not at. This shows that the child is not really important to the school but that all they care about are test scores and attendance. There needs to be a refocus towards the student and away from the subject.
Q: How can you convince teachers to focus more on the students and less on the content when the state is threatening their jobs if their classes test scores are too low?
Quote:
ReplyDelete"One size never fits all. One size fits one."
(p. 74)
I found some humor and reality in this quote! I hate one size fits all hats, shirts, etc. because they never fit like they are supposed too! Now I see the correlation with the curriculum. We all learn different and have different interests so of course one curriculum is not going to fit all of our students!
Question:
The idea of the individual based curriculum is a concept I am thoroughly enjoying the more I think about it, but I fear that with so much freedom I would not be adequately prepared as a teacher. What protocol do teachers take if a students chooses a career path that the teacher is not familiar with?
Key Ideas:
Schools that are serious about fulfilling every student's promise must develop structures and relationships that nurture the strengths and energies of each student.
A good way to promote positive learning is to begin by focusing on what the student is good at. I really like this concept because it reinforces the self-concept of the student. Students who have a positive outlook on their learning will be more productive.
A student's misbehavior has to be viewed not as a behavior that needs to be punished, but rather as a behavior that needs to be changed.
Once again, this focuses on the positive rather than the negative. Teachers need to consider all aspects of what is causing the misbehavior. It might be something minor that can be changed. Teachers will earn the respect of their students if they work with them instead of against them.