I am doing my community inquiry project with Mark Perry and Jin Lee. Our topic question is:
Can social justice math be an effective teaching method in urban school districts?
Some of our subtopics include:
1. Using actual data or statistics, what can educators infer from sjm's implementation in the classroom?
2. Is sjm an effective form of teaching?
3. To gauge its effectiveness:
Does it raise student motivation and achievement?
What data illustrates/refutes this claim?
Which school districts employ sjm in the classroom?
4. Why do some districts choose not to employ sjm?
5. How do teachers feel toward using sjm in the classroom?
6. Can it help students deal with standardized testing?
Some of our qualitative date include interviews with professors and school teachers:
Eliza Leszczynski
Brian Miller
Rick Mcnamee (tentatively)
Teachers at Harvey Milk HS (East Village), New York City Algebra Project (Brooklyn), Acorn High School for Social Justice (Brooklyn), Bushwick School for Social Justice (Brooklyn)
Additionally, we will survey students through Brian Miller, Rick Mcnamee, Harvey Milk HS (tentatively), New York City Algebra Project.
QUESTIONS (for students):
1. What does the term "social justice math" mean to you?
2. Do you feel that math should incorporate social,political and economic issues into its instruction, such as with a social justice math curriculum? Why/why not?
3. Is it important for students to have an understanding of social, political and economic issues locally and around the world?
4. Should developing a "social consciousness" be an important part of your educational experiences?
4. Can math empower students to analyze and potentially change the world?
5. Do you think higher-level thinking about the larger mathematical ideas is important? Why/why not?
6. Could incorporating social justice math motivate more students to learn math?
7. Do you think math would be more engaging if it was "real world" rather than "theory"?
8. If you were given the opportunity, would you choose to participate in actual community problem-solving projects?
QUESTIONS (for teachers):
1. Do you currently use social justice math in your classes?
2. How would you summarize its basic purpose?
3. What do you feel are the positive outcomes of using sjm in a classroom?
4. What do you feel are the negative aspects to using sjm in a classroom?
5. Can you describe your personal experiences using sjm in the classroom?
6. Can you give examples of lessons you have brought to the classroom incorporating sjm?
7. Rate the following on a scale of 1 (least likely) to 5 (most likely):
- Sjm can help me differentiate the curriculum more easily.
- Sjm can help me create interdisciplinary and thematic units.
- Smj can help me learn about my students' families and their communities.
- Sjm can help me assess learning within a meaningful context.
Some of our qualitative research includes:
The real World as We Have Seen It: Latino/a Parents' Voices on Teaching Mathematics for Social Justice
a qualitative study of Latino/a parents who supported social justic math in their children's 7th grade classroom in the Chicago public schools
http://www.radicalmath/
a chart of possible topics for sjm classroom use; how to implement sjm into the
classroom; advantages and disadvantages to using sjm in the classroom
Integrating social justice with mathematics and science: an analysis of student
teacher lessons
Barbara Garii, Audrey C. Rule
a qualitative analysis of how student teachers incorporate social justice into math and science classes
Some of our quantitative data includes:
Infusing Mathematics with Culture: Teaching Technical Subjects for Social Justice
Dale Winter
a quantitative study that provides statistical data demonstrating that social and cultural learning can be infused into technical courses without negatively affecting content area learning
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Annotated Bibliography
D’Ambrosio. (2007). Peace, Social Justice, and Ethnomathematics. The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast, Monograph 1(2007), 25-34.
The authors believe in two universal ideas: that survival with dignity is the most universal problem facing mankind, and that mathematics is the most universal mode of thought. As mathematicians and math educators explore connections between these two ideas, they must pursue a civilization that values equality for all and pathways to world peace. The program Ethnomathematics is a set of tools for such a pursuit, incorporating literacy, the capacity to process information, including our modern literacies; matheracy, the capacity to infer, propose hypotheses and draw conclusions from data and to reflect about man and society; and technoracy, the critical familiarity with technology, particularly regarding the ethics and values related to technological progress. This program demystifies math, gives access to all, and demonstrates the intellectual achievement of civilizations, cultures and peoples around the world.
This article takes a very global position, viewing the connection between sociocultural issues and mathematics as a path to equality and world peace.
Garii, B., & Rule, A. (2009, April). Integrating social justice with mathematics and science: An analysis of student teacher lessons. Teaching & Teacher Education, 25(3), 490-499.
Today’s teachers are likely to teach students with different backgrounds than themselves. While most teachers are trained to foster a sense of community in their classrooms, they have little exposure to the pedagogy of social justice. Social justice is considered difficult to incorporate into math and science, and is mostly embraced by humanities teachers. This study is a qualitative analysis of the mathematics and science lessons of primary and secondary student teachers. The author concluded that preservice teachers need more knowledge of content areas, training in the integration of social justice into academic planning, and opportunities in the classroom to incorporate social justice.
It’s a great idea to look at social justice math from a starting point such as the preservice teacher’s experiences. I liked that the author emphasized the difficulty in bringing social justice into math and science classes. It takes knowledge and planning. It can’t just be applied like a band aid to a curriculum.
Sriraman, B. (2007). On the Origins of Social Justice: Darwin, Freire, Marx and Vivekananda. The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast, Monograph 1(2007), 1-6.
The author ponders the question of why we need social justice by examining the philosophies of Charles Darwin, Paolo Freire, Karl Marx and Vedanta. A strictly Darwinian explanation is that inequity is a natural mechanism in our society, and that it is natural that certain groups will perish because they cannot cope with changes in the environment. Freire believed the key to liberation is through political movements and political struggle. Karl Marx’s writings addressed issues such as exploitation of workers within a capitalistic economic system. Hindu philosopher Vivekananda belonged to a branch of Hindu philosophy called Vedana, which believes no individual could be free unless all are free.
This article was an interesting summary of the evolution of social justice philosophy. I’m not sure how useful this article is to me, but I’m fascinated by Freire, who believed pedagogies that pose problems are crucial if the goal of education is to challenge inequality.
Gutstein, E. (2006, July). The Real World As We Have Seen It: Latino/a Parents' Voices On Teaching Mathematics For Social Justice. Mathematical Thinking & Learning, 8(3), 331-358.
The author examines Latino parents’ views toward a social justice mathematics curriculum in their children’s 7th grade Chicago public school classroom. Two sets of overlapping pedagogical goals when teaching mathematics are: social justice goals such as developing sociopolitical consciousness and a sense of social agency; and mathematics goals, which include developing mathematical power to read and write the world. Recurring themes in parent interviews are: oppression and resistance are related and a part of life; and mathematics is a central part of life, utilitarian and critical views. The author emphasized that more parent-teacher collaboration is needed in the development of any social justice curriculum.
I think this article will be useful to me because it directly addresses an urban classroom’s experiences with a social justice math curriculum. I liked that the parents supported social justice math because they knew from their own experiences facing oppression and that education prepares children to face and fight social injustice.
Winter, D. (2007, Fall 2007). Infusing mathematics with culture: Teaching technical subjects for social justice. New Directions for Teaching & Learning, 97-106.
Although math tools of logic, reasoning and quantitative analysis make it possible to make sound judgments in everyday situations, social and cultural issues have not generally tackled in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). However, over the past 20 years the pedagogies of introductory math courses have begun to change, incorporating the use of math techniques to solve problems in the world outside the classroom. The author created a model of instruction based on the principles of Marilyn Frankenstein, who pioneered the use of math education through the study of sociocultural phenomena. The model intertwines technical learning characteristics of STEM disciplines with experiences and information to help students understand problems facing other peoples and cultures.
Some criticisms of social justice math are the trivialization of social content by merely attaching the issue to a math lesson in a superficial manner; the interaction with too much controversial material in the classroom; and an increased amount of class time devoted to cultural and social issues less time devoted to mathematical tasks. The author’s classroom experiment revealed that technical courses can indeed be infused with social and cultural learning without sacrificing STEM learning. Results showed significant gains in cognitive learning. Additionally, more female students and students of minority groups participated in the experiment, possibly because the model made the math class more appealing or more accessible to those who would have otherwise stayed away from such a class or failed it.
Not being a “math person,” I operate on a fairly basic mathematical level. So I was naturally unsure of how math and social problems would connect. After reading about Winter’s model, I could actually visualize how social justice math could be incorporated into the curriculum. This model is clear cut, almost an instruction manual for how to put social justice into play in a math class.
The authors believe in two universal ideas: that survival with dignity is the most universal problem facing mankind, and that mathematics is the most universal mode of thought. As mathematicians and math educators explore connections between these two ideas, they must pursue a civilization that values equality for all and pathways to world peace. The program Ethnomathematics is a set of tools for such a pursuit, incorporating literacy, the capacity to process information, including our modern literacies; matheracy, the capacity to infer, propose hypotheses and draw conclusions from data and to reflect about man and society; and technoracy, the critical familiarity with technology, particularly regarding the ethics and values related to technological progress. This program demystifies math, gives access to all, and demonstrates the intellectual achievement of civilizations, cultures and peoples around the world.
This article takes a very global position, viewing the connection between sociocultural issues and mathematics as a path to equality and world peace.
Garii, B., & Rule, A. (2009, April). Integrating social justice with mathematics and science: An analysis of student teacher lessons. Teaching & Teacher Education, 25(3), 490-499.
Today’s teachers are likely to teach students with different backgrounds than themselves. While most teachers are trained to foster a sense of community in their classrooms, they have little exposure to the pedagogy of social justice. Social justice is considered difficult to incorporate into math and science, and is mostly embraced by humanities teachers. This study is a qualitative analysis of the mathematics and science lessons of primary and secondary student teachers. The author concluded that preservice teachers need more knowledge of content areas, training in the integration of social justice into academic planning, and opportunities in the classroom to incorporate social justice.
It’s a great idea to look at social justice math from a starting point such as the preservice teacher’s experiences. I liked that the author emphasized the difficulty in bringing social justice into math and science classes. It takes knowledge and planning. It can’t just be applied like a band aid to a curriculum.
Sriraman, B. (2007). On the Origins of Social Justice: Darwin, Freire, Marx and Vivekananda. The Montana Mathematics Enthusiast, Monograph 1(2007), 1-6.
The author ponders the question of why we need social justice by examining the philosophies of Charles Darwin, Paolo Freire, Karl Marx and Vedanta. A strictly Darwinian explanation is that inequity is a natural mechanism in our society, and that it is natural that certain groups will perish because they cannot cope with changes in the environment. Freire believed the key to liberation is through political movements and political struggle. Karl Marx’s writings addressed issues such as exploitation of workers within a capitalistic economic system. Hindu philosopher Vivekananda belonged to a branch of Hindu philosophy called Vedana, which believes no individual could be free unless all are free.
This article was an interesting summary of the evolution of social justice philosophy. I’m not sure how useful this article is to me, but I’m fascinated by Freire, who believed pedagogies that pose problems are crucial if the goal of education is to challenge inequality.
Gutstein, E. (2006, July). The Real World As We Have Seen It: Latino/a Parents' Voices On Teaching Mathematics For Social Justice. Mathematical Thinking & Learning, 8(3), 331-358.
The author examines Latino parents’ views toward a social justice mathematics curriculum in their children’s 7th grade Chicago public school classroom. Two sets of overlapping pedagogical goals when teaching mathematics are: social justice goals such as developing sociopolitical consciousness and a sense of social agency; and mathematics goals, which include developing mathematical power to read and write the world. Recurring themes in parent interviews are: oppression and resistance are related and a part of life; and mathematics is a central part of life, utilitarian and critical views. The author emphasized that more parent-teacher collaboration is needed in the development of any social justice curriculum.
I think this article will be useful to me because it directly addresses an urban classroom’s experiences with a social justice math curriculum. I liked that the parents supported social justice math because they knew from their own experiences facing oppression and that education prepares children to face and fight social injustice.
Winter, D. (2007, Fall 2007). Infusing mathematics with culture: Teaching technical subjects for social justice. New Directions for Teaching & Learning, 97-106.
Although math tools of logic, reasoning and quantitative analysis make it possible to make sound judgments in everyday situations, social and cultural issues have not generally tackled in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). However, over the past 20 years the pedagogies of introductory math courses have begun to change, incorporating the use of math techniques to solve problems in the world outside the classroom. The author created a model of instruction based on the principles of Marilyn Frankenstein, who pioneered the use of math education through the study of sociocultural phenomena. The model intertwines technical learning characteristics of STEM disciplines with experiences and information to help students understand problems facing other peoples and cultures.
Some criticisms of social justice math are the trivialization of social content by merely attaching the issue to a math lesson in a superficial manner; the interaction with too much controversial material in the classroom; and an increased amount of class time devoted to cultural and social issues less time devoted to mathematical tasks. The author’s classroom experiment revealed that technical courses can indeed be infused with social and cultural learning without sacrificing STEM learning. Results showed significant gains in cognitive learning. Additionally, more female students and students of minority groups participated in the experiment, possibly because the model made the math class more appealing or more accessible to those who would have otherwise stayed away from such a class or failed it.
Not being a “math person,” I operate on a fairly basic mathematical level. So I was naturally unsure of how math and social problems would connect. After reading about Winter’s model, I could actually visualize how social justice math could be incorporated into the curriculum. This model is clear cut, almost an instruction manual for how to put social justice into play in a math class.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Culture of Self
To me, culture is everything I am, everything I think and everything I feel. It is physical, psychological and emotional. It’s like the old argument of “Nature vs. Nurture” – which has the greatest influence on who we are? The physical element of your culture is like the DNA, the genetic makeup of who you are. I am Caucasian, and a combination of Greek and Turkish Jews on my mother’s side, and Polish and Russian Jews on my father’s side. I am also female and heterosexual. The psychological and emotional elements are my primary discourse, my first “language,” my home culture. I was raised in baby-boomer suburbia in a close-knit two-parent household with two loving parents and two brothers. As children of immigrant parents, my own parents pushed education. College was mandatory, not optional. Religion was more culturally present than formally observed. All of these factors continuously shape my culture and mold me into who I am. It is the eternal tug-of-war.
Who I am naturally shapes how I view the world. Even if I attempt to be objective or nonjudgmental about certain issues or events, which I do, I am always viewing the world through the lens of my culture. It’s not possible to view and interpret outside of your frame of reference. Now, I believe you can train yourself, educate yourself and change yourself, to be different than how you are ingrained by your culture, but I really think your first glimpse, your first impressions and thoughts on everything, are shaped by your culture.
In my culture, what I was born into and how I was brought up, esteem-building was huge. A strong sense of self was a priority in my parents’ handbook for how to bring up baby. The environment in which I grew up molded my sense of self. My brothers and I were raised as individuals who shared a strong cultural connection to religion and “the old country.” My parents had one foot in the old world and one foot in the new, kind of like part Flintstone and part Jetson. They imparted an old-world sense of pride in family, family name and background. My grandmother on my mother’s side lived with us, and we loved and revered her. She was a model hard-working immigrant who came to the new world to build a better life for herself and her family. It was a great example to me of how you need to love, respect and sometimes take care of your parents. That’s the stage I’m at now, helping to take care of my mother.
But on the other hand, my parents were very modern. They were extremely liberal, very involved in local politics, especially my father. For their generation, and the times, they were lefty. My father was a true “women’s libber” who believed in equality for all. I love thinking back to when he cast his vote for Shirley Chisholm in the 1972 presidential primary. As I was going to cast my first vote that November, this was a monumental moment. My father told me, and showed me, that you vote for the person, regardless of race, gender, religion... From this lesson, I took away the idea that nothing is impossible, that the world is filled with promise and I can do anything I set my mind to, as long as I am willing to work for it. I am strong because of the culture of my home.
Because of the emphasis on education in my household, and a sort of drive that was apparently hardwired into my family tree, I grew up believing in the importance of being a lifelong learner. My grandmother came to the new world as a teenager, and went from her factory job to night school, where she learned English and prepped for the citizenship test (which she passed). She was so proud of her accomplishments in this country, and always tried to learn more. At the kitchen table, I had to share my math and spelling lessons with her so that she could learn through me. My mother is a college graduate who flew through the school system and graduated high school at 16, college at 19. My father chose not to go to college, but was very intent, even more so than my mother, on putting his kids through college.
As a teacher I believe we are shaped by our culture but not limited by it. Culture is our lens into the world. I think it’s vital to learn about and honor my students’ individual and unique backgrounds and cultures. There is so much we can learn from each other in the classroom. By making those connections with my students, and letting them see that I have true interest in and respect for their cultural perspectives on the world, I continue to learn and grow. I let them into my world, and am honored to be given a glimpse, if not a long look, into their world. To me, teaching is not only about being an imparter of information. It’s so much more than that. It’s about community-building. I try to build a learning community in which all are welcome and share in the learning process. I am both a teacher and student in my classroom. It’s the only way.
Who I am naturally shapes how I view the world. Even if I attempt to be objective or nonjudgmental about certain issues or events, which I do, I am always viewing the world through the lens of my culture. It’s not possible to view and interpret outside of your frame of reference. Now, I believe you can train yourself, educate yourself and change yourself, to be different than how you are ingrained by your culture, but I really think your first glimpse, your first impressions and thoughts on everything, are shaped by your culture.
In my culture, what I was born into and how I was brought up, esteem-building was huge. A strong sense of self was a priority in my parents’ handbook for how to bring up baby. The environment in which I grew up molded my sense of self. My brothers and I were raised as individuals who shared a strong cultural connection to religion and “the old country.” My parents had one foot in the old world and one foot in the new, kind of like part Flintstone and part Jetson. They imparted an old-world sense of pride in family, family name and background. My grandmother on my mother’s side lived with us, and we loved and revered her. She was a model hard-working immigrant who came to the new world to build a better life for herself and her family. It was a great example to me of how you need to love, respect and sometimes take care of your parents. That’s the stage I’m at now, helping to take care of my mother.
But on the other hand, my parents were very modern. They were extremely liberal, very involved in local politics, especially my father. For their generation, and the times, they were lefty. My father was a true “women’s libber” who believed in equality for all. I love thinking back to when he cast his vote for Shirley Chisholm in the 1972 presidential primary. As I was going to cast my first vote that November, this was a monumental moment. My father told me, and showed me, that you vote for the person, regardless of race, gender, religion... From this lesson, I took away the idea that nothing is impossible, that the world is filled with promise and I can do anything I set my mind to, as long as I am willing to work for it. I am strong because of the culture of my home.
Because of the emphasis on education in my household, and a sort of drive that was apparently hardwired into my family tree, I grew up believing in the importance of being a lifelong learner. My grandmother came to the new world as a teenager, and went from her factory job to night school, where she learned English and prepped for the citizenship test (which she passed). She was so proud of her accomplishments in this country, and always tried to learn more. At the kitchen table, I had to share my math and spelling lessons with her so that she could learn through me. My mother is a college graduate who flew through the school system and graduated high school at 16, college at 19. My father chose not to go to college, but was very intent, even more so than my mother, on putting his kids through college.
As a teacher I believe we are shaped by our culture but not limited by it. Culture is our lens into the world. I think it’s vital to learn about and honor my students’ individual and unique backgrounds and cultures. There is so much we can learn from each other in the classroom. By making those connections with my students, and letting them see that I have true interest in and respect for their cultural perspectives on the world, I continue to learn and grow. I let them into my world, and am honored to be given a glimpse, if not a long look, into their world. To me, teaching is not only about being an imparter of information. It’s so much more than that. It’s about community-building. I try to build a learning community in which all are welcome and share in the learning process. I am both a teacher and student in my classroom. It’s the only way.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
A Topic I'd Like to Explore: Social Justice Math
As a special education teacher in a math inclusion classroom, I have often wondered about the thought process (in the minds of teachers) that goes into the design of hands-on projects for students. I do like the idea of incorporating project-based learning into the curriculum. Many students work best with activities beyond paper and pencil. With hands-on projects, they get the opportunity to use their other “intelligences,” such as tactile, kinesthetic and intrapersonal. Students also can see “real-life” applications of their classroom lessons. My problem, however, is that often the project itself is rather shallow and meaningless.
Now, I am all for fun projects that engage my students. For example, in math, let’s create a cookbook using what we’ve learned about ratios to convert recipes to the serving sizes we need. Let’s create a “Sim” life in which we use basic math operations as well as higher-level thinking skills to balance a checkbook, pay our bills and negotiate shortages in our monthly budgets and brainstorm temporary and long-term solutions to those shortfalls. Let’s interpret distance and scale on a map to plan a virtual trip. These are all clever ways to encourage full engagement of students.
But why can’t math be used to interpret the world? Why can’t it change the world or the least the way we view it? Aren’t we taught that change is good?
Buzz words of the past – “crossing the curriculum” come to my mind at this point. When we cross the curriculum, we are attempting to bring in a variety of curriculum areas for thematic learning. I will never forget the HORRIBLE attempt at crossing the curriculum I witnessed at a middle school several years ago. A grade-level team of teachers created a series of projects centered on the Holocaust. They attempted to have students apply their knowledge of graphing to Holocaust statistics. Students were given the task of creating a variety of graphs using statistical information such as deaths per camp, methods of death, and other information. These young middle-schoolers created happy little bar graphs, pie charts and, worst of all, pictograms with this grim information. The charts were plastered on the hallway walls as a fine presentation of thematic learning. Only after a teacher brought it to the team leader’s attention did anyone consider the insensitive way this information was used, to say nothing of the complete lack of critical thinking skills that went into the completion of this project.
But that is a bad example. What are good examples of using math to interpret the world and affect positive change?
Here’s a term I’d never heard of until last week, when a fellow student in our class suggested an area to explore for our inquiry project. SOCIAL JUSTICE MATH: the integrating of political, economical and social justice into math classes. It is a “political lens” through which we can teach, learn and apply mathematical concepts.
In exploring social justice math through various websites, several questions come to mind:
-How can math be used to analyze and change the world?
-How can math encourage higher-level thinking skills?
-How can social justice issues be integrated into a math curriculum without sacrificing math content?
-How can math help deepen students’ understanding of social and economic issues, at home and afar?
-How can math empower students to be active citizens in their communities and beyond?
-In what ways can math be used to problem-solve local issues and projects?
-How has math literacy been a gatekeeper to educational and personal success?
-How do race and class issues affect the teaching and learning of math?
I am very interested in how social justice math can be incorporated into urban education to enliven math and empower students to connect to the world. The main goal, in my estimation? Firing up young minds to get out there and make change happen.
Now, I am all for fun projects that engage my students. For example, in math, let’s create a cookbook using what we’ve learned about ratios to convert recipes to the serving sizes we need. Let’s create a “Sim” life in which we use basic math operations as well as higher-level thinking skills to balance a checkbook, pay our bills and negotiate shortages in our monthly budgets and brainstorm temporary and long-term solutions to those shortfalls. Let’s interpret distance and scale on a map to plan a virtual trip. These are all clever ways to encourage full engagement of students.
But why can’t math be used to interpret the world? Why can’t it change the world or the least the way we view it? Aren’t we taught that change is good?
Buzz words of the past – “crossing the curriculum” come to my mind at this point. When we cross the curriculum, we are attempting to bring in a variety of curriculum areas for thematic learning. I will never forget the HORRIBLE attempt at crossing the curriculum I witnessed at a middle school several years ago. A grade-level team of teachers created a series of projects centered on the Holocaust. They attempted to have students apply their knowledge of graphing to Holocaust statistics. Students were given the task of creating a variety of graphs using statistical information such as deaths per camp, methods of death, and other information. These young middle-schoolers created happy little bar graphs, pie charts and, worst of all, pictograms with this grim information. The charts were plastered on the hallway walls as a fine presentation of thematic learning. Only after a teacher brought it to the team leader’s attention did anyone consider the insensitive way this information was used, to say nothing of the complete lack of critical thinking skills that went into the completion of this project.
But that is a bad example. What are good examples of using math to interpret the world and affect positive change?
Here’s a term I’d never heard of until last week, when a fellow student in our class suggested an area to explore for our inquiry project. SOCIAL JUSTICE MATH: the integrating of political, economical and social justice into math classes. It is a “political lens” through which we can teach, learn and apply mathematical concepts.
In exploring social justice math through various websites, several questions come to mind:
-How can math be used to analyze and change the world?
-How can math encourage higher-level thinking skills?
-How can social justice issues be integrated into a math curriculum without sacrificing math content?
-How can math help deepen students’ understanding of social and economic issues, at home and afar?
-How can math empower students to be active citizens in their communities and beyond?
-In what ways can math be used to problem-solve local issues and projects?
-How has math literacy been a gatekeeper to educational and personal success?
-How do race and class issues affect the teaching and learning of math?
I am very interested in how social justice math can be incorporated into urban education to enliven math and empower students to connect to the world. The main goal, in my estimation? Firing up young minds to get out there and make change happen.
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
What No Child Left Behind Means to Me
NCLB is an interesting concept but is poorly designed and orchestrated, and has become a tangled mess of laws, assessment requirements and bumbling classroom implementations. It has actually had the opposite effect of its original intent, to put the most qualified teachers into the classrooms. Apparently the word "qualified" has many meanings and is an easily manipulated term.
Here is what NCLB means to me:
As a special education teacher, I have paperwork (completed by my supervisor and on file with the district and state) that awards me the dubious distinction of "Highly Qualified Teacher" (HQT) in math, science, social studies and english. Now, I have a degree in journalism and a reading specialist certification, among other state teaching licenses. Wouldn't you think I would be best qualified to teach language arts in a special education setting?
NCLB says "not necessarily so."
Of course, I am not teaching language arts. Here's the reason why - brand new teachers, and those teaching a few years, are not generally HQT in all subject areas. This is especially problematic in special education, where we have to teach ALL subjects. Because my coworkers are not HQT in certain subject areas, I am now teaching math and science, both in resource and inclusion settings. I do enjoy these subject areas and feel I am learning and doing a good job, but they are not my preference nor my field of expertise.
That's just one example of a real-life application of NCLB.
I'm generally not a whiner and complainer in my district. I try to fly under the radar most of the time. One of my principals calls me "low maintenance," a compliment of sorts if you consider not causing much trouble a tremendous distinction.
Not to scare pre-service teachers, but just be aware of NCLB and what it could mean for you in the classroom, particularly in K-8 classrooms and in special education settings. Many districts are asking for HQT in subject areas even in the lower elementary classrooms.
Here is what NCLB means to me:
As a special education teacher, I have paperwork (completed by my supervisor and on file with the district and state) that awards me the dubious distinction of "Highly Qualified Teacher" (HQT) in math, science, social studies and english. Now, I have a degree in journalism and a reading specialist certification, among other state teaching licenses. Wouldn't you think I would be best qualified to teach language arts in a special education setting?
NCLB says "not necessarily so."
Of course, I am not teaching language arts. Here's the reason why - brand new teachers, and those teaching a few years, are not generally HQT in all subject areas. This is especially problematic in special education, where we have to teach ALL subjects. Because my coworkers are not HQT in certain subject areas, I am now teaching math and science, both in resource and inclusion settings. I do enjoy these subject areas and feel I am learning and doing a good job, but they are not my preference nor my field of expertise.
That's just one example of a real-life application of NCLB.
I'm generally not a whiner and complainer in my district. I try to fly under the radar most of the time. One of my principals calls me "low maintenance," a compliment of sorts if you consider not causing much trouble a tremendous distinction.
Not to scare pre-service teachers, but just be aware of NCLB and what it could mean for you in the classroom, particularly in K-8 classrooms and in special education settings. Many districts are asking for HQT in subject areas even in the lower elementary classrooms.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Major Influences That Shape Schools
What are the major influences that shape schools, those in urban centers in particular?
I live in a small suburban town with a tiny K-12 school system, from which my son and daughter graduated. I work in a semi-suburban semi-urban K-12 school district, also small.
I think there are many influences that are common to urban, suburban and rural school districts. For example, demographics: where I grew up and where I live, the populations are very homogenous, very little cultural variety. I believe this has a tremendous effect on the shaping of these suburban schools, just as a diverse population has a tremendous effect upon the shaping of urban schools.
Here's my hit list of the biggest influences/shapers of schools:
*Demographics of the community/city
Cultural background, race, educational level, income level...
*Demographics of the teaching staff
Do they reflect the racial/cultural/religious make-up of the schools, or is the staff predominantly white and not reflective of the student population?
*Political ideology of the community/city
Is the party in power conservative, liberal or something in between?
*Reform movements/models (whether successful or unsuccessful)
Reforms put into place in the educational system, whether mandated by the state or voluntary
*Financing
Funding or lack there of; financial support of the schools; federal, state, county, local monies
*Legislation
No Child Left Behind and states' responses
*Media portrayal of schools
Greatly influences the citizens of a community, which in turn influences their votes on key school issues.
I live in a small suburban town with a tiny K-12 school system, from which my son and daughter graduated. I work in a semi-suburban semi-urban K-12 school district, also small.
I think there are many influences that are common to urban, suburban and rural school districts. For example, demographics: where I grew up and where I live, the populations are very homogenous, very little cultural variety. I believe this has a tremendous effect on the shaping of these suburban schools, just as a diverse population has a tremendous effect upon the shaping of urban schools.
Here's my hit list of the biggest influences/shapers of schools:
*Demographics of the community/city
Cultural background, race, educational level, income level...
*Demographics of the teaching staff
Do they reflect the racial/cultural/religious make-up of the schools, or is the staff predominantly white and not reflective of the student population?
*Political ideology of the community/city
Is the party in power conservative, liberal or something in between?
*Reform movements/models (whether successful or unsuccessful)
Reforms put into place in the educational system, whether mandated by the state or voluntary
*Financing
Funding or lack there of; financial support of the schools; federal, state, county, local monies
*Legislation
No Child Left Behind and states' responses
*Media portrayal of schools
Greatly influences the citizens of a community, which in turn influences their votes on key school issues.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
How the Media Portray Schools
Boy, some of these are really going to date me!
FILMS
Urban: TO SIR WITH LOVE
There was nothing better than this movie. It was very big when I was growing up. Sidney Poitier played the reluctant teacher in an inner city school in London (1967). There were so many deep themes in this movie – racial conflict, socioeconomic issues, peer relations, coming of age struggles, sexual issues, to name a few. Also, the whole swinging England, mod, Beatles, Twiggy thing was huge, and the styles/fashions were fun to look at. The best part was Lulu’s song, “To Sir With Love,” which became a top pop tune in the U.S.
Suburban: FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
A little later in my moving viewing career, this film (1982) was THE burn-out suburban teen movie. It was basically the lives of a group of suburban high school students and their forays into sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Sean Penn was hysterical as a druggy surfer. There were some very “deep” themes under the silliness – teen drug use, teen pregnancy, teen angst, and every coming of age issue you can imagine. It really portrayed the generation gap well.
Rural: BYE BYE BIRDIE
Ann-Margret singing and dancing her way through this kooky movie (1963) – she just ate up the screen. Conrad Birdie was an Elvis-type who got drafted into the army. His promoters created a contest in which the winning small town teenage girl would get to plant a big kiss on Conrad on national TV before he left for the service. Naturally Ann-Margret was chosen. I’d say this movie was kind of a cultural icon of small town high school culture as viewed through the eyes of movie producers of the times. The plot was simple and dopey, and was strictly a vehicle for the music and dancing. But it was the best. I loved it.
MUSIC
Urban: THE NEW GIRL IN TOWN (from the musical “Hairspray”)
This musical (2007) is set in gritty urban Baltimore in the early 1960’s. The plot centers around a young girl’s efforts to integrate a popular local television dance show. This song is about some girls who are nervous about keeping their boyfriends away from the hot new girl in school. The girls warn others about this girl, and threaten to run her over with a moving van and punch her lights out after school. It sends the message: Welcome to my school, hands off my man, and this is how we deal with your type in the big city. I guess she’s not in the suburbs anymore.
Suburban: SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER
This is a real oldie (1959). It was the classic end-of-school song. A boy and girl were saying goodbye at the train station because school was out and they were going off on vacations with their families for the summer. What a tragedy! Would a summer love break them apart, or would they reunite back at school in September?
What an innocent time, when these were your biggest problems.
Rural: BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL
This Beach Boys song (1963) was written as an idyllic tune about a jock who’s trying to tell kids not to put down their school. It’s all about the small town school happenings – the pep rallies, the football games, cruising, and other rah-rah-rah stuff. For the times in which it was written, it was very cute, catchy and to the point. A teenager’s whole life was supposed to revolve around his school. What he did in school (played football, dated the head cheerleader) gave him his status in that community. Cliché, yes. It’s an idealistic trip down memory lane.
TELEVISION
Urban: WELCOME BACK, KOTTER
This sitcom was the quintessential city school show (1975-1979). It basically centered around a group of tough underachievers called the Sweathogs lead by head hoodlum John Travolta. I guess nowadays this would have been the resource room. The teacher made good connections to the students, showing that educators can have a great impact upon students if they make the effort. Curriculum was secondary to the personal impact a good teacher could have on students. Aside from that, the show was all about the stereotypes: the tough, poor, bad students; the dumb, ineffective, uncaring principal; the idealistic teacher who wanted to give something back to his alma mater.
Suburban: MY SO-CALLED LIFE
This was a short-lived series (1994-1995) about a teenage girl’s personal journey, set mostly in the high school she attended. Claire Danes played the starring role. The show covered many important issues in a teen’s life – parent conflict, sibling conflict, dealing with a variety of friends and their issues, coming of age as a sexual being. It was well-cast, and characters were not flat stereotypes but very well-developed and believable. Perhaps because of this, it was critically acclaimed but not a winner in the ratings.
Rural: THE FACTS OF LIFE
This series had an incredibly long run (1979-1988). The story line centered around a group of young girls and their trials and tribulations at a boarding school out in the countryside. Within the group of seven girls, there was a spoiled rich brat, a tough hood from the city, an overweight girl, a cute and gossipy African American girl, among others. The point of this show was mostly to portray different girls with their own unique personalities and their struggles to fit in to a new school setting as well as live with each other in close quarters. I think the most difficult thing for the producers of this show was that the actresses were actually growing up and changing from young girls to young adults. This show dealt very lightly with some themes such as obesity, cultural differences, and socioeconomic differences. It seemed like it was more intended to entertain and charm the audience rather than delve into anything too deep.
NEWS
All my news stories related to schools seem to be disasters. They are the stories I can’t get out of my head. Sorry about the doom and gloom.
Urban: THE SETON HALL DORM FIRES
I just read a book about the three most seriously injured students in the Seton Hall fires (2000). It was a huge reminder that although this was nine years ago, these lives were lost or changed forever because of a stupid prank gone wrong. At the time the dorm fire happened, my own children were still in public school. But five years later as my daughter set off for college, I remember having a mild panic attack over the thought that I could not keep her safe. It took a tragedy like this to educate America about school fire safety codes.
Suburban: COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTINGS
The Columbine High School shootings (1999) stand out the most in my mind. It was the school shooting incident in my teaching career, and made me realize how dangerous being in a school facility can be. Being in a suburban school district, this was just not supposed to happen. Students and staff were supposed to be able to come to school and feel safe. This massacre brought to light the “goth” subculture, and the potentially dangerous outcast status many teens experience in school. Another notion that was toyed with by the media was the sheer size of the school. Were enormous regional high schools really a great idea, placing so many students in one building?
Rural: AMISH SCHOOLHOUSE SHOOTINGS
Another school shooting was at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish school in Pennsylvania (2006). I was always struck by the quiet and simple lives of the Amish. They don’t seem to want anything from the modern world, and simply ask to be allowed to live their lives as their beliefs dictate. It always seemed to me that they were a very protected society that was insulated from the evils of society. But when this incident occurred, it seemed all the more shocking that they were not protected at all, but were actually sitting targets, alone, out in the countryside. I thought the Amish people’s message of forgiveness was a beautiful response, but the tearing down of the schoolhouse said it all.
FILMS
Urban: TO SIR WITH LOVE
There was nothing better than this movie. It was very big when I was growing up. Sidney Poitier played the reluctant teacher in an inner city school in London (1967). There were so many deep themes in this movie – racial conflict, socioeconomic issues, peer relations, coming of age struggles, sexual issues, to name a few. Also, the whole swinging England, mod, Beatles, Twiggy thing was huge, and the styles/fashions were fun to look at. The best part was Lulu’s song, “To Sir With Love,” which became a top pop tune in the U.S.
Suburban: FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH
A little later in my moving viewing career, this film (1982) was THE burn-out suburban teen movie. It was basically the lives of a group of suburban high school students and their forays into sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Sean Penn was hysterical as a druggy surfer. There were some very “deep” themes under the silliness – teen drug use, teen pregnancy, teen angst, and every coming of age issue you can imagine. It really portrayed the generation gap well.
Rural: BYE BYE BIRDIE
Ann-Margret singing and dancing her way through this kooky movie (1963) – she just ate up the screen. Conrad Birdie was an Elvis-type who got drafted into the army. His promoters created a contest in which the winning small town teenage girl would get to plant a big kiss on Conrad on national TV before he left for the service. Naturally Ann-Margret was chosen. I’d say this movie was kind of a cultural icon of small town high school culture as viewed through the eyes of movie producers of the times. The plot was simple and dopey, and was strictly a vehicle for the music and dancing. But it was the best. I loved it.
MUSIC
Urban: THE NEW GIRL IN TOWN (from the musical “Hairspray”)
This musical (2007) is set in gritty urban Baltimore in the early 1960’s. The plot centers around a young girl’s efforts to integrate a popular local television dance show. This song is about some girls who are nervous about keeping their boyfriends away from the hot new girl in school. The girls warn others about this girl, and threaten to run her over with a moving van and punch her lights out after school. It sends the message: Welcome to my school, hands off my man, and this is how we deal with your type in the big city. I guess she’s not in the suburbs anymore.
Suburban: SEE YOU IN SEPTEMBER
This is a real oldie (1959). It was the classic end-of-school song. A boy and girl were saying goodbye at the train station because school was out and they were going off on vacations with their families for the summer. What a tragedy! Would a summer love break them apart, or would they reunite back at school in September?
What an innocent time, when these were your biggest problems.
Rural: BE TRUE TO YOUR SCHOOL
This Beach Boys song (1963) was written as an idyllic tune about a jock who’s trying to tell kids not to put down their school. It’s all about the small town school happenings – the pep rallies, the football games, cruising, and other rah-rah-rah stuff. For the times in which it was written, it was very cute, catchy and to the point. A teenager’s whole life was supposed to revolve around his school. What he did in school (played football, dated the head cheerleader) gave him his status in that community. Cliché, yes. It’s an idealistic trip down memory lane.
TELEVISION
Urban: WELCOME BACK, KOTTER
This sitcom was the quintessential city school show (1975-1979). It basically centered around a group of tough underachievers called the Sweathogs lead by head hoodlum John Travolta. I guess nowadays this would have been the resource room. The teacher made good connections to the students, showing that educators can have a great impact upon students if they make the effort. Curriculum was secondary to the personal impact a good teacher could have on students. Aside from that, the show was all about the stereotypes: the tough, poor, bad students; the dumb, ineffective, uncaring principal; the idealistic teacher who wanted to give something back to his alma mater.
Suburban: MY SO-CALLED LIFE
This was a short-lived series (1994-1995) about a teenage girl’s personal journey, set mostly in the high school she attended. Claire Danes played the starring role. The show covered many important issues in a teen’s life – parent conflict, sibling conflict, dealing with a variety of friends and their issues, coming of age as a sexual being. It was well-cast, and characters were not flat stereotypes but very well-developed and believable. Perhaps because of this, it was critically acclaimed but not a winner in the ratings.
Rural: THE FACTS OF LIFE
This series had an incredibly long run (1979-1988). The story line centered around a group of young girls and their trials and tribulations at a boarding school out in the countryside. Within the group of seven girls, there was a spoiled rich brat, a tough hood from the city, an overweight girl, a cute and gossipy African American girl, among others. The point of this show was mostly to portray different girls with their own unique personalities and their struggles to fit in to a new school setting as well as live with each other in close quarters. I think the most difficult thing for the producers of this show was that the actresses were actually growing up and changing from young girls to young adults. This show dealt very lightly with some themes such as obesity, cultural differences, and socioeconomic differences. It seemed like it was more intended to entertain and charm the audience rather than delve into anything too deep.
NEWS
All my news stories related to schools seem to be disasters. They are the stories I can’t get out of my head. Sorry about the doom and gloom.
Urban: THE SETON HALL DORM FIRES
I just read a book about the three most seriously injured students in the Seton Hall fires (2000). It was a huge reminder that although this was nine years ago, these lives were lost or changed forever because of a stupid prank gone wrong. At the time the dorm fire happened, my own children were still in public school. But five years later as my daughter set off for college, I remember having a mild panic attack over the thought that I could not keep her safe. It took a tragedy like this to educate America about school fire safety codes.
Suburban: COLUMBINE HIGH SCHOOL SHOOTINGS
The Columbine High School shootings (1999) stand out the most in my mind. It was the school shooting incident in my teaching career, and made me realize how dangerous being in a school facility can be. Being in a suburban school district, this was just not supposed to happen. Students and staff were supposed to be able to come to school and feel safe. This massacre brought to light the “goth” subculture, and the potentially dangerous outcast status many teens experience in school. Another notion that was toyed with by the media was the sheer size of the school. Were enormous regional high schools really a great idea, placing so many students in one building?
Rural: AMISH SCHOOLHOUSE SHOOTINGS
Another school shooting was at the West Nickel Mines School, an Amish school in Pennsylvania (2006). I was always struck by the quiet and simple lives of the Amish. They don’t seem to want anything from the modern world, and simply ask to be allowed to live their lives as their beliefs dictate. It always seemed to me that they were a very protected society that was insulated from the evils of society. But when this incident occurred, it seemed all the more shocking that they were not protected at all, but were actually sitting targets, alone, out in the countryside. I thought the Amish people’s message of forgiveness was a beautiful response, but the tearing down of the schoolhouse said it all.
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