India....and math?

Reading an Edutopia article about "Online Learning- The Next Great Debate?" it discusses how Brittish kids are working with online tutors in India for math and are doing remarkable.  Also the tutors are affordable and the schedules are flexible for parents.  They are making the Open University sites with these tutors free to anyone no matter where they live which is aiding in a lot of students understanding of math material because there is always someone to ask for help.   Therefore, is this idea of having students take classes or get tutors from India a threat to us as educators?  Soon with all teaching of maerials be available to students that way from other countries and will it be cheaper for the families than the education we provide?  It is definitely something to ponder over.

Class Sizes Growing but What About Funding?

In the past few years there has been a noticable decrease in classroom size.  However, just this year there has been an increase in students, but no funding.  This is trouble some for teachers, because they then have to spend more money out of their own pockets to help make sure all of their students have the materials they need since the school itself does not have the financial capabilties to supply enough materials for each unit.  Teachers see this trend as something to worry about but some principals see it is a good thing and a way in which we may need to innovate the way we teach to accomodate all of these different children and their learning styles...but how?  Are we going to hold regular classes, distance education classes, on-line classes, etc. from school and reach all students that way so that we do not end up with 30-40 students in a class?  That sounds like all well in good, but what about when your community is poor and the technology is not in place to within educational opportunities like that?

Common Core Standards

Every year it seems like curriculum is changing and now with the adaptation of the Common Core Standards it will be changing again.  We just received different genre units for English this year and now looking at how we are supposed to be implementing in the Common Core standards for next year, units will need to be changed again.  The idea behind the whole Common Core I think it good so that our students are just as prepared as others across the globe, but how will we test them and what will be the cut-off for passing?  If we are completely doing away with MEAP tests and the MME in 2014 and replacing with this new test completely computer based, how will our students do?  Right now with MEAP is they receive 50% or better they pass, but with the Common Core everyone involved gets to set the criteria...what if it is too high and our students can't perform to that level...then what?

Prom tickets to pass a test?

Should we really be bringing students to do well on a test?  With all of the up and coming ideas of how teachers will be evaluated based on test scores and that could lead to them having a job or not are we resorting to anything we can to make sure students pass?  In an article from "Curriculum Matters" they talk about motivating 12th graders to pass the NAEP test by giving them prom tickets.  But in all essence some students just don't care when it comes to taking this type of test, so by promising to give them something do you really think that is going to change their attitude?  Also, what are we teaching them by doing this in the first place?  I am not so sure about this idea, anyone with any other thoughts?

Restructuring Teacher Prep

Based on an article from Teacher Prep they discuss how teacher prepration should be restructured.  This idea of redoing how we preapare teachers is not a bad idea because they feel that the school district should become more involved in the students preparation.  This aspect then leads to a clearer view of exactly what does happen in a "real" school setting and how the school district affects a teachers career.  Also, a big push is for universities to really look at what they expect students to learn and be able to do by the time they graduate and are ready to become teachers...are they really being prepared to best of their ability?  Or, should there be some necessary changes to help students truly see the big picture and how everyone is involved?

Using Music in the Classroom

Students love music so why not utilize it within the classroom?  There is so much controversy over whether a song is appropriate or not for students, so you need to be very careful what you play.  Therefore, I do not normally use music very often.  However, this article from Edutopia gives me a different outlook on how to incorporate music by just using instrumental tunes.  By playing this type of music students can picture what is happening in their mind.  Then, based on this picture they can write a creative story from their minds.  This use of music is different but is a great way to help students generate ideas and incorporate something they really enjoy into the lesson, Music!

Current Events and Real-Life Projects

Current Events is a hot topic for most adults, they want to know what is happening daily in the news.  However, middle school students do not seem to be as interested and it is hard to get them to watch the news or listen to the radio to become informed on the issues.  However some teachers have taken such issues as the oil-well explosion and the Chilean mine collapse and created real-world projects for students to complete, even though there is no text to teach the material.  They are taking the headlines and putting their students in the places of these people and coming up with wasys to make it relevant to their lives and how they would handle the situation.  Wouldn't this type of assingment gets students more enganged and demonstrate their knowledge better than normal day-to-day work.  Yes this type of assingment takes a lot more work for the teacher, but it is not because of us we choose this profession, it is for the students and ways we can help them learn.  Next time you are planning an activity think about the students and how you could relate the activity to their lives.

Professional Development

When talking about teacher PD days you normally hear a lot of moans and groans from the educators about having to go.  Most do not see the reason, because they don't tie into what they are going to be evaluated on; therefore, like the students why do you need to learn it then?  However, the article mentioned about how PD has been evolving over the years and how it is much better than in previous years, where the PD days are actually training us to become better teachers now by sharing tips, sites, ideas we can utilize within our classroom.  In my school our PD days are set to give the teachers resources to implement into their classrooms to help students learn in the best way possible.  It is great information for the most part, but a little overwheleming sometimes when they want you to implement everything beging discussed in only a few weeks.  PD is good when it for teh benefit of the students, but when it is just talk and no follow through I become frustrated.

How bad is bullying?

Bullying in schools and the internet is getting so bad that the President of the U.S. needed to address this issue.  He talks about how so many are getting tormented and are feeling so depressed that they are committing suicide.  This is so sad and he is stating how he wants to put an end to this type of harrassment; because he himseld was bullied growing up and he felt the same way that many of our teens do today.  We have all gone through the stage of being bullied or have been the bully, and now looking back on those times I wonder why do people do it?

College Prep is that the Key?

The article from Edutopia titled "School Reform: Focusing on College Prep is Key" talks about how the goal of reforming education needs to start with ending poverty as by doing this we need to push and prepare all students for college.  Not all students are going to be successful in college though.  Do we really want to push these students so hard that they feel they have to go to college but then are overwhelmed and drop out?  No, everyone does not have to go to college, as long as they are prepared for a good job with a promising future after graduation they are good.  There are so many jobs out there that do not include a college education, someone needs to fill those jobs, and if they work hard they will get paid well.  I agree something needs to be done about reforming our education system, but I don't think pushing everyone no matter what towards college is a good idea.

Curriculum...How to Stay Afloat

Many teachers feel that curriculum is difficult to stay on top of.  There is so much that needs to be taught and with the pacing guides most districts have you may already feel behind, like I do, because my students need  a little extra help this year to truly understand the material so we are slowing down a little.  Therefore, I feel like I am sinking.

I do not want my students to feel this way though so that is why I put forth the learning objectives as I can statements so that students know their target each day.  Furthermore, I do a lot of formative assessment too, to make sure students truly understand the material before I move on the the next concept. 

Isn't it more important that students know material well and can articulate what they learned instead of learn a lot of material and not be able to explain any of it?

Supreme Court Weighs Violent Video Game Ban

In reading the Read Write Web article "Supreme Court Weighs Violent Video Game Ban" I am all for the idea.  Many students are playing these violent games and are acting out based on ideas they see on these games.  I do agree that not allowing minors to purchase these games is goo in helping parents monitor their children's games to protect them from harmful matter.  However, why should they be alone in the first place purchasing these types of games...where are their parents at?

Should it be monitored and possibly fined if the ban is not followed like they are trying to do in California or are we infringing on people rights by doing this, even though we are just trying to keep students safe and not give them any of these crazy ideas of violence.