Concluding Post: An Open Letter to My Students

To My Amazing Students: Past, Present, and Future,

            Whether this is hello again or for the first time I want each of you to know that you have, are, or will impact my life in a wonderful way.  With that said, I am writing to you so that you may come to understand the person who cares so much about what she does which is teach, in every sense of the word.  Various parts of this letter will be dedicated to different groups.  To begin I will address those I have taught, then my current students, and finally my future students.  I truly hope after reading this, each of you will know where I am coming from and have an appreciation for decisions I have made regarding your life and others based on being a student of mine.

            It’s astonishing because as a kid you never think that your teacher will always remember you.  At least I never realized that.  I figured each year they got a new class and therefore built new relationships that replaced the old ones.  Little did I know that if my teachers were anything like me, not only did they remember but, they took what they learned from their students with them forever.   This is what you have done for me.  As many of you know this by now, I love to tell stories so in order to give you a grasp about who I am as a teacher and how I came to be this way, that is just what I shall do.  

            There is this magical thing that happens when someone learns something.  Some say it is a light bulb that turns on in your mind.  Well, I always envisioned it as a sense of enlightenment where you now know something you didn’t before.  It makes you feel complete.  The first time I caused someone else to experience this, I knew my calling was to be a teacher and this was at seven years old.  I always had friends come over and play in my basement.  We would play board games, Barbies, and house.  The funny thing about playing house is that my idea was always to have my friend play the student and I play the teacher, so I guess you could say we were playing school.  I would write on a chalkboard I had and make worksheets for my friends to complete.  I am sure they rather have done anything else, but my memory of this resembles all parties enjoying it.  On one occasion of playing house or school, I made a worksheet with addition problems.  The problem was that  my friend was a grade below me and she didn’t know how to add two digit numbers quite yet.  I had learned how to regroup and carry the tens place over that year in school and was eager to show her.  We went over several problems and then it happened.  She got her “aha” moment!  My friend got to that point where she understood what she had learned and was eager to try it on her own.  The feelings of satisfaction I had gotten from teaching her that concept were truly rewarding.  I have always been one to want to help others, but this was different.  This wasn’t simply picking up a pencil, cheering her up, or holding the door for her.  I had taught her something she didn’t know how to do and it felt great.  I will never forget what that felt like and each time I taught you something knew, I want you to know that I felt those same feelings of excitement.  Watching you get your “aha” moment was more of a gift than any picture or special note you could have written, although, those were always wonderful too.  I hope this gives you an idea of who I have always been even before I officially became a teacher.

            To my Spartans, typing that name seems silly but it portrays what we are, which is a team.  There is no other way to describe us.  We have our wins and our losses.  We have pregame pep talks and post game reflections.  We compete against ourselves and other classes.  But we aren’t just a team, but a winning team.  To me our days together are the games and if I had to say what kind of statics our record would show, it would be a winning one.  The reason why I choose the word team is because that what teaching and learning looks like to me.  When we learn new concepts and master those concepts, we are winning.  When we follow directions and exemplify positive attitudes, we are winning.  Even when we reflect on what didn’t go well during the day, we are winning because we are learning what we need to do better for the future.    I view myself as your coach and one who pushes you to come up with the answers on your own which is why when I call on you I don’t let you pass the ball or simply quit.  I coach you and then you come up with it all on your own.  That, to me, is a winning team. 

            Similarly to teams, we have so much to look forward too.  I have gorwn fond of our Reading Challenges.  The looks of excitement on your faces when you passed your goals and we earned a trip to Michigan State University was one of my favorite days and I look forward to that day we will have.  Everyday we are earning something as you have discovered.  This is because I think it si important to always be looking forward to what lies next.  The feeling of knowing we worked for something and get to celebrate it never dies with this format.  Your biweekly drawings are an indication of this for positive behavior.   Don’t forget the fact that we track our wins, ties, and losses as a method for earning a celebration.  I want you to know that in life, no matter the situation, there is always something to look forward to if you allow it.

            When thinking of my future students, it automatically makes me think of the past and present.  If it weren’t for my past and present students, I would not become the person I will be to you later in life.    For some things I will need to change and others may just need simple tweaking.  I have also learned things about myself that have helped me learn my students which will help me with you in the future.  I thrive on positivity and have realized so do my students.  If I am stressed or upset at a situation I need positive outlooks to get me out of that mentality.  Everyone has life experiences that are going to effect how he or she is in the classroom.  I could get in an argument with my significant other, hear terrible news, or just be exhausted and seeing my students thinking positive helps me to not dwell on those things.  I need to take this knowledge of myself and incorporate it with my future students.  I have had students with many obstacles preventing them from achieving their personal best and I should have taken that into consideration and used it as a tool to gear them in positive directions.  I can’t expect a student whom is always alone and just had a major transitional life period and expect them to want to practice math problems.  I can and will however, let my future students feel supported, encouraged, and not alone and aid in supporting them while they practice those math problems.  I am vulnerable as will be my students so I need to allow for positive classroom relationships even when it seems impossible because then learning will occur.  I am a very goal oriented person and the more I reflect on this, the more I believe so are most people.  I will always provide goals for you so that you are always moving forward to your next “aha” moment.  I want you to feel how intelligent you are.  I want you to value what an education can do for you.  I have always and will always have members of the community come to visit and share their life experiences because I want you to know what is out there.  I want you to know and feel that you can truly be whomever you want to me.  As cliché as that sounds, it is the truth and I will show you that.

            Lastly, I want all of you to know, my past, present, and future students, that I have always reflected on my practices with you.  Did I make the right decision, how will this effect him/her, are they truly understanding the concept, how will this impact their future, are all a sample of questions that I have always asked myself and will always continue to do so.  You need to know this because you should also do the same.  Maybe not ask yourself those same questions, but reflect.  It is an important process to better oneself and I think teaching is helping others be better.  Whether it be emotionally, academically, spiritually, or in another way.  Never settle for what is, but strive for what could be.  You are your best advocate, and I am so lucky to be a coach cheering you on always as you venture throughout life.  Until next time.

Yours Truly,

Miss Dennings

Cycle Five: What Constitutes a Successful Curriculum?

Cycle Five: What Constitutes a Successful Curriculum?

            When it comes to thinking of a successful curriculum, many questions arise.  How can this success be measured?  Who is deeming the curriculum as successful?  Who is it supporting?  In reflecting on the question at hand, the readings throughout the semester, watching the news, and the current readings for this cycle, I am not going to attempt to answer all of the questions.  I found three main components I deem as important when answering this cycle’s question however this is my opinion at which you may or may not agree.  Those three components are: Proper organization of schools, support for academics and living environments,  teacher support, and methods of measuring.

            The first mentioned component is having a proper organizational system in place.  The first thing that comes to mind is class size.  I have 27 students and think this is too many.  The Lansing School District has many schools at which contain as many as 28-32 students in a class.  I also think this is too many.  Don’t get me wrong.  I love each of my students and have a very well behaved group of kiddos.  However, could my classroom benefit from a lower teacher to student ratio?  Of course!  Yu cannot expect one person to give adequate time to make sure all students are reaching their full potential when you have so many.  There was a day in November.  I believe it was the day before Thanksgiving.  I had 17 kids that day.  I remember thinking how personal it felt, I was able to help many students, and it just seemed like a more conducive environment.  Another organizational aspect is scheduling.  It is imperative to break apart the day to ensure there is little to no monotony.  You should never have students doing the same subject for more than an hour.  I also think in order to help with focus.  Students should have an hour lunch with options during this time such as athletic, computer, reading, or other areas of interest.  Student should also have two recesses a day.  I am an elementary teacher so my focus is with the little guys.  I think in the hour lunch period, recess should be included.  I also think towards the end of the day another 20 minute recess should be provided.  Students are at school for 7 to7.5 hours a day.  Let’s allow them time to be kids.  I also believe the school schedule should allow for time with a councilor if needed.  One councilor per school is not enough.  Students have many life experiences and most need guidance.    I think one councilor per grade or per two grades would be beneficial.  It also needs to be easy to access the school councilor.  Something that would help allow this could be if he/she pays each class a visit once a week to discuss a topic and at the end of the session students can make an appointment if needed to see him/her privately.  Organization can help produce a supportive curriculum to students and teachers.

            Another component of a successful curriculum is having academic and life support.  Core subjects and values should be taught.  You cannot have one without the other and still be successful.  Academics are important but if you only teach academics you are really focusing on the median group of students and not those from extreme situations.  When it comes to teaching academics, daily objectives should be taught.  In teaching these objectives it should be implemented that the students are aware of these objectives so they must be mentioned during the lesson.  It should also be mentioned how they will learn the objective and how this objective relates to the real world.  We also need to focus on the quality verses quantity aspect of teaching objectives.  I find it quite sad that each year I am told that it is impossible to teach all of the 4^th grade social studies objectives.  Why not eliminate some and spend quality time diving into objectives to the point where students are demonstrating mastery of an objective verses merely breezing through it just to say it was taught.  To go along with the objectives, student work must also be shown in new ways.  Bulletin boards should be achievement boards at which students are active members of. The objectives taught, vocabulary, and student work should be shown.  Students should have multiple forms of work shown that shows their growth in the area being taught.  These are just some ways of providing academic support as well as support for home life.

            My third component can be misconstrued.  Teacher support is a method of producing qualified teachers.  I work at a Charter School where we are given raises based on our abilities, which are assessed, based on weekly observations, parent feedback, and student test scores.  I find this to be a good thing.  I am always trying to put forth my best.  The first reason is for my students, but the second reason is because I will be rewarded for it.  I personally think teachers in public schools should be paid more similarly to charter schools.  I think teachers should be paid on the quality of work they produce just like it is at any other job.  I also think it is the school’s responsibility to ensure that the teachers have all the resources and support possible to do their best.  Training and professional development should be offered via the administrative team and conversations of progress and concern should always be voiced so each teacher knows where they stand and how they can improve.  The teacher’s time should also be valued.  This is a job where you are constantly thinking ahead, on the spot, and having to make thousands of decisions a day.  An hour lunch would help for rejuvenation; planning time should never have meetings so the teacher can accomplish tasks, and staff meetings should be based on teacher need development.  If you take care of the teacher they will take care of the student, which is the reason we are all here.

            The final component of a successful curriculum is measurement.  How do you know it is successful?  Talking about standardized tests could be an entire dissertation in itself.  My take on how to incorporate these are simple.  There needs to be a tangible way to collect data for schools across the nation.  Standardized tests offer that tangible data.  Should this be the only method?  Heavens no.  I believe students need to demonstrate application of what has been taught and standardized tests limits that application.  In real world scenarios, students are not givn a paper and pencil to make decisions.  They apply what they know and generate ideas/concepts.  There needs to be a balance of using the standardized test to get a general idea but also take into account student classroom performance. 

            The last item I want to point out is that successful curriculum should be reflected upon and updated.  What works in 2012 may not work in 2042.  We need to have aim talks and reflection of practices.  This will help reach that goal in  mind which is a successful curriculum.  

Sources

http://www.wickedlocal.com/topsfield/news/x760606811/Tri-Town-School-Committee-picks-new-math-curriculum#axzz1rIiaOg4N

This article is about a school who adopted a new math program. What interested me in this article was the fact that the spokesperson for the new math program advocated that it implements the common core standards at which are being encouraged nationwide.  These standards encourage critical thinking and problem solving.

http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2012/04/05/roy-roberts-reveals-emergency-plan-to-overhaul-detroit-public-schools/

This article hits close to home as it talks about our neighboring city of Detroit.  We all know that inner city Detroit is a sad place and the hardship of this is who is impacted.  The kids.  I was pleased to see how they are restructuring their schools by passing the administrative levels to the schools.  With a big district as DPS it is imperative they do not treat all schools the same way.  

http://www.quickanded.com/2012/04/expanding-learning-time-and-doing-it-well.html

The issue of extending learning time was the topic of this blog.  This would be another organizational piece to the success of curriculum.  I believe this would depend on the district.  My school is implementing what is called a balanced calendar.  The same amount of school days in a year, the same 7 hour time frame each day, but school starts three weeks earlier and therefore 3 supplemental weeks are distributed.  This will close the gap of summer erosion and offer breaks during those long months during the year which will hopefully help student learning.

http://www.kipp.org/

One of our articles discussed a similar school system  which reminded me of the KIPP program ( I believe they were briefly mentioned as well).  As a school, we saw Waiting for Superman and I was impacted by KIPP.  As a charter school teacher for a different company it was interesting to see similarities between us and KIPP.  I am not on thwe charter school bandwagon if you will.  The more I continue my research and reflect, I believe a balance between public schools and charter schools would be the Utopian experience.

http://www.nhaschools.com/Pages/default.aspx

In my reflections I often mention what I know based on my experiences.  I only have experience in charter schools as I am finishing my third year.  Someday i hope to get experience in a public school before venturing off into the world of school restructuring and shaking things up a bit to help our future.  To give you more information about my company and the ideas that have been mentioned in my reflections, I feel this website will be of help to get a view of my background thus far.

Cycle Four: How Should Curriculum Be Generated?

Cycle Four: How Should Curriculum Be Generated?

            Generating, creating, and revising curriculum can be a daunting task.  There are many factors to consider such as what backgrounds are associated with your students, the level of understanding the teachers have of the objectives, and the many decisions associated with the organization of the curriculum.  It is a necessary evil, as without a quality curriculum, the students will surely fall behind.

            I must begin by saying that underlying agendas should not be part of developing a curriculum.  It should never be about the agenda of the adults, but about the students themselves.  Private agendas such as the recent topic in Texas dealing with religious viewpoints should be saved for church and home environments, not public schools.  When I say this I am not stating that religion should not be taught.  I believe public schools should teach all religion and in an appropriate manner.  This would entail not leaving certain information out or only focusing on certain people in history.  One of my favorite high school classes was Global Studies because we learned about religions I had never heard before and what their practices were.  I went from only knowing one way of life, to understanding and discovering what else is out there and could embrace the diversity of religion.

            To restate the question at hand, we are studying how curriculum should be generated.  I believe it is important to take into consideration your students, their home lives, backgrounds, and interests.  Surveys should be sent to families and teachers should survey their students at the beginning of each year.  Yes there are core objectives to be taught, but you can teach an objective in many ways.  One example is how I taught mean, median, mode, and range this week.  I have an athletic class who thrives on sports and competition.  I timed 15 students in the hallway for how fast they could run from one door to the other.  We then calculated the mean, median, mode, and range for the set of data collected.  The objective was to calculate the mean, median, mode, and range of a set of data.  My students were able to do this after not only competing with one another, but also running in the hallway.  You can imagine the excitement.  Next year, I could have kids who hate running and therefore would pull another bag of tricks out of my teacher hat.  The point being, pay attention to the students and what will stimulate and engage them in order to provide learning experiences with the desired outcome.

            When it comes to curriculum, how it is organized is high important.  I believe the vertical and horizontal relations are important.  Each year should go into more depth of the previous year.  This year 4^th grade learned how to identify, add, subtract, and multiply fractions.  Next year they will divide fractions, begin working with mixed numbers, etc.  The next year they will incorporate fractions with algebra concepts.  It is taking a concept and going into more depth, which will deepen their understanding.  Horizontal relations are of equal value.  Last week the students were studying vocabulary terms from a government unit in Social Studies.  The term discussed was treason.  I explained what it meant and provided examples, but yesterday while reading a story about Nazis and the Holocaust they read an actual example of what treason was involving Adolf Hitler.  It was like 27 light bulbs going off in the classroom.  Not only were they excited that one subject had to do with the other, but they translated that term from one thing and deepened the understanding of it in another.  Curriculum must also be reiterated throughout the year.  If you teach one topic in November and never refer to it again, how can you expect students to remember it?  This leads into another concept for curriculum known as workshop.  I believe math, reading, and language arts in elementary schools should have scheduled workshop where the students are independently working with multiple forms of material such as manipulatives, pencil paper, etc.  This should give them that time to apply what they have learned from a previous lesson.  During this time the teacher should also be working with small groups on areas they have not reached mastery on.  This will help maximize learning because students are getting more one on one attention as well as having continuity of concepts.  You can have your students practice long division, which they may have learned 3 months ago, but they are getting continued practice with it.

            Another important concept in generating curriculum is how to evaluate what has been retained.  When it comes to the year as a whole.  Students should be evaluated at the beginning, middle, and end.  They should be evaluated on each subject area.  The North Western  Education Assessment program which my school calls NWEA test is helpful in this component.  It tests students in the fall, winter, and spring.  I am given data for Math, Reading, and Language Arts and Science.  Unfortunately it does not assess Social Studies.  The data I am given helps me see what areas my students need help on in each subject which are broken into dmaller categories.  Math is broken into Measurement, Geometry, Data and Probability, Numbers and Operations, and Algebra.  I can then find what objectives in those categories to work on with my students.  The students are given scores after being tested and receive goals to reach by the end of the year. They are given incentives for reaching their goals.  I know there are flaws as this is only one kind of appraisal and it is all computer.  You have students whom are poor test takers and other factors, but I do think it is good that it tests them and allows the teacher to gage where his/her students are at throughout the year.  As far as evaluating the lower levels of organization such as units, pre assessments should be made, formative assessments should also be done throughout the daily lessons in the unit, and then a final assessment should be made.  You should always know where your students are.  If 80 percent of students have reached mastery then the teacher can move on, however if it is less than 80 percent I believe re-teaching must occur.  These are all imperative points of evaluation.

            Who should be involved in all of this?  Everyone!  If 4^th grade teachers have no clue of what 3^rd grade teachers are doing then we have a major disconnect.  You can’t build deeper connections if you don’t know what the prior grade has done.  I also couldn’t agree more with the point that was made regarding how teachers all need to be on board when it comes to clearly defining the objectives and how they are to be expressed and evaluated.  It cannot be about me it has to be about we.  For the students are everyone’s responsibility from kindergarten until 12^th grade.

Sources

http://www.cypnow.co.uk/news/1122533/schools-cradles-innovation-says-twigg/

This article discusses ways of engaging students and the importance of this in curriculum.  This goes along with the theories of the second reading we did where the author discusses how important it is for students to be involved and engaged in learning experiences.

http://www.thedailywilton.com/schools/wilton-schools-examine-curriculum-changes

This article discusses a school that is in need of redeveloping their curriculum to align with state standards.  In relation to this cycle, it deals with the fact that teachers need to teach the actual objectives and have an understanding of the objectives.  To often do teachers find lessons that seem interesting, but have no tie in with objectives/standards needing to be taught.

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2012/03/the_southern_poverty_law_cente.html

This blog was found on Education Week.  I found it interesting in it’s relation to my post as well as our reading in that it emphasizes the importance of developing highly qualified standards in which are engaging.  One form of engagement mentioned was to use primary source documents.  This, to me, engages students because it gives a visual as to a glimpse at history in various times.  I have seen this in Michigan standards and am glad it is being used.

http://www.nwea.org/

In my blog I mentioned the use of the NWEA test at my school.  There are many useful pieces of information to get a better understanding of what this assessment program is.  I have found it helpful for me but please keep in mind I am not a fan of only using a standardized test to gage students academic success.

http://www.busyteacherscafe.com/literacy/reading_workshop.html

I referred to having workshops in class daily.  This website is useful for implementing writing and reading workshops in the classroom.  It provides ideas, duration, and many other useful tips.  I recommend it!

Cycle Three

Cycle Three:  Should the Curriculum Address Controversial Issues?

            “-and the least educated are precisely those who are most inclined to be prejudiced against gay people’” ( Thornton).  This quote answers that question for me.  I went to a diverse school on the outer limits of Lansing.  It was considered suburban.  I remember being surrounded by many types of people whether referring to ethnicity, sex, etc.  One Sunday I attended a youth group event in Charlotte.  Now, no offense to anyone from Charlotte, MI, but I was taken aback by how narrow minded these kids were.  The minute they found out I was from the area I told them, they asked me how I could handle being around “blacks”.  At the time I remember feeling shocked at this.  Here I was 50% Lebanese and 50% Caucasian, and could have cared less what ethnicity anyone was.  I was taught about culture though, and they weren’t.  I learned it implicitly through the diversity my school produced, through my family, and my environment.  They, however, were not educated on acceptance, diversity, or the enrichment of different cultures.  In reference to sexuality, I don’t want to know what they would have to say about that.  This touches on the point that those lacking education on such differences will be the first to judge.  We judge or question what we are unfamiliar with.  This being so, we need to educate students on those differences.

            There are ways to go about this.  I don’t believe a fourth grader should be hearing about anal sex as an option during sex education.  I do believe they can hear a book read by their teacher about a boy with two dads, two moms, or whatever the situation may be.  Just like we don’t teach kindergartners about sex at all, they learn body parts.  So we need to teach sexuality in the same method.  Elementary sexuality should be taught in broad terms.  Times are different and we have multiple families with married parents, divorced parents, adopted parents, grand parents, gay couples, unmarried parents whom all raise families.  Yet in books we see mom, dad, and two children with a dog.  This is not the typical family anymore and students with the non-traditional family need to be represented so they don’t feel like outcasts.

            So when is it appropriate to teach students about homosexuality in a more specific way.  I personally believe 8^th grade is when we can start having discussions about teens and adults who are homosexual and accepting it.  This isn’t a promotion saying, “Everyone should be homosexual!”  It is merely teaching that you need to accept everyone for who they are whether it be gay or straight.  I agree with the article from New York Times when a student mentioned it would be too late to wait until high school.  Most students have awareness for homosexuality by freshman year and by this point the teasing has started.  Seventh grade may also be early enough.  I wouldn’t begin with 6^th grade from personal experience as a 6^th grade teacher.  I think it is too divided by maturity level and think some could handle it while others wouldn’t be able to.   

            Opponents of this concept may think this is selling a certain life style, which is.  The lifestyle it is selling is tolerance, acceptance, and love of others.   As the second article mentions by Elliot W. Eisner, teaching is notoriously based on tradition.  This implies that what has always been taught will continue to be taught.  So students are learning about sexuality by the implicit instruction of school structure with teachers who aren’t saying anything when a student is called gay, or via null curriculum and what is not taught which is devastating in the end.  The first thing I think of after the quote referenced earlier is the fact teenagers are killing themselves because of the lack of tolerance around them.  When will it end?    To me a student would feel accepted and normal by hearing that Alexander the Great was homosexual, or by reading about those that fought for acceptance in the early 1900’s.  This would make them realize it isn’t just them and that sexuality has always had differences.  This along with teaching students that everyone is important through group discussions and moral curriculum focus would create a safe environment for all because those feeling separate from others would realize they are not separate and those judging would realize nobody is an outcast.  Safety is what everyone should have in school and that is something that is lacking.  We as educators must teach acceptance and begin in a broad sense at young ages then expand on is as the students get older.

Resources

http://www.newyorker.com/talk/comment/2010/10/25/101025taco_talk_talbot

This article found in the New Yorker supports my theory of having acceptance.  It mentions that even though lately it doesn’t seem like it, people have become more accepting of open sexuality.  It brushes on the topic of those who believe educating kids is brainwashing them to become gay which was expressed in my reflection as an uneducated viewpoint.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/18/gay-history-in-textbooks-_n_850580.html

A district in California plans to add new curriculum to their social studies content that reflects homosexual historical figures.  It will have ample material that illustrates homosexuality and gives teachers the freedom to decide when the grade levels learn the information.  This is similar to my point that is should be taught but also with rational methods and in the right format.

http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/teaching-and-learning-about-gay-history-and-issues/

This blog is from the New York times and provides resources/materials for teaching that includes homosexual people of history.  It  is useful in that it provides many lesson plans about gay history as well as links to articles and other resources.

http://safeandcaringschools.com/

This is a site that offers a curriculum in which students learn in a social context.  It teaches how to deal with bullies and be an overall good person.  The mission is to make each student fee safe and prevent bullying.  This can be linked to the controversy of homosexuality because this program is meant to accept everyone.

http://www.stopbullying.gov/

This site is fantastic for resources regarding bullying.  It has information for kids, parents, and educators.  I also noticed a special section for those being bullied based on sexuality.    

Cycle Two: What Should the Content of Curriculum Be?

            When analyzing curriculum we first looked at the sole purpose of curriculum.  Many thoughts were developed and I still find myself pondering concepts I discovered.  Now we dive into the question of what should the content of curriculum be?  I found a quote while reading from Hirsch that depicted my thought process of our last topic as well as the current one.  Hirsch stated that he believes the role of school is to be a system of preparing children for broader activities of society and train them in literature public culture.  These words made me realize that I want to better my ideas from the last cycle and implement them into this one.  So let us continue our journey of curriculum by talking about the content and what that should entail.

            What I love about education is that there are many leaders that have given us their own personal thoughts as to pedagogy, philosophy, psychology, and method of curriculum. One in particular was John Dewey.  I remember first hearing about him in my undergrad courses and thinking to myself what a genius he was.  My 19-year-old self fell in love with his romantic ideas of progressive education.  After reading some of his ideas about the content of curriculum I found there were ideas I would like to modify to fit my idea of content.  Dewey’s approach was that curriculum should be child centered.  Each child has his/her own experiences in which to develop on and adhere to with its education.  The curriculum should center on the differences of its students.  The truths of the child are moving and fluent verses stagnant.  Our role as the teacher is to provide direct information in an indirect way and allow the child to make connections and personal experiences from that medium.  We need to provide medium but make sure not to take away from a child’s ability to develop his/her own ideas.  To me the concept as a whole should be adjusted.  I feel students do have differences.  I have a student who moved from Texas with his mother who is currently in law school.  He had two brothers living with him that were very domineering as his dad is out of the picture.  Both brothers are very smart and moved out attending highly accredited colleges in other states.  Marcos who is the youngest and now left with a busy mother is struggling in school.  He is adapting to the current environment he is in.  As of now school is the last place he wants to be.  So yes, he is different from the boy next to him who was born and raised in Lansing.   He has two married parents and a very close family all at which that live together.  Allen is getting all A’s and constantly pushes himself to do better, while Marcos could care less.  Allen’s parents challenge him and have time to do so.  Marcos’ mother doesn’t have the time to make sure his homework is being done, or that his personal best is showing at school.  These boys are very different and Dewey does have a point that it is my job to differentiate in order to create connections for these boys, which are completely different.  However, Hirsch’s point that students should all learn the traditional materials lies true as well. 

            From Dewey I learned to make sure my students are connecting to what they learn and this concept is close to Hirsch’s theory because he too stated that this part of the intensive portion of curriculum is necessary.  From Hirsch I discovered that it is not neither fair, nor just to just accept that certain kids will know less than others.  No, I want all students to receive the same highly traditional educations.  In this way they will receive the same opportunities and make their own choices later in life based on those opportunities.  A student from poverty and a student from privilege should receive mathematics, Latin, English, sciences, and social studies because it will prepare them for the broader activities of society as mentioned earlier.    Is this core list of knowledge that all Americans need to know attainable?  Of course it is.  I remember making copies in the workroom 4 years ago and seeing a sign that simply stated your classroom is the environment you choose.  It made me see that my kids will behave the way I demand of them, they will learn as much as I teach them, and will reach as high as I push them.  So not only is it attainable, but it is desirable because every student should receive the best education and one with a curriculum that is enriching.    This ideal content would have ideals from Dewey of differentiating your instruction to engage all learners, but to also teach the needed traditional materials to produce the literate students once created in the late 1800’s. 

            In conclusion, the content of curriculum should be one with a balance of differentiated methods of delivery but that focuses on the traditional to produce a literate future.  I had a student today tell me that she now gets where the word hemisphere comes from because she learned Greek and Latin root words.  This is traditional teachings but is creating meaning to her on a personal level.  A balance. 

Resources

Websites:

http://www.coreknowledge.org/

This site is an excellent source to find out more about what Hirsch referred to as core knowledge. It is a foundation built on those principals with curriculum, schools, and how to get involved.

http://www.illinoisloop.org/coreknowledge.html

This site was helpful for me because it encloses websites with core knowledge curriculum to help me get a better understanding of how it looks.  It also includes articles discussing the core knowledge idea.

Articles:

http://www.journalpatriot.com/news/article_dcc196b4-491c-11e1-921a-001a4bcf6878.html

This article was helpful to me because it demonstrated that the common core includes teaching how and not just the what.  It talked about a school which will be implementing Core Knowledge next year.  Blooms Taxonomy will be used and their goal is to develop innovative thinkers in their students.

http://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/18/nyregion/education-about-education.html?src=pm

This article was about a man who helps students in poor environments of  a minority race, excel and perform at their best abilities.  He is compared to Dewey in his methods.  I appreciated this article because it reminded me that in my reflection I made appoint to note that in our delivery as teachers, it is very important to teach to our students’ needs.  They have so much going on and learn in different ways. 

Blogs:

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/

I discovered this blog when researching different curriculum sites.  It is an edweek blog that contains multimedia, discussions, article postings, etc. all on curriculum topics.  I can see this blog helping me in future reflections as it entails so much with curriculum.  

What is curriculum and what is its purpose?

Cycle 1: What is curriculum and what is its purpose?

            Curriculum directors, new curriculum, curriculum development plans, curriculum enhancement, curriculum changes, and many other phrases are heard on a daily basis in the educational world.  As educators we follow the orders of the curriculum and teach what is expected of us.  Do any of us really sit back and think about what exactly curriculum is?  More importantly do we ever ponder our main purpose of teaching the curriculum to our students?  By definition curriculum is  the course of study.  Okay so we have a definition, but what does that really mean?  Does every child receive the same curriculum, is the curriculum providing each student success, and why are we teaching it?  I’ve been teaching for three years now and have only just began my journey into the world of curriculum but have some ideas as to what teachers need to think about.

            Everything in life should have a purpose.  So what is the purpose of curriculum you ask?  To me it is to prepare students to function as successful members in society.  They are the future and it is our job to ensure the future has people who can think and act within their best abilities.  We are preparing future career persons for jobs that may or may not be created already.  When I teach an objective I make it a point to my students when in the “real world” they are going to use it.  For example, when teaching measurement in fourth grade, the students need to be able to decide on the proper tool of measurement.  Whether they are building something in their home, or creating the next tallest building in the world, they must be able to do this.  Not only is that important to their success in later life but also the basic components such as multiplication and division for converting units with the measurements they make are imperative.  What they learn is vital in their success when finding their careers. 

            Teaching every student everything they need to know for the future sounds amazing, but is it even possible?  Each subject area is loaded with objectives that may or may not even be used in the future which then poses the dilemma of what is important to teach and what isn’t?  Well this depends on whom you ask.  To me there should be a balance.  Today my students created a timeline of major Michigan events between 1920 and 1980.  Will knowing this information help them become successful members of society?   I think so.  If they know how we got into the Great Depression then they will know how to alleviate this from happening in the future. I don’t , however, believe that students need to learn as many objectives of history that is required of them now.  When I taught 6^th grade last year, the students were expected to know too many objectives regarding European history.  There were not enough hours in the day or days of the year to cover all of it.  Quality is more important than quality and we need to find out what will help them in the future.    Another issue arises as well when ideally teaching every child the same content.  How can we teach students like Donovan?  I have not personally had a student with severe enough disabilities that their IEP goals couldn’t be met.  He hadn’t met them in years and was 20 years old, a senior making very little progress, which depended on the aid and teacher he had.  His mom had a valid point of teaching him the basic life skills and his principal had a good point that the academia is important.  I feel Donovan may not be able to reach the high goals  demanded but any progress is good progress in his case.  He needs balance.  Not just life skills and not only academia.   Wouldn’t Donovan benefit more from a good balance of academia and life skills that could help him in a better way?   I think each student is capable of different things and his IEP should be tailored to fit his needs and interests.   We have to accept that not every student is going to retain what is being taught because they have home lives, influences, physical disabilities, emotional disabilities, and many other obstacles in their way.  Individualizing goals can still each each student but not benefit others while others fail the system. This brings me to my next point of what do we do about it?

            Complaining about the system may make us feel better but it won’t fix the issues at hand.  There are many people who say a lot but again what is being done?  We are competing with countries like China who defeat us in schools.  One idea is a nationwide curriculum. I have a student who moved from Texas this year.  He is two years behind when it comes to what our students are expected to learn.  One reason is because Texas has completely different curriculum guidelines than Michigan and the other reason is because our school has different curriculum guidelines than schools in the area.    A nationwide curriculum would help this issue.  For students like Donovan and students who may not be of the math mind or literature expertise, I think the idea of going in between the liberal education concept and the idea of having schools grouped with students based on their talents and skills would the very beneficial to our students.  Students need to learn the basics no matter what their career pathway.  We need to decide on what core concepts must be learned and then those concepts would be taught in K-8.  Then in high school students could go to schools based on their talents and skills.  This would serve the best needs of each child and every child would still be receiving an excellent education, but it would be based on them and what they can do.    This idea is grand and I know there are complications but again nothing great in life is ever easy.

Resources

http://www.nasponline.org/resources/principals/Transition%20Planning%20WEB.pdf

This article written by Edward M Levinson and Edward J. Palmer supports my theory of obtaining students skills and interest and then providing them with vocational trading.  This article is geared towards students with disabilities.  Not students as severe as Dobovan, although a case could be made that providing him with some skills training on very minimal work could give him enough skills for a job.  The article explains that when students with disabilities enter high school, many of them drop out.  The other portion is likely to be unemployed after high school and often does not go to college.  As of right now colleges do not offer a lot of support for the disabled so students without disabilities are trained in high school for academic success in college and leaving their disabled others behind.  The system referred to in the article would help those students have successful futures after high school.

http://cirrie.buffalo.edu/encyclopedia/en/article/114/

This article made a valid point regarding creating curriculum that is relevant to the needs and interest of the students.  It coincided with my emphasis on life skills for the severely disabled and did argued that using a curriculum that is more individualized to tailor students needs which agrees with my concept of making the learning meaningful to the students to prepare them for real world scenarios.  I also enjoyed that it made a valid point by stating that students with severe disabilities can rise to the occasion when it comes to teaching them academia.


http://coffeetheory.com/2011/12/22/on-the-importance-of-a-liberal-education/


Coffeetheory is a blog where books and other components of intellectual culture are presented.  The author is giving his feedback on a book about Liberal Education.  I wanted to read proponents of Liberal Education to get a better idea of it's importance to some.  This blog helped me have a better understanding of liberal education which is why I do believe teaching trades and grouping based on interest and talent should wait until high school.


http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/chat/chat192.shtml


Education world is a wonderful website that offers lessons, professional development, and school topics.  I found an article that discussed a teachers methods in teaching students "critically" which means having them question and reflect daily in order to relate content to daily lives.  This theory supports my ideas of preparing students for the real world and providing relevance to education.


http://educationnorthwest.org/projects


This site supports my theories of a nationwide curriculum.  One of the projects on the site is known as common core standards.  These are standards that any state in the United States is welcome to use.  It is voluntary but would serve as a great method until all schools are required to follow a national curriculum.