HW 46

As I have mentioned before on my blog, I am interning at Merricat's Preschool.  The woman who founded the school, Gretchen Buchenholz is very recognized in the education system.  Her ideas and philosophy's on school are quite similar to mine actually.  For HW 46 I read a portion of Lighting the Way - Nine Women Who Changed Modern America by Karenna Core Schiff.  In this novel Gretchen is honored for her work with not only Merricat's but many other preschools and other organizations she has founded.  It discusses her ideas of creating all inclusion classrooms.  "The policy today is to reserve one-third of the spots for homeless (or very poor) children, one-third for special needs children, and one-third for the typically developing children from families who can afford to pay.  "It's a tricky formula, but we keep the faith," Gretchen says with a smile." (Page 395) Essentially the main idea of the text is to inform us of being able to accommodate a large variety of people within a classroom.  That the things we learn at a very young age are extremely significant to later learning in life.  

In my HW 42 I asked the question: How can you be a good worker in the future, if you can't interact with people in the present? I still believe that if you go to a school with no diversity in both race but also ability to learn, your going to be less capable on being open minded.  I think what Gretchen is trying to do is make the  children of the future well rounded people.  Gretchen is thinking about others futures and being able to help them with their problems in the present.  One of her ways of solving these problems, is promoting education to anyone and not discriminating against someone because of a learning disability.  From both personal experience of going to Merricat's as a student and now interning, I can see the joy from these children's faces.  The fact that they enjoy coming to school and being able to experience new things while learning is exactly what all early childhood development should strive for.   

The description of Gretchen and her work seem quite similar to the ideas behind Blackboard Jungle... Gretchen is the ring leader of the teachers trying to make a difference within the educational system.  As much as Blackboard Jungle and other films based on it, seem quite cliche of what schools are like, Gretchen in many ways has made it reality.  She takes children with problems, without problems, and guides them to understand that regardless of your circumstances anyone who wants to learn, can.  As much as doing homework, writing papers and taking tests is not an ideal way of spending my time I honestly think it pays off.  The experiences we learn from day one guide us throughout our whole lives.  

If school were eliminated completely would our brains develop the way they do?  Or would they rot and would we die younger?  By learning we are pushing ourselves to do something with our lives or be someone.  Although we may not all be the president or the C.E.O of a company wherever we end up the skills we gained from school will probably be of at least some use.  As we get older school honestly does get quite repetitive but its because we are so used to it.  If we find ways to exceed our expectations and challenge our thinking then maybe it would be less boring.  No one ever said life was going to be easy, and school is just a part of it...

HW 45

Both Hirsh and Sizer make excellent points.  Although I think that Sizer’s ideas on teaching are a better preparation for the real world, I do believe certain aspects of Hirsch’s ideas could be of some use.  In some ways people of the School of the Future, and other schools part of the Coalition of Essential Schools have had a taste of both worlds.  Although my elementary school wasn’t completely based on standardized testing generally speaking it was much more than SOF.  Hirsch is about the content of learning and being able to understand it earlier on.  While Sizer thinks a more portfolio-based education actually allows the mind to truly learn.

Hirsh wants to make people that follow the path and are easy to keep under control.  His ideas are very similar to the Prussian Education System, making people good soldiers and good factory workers.  His ideas lead us to becoming mimicking robots that are good at retaining information and spitting it right back. 

Sizer believed that real learning happened not by testing but by thinking.  Being able to use alternative options in understanding content. Our school is an example of one of his ideas coming to life.  We have eliminated regents and substituted them with exhibitions.  While most kids become excellent at bubbling in circles we are exploring the Habits of Mind, and their reflection on our learning and thinking. 

In this NY Times Article from 1996 written by Sara Mosle it discusses the ideas that Hirsch was trying to preach. “Progressive educators like Mr. Sizer contend that ''national standards'' will simply lead to more standardized testing. Mr. Hirsch recognizes the limitations of many standardized tests, and offers suggestions for making them both more nuanced and more comprehensive. And he cautions against state governments' using such tests as a ''blunt legislative instrument'' to impose reform; they must also provide the resources necessary to make meeting such standards possible. But Mr. Hirsch maintains that such tests are far fairer than more subjective means of assessing student performance, such as ''portfolios'' -- compilations of students' creative work -- which are currently in vogue.”  What I think is interesting that over 10 years later Hirsh’s vision isn’t so unreal, the whole “No Child Left Behind” seems to have elements of his message.  The idea that an elementary standardized test is given to evaluate the child’s knowledge seems crazy. 

I do not completely disagree with what Hirsch is saying but I think it could be tweaked slightly.  I do think that it is important in early childhood development for children to be exposed to content in both math and science.  If one child really seemed to grasp the information and understand it then maybe later on in life they will decide to pursue a career in it.  I do not think though that this set curriculum should stay within an education the whole time.  I also do not believe a test can measure the ability of ones knowledge.  Certain skills though that are used in preparing for tests could be incorporated within a classroom.  The ability to remember what you learned yesterday, and be able to know it so well you could teach someone else.  But by at least High School is when the Sizer way should come into play.  As Sizer said: “Inspiration, hunger: these are the qualities that drive good schools. The best we educational planners can do is to create the most likely conditions for them to flourish, and then get out of their way.”  I think what he was trying to do was to make learning something exciting and what students looked forward to.  While Hirsch didn’t think about the students ideas and more so his own.  Sizer wanted to give students a blank canvas and let the imagination go, while Hirsch gave the students a coloring book. 

 

 

 

HW 44

I hate to admit it but I was blown away by what Obama said. Although I am a Obama fan, I am not a fan of the way the education system is set up. I think what he was saying was actually quite inspiring and made me want to push myself to my goals. He ensured us that there is a spot for every single one of us. My only disagreement is if one student goes to a SUNY and the other one goes to an Ivy, who is honestly really going to get the job? I know that Obama wants us all to succeed and become the leaders of tomorrow but I think he forgets that our culture and institutions are so socially divided. The student who had to work a job to support their families throughout High School, and could of got very good grades but didn't have the opportunity to is probably not going to end up at a school like Harvard or Colombia. I would rather have a leader that had experience being normal and not someone who has always been very privileged.

Something very ironic that I realized about the Liberal Arts Education was the school focused on is a very conservative, republican school. Since a Liberal Arts school offers more opportunity to explore a variety of subjects, these students are being influenced to find love in one of them. My point being that wealthy college students are intended on filling positions in both science and the government. It is as if the institutions are planning ahead of who is going to replace the current leaders. So that the rich stay on top and everyone below them does the mediocre work. I mean why is it that the leaders of today feel the need to continue this lifestyle if their not going to be here forever?

Lastly the article I read was "Where the bar ought to be". I was discussing it with Melissa and it seems as if Ms. Kenny has the right idea for education. Instead of turning kids into robots who can spit back information you just clocked into their brains, they actually know how to use them. Her philosophy seems very similar to our school. Being able to take what we learn in the classroom and apply it to what we do in the real world. Being able to communicate with any sort of person regardless of their social class. Are students of the private institutions being taught to live by the same standards? If they are the ones expected to have lifestyles that fulfill these goals is the material being taught to them now really going to help them? Or is it just giving everyone around them the illusion that they have the capability of fulfilling the jobs presented to them?

HW 42

How can you be a good worker in the future, if you can't interact with people in the present?

I think it is disgusting that our social classes and schooling separates us.  The fact that the more privileged end up filling the big guys shoes.  I think something very important learned in school is communication.  I would rather have someone in office who has the experience of working with people who are from different backgrounds, different neighborhoods and different religions.  How can we put someone in office who is used to being around the same race and lifestyle their whole lives?  How they can connect to average people when they consider themselves so elite? 

One of my private school friends refuses to apply to SUNY schools because she claims that she has worked to hard to go to a school that is for average people.  The fact is the people that go to SUNYs and go to public school I truly believe are so much more down to earth and real.  They have a better sense of what goes on in the real world, and understand that you have to work to get to your goals.  If she came to SOF I think she would be really intimated by everyone and wouldn't know how to communicate.  She is used to everyone around her being just like her, and if per say she were to become part of the governmental system how would she be able to connect to this country.  I feel as if private schools train the students to be top leaders of the future but these so called leaders have no idea how the rest of the country runs.  

I think there is a solution to both private and public education.  This is experience.  A memory of something is much more likely to stick with you and turn on and off when needed.  I think by 9th grade you should be able to have a sense of what you would like to do with your life.  Instead of wasting four years in a classroom behind a desk I think the learning should begin in a real setting.  Lets say you were learning something in Biology class about fish, and it was coming out of a text book.  If in four years from then your in college trying to decide what you want to do, and you realize Biology is your calling, are you really going to remember the information from the text book? Or will you remember that morning on the boat when you watched a school of fish swim by and observed them? 

I am not saying that school is completely unnecessary I just think the system needs to be revised.  I don't think it should be so separated and there should be more real life experiences.  I think the fact that SOF has internships makes a little more advanced.  What I do in my internship actually leaves a mark on me and I am learning so much from younger children.  If for all our classes we could go out and explore each subject then it would be easier to figure out what our likes and dislikes are.