HW 51

What can schools realistically do to address the systematic problems of inequality, anti-intellectualism, and meaninglessness in our society?

Introduction: Living in America presents us with many opportunities to fulfill a rich meaningful life. Unfortunately we are so obsessed with always being number one that many of the concepts that seem like no big deal to us are taken for granted. One of the concepts we take for granted is school. The idea of the grass is greener on the other side plays into this. We complain so much about how we have to go to school day after day, we think to ourselves oh how I wish I didn’t have to go to school! The thing is though if we weren’t in school we would probably be working. There are in fact children in this world who lead a life like that. While I was in Egypt children as young as four came up to our group trying to sell us souvenirs. It made me feel heart broken, most of these children will never learn to read or write. For the most part these children will have the same job for the rest of their life. Children in the United States at this age are within a classroom exploring and discovering their imaginations. Sadly enough most of the world is much more like Egypt than we realize. If we embrace our education and challenge ourselves to be strong thinkers, our lives will be much more complete.

Argument One: Not only do we have the option to go to school in this country but it is also free. Meaning that regardless of financial circumstances, anyone can attend. Of course there are private schools but coming from experience a public school education gives you much more of an idea of what the “real world” is going to be. When we first started this unit I interviewed my mother and a line that struck me was: “School can actually be a microcosm of the world and we can learn how to live in the world.” I remember arguing with her and saying how experience is more important. I firmly believed that sitting in a classroom day after day resulted with no knowledge of how to deal with “real life situations.” But looking at it now, I hate to admit it but I agree with her. What happens in school allows us to work out problems and have that experience under our belt. Just because we are in school doesn’t mean we are not in the real world, it is just a part of how our world operates. Since we go to such a diverse school, we have the skills to be able to work with anyone regardless of their race, religion or gender. In our country those three categories often separate many people. However we will know how to work with anyone and not discriminate because of differences.

Argument Two: “Every single one of you has something you’re good at. Every single one of you has something to offer. And you have a responsibility to yourself to discover what that is. That’s the opportunity an education can provide.” (Obama) Especially since our generation has grown up with the computer, we all tend to be quite lazy. I could be sitting on my bed with my laptop and my book bag might be two feet away but I am too lazy to stand up and get it. I think that’s the problem, we have no motivation to give it what we got. The thing with school is even when we wake up mornings to lazy to get out of bed, our parents encourage us to. They make up for the motivation we lack, and with that little push we enter a world of discovery. Personally for the past three years I have had mediocre grades, I am not sure what happened but I realized that doing okay work was a waste of time. My teachers were giving me tools to use and I was doing a half ass job. Now I am using these tools to help and guide me to find something that I am good at. Since this class involves a lot of questioning and focusing on curiosity, we are a little bit more intellectual than most of America. Without school I am not sure if I could make that statement…

Argument Three: If we wake up every morning feeling as if there is no point then of course this idea is going to continue throughout ones life. That makes you someone who lives with a glass half empty. Mr. Fanning came in a not too long ago to speak to our class. I left class that day feeling really different about our school. The way he explained his ideas made me understand why SOF does certain things. He said: "SOF does things that are good education. We embody the student as an individual. You should question everything." It is quite apparent that himself and the other teachers actually do care about our ideas. They are willing to work with us to discover them and try to support us through discovering what makes us interested. He then went on to saying, "Perfect education is a lifetime education." Just because once we graduate and go out in the world does not mean we will ever stop learning. Part of me feels as if the students who go to schools where testing is a number one priority will be less likely to question things, to have the urge to learn new things for the rest of their lives. Merely because they are taught not to discover but to maintain a set in stone understanding. So even though they might end up at top schools whose main focus is the number, doesn't make them any better than the rest of us. In many ways our lives will be much more meaningful because we will pursue things that have significance to us. We will go into fields that we can spend the rest of our lives discovering and although some of these "robots" might do the same... it will be at a completely different level of learning.

Alternative Point of View: In: "Alternatives in Education - The Other Side of ADD" http://borntoexplore.org/addsvs.htm which is an independently run website that preaches the idea that there is a link between the system of US Education and ADD. The United States bases their educational system off the German. Germany's Schooling was to make better factory workers and better solders. There system seemed to be quite successful so we copied them as well as many countries. The only difference between us and them is that we didn't want our students to be illiterate. Considering the fact that ADD is the most over diagnosed disorder it probably has very little to do with the brains and more with the similarity between most schools. If in most schools being yelled at and training for jobs is the main focus how can children explore their creative imagination. Just as it is described in the website, how can people focus if what they are learning has no interest to them? Or further more has no time for exploration in thinking topics?

Conclusion: My ideas on school have changed so drastically in the past couple of weeks. I think a lot of it has to do with not appreciating the good in certain situations. I guess since most teenagers have negative attitudes about coming to school it becomes a mutual feeling. I am grateful that because of school I have a better chance of doing something with my life. Although I am probably not going to become the president, things that I have learned in school will probably come up when I come become an adult. I think about the children of Egypt a lot and it makes me upset about the way they live. By going to school everyday in some strange way may help it so one day all children in this world will have the same opportunity. If we live each day knowing that we are going to be learning for the rest of our lives, maybe it’ll help us see that this part is so small compared to the amount of time we have on this earth. So instead of wasting away a good opportunity to be successful, we should take it all in and use it in the best way possible.

HW 50

Oh Gatto... not only does he state the obvious in 6 lessons but he does it in a way so the reader feels like wow I feel stupid... His first lesson is essentially saying keep the kids on a leash. Then he goes on to explain how we are a species of demand. We are told to do something, we proceed to do it, we are told to stop, we listen. In his third lesson he advocates that students are sneaky and a watchful eye is necessary. The teacher is in charge and what they say goes. Fourth lesson is that determining factor of the students knowledge, the teacher's higher power instructs and the teacher proceeds. In his fifth lesson he opens our eyes to see that we should always have self respect, and to wait for the insult coming our direction. Lastly in his sixth lesson he reminds us we are under constant watch like hawks looking for prey.

I couldn't not smile while reading this text. Although what he is saying sounds horrible you can't help but laugh. I guess because we are so used to living our life based on the same six lessons every year that we are immune to it. We never truly understand how basic the teaching structure is and how it is practically mocking our intelligence. The description of this makes us sound like completely uneducated human beings and in some ways we sound like animals being tamed.

Freire on the other hand did not state the obvious but more so pointed out a concept. The idea that without the teacher the student is nothing. Our brains are just mindless objects sitting there rotting away. So the teachers come in with their watering cans and bring life to our brains. For without them it would be useless. Since the teachers know everything and we know nothing, it is extremely necessary that they are in our lives. They recite the most valuable information from their brains, we process it and spit it right back out to prove we understand what's going on.

I don't think Freire's banking system really defines a students knowledge. Yes, it will show that the student is good at memorization and retaining. However, the ideas circling throughout the students head are not their own but merely something their teacher was taught and that the teacher before that was taught. It is a never ending cycle of the same information circling. In many schools though especially ones who aim for high SAT scores and high test grades the banking system most definitely comes into play. Do these kids have their own opinions though that they can support with evidence and have reason for their beliefs? Probably not.

Delpit is on the completely opposite spectrum of education verses Freire. She doesn't think testing can measure the knowledge but more so hurt discovering it. She believes it is the teachers job to be the observer and study the student to find the brilliance inside of them. Delpit feels as if the best possible way to understand the student is through the arts. Not only to gain a better understanding of the student but to bring out a new side to the student. In her mind no student is unintelligent they just might not have had their brilliance discovered yet.

It is very quick to understand that Delpit is in it for the student. She creates a curriculum not for the masses but for the individual. Maybe the core problem with education is if everyone is expected to understand the same material then of course some will be left in the dust. Since we all think differently and react differently to things presented to us of course some will understand certain things better then others. That is not to say though that those people are stupid because in a different situation the tables could be completely turned. The only idea of hers that I am a little opposed to is why can't the student be a part of deciding what their strengths and weaknesses are. It's not that she judging the book by its cover but she is making the overall decision for what is in the students best interest.

Mr. Fanning came in a not too long ago to speak to our class. I left class that day feeling really different about our school. The way he explained his ideas made me understand why SOF does certain things. He said "SOF does things that are good education. We embody the student as an individual. You should question everything." It is quite apparent that himself and the other teachers actually do care about our ideas. They are willing to work with us to discover them and try to support us through discovering what makes us interested. He then went on to saying, "Perfect education is a lifetime education." Just because once we graduate and go out in the world does not mean we will ever stop learning.

Part of me feels as if the students who go to schools where testing is a number one priority will be less likely to question things, to have the urge to learn new things for the rest of their lives. Merely because they are taught not to discover but to maintain a set in stone understanding. So even though they might end up at top schools whose main focus is the number, doesn't make them any better than the rest of us. In many ways our lives will be much more meaningful because we will pursue things that have significance to us. We will go into fields that we can spend the rest of our lives discovering and although some of these "robots" might do the same... it will be at a completely different level of learning.

HW 49

Unfortunately our section finished filming our movie but it has not been edited yet. My contribution to the film was playing the character of one of the students who saves the teacher. Out of our class the four students - Leah, Steph, Kareem and myself found Andy (Mr. Westwood) after a school dance coked up. We had to act extremely shocked and disgusted by the fact that our favorite teacher had let us down on so many levels. Then finally we flashed forward to a scene of us reflecting with Mr. Westwood. In this scene we had to act very proud of our teacher and praise him for being resilient and turning his life around.

The message of our movie was quite different from the 'Blackboard Jungle' movies. In our film instead of the teacher being the savior the roles were reversed. On the first day of school Mr. Westwood caught the students attention immediately and all the students were intrigued by his striking introduction. However some of the students came to realize their favorite teacher was not everything they thought he was cut out to be. When he was found on drugs and they shortly discovered the drugs hiding within the nooks of his classroom they felt extremely let down. It seemed as if the message being taught to them wasn't being lived up to by Mr. Westwood. The movie then flashes forward to the students gaining their respect back for Mr. Westwood because he recovered from his drug addiction but little do they know that after a close friend dies their favorite teacher goes right back to square one...

The tone of the movie is very dark and mysterious. I think the viewers might be able to see that the teacher is hiding something. This being because his body language and the way he speaks seems unsure and hesitant. In the scene of the climax of the story the tone starts out pretty normal but gets fired up and suspenseful when the students find him on the floor. The tone then changes completely when the students and the teacher reflect into a sort of bittersweet atmosphere. But shortly changes back to the dark, mysterious and suspenseful tone when he starts using again.

Our film was very different from the savior teacher films it was literally the complete opposite. While the teachers were the ones saving the students and attempting to turn the lives around, our teacher was the one needing to be saved. He was preaching a message to the students and inspiring them right from the start to be active learners. In the savior teacher films the teacher struggled to grasp the attention of the "delinquents" but once they did they felt like a life changer. In our film the teacher let the students down but used the reaction of the students to help himself stop using.

I feel as if the cliche answer for why someone wants to teach is "... because I want to and I like to help people." I think that after a teacher has reached a student they sleep better at night. The idea of knowing that you made an impact and a difference to even just one persons life makes you feel good about yourself. At my internship there was a new student teacher this week and she was probably about 45 years old. She told me that she had just recently decided to change careers. I am not saying that is unusual or a bad thing but it makes me wonder how did you wake up one day and decide to make this change? Is it because of the media? Are these savior teacher movies made to push people toward the educational field of work?

In many ways though every institution deals with helping people. I guess we all want to be the one to change the world and make it a better place. Although we don't like to admit that I can't think of any job that doesn't go right back to the helping of others. However like Andy said our parents biggest concerns are finding the best doctor and the best teacher. This being because we are most concerned about our health and our intelligence. We want to life long lives in a stable environment... the only way to achieve those goals are to find people who do their jobs well. Hence after savior teacher films and programs on TV like ER and Grey's Anatomy our perception of what is good and what is unrealistic become very discombobulated. I have had some very good teachers over my life and I can't think of one that reminds me of a savior teacher.

This is not to say they are not good but how the media portrays education is not accurate. I have a feeling that the teachers who are similar to the movies are not as successful as the ones who life by their own standards. The difference is they have no real passion just an idea set in their head of how they can lead a fulfilling life.

HW 48

Lindsey Peters wakes up this morning thinking... what the hell am I doing? She quit her big paying shiny job at one of the best law firms in New York weeks before. For months she felt as if her life wasn't going anywhere and she wanted to try to help the world in a different way. She had always had a passion for working with children and had a feeling now was her time. So as she lies in bed for those few moments of peace and quiet in the morning a million thoughts were running through her head. For the first time in her life she had no idea what she was getting herself into but deep down inside she knew something extraordinary was about to take place.

Lindsey's radio alarm clock goes off (inspirational music ?) and she hops out of bed. Walks over to closet and pushes all her charcoal colored suits aside. She pulls out a yellow dress and places on her bed. Camera zooms in on dress. Audience then watches Lindsey as she walks to the train, in her yellow dress. Everyone around seems to notice her and acknowledge her. Film of the subway trains. Lindsey grabs a cup of coffee and a apple at one of the street vendors and heads toward the school.

Lindsey walks into school, it's dark and gloomy. She notices that most of the kids are rowdy and pushy. One of the many security guards spots her and shouts to get her attention. She is then noticed by all the students who look at her like she is an alien. Lindsey is escorted to the main office. The secretary tries to make conversation with Lindsey, she can see that she is nervous.

The secretary tells Lindsey that the Principal is ready for her... Lindsey walks into his office and tells herself that this is all an experience. Something that she lives by, experience is a lesson that will stick with you forever. Normal introductions with principal take place, Lindsey sits down. She then begins to describe to the principal in a very cliche way the reason of why she wants to teach. The principal looks over her resume and after Lindsey is finished with her spiel seems quite confused. Why would a good lawyer change careers to teach to a bunch of kids? In some strange way he is quite intrigued by her story and asks her to start immediately. Her tells her how they are in desperate need of a social studies teacher and he thinks she would be perfect for the job. Lindsey accepts the offer.

The secretary walks Lindsey through what seems to be the longest hallway ever. Small talk takes place and the secretary seems to be hiding something from Lindsey. The walls have nothing on them and the school in general seems very run down. Lindsey doesn't know what to expect from the classrooms. The secretary opens the door to Lindsey's room, there is loud music and shouting coming from it. She steps in the students don't even seem to notice that anyone has even entered the room. The secretary pulls out a whistle and blows it for a good 10 seconds. Finally the students look up from whatever is distracting them. She introduces the students to Lindsey. Then hands Lindsey the keys to the room and shows her where the phone is in case she needs help. Lindsey feels overwhelmed. The secretary leaves.

Lindsey walks over to her desk which is front and center. The students go back to whatever they were doing. She places her apple and coffee on her desk. She then begins to write her name on the board. Ms. Peters. What the hell am I doing continues to run through her mind... She tries to get the kids attention but fails. She pulls out her laptop and turns the volume so high that it over powers the students voices. She is playing Obama's inauguration speech. One kids shouts "Who is this?" She begins to explain to the students what they are listening to until a student in the corner shouts "I don't wanna hear this BS." Lindsey is struck by the comment and before she realizes she looses the students attention. So she stands there in the middle of the noisy classroom with the words of Obama continuing to play from her computer. The bell rings.

Lindsey decides to walk home after a bad first day. She walks by union square and a protest is going on. Suddenly she realizes that she needs to bring experience into these kids lives, maybe that will stick with them.

The next day she goes back with a different attitude than before. She gets the kids attentions with big signs that state different things. She shows them videos of important leaders who protested to get their ideas out there. She asks the kids what messages they want to bring to the world. After class a girl walks up to her desk and tells her that no one ever asks what they think everyone just always expects they know nothing. Lindsey is touched by the girls comment.

We then see the days continue to pass and the students become more and more engaged. No dialogue in this part... (Music Plays - Song undecided) The students truly begin to enjoy her class and finally feel as if their voices are heard more than ever. The whole attitude of the school changes...

A current issue in New York gets brought up one day in class and the students decide they want to protest. Lindsey agrees and proceeds after class to get permission from the principal... He says no because if for some reason violence broke out it would be on him. Lindsey tells the students the situation and they decide to do it behind Lindsey and the principal.

Footage of the protest, in the beginning it is peaceful. Something happens and the student who in the beginning made a nasty comment to Lindsey starts fighting with the police watching them. He gets arrested. Lindsey and the principal find out, and Lindsey gets fired.

The students are very upset that this has happened so a few of them go to the board of education and try to get her re-hired. It works...

Two years go by.... Lindsey is now the principal of the school and 100% of the class she taught has got into at least one college. The girl who made the comment on the first few days of school who opened Lindsey's eyes speaks at graduation. She focuses on experience and how everyone should have a voice in this world. She thanks Lindsey for giving her and her classmates voices.

Lindsey goes to bed that night, thinking that something extraordinary has happened. Movie ends.

Extra Credit - The Class

"I rejected the idea of making us fit in with the system." - the gothic boys mother. I think the teacher in 'The Class' was trying to reach each student individually within the whole class. Not every student though wanted to be reached. I think that is the case in many situations though, people don't want to be looked down on. In the final scene of the movie one of the students comes up to the teacher saying she hadn't learned anything. She was ashamed by the fact that all her fellow peers had at least a little bit of knowledge in one of the subjects but she had nothing. Essentially I think that was a cry for help and she was reaching out for the teachers guidance.

Souleymane was an example of a student who didn't want to be reached. This was made very clear by his outbreaks in class and lack of preparation for class... However when the students were typing their self-portraits when the teacher didn't directly reach out to him it was obvious something sparked within Souleymane. During the parent teacher conference his mother and older brother were oblivious to his behavior and attitude. It may have had to do with the language barrier though. Unfortunately though by the end of the movie the problems escalated and he ended up being expelled. Maybe if Souleymane had tried to figure out his problems out independently his future would of turned out differently.

Continuing with the issue of the teacher student relationship... I am going to contradict what I just said but in some ways it seems as if there really was no solution for Souleymane. I think the only way change could of occurred is if he wanted to change. It seems as if change was being forced upon him. I think with situations like this one it really depends on the student. How much they are willing to push themselves to succeed.

The scene that I mentioned before with the making of the self-portraits really seemed like it might of been a turning point for him. It looked as if he finally had discovered the feeling of accomplishment but I guess the events that took place after were sparked by things going on around him. There was no way to necessarily avoid these situations and the way he chose to deal with them had a negative impact on him.

Something that seemed very crucial to the schools philosophy was the number grades and the attitudes of the students. Whenever the teachers had a meeting and discussed the students these two concepts kept being brought up. While at SOF grades and attitudes are only a part of the picture. I feel as if the french teacher was more of a SOF teacher while the other teachers wanted to immediately give up on Souleymane. He wanted to hear what the students had to say and his class seemed very discussion based.

I am not sure if any of the ideas from the school in the movie should be incorporated into SOF. I think the fact that the students are able to voice their opinions is another similarity to our school. I think generally speaking though this movie was much more real than 'Blackboard Jungle' and other films based on that. Maybe that's why there isn't anything too much to incorporate within our school. Since a lot of schools are very much like The Class, Blackboard Jungle could almost be considered a fairy tale that always has a happy ending.

HW 47

• It might be interesting to document each grade in SOF, including middle school.  We could pick a subject and focus on it.  We could then see the progress of the learning or the difference in grasping the attention, depending on the ages of the grade.   (***)
• Adding on to the first bullet, after that was filmed we could have a make believe classroom of the similar ideas of Blackboard Jungle, and see if SOF lives up to that idea or if its very different.
• Adding on to the second bullet, Andy could be the "god" that came to SOF to save the souls of the public school kids.  Mr. Fanning could play Mr. Fanning.  (***)
• Props: Journals to change the students perspective on school and life.  
• Have the "students" be recorded like on reality TV when they give the viewers an update on how they are feeling.  
• One Student who is considered the leader of the class who everyone listens to.
• Mr. Kinory had students put on a presentation at parent teacher conferences to show the parents progress, could have something similar to that in movie.  (***) - Before and After Effect.
• The teacher has to have very alternative teaching to the other teachers next door, could use Manley and Copeland as traditional teachers. (***)
• If the roof garden is opened during the filming could use it in scene to show alternative teaching.
• Start the movie with one of the students narrating, have them look back on high school, and them describing their experiences.  (***)

(***) = Most Important