Introduction (Intro Heading 1) I interviewed Linda Cardenas, a 53 year old Latina who works at CSU and Iris Mesbergen,

a 49 year old Dutch female who teaches English for juniors and seniors at Weld Central High School. The two people I interviewed had some differing ideas about schooling in the U.S.; however, they also agreed on some issues. While schooling has continued to be sufficient enough so the majority of students succeed, both of these ladies, as well as myself, agree that certain aspects of schooling need to change. Compare and Contrast (Body Heading 2) The Purpose of Schooling (Body Heading 2a) Iris believes that the purpose of schooling is to educate students for life not just for college. She says, and I quote, Students are floundering instead of learning. She goes on to explain that the subject of living life to the fullest came up in one of her classes. All of her students claimed that they knew what it meant to live life to the fullest. When she asked them to tell her what it meant, all of them were stumped. Not one of them could tell her how to live life to the fullest or what it actually means to do so. She came to the conclusion that many students know the slogans of our culture, but they have no idea what the foundations are holding those slogans up. Linda had a similar view on this. She also believed that the purpose of schooling is to educate. However, she says that the schools are focusing more on getting students through high school, whether or not they should be put through, so that the schools can have higher graduate numbers. However, this doesnt really help any student at all. They go through high

school thinking that even though they do poorly, they can still succeed. Once that student reaches college though, he finds out that he is failing college and will either drop out or flunk out. Each one of these women believes that the purpose of schooling is to educate. They also agree that the schools are not doing their jobs properly. Experience in Schooling (Body Heading 2b) Iriss schooling was different than that of the U.S. as she moved here in her adulthood. However, she received an education loaded with rigorous coursework. Here in the U.S. though, the focus is on funding rather than the actual education each student is receiving. Linda didnt talk about her education, but she did talk about her five childrens educations. Her experience with schools is that teachers pay more attention to girls then they do boys. She stated, Girls are expected to do their homework and understand material almost right away, which they usually do. Boys on the other hand, need encouragement and supervision on their homework to make sure they actually do get it done. I completely agree with this statement Linda made. Based on some earlier research that I had done, a study conducted in 2008 by Susan Kovalik, she goes into detail on the differences between girls and boys and how they learn. The brains of girls and boys are wired different. Their perception is different, their ability to learn quickly is different and their perception is different. All of these things play a part in the success of a child. However, if teachers are either unaware of these facts or choose to ignore them, they are harming the child. Children need to be nurtured and one of Lindas biggest complaints was that rather than making sure her sons were learning , they just kept passing them. This resulted in them not being able to get into a community college

and greatly affected them. She also states that she used to have faith in the educational system here, but now that her kids have all gone through school, she is no longer accepting of the educational system. Are Schools Meeting the Needs of All Diverse Learners? (Body Heading 2c) This content area is where Linda and Iris differ. I believe this is because Linda is Latina. Another issue she has with schools are the foreign language requirements. She does not believe that Hispanic students should learn Spanish in school. She comments, They taught my kids Spanish the wrong way. Her children would go to school and learn English as well as Spanish. Instead of learning Spanish the way that she wanted them to, they learned another way. In this sense, she claims that schools do not support the different cultures of different races. Iris on the other hand says that teachers cannot accommodate every single student. They can do their best, but the schools are already putting tons of pressure on them. She stated that she now has to call each childs parent four times a semester to tell them how their child is doing. This was the result of getting rid of a counselor. The schools are making too many cuts which puts more pressure on the teachers and may inhibit them from doing their job. Observations (Body Heading 3) I feel very lucky to have observed such a great teacher in a subject that I enjoy. While the classroom was not extremely diverse, there was one African American student and a few Hispanics throughout the two and a half classes I observed. Everyone seemed to get along fairly well. I believe this is because Iris has assigned seats in her classrooms. She does this so

that students to not sit in cliques and no student feels left out. One and a half of the classes I observed were taking a test. However, the test only lasted about twenty to thirty minutes. Before and after the exams she asked the students certain questions. With this, I noticed that boys were more likely to answer than girls when it was a free for all. However, during this same free for all, I also noticed that boys were more likely to shout out answers whereas girls raised their hands and waited to be called on. I believe that Iris spends equal time in management, instruction, and relationship building. She tells her students their assignments and has them written on the board when they first walk in. She then discusses the material that they are going over in class and engages in conversation with the students to try and find out if they understand the required material. When discussing the future of schooling and hopes and concerns of schooling, Linda didnt have much to say. She believes that whatever change it takes to make schools better will not happen for a very long time. Iris on the other hand, believes we need to look back in the past. She believes that we need to reclaim what we once were. The U.S. needs to observe other countries and find out what is going on with them. International students are so smart compared to students their age in the U.S. and we need to take the time to figure out what it is thats working for those students.

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20 M i 15 n u t 10 e s 5

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0 Management Instruction Relationship building

60 50 P e 40 r c 30 e n 20 t 10 0 Questions

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Conclusion (Body Heading 4) Considering our educational system today, the education I received, and listening to Linda and Iris share their experiences, I do agree with both of them. We need to look back in the past and at other

countries for assistance in how to run our educational system. I agree with Linda in her belief that any major change will not happen for a long time. I also agree with Iris when she said that we need to reclaim who we once were. Students can succeed to a certain extent with todays education, which is why nothing is being done about our educational system today. A change does need to happen to make our educational system more beneficial to the students rather than to the schools, but this change will take years to perfect and more still to incorporate.

Kovalik, Susan. "Gender Differences and Student Engagement." International Center for Leadership in Education (2008). Web.