Reading Responses Combined

Ashley Weesies

The authors say that the changing economy and society in terms of race and gender throughout US history effected the changes in stiles and purposes in education. They say that due to this, todays educators are attempting to rid schools of any negative remnants of prejudice and failures to make good decisions about low-income education. The authors then break apart the traditional and newer philosophies of education to show the individual effects of history and what directions teachers may take these philosophies to help children have the most successful education possible through a good curriculum. I say that considering the mess of US history and ideas that worsened education in the past, we are doing fairly well! My favorite quote from these chapters is in the first paragraph on page 48. Inequalities in opportunity and access to resources greatly effects how successful each ethnicity can become. We should never assume that if someone has not been successful that they didnt work hard, that they arent intelligent, or that they dont have sufficient social awareness. This applies in every classroom, in that teachers should always see the differences between students, but never assume that specific students will struggle because of their race or ethnicity; instead, all students should be treated as capable, and their level of struggle and exception should be determined by a study of the individual student after experiencing them in different academic and social situations. The authors say that over the past 20 years, differences in the students of America have become continuously more prominent. They also say that along with the diversity of ethnicities, cultures, religion, sexual orientation, family, and disability, the gap in the economy has grown increasingly large. Due to these things, daily life for each individual student may be drastically different in terms of their food, their home, their health, and their opportunity in their neighborhood or privilege. I say that since this economic gap is greatly increasing the academic achievement gap, it truly has become the job of the school system to create equal opportunity in education. Though money may help greatly in some areas, specifically for supplies, well-educated teachers, and safety, it is also necessary to

Reading Responses Combined

Ashley Weesies

have academic expectations for students that are not dumbed down, faith in student success and ability, and an education that is made up of more than memory and spit-back. Education is not meant to turn each child into a little machine, but rather to guide them in discovering the world and the academic disciplines through activity, creation, response, and interaction, using their mind, body, and heart, and being educated in a more full way through the guidance and management by the teachers. The authors say that each individual academic discipline has two major philosophies for the best teaching techniques. There are those who are traditionalists, or believers in the necessity of knowledge of the subject the way it has been taught and learned for decades, and those who are progressives, or believers in improved methods of teaching that focus on the basics but also realize the importance of understanding, reasoning, communicating, analyzing, and imagining. The authors cover both ideals for different subjects in education, demonstrating how the progressive view can be successfully applied to all disciplines, but also acknowledging the major disagreements that will not be resolved for a very long time. I say that progressives would win my vote if I had to choose, because they realize the fact that education, America, and the world are all changing. Progressive curriculums, however, must not forget what basic knowledge is necessary for a complete understanding of each subject. On the other hand, those who are against a progressive approach need to make sure they have all the information about how the teaching is being done in the school from a reliable source before they make negative comments about a specific progressive curriculum and make a broad generalization about all progressive schools. I dont believe that progressive teaching aims to teach students different information about the academic subjects; rather, it aims to teach the subjects in a way that allows teachers to lead students to discover the required information and then think critically about this to fully understand the how of the subject and be able to relate this to their own experiences, and not just be

Reading Responses Combined

Ashley Weesies

told the facts so they can memorize and spit back information, which is what the traditional model often turns into. The authors say there are three types of Christian teachers in Public schools, though they are not distinct, and the values overlap here and there. The author leans more toward the Golden Rule Truth Seeker side of teaching because it seems to end the separation between sacred and secular views that make it seem as though everyone has to choose one or the other. Shwartz gives strengths and weaknesses for each approach, even for the Golden Rule Truth Seeker, which leaves many things up to the student and tends to be biased in a way that is nearly impossible to avoid. I say the Golden Rule Truth Seeker is the approach I will most likely take as a Christian teacher in a public school. I believe that when a student actively searches for the truth and does so with an open mind, he or she will most likely be led to Christ. If not, they will take the science route and then be asked to consider whether the two can coexist, which may also lead him or her to Christ. I probably will naturally lead toward the Agent of Enculturation approach because it is easier and more straightforward than the open discussion of seeking the truth, which is a more demanding way to teach. Still, I hope to incorporate more of that than makes me feel safe, especially later in my career. The author says that teaching students to think on a deeper level is an essential part of their education. In order that students may grow to be successful members of society, teachers must not just teach the facts, but the strategies as well. In this way, students learn to problem solve on their own, and they will possess a stronger ability to evaluate, connect, and create without so much restriction. She also says that teachers must be aware of the differences in prior knowledge of different cultures, so as not to assume, which leads to a misuse of the strategies. I say that this view seems very progressive. The author is searching for the aspects of education that truly matter and can be applied to students future lives. Problem solving is involved in every occupation, and every life responsibility. To teach our students how to memorize information that may

Reading Responses Combined

Ashley Weesies

be useless is to deprive them of actually being educated and being able to develop metacognitive knowledge. The authors say that the content of curriculum has changed many times throughout history, paralleling with the changes in industrial strategies. They focus on the No Child Left Behind Act and the negative effects it has had on the education system, mostly due to the use of testing as the deciding factor for whether a student is learning or not, which is not an accurate representation. The pressures put on schools to reach certain scores for every student is very unrealistic and the results of the test do not show the true success of the school, and it led to many schools being dishonest about scores and dropouts, ruining the entire purpose of the NCLB Act. I say that the initial idea of the NCLB Act was a good one, but it was approached in a way that left behind the children that the Act was intended to benefit. There is so much more to learning than what these results are based on. If the goal is for every child to be given the same opportunities from their teachers, then the monitoring of this has to be genuine. It is nearly impossible to measure this on a large scale, but that is no reason to try other ways of measurement that are so inaccurate. Teachers struggle between being a good educator and just teaching to the test to avoid getting labeled as a bad teacher. The author brings up the necessary realization that students need to be learning things that are applicable to their life. The goal seems to be to change the fact-based focus of education from the past and to move toward a form of education that is authentic. The article gives many examples of authentic instruction versus somewhat useless memorizing. The word authentic is said to require five things: higher-order thinking, depth of knowledge, connectedness to the world beyond the classroom, substantive conversation, and social support for student achievement. I say that this information and study is essential to understand for the future of education. Times are changing and students are changing, meaning their future will look different than the generations previous to them. We as teachers must prepare them for that future, which will include

Reading Responses Combined

Ashley Weesies

helping students develop skills for each subject and in cooperation and conversation with others in the subject. This also includes connecting previous learning with new learning, and applying new knowledge to life in order to develop a complete understanding of the subject, rather than just know facts that may be quickly forgotten. Without this, education becomes something students have to get through in order to later be trained for a job that they still may not be able to do well due to the lack of authentic education in their childhood. The author says that assessment has come a long way since its beginnings in testing for the determining of intelligence level. Some very disrespectful words were used to describe those believed to have lower intelligence, such as women and people of other races. Even though America has progressed far from assuming intelligence was a human attribute and hereditary, standardized tests are very similar to the IQ test that is not used anymore. I think that no matter how similar standardized tests are to the previously more unethical ones, the progress made in classroom assessment is underestimated today. Oakes and Lipton give many instances of personalized assessments and classroom assessments that teachers are incorporating in their classrooms. These involve differentiation and assessment for the purpose of knowing how individual students are doing. This makes so much sense because it goes back to the original purpose of assessment when each student would talk to the teacher individually and recite what they knew so the teacher could then tell the parents how the child was doing. Still, we need some way to see where students are compared to the standard, and the state needs to make sure schools are actually teaching something. Standardized tests seem the most efficient for that, so it would be difficult to change. The author says that assessment is a broad form of measurement that uses many ways to determine what students know and what their abilities are. The goal is for these assessments to be reliable, valid, and without bias. Most traditional testing is objective, meaning it is made up of multiple choice and matching sorts of questions. Authentic assessments test abilities used in real-life situations.

Reading Responses Combined

Ashley Weesies

I say that the most surprising thing in this reading was that failure can be a good thing. Not absolute failure, of course, but failing and understanding why in order to succeed in the future can be very beneficial. This ties in to one of the most important things to keep in mind about assessment, and that is feedback. The teacher needs assessment to know where the student are, but this must be communicated to the students in a way that is beneficial to their progress. Comments, suggestions, and questions are important for the student to hear so that they know what to work on, rather than just trying harder on the next performance or test. The authors of No Choice but Success say there are three ways teachers think about student success: it is the students responsibility, it is the teachers responsibility to make it easier to succeed, or it is the teachers responsibility to ensure student success by not allowing failure. The authors of Chapter 10: School Structure (Oakes and Lipton) say grouping and tracking often involve labelling students according to their level of intelligence. They say that often, the lower-level groups have the less qualified teachers, a discouraging classroom environment, and less interactive learning opportunities. I say it would be best to allow as little failure as possible while still allowing the teacher to have a balanced life. My favorite idea in the Oakes and Lipton chapter is that many racially mixed schools are offering African American history/literature and Mexican and Latin American history/literature as courses. I think this is excellent because it acknowledges the importance of other cultures and heritages than just America in general. This information was found in the detracking section, which also says that when different students are mixed, schools have seen the positive result of students viewing differences as normal and learning to work with all different types of people, which is an essential life skill. I think this is a fantastic direction to be heading in. The author says motivation is a reason for acting. Intrinsic motivation comes from the natural desire to act, and extrinsic motivation is acting because of gain or reward. Our needs result in the determination to meet those needs that are different for everyone. One way to motivate is to set goals

Reading Responses Combined

Ashley Weesies

and believe in the possibility of achievement in these goals. In schools, motivation is especially effected by interest, emotion, and relevance in each academic subject. I say the most interesting part for me in this reading was the idea of social motivation. Personally, I have found that I work much harder for classes or lessons when I can tell that the teacher really wants me to succeed and is well organized. This relationship and sharing in the belief of the importance of organization really motivates me. I also find that I do not work well alone. I dont need to be discussing something with another person or even having any contact at all. I just need to be around people while I work. Otherwise, I get distracted by what is going on inside my own head, or the intense desire for people, which results in Facebook and texting distraction. I think it is great that Woolfolk mentions that this can be a motivator, because it definitely is for me and it took me a long time to figure out how to use that in a successful way. I often focus on the present, and I try to surround myself with people focused on the future. It is then that I do my best work in the least amount of time. The author says that self-efficacy is the belief about ones capability levels. The higher these levels are believed to be by a student, the harder that student will work. In order than students can become lifelong learners, teachers should encourage positive self-efficacy and guide the students toward selfregulating their learning through portfolios, self-evaluations, and feedback from peers. I say that another important aspect of teaching self-regulated learning would be the respect and care the teacher has for the student. The student needs to know that the teacher genuinely wants him or her to succeed, and has faith that the student really can succeed. Sometimes, a child who is struggling with behavior issues in the class and appears to be looking for attention will benefit more from being given a task to show that they are capable, rather than being put in the corner and told they are not allowed to participate. I have been trying this in my music classrooms and the students have responded well in most cases.