tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53428220031536058522024-02-08T09:26:57.372-05:00Hot Topics in Educational Foundations Summer 2009This published teacher resource is available for educators, teacher educators, and students around the globe to benefit from our collaborative work. We post some of our assignments in order to facilitate research, dialogue and understanding! © King, and learners, 2009Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-73414604269126880342009-07-21T00:24:00.003-04:002009-07-21T00:26:01.549-04:00Teacher certification: does it keep qualified teachers out of the classroom?Gordon Van Owen<br />July 20, 2009<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">UEGE</span>5102<br />Dr. King<br /><br />When I applied for Teach for America nearly two years ago, I was certain of two things. First, I was essentially guaranteed a job after I finished my master’s degree following the summer of 2008, and I would be a certified teacher in somewhere – either temporary, permanent, or otherwise. However, what I was not aware of was the endless amount of paperwork, preparation, coursework, and wrangling that millions of teachers must face in order to step foot inside of a classroom. This left me wondering, with the serious shortage of teachers facing school districts across the country (especially in math and science content areas, is it wise to make the certification process so burdensome for those who are willing to start a career as a teacher? Also, does the process, which varies from state to state, completely rule out some excellent potential teachers because they lack one or two minor criterion? Ultimately, the states still control the requirements they ask of their teachers. However, increased pressed from the federal government for more qualified teachers is pushing the limit on who can teach. Will there be a breaking point?<br /> The history of certification practices in the United States dates back to the 19<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">th</span> century. By the latter part of the century, only three states mandated state control of the certification process (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Agnus</span>, 2001). This state control grew throughout the early parts of the 20<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">th</span> century mostly as a result of urbanization and the efforts of the Progressives. “Administrative progressives never wavered from the view that a higher quality, more professional teaching corps could only be produced by requiring more and more training inc colleges of education (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Agnus</span>, 2001, p. 24). This continued expanse of mandated state certification helped spawn the development of education colleges at state schools to help produce more teachers. By the end of the 20<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">th</span> century, with the proliferation of teachers’ unions and collective bargaining, some states began enacting alternative <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">certification</span> processes, which also helped foster programs such as the New York Teacher Fellows and Teach for America (this may have helped the civil-servant ideology progress as well).<br /> This history of teacher certification shows a wide range in development that was not necessarily equal by region. For instance, the three states that first required teachers to be certified were concentrated in the Northeast. The next entity to enforce teacher <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">certification</span> would be the Arizona territory in the last decade of the 19<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">th</span> century. Based on my observations, these early attempts at mandated certification were done in the name of increasing teacher quality and expertise. However, as the nation urbanized, and the population became more centralized in urban areas, these certification requirements made recruiting qualified teachers difficult. This ultimately led to alternative and emergency certification programs that gave new teachers a fast track to complete certification; this <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">lessened</span> the probationary period and helped career changers or first-time teachers enter the classroom as “qualified” teachers according to the state.<br /> These alternative certification programs quickly garnered a number of high-profile critics. Darling-Hammond, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Holtzman</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">Gatlin</span>, and Vazquez-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Heilig</span> (2005) found that certified teachers produce significantly larger gains with their students than their <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">uncertified</span> counter parts. Specifically, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">Harling</span>-Hammond <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">et</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">al</span> focused on the effectiveness of Teach for America corps members and found that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">uncertified</span> Teach for America recruits are “less effective than certified teachers and perform about as well as other <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">uncertified</span> teachers” (2005, p. 1). However, they concede that <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">uncertified</span> teachers who eventually obtain full certification eventually become as effective as traditionally certified teachers.<br /> Literature on the topic of teacher certification runs the gamut of opinion. Those supporting the certification process argue that teachers should understand how children learn and how to make information accessible to them to be successful (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Shulman</span>, 1987). Other supports of certification programs tend to support Darling-Hammond <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">et</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">al</span>’s study that those teachers without traditional certification are not as effective as their peers.<br /> However, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">Goldhaber</span> and Brewer (2000) determined that the type of teacher certification had no direct effect on student achievement. For instance, they found that mathematics teachers with emergency credentials were as effective as teachers with traditional certification, as long as they had previous training in their content area. “This result should, at the very least, cast doubt on the claims of the educational establishment that standard certification should be required of all teachers. In fact, we believe it is incumbent on those who expound such a position to demonstrate that such training systematically leads to better teaching” (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Goldhaber</span> & Brewer, 2000, p. 141). While the authors did find evidence that argues the type of certification a teacher has does not inhibit student achievement, they do support some form of certification.<br /> Considering my professional trajectory (I plan on staying in the educational field long term), I can see the merits to both arguments. In response to Darling-Hammond’s critique of programs like Teach for America, I believe the organization has worked toward having all of its members end their two-year commitments as certified teachers. The New York Teaching Fellows program seems to operate under a similar idea. However, what Darling-Hammond seems unable to recognize is alternative certification programs such as these fill a need that many school districts struggle to meet – having enough teachers to instruct students. Programs like these provide an alternative route for adults to enter the classroom instead of studying education while in college. By allowing access to jobs in education, these certification programs allow a greater flow of academic ideals and information, as well as allow career changers to bring their past experiences into their classroom teaching experience. As <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Goldhaber</span> and Brewer concluded, teachers with alternative certifications are just as effective as those who are traditionally certified. Thus, I support alternative certification programs but still believe that some for of certification is necessary to ensure teachers are aware of the needs of their students and the materials available to help instruct them.<br /><br />WORKS CITED<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">Agnus</span>, D. (2001). Professionalism and the public good: a brief history of teacher certification. Thomas B. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Fordham</span> Foundation. Washington D.C.<br /><br />Darling-Hammond, L., <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Holtzman</span>, D., <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Gatlin</span>, S., & Vasquez-<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">Heilig</span>, J. (2005). Does teacher preparation matter? Evidence about teacher certification, Teach for America, and Teacher Effectiveness. Education Policy Analysis Archives.<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">Goldhaber</span>, D. & Brewer, D. (2000). Does teacher certification matter? High school teacher certification status and student achievement. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis. 22; 129<br /><br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Shulman</span>, L. S.. (1987). Knowledge and teaching: Foundations of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_33">th</span> e new reform. Harvard Educational Review, 57(1), 1-22. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_34">EJ</span> 351 846Mr. Van Owenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671697469516558611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-81637567280718664462009-07-21T00:09:00.002-04:002009-07-21T00:12:00.305-04:00<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><!--StartFragment--> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Uncharted waters: Where Charter Schools, Parental Choice and IDEA Intersect<br />James P. Dawson<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Fordham</span> University<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">UEGE</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>5102</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>A recent article in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">New York Daily News </i>quoted a parent of a student enrolled in a Harlem Charter School as stating that the school had tried to force his child out, due to the child’s need for a paraprofessional that the school could not provide (2009). The article also cited complains from public school principals that charter schools were dumping their ED and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">LD</span> students on public schools late in the year, when the public school did not have the funds to service such children: in response, the administration of Harlem Success Charter School maintains that these incidents are few and far between, and that students are not forced out (2009)<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>As the fiction between Charter and public schools regarding ED and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">LD</span> students increases, it would seem that a simple review of the legal obligations of Charter schools under IDEA would suffice to clarify the matter. However, a review of the literature indicates that there exists a murkiness, as to how much responsibility Charter schools actually take for special education student, regardless of IDEA.<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Lang, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Rhim</span>, & <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Aheren</span> found that while IDEA is unequivocal on charter responsibility to special education students (“<span style="font-family:Roman; mso-bidi-font-family:Roman">"Children with disabilities who attend<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: Roman;mso-bidi-font-family:Roman">public charter schools and their parents retain all rights under this part" [34 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">CFR</span> §300.2(a)])</span>, confusion still persists at the state and city level regarding these responsibilities (2008.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In addition, a lack of resources at start-up charters schools coupled with an unfamiliarity regarding their roles in the special education continuum, by both charter and sate education officials, make create conflict that interferes with efficient delivery of special education services and the streamlining of such services into the charter (Lang, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Rhim</span>, & <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Aheren</span> 2008.)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>In addition, charter schools may be able to keep special education enrollment to a minimum yet not reject students: Estes study of Texas charter schools found there was substantial evidence of non-compliance with IDEA to be a concern, including the lack of such fundamentals as wheelchair access and progressing to charter schools “counseling out” special education students (2004.) In addition, in the interviews conducted in the study, charter administrators admitted unfamiliarity with tenets of special education best practice (Estes 2004.) While this study was based on a sample of charter schools in Texas, it is noteworthy in that indicates a gulf between the obligations of the charter schools and their actual delivery of special education services, raising questions as to the validity of charters as a viable replacement for traditional public schooling. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Research by <span style="font-family: Times-Roman;mso-bidi-font-family:Times-Roman">Atkins, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">Hohnstein</span> and Roche holds that students with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">IEPs</span> and behavior disorders are not only served by charter schools, but served well enough to elicit positive perceptions from special education students (2008.) While an admittedly small sample, the students interviewed all stated that they had higher perceptions of their academic and social achievement at the charter school, compared with their previous traditional school—with those students with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">IEP</span>’s reporting the most improvement (Atkins, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">Hohnstein</span> & Roche 2008.) But it would seem that this charters school was designed and staffed with special education students in mind, something Estes found all too rare in her research (2004.)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>The debate as to the efficiency and legitimacy of charter schools will<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>continue; however, as school districts such as New York City’s Department of Education and Texas state education department actively promoting and financing them, it is imperative that these schools provide the same range of services to special education students that they so actively promise to general education. It would be damaging, not just to the charter system, but to American education as a whole, if these schools were allowed to over promise and under perform those essential educational services that these students need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">References</p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: Times-Roman;mso-bidi-font-family:Times-Roman">Atkins T., <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">Hohnstein</span> S., and Roche V. (2008)</span><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"> </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Perceptions of their new school: Students<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>with and without disabilities changing to an alternative and charter School.<br /></span><span style="font-family:Times-Roman;mso-bidi-font-family:Times-Roman"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Journal of School Choice. </i></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma">2 (1) 47-65.</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">Estes B.M. (2004) C<span style="mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">hoice</span> for all? Charter schools and students with special Needs.<br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Journal of Special Education.</i></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma"> 37 (4) 257-267.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">Department of Education. Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">2004. Accessed July 20, 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><br />http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/%2Croot%2Cstatute%2C<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><a href="javascript:__doLinkPostBack('','ss~~AU%20%22Lange,%20Cheryl%20M.%22%7C%7Csl~~rl','');"><u style="text-underline:#0022E4"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma;color:windowtext;text-underline:#0022E4;text-decoration: none;text-underline:none"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">Lange</span> C. M.</span></u></a></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma">, <a href="javascript:__doLinkPostBack('','ss~~AU%20%22Rhim,%20Lauren%20Morando%22%7C%7Csl~~rl','');"><u style="text-underline:#0022E4"><span style="color:windowtext;text-underline: #0022E4;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">Rhim</span> L. M.</span></u></a>, and <a href="javascript:__doLinkPostBack('','ss~~AU%20%22Ahearn,%20Eileen%20M.%22%7C%7Csl~~rl','');"><u style="text-underline:#0022E4"><span style="color:windowtext;text-underline: #0022E4;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">Ahearn</span> E. M.</span></u></a> (2008) </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Special education in charter schools:<br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>The view from state education agencies. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Journal of Special Education<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Leadership. </span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma">21 (1) 12-21.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">Kolodner</span> M., and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Monahan</span> R. (2009) </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Charter schools pawn off flunking students, says<br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>public school principal. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">New York Daily News. </i>Accessed July 20, 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/07/19/2009-07-19_charters_pawn_off_flunking_kids_ps_big_sez.html#ixzz0LrWen1q4"><span style="color:windowtext">http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/07/19/2009-07-19_charters_pawn_off_flunking_kids_ps_big_sez.html#ixzz0LrWen1q4</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Roman"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><br /></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> Uncharted waters: Where Charter Schools, Parental Choice and IDEA Intersect</o:p></p><!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"> James P. Dawson<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Fordham</span> University<br /><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">UEGE</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>5102</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>A recent article in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">New York Daily News </i>quoted a parent of a student enrolled in a Harlem Charter School as stating that the school had tried to force his child out, due to the child’s need for a paraprofessional that the school could not provide (2009). The article also cited complains from public school principals that charter schools were dumping their ED and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">LD</span> students on public schools late in the year, when the public school did not have the funds to service such children: in response, the administration of Harlem Success Charter School maintains that these incidents are few and far between, and that students are not forced out (2009)<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>As the fiction between Charter and public schools regarding ED and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">LD</span> students increases, it would seem that a simple review of the legal obligations of Charter schools under IDEA would suffice to clarify the matter. However, a review of the literature indicates that there exists a murkiness, as to how much responsibility Charter schools actually take for special education student, regardless of IDEA.<br /><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Lang, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">Rhim</span>, & <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">Aheren</span> found that while IDEA is unequivocal on charter responsibility to special education students (“<span style="font-family:Roman; mso-bidi-font-family:Roman">"Children with disabilities who attend<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: Roman;mso-bidi-font-family:Roman">public charter schools and their parents retain all rights under this part" [34 <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">CFR</span> §300.2(a)])</span>, confusion still persists at the state and city level regarding these responsibilities (2008.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In addition, a lack of resources at start-up charters schools coupled with an unfamiliarity regarding their roles in the special education continuum, by both charter and sate education officials, make create conflict that interferes with efficient delivery of special education services and the streamlining of such services into the charter (Lang, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_27">Rhim</span>, & <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_28">Aheren</span> 2008.)</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>In addition, charter schools may be able to keep special education enrollment to a minimum yet not reject students: Estes study of Texas charter schools found there was substantial evidence of non-compliance with IDEA to be a concern, including the lack of such fundamentals as wheelchair access and progressing to charter schools “counseling out” special education students (2004.) In addition, in the interviews conducted in the study, charter administrators admitted unfamiliarity with tenets of special education best practice (Estes 2004.) While this study was based on a sample of charter schools in Texas, it is noteworthy in that indicates a gulf between the obligations of the charter schools and their actual delivery of special education services, raising questions as to the validity of charters as a viable replacement for traditional public schooling. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Research by <span style="font-family: Times-Roman;mso-bidi-font-family:Times-Roman">Atkins, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_29">Hohnstein</span> and Roche holds that students with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_30">IEPs</span> and behavior disorders are not only served by charter schools, but served well enough to elicit positive perceptions from special education students (2008.) While an admittedly small sample, the students interviewed all stated that they had higher perceptions of their academic and social achievement at the charter school, compared with their previous traditional school—with those students with <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_31">IEP</span>’s reporting the most improvement (Atkins, <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_32">Hohnstein</span> & Roche 2008.) But it would seem that this charters school was designed and staffed with special education students in mind, something Estes found all too rare in her research (2004.)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>The debate as to the efficiency and legitimacy of charter schools will<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>continue; however, as school districts such as New York City’s Department of Education and Texas state education department actively promoting and financing them, it is imperative that these schools provide the same range of services to special education students that they so actively promise to general education. It would be damaging, not just to the charter system, but to American education as a whole, if these schools were allowed to overpromise and underperform those essential educational services that these students need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none">References</p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: Times-Roman;mso-bidi-font-family:Times-Roman">Atkins T., Hohnstein S., and Roche V. (2008)</span><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:Tahoma; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"> </span></b><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Perceptions of their new school: Students<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count: 1"> </span>with and without disabilities changing to an alternative and charter School.<br /></span><span style="font-family:Times-Roman;mso-bidi-font-family:Times-Roman"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Journal of School Choice. </i></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma">2 (1) 47-65.</span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><o:p></o:p></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none">Estes B.M. (2004) C<span style="mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">hoice for all? Charter schools and students with special Needs.<br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Journal of Special Education.</i></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma"> 37 (4) 257-267.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">Department of Education. Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">2004. Accessed July 20, 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><br />http://idea.ed.gov/explore/view/p/%2Croot%2Cstatute%2C<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><a href="javascript:__doLinkPostBack('','ss~~AU%20%22Lange,%20Cheryl%20M.%22%7C%7Csl~~rl','');"><u style="text-underline:#0022E4"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma;color:windowtext;text-underline:#0022E4;text-decoration: none;text-underline:none">Lange C. M.</span></u></a></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma">, <a href="javascript:__doLinkPostBack('','ss~~AU%20%22Rhim,%20Lauren%20Morando%22%7C%7Csl~~rl','');"><u style="text-underline:#0022E4"><span style="color:windowtext;text-underline: #0022E4;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Rhim L. M.</span></u></a>, and <a href="javascript:__doLinkPostBack('','ss~~AU%20%22Ahearn,%20Eileen%20M.%22%7C%7Csl~~rl','');"><u style="text-underline:#0022E4"><span style="color:windowtext;text-underline: #0022E4;text-decoration:none;text-underline:none">Ahearn E. M.</span></u></a> (2008) </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Special education in charter schools:<br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>The view from state education agencies. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Journal of Special Education<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Leadership. </span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma">21 (1) 12-21.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma">Kolodner M., and Monahan R. (2009) </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial">Charter schools pawn off flunking students, says<br /><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>public school principal. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">New York Daily News. </i>Accessed July 20, 2009.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/07/19/2009-07-19_charters_pawn_off_flunking_kids_ps_big_sez.html#ixzz0LrWen1q4"><span style="color:windowtext">http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/07/19/2009-07-19_charters_pawn_off_flunking_kids_ps_big_sez.html#ixzz0LrWen1q4</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in; margin-left:.5in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace: none"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:13.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma"><o:p> </o:p></span></i></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Roman"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><br /></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <!--EndFragment--> <!--EndFragment--> <p></p> <!--EndFragment-->James Phttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06434614430422763544noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-77787324671988557252009-07-20T22:56:00.000-04:002009-07-20T22:58:33.332-04:00Strategizing to Improve Parent –Teacher relations: A Reflective Six Step Plan<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" 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<![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> <i style="">(Considering the class I worked with in the Spring it was hard for me to continually use the word “parent” because some of the children were foster children, others lived with relatives, etc. So, I use parents and families interchangeably)<o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">One of the main issues that teachers face when working in multicultural and linguistically diverse classrooms is effectively communicating with the parents of English Language Learners (ELLs). In some cases, depending on the country of emigration and socioeconomic status, some of these parents are not literate in either English or their first language. Based on my research the best way for teachers to effectively bridge the communication gap between these parents is to collaborate closely with the school and school district to develop programs that will encourage parent participation. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">This reflection focuses uncovering alternative approaches for reaching out to parents when the school system or district is not cooperative. In light of my reflections I have set up a six step plan. The following steps are for teachers to look at the types of parent involvement and strategize on ways to get those parents involved in their children’s education. All the steps are interrelated and do not need to be followed in the order in which I list them. The final goal of these steps is to help teachers consider how they can build effective relationships with the parents of the children in their classes, thereby increasing parent participation and collaboration.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Step 1<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The first step is, <b style="">learning about the families. </b>This step is a year long process that can be explored in various ways. First, it is crucial for the teachers to learn about each student. Through students, much can be learned about their families. How do we get to know our ELLs? “Of particular importance are the students’ native languages and cultures, the length and quality of prior formal education in their native language, any previous education that they have received in U.S. schools, the amount of time they have been in the United States and the extent of the exposure to English” (Hill & Flynn, 2006, pp. 112) Many of these facts are readily available through each students’ records.<span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">To acquire more information about the students and their families, teachers can draft their own surveys for the families of their students. I know a few teachers who do this even as a personal precaution; at the very least they need personal information such as emergency phone numbers and addresses an essential part of their files. So, if by some chance general information about the children’s prior schooling is not available through records, teachers can ask questions in their surveys. Another resourceful strategy to getting to know the parents or families through the survey would be to find out “what the parents knew about school systems in the United States” (Hill et al., 2006 p.<span style=""> </span>114) Depending on how much the teacher wants to learn about the families they serve, they can also attend community functions and events. By just getting to know the community, teachers’ insights about family challenges may become clearer (Freeman & Freeman, 2001).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Step 2<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Reaching out to the parents as early as possible, either before or during the start of the school year, transitions easily into the second step which is, <b style="">encouragement. </b>Getting an early start on welcoming parents into the brand new school year of their children’s education connects the teacher to the parent immediately. Depending on the teacher’s resources, parents can be welcomed through a letter or by invitation to visit the class with their child. Teachers’ goals in this step should be to demonstrate that they care and instill conditioned expectations in the parent-teacher relationship. What I mean by conditioned expectations is that as teachers, we want to somehow get parents conditioned to at least expect correspondences with us. Teachers need to be bold and confident in this step because it sets a first impression. Research shows that one factor affecting parent participation is “teachers’ belief in their ability to teach and their pupils’ ability to learn” (Caballero, nd, p. 2).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>Encouragement is also somewhat of a persuasive measure. Teachers want parents to feel encouraged or invited to participate in their child’s education and that can start with a warm welcome. One reason why encouraging parents to participate in their children’s education is important is that “parent involvement reduces dropout rates and improves school performance” (Caballero, nd, p. 2). Some valid points discussed by Freeman and Freeman are that parents do not have to be educated, literate, or proficient in English to engage in certain conversations and activities with their children (2001). Moving forward, if a warm welcome was not enough to engage certain parents then teachers can consider which activities students can take home and actually do with their families, i.e., book readings and translations. Send children home with books they can read or have read in class and let them do a read a loud at home as well as translation. Or facilitate library projects for students and parents to listen to, read, and discuss books on tape translated in English and the primary language. Then students can write about that experience and their discoveries. “Though parents may ask themselves how they can help when they do not speak English, what children need to learn are ideas, concepts and processes, and it does not matter in which language they learn these things” (Cummings, Krashen et al., as cited in Freeman et al.,2001, p. 261).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Step 3<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">While step 2 might sound like a relatively simple step it is the most difficult to assess. What do you do if all your efforts to reach out to certain parents are fruitless?<span style=""> </span>To answer this question I offer a very plain solution, the third step, which is <b style="">readiness. </b>If teachers have done their homework as suggested in step 1, and they know the families they are dealing with, then they might realize that the parent is not responding because they do not know how to write back, or their working conditions are hindering them etc. The bottom line is that there are a variety of reasons why teachers may not be able to initiate a relationship with parents. While there might be a slim chance that the parent just do not care, Freeman and Freeman offer the following alternative and prevalent reasons why parents or families ELLs “seem” to not care: <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 27pt 0.0001pt 40.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -4.5pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 27pt 0.0001pt 40.5pt; text-align: justify; text-indent: -4.5pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";">Teachers who criticize parents for not trying to learn English and for not spending more time with their children, however, may not realize how difficult it is for immigrant parents to adjust to life in a new country, to understand the school system, and to comprehend the expectations schools have of parents. (Freeman et al, 2001, p. 247)</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Berlin Sans FB","sans-serif";"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span><span style=""> </span>Why is readiness important? The answer is simple, readiness is important to salvage the teacher’s mental health. Some teachers think that because they are a force for change that they can take on the burdens of the world. I am like that, so I speak from experience. A colleague of mine plainly said to me “you are going to burn yourself out, and you won’t be able to give the students what they need.” I offer these words to other teachers as pure tokens of wisdom. Readiness simply suggest that teachers prepare themselves for the difficulties they will face while doing their job; but they have to know what they can change, and what they cannot change and just do their best in the circumstances.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Step 4<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The <b style="">Communication Connection </b>is the fourth step. This step stresses that teachers need to reach out to whichever parents they can. Furthermore, they should show parents that communication is an effective tool that will only help further their children’s education. Teachers can communicate with families using various methods and tools. The Communication Connection involves teachers knowing the languages represented in their classes, familiarizing themselves with resources and tools that can facilitate the communication process with parents or families and finally seeking and using opportunities to validate both the languages and cultures of the families represented in their classes. Since the first step in communicating with parents and families would be to connect with them, I suggest teacher leveled “intensive outreach” (Hill et al., 2006 p.114). <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>A few connection tips teachers might like to consider include, having meetings with the parents or families just to get to know them; follow-up meetings or parent / family nights updating families about their children’s progress or simply giving them tips about how they can help their children with English acquisition; Making visuals that communicate with children, either through their languages or universally, part of the class environment (if children feel their culture is acknowledge and affirmed in class, they will tell their parents about it); Getting to know the community and community workers is a great way to build understanding about the parents and families the teacher is involved with (partnering with community workers can be valuable to teachers they can serve as translators and even guest speakers for related events for class). All of these suggestions are simplified outreach approaches, or as I have said, teacher leveled. District leaders devise more complex ways to uses these approaches but again if teachers can not get the help they need these techniques might be useful (Hill et al., 2006).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Step 5<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">A colleague of mine once described teaching as a multifaceted career that entailed not just research and learning but also counseling, nurturing, and educating. I would like to add one more characteristic to her list, advertising. The fifth step is <b style="">Recruiting</b>. In other words, teachers should elicit parents or family help in the classroom or for activities. This is a direct way to demonstrate your interest in having them participate in their children’s education. In the event that parents do not contribute to activities or events teachers can invite trusted community workers and friends who represent the same cultures included in the class. Again, if the children are excited about how their culture is being honored in the class, they will motivate and encourage their parents to also be partakers. Of course teachers need to influence the students in that thinking by suggesting that next time maybe one of their parents or someone they know can help. Children can also assist n creating invitations for their families to participate in various class functions.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Going back to the suggestion that various types of parent- teacher meetings would be beneficial, teachers can also consider this an opportunity to encourage parents to come in and assist in other class activities. If teachers even go as far as to encourage parents to take active roles in their children’s education by helping to choose books for class read alouds, for example, family responses may be overwhelmingly positive. Evidently, this step requires persistence teachers should extend invitations “often and in several ways” (Hill et al., 2006 p.116).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Step 6<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The final step is <b style="">Being an objective problem solver. </b>Researching other ways to engage the parents is a vital aspect of this step. As teachers we may find that much of our efforts to improve our children’s education outside of school seem futile. In my opinion, despite these results we cannot give up, nor should we jump to conclusions about the parents and families responsible for these children after school. Instead, I would like to challenge educators to be objective problem solvers. Although they may observe something, the contributing factors involved in that observation vary. So, this step also encourages teachers to be strategic in their thinking and in how they respond to certain family related dilemmas. One example of why this approach is important is that “Keys to reaching Latino parents are strong personal outreach, warm, non-judgmental communication and the ability to convey respect for the parents’ feelings and concerns (HPDP 1990)” (Caballero, nd, p 12)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Researcher Joyce Epstein has delineated five types of parent involvement including: “meeting basic obligations of children and building positive home conditions; school-home communications about programs and progress; in schools as volunteers and as programs and workshop participants; in learning activities at home and in monitoring and assisting with homework; and governance, advocacy and monitoring schools” (1) Considering these five types of family participations, teachers need to develop realistic expectations from these parents. This measure also relates to “readiness.” Many factors can lead parents and family involvements to develop the way they do. But as teachers it is still our responsibility to give parents what they need to participate in their children’s education, in as many ways as possible. This is important because research has found “parents’ participation in schools to be positively correlated to student achievement” (Caballero, nd, p 1). <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span><o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Works Cited<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; line-height: normal;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Caballero, D. (n.d.) <i style="">Latino Parent Involvement: The Challenge to Principals. </i>New York, NY<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Freeman, D. E., & Freeman, Y. S. (2001). <i style=""><span style="">Between Worlds: Access to Second Language Acquisition. </span></i><span style="">Portsmouth, NH: </span>Heinemann.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-indent: -0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Hill, J. D., & Flynn, K. H. (2006). <i style="">Classroom Instruction that works with English Language Learners. </i>VA: ASCD. <o:p></o:p></span></p> Lady Learnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095504923998458094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-40403586096723740132009-07-20T22:54:00.001-04:002009-07-20T22:55:58.852-04:00Bilingual Education: Efficacy and PracticeLanguage and literacy skills form the foundation for all learning in a child’s education. Without a solid basis in literacy, students cannot receive, process, or communicate information with the classroom environment. Many national education reforms have dealt with the unending question of how to raise literacy levels. This is especially relevant to English Language Learners (ELLs) who must balance learning content-area information and second language acquisition, all while adjusting to a new sociocultural environment. Educators argue for and against a variety of strategies that would help ELL students best succeed academically and socioculturally. Perhaps the most controversial method for doing so is bilingual education, during which instruction is conducted in English as well as a student’s native language. Advocates and opponents of bilingual education allege heated arguments, citing a myriad of research studies that support both sides of the debate. These arguments surround the efficacy of bilingual education and whether bilingual education affirms students’ cultural identities.<br /><br />There are multiple forms of bilingual education, each of which will be discussed in this paper. The first, perhaps original form of bilingual education was transitional bilingual education, which involves content-area instruction in a student’s native language as they are learning English in ESL classes. By the end of the program (designed to last one to three years), students should be fluent in English and ready to join the mainstream population. <br /><br />Proponents of bilingual education believe that children should transition to English-only instruction as soon as possible. Opponents of bilingual education cite that even though students are receiving instruction in their native language, the favoring of the dominant language (English) over the native language can cause students to lose their native language. This results in negative cognitive effects, one of which is loss of communication with parents and family members (Collier, 1995). The famous Ramirez study (1991) found that students enrolled in late-exit transitional bilingual education end up staying in these programs longer than the original three years. Another study found that while ELL students in transitional bilingual education programs did not hinder students from learning English, but there was no significant difference between academic achievement in transitional bilingual education programs and structured English immersion classes (Hofsetter, 1994).<br /><br />Other forms of bilingual education can be encompassed within the category of dual language programs. Some programs have students study certain subjects (such as math and science) in their native language, while studying the rest of the subjects (history and humanities) in English. Other programs enroll equal numbers of native and non-native English speakers so that all students are requiring a second language at the same time. Still other programs, called heritage education, enroll students who are more fluent in English than their heritage language. Dual language programs strive for students to become socially and academically literate in both languages; thus they are thought of as the ‘true bilingual education’. <br /><br />Proponents of dual language programs argue that they create a classroom environment where language instruction is additive, and that both languages are valued equally. They cite the political, economic, and cultural deficit that the United States faces if it remains a monolingual nation (Melendez 1989). Opponents of dual language programs fear that these programs hinder English language acquisition. According to a comprehensive study by Collier and Thomas (2004), dual language bilingual education programs have successfully helped ELL students learn English and content area information. This study concludes that the most successful programs are six or more years in length, combine native and non-native English speakers, have rigorous language instruction in both languages, use the non-English language at least 50 percent of the time, and use interactive teaching practices. <br /><br />These studies seem to show that bilingual education can result in high academic achievement for both ELL students and native-English speakers, along with reaffirmation of culture and heritage. However, there can be tremendous discrepancies between the implementation of bilingual education programs across the nation. While research in this area is difficult because of the multitude of influences that affect the implementation of these programs; however it seems that there are common themes among programs that are most successful. In order to increase the success of all bilingual education programs and to provide a quality education for all students regardless of their first language, then policy makers, administrators, and teachers need to work together to find a solution that supports English and native language acquisition, reaffirms cultural identity, and models the diverse, multicultural, multilingual global world that students will soon inherit. <br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />References<br /><br />Collier, V. P. (1997). Promoting Academic Success for E. S. L. Students: Understanding Second Language Acquisition for School. Woodside, NY: Bastos Book Company.<br /><br />Collier, V., & Wayne, T. (2004). The Astounding Effectiveness of Dual Language Education for All . NABE Journal of Research and Practice, 2(1), 1-20.<br /><br />Hofstetter, C. (1994). Effects of a Transitional Bilingual Education Program: Findings, Issues, and Next Steps. Bilingual Research Journal, 28(3), 1-16.<br /><br />Melendez, S. (1989). A Nation of Monolinguals, A Multilingual World. . National Education Association Journal. , 7(6), 70-74.Ms. Gouhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06515550571642885536noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-52952791059359589742009-07-20T22:53:00.000-04:002009-07-20T22:55:41.071-04:00Teaching Code-Switching in the Classroom"Speak proper English!" as a child I had this said to me on more than one occasion. 9 out of 10 times it was said by my grammar-enthusiast father who loved to read write and engage in intellectual conversations using this "proper" English. "'Nutthin' is not a real world" he would say as he instructed me on the "correct" way to pronounce "nothing" all in the same breath. My mother was the complete opposite of my father. She is a southern girl with a thick southern accent and speaks in the North American slave dialect popularly known as "Ebonics." After my parents divorced, I mastered the art of code-switching. When I was around my mother I spoke in Ebonics just like the rest of my siblings and family members. When I was around my father I spoke in formal English. I did not know it at the time but I was being taught a skill that would be invaluable to me throughout my adult years--code-switching. There is a current movement for teachers to introduce students to code-switching at an early age. The results are beneficial to a child's life but with teaching code-switching comes negative implications.<br /> It is contradictory of us to teach our students that everyone is equal but in the same breath correct them on their "improper" use of English. The very idea of code-switching implies that one discourse is superior to the other. If all of our languages were accepted on the same level the there would not be the need to code-switch. One could go into a job interview and use double negatives and contractions galore. The truth is, there is a language hierarchy just as there is a social hierarchy. Students need to know that informal English is shunned upon by the majority of people. As John Baugh (2000) writes, "if teachers are going to legitimize [non standard English] then all authority figures who interact with children-such as law enforcement officers-will have to learn it as well." We all know that everyone is unwilling to use non-standard English but they are willing to judge those who are unwilling to use Standard English.<br /> The positive aspects of code-switching cannot be denied. In America there is a clear majority of people who have power to make, change, and influence policy. For our students to become successful adults they have to learn how to emulate the language of those in power. They must know that if they go on a job interview they will be frowned upon if they speak informally. They must understand that language is a form of social currency and that people judge you on the type of language you use and how you use it. Even though some people may try to deny it, "all Americans are keenly aware of linguistic prejudice among us, including strong differences of linguistic opinion among people from similar racial backgrounds" (Baugh 2000). This is why teaching our students how to code-switch is very important. Teaching the value of code-switching will enable students to adapt to several discourses in the future. These students will be able to avoid negative labels and stereotypes based on their use of Standard English within appropriate discourses.<br /> Our language is influenced by whatever discourse we are in at the moment. In the opening paragraph you may have noticed that I used quotation marks for the word "proper." This is because there is no such thing as "proper" English or "improper" English. If I speak formally around my mother's side of my family I may be frowned upon because in that discourse it is considered "improper" to speak formal English. It is far more politically correct to use the words "formal" and "informal" or "standard" or "nonstandard." Speaking Standard English around my black peers can isolate me from the group. My peers may look down upon me as being pretentious and I may face social ridicule. Even though we must reinforce to students their language is not "improper" we must also let them know that in hierarchical world, those with power may look upon their language as being "improper" because of its informality. Minority students tend to feel isolated in their inclination to speak in informal English. As educators, we must inform them that informal English is not only limited to minorities. Even White people experience a linguistic sub cultural divide. John Baugh explains (2000), "Whites who grew up in the northeast tend to speak differently than do Whites who grew up on the Southeast and often maintain their linguistic loyalties to their group or region while castigating others from elsewhere."<br /> Teaching code-switching to our students can be one of the most culturally relevant things that we teach them. It is not without it's challenges. If students are not code-switching on a regular basis then they may lose the ability to do it. Many of our students do not see the relevance in it as they are too young to interact in settings where they must behave professionally. They have not yet formed a secondary discourse. The reason I learned how to code-switch so effectively was because I was regularly practicing it without knowing it would be relevant to my future. I simply knew that my father would not tolerate me speaking "improperly" around him. I find it would be very difficult to actually teach students this concept in the setting of a classroom. For an elementary or middle school teacher it is very difficult to teach students the relevance of code-switching.<br /> According to Piaget's formal operations stage, beginning at age 12 students are now able to transcend concrete situations and think about the future. Since the very essence of teaching children how to code switch is to help them become successful adults, how are these young children supposed to understand this if they have not reached the formal operations stage yet? As a 7th- grade teacher, even though all of my students are at least 12-years-old, it is apparent that the majority of them have not yet reached the formal operations stage. Indeed it seems far too advanced to teach younger students how to code-switch but they can learn the concept if they have sufficient preparation. In order to effectively teach students how to code-switch teachers must use the contrastive analysis approach versus the correctionist approach.<br /> We live in a society where parents and teachers are taking on a correctionist approach when it comes to language. Teachers are constantly devaluing their students' home language by deeming it "improper" in comparison to Standard English. The majority of people in formal settings have adverse reactions to children speaking in non-standard English. Just like my father's constant need to correct my linguistic informalities, "many people may have similar reactions upon hearing nonstandard English, be it vernacular African American English or some other nonstandard dialect belonging to some other linguistically disenfranchised group" (Baugh 2000). The correctionist approach excludes and marginalizes the language of most inner-city students who are already being socially marginalized. Because of this, teachers are now adopting the contrastive analysis approach.<br /> An increasing number of teachers are going about teaching code-switching by way of the contrastive analysis approach. The aim of this approach is to teach students that there language is not inferior to Standard English but it is just different. This approach compares the nuances of formal English to informal English in a way that students can clearly identify the structural and grammatical differences in both languages. An aim of this approach is to teach students that their language is not inferior to Standard English but different. Comparing language to clothing creates a clear analogy that the students can remember. Just like clothing, language can and should be changed to meet the occasion. We would not wear sweat pants and a tank top to a wedding. We would wear formal clothing. We would not wear flip-flops and ripped shorts to a job interview. For formal occasions we dress formally. For informal occasions we dress informally. Just because we do not wear sweatpants to a job interview does not mean sweatpants are "bad." According to Wheeler and Swords (2006) the use of "formal and informal work really well with young children" because "it is important for young children to have something concrete to relate new terms to." The aforementioned analogy of language to clothing, "fits [students'] experience of comfortable language versus best-behavior language (Wheeler and Swords 2006).<br /> The main objective when trying to teach students to speak Standard English is to avoid correcting them when they speak in informal English during class discussions. The correctionist approach "derails the meaning of the conversation and aggravates and alienates the students. Further, correction does not teach the Standard English patterns" (Wheeler & Swords 2006). Research shows that the contrastive analysis approach is far more successful than traditional approaches to teaching Standard English (Wheeler & Swords 2006). It is about time we start effectively teaching our kids how to use Standard English.<br /><br />Work Cited<br />Baugh, J (2000). Beyond Ebonics : Linguistic Pride and Racial Prejudice. New York: Oxford University Press.<br />Wheeler, R, & Swords, R (2006). Code-Switching: Teaching Standard English in Urban Classrooms.Urbana: Illonois.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-23096363807929775212009-07-20T22:18:00.003-04:002009-07-20T22:27:46.010-04:00Coed vs. Single-Sex Education<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;"> I looked glumly at the school memo. My classroom would undoubtedly be absent due to the boys empowerment group trip of which many my male students had attended. My prediction was on target and my attendance was dismal for the day. By the time, seventh period rolled around, I had taught only twenty-seven students that day compared to the usual forty at that point. As the ten students that would make up my normally large class trickled in, one of my students noted, ‘Ms Haynes, there are only girls in class today.” I did not think twice about her observation, more concerned about the poor attendance. Despite the minute number of students present, I had an excellent lesson. Students expressed misunderstandings that had plagued them all year and asked many questions. The entire class was casual, yet productive. As the students left at the conclusion of the period, the same student remarked, “I wished everyday were like this- just us girls.” Her comment struck a chord with me. The day was extremely productive. I attributed the success of the day to the reduced class size, but what role did the same-sex atmosphere contribute to our increased productivity? This article seeks to examine the relationship between same sex education and achievement.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> A 2006 ruling by the Education Department in New York allowed districts to create single-sex schools and class. This was contingent upon voluntary enrollment. I have witnessed the rebirth of these schools in New York as many public and charter schools experiment with these single-sex classrooms. They are being hailed by many as a step toward success, but the critics are just as numerous. Previously, under Title IX, sex discrimination in schools that received federal monies, were banned. Single sex classes were only utilized for physical education classes and to sex education. These recent amendments mark an attempt to align Title IX with No Child Left Behind that suggested single-sex schools. These recent ventures have been met with mixed approval.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Advocates of the practice note that boys and girls innately learn in different ways (Sax, 2005). For instance, a pubescent girl has a sense of hearing that can be up to seven times more sensitive than that of a boy. This affects learning in the classroom because girls may learn best in a quieter classroom. Coeducational settings may prohibit learning for boys who seem to be learning with the noise. Sax notes the proliferation of noise in all- boys schools, but it did not seem to inhibit the learning process. Additionally, Roberts & Bell’s (2002) study points to the fact that “various areas of the brain develop in ‘different order, time, and rate’ in girls compared with boys. In coed schools, when subjects are taught in the same sequence, regardless of gender, it may convince students that they are inept in a field when their brain is simply not ready for that particular field. Single-sex schools, thus advocate for heavy professional development that will make educator attuned to these needs and to teach accordingly.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> It is widely believed that single –sex students will do better academically than their peers who attend a coed institution. Studies, however, point to different data. The belief goes largely unsupported. Studies have that shown that girls did no better academically at single-sex schools (Harker, 2000). Previous data that suggested otherwise fails to take into account background and ability factors. This contradicts a study (Campbell & Evans, 1997) that suggested that mathematics anxiety amongst females in a single-sex class decreased as the anxiety level increased in a coeducational setting. The former students were more likely to enroll in advanced math classes in high school, which has been correlated with earning potential in a future career. While the findings are mixed, there will need to be continued study on these emergent single-sex schools.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> Single- sex education studies are not solely limited to academics. Hannon and Ratliffe (2007) found that female students in single gender physical education settings received more opportunities to participate in the activity. In my own experience, girls may be skittish to engage in certain activities with the fear of appearing masculine or being perceived as a threat to the male students. Girl may feel less pressure if they make an error and be more inclined to initiate the new task. Furthermore, researchers note the increased teacher initiated verbal interaction in a single gender setting. Teachers provided motivation to increase motivation in the sport.</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"> There are a variety of factors to consider. Are same-sex schools reinforcing stereotypes of femininity and doing girls a disservice as they prepare for male-dominated fields? Additionally, previous studies that contend that students thrive in a single-sex setting generally fail to control the socioeconomic privilege associated with many single-sex schools. How can we as educators, then account for the supposed gaping differences in performance in science and math by gender? According to Campbell and Storo (1994), these numbers are failing to show that sex differences have a larger overlap than difference and averages are deceiving. Sex differences actually are much smaller than demographic difference that shows race and type of school play a larger factor.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:arial;"> While the data maybe mixed, we as educators, play a huge role in determining student attitudes and achievement. If we tell our girls that it is ok for them not to do well in math, they will play into the stereotypes. If we encourage boys to be more boisterous in class, while insisting on demure behavior from girls, we will undoubtedly foster certain beliefs in their education. There is no place for stereotypes in the classroom and while we should take into account differences in learning styles, we must only use them to the advantages of our students and never as a crutch.</span><br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: center;font-family:arial;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Works Cited</span><br /></span></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">Campbell, K.T. & Evans, C., (1997). Gender issues in the classroom: a comparison of </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">mathematics anxiety. Education, 117, 330-380,360</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;"><br />Campbell, P. B., & Storo, J. N. (1994). Girls are... Boys are... Myths, Sterotypes, and </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Gender Differences. Retrieved July 16, 2009, from Office of Educational </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Research and Improvement Web site: http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:T8R-</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">jSzM7Z0J:www.campbellkibler.com/Stereo.pdf+girls+are..+boys+are...&cd=1&h</span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">l=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Hannon, J.C. & Raliffe, T. (Late Winter 2007). Opportunities to participate and teacher </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">interactions in coed versus single-gender physical education settings. Physical </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Educator, 64(1) 11-20</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Harker, R. (June 2000). Achievement, gender and the single-sex/coed debate. British </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Journal of Sociology of Education, 21(2) 203-218</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Roberts, J.E. & Bell, M.A. (2002) .The effects of age and sex on the mental rotation </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">tasks, verbal performance, and brain electrical activity. Developmental Psychology, 40, 391-407</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Sax, L. (2005, March 2). The promise and peril of single-sex public education. Education </span><br /><span style="font-family:arial;">Week, 48,34,55. Retrieved July 16, 2009, from http://www.singlesexschools.org/edweek.html</span><br /></span>MsA.Hayneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03751286704779917737noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-27868141868284650462009-07-20T22:15:00.003-04:002009-07-20T22:21:28.617-04:00Competing in a Global Education System: A Look at the Direction of Quantity and Quality of Instruction in U.S. Public SchoolsBefore I became a teacher I was envious of the amount of vacation time teachers receive. At first glance, there is minimal weekend and evening work, a seven-hour workday, and short of parent-teacher conferences, any after-school activity is optional. Was my perception of a teacher’s job too good to be true? To further investigate, I began to educate myself on the history behind these policies, as well as compare U.S. policies to policies in other developed nations. After completing my first year of teaching, I can dispel the aforementioned myths; a teacher’s job is never ending. Yet, my investigation led me to question if the “perks” of the teaching industry are actually detrimental to the education system. Unlike a good teacher, who is always striving to improve his or her lesson plans, grading papers, or reaching out to students’ parents when the need arises, most students truly check out when they walk out of school each day. Sure there are exceptions, and many schools offer after-school educational programs for those that are interested, but the vast majority of students only allocate school hours to the learning process. Is the learning day long enough to build an education necessary to succeed?<br /><br />According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), at 22.2 hours, the U.S. ranks 36th out of 40 compared to other industrialized countries in average weekly instructional time. Those countries ranking ahead of the U.S. are China, the U.K., France, Korea, Japan and Canada, just to name a few. It is no secret that the U.S. is falling behind when it comes to educating our youth, in terms of standardized test scores and percentage of students completing baccalaureate and graduate-level programs, compared to students in other developed nations. The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), a system of international assessments that measures 15-year-olds’ capabilities in reading literacy, mathematics literacy, and science literacy every 3 years, reported that in 2003, U.S. performance in mathematics literacy and problem solving was lower than the average performance for most OECD countries (Lemke). According to the Brookings Institution, in 2003, U.S. eighth graders received an average of 45 minutes of mathematics instruction per day, down from 49 minutes in 1995 (Toppo). While there are diminishing marginal returns to educational efforts, logic would suggest a correlation between time spent learning and the educational level reached. If public schools in the U.S. are going to keep pace with the educational systems in other countries (or even private and charter schools within the U.S.) the addition of instructional time must be a consideration when looking at future changes for our schools and students.<br /><br />One major reason why we need to do something about the time we spend with students in the classroom is that the educational bar is being raised due to greater ease in traveling across borders for educational purposes. With increased competition from foreign students looking to fill seats in U.S. post secondary education programs, we can no longer afford to take an isolationist approach and only look at U.S. education standards. Until fall 2007, the number of Chinese undergraduates in the United States had held steady for years, at about 9,000, according to the Institute of International Education. But that year, it jumped to more than 16,000. India, Japan and South Korea send even more undergraduates to the U.S. every year. (Kinzie) Granted, these numbers are regulated by government policies regarding Visa issuance, but the important trend to understand is that demand for U.S. post-secondary education is growing and developing countries are increasingly finding the means to send over their brightest students. Additionally, top schools want to fill their seats with students that have the greatest potential and many schools have seen international student percentages rise. It is imperative to make sure that our students are more prepared than ever.<br /><br />There are two ways to attack the issue that the U.S. is falling behind in global education – through quantity and quality of instruction. Ideally, the solution will incorporate both. First, we need to look at increasing the amount of time students spend in a classroom. According to the Brookings Institution, which examined eighth-grade math scores in 20 countries, five of seven countries that added daily instructional minutes from 1995 to 2003 showed improved skills. Of the 13 countries that subtracted time, 10 got worse results. Researcher Tom Loveless argues that, “Ten more minutes of daily math instruction are associated with a 19-point gain (on an 800-point scale). Adding 40 days of 45-minute math classes yielded 8.5 more points, (therefore) small increases to the school day add up to a lot of time over an entire year" (Toppo). Just adding time to the school day does not guarantee increased student performance, but this data cannot and should not be ignored. However, more research needs to be done to determine whether adding time is effective, and there are pilot public schools, as well as charter programs, testing out this progressive theory. <br /><br />The second approach is to focus more on quality of instruction, so that the time students are spending in the classroom is as effective as possible. There are many arguments against increasing daily instructional time in schools. At some point students hit a saturation point; it is counter productive to continue teaching once retention levels approach zero. So the other option we have is to make the time we do have with students more valuable. While there are numerous ideas on how to do this, like hiring better teachers, training administration properly, and encouraging more collaboration among teachers, I will highlight just one, as it is one on which I have a unique perspective. That potential solution is to augment the learning process through the use of technology. Having had the opportunity to teach this past year at a school that has received grants to incorporate technology into the classroom environment – each student has the use of a laptop while at school – I observed the astounding opportunity that lies within providing students with better technology. Computers allow students to interact with content and each other, connect to learners in other states and countries, and practice skills at their own pace. In addition, curriculum like expensive and dangerous science experiments can now be witnessed by all students, not just those in districts with the resources to pay for them. Providing this type of advantage to students can be costly in the short run, but the long-term benefits significantly outweigh the costs. Many districts, including New York City, offer free or reduced-cost computer programs for schools, but it is up to the teachers and administrators to seek out these opportunities that are available. To me, this is the most effective and immediate impact that can be made in classrooms without adding any extra time or staff. But as I stated above, an effective solution to the problem would include changes to both quality and quantity of instruction, so by coupling increased instruction time with solutions like better technology, well-trained teachers, and increased collaboration, U.S. public schools can begin to make strides towards getting back to the forefront of global education.<br /><br />In an increasingly global economy, we need to think about how the U.S. stacks up against other countries. While the U.S. post-secondary education is still the envy of other countries, the public and primary education systems have been slowly losing ground on their counterparts. This must change if we care about the future of our country and our children. While change will come at a cost, in higher compensation for increased teaching hours and in funds to help subsidize technology costs, it pales in comparison to the cost of losing our country’s competitive advantage or even worse, inadequately preparing our students for their futures.<br /><br />Works cited<br /><br />Kinzie, Susan. (2009). U.S. Colleges bask in surge of interest among Chinese. <span style="font-style: italic;">The Washington Post</span>: n. pag. Retrieved July 17, 2009, from http://www.lexisnexis.com.avoserv.library.fordham.edu/us/<br /><br />National Center for Education Statistics (2004, December). <span style="font-style: italic;">International Outcomes of Learning in Mathematics Literacy and Problem Solving: PISA 2003 Results From the </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">U.S. Perspective</span>. Retrieved July 19, 2009, from http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/index.asp<br /><br />Toppo, Greg. (2007). More time in class equals better math skills; Schools studying longer days, years. <span style="font-style: italic;">USA TODAY</span>: n. pag. Retrieved July 19, 2009, from http://www.lexisnexis.com.avoserv.library.fordham.edu/us/<br /><br />Toppo, Greg. (2007). Needs of new economy trump old school calendar. <span style="font-style: italic;">USA Today</span>: n. pag. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from http://www.lexisnexis.com.avoserv.library.fordham.edu/us/Ms. Reuterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13855827825256171788noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-28072546387918801822009-07-20T21:32:00.002-04:002009-07-20T21:33:04.698-04:00Single-Sex Classrooms<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cuser%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cuser%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_themedata.thmx"><link rel="colorSchemeMapping" href="file:///C:%5CUsers%5Cuser%5CAppData%5CLocal%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_colorschememapping.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> 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</style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">It’s a familiar scene to any teacher of adolescents: a boy doing everything in his power to get a girl’s attention, the girl giggling and batting her eyes at his inane efforts, and neither paying any attention to the lesson. The academic achievement of boys has long lagged behind that of girls, and many districts across the country have been experimenting with ways to rectify this gender gap. The most common method employed by these districts relies on the principle of separation: boys in one room, girls in another. The advantages and disadvantages have been hotly debated, but as the movement grows in major urban areas, specifically intended to increase the achievement of African American boys, its presence on the American educational scene has become impossible to ignore.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The psychological and developmental differences between adolescent boys and girls are well-known in the educational community. Robert Kirschbaum (2007) notes that research indicates that girls learn best in a quieter, more communal and collaborative environment, whereas boys thrive on noise and competition. Another issue concerns behavior: the sexual tensions between adolescent boys and girls is often a distraction for both them and their teachers. In addition, notions on ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ subjects can be cast aside.<span style=""> </span>Protheroe (2005) highlights a study done in Washington, D.C. that found that single-sex classrooms can have “positive effects on achievement particularly for boys in modern languages and English, and girls in the sciences and maths.” Proponents say that there will be no social inclination to favor one subject or another; boys will be able to feel at home with literature, a typically ‘feminine; subject, while girls’ achievement in math, perceived as a ‘masculine’ subject, should skyrocket. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="body-paragraph" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;">There is, however, some opposition to the notion of a homogeneity of learning styles consistent across both genders. Martino et. Al. (2005) argue that while the single-sex classroom is not without benefit, it can often lead to “a particular form of gender blindness” because expectations on gender predispositions are the source from which the curriculum and pedagogical methods are derived. Because of this, they say, there is little room for discussion or questioning of the constraints of the status quo gender structure. This can lead to students who are not of their respective gender’s supposed learning style being isolated and picked on. Particularly susceptible to such attitudes are male students, who, despite what Martino calls the “enhanced emotional literacy” that can come from single-gender programs, are blind to the fact that “there are lots of different ways to be male” (2005), not just those that they infer from their classroom interaction. Nevertheless, certain practices are more commonly used each gender’s classroom, and proper training for every teacher is paramount. Kingstree (2008) states that “<em><span style="font-style: normal;">single</span></em>-gender education — done right -isn't as simple as just splitting up girls and boys, proponents say. Teachers have to be trained in the research that shows which teaching strategies may be best suited to the different ways in which many experts say boys and girls most typically learn.” </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Particularly of concern for those at the forefront of the single-sex movement are African-American males, whose achievement deficits have been linked to numerous psychological and social factors. It is on this particular demographic that the most rigorous experimentation with the single-sex model has been performed. Protheroe (2009) sums up the findings: “the research is exceedingly persuasive in demonstrating that single-sex schools are effective…especially for…African-Americans.” There are, however, fierce debates as to what causes this surge in achievement in African-American single-sex classrooms and how these factors can be exploited in the heterogeneous classroom to render the movement and the expensive training and planning it entails obsolete. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Despite its alleged effectiveness, the movement is not at all without its opponents. André Boyd, a middle school teacher in South Carolina, notes that sometimes the sexual tension between students acts as a motivating factor, especially for the boys. He also says that female students tend to assume a maternal role, trying to motivate uninterested male students. Another issue with the movement is that, opponents say, separating genders during their formative social stages will only do them a disservice later on in life. They will not, say the opponents, have any (or at least adequate) knowledge of how to interact professionally with the opposite sex. Of course, the case is made that if the students aren’t academically successful, then worrying about their success in a professional atmosphere is premature; how will they be employable at all, ask proponents of the movement. Opponents also say that gender differences or sexual tensions are not the main issue; what is actually behind most of the achievement gap, they say, are race and social class (Protheroe 2005). Not considering such issues, it is maintained, is to ignore what is actually vital in educational reform.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Ultimately, any evaluation of an issue such as single-sex education cannot be general; it has to into account the specifics of the district, school(s), and students in question. African-American males, for example, seem to have the most to gain from single-sex classrooms. While it is true that gender-divided classrooms have to rely on traditional conceptions of the respective learning modalities of boys and girls, almost every district that has implemented such a program has reported success. The academic findings are also lopsidedly favorable towards single-sex education. Of course, as Protheroe (2005) points out, the existence of excellent coeducational schools alongside excellent single-sex schools indicates that the formula for great education is more complex, that it is impossible to ignore the universal elements of great schools. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Works Cited<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Kirschenbaum, Robert. (2007). Do students learn better in single-sex classrooms? <i style="">NEA Today</i>. May2007, Vol. 25 Issue 8, p41.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Martino, W., Mills, M., and Lingard, B. (2005)Interrogating single-sex classrooms as a strategy for addressing boys’ educational and social needs. <i style="">Oxford Review of Education. </i>Vol. 31,<span style=""> </span>Issue No. 2, June. 2005, p. 237-254.<i style=""><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">McNeil, Michelle (2008) Single-Sex Schooling Gets New Showcase.<span class="updated-short-citation"> <i style="">Education Week</i>, 5/7/2008, Vol. 27, Issue 36, p. 25-30.</span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Protheroe, Nancy. (2009). Single-sex classrooms. <i style="">Principal</i> May/Jun2009, Vol. 88 Issue 5, p. 32-35.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.5in; line-height: 200%;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 200%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> Rob Pulwerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06488257219676526082noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-74885176307855991052009-07-20T21:25:00.002-04:002009-07-20T21:29:00.508-04:00Bunny Colvin’s Dilemma: The Side of Tacking That 'The Wire' Didn’t Show“So you pretend to teach all these kids, but the truth is you ain’t teaching none of them,” explains Bunny Colvin to a group of Baltimore middle school teachers in an episode of HBO’s acclaimed series, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span> (Thorson, 2005). Colvin’s argument is a response to another teacher’s claim that removing behaviorally disruptive students from the mainstream classroom is unacceptable because it creates an unjust form of “tracking” that lowers expectations before the students even walk through the door. While the series is a work of fiction, in this scene, the writers and actors craftily illustrate a heated debate within education: does tracking students do more harm than good? <br /><br /> While Colvin, and perhaps <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span>’s head writers David Simon and Ed Burns—a retired teacher—seem to believe that the benefits of grouping students into classes with others of similar academic abilities and commitments allows all students to flourish, many educational theorists disagree on the grounds that statistics illustrate the exact opposite. However the issue is not as binary as either party seems to purport. While most current tracking systems need to be adjusted, they do serve an important role in maximizing the academic achievement of all students, not just those in Honors classes.<br /><br /> “Nearly all schools track students,” explains education theorist Jeannie Oakes (Oakes, 1986, p. 1). The standard definition of tracking is the practice of dividing students into separate classes depending on their level of achievement—i.e. high, average, and low (Oakes, 1986, p. 2). Different curriculums are then mapped out for students depending on their abilities. Sometimes the differentiation goes as far as creating units geared towards college-bound students and more vocational units for students headed directly towards the workplace. <br /><br /> The goal of tracking, so to speak, is to raise the achievement of all students by offering lessons that better fit student interests and abilities than those that would be offered in a heterogeneous classroom. “A good fit between a student’s ability and the level of instruction is believed to maximize the effectiveness and efficiency of the instructional process. Thus, tracking is meant to promote cognitive development,” explains tracking theorist Maureen Hallinan (Hallinan, 1994, p. 75). In theory, tracking seems to be a system that promotes higher-level learning for all students.<br /><br /> In practice, however, tracking creates a series of challenges that many educators feel are too high a price for the benefits it offers. The first consequence of tracking is that it typically grants higher-level instruction and teacher effort for students on higher tracks. “The curriculum and related instructional materials are more interesting and engaging in higher tracks,” writes Hallinan (1994, p. 80). As a result, higher track students learn more and at faster paces than lower tracked students (ibid.). Another disadvantage is that traditionally heterogeneous classes, such as art, health, and physical education, sometimes become tracked because college-preparatory students do not have the open slots in their schedules to take them with other students (Oakes, 1986, p. 2). <br /><br /> Tracking also severely affects the educational experiences of students in the bottom tier classes. Students who are tracked to low level classes often appear to retard their academic progress, as studies have even shown that placement in low tracks can result in lowered I.Q. scores (Oakes, 1986, p.4). This effect is caused by a series of instructional inadequacies found in the lower level tracks, such as uninterested lesson planning, unoriginal instructional materials, low teacher expectations and standards, lower standards for teacher performance, and “a significant number of interruptions in instruction owing to disciplinary problems” (Hallinan, 1994, p. 82). The effects of lower level tracking also affects students emotionally, as studies have found that placement in these courses can cause lower self-esteem and aspirations, as well as fostering negative attitudes towards the school or classes students attend (Oakes, 1986, p. 4). Indeed, slotting students into lower level tracks seems to affect them both their social wellbeing and their academic performance. <br /><br /> Despite all these glaring limitations, the most troubling consequence of tracking is seen when one considers the role of race in the classroom. Statistics show that poor and minority youngsters—specifically Blacks and Latinos—score disproportionately low on skill level assessments (Oakes, 1986, p. 5). As a result, these same students are often continuously and excessively placed in low-ability and non-college bound classes. The problem is that this results in minority students continuously remaining underrepresented in programs for talented and gifted students, and as a result are often unprepared when they arrive at college. Though more than fifty years have passed since the Supreme Court laid down its ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, tracking seems to find ways to challenge ‘separate is never equal’ standards even today.<br /><br /> Given these problems with the current tracking system, I propose that the solution is not to simply disband it entirely, but rather to make the adjustments necessary for these programs to be more efficient and successful. To counter the most glaring issue of segregation within school systems, communities should use Affirmative Action initiatives to ensure that their college-level tracks have sufficient representation of the districts’ minority communities. School officials should also make sure that classes that are not tracked also have a mix of students with all types of abilities in them. <br /><br /> Administrators also need to create more fluidity within the tracks, as students who work hard to raise their skills on lower tracks should be granted access to higher level classes and students who do not belong in honors classes should be removed to make room for them. Teachers also need to be held accountable for their performances not just with the college-level tracks, but with the low-level classes. Teachers who do not improve the test scores of their students should be put through professional developments and mentoring sessions to learn how to work with these types of student populations. They should also be given access to more technology to assist in engaging different types of learners in lower level classes. If their students continue to display a lack of improvement, then the teachers should be removed from the classes and possibly the schools. <br /><br /> Lastly, I’d like to suggest that the discipline problems that are currently present in low-level classrooms could be solved with improved instruction. If teachers take the time to get to know their kids and make them believe in themselves, more often than not, they will want to learn. Many of these low level performers are students who have been told throughout their life that they are not good learners and will not succeed in school. Because of the troubled experiences of these students, it is important that administrators finance a fair amount of their budget to train teachers how to serve these populations and attain the technology necessary to do so.<br /><br /> After reviewing the issues with tracking, I am sure that the problem lies not with the act of separating students into groups based on their cognitive abilities, but rather with placing them in the classrooms of teachers who are unprepared or unwilling to teach them. This must be improved if we want to both award academic opportunities to our brightest and most motivated learners while not violating the civil rights of their lower-performing classmates. Imagine if Bunny Colvin’s alternative program for disruptive students had featured a series of uninterested and apathetic teachers, instead of the dynamic young educators <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span> depicted. Surely the students would have revolted, and many would likely have dropped out. Sadly, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span> is only a show and more often than not, the less desirable of those two situations takes place. All students deserve the right to an education, and a teacher that only focuses on advanced level students is not doing more than half of their job.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Works Cited<br /><br />Hallilnan, M. (1994). Tracking: From theory to practice. <span style="font-style: italic;">Sociology of Education</span>, 67(2), 79-84.<br /><br />Oakes, J. (1986). Keeping track, part 1: The policy and practice of curriculum inequality. <span style="font-style: italic;">Phi Delta Kappan</span>, 68, 12-17.<br /><br />Thorson, K. (2005). Episode 4: Refugees, <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wire</span>. Balitmore: HBO Productions.Mr. Miyagihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15229406508583417353noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-33574300157135584562009-07-20T18:10:00.001-04:002009-07-20T18:11:36.054-04:00Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Grouping: The Debate Continues<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Heterogeneous and Homogeneous Grouping:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The Debate Continues<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">By: Dan Lavelle<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> <span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Any person entering the field of education today, whether it is from an undergraduate program, a masters program, or an alternative track, will likely be inundated with dozens of key terms and definitions that surround an education program.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>During Fordham’s program, one of these key terms that were frequently brought up by every professor was the concept of cooperative learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Cooperative learning can be defined as “a genre of instructional strategies that use small groups of students working together on learning tasks, stressing support for one another rather than competition.” (Kellough & Kellough, 2008)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Within the realm of cooperative learning, there is a main issue that many new teachers struggle with regarding how their students should be grouped together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Teachers are constantly reflecting, rethinking, and reorganizing their teaching to be more effective for student learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Within that realm, teachers must decide whether homogeneous grouping, where students of similar abilities are grouped together, or heterogeneous grouping, where students are varying abilities are grouped together, is more effective for overall student learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We also should realize that student ethnicity also plays a role in grouping techniques—should students be grouped by their common ethnicity or should they be grouped with students of other ethnicities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In the classroom, these decisions are all on the teacher and can have major implications for student learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>In researching for this assignment, I was surprised to learn the quantity of research on the topic of heterogeneity and homogeneity at the school-level and how it may or may not affect performance of the entire student body as well as the school in general.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>According to Faris (2009), who conducted a study on heterogeneous and homogeneous grouping, there is evidence that concludes when a school has more heterogeneous characteristics—different ethnicities, varying socioeconomic status, varying cognitive abilities, etc—that it has a greater chance to affect the school negatively academically.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In other words, on the school-wide level, Faris (2009) states that the majority of authors/researchers she has studied have come to the conclusion that student body heterogeneity may have a negative impact on the overall performance of the school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>So how does this data relate to heterogeneous and homogeneous grouping at the classroom level?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Do school-wide issues (problems?) of heterogeneity “trickle-down” into the classroom?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>The answer to the above question, in short, is no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As a new teacher, often we encounter classrooms with an unbelievably large range of cognitive ability, reading levels, as well as a very diverse population.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In classrooms such as these, teachers often rely on homogeneous grouping techniques because they allow time for the teacher to remediate struggling students while the higher performing students move ahead at their own pace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>At first read, the rationale behind homogeneous grouping makes sense—put similar students together so they can focus together on the skills they are struggling with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>During student teaching, I even engaged in cooperative learning activities with homogeneous grouping—it just made sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Alan Singer, author of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Social Studies for Secondary Schools</i> (2007), vehemently disagrees with the idea of homogeneous grouping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>One disadvantage is that it creates academic and social tracking, with students feeling separated and stigmatized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Students may also feel like they are permanently trapped in the “stupid group” of students, making them unwilling to invest their energy into learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Students who are placed in the higher-performing homogeneous groups, then, may start to feel arrogant about their abilities and begin to dislike their “other” classmates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In a larger sense, especially for a social studies teacher, homogeneous groups also reinforce the divisions (social, economic, cognitive) that are already present in our society while ill-equipping our students to live, work, and play with people who are “different” from them. (Singer, 2007)<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>The advantages of heterogeneous grouping at the classroom level are numerous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>First, they provide settings where people from different backgrounds, classes, gender, ethnicities, culture, and achievement levels can learn to work together in a mutually beneficial environment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(Kellough & Kellough, 2008) Secondly, they allow for students to learn from each other’s strengths and weaknesses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Third, they allow students to share “across their differences,” enriching the experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Fourth, they allow students to learn about each other, shared interests, and shared concerns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Fifth, and perhaps the most important for a social studies teacher, is that they prepare students to be part of a diverse, democratic society. (Singer, 2007) <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Faris (2009) would most likely agree with the assertions of Singer, as her research reached many of the same conclusions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Faris’s study was a comprehensive study on the affects of homogeneous and heterogeneous grouping in multicultural science classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The results were quite interesting and clearly advocate for heterogeneous grouping as a more effective learning tool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>She states, “</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Arial-BoldMT; mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Studying in entirely heterogeneous groups confers the students more capability for ability building, self-confidence and better academic self-concept. This effect is maximized when the group contains not only mixed ability students but also students from other nationalities.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Therefore, according to Faris (2009), heterogeneous grouping was better in a myriad of ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>She also states, “having mixed ability students in the learning groups improves the students sharing capabilities and the peer relations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>As the heterogeneous nature of the learning groups increases by either having more different nationalities, mixed ability students or both, the students enjoyment in learning science increases.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>From these statements, and the research that backs them up, it is clear that heterogeneous grouping is more effective for student learning as well as student social development.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial-BoldMT;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Although there have been a number of studies that have concluded that heterogeneous grouping during cooperative learning activities is more effective for student learning, there are still a number of people who believe homogeneous grouping can be more beneficial.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Most people who advocate for homogeneous grouping (often times it is the parents) believe that mixed-ability grouping slows down the learning of higher performing students. (Johnson et all, 2007)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>These statements have been studied countless times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Alan Singer (2007) mentions that studies conducted by learning specialists from the University of Minnesota show that high-achieving students who worked in heterogeneous learning teams do at least as well on standardized-test as high achievers who worked in competitive homogeneous learning teams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Furthermore, he states that low and middle level achievers who are involved in heterogeneous grouping teams also tend to perform better on standardized tests—while also benefiting from learning important social skills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Salend (2008) also mentions that heterogeneous grouping should be the goal for cooperative learning activities as they have no negative affect on high performing students and they have immensely positive affects on lower and middle level students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Regardless of the studies conducted on the positive affects of heterogeneous grouping, I surmise that many teachers—especially some of the older ones—may still use homogeneous grouping as their primary grouping method.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align: none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:Arial-BoldMT;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">One issue that every author—pro-heterogeneous grouping or pro-homogeneous grouping alike—stressed was that more often than not, it is how the teacher sets up the activity, the instruction, and the materials that have more “weight” on the degree of student learning than the makeup of the cooperative learning groups.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I very much agree with this statement, but I feel like many advocates of heterogeneous grouping get on their soapbox and state how beneficial and effective heterogeneous cooperative learning can be but do it in a way that makes it seem like “If-I-group-my-students-like-this-then-they-will-all-just-magically-learn-from-each other.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In other words, these authors make it seem like heterogeneous grouping by itself allows for effective learning to occur.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Sometimes they forget to stress that group work is just a teaching method, and it is really how much work the teacher puts into the group work activity that will influence student learning in the greatest degree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>We should be striving for heterogeneous grouping in our classrooms—the positives can be immense—but we must also realize how important our hard work, pedagogical skills, and creativity can be for ensuring successful student learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In short, grouping your students heterogeneously does not guarantee more effective student learning, but the research shows that if you structure your group work activities correctly, heterogeneously grouping can yield positive academic gains for all students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>I know that when I get my first teaching job, heterogeneous grouping will be a staple of my group work activities!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Works Cited<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; "><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Faris, O. (2009) </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">The Impact of Homogeneous vs. Heterogeneous Collaborative Learning Groups in Multicultural Classes on the Achievement and Attitudes of Nine Graders towards<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; "><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Learning Science.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></i><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:Tahoma;mso-bidi-font-weight: bold">Online Submission, Feb. 2009.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Retrieved from “Eric” Database on 7/19/2009.</span></span></span></i></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Tahoma;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold"><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: normal; ">Johnson et al. (2008) <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Foundations of American Education.</i><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>New York: Pearson Education.</span></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p>Kellough, R.D. & Kellough, N.D. (2007)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Secondary School Teaching: A Guide to Methods and <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; "><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman"">Resources</span></i><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""> (3<sup>rd</sup> Ed).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></span></i></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Georgia; font-style: normal; "><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-spacerun: yes">Salend, S. (2008)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Creating Inclusive Classrooms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></i>New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall</span></span></span></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p>Singer, A.J. (2009)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal">Social Studies for Secondary Schools</i> (3<sup>rd</sup> Ed)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>New York, NY:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Routledge Group.</o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-38680016951639152122009-07-20T17:09:00.001-04:002009-07-20T17:12:07.499-04:00<strong>Webzine Projects: Tapping into Technology to Promote Literacy</strong><br /> <br /> In a tech-savvy world, where young people demonstrate enthusiasm and facility in using technology, webzine (web-based magazine) projects are a progressive way to integrate reading, writing, and speaking skills with the internet and media literacy instruction. According to “<a href="javascript:%20void%200">New genres in literacy: Classroom Webzine Projects</a>” (Eagleton and Hamilton, 2001), webzines expose students to narrative, expositive, and communicative formats; they are ideal for promoting oral literacy, print literacy, media literacy, and hypermedia literacy skills in a creative environment.<br /><strong>II. INCENTIVES TO EXCEL:</strong><br /> Eagleton and Hamilton (2001) found that writing for webzines encouraged students to produce more well-developed and polished work than they would customarily submit to a teacher. Students regarded peer observance as the primary source of motivation for this type of productive alteration. The fact that their friends and relatives might have open access to their work served as an impetus for students to devote more time, and solicit ideas and editing assistance more frequently. <br /><strong>III. DIFFERENTIATING STUDENT INTEREST:</strong><br /> Journalism projects, such as webzines, allow teachers to differentiate based on student interest (e.g. sports, fashion, and the arts) while promoting English Language Arts skills such as writing, research, critical analysis, speaking. and listening. Allowing students to choose topics that appeal to them is empowering, it enhances learning, and it helps students to see connections between school and the things they are interested in learning about (Tomlinson, 2001). Drafting “articles” for a webzine about a person they admire or hobby can excite students about the writing process in a way that traditional instruction does not. Furthermore, seeing their own names in bylines can serve as positive reinforcement for writing a piece that is published. <br /><strong>IV. AFTER-SCHOOL WEBZINE PROGRAMS:<br /></strong> Webzine assignments work inside and outside of the classroom, and make ideal foundations for after-school programs. Zine projects fit the SAFE (Sequenced, Active, Focused, and Explicit) criteria for effective after-school programs (Granger, Durlak, Yohalem, & Reisner, 2007): The processes involved are sequenced; the proposed instruction is clear; the students are actively engaged in the zine’s development; and they have a common goal on which to concentrate. <br />Granger et. al (2007) argued that ideal after-school programs offer academic content within a context that capitalizes on the fact that everything is actually taking place after school, thus eliminating the perception of a tedious extension to the regular school day. Creating after-school webzine projects also promote “worthy use of leisure,” one of the Cardinal Principles of Secondary Education established in the early 20th century (Johnson, Musial, Hall, Gollnick & Dupuis, 2005). <br /> While implementing an after-school webzine program is likely to require that students and instructors devote a significant amount of time and energy to the project, the rewards are clearly plentiful. Instructors will reap the satisfaction of knowing that they have contributed to a program that motivates students, and promotes achievement and self efficacy; and students will have a constructive outlet for their energy and a forum in which to showcase their intellectual and creative talents.<br /><br /><strong>References:<br /></strong><br />Brown, C., Juvonen, J., Pfeifer, J. (2007). Prejudice Reduction in Schools. Social Policy <br /> Report. 8-10.<br /><br />Eagleton, M. B., Hamilton, M. D. <a href="javascript:%20void%200">New genres in literacy: Classroom Webzine Projects</a>.<br /> The New England Reading Association Journal v. 37 no. 3 (2001) p. 32-40<br /><br />Granger, R., Durlak, J. A., Yohalem, N., & Reisner, E. (2007). Improving after-school program <br /> quality. New York, NY: William T. Grant Foundation.<br /><br />Johnson, J. A., Musial, D., Hall, G.E., Gollnick, D.M. & Dupuis, V.L. (2005) Foundations of <br /> American Education. 14th ed. Boston: Pearson Education.<br /><br />Tomlinson, C.A.. (2001). How to Differentiae Instruction in Mixed-Ability Classrooms. 2nd ed. <br /> Alexandria: ASCD.Ivelisse E. Ramoshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17891372798679929455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-11784629728210617832009-07-20T16:45:00.002-04:002009-07-20T16:53:35.681-04:00The Value of LeisureOne of the casualties of Mayor Bloomberg’s Small Schools Initiative is extracurricular life. Many of New York City’s smaller, theme-based high schools do not have the requisite funding and resources to provide or support clubs, teams, or arts-oriented activities. This lack of possible involvement has decreased student enthusiasm while simultaneously increasing opportunities for at-risk behavior. Extracurricular life is essential for self-efficacy, socio-cultural empathy, and academic supplementation. It generally provides students with healthy alternatives that are traditionally characteristic of secondary experiences. Loss of fiscal support for extracurricular activities in New York City’s public schools is ironically widening the gap between struggling academic environments and those Bloomberg hopes to emulate. <br /><br />One study found that <br /> <br />diversity of leisure activity involvement had stronger associations with subjective well-being and self-perceived health than did frequency of leisure involvement (Rose-Krasnor, et al.).<br /><br />This discovery mirrors Erikson and Marcia’s theory of adolescent identity surrounding exploration and development. Providing students with a breadth of possibilities allows them to exercise various alter-egos, convictions, and prior knowledge/experiences. Once this experimentation process takes place, students can more fully assess their capabilities and desires in preparation for developmental paths, self-regulated behavior, and goal setting (Erikson, 1968; Marica, 1966)<br /> <br />Additional consequences of offering students a spectrum of activities are<br /><br />…supportive relationships, opportunities for belonging, positive social norms, support for self-efficacy beliefs, chances for skill building, and a sense of safety (Rose-Krasnor, et al).<br /><br />Giving students the opportunity to choose among multiple extracurricular activities increases their agency, shifts the locus of control to magnify self-management, and helps build alliances among students with similar interests who otherwise may never interact. <br /><br />Participation in some high school clubs and prosocial activities…introduces youths to political ideas that they might not have been exposed to and offers them the opportunity to learn interpersonal and leadership skills that are likely to inspire continued involvement in civic causes in young adulthood (Glanville, 1999; Hanks & Eckland, 1978) (Fredricks 2006).<br /><br />Given the underlying hostility associated with seemingly incompatible racial, ethnic, and cultural backgrounds of many students in urban educational settings, extracurricular outlets, especially those that enhance community building and celebrate multiculturalism, are imperative. Students cannot learn academic skill sets in a vacuum; practical application is required if students are expected to internalize the consequences of their intellectual investigations. Providing extracurricular activities that either support or parallel problem or inquiry based learning objectives should be the ultimate goal for any institution attempting to take interdisciplinary learning seriously. <br /><br />Unfortunately, sports and school clubs are often viewed as less important than the academic curriculum and are some of the first items to be cut during fiscal constraints. Educators should reevaluate these assumptions because of the potential developmental benefits of participation in extracurricular activities for many high school adolescents (Fredricks 2006).<br /><br />For the last day of school this past June, my school administration finally managed to approve and help organize an after-school student -faculty basketball competition. The timing was obviously not ideal, considering three o’clock marked the beginning of a long-awaited summer vacation to which many of my students had prematurely fell victim. The games lasted for four hours. I sat in the bleachers with more students than had been in my classes that final Monday and watched chronically disengaged students play enthusiastically below. If this isn’t a testament to one of the most obvious incentive programs with social, emotional, and indirect cognitive benefits, I don’t know what is. <br /><br />References <br /><br />Dahl, S. (2007, January 1). Turnitin: The student perspective on using plagiarism detection software. Active Learning in Higher Education, (8)2, 173-191. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ767170) Retrieved July 18, 2009, from ERIC database<br /><br />Eccles, Jacquelynne S. & Fredricks, Jennifer A. (2006). Is Extracurricular Participation Associated With Beneficial Outcomes? Concurrent and Longitudinal Relations. University of Michigan: American Psychological Association 2006, Vol. 42, No. 4. Retrieved July 20, 2009, from ERIC database. <br /><br />Gilman, Rich. (2001). The Relationship Between Life Satisfaction, Social Interest, and Frequency of Extracurricular Activities Among Adolescent Students. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 30, No. 6, December 2001. Retrieved July 20, 2009, from ERIC database.<br /><br />Rose-Krasnor, Linda, Busseri, Michael A., Willoughby, Teena & Chalmers, Heather. (2005). Breadth and Intensity of Youth Activity Involvement <br />as Contexts for Positive Development. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Vol. 35, No. 3, June 2006. Retrieved July 20, 2009, from ERIC database.Caitlin Husshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06833703740321897711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-61320523517764668032009-07-20T16:18:00.001-04:002009-07-20T16:21:42.967-04:00Media as a Tool for EmpowermentThroughout my high school education, I was media illiterate. Perhaps that’s not entirely fair. I was a passive recipient of media. My teachers brought in movies or documentaries. In my creative writing class, we were able to write some drafts on computers. However, I did not interact with media in any critical or analytical way. The closest I came to media literacy was when Mr. Dean compared the theme of societal brainwashing in A Brave New World to the contemporary world of advertising where happiness is defined and subconsciously ingested in images of friends on the beach consuming a bunch of beers. <br /><br /><br />I wonder why Mr. Dean never brought in actual commercials or print advertisement so that we could analyze and discuss the intricacies of how advertisers were manipulating the viewers’ perception. Perhaps Mr. Dean in his ivory tower didn’t want to give media the significance of a place on the curriculum. However, research is confirming that media can be used as a tool that will allow students to critically engage in and question their world. Project Look Sharp (1999), a Ithaca College-based media literary initiative, traces the history of media literacy from its beginnings as a model of “protection (from the so-called ‘evil effects of media)” to the current model of “empowerment (stressing critical thinking and production skills.)” <br /><br /><div><br /></div><div>Project Look Sharp offers twelve holistic principles for integrating media into any curriculum. One example, which is a very traditional standard-based objective, is perspective-taking by “pointing out ways in which media messages might be interpreted differently by people from different backgrounds or groups.” Another example of critical analysis is to examine the credibility and bias of the source. First the student would have to pinpoint the source, which is often a feat in itself. Then the student would have to synthesize from the source’s background and motivation, his/her “purpose of producing the message.” Both of these factors influence the objective truth. What a wonderful connection to make to the characters in literature, who through the narrator’s magic wand we come to either strongly like and trust or despise and ignore. This makes us question the medium in which to receive certain character’s exclamations of reality.<br /><br /><br />As it turns out, we haven’t come very far in our knowledge of media literacy since its beginnings in the 1970’s as a protection model. In one 1999 study of 130 secondary schools, it was discovered that though teachers had heard of the term ‘media literacy,’ they were unable to define it in regard to its function as a critical tool (Hobbs, 1999). One teacher defined it as, “Media literacy is the understanding of all technology and media that is available and how to use it effectively.” There are rampant misuses of media in the classroom. Over a three year period within two school districts, it was repeatedly observed that teachers used the television to keep students quiet while they did other work. It was also observed that there was no opportunity to discuss or ask questions about the material. The message this gives to students is that this is time to relax rather than to critically think. <br /><br /><br />One final aspect of the use of media in the classroom is one that has been beaten into us in our first-year of teaching. Differentiation! Students, who have different learning abilities or styles, benefit from a varied array of presentation materials. However, I stumbled upon a very eloquent discussion of visual experience from Douglas W. Green’s study of the Binghamton City Schools in 1993. After surveying 55 teachers, he also cited an axiological understanding of visual reception from Elliot Eisner who wrote in The Enlightened Eye.<br /><br />Some visual systems depict visually, but appeal to our emotions-as in expressionism. Others depict visually, but appeal to our imagination-as in surrealism. Still others depict visually, but appeal to our optical experience…In fact, the form we select is constitutive of the understanding we acquire: the medium is part of the message (Green, 1993)<br /><br />I am not entirely sure students in secondary school will be able to articulate so eloquently the differences in their experiences when viewing expressionism vs. surrealism. However, to give them the opportunity by presenting images then posing questions is enough to empower them to interact with the world in a new way. By utilizing media for its artistic and critical potential, we are creating people who feel empowered to create their own message in the varied forms of media. <br /><br />References<br /><br />Green, Douglas W. (1993). Media Meets Curriculum: Uses, Abuses, Historic Perspective, and Potential Emerging Technologies. Binghamton University, 36 p.<br /><br />Hobbs, Renee (1999). The Uses (and Misuses) of Mass Media Resources in Secondary Schools. 21 p.<br /><br />Project Look Smart (1999). 12 Basic Principles for Incorporating Media Literacy into any Curriculum. Ithaca College, NY, 13 p.<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-58914212874016498422009-07-20T15:34:00.004-04:002009-07-20T15:40:02.484-04:00I Wasn't Calling to Hang Out...In graduate school, we learn that we must do whatever we can to engage our students. We must present our content area in ways that will captivate the minds, hearts, and very souls of our students. We must make them confident and comfortable. We must acknowledge that, even though one of them just ate the paste on my desk, each student is a unique individual with a distinct learning profile. We need to know what makes them smile and what makes them cry. We must use visuals- nay, become visuals; we must dance whenever possible. We must make learning dynamic and kinesthetic. We must translate the words they do not comprehend, and differentiate the content, process, and products of each and every lesson to be sure that they understand. We must make our students beg for more, and then stay after school until long after dark to make sure that they get it. We all do these things naturally because we’re good teachers, and we understand the value in doing these things. Most of us would do these things even if no one had ever asked us to. <br />I teach in the South Bronx. When I tell people that most of my students are good students, many don’t believe me. In fact, they’re more than good students, they’re great people- and I was stunned by how consistently they met and exceeded my expectations throughout the course. By all accounts, it was a successful year. Whenever administrators, colleagues, or family members asked, “What would you have changed?” the answer has consistently been, “My relationship with my students’ parents.” Though I tried to form solid relationships with parents, I was unsuccessful. <br />This really became a problem in October. In October, I was asked to form a mentoring situation with several of my students. I made several attempts to establish a relationship with one particular student’s mother, but I wasn’t having any luck. Though she didn’t speak perfect English, she was capable of having a conversation about her son’s schoolwork. This particular student came from a Dominican background and I was disappointed because I had been told to expect strong support from Dominican parents. This time, it just wasn’t the case. I researched Dominican culture and learned that not all Dominican parents are supportive of their children’s education. In the Dominican Republic, children are expected to defer to their parents and keep their feelings and opinions to themselves. In contrast, children in the New York City school system typically become more outspoken both at school and at home. A “New York Times” education article reported that Dominican parents often feel themselves “losing control of their children, who are shedding their cultural restrictions. They view New York City school children as arrogant and flamboyant, with no respect for their elders. Such contrasting expectations between children and parents cause stress at home” (2009). Additionally, many impoverished parents view their children’s education in our school system as a costly endeavor. “According to the World Bank, 13 percent of children ages 7-14 in the Dominican Republic work outside the home, rather than attend school. According to Unicef, 16 percent of children ages 10-17 are illiterate” (2006). Usually, one or both parents have little or no education and many parents would rather see their children work than go to school.<br />Though this research taught me about Dominican culture and has given me some insights, I never was able to figure out how to engage this student’s mother. And, unfortunately, she was merely the first in a long line of other indifferent parents. I was shocked by how little these parents wanted to get involved in their children’s education. My school doesn’t do a good job of organizing extracurricular activities, and the events that my school has organized had a very low parent turnout. I understand that involving parents in their children’s education is at the foundation of high school student achievement; moreover, I am certain that if more parents were involved, many of the problems (the high-absenteeism, high-cut rate, low-homework production) would go away. However, besides making telephone calls and begging parents to meet for conferences, how much can I do? How much should I do? I recognize that I must understand my students in thousands of ways, but do I really have to do that for parents as well? Do I really have to find ways to engage them in their child’s education? Or should they just take some responsibility and act like adults?<br /><br />References<br /><br />The New York Times. Ask about dominicans in new york. (March 16,2009).<br /><br />http://www.articlesbase.com/education-articles/dominican-children-in-new-york-city-<br />schools-face-twoedged-sword-of-difficulties-37687.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-9230866863181080602009-07-20T15:20:00.000-04:002009-07-20T15:22:00.797-04:00The Benefits of Professionalism in TeachingTeaching has not always been considered to be a profession. Instead, it has been considered a job, not a career. Since the 1970s there have been movements that have tried to elevate teaching to the status of a career. The Holmes Group (1986) dedicated itself to making teaching a “genuine” profession (Abdal-Haqq, 1992). In many ways, that vision has been realized with the teaching profession today. Professionalism is a positive force in the teaching industry, creating a strong workforce of qualified individuals.<br /><br />There is a debate about what even constitutes a profession. Pratte & Rury (1991) listed four specifications for a career. Those include remuneration, social status, autonomous or authoritative power and service. However, there is much debate about the criteria. A clarification of the definition of ‘professionalism’ provided by Sockett (1990), who stressed that the quality of practice is an important component (1992). In The Threshold of the Millennium, Frymire (1995) outlined six characterizations of professionals. These include:<br /><br />1. Professionals not only provide service to others, but also help other people.<br />2. Professionals have special skills and methods that they employ in helping their clients and these skills and methods are taught in the professional schools.<br />3. Professionals base what they do on the best research practices available.<br />4. Professionals make decision [sic] that affect other people, and the people who are affected usually do not know if the decisions are correct.<br />5. Because of a professional code of ethics, the client expects the professional to practice under the highest standards of a particular profession.<br />6. “True professionals” use their professional organizations to make sure that every member of the group adheres to the highest ethical principles. (Robards, 2008, pps. 18-19).<br /><br />The benefits of the professionalism movement can be seen by the ways in which Frymire’s (1995) criteria has been fulfilled. Firstly, teaching is undoubtedly a service oriented profession. Teachers create positive citizens, an educated workforce and help shape fundamental ethical and moral beliefs. However, as with any service-oriented profession, teachers can sometimes be blamed for the evils in society (2008). Secondly, teachers need to prove their understandings of content knowledge and pedagogy before receiving certification to teach. Proving Frymire’s (1995) third point, teachers use research in their work with the use of data-driven instruction. In line with the fourth item, students may assume that their teachers are all-knowing or that there is absolute truth in what is taught and how it is taught. That is why there are requirements about the coursework and training a teacher must have, so that a teacher may present an unbiased perspective and thorough working knowledge to create effective lesson plans. Fifth relates to a professional code of ethics, which correlates to the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) standards. These standards are to ensure that educators are prepared in the pedagogical, psychological and personalized needs of the students. The last requirement is that there are professional organizations that uphold the integrity of the group members. Teachers have various professional organizations across content areas, including the National Education Association (NEA). The professionalism movement has fulfilled the criteria that Frymire (1995) proposed, and has strengthened the teaching profession as a result.<br />Case et al. (1986) contended that teaching lacked a collegium, which was one of their requirements of professionalism (1992). However, it is not the case that teachers lack an assembly of colleagues. There is an emerging collaborative atmosphere in teaching to focus on the needs of students. For example, there are co-teaching situations, team teaching and specialists who all contribute to meet the needs of students.<br />Professionalism creates a qualified workforce. In New York State, teachers must first receive an initial certification before they receive a professional certification. To receive the initial certification, one must pass three exams that focus on pedagogical and content-related information and complete a student teaching experience. For the professional certification, which is a permanent certificate, one of the requirements is completing a Master’s degree. With many other high-profile professions (including the President of the United States), a Master’s degree is beneficial but not a requirement. The fact that one needs a graduate level degree indicates that teaching is a profession.<br /><br />The fact that professionalism requires a solid foundation of knowledge is beneficial to students. When Leighton & Sykes (1992) were outlining recommendations for professionalism to be incorporated into the Kentucky Department of Education, they described a the tendency of unprepared teachers to either, “circumscribe lessons carefully to include only those areas that they have mastered or to present skills without the conceptual underpinnings that students need for generalizing to other applications,” (Leighton & Sykes, 1992). Unprepared teachers may hinder their students from developing enduring understandings about the information.<br />Great strides have been made in the world of teaching since it was challenged as a “true” profession. As a group, teachers are dedicated to meeting the needs of students of all levels and abilities. The rise of the professionalism movement has created a strong pool of highly trained and educated individuals. Professionalism is a benefit to the teaching industry that is manifested across all levels in schools today.<br /><br /><br />References:<br />Abdal-Haqq, I. (1992). Professionalizing teaching: Is there a role for professional development schools? ERIC Clearinghouse on Teacher Education. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED347153). Retrieved July 17, 2009 from http://www.eric.ed.gov/<br /><br />Leighton, M.S. & Sykes, G. (1992). The professionalization of teaching: Centerpiece of Kentucky reform. Policy Issues. Charleston, WV: State Policy Program, Appalachia Educational Laboratory.<br /><br />Robards, S.N. (2008). Teaching as a profession. College Teaching Methods & Styles Journal 4(5), 17-20.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-76979847453612500292009-07-20T15:03:00.001-04:002009-07-20T15:05:47.551-04:00It's All a Game!<span style="font-size:130%;">In her book <span style="font-style: italic;">Rethinking Middle Years</span>, Victoria Carrington cites a study which claims that “the average American teenager will have spent at least 10000 hours playing computer games by the time the complete compulsory education” (2006). 10,000 hours, an amount that Sociologist Malcolm Gladwell suggests for the benchmark time that must be spent for a person to become an expert (2008). The two numbers are hardly a coincidence. If nothing else, our students are learning how to live as experts in the virtual world.<br /><br />Students, and Americans as a whole, are spending more and more time online or connected to the digital world. This class is a case in point. We are meeting in an online forum to discuss the history and future of education. And that future is moving more and more into the realm of the virtual.<br /><br />My inner Luddite may grumble at the loss of the printed world, of the feeling of ink on paper, but my concern for Proustian sense memory is not the issue. It would be fabulous if every student had a deep desire to take a book, sit under a tree, and devour its contents in a sun-drenched afternoon. That is how I accumulated many of my 10,000 reading hours, with books in cars, on grass, under covers. Alas, students are moving from literacy to visual or digital literacy. And we as teachers will have to adapt as well.<br /><br />It’s not all bad. In fact, some say that the video game format lends itself as a perfect tool for differentiation and student self-customization. Video games have goals. This is to be certain. It’s how one wins. The narratives of “cyberdramas” can be referred to as ergodic. “That is, the actions of participants impact on the shape and outcomes of the computer game and, further, the game itself requires concerted and sustained effort to navigate (Carrington 2006). If coded correctly, video games can be used to assess, instruct, and guide a student’s learning in the online world. One must find a way to present the knowledge in game form, but the possibilities for student success could be vast.<br /><br />Case in point. There was a study recently which used video games to teach healthy eating habits to 9 and 10 year old low-income African American children who, presumably, had never been taught proper nutrition. They were told to play a specifically designed advergame, which are online games designed to promote a product. They were then given their choice of healthy and unhealthy snacks. Those who completed the healthier advergame, which promoted healthy eating habits, picked healthier snacks in smaller quantities (Pempek & Calvert, 2009).<br /><br />We are entering a brave new world. Barring a massive and unforeseen technological change, our lives, our children’s lives, usw., will be lived online in higher amounts. The challenge is – can we as teachers adapt to the new technologies that are available for us? Teachers already wear many hats. We are parents, gurus, mentors, friends, disciplinarians, decorators, authorities. Now we have to add computer programmer to the list.<br /><br />Sources:<br />Carrington, V. <span style="font-style: italic;">Rethinking middle years: Early adolescents, schooling and digital culture. </span> (2006). Allen & Unwin: Crows Nest NSW, Australia.<br /><br />Gladwell, M. <span style="font-style: italic;">Outliers.</span> (2008). Little, Brown and Company: New York.<br /><br />Pempek, T., & Calvert, S.. (2009). Tipping the Balance: Use of Advergames to Promote Consumption of Nutritious Foods and Beverages by Low-Income African American Children. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 163(7), 633. Retrieved July 20, 2009, from American Medical Association. (Document ID: 1780612451).<br /><br /></span>JMChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05348204962825925839noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-50170953158640405892009-07-20T13:36:00.000-04:002009-07-20T13:38:02.758-04:00Should We Ask Students to Turn it in Through Turnitin?According to plagiarism.org, Education Week reported that in a national poll 54% of students admitted to using the internet to plagiarize and in the year preceding the poll 74% admitted that had been involved in "serious" cheating (iParadigms LLC, 2009). Plagiarism and academic dishonesty erode the integrity of our educational system and unfortunately these statistics show that they are also widespread. If you asked any educator they would, of course, denounce plagiarism, but the issue is much more complex than simply condemning or permitting this behavior. Underlying the issue of plagiarism remain deeper questions on how do we teach students to express their ideas through writing, how do we alert students to the pitfalls of plagiarism, and lastly how do we detect and prevent plagiarism in the classroom.<br />Most students know that they cannot simply take someone’s words and represent them as their own original thoughts or ideas; yet when probed deeper many do not know the precise definition of plagiarism. Plagiarism is the act of using another’s thoughts, ideas, or concepts and presenting them as new or original ideas or without properly citing the original source (iParadigms LLC, 2009). The second part of the definition is where many students find themselves in hot water. There is a lack of emphasis on teaching students how to properly research and cite evidence to support their own personal opinions and ideas. Especially in the age of the internet students need to be taught to understand the guidelines for citing sources and acceptable use of outside sources. I have personally observed the lack of student awareness to plagiarism. I have watched students take internet sources and a thesaurus to change key words while keeping everything else, including the meaning and sentence structure exactly the same. When questioned, these students were oblivious to the fact that they are engaging in plagiarism. In order to support the development of solid writing skills teachers need to give concrete examples of plagiarism. Often teachers overlook addressing the question of how much secondary information can be incorporated into student papers before their work blurs the line between original thought and regurgitation. Another reason plagiarism has become a serious issue to combat is availability of information on the internet. This information has the potential to seriously undermine the integrity of the ideas expressed in student papers because much of the information available on the internet is not checked for validity. Students who incorporate thoughts and ideas into their papers without checking the quality of the source compromise the quality of their own work. Some teachers have even taken the extreme stance of not allowing students to incorporate internet research into their work (ERIC). Assuming the internet in the source of our nation’s plagiarism epidemic is misguided. When students properly cite their sources, this can prompt them to evaluate the validity of the source itself. The simple act of properly citing sources may deter students from incorporating suspect information in their papers. <br />iParadigms, a bay-area based IT company, set out to tackle the question of how to detect plagiarism in student work in 1996. This company created Turnitin, an anti-plagiarism computer program, as their response. Turnitin uses computer programs to scan student papers and both compare them to its database for possible plagiarism and also check for proper citation use and formatting. Turnitin has amassed a substantial paper database through the logging of student papers turned in for review, as well as scanning and logging written work in web pages and other print resources. When a paper is submitted for analysis, Turnitin produces a report that highlights any passages that are potentially plagiarized and supplies the original sources for the instructor to compare and evaluate for themselves. Turnitin, as well as a few other anti-plagiarism software programs, has become widely used at the collegiate level. Spotting plagiarizers is not the only benefit for educators to use an anti-plagiarism program like Turnitin. According to Mark Sheldon, Assistant Dean of Northwestern University's Weinberg College of Arts and Science, "One of the real values from my point of view is that it serves as a deterrent. It lets students know that their papers will be checked. It's not about catching students” (Pilon,2006).<br /> Not all individuals are sold on the idea of schools using anti-plagiarism software to police the work of their students. Four high school students objected so strongly to their teachers’ insistence that they submit work via Turnitin that they filed a copyright infringement case against iParadigms asserting that iParadigms should not be allowed to archive their original student work without their permission. In 2008, The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled in favor of iParadigms, stating that the archival of student papers was to be considered “fair use.”(Higgins, 2009) Another criticism of anti-plagiarism software is papers that rely heavily on research, even when the research is properly cited and ideas heavily elaborated upon, can be red-flagged for a high probability of plagiarism. Also, anti-plagiarism software cannot detect falsified citations or fabricated research. <br /> So the question remains, is anti-plagiarism software an effective and fair method in preventing plagiarism? I believe that it can be a useful tool in an educator’s classroom. Letting students know that they will be held accountable for their work and that their work will be carefully analyzed for proper citations and originality of ideas is a great motivator for some students to raise the quality of their work. However, one must keep in mind that anti-plagiarism software is not a method for determining the quality of a paper. Instructors cannot mistake a low probability of plagiarism on a paper for a high quality writing sample. Once the paper’s authenticity has been verified it is then the instructor’s task to evaluate the work within the parameters of the assignment guidelines. My faith in the usefulness of anti-plagiarism software also hinges on the principle that all teachers must teach their students what quality of work is expected of them and more importantly how to achieve that goal. There are many resources available to educators and students on avoiding plagiarism. The OWL at Purdue is just one university run website that is available for use by anyone that has a large collection of writing guidelines, tips, and suggestions. There is a specific section on this site for avoiding plagiarism. Teachers must take the time to show how to incorporate resources like the OWL into their classroom, show students how to properly cite their work and the parameters for using outside ideas.<br />The greater goal of assigning written work is not to produce immaculate papers but to produce students who are skilled and thoughtful writers and give students a forum for expressing their ideas. Anti-plagiarism software cannot and will not ever be a substitute for emphasizing the fundamentals of valuable writing. If used properly in addition to a curriculum grounded in the writing process it can ensure the originality of student work. As long as expectations are clearly communicated it is certainly fair to use any and all methods possible to ensure that students are meeting and hopefully exceeding those expectations. <br />References:<br />Higgins, Brian (2009). Fourth Circuit: Turnitin's Anti-Plagiarism Service a Fair Use . Retrieved July 18, 2009, from Maryland Intellectual Property Law Blog Web site: http://www.marylandiplaw.com/2009/05/articles/copyrights/fourth-circuit-turnitins-antiplagiarism-service-a-fair-use/<br />Howard, Rebecca Moore (2009). Plagiarism in the Internet Age. Educational Leadership, 66(6), 64-67. (ERIC Document, ED EJ834080). Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/<br />iParadigms LLC, (2009). What is Plagiarism?. Retrieved July 18, 2009, from Plagiarism.org Web site: http://www.plagiarism.org/index.html<br />Pilon, Mary (2006, May 22). USA Today. Retrieved July 20, 2009, from Anti-plagiarism Programs Look Over Students' Work Web site: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-05-22-plagiarism-digital_x.htmKara Montgomeryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05134193858393094477noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-36386814968671827322009-07-20T13:02:00.002-04:002009-07-20T13:06:54.222-04:00Essay # 2: Anti- Plagiarism SoftwareIngrid K. <br /><br />After reviewing literature which discusses plagiarism in education, it is apparent that plagiarism is a problem affecting learning communities consisting of students of all age levels, including high school, college and graduate school (Villano, 2006;Warn, 2006; Dahl, 2007). In his article Dahl (2007) discusses one possible cause of plagiarism. This being what he feels is the “ambiguity” surrounding the definition of the act of plagiarism itself. As plagiarism really consists of a variety of acts, ranging from directly using someone else’s words to substituting or paraphrasing someone else’s words without correctly referencing the idea, the severity or level of plagiarism varies (Warn, 2006). More recently, plagiarism has become even more difficult to define and therefore to control as increased access to and the use of the internet has made information in a variety of forms more readily available. As Warn (2006) discusses, the internet allows students to more easily access information contained in research articles, academic essays or other materials which may supply a student with helpful information in researching and writing about a topic. Villano (2006) cites a study conducted by the Rutgers University Management Education Center which found that 60% of high school students surveyed (18,000 responses total) admitted to plagiarizing some form of academic work. This statistic helps to illustrate the problem plagiarism is posing in classrooms, specifically high school classrooms. One such solution being proposed and adopted by many schools (and universities), is that of using computer software that is designed to help detect plagiarism. While many argue such software is helpful in the detection of plagiarism, some feel that is should not be used alone and can not be the only solution to minimizing and reducing this problem in our classrooms. <br /> <br />There are a variety of software systems or databases which are being marketed to help teachers and schools reduce plagiarism. One such system discussed by Dahl(2007) is Turnitin. Turnitin is a software system which has been designed to enable students to upload and submit academic work (such as research papers, etc) online. Turnitin is then able to check a variety of databases and internet sources to find “word matches” which may be an indication of plagiarism. Turnitin and other similar systems are then able to provide both student and teacher or professor with an “originality report” (Dahl, 2007; Warn, 2006). This originality report can inform a teacher of any “verbatim matches” or “word string matches” (Warn, 2005), informing the teacher or professor of work that might constitute as being plagiarized and prompting them to investigate if necessary. While this software has been deemed helpful in enabling teachers and professors to combat the types of plagiarism the internet has in many ways made more “accessible” to students, a heavy reliance on this software is not without criticism.<br /><br />As discussed by Warn (2006), plagiarism software mainly focuses on finding “word string matches” between student work and materials found through databases and internet searches. Because of this Warn (2006) argues with an increased use of this software and therefore an increased student familiarity with this software, many students will begin to use heavy paraphrasing, editing key words to minimize the matches detected by such software. As Warn (2006) explains, “the trajectory of behavior encouraged by the software is for students to increase the amount of paraphrasing and tweak the level of direct copying until it falls under the sensitivity of the software detection tool. In effect the end-result is that students will become adept at ‘Going under the radar’ (Warn, 2006, p.196). Warn (2006) also discusses how students often times have access to similar plagiarism software, allowing them to check and re-check work, tweaking it until, as is explained above, plagiarism is undetectable. In essence, his argument is that with increased use of such software in the classroom, students will become more adapt at weaving around this software. Therefore in the end, this software might make students “better” plagiarizers through teaching them how to avoid being caught. Because of this Warn (2006), argues that such software must be used alongside a host of other efforts which seek to minimize the use of plagiarism in schools. <br /> <br />As Warn (2006) states, “the solution to reducing plagiarism may rest more on prevention rather than detection” (Warn, 2006, p. 202). Both Warn (2006) and Villano (2006) argue that one effective preventative measure might be to include citation and reference training into classroom curriculum. Cody, as cited in Villano (2006) feels that teachers must not only define what constitutes plagiarism but go over this with their students. As he explains, many students, especially younger students, may not understand the difference between extracting information from a source verses using the same exact words of the source. Therefore it is essential that teachers review and practice this with their students (Villano, 2006). In many ways, understanding the rules and boundaries surrounding citing and referencing sources is like any skill taught in the classroom; in order for it to become “second nature” it must be practiced and reviewed. Warn (2006) found that even at the college level, students often struggled with using correct citation formats and often used a variety of citation styles in one piece of writing. Warn’s review of related research demonstrates a need to incorporate these skills directly into a course, making them part of both instruction and assessment (Warn, 2006). <br /> <br />Both Warn (2006) and Villano (2006)mention changing the nature of assignments themselves as a method to avoid plagiarism. Warn (2006) discusses how it is often tasks and assignments which require the regurgitation of information, and lack creativity, that are more prone to plagiarism. In citing McKenzie (1998), Warn (2006) discusses how assignments that, “promote the active involvement of students by having them solve problems, analyse issues or make decisions”, may reduce plagiaristic tendencies. Johnson as cited in Villano (2006) agrees with this idea and feels that assignments which require the use of student “creativity and personalization” will help to minimize plagiarism (Villano, 2006, p.4). <br /> <br />While both research and practice acknowledge the helpfulness of plagiarism software in detecting and combating plagiarism, many argue that it can not be used alone. In many ways software, like many other digital tools, lacks what Dahl refers to as “human judgment”, prompting criticism (Dahl, 2007). Therefore, while such software allows teachers to check the plethora of sources available to their students through the internet, it must not become a teacher or educators’ sole tool in combating plagiarism. Instead as discussed above, educators must, in the face of the expanding body of knowledge available to their students, change the strategies and tools they use in the classroom. As with many aspects of education, relying heavily on one tool, strategy or practice does not always lead to the best results. Teachers much embrace a variety of approaches in helping their students become better learners; this is no different when it comes to helping minimize the use of plagiarism. <br /><br /><br />References<br /><br />Dahl, S. (2007, January 1). Turnitin: The student perspective on using plagiarism detection software. Active Learning in Higher Education, (8)2, 173-191. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ767170) Retrieved July 18, 2009, from ERIC database<br /><br />Villano, M. (2006, October). Fighting plagiarism: Taking the work out of homework. T.H.E Journal, 33(15), 24-30. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ762470). Retrieved July 18, 2009, from ERIC database. <br /><br />Warn, J. (2006, May 1). Plagiarism software: No magic bullet!. Higher Education Research and Development, 25(2), 195-208. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. EJ736205) Retrieved July 18, 2009, from ERIC database.Ingrid Kvamhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04474618156958599889noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-82809636294467184742009-07-18T22:21:00.001-04:002009-07-18T22:23:20.994-04:00Topic #2 Let’s Step Outside: A New Look at After-School ProgramsMany schools now have mandated after–school programs. Students and teachers both tend to hate the programs, viewing them as a waste of time. And yet, there is evidence that a well-run after-school program can be beneficial. How can we make these programs more appealing to everyone involved?<br /><br />Current psychological studies have discovered an increase of academic achievement, and social and emotional development associated with successful after-school programs. The After School Alliance (2008) has shown data that test scores and reading skills of students who have participated in after-school programs improved significantly. According to Robert Granger (2008), when after-school programs are structured properly, reading skills, which may ultimately improve test scores. After-school programs also show an increase in self-regulated learning ability. The significance is that it is here that goals are established, strategies are selected, self-efficacy is evaluated and considered, and orientation is set upon established goals.<br />Since so many students and teachers seem to have little interest in the standard after-school programs, what if we took the classes outside to form outdoor programs (focused on preparing students for an excursion, like kayaking or white-water rafting, or rock climbing)? There are many benefits of outdoor education which are supported by current psychological research: increase in academic performance, self-efficacy, and ability to properly set goals for the future. James Neil (2002) concludes that outdoor education programs (such as Outward Bound) appear to produce small to moderate effects on adolescents’ self-perceptions of capabilities and personal qualities.<br /><br />John Hattie et al. (1997) note that the types of goals usually set in outdoor adventure programs are more likely to be attained if the goal-setter is provided with appropriate feedback and opportunities for adequate reflection. Hatie et al. further shows that participants in outdoor education experience additional growth on returning to their home environments, which is impressive in that longitudinal education and research usually show a loss over time of immediate benefits. Anthony Pellegrini and Catherine Bohn (2004) have shown that recess is more beneficial for early elementary-school-age children. Additionally, Cason and Gillis (1994) have concluded that younger adolescents get more out of outdoor education than do older adolescents, whose self-concept is more resistant to change.<br /><br />Building student self-efficacy will be essential in this type of program. Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in his ability to perform in a manner that gives him control over the events of affecting his life. Ideally, students participating in outdoor programs would have opportunities to work toward a goal that he or she may never have dreamed of achieving. If students can accomplish such foreign tasks as bear-proofing a campsite, the pride may translate into motivation in other areas of skills.<br /><br />Students’ abilities to monitor their progress in outdoor activities as well as share in the control of their experiences will allow them to develop skills as self-regulated learners. In his article on self-regulation and motivation, B. Zimmerman (2008) states that self-regulated learning is a proactive process that involves self-monitoring one’s effectiveness, rather than a reactive event that happens to students due to impersonal forces. Students would not only be able to demonstrate an ability (i.e., how to effectively scale and rock climb), but also reflect on this process both during and after the activity.<br /><br />Outdoor after-school programs would, of course, be more expensive to operate and more difficult to staff. They would, however, provide motivation for both teachers and students, while still being academically and developmentally sound.<br /><br />References<br /><br />Afterschool Alliance (2008) Issue Brief No. 31: Afterschool fosters success in school. Washington, DC.<br /><br />Bennion, John & Olson, Burton. (2002). Wilderness writing: Using personal narrative to enhance outdoor experience. The Journal of Experiential Education, 25, 239-247.<br /><br />Cason D., & Gillis, H. L. (1994). A meta-analysis of outdoor adventure programming with adolescents. Journal of Experiential Education, 17, (1), 40-47<br /><br />Granger, R. , Durlak, J. A., Yohalem, N., & Reisner, E. (2007). Improving after-school program quality. New York, NY: William T. Grant Foundation.<br /><br />Hattie, J., Marsh, H. W., Neill, J. T. & Richards, G. E. (1997). Adventure Education and Outward Bound: Out-of-class experiences that have a lasting effect. Review of Educational Research, 67, 43-87.<br /><br />Neill, J. T. (2002). Meta-analytic research on the outcomes of outdoor education. Paper presented to the 6th Biennial Coalition for Education in the Outdoors Research Symposium, Bradford Woods, IN.<br /><br />Pellegrini, A. & Bohn, C. (2005). The role of recess in childrens’s cognitive performance and school adjustment. Educational Researcher, vol. 34, No. 1, 13-19.<br /><br />Zimmerman, B. (2008). Investigating self-regulation and motivation: Historical background, methodological developments, and future prospects. American Educational Research Journal, 45, (1), 166-184Jay Pearsallhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16460229130554392442noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-19648500218239378052009-07-17T20:07:00.003-04:002009-07-17T20:31:57.244-04:00Essay #2: Challenges to Parental School Involvement in Multicultural CommunitiesOne of the most-discussed issues within modern education circles is parental involvement in schools. Teachers want to get their students’ families more involved; parents want to know how to do so, given many perceived obstacles; and students want to know their parents care about their achievement. However, involving parents in the school community is not an easy task. Teachers and parents differ on what it means to be involved, and parents perceive roadblocks in their involvement. To compound this problem, most school systems lack concrete implementation of organizational goals when it comes to families in the learning community (Zarate, 2007). This essay looks at parental involvement within the Latino community, since this group provided many examples of how cultural differences can inhibit and challenge parent-teacher-student communication.<br /><br />Generally speaking, Latino parents tend to view their school participation as mostly concerning life involvement, although – to a lesser degree – parents also see academic involvement as important. Life involvement refers to nurturing a child’s moral development, monitoring his/her peer groups, and ensuring his/her safety. Academic involvement, of course, refers to attendance of parent-teacher conferences, asking questions, monitoring homework, and holding their children to high academic standards. Latino parents see themselves educating their children in a joint endeavor with their classroom teachers (Zarate, 2007).<br /><br />While those expectations theoretically place parents as very active members of the learning community, they often face challenges that limit connectivity to their children’s learning. One limitation identified by Zarate (2007) is interactivity in student homework. Since several parents in the author’s study were not high school graduates they did not feel equipped to assist their children as a result. Also, many of the parents spoke Spanish fluently and English very little, so perceived a communication hindrance. <br /><br />Another limitation to parent participation the school community involves work demands. Many Latino parents in Zarate’s (2007) study were hourly workers who would need to sacrifice time and money if they were to attend school events during the day. Fear of job loss was a huge factor related to this challenge.<br /><br />While these limitations are presented within the context of one culture group, they do exist in many other culture and socioeconomic groups. The obstacles mentioned above tend to frustrate many educators, because they tend to view potential involvement (i.e. parent-teacher conferences, open houses, and back-to-school nights) as essential for parents. Therefore, a conflict exists. Zarate (2007) provides examples that amplify this conflict. She tells about three incidents in which educators treat parents of honors students better than parents of other students because of their abilities to attend afternoon school events and to contribute more financially to schools. So the level of parents’ concern for their children’s education was wrongly being judged based on uncontrollable circumstances.<br /><br />Parents and teachers become further frustrated by the above struggle when students’ expectations of their parents enter the equation. In her study, Zarate (2007) also spoke with the children of the Latino parents, previously interviewed, to learn how the students want their parents involved in their education. Some common expectations include: 1) following up about the students’ school day, 2) giving encouragement, and 3) providing discipline and structure. These comments closely track with the ideals their parents appear to hold, but are often unable to fulfill. What is to be done about this situation?<br /><br />I want to suggest how middle ground can be found in this dilemma. First, Zarate (2007) mentions implementing training classes, where educators provide curricular, language, and communication skills that parents need to keep up with their children’s classwork. Second, schools should employ translators that can aid in parent-teacher conferences and similar meetings. Third, schools need to plan events and activities during times most convenient for parents. Finally, Zarate urges schools and districts to implement measurable standards that explicitly mention what it means to be actively involved in education. I personally view all four suggestions as very crucial to building a functioning learning community.<br /><br />Regarding measurable standards for involvement, there appears to be a lapse between the district level and the state level. This lapse is apparent through information provided by Agronick, Clark, O’Donnell, and Stueve (2009). The authors claim, “The basic tenets for parent engagement are laid forth in the NCLB Act and Title I registration.” For example, the Connecticut State Board of Education in 2006 called for the development and provision of programs that address parental literacy skills and student safety within schools. Further, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) in 2001 created "Parental Involvement Policies for Schools and School Districts," which acknowledges parental need for guidance in learning how to best help their children, and, “encourages schools and districts to communicate such strategies.” NYSED also attempts to hold districts accountable to parental involvement programs by requiring them to report progress results. According to Zarate (2007), generally speaking, these requirements are being overlooked. My question is this: How effective are the state and federal agencies in maintaining accountability with districts? Unfortunately, my research leaves this question unanswered.<br /><br />In reflecting on parent-teacher communication breakdown in multicultural environments, and based on research, my bias tends to lie within the parents’ point of view. Parents should not be judged as unconcerned or apathetic about their children’s academic achievement simply because their life constraints differ from those of schools or of other cultures. Further, I tend to adopt the Latino point of view mentioned earlier in that parents and teachers should work together to holistically raise children—with the parents’ primary focus being life involvement and students’ primary focus being academic achievement. As such, I believe it indeed does take a village to raise a child, and that providing academic guidance is my role in the village. To gain a better sense of my students’ challenges and strengths, I need to consider factors outside of the classroom. Communication with parents and other family members is crucial in that case. In order to do so, schools and teachers need to provide realistic opportunities for parents to participate in the conversation. <br /><br />REFERENCES<br /><br />Agronick, G., Clark, A., O’Donnell, L., Stueve, A. (2009). Parent involvement strategies in urban middle and high schools in the Northeast and Island region. Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands Region. (ERIC Document, ED505024). Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/<br /><br />Zarate, M. E. (2007). Understanding Latino parental involvement in education: Perceptions, expectations, and recommendations. Tomas Rivera Policy Institute. (ERIC Document, ED502065). Retrieved from http://www.eric.ed.gov/Eric Joseph Nallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04236220492156995589noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-34745483450739322702009-07-17T15:42:00.001-04:002009-07-17T15:46:46.314-04:00Topic #2: The Unintended Consequences of No Child Left Behind<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><u><span style="font-family:Times"><br />The Unintended Consequences of No Child Left Behind<o:p></o:p></span></u></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Times"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Over the years many people have become inflamed with increasing federal encroachment on states’ rights, specifically with regards to education. Federal encroachment, however, has not always been bad. For instance, the decision of Brown v. Wade that called for desegregation of public schools was not fully enforced until federal law saw to it with the Elementary and Secondary School Act of 1965, more than ten years after the Supreme Court decision (McDermott, K. A., Jensen, L. S., 2005). According to McDermott et al (2005) “</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family: Palatino-Roman">NCLB now employs the power of the purse in an effort to force states and localities to hold all students to high standards and to end what President Bush has labeled “the soft bigotry of low expectations” (Lemann, 1997).” The goals of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) are commendable in scope and intent; however, have the unintended consequences given rise to more problems than ever envisioned?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family: Palatino-Roman"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>In order to evaluate the effectiveness of NCLB it is necessary to gain an understanding of the policy’s intent. As Bush labeled the system as being one of “soft bigotry,” the first aim was to close the achievement gap that existed between minority and white students. The second goal (very much interrelated to the first) was to improve literacy, by making reading a priority in the curriculum. The government also wanted to reduce a bureaucracy that they saw as inefficient, and last “reward success and sanction failure” (<i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">No Child Left Behind, </i>2002). This was one of the most far- reaching programs ever initiated by the government, and while some would argue that it was not a mandate in the sense that states did not have to follow the policies, the economic strings that the government attached to the policy made it virtually impossible for states to not adhere to it. In the words of McDermott et al (2005) </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 10.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family:Roman">“You can’t call it [NCLB] a mandate. It’s a tradeoff if you accept the money.”</span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family: Palatino-Roman"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:10.0pt;line-height:200%;font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family: Palatino-Roman"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>It is evident in the text of NCLB that the students the act was really aiming to help were those who were underserved and underperforming. However, according to Linda Darling- Hammond (2007) </span><span style="font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana">the unforeseen consequences of NCLB have really had the opposite effect of what policymakers had hoped for. In Hammond’s words the results “are a narrowed curriculum, focused on the low-level skills generally reflected on high- stakes tests; inappropriate assessment of English language learners and students with special needs; and strong incentives to exclude low-scoring students from school, so as to achieve test score targets. In addition, the law fails to address the pressing problems of unequal educational resources across schools serving wealthy and poor children and the shortage of well-prepared teachers in high-need schools” (2007). <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: .5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family:Times;mso-bidi-font-family:Verdana">The last point made by Darling- Hammond stating that there remains an unequal distribution of resources across schools has been corroborated by Manna (2008) as he notes that </span><span style="font-size:11.5pt;line-height:200%; font-family:TimesNewRoman;mso-bidi-font-family:TimesNewRoman">from 2004-05, “the share of Title I funding for the highest-poverty schools also remained virtually unchanged since 1997- 98, and those schools continued to receive smaller Title I allocations per low-income student than did low-poverty schools.” How could a system that aimed to provide funding to those most in need in actuality have done the exact opposite? Manna has argued that “the federal contribution is so small and spread so thinly across many districts and schools that these targeted federal dollars are essentially unable to create more equitable patterns of per pupil expenditures across district lines” (2008). <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: .5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;line-height:200%;font-family: TimesNewRoman;mso-bidi-font-family:TimesNewRoman">As Darling- Hammond (2005) noted, in addition to the lack of funds being disbursed to those most in need there also seems to be a problem with the forms of assessment that NCLB insists upon in order to maintain a structure of accountability. These tests have been criticized as lacking true rigor, which has the implication that they do not hold our students to high expectations (a stated aim of NCLB). In an ironic twist, those who argue against the repercussions of NCLB on the premise that it is an encroachment on states rights and that it has not truly upheld its mission, would be surprised to hear the opinions of Manna. According to Manna (2005), the very reason why these tests have lacked rigor and high expectations is because NCLB has given the states <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">too much</i> leeway in creating their own exams that they have caved to the pressures of accountability and created tests that are at best watered down. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: .5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;line-height:200%;font-family: TimesNewRoman;mso-bidi-font-family:TimesNewRoman">The implications of the lack of rigor that state tests exhibit are two- fold. First, NCLB’s goal of raising standards has not been achieved. Second, due to the variance in testing across the country it has become impossible to objectively gauge how states are performing relative to one another (Manna, 2005). <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: .5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;line-height:200%;font-family: TimesNewRoman;mso-bidi-font-family:TimesNewRoman">In light of the inconsistencies across state testing and standards it becomes increasingly difficult to really determine if the policy has had positive effects on the national level. However, several studies have noted a narrowing of the achievement gap since the inception of NCLB (Manna, 2005). One study in particular, was done through the U.S. Department of Education over several years in thirty- five states. The findings noted “low-income students improved their performance in elementary school reading in 27 of 35 states, a finding that paralleled mathematics achievement for middle school students” (Manna, 2005). <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: .5in;line-height:200%;mso-pagination:none;mso-layout-grid-align:none; text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;line-height:200%;font-family: TimesNewRoman;mso-bidi-font-family:TimesNewRoman">Overall, there have been more negative responses to NCLB than positive. Many of the unforeseen consequences have resulted from the freedom that many states have been given in interpreting and handling the policy. So, while many critics have argued against NCLB’s unfunded mandates, I want to push this argument further by stating that while the federal government has the ability to see education policy from a much broader perspective, it has failed to complement that perspective with the critical and unique issues of individual states. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: Times"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:Times"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-family: Times"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Roman;mso-bidi-font-family:Roman"><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><u><span style="font-family:Times"><o:p><span style="text-decoration: none"> </span></o:p></span></u></b></p> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><u><span style="font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Times;mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US"><br /> </span></u></b><!--EndFragment-->Camillahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00298767940204941663noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-71261617228622182572009-07-16T16:12:00.002-04:002009-07-16T18:28:28.627-04:00To track or not to track: relenquishing a decades-old education practiceThe concept of tracking students seemed almost foreign when I brought it up at a literacy department meeting at my school a few months ago. “Why would we do something like that,” the assistant principal replied as she raised a confused eyebrow in my direction. “Well, that’s how I was taught, why wouldn’t we do it,” was my naïve response.” The ensuring tirade on the meaninglessness of tracking opened my eyes to a paradigm shift in education that has been taking place since at least the 1970s. My A.P. went on to explain how tracking students helps “level the playing field” for lower-performing students and allows them to see how their peers are performing and, ultimately, to model their academic behavior themselves.”<br /> According to social scientist Jeannie Oakes, tracking is “the practice of dividing students into separate classes for high-, average-, and low-achievers; it lays out different curriculum paths for students headed for college and for those who are bound directly for the workplace” (Oakes, 1986). In practice, tracking begins as early as first grade and continues through a student’s high school career (Kershaw, 1992). From a young age, students are grouped with other students who perform on a similar level as they do; thus, high-performing students are placed in classes together while lower-performers are placed in a separate room. In high school, this is what differentiates an advanced placement scholar on a college-bound track from a low-level student who may be enrolled in a trade program, bound for the workforce.<br /> When tracking began, many supporters logically assumed that placing students of like levels in the same classroom would “socially reproduce” and “change their perceptions of their own status and ability based on where they ‘fit’ in the social structure” (Yonezawa et al, 2002). Under this guise, curriculum designers assumed students placed together by level would mimic each others’ success and behavior and reduce classroom management issues. Also, Oakes states there are several underlying assumptions about tracking; they include: tracking is the best way to address individual needs and differences and less-capable students will suffer emotional and educational damage if they have classroom contact with their brighter peers (Oakes, 1986). However, recent research seems to have turned against the idea of tracking. Oakes states that there is little evidence to support these assumptions or that tracking increases student learning.<br /> Oakes goes on to list several consequences of tracking on student development. First, she states that those who are not in top tracks “suffer clear and consistent disadvantages from tracking.” Second, research does not support the assumption that low-level students suffer when enrolled in mixed-ability classes. She states tracking actually exaggerates initial differences between students rather than accommodating them better. Finally, her research favors exposing all students to a common curriculum, even if their differences prevent the students from benefitting equally (Oakes, 1986). Yonezawa, Wells, and Serna agree and state “low-and middle-track students resist entering high-track classes because of the relationship between their places in the tracking hierarchy” (Yonezawa et al, 2002).<br /> Burris and Welner support Oakes’ opinions on tracking. They argue that tracking “denies a range of opportunities to large numbers of students, particularly minorities (Burris and Welner, 2005). They based their assertions on the results of a Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll that reported that 74% of Americans believe the achievement gap between white students and African American and Hispanic students is primarily due to factors unrelated to the quality of schooling the children receive (Burris and Welner, 2005). They assert that all students should be offered a high-track curriculum in order to ensure all students have access to an equal education.<br /> From my own teaching experience, I can see the pros and cons of the tracking argument. While our school does not track every subject, we do divide our literacy classes according to student performance on state exams, specifically, we focus on what skills the students need to focus on. We also have a Regents-level math course for our eighth graders that is dependent on the students’ scores on the 7th grade exam. However, because of the high percentage of English language learners (ELLs) in our building, we also experience a high matriculation rate of students passing the NYSESLAT exam and moving into the mainstream literacy courses. What is the appropriate placement for them? A tracking advocate would place them in a separate course for low-level literacy students, whereas a tracking opponent would encourage placing them in an inclusive classroom so the former ELLs could witness high-level student work habits. Is this a disservice to the ELL population? According to Oakes it is not, despite the reality that they may not benefit as much from the course as their peers. Simply put, the equalized curriculum better prepares them for achievement compared to a tracked one.<br /> For me, the argument against tracking was further clarified by Burris and Welner. Their argument for a high-track curriculum for all students is hard to argue against. If all students are given the same level of education or curriculum, then the argument of disparity is no longer valid. While I am apprehensive (and excited) about the possibility of educational equality, I fear that such a practice could hinder educational development since this type of curriculum would require more differentiation of instruction from teachers. Minke et al’s study on teacher experiences with inclusive classrooms also calmed some of my fears about the high-track curriculum idea. They reported that most teachers held positive views on inclusion, ranging from special education teachers to regular classroom teachers (Minke et al, 1996).<br /> While tracking’s initial purposes were valid in the middle part of the 20th century, their use and effectiveness have waned as new research has led to a variety of tactics for differentiating instruction, new teaching methods, and placed a greater emphasis on the social effects of tracked curriculums. However, until a new system is adopted on a nationwide, I feel that tracking will remain a dominate part of the educational system in schools across the country, even at my school, where such practices are done under a different guise.<br /><br />Burris, C., & Welner, K. (2005). A special section on the achievement gap – closing the achievement gap by detracking [electronic version]. Retrieved from questia.<br /><br />Kershaw, T. (1992). The effects of educational tracking on the social mobility of African Americans. Journal of Black Studies, v 23, n1.<br /><br />Minke, K., Bear, G., Deemer, S., & Griffin, S. (1996). Teachers’ experiences with inclusive classrooms: implications for special education reform. The Journal of Special Education, v 30, n2.<br /><br />Oakes, Jeannie. (1986). Keeping track, part 1: the policy and practice of curriculum inequality. Phi Delta Kappan, v 68, n1.<br /><br />Yonezawa, S., Wells, A.S., & Serna, I. (2002). Choosing tracks: “freedom of choice” in detracking schools. American Educational Research Journal, v 39.Mr. Van Owenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11671697469516558611noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-68919933590752271332009-07-15T13:29:00.001-04:002009-07-15T13:31:03.083-04:00English Language Acquisition Without Bilingual Instruction<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p><i><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>No Child Left Behind</i>'s modification of the 34-year old Bilingual Education Act in 2002 has been academically detrimental to English language learners and reinforced conservative English-only arguments associated with immigration myths.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Ronald Takaki asks <i>Are we limited to a choice between a 'disuniting' multiculturalism and a common American culture, or can we transform the 'culture war' into a meeting ground?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></i>Replacing the Bilingual Education Act with the English Language Acquisition Act seems to have indirectly answered this question with a binary agenda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""><o:p><span style="mso-spacerun: yes"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Everything regarding linguistics is sociolinguistic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>In addition, it is impossible to assume a standard exists or ever will.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">In fact, if anything approaching a universal standard variety exists at all, it is found only in the <i>written</i> form of English or any other language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Discriminating against people for the way they speak is even more unwarranted than might be obvious to any rational person, for nobody speaks either ‘English’ or ‘Standard English’; <i>everyone </i>speaks a variety of English, and SE speakers speak but one<i> variety</i> of SE” (Pincus & Ehrlich 1999).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"">The English Language Acquisition Act attempts to punish schools that do not make sufficient progress surrounding expedited fluency.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>This means native-language instruction is eliminated to make room for mandated full-immersion curriculums that neglect increased sociolinguistic proficiency. The inability to deftly code-switch, manipulate communication, or indulge in heterogeneous experiences inevitably results in personal and cultural isolation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>The English Language Acquisition Act inadvertently prevents language acquisition by a system of oppression or neglect because it suppresses native languages and hinders academic progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Academic language is intertwined with cognitive development; they work together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Developing proficiency in academic language thus means catching up and keeping up with native speakers, for eventual successful academic performance at secondary and university levels of instruction (Collier 1995)…</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Standard English is the most acceptable form of English because of historical inequalities and contemporary stratification.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>There <i>has</i> to be a “standard” language in this country because our country is dependent upon social constructs. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Whatever 'multiculturalism' may mean to its proponents, it most assuredly does not involve a rejection of English as the national lingua franca.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>No ethnic leaders have been crazy enough to suggest that immigrants can get along without learning English, nor would any immigrants pay the slightest attention to such a suggestion if it were made (Nunberg).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"">While students absolutely need to master Standard English in order to remain competitive, sacrificing their home languages is not a necessary step.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Our zeal to make every U.S. citizen and resident English-speaking has obscured a basic fact: learning English--developing a common language--does not require unlearning or not learning other languages" (Mendez 71).</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman""><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Teachers should be required to learn the languages of their students and bilingual education should be reinstated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Discouraging native languages invites unintentional latent or covert discrimination into the classroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Teachers should have to code-switch as much as their students struggle to if global adaptability does, in fact, continue to be a major catalyst for funding <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">No Child Let Behind.</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"">References<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"">Collier, Virginia P.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(1995).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>Promoting Academic Success for ESL Students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 22.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;mso-bidi-font-weight:bold">Crawford, James.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(2002).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>OBITUARY: The Bilingual Ed Act, 1968 – 2002.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Rethinking Schools Online.</i></span><span style="mso-bidi-font-size:14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: Helvetica">Mendez, Sara E.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(1989).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">A Nation of Monolinguals, a Multilingual World.</i> </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"">Nunberg, Geoffrey. Lingo Jingo: English-Only and the New Nativism. Pincus, Fred L. & Ehrlich, Howard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(1999). <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Race and Ethnic Conflict.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"">Tataki, Robert. Multiculturalism: Battleground or Meeting Ground? Pincus, Fred L. & Ehrlich, Howard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span>(1999). <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">Race and Ethnic Conflict.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </span><o:p></o:p></i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height: 150%;mso-pagination:none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:14.0pt; line-height:150%;font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:14.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;mso-pagination: none;tab-stops:.5in 1.0in 1.5in 2.0in 2.5in 3.0in 3.5in 4.0in 4.5in 5.0in 5.5in 6.0in; mso-layout-grid-align:none;text-autospace:none"><span style="font-size:14.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p> </o:p></span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Caitlin Husshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06833703740321897711noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-89826745947930992232009-07-15T02:25:00.001-04:002009-07-15T02:32:56.492-04:00Standing Between the Achievement Gap: Giving Students the Education they Deserve<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 12"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CSHAINA%7E1.DUP%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtmlclip1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><link rel="themeData" 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font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">A Personal View and Experience<o:p></o:p></span></i></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Introduction<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Graduating from grade school and high school, I felt like I was running a race that I could never finish. Sure, I was done with those levels of education, but I felt like I was leaving behind more than just the school. I never felt fulfilled by my experiences in the classroom. Even now, I feel inadequate as a student. Looking back on my education, somehow I fooled the teachers, for whatever reason I was promoted to higher grades. Maybe this is what the achievement gap is all about for English Language Learners (ELLs). Sure, I could cram just as well as anyone else. I passed tests got an average grade point average and continued pursuing higher education. But no matter how far I get, I never feel on level with my peers. I’m always a step behind, fighting to better myself, yet feeling like too many pieces have gone missing along the way. Can I reconcile my past experiences with what I am trying to achieve in higher education now?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">As it stands today, closing the achievement gap is still a prevalent issue in education today. The achievement gap was first documented in 1966. It describes a discrepancy in academic achievement between white students and African American and Hispanic. Studies show that the average black or Hispanic secondary school students’ achievement equals that of average white students’ in the lowest level of white achievement. Furthermore, Black and Hispanic students have greater high school drop out rates, do not acquire college or advanced degrees, or earn a middle-class living in comparison to white students (Chubb & Loveless, 2002).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ELLs<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>I remember being pulled out of classes. When that process began exactly, I do not know. I just remember enjoying the adventure of getting on a bus and going somewhere outside of school to meet a new teacher; one who did not know me and did not treat me badly. I remember being in a small group and receiving instruction in various subjects. I could not participate in what was going on. I remember struggling to understand what was being taught. Most of the time the experience was overwhelming because I did not know what was going on. Often times the teacher seemed to be teaching too fast. Back then I did not realize that I was actually going to ESL classes. It was not until I got into the upper grades that the acronym ESL sunk into my brain, and while I did not know what it was I felt it was something special because only a select few of us got to go. So, it had to be something special.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">ESL services today are not what they used to be when I was in grade school; even the label describing the type of learner I was has been changed. Through graduate classes I have learned that I was actually an English Language Learner (ELL). “The terms <i>limited English proficient</i> (LEP) and <i>English language learner</i> (ELL) are often used interchangeably to refer to students whose English proficiency has not yet developed to a point where they can profit fully from English instruction” (Garcia, Jensen & Scribner, 2009, p.8). Apparently, to profit fully from the English instruction I needed special services. Little did I know that my something special was actually an approach to help me with my learning deficiency. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The Communication Gap<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">My grade school started from Pre- Kindergarten and went up to 8<sup>th</sup> grade. Some of the few good experiences I remember having was in my Kindergarten class. The teacher of this class was one of the few who really believed that I was intelligent, she made me feel smart. Although I was considered such a wonderful student in Kindergarten, by the time I made it to first grade I would often have my hair pulled, my teacher would drag my seat out of the neatly lined row and push me (while still seated) to the front of the board. What had happened to me in just a year? Suddenly, I could not learn. My teacher showed great frustration with me. She was even audacious enough to write in my report card that the only subject I was good at was Lunch. <o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">I remember consistently telling my teacher defensively that I did not finish my work because I could not see the board. Even though I had received an eye examination in school that year, it was reported that my eyes were fine. My mother tired of disciplining me and talking to me about my failures, finally took another chance with me and had my eyes examined again by another doctor. It turned out that all I needed was glasses. As soon as I could see I worked as hard as I could to perform in class for my mom and my teacher. Surprisingly, I began to excel in my school work. The events leading up to the final solution to my first grade struggles will never leave me. This situation is one that I stamp in my heart and in my head to remind me that despite the fact that children have an internal world, they do have ways of communicating with teachers. It is the teacher’s job to be the analyst and more specifically the one who listens to students despite their struggles, deficiencies, or even language barriers.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>I do not know what or how my teacher thought of me, but, I remember reaching out to her. Another reason why I find this situation relevant in shaping my teaching approach is that it underlines a communication gap that still exists between teachers and students today. For example, in a New York Daily News article posted on May 8, 2009, the following was documented:’ "We've dealt with several cases of English Language Learners who … couldn't get the proper services," said Arlen Benjamin-Gomez of Advocates for Children. In some cases, those children were wrongly classified by … administrators” (Gonzalez). If teachers do not understand their students how can they help, support, and confirm them as learners?<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Teachers Make the Difference<o:p></o:p></span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><b style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span></span></b><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">While educators, scholars, and politicians are attempting to bridge the achievement gap, fingers are being pointed at “public schools,” but are the teachers, administration, or everyone in school staffs accountable? Perhaps the problem is too outspread and significant to place the blame on just one group of people, but I would like to take this argument to the teachers. In the words of one of my Fordham professors, “there is no substitute for all around good instruction.” There is extensive documentation about how teachers can impact and better the education of ELLs through various teaching approaches. I would like to go a step further and even suggest that coupled with great teaching techniques should be a welcoming, loving, and supporting teacher.<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><span style=""> </span>This year after completing my first semester of student teaching I met an ESL teacher who was pushed into an ELL self contained class. While she may have used valuable teaching techniques, her attitude toward the children often caused them to behave rebelliously and uninterested in her instruction. There are many teachers who are currently teaching who display inappropriate behaviors toward students; teachers who are somewhat like my first grade teacher. If I could reform education I would start with the teachers. My feeling about this issue is well captured in this statement: “In addition, all students, including ELLs, will benefit from reforms that improve teachers’ domain-specific expertise, pedagogical skills, and abilities to encourage student participation and engage family and community members” (Darling-Hammond & Bransford, as cited in Garcia et al., 2009).<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Work Cited<o:p></o:p></span></p> <h5><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Chubb, J.E., & Loveless, T.</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">(2002). </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span style=""> </span></span><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Bridging the achievement gap. </span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">NW<i style="">,</i>Washington:</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Brookings Institution Press.<o:p></o:p></span></h5> <h5><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Gonzalez, J. (2009, May 8). </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Test numbers too good to be true, hide achievement gap of poor students, some veteran educators say. </span><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">New York Daily News. </span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Retrieved July 14, 2009, from http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/05/08/2009-05-08_city_test_numbers_too_good_to_be_true_hide_achievement_gap_of_poor_students_some.html<o:p></o:p></span></h5> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Garcia, E. E., Jensen, B. T., & Scribner, K. P., (2009) <strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">The Demographic Imperative</span></strong></span><strong><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-weight: normal;">. </span></strong><i style=""><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Supporting English Language Learners,</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">66(7), 8-13. </span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Retrieved July 13,2009, from <o:p></o:p></span></p> <table class="MsoNormalTable" style="background: white none repeat scroll 0% 0%; width: 142.5pt; -moz-background-clip: -moz-initial; -moz-background-origin: -moz-initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: -moz-initial;" width="190" align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tbody><tr style=""> <td style="padding: 0in;" valign="top"></td> </tr> </tbody></table> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/apr09/vol66<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"><o:p> </o:p></span></p> Lady Learnerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06095504923998458094noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5342822003153605852.post-19320499389762163922009-07-14T23:56:00.000-04:002009-07-15T20:15:39.132-04:00Where have all the boys gone?The room was packed. In one of my classes, there were more students than there were desks. It was September and the first week of classes. I felt an overwhelming sense of responsibility regarding the hundred students who were being entrusted in my care as their tenth grade English teacher. Although my sense of responsibility did not dwindle, the number of students drastically did. By November, my class roster had dwindled to roughly eighty-five students. Of that number, perhaps seventy-five of my students regularly attended class. Where had all my students gone? Yes, there were the expected transfers and student switches, but a quarter of my classes gone? As I surveyed the original September roster, the stark reality hit me: Most of my missing students were males. In the inner-city, urban, high school in which I taught, I was perplexed as to why we were losing so many of our African-American and Hispanic males from the classroom.<br /> My classroom reflects a problem facing many classrooms across the country. Statistics show that on average, of African- American and Hispanic males, only 43% and 47%, respectively, are earning their high school degree (McGlamery & Mitchell, 1999). African American and Hispanic males are dropping out of high school at astonishing rates. The young men were leaving my classroom for a variety of reasons. Some received safety transfers to another school after a violent altercation, others were suspended for various infractions, and most disturbingly, some had just stopped coming to school altogether. Something has to be wrong with the systematic lack of retention of inner-city males.<br /> McGlamery and Mitchell (1999) looked at a variety of factors when considering the number of dropouts. One aspect has been the absence of Hispanic and African-American male teachers in the classroom. Many of these students fail to see someone who represents them and lack a positive male role model in their own lives. This can be disheartening to many students and confirmation of the perceived impossibility of achieving to certain levels. “Students were better able to connect with African- American [teachers] who embodied their cultures and attitudes, and thus project themselves into these new opportunities” (McGlamery & Mitchell, 1999). In the school in which I teach, more than seventy percent of the staff is female and of that less than five percent represent multicultural descent. In my own experience, students seem encouraged by this miniscule proportion of minority educators and often seek them out for advice beyond the classroom. These male teachers become mentors and role models to young men who often lack that figure in their own families.<br /> Students often seek out a mentor figure to navigate some of the challenges of an inner-city environment. Violence and gang activities are an all-too common occurrence for many male students in and out of schools. When these situations erupt, misbehavior is often punished with long-term suspensions. Minority students are often suspended more often and for longer periods of time than their white peers (Skiba, Michael, Nardo, & Peterson, 2000). When students return from these lengthy suspensions, they often will feel displaced. They no longer know what is going on in the classroom, they are unaccustomed to the classroom culture, and may be treated differently by their peers. Students may respond by disengaging altogether or acting out in a way that results in more time out of the classroom.<br />Students may also be discouraged by mandated high stakes exams. Studies have shown that states with rigorous state exams, black male students were 7.3% more likely to drop out than their peers in other states (Walden & Kristonis, 2008). These exams are often criticized for their cultural bias, which reflects the experiences of middle class, white America. Black male students who may have completed all their class work may find themselves in a rut when they cannot pass exit exams. Many students in my school have all their credits but are held back semester after semester by a single Regents exam that is required for a New York State diploma.<br /> The statistics facing these students who do not graduate from high school are grim. Her are some of the most serious considerations:<br />• 59% of prison inmates are high school dropouts.<br />• High school dropouts are 3.5 times more likely to be incarcerated.<br />• The U.S. death rate is 2.5 times higher for with less than 12 years of education.<br />• The average yearly earning rates for a high school dropout was $23,903 in 2003.<br />These stark figures relate the gravity of this national dilemma. This is problem that is not only facing individuals but also a nation as a whole. Eventually, these young men affect the greater community in a negative manner.<br /> Studies may also want to consider in the future, the effect of cultural beliefs on dropout rates. I have observed a more laissez faire attitude toward parenting when it comes to my male students as opposed to my female students. The males are often allowed more freedom, which often culminates in bad decision-making. Furthermore, cultural values on education may dictate for many how many of them go to school past the compulsory age. Many of my students express to get out of school and work as the “man of the house.” Being book smart is not considered as much as a skill amongst many cultures if you are not providing for the home.<br /> There have been several studies aimed at attacking these high dropout rates but no one solution. These numbers reflect a larger problem in urban communities that has devalued the worth of the Hispanic African-American man and made the educated family man much too<br />scarce. In the meantime, small group instruction centered on the student and the availability of positive male figures has proven instrumental in increasing the achievement of these students.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">References<br /></div>Davis, J. E., & Jordan, W.E., (Fall 1994). The effects of school context, structure, and experiences on African American males in middle and high school. <span style="font-style: italic;">Journal of Negro Education,</span> 63(4) 570-584.<br /><br />Glamery, S., & Carol, M. (1999). Recruitment and Retention of African Males in High School<br />Mathematics (Fourth Annual National Conference). Retrieved July 12, 2009, from University of Nebraska Web site: http://www.digitalcommons.unl.edu/pocpwi4/22<br /><br />Skiba, R.J., Michael, R., Nardo, A., & Peterson, R. (2000). <span style="font-style: italic;">The color of discipline </span><br />(Policy Research Report No. SRS1). Retrieved July 12, 2009, from University of Indiana Web site: http://www.indiana.edu/~safeschl/cod.pdf<br /><br />Walden, L. M., & Kristonis, W. A., PhD. (2008). The Impact of the<br />Correlation between the No Child Left Behind Act's High Stakes<br />Testing and the High Drop-out Rates of Minority Student. <span style="font-style: italic;">National </span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Journal for Publishing and Mentoring Doctoral Student Research,</span> 5(1).MsA.Hayneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03751286704779917737noreply@blogger.com0