Week 2:
Reflections
on readings
-
Learn and Live, short articles
on guest speakers
Chapter
2: Assessment
The Wiggins's article
again almost seemed too good to be true. Assessing students solely
by performance and portfolios rather than by standardized tests seems great!
I do had a few concerns that the article didn't seem to cover. First,
I wondered about class size. I am unusual in my building as I allow
my students to redo below B- work, giving me the chance to provide more
help and giving them a chance to learn better. It sure does give
me extra work. I can understand why other teachers don't want to
spend the time regarding papers that they had graded previously or to keep
track of more answer keys than for the current assignments, but I stick
with it because I truly believe that the policy helps those that take advantage
of it. Keeping track of all of the students at different stages seems
like it would be a huge nightmare. I think the pressure would be
taken off with smaller classes. Teachers could get to know students
better and would have less to track. A second issue I wondered about
was the elimination of standardized tests. How long will it be before
the state of Illinois decides to get rid of the ISAT tests? Finally
I wondered about how teachers learned to assess students based on performance.
I mentioned in another reflection that the school portfolios are not very
good. We have no guidelines for what to include or how to evaluate
them. There is definitely no consistency. For any kind of assessment
to work, teachers need to be clear on how it works. Back to professional
development.
Yoshida's article helped
with one of my former problems. He mentioned that he was part of
curriculum and portfolio committees where he developed guidelines for students
to use the portfolios in a meaningful way. My school should take
the time to develop guidelines too. We need more than to say "We
use portfolios."
Chapter 3:
Role of the Teacher
If only we could have
had experiences like these when we were in school. I'm glad to see
that teachers like those of us in CTER are trying to better ourselves to
better teach our students. It was very motivating to read some of
the exciting things going on in these classrooms. I can see how keeping
group of students for more than one year would be very beneficial - except
in the class of students that just graduated from 8th grade that has made
many teachers come close to quitting! I also would like to experience
team teaching the way it should be done. This past year the LD teacher
was in my classroom during inclusion science. I appreciated her being
there for the second set of eyes and for helping to keep her students on
task, but in my opinion that is just the role of an aid. I would
like to have truly team taught, where we complemented each other's styles.
I do think part of the problem was she was not comfortable with science.
Wouldn't it be great to have enough teachers to have more that one in every
room for even half of the day!
Ms. Bracey's article
really showed what grants can do for a classroom. It also showed
me that I need to figure out a way for my students to safely use the Internet
to communicate with others for the purpose of education. It is a
shame though that I noticed that Ms. Bracey did exactly what the intro
mentioned, she left the classroom to gain recognition for her work and
to advance in the profession. Of course I realize that she is now
training other teachers to teach against tradition.
Chapter 5:
Involving Families
"It's not unusual for
communication to be limited to report cards and complaints about child's
behavior." This statement is the main reason I put have personalized
Friday Folder notes for each student. I have had many positive comments
about them from parents. The Haynes/Comer article mentioned that
many schools do not have open door policies for parents. We have
an open door policy, but this year it became more strict. All visitors
have to report to the office for a badge. Of course this is for the
safety of the students, but it sure has upset a few people. I really
liked the idea for businesses to help low income families access technology.
I once attended a conference where Web TV units were available to families
on a check out basis. "When children see their parents and teachers
working together, it sends a clear and consistent message about the value
of learning." I feel this is a very important point. It seems
that too often, the students in my district have a bad attitude about education
that can also be seen their parents. I wish it would be the other
way around.
Reading the intro and
first article made we wonder about one of my pet peeves: teachers
and parents using first names. I have always called parents of my
students by Mr. or Mrs. I felt that is what was appropriate, but
some of my fellow teachers that were hired the same time as I, call all
of the parents by their first names. I have always been shocked,
but not as shocked as I was when some of my parents have called me by my
first name - sometimes in front of their kids. I only sign things
as TL Barcalow or Miss Barcalow, so how do they know my first name? or
even assume that is what I want to be called. I feel that teachers
and parents should use the proper names to help model respect.
The Colón was
also very inspiring. I liked seeing parents involved. The school
community council that is only two years old does not have many parents
involved. The article encouraged me that it will grow and become
strong.
Chapter 6:
Connecting Communities
As I read this chapter,
my cynicism was showing. I CLC sounds like an idea place but in my
experience, I have found it hard to trust other individuals/groups using
my classroom materials. We have had too many problems with the scout
troops that use our building. It is great that there are still parents
willing to lead the groups, but I wonder what good the groups are when
the kids are so ill behaved.
Schools open from early
to late all year around. Wow. What would I do? I already
feel that I need to be school for all school related functions (not scouts).
I am the only intermediate teacher that attends the programs of the primary
students. Could I stand not attending every family/game night.
I like the idea of opening
the schools for parent computer workshops. I would be willing to
teach such classes. We are already going to have art/music and pe
type workshops once a month next year. Maybe a computer class can
be added too.
Chapter 7:
Business Partnerships
Reading these articles
made me remember my high school days when I participated in Junior Achievement.
Area businesses worked with high school students once a week in the evening
to build companies. We sold stock, had officers, created and sold
products and liquidated at the end of the year. It was a wonderful
experience. I learned a lot about business that I would not have
in the regular college track in my high school. As a junior I was
asked to teach a group of 6 graders a class called business basics.
It too provided a great peak in to real life for students. As I have
gotten older my mother has saved newspaper articles about the Junior Achievement
program for me to read. Not long after I participated the program
totally fell apart. Now it has been restructured. I have been
disappointed that things have changes. Now representatives from businesses
go into classrooms and reach more students. These articles have shown
me that Junior Achievement is heading in the right direction. Education
and business are working more closely to prepare students for life.
The JA experiences I mentioned were in the larger town of Decatur where
Illinois Power, Caterpillar, ADM, Firestone, and Staleys are big businesses
that are helping out. I wonder if something similar would work in
a small town?
Reflection
on on guest speakers Henry Becker, Barbara Means, & Margaret Riel
So far this transcript
has been the hardest for me to follow, although I did pick up on some ideas
that I really liked. For example, I liked the idea of pulling in
reluctant teachers by asking them about something they are strong at teaching.
Also video clubs were mentioned. During the Year Long Project, we
were to video tape three lessons. Then on Fridays we met as a group
and watched each other teach. Boy did we learn a lot. It was
a great experience that we wouldn't have been able to do without the technology.
I wonder though if there would be teachers interested in trying such a
thing in the district. I foresee two problems: 1) lack
of incentive 2) teachers that keep their doors closed and do not
really like others to see what is going on in the class. This brings
up another point. The two principals that I have worked under have
never "floated" around the building. The present principal parks
his car on the street so he doesn't ever even pass by my room to the parking
lot. I feel that the principal should walk through the buildings
and rooms randomly. That way students see him as well as teachers
receiving feedback more than every other year.
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