1. Thinking about Ravitch—a game: After the resignation of the
Secretary of Education, President Obama has called you on the phone and wants
to know what you think are the first five things to be done about education.
What is your response?
The first five things I would tell Obama to
change about education are:
1.
Abolish NCLB, immediately!
2.
Every district should establish an “Emergency Reform Committee”.
3.
Curriculum needs to be evaluated and we need to ensure a well-built curriculum
for ALL students, everywhere.
4.
We need to provide districts with adequate supplies and resources, while enlisting
the partnership of local communities for support.
5.
Experienced and well educated teachers need to be recruited, especially to help
rookie teachers in their first few years. This type of mentorship program nationwide could help
keep teachers in the field.
2. What has been meaningful for you about Ravitch?
After
reading Ravitch, the most meaningful thing to me was the information presented
in this book. I appreciated her way of giving background information on NCLB,
charter schools, “The Billionaire Boys Club”, etc. before heading into
discussion on the effect they have had on the public education system as a
whole. I felt this text provided a way to be updated on the current issues,
especially after reading the Epilogue. More specifically, I was taken aback by
the Obama Administration’s position on education. I was especially surprised to
discover how the current administration used “carrot and stick strategies” to
get schools to buy into charter schools and merit pay. It seems to me that this
administration is following in the same footsteps as previous administrations,
which follows the current fad or trend. This is a scary realization.
Another
meaningful component of reading Ravitch was the awareness it brought to me and
other educators. This book has become a topic of discussion between myself and
other teachers at my school. A couple other teachers have asked my opinion of
the book and I have encouraged them to give it a read. Overall, this book has
made me aware of the issues at hand, as well as my opinion on these matters.
Reading the disparities we face as educators motivates me to inform those
around me (including non educators) and to get out there and do something.
Before I was sheltered from the issues surrounding school reform and now, I am
in the light, yearning for more. Furthermore, I am considering a future in
education reform, of course after MANY years in education. I think it is
imperative we take heed of some of Ravitch’s ideas.
3. Given the current state of American education, what can you do
as a teacher and as a citizen?
As
a teacher, I believe it is important for me to make others aware of the
impending danger that our public schools face. Spreading the word of the
disparities and encouraging those close to me to take a look at the literature
behind the issues can help make more and more people aware. Additionally,
getting teachers and administrators at my school to employ strategies that help
the students, and their families, get and stay motivated is another way to
improve the state of education. On page 240 Ravitch argues, “Families must do
their part to get children ready for school. Families implant basic attitudes
and values about learning, as well as the self-discipline and good manners
necessary for learning in a group”. We must all do our part for the overall
success of education. As a teacher, part of my responsibility, I feel, is to
breakdown negative stereotypes in and of education.
As
a citizen, I can stay current on social and economic issues in order to have a
deeper understanding and awareness of other factors that affect education
reform. It is also important to see to it that schools in my own neighborhood,
not just the one I work at, have community support and find ways to volunteer
my time and resources. After noticing a few school closures in my area I never
thought to ask what I could have done. Now, after reading and becoming more
aware of the types of issues in the public education sector, I am eager to find
out how I can help schools in my local community.
4. Find two national or state associations from your subject area
and describe what you find from each website.
1. National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)-This website provided an array of information for teachers, some
of which was a bit confusing, nonetheless I would like to join. The NCTE offers
teachers with resources that are from other teachers, a great networking
opportunity, which also allows teachers to focus in on their specific needs.
Particularly informative was the tab on the website called “Get Involved”. Here
there are numerous ways for someone to get involved for example, participating
in National Day on Writing, joining online conversations, and volunteering for
the NCTE. Another component of the NCTE website that I especially enjoyed was
the tab for “Professional Development”. I am always looking for ways to
increase my content knowledge and pedagogical knowledge; this is a great
resource in finding places to do this.
2. California Teachers Association (CTA)- The one question I still have from reviewing this website, what
is the exact application process for the CTA? After much review, the CTA
appears to be union-esque in nature. This website is organized in a
user-friendly manner with a lot of resources to get lost in. The CTA website
provides users the chance to learn about current events in education, ways in
which to become part of the change, and places in which to find further
education on said topics. Specifically, this website has a place for parents
and the community. Having a resource for parents and members of the community,
on a website that provides information from teachers and for teachers, can be
extremely helpful. This is a great way to promote a positive attitude toward
education.
5. Because it was impossible in the six weeks for you to find al
the resources you might wish to find in your content area, and/or investigate
the experiential resources held in the Bay Area, please respond to the
following:
Over the next three years, if you could, what would you…
a)
still like to see in the Bay Area—name 5:
·
Medocino Writers’ Conference
·
Bay Area Poets in the Schools
·
DeYoung Museum
·
Bay Area Writing Project-Stegner
Writing Program
·
Shut up and Write! SF Bay Area
b)
still like to read—name 5:
Books I would like to read are Improving Literacy by Teaching
Morphemes,
Language, Culture and Communication, How Languages are Learned,
Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, and Games for Language Learning
c)
still like to investigate—name 2:
Journals I would still like to investigate are the Reading and Writing: An Interdisciplinary
Journal and the Journal of Literacy
Research.
d)
still like to attend—name 2:
Conferences I would like to attend include National Council of
Teachers of
English (NCTE) Convention in Las Vegas (this year) and the National Association
for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) in Atlanta (this year).
e)
still like to see in the world connected to your subject area—name 5:
·
Oxford University in England
·
Teach English to students in a foreign
country through American English Language Teachers’ Association (AELTA)
·
National Museum of Language in
College Park, MD
·
International Reading Association
·
Library of Congress in
Washington, D.C.
