Cheri's+Thoughts

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Cheri's Page

Book Review
 * Focus **
 * Elevating the Essentials To Radically Improve Student Learning **
 * By **
 * Mike Schmoker **


 * QUESTION: **

What in your life and work affirms the need for simplicity—the need to focus on only one thing or very few things at a time? What in your experience affirms the need to focus on certain fundamental priorities //before// pursuing other interesting (but less worthy) pursuits?

A review of Focus recently published in the May 11, 2011 edition of Education Week Teacher states:

In this book, Mike Schmoker, a former administrator, teacher, and coach promotes a back-to-basics approach to education. He calls on teachers and schools, to abandon ever-changing "fads, programs, and innovations," and zero in on what he calls the "three essential elements" of high-quality schooling: "In a great majority of our schools," Schmoker says these three elements "will do more than any combination of efforts to ensure that record numbers of students learn and are prepared for college, careers, and citizenship." Schmoker is not advocating drill-and-kill or canned lessons. He defines "coherent curriculum," as a “pared down but rich body of academic content knowledge that allows teachers to delve deeply into essential subject-area topics. This deep exposure to subject matter is the necessary basis for developing students’ critical-thinking skills. He believes the essential requirement of all effective instruction is “interactive lecture which is guided practice, formative assessment, and ongoing adjustment to instruction." In Schmoker's ideal classroom, the teacher is constantly circulating and checking for student understanding.
 * 1) Coherent curriculum
 * 2) Effective whole-class instruction
 * 3) Purposeful reading and writing.
 * —Anthony Rebora**

Here is a quick video that explain Chapter #2 about literacy and 21st century skills:

[]


 * After viewing this, reflect on: “WILL YOUR STUDENTS WILL BE PREPARED?” **

I chose to read Focus because my principal recommended it. Funny thing, as I was reading I could hear Marty, my principal stating these exact words. To date we have simplified our power standards and are in the second year of a literacy initiative where we have to assign the students to read and “text-code” at least one article or reading per quarter per class. I only wish the district would heed the caution about new initiatives being advanced before the 3 essential elements of high quality schooling are fully mastered through out the district because we are also required to produce lesson where technology is effectively integrated.

Imagine that you are writing a book with 5 chapters on education (Look to the course descriptions http://nlumarch2012.wikispaces.com/ for ballpark connections to Term 3 subject matter). What would the chapter headings be? What is your **big organizing question** for each one? (Refer back to [] to remember the three essential questions: Why? How? Which is best?) What are the **subsidiary questions** to these? What **chapters of our core books** would you suggest reading to study these issues in search of enlightenment? What **activities** would you design for a group of co-author teachers to help you explore these issues?

1. ** How do teachers assess students? ** What are we assessing? Who decides what is assessed? Are standardized tests the best way to assess? Alternative assessment methods? How do you teach self-reflection?

USC-Chapter #1- Standards, Multicultural Education and Curriculum questions Chapter #4- Democratized Assessment EF- Part V- How Should We Assess Student Learning?

Activities-Readings on assessment methods??

2. ** What are the qualities/characteristic of a 21st century teacher? ** What skills are needed in this ever-changing global world? How should technology be integrated into the classroom? Is technology the be all and end all?

Give teacher time to perfect their own technology skills before having them use it in the classroom. Have each of us create a lesson using technology that would use in our classrooms and share it with the class.

3. ** How do you create cooperative and creative learning environments in the classroom? ** Who is responsible for teaching social skills? How do you teach students to work collaboratively? What is the most effective way to teach cultural diversity? How can teachers differentiate curriculum based on classroom need/diversity?

TBP-Chapter #4-Small Group Activities Chapter#5- Classroom Workshop USC-Chapter #1-Standards, Multicultural education and Central Curriculum Questions Chapter #6- Students as Curriculum Chapter#5- Transformative and Intellectual Knowledge and Curriculum Chapter #8-Curriculum Resources EF- Part II- Who Are Today’s Students? UC- Part III- Families and Institutions WKTG-Chapter#7- Teaching as a Democratic Process

Activities-Reading Observation of a culturally diverse classroom

How teachers become self-reflecting learners? How do you foster effective collaboration among your peers?
 * 4. How can teachers be learners? **

USC- Chapter#2- Teacher Belief’s About Knowledge WKTG- Chapter #4-Teachng as Hope and Possibility Chapter #6- Teaching as Intellectual Work

Activities-Keeping a profession diary Study effective group dynamics

How do teachers keep current? Who determines what issues are important? Is it possible to stay passionate in these times?
 * 5. What are the current issues in education? **

WKTG- chapter #9-What Keeps Teachers Going Despite all of This?

Activities-Reading education journals/choice books Interviews

I interviewed two foreign exchange students and my 80-year-old mother. In order to compare the three I will mostly concentrate on their high school experience.

My mother went to Milwaukee Public schools. She always walked to school, which was between 6 blocks to a mile away from her house. She went to Washington High School, which at that time was the highest ranked MPS high school in the city, with at least 50 percent of the graduates going on to college. There was 1200 students’ in grades 10-12 with class sizes ranging from 25-30 students. She was required to take the “core subjects” in order to graduate. She also took 2 years of Latin and an Art class. Other specials that were offered were: French, German, and Spanish, art/music, home ec, typing, bookkeeping office machines and shop. Students were also required to volunteer in the school for 2 years; my mom was a library assistant. She felt she was an average student taking higher-level courses, especially in science and math. Discipline was strict, she doesn’t remember a time when a student was asked to leave or taken out of a class. Teachers were respected, but my mom felt they cared about her and her success. She graduated in 1949 in a class of 383. She went on to college and received her Medical Technologist license four and one-half years later. Education was always valued in her family; her mother and father both worked in a factory and always wanted her to have a better life. She always knew she would go to college.

Eleanor is from Lausanne Switzerland. She attended local public schools in her elementary grades and now attends a public high school, which is a 45-minute bus ride away from her home. Upon her return she will be required to complete another year of high school because her year at Pewaukee does not count. The high school atmosphere seems more like a college, it is open campus and the students can come and go as they please. The length of the school year is very similar to ours with a fall, Christmas, winter and Easter break. When you begin high school you are placed (based on ability) into a “group” of 25-30 students, which you stay with for the majority of your classes. The students’ stay in the same room and the teachers move from class to class. Teachers are respected and called by the formal noun form in French. Test are given through out high school but there is a huge comprehensive exam given at the end of their twelve years. This exam is written, never multiple choice that she must pass in order to graduate. (I do not know what happens if she does not pass.) Grading is on a 5-point scale with 5 being the highest and 1 the lowest. Education is valued and Eleanor expects to graduate and go to college and major in international business. University in Switzerland is not expensive.

Una, is from Norway. She attended local public school during her elementary years and is currently attending a private Christian high school on the other side of town, a half hour bus ride. Her high school experience is similar to Eleanor’s with two exceptions. The student/teacher relationship is very informal; students call their teachers by their first names and often have an end of the year celebration at their teacher’s home. Exams are given after every year and classes are randomly chosen if they have to take the year-end exams or are excused from taking them. Una, will take a year off after high school and go to a “fun” college then go to a university to become a doctor.

Conclusions: I was surprised at the overall similarities in my mothers, Una and Eleanor’s (including my own) high school experiences.. I never realized my mother’s family highly valued education and she always expected to go to college. I know it was expected in my house and we have passed that value on to our children. I would have guessed that both Una and Eleanor, being foreign exchange students highly valued education being from upper-income/professional families. I do think education is valued more today than it was 60 years ago, mostly because of the global economy and advances in technology. I still think there are some social-economic class divisions, higher-class, professional families value education more than the lower class non-professional families. Europe seems to “track” students more then we do in the US. I know my niece in England has to take a series of exams and depending on her scores she is put into the university or tech school track. I believe in Norway it is the same. In both Norway and Switzerland final comprehensive exams are given before a student can graduate. In Norway students drop out before they fail. As a teacher I am torn about final exit exams. If the purpose of the exam is to test specific knowledge then I do not think it necessary. But if the exam accesses a student’s ability to use critical thinking skills in the application of the knowledge then I think the exams have merit. In the US, we use the ACT and SAT tests to track students. In both Switzerland and Norway higher education is not the enormous financial burden that it is in the United States. I do not know how the universities are funded and what tuition is based on. Strict discipline seems to be a thing of the past in both the US and Norway and Switzerland. My mom had strict rules that were enforced or they would receive an after school detention but as I have said she never witnessed a discipline event which could be due to the school environment of a highly successful school. Both Eleanor and Una seem to have a more relaxed atmosphere in their school where teachers are respected but the students also are expected and do act appropriately. Is this the result of our (US) constant praising and more permissive way of raising our children? Class size could also be related to discipline. It is much easier to teach a well-behaved class of 30 then a non-disciplined class of 30. Is that why classes were bigger for my mom and Eleanor and Una? I found it interesting that Eleanor and Una were in classes or groups that they stayed with throughout high school. Each class (group of students) has a room and the teachers move from class to class. They also both said the teachers at Pewaukee are more stressed than they are in Norway and Switzerland. Teachers knew what they had to cover by the end of the year but were other wise could do whatever they wanted. No curriculum maps, learning targets or course objectives. I would love to be less stressed! I wonder how the teachers are evaluated? I think it would be interesting to interview an individual who was educated in China. Is it the educational system or the culture or both that makes them successful?

Tiger Mother Reflection

I do not agree with Amy Chua parenting methods. The results, the success of her two daughters appears great and the Chinese/Asian culture does appear to produce many successful high achieving people. The number of Asian students is huge at UW-Madison as I am sure it is at all the Ivy League schools. So can this style of Tiger Mother parenting really be bad if it produces great results? I still say yes. A person can be highly successful and not be happy. I know that is not a concern of Chinese Mothers but I feel for the overall wellness of the child it needs to be taken into consideration. Now I do think we American parents have gone over board with our praising and “feel good” approach to parenting. We need to tone it down a bit and only praise when praise is due not praise for every little act good or bad. Chinese mothers’ DEMAND perfection because they believe their child can/will achieve it. They are not worried about the child’s ego. They believe shaming and punishing will only make the child work harder and become a stronger person. As in Amy’s case she became the tutor, devoting hours of time monitoring her daughter’s practicing. Now, when my children were young I did help them with their school work and tutor them when they were having difficulty but I never required them to work/practice 4 hours a day! I believe in balance. Life should be a balance between work and play. My father worked until age 65. He and my mom were thrifty and saved so they would be able to live comfortably and travel in retirement. However, 6 months after my father retired, he was diagnosed with lung cancer and died 8 months later. This is why I feel everyone needs a balance between work and play/fun. You never know what the future holds. Another difference is Chinese parents feel their children owe **them** everything because it is the parents who have sacrificed their lives for their children. Children are expected to repay their parents by obeying them and making them proud throughout their life. We can certainly see how Amy has done this for her daughters but then how did/does she still have the time for a successful career as a professor at Princeton? In Western culture we believe it is the parents’ duty to provide for our children because we have chosen to have children and by doing so we are obligated to care for and provide for them throughout their life. Our children are not required to care for us. Maybe that is why the older Chinese population is taken care of by family? The third major difference is Chinese parents really believe **they** know what is right for their children where in Western culture we let the children decide on their own passions. Chinese mothers feel it is their duty to show them what they are capable of and thus giving them an inner strength. How can a parent know what is right for each child? Even Amy was wrong about her youngest daughter and the violin. Research has shown that the “best” parenting style is democratic. This is described as: the parents have authority (not ultimate) and set rules and guidelines that are appropriate to their children’s age and abilities **and** the children have a voice in the family and the rules when it is appropriate. I believe this would be very similar to moderation and blending of the Chinese and Western culture parenting styles.

Technology and Education

My 2 biggest concerns about technology and education are communication skills and the money needed to fund these projects. Money needed not only to buy the equipment but also the money to teach us (teachers) how to incorporate it into our classrooms. I have seen a decline in face-to-face human interaction due to increase technology use. No matter what technological advances occur, we as a human race will still need to be able to communicate face to face with each other! I have a 2nd-year, 24 old teaching partner. We share rooms and need to collaborate on many courses and department issues. She can and often does walk in and out of a room without even acknowledging my presence. At first I thought she was shy than maybe rude, until she made a statement one day after I apologized for emailing her a question rather than asking her face-to-face. She told me “email is great,” when she and her boyfriend are in the same room on their computers they will email each other rather than turn around and talk to one another. It was after this comment I realized she was not rude or shy it is just how technology has shaped her communication skills. (She actually is a very nice, easygoing person who is doing a nice job in the classroom.) I have also noticed a decrease in the communication skills of my high school students. They would rather write a test than have an oral one. Am I old-fashion, when I want to have a conversation with someone, I will still go to their room or office to talk with them in person? I like the interaction of being able to read their expressions and hear the intonation in their voice, which I feel creates less confusion in the long run. As school budgets are being slashed, where is the money to fund all this new technology going to come from? Will it be implemented properly? For instance, at PHS we are totally wireless, however we do not have the infrastructure to support it in our building. At times when I have planned a lesson on the computers, the students have not been able to get on the site or it take a good 5-8 minutes for them to get there. Schools also need money for staff development. Not just a command from the top to make sure we incorporate it into our lessons. Time to actually “play” with it to see how it would best fit into our curriculum and teaching styles. I know this sounds negative, I actually like learning new things and trying them in my classroom. However, I feel I never have enough hours in the school day to practice AND plan so I end up doing this at home.

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Favorite Websites

All recipes are scientifically tested and researched. You know they are going to work and why. The only drawback is you have to pay to be a "full privilege" member.
== My other favorite site is **NPR**. Since I teach such a variety of topics, I am always looking for current events that are relevant to my students and the topic we are discussing. NPR usually provides this, topics from cooking to parenting, finance, and child development to health careers. ==

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An APA reference site: []

I liked having the time to “play” developing my page. I did have trouble with the PowerPoint, but after 4 tries I was able to upload one. My question is; I would like my Foods students to reflect on their recent lab experience… and also be able to comment on others dishes. I do not know which forum to use, wiki, blog or we do have Moodle at PHS.