Jennifer's+Page

FYI, I chose to do the first chaper on C & I, the second and third on Cross-Cultural studies and the fourth and fifth on Action Research. So in reality this would not be one book.
__Essential question__: How does curricular integration enhance student learning? __Subsidiary questions__: __Core book chapters __:"Dewey" The child and the curriculum"Educational Foundations" Chapters 3 and 4 __Activities__:Share one integrated lesson that showed good results for students.
 * Chapter 1 **
 * How do you know the integrated lesson is effective?
 * What makes a quality integrated lesson?
 * Who can integrate a lesson?
 * What subjects or concepts are most important to integrate?
 * How is learning enhanced through integration?

__Essential question__: How does self-segregation affect diversity? __Subsidiary questions__: __Core book chapters __:"Lives across Cultures" Chapters 3,5,6,8, and 9"Un-Equal Childhoods" Part 2 and 3 __Activities__:Visit or talk to a teacher in a self-segregated area and ask how they support diversity.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Chapter 2 **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">How does self-serration happen?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">What can be done to eliminate or reduce self-segregation?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Are their areas of diversity and little to no self-segregation?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Can social justice happen where self-segregation is strong?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Where do you start to make change?

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">__Essential question__: How or can motivation be taught? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">__Subsidiary questions__: __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Core book chapters __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">:"Unequal Childhoods" Part 1"Un-Standardizing Curriculum" Chapters 6 and 7"Educational Foundations" Part 2"Lives across Cultures" Chapter 8 <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">__Activities__:Discuss your most motivating lesson and why it works.Explore your own motivation and what triggers it.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Chapter 3 **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">What is the definition of motivation?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Is it a biological or nurtured trait?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">What do you know about motivation when looking at your own life?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Do you see a difference in motivation across cultures?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">If motivation can be taught why isn't everyone motivated all the time?

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">__Essential question__: How are gender variances in the classroom supported through my action research? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">__Subsidiary questions__: __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Core book chapters __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">:"What keeps teachers going" Chapters 6 and 7"Lives Across Cultures" Chapters6,7 and 8The above was already read and presented in Term 2. I really don't see any books that help you evaluate your action research process. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">__Activities__:Have my colleagues try a strategy that I am implementing and see if they notice a difference in their classroom.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Chapter 4 **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">What new procedures are making a difference?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">How will I reflect and assess the changes I am making?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Will students notice the changes without being told? Should they be told? or will that taint the outcome?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Will the changes be able to be used for k-3 as well as 4th grade?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Is the action research affecting me positively and do I have enough time to process the information?

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">__Essential question__: How can my action research project be presented in a relevant and meaningful way to others? <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">__Subsidiary questions__: __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Core book chapters __<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">:I do not see any chapters from our books relating to this. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">__Activities__:Create a meaningful piece of art and see if a peer can understand what you were trying to express without any spoken or written words. = = =** Interview **= =** Joan Looser (Cultural difference: Co-Ed Catholic School 1st -8th, Girls Catholic School 9th-12th). **=
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Chapter 5 **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">How will my sculptural project express my deepest understanding to others?
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13px;">Is it necessary or possible for the viewers to create meaning of their own when viewing the piece?

** Bob Buchta (Elder Educational Experience) **
==== I had the pleasure of interviewing my Dad, Bob, and my mother-in-law, Joan for this activity. Bob attended Public School, kindergarten through twelfth grade, from 1935-1948 in Watertown, WI. Joan attended Catholic School, first through the twelfth grade, from 1936-1948 in LaSalle, Ill. Since both are roughly the same age I thought it would be interesting to see if the Public School greatly differed from the Parochial School. Joan attended a Catholic Parochial School with a mix of boys and girls in Grade School, but attended an all girls High School. All of Joan’s teachers through-out her schooling were nuns. ==== ==== I found many similarities with the nuts and bolts interview questions. Both walked to school, less than a mile, had the same school calendar and roughly the same starting and ending time. Joan did start thirty minutes earlier, because of daily mass at 8:00. They both remember the same type of assessments: exams, verbal questioning, homework and some spelling and geography games. I was a bit surprised that the class sizes were so large. Bob’s classes had about 35 students and Joan’s had about 40, although, Joan’s classroom contained two grade levels in one room through eighth grade. I asked her how she was able to concentrate when the teacher (nun) taught the other grade level. She said “You just learned to block it out and to work on your grades lesson”. All of the students were middle to lower class with many students from rural areas. Both Joan and Bob never saw any form of corporal punishment in their school careers. Students were verbally reprimanded, sent to detention or the principal’s office. And so goes the stereotype of the nuns hitting students with rulers and boys sitting in the corner with dunce caps on. Bob felt the teachers in grade school were more personal and caring, and in High School less friendly. Joan, however, noted the opposite. She attributed that to the fact that High School for her was all girls and the nuns were always anxious to hear about their dates and weekend plans. The nuns gave the female students a feeling of camaraderie. Both Joan and Bob remember having High School graduation Requirements, but neither remember exactly what they were. They recall needing two years of foreign language, four years of English, and a couple years of Math, Biology, and History. Both had to take Physical Education and loved it. As far as extra-curricular activities go, Joan did not have any music or art in Grade School, but remembers a few choices in High School. Bob remembers having Music appreciation in the lunch room. The whole school would listen to classical music and hear about why it was important from a non-staff member. He also remembers a lady would come in once a week and show slides of art and discuss its historical importance. He thinks she was an art teacher who may have traveled from school to school in the district. I should not have been surprised by this next discriminatory act, but was anyway. Bob remembers all of the boys were required to take auto-mechanics, type-setting (Printing), and woodworking. No girls were allowed to take those classes. The girls took home-economics which included sewing, child care, and food preparation. No surprise the boys were not allowed to take those classes. I don’t know when that changed, but can’t imagine that today. ==== For the rest of the interview the answers were again similar and I am attributing it to the time, mid thirties to late forty’s. Both felt they were good students and knew they were expected to always do their best and get the highest marks they could. Bob’s parents highly valued school and never spoke about how far they went in their educational career. He does remember that his Grandma, on his mother side, was the youngest of eight kids and only went to school through second grade, because she was needed to help at home with the laundry (all done by hand). Joan’s parent’s also valued school and her Father finished High School and Mother attended a two year Business Certificate program after eighth grade. Both Bob and Joan felt School was a place to learn how to study and find out what you liked to do. Back then you went to school because it was something you had to do and there was not much else to do; no T.V. or video games. Bob’s favorite subject was recess and he really liked the social aspect of grade school. He didn’t like homework or the cliques in High School. Joan enjoyed all aspects of school and modestly said “it came easy to me”, especially Math and English. When she got to High School she did not like Civics or Geography. Both felt that their schooling gave them a good foundation and they felt they got the basics down pat. After High School, both considered College, but Joan was not interested in being a nurse or teacher, two of the careers that required College Degrees back then. Bob could not afford it after High School, but did eventually attend a Business Institute and after 20 months received his Certificate. Joan’s classes in High School; shorthand, bookkeeping and three years of typing, gave her the needed knowledge to attain a bookkeeping job that she held for eight years before getting married and becoming a homemaker. Bob’s woodworking class was always remembered as enjoyable and although did not directly influence his eventual career as a self –employed carpenter he did recall using basic skills that he had learned. Joan felt the most valuable experience was a good educational foundation while Bob valued the social experience and the sports aspect of school. I really enjoyed this experience and although I know both of the interviewees very well, I knew little about their educational experience. I have concluded that although school has changed dramatically since the thirties and forties. The social aspect, foundation of knowledge and the desire to find out what you like has not. To me the era 30’s and 40’s had a great influence on the educational system. When you think about the Great Depression and the effects of WW II on the states, education was a gift and a way out of poverty. Back then, unlike today, you had to work hard to make it or you would starve. Today we are in a war and a recession, but it’s nothing like it was back then. People of this era have a strong sense of entitlement and tend to look for someone to blame. Both of those issues currently affect education and schools. If it was up to me we would go back to the basics, we are trying to teach too many things and are not doing any of them very well. We also need to have common goals and agree on what’s important for kids to get out of school. I agree with Joan and Bob that a solid academic foundation, positive social experience and finding out what you like are all we need.

Reflection on Race to Nowhere and Rethinking Schools (Saving our Schools from Superheros) (Superhero School Reform Heading Your Way) and (The Ultimate Superpower) This assignment was a bit difficult because I have not seen the movie "Waiting for Superman". The articles did not in my mind relate to each other very well other than we need more money to spend on education. The first article "Saving our Schools from Superheros" spoke about the reaction of the movie by the public, educators and politicians. I know the movie played in Milwaukee at the Downer Theater, but I do not recall any reaction like the one in this article. I don't recall any picketing or truth squads on the news in Milwaukee. I did not here any talk about the movie at work either. The film Race to Nowhere did speak about the fear teachers have about standing up for themselves and what they believe in and I would agree that today that can be difficult. The article "Superhero" "School Reform Heading Your Way" was to me very dry and tended to bash big name people. I seemed to set the tone that people like Opera, Rhee, Guggenheim, Christie, Booker, Zuckerberg, and Bill Gates are plotting a takeover of Newark Public Schools. This article gave me some insight into a different perspective of the New Jersey educational situation, but was so negative and slanted in the authors direction that it was not worth the read. Relating this article to "Race to Nowhere" is difficult. I would say that the two are polar opposites, the article showing the political and financial aspect of education and the movie showing the real people at the center of education. It is sad that we spend so much more time on negative articles, movies, and media talk about the problems of education. The money it took to make "Waiting for Superman" could have been used to fix a schools roof, paint a hallway, buy some books, send teachers to a conference...etc.. The last article "The Ultimate Superpower" was the most interesting to me. We have a lot of Charter School in Milwaukee and you don't hear a lot about hedge funds or who is running those schools. It seems to me that a lot of the people that intend to help solve the educational problems really don't know anything about educating children. They believe because they can run a company, have a lot of money and went to school they can fix all of the problems and successfully educate children. That would be like me saying I ran a lemonade stand as I child so I know what it's like to run a business and solve any problems along the way. When I think about the film Race to Nowhere" I see our society's downfalls. We want it all and we want it now, everyone else is to blame, we want answers, but don't want to look at the problem, we are selfish, overly competitive, and when we know whats right, if it's too difficult, we don't do it. Reflection on technological issues and teaching I wanted to watch Sir Ken Robinson's you tube video titled "Do Schools Kill Creativity?" and reflect on that as well. I really enjoyed his sence of humor mixed with interesting content. I can relate to his belief that across the globe there is a hirarchy of what is important to know 1) Math and language, 2) Humanities, and 3) Arts. Included in the arts their is another hirachy with music and visual arts over drama and dance. Mr. Robinson speaks about this occuring due to the industrial revolution and I would agree. He believes that we are now entering a very different era and cannot continue to teach in such a way with divided subjects or areas missing all together. Yes I do agree that we squelch creativity in many of the public and private education institutions. I beleive that it's not intensional and since we have so few truly different educational models we are stuck, telling kids what they have to do, when they have to do it and how they have to do it. He gives an example of a student who was not measuring up, a bit hyper and not motivated to learn her school work. It was discovered she should be a dancer, because that was, even at an early age, her passion. She became rich and famous dancer and led a fulfilling life. I know I have students just like her, but because I am not valued, as a regular education teacher is, I am stuck giving out high grades and praise. Which only goes so far when you see a student once a week for an hour. Recently, in our local paper, it was written that because of our over crowding and projected district growth we will see art and music on a cart within the next year or so. I was shocked to see this in the paper, no warning, no meeting, no nothing. Just treated like _. Mr. Robinson's right about that hiarchy. It is funny how the more you know about education the less it seems we are doing right. Back to technology....We know from, long term quality research, that smaller class sizes are best for kids, we know later start times for middle and high school students are best for kids, we know foreign languages are learned best when kids are young, we know that looping works best for kids, yet we don't do it. We DON"T have long term, significant results that kids learn from technology in the classrooms, but that we do at all costs!! WHY? Our society says go ahead get rid of music, art, physical education, or jsut shorten reading or writing time, and make way for technlolgy. Why are we spending so much time teaching kids a technology skill that will be outdated in a year or two. The funniest thing to me is that the very essence of technology and what makes it so desireable and appealing are all of its visual elements. The most important people in the craze are the anamators, graphic designers, industrial designers, commercial designers, multimedia artists, computer graphic artists and advertisers and so on....Yet creativity is what we squelch and art is what we cut. I don't get it. Jen

Reflection on WIKI It is fairly easy to use, but I think it would have been easier to learn in class step by step. It was a good three hours of trial and error and I am sure I am doing things the long way. I am not sure of how I will use this process for my presentations but, I can see various applications as teaching tools. I liked putting pictures, web site links and the videos on the WIKI. I did have trouble putting a video on the WIKI that was on a web site by PBS, even though I could find it in google. I settled for a Youtube video instead. If you go to the website link on Sandy Skoglund you can watch the PBS video from there, just double click on the "cheese puff" picture. It's a short current interview that, as a teacher, you may find interesting since she talks about how she never felt she fit in. Enjoy the web sites if you have time, Jen