Documentary - "Paper Clips"

When we were discussing the Holocaust example, I remembered a documentary I saw a few years ago, but I was unsure of the title. It’s called “Paper Clips” – an excellent film.

Here’s a synopsis: “Whitwell, TN is a small, rural community of less than two thousand people nestled in the mountains of Tennessee. Its citizens are almost exclusively white and Christian. In 1998, the children of Whitwell Middle School took on an inspiring project, launched out of their principal's desire to help her students open their eyes to the diversity of the world beyond their insulated valley. What happened would change the students, their teachers, their families and the entire town forever… and eventually open hearts and minds around the world.”

One minute clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xDJ70lp0SmA

Creation-Science Textbooks Right or Wrong?

June 19th, 1987 Supreme Court Decision declaring it unconstitional for creationism to be taught in science classes (in public schools) in regards to whether Louisiana's "Balanced Treatment for Creation-Science and Evolution-Science in Public School Instruction" Act was constitutional. That decision states that no school is required to teach evolution or creation science. If either is taught, however, the other must also be taught.

Current Textbook Debate in Texas:

Recent discussion on On Point - NPR show out of Boston:

Questions and article for 03/31

Hi all,

Here are the questions for Dewey and Strike as well as the article.

Article link:
http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/03/26/hamilton.pledge/index.html?iref=allsearch

Questions for Dewey:
Education in Relation to Form

1. On page 275, Dewey says one school of thought is that "the mind is so illogical in its processes that logical form must be impressed upon it from without." Do you think schools impose their views to the point of stifling the intellecutal growth of students by not allowing them to form their own opinions?

2. The second school of thought is total self-discovery and direction with little or no structured learning. Because we will be teaching the early childhood years, by using this method, what impact would it have on our students?

Science, Belief and the Public

1. Because the curriculum taught is chosen by a few, Is science (or any other subject) already predisposed to bias?

2. Does religion have a place in science?

Questions for Stike?

1. If evolution is taught in school, should creation be taught also in order to gain balance? Why or Why not?

2. Dr. Jones wants the Iroquois to see themselves as Americans and not focus on their past. Does that mean they have to forget their past in order to be American?

3. Because we are a multicultural nation, there will be differences in our values, beliefs, and cultural history than some students who will enter our classroom. How would you address tolerance should this become an issue in your classroom?

A nice video that explains the problems with merit pay

Not that I agree with all of this, but:

What is the best solution to better education for the children?

Above is a video clip from a local Raleigh news station, with coverage on the Wake County School Board meeting and their decision to end Diversity busing.

Busing to end in Wake County, NC...Goodbye, Diversity!

In the photo above, police officers try to quell chanters shouting, "No resegregation in our town. Shut it down!" during a meeting of the Wake County School Board Tuesday, March 23.

I was getting ready for work this morning, and while watching the Today show (my morning ritual) a familiar conversation came across the news. They were discussing busing, and the fact that the school board in Wake County, North Carolina voted 5-to-4, this week to abandon its income-diversity goal in favor of a return to neighborhood schools. They want to develop attendance zones closer to students' homes. Advocates say the new plan in development will spare children long bus rides, while opponents claim it will lead to racial "resegregation" and more concentrated poverty in certain schools.

This decision to reverse their income-based integration plan, which had been serving as a national model for a decade as school systems sough alternatives to traditional racial-balancing plans, and an active attempt to bring about diversity.

I did some research and found another article from 2002, about opinions on Wake County bussing that said many parents were choosing magnet or year-round schools to gain stability in Wake County's rapidly growing schools, but parents said they were frustrated by forced moves that claim to imporve diversity and test scores.

"The longer we go with the reassignment plan and the pain it creates without understanding what the gain is, you're going to find an erosion of support for the public school system," said Harvey Schmidtt, director of the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce. "A very healthy school system works very well in recruiting new companies and new people into the community."

In an article I found in the Christian Science Observer written this week, the head of the state NAACP, William Barber, was quoted writing in a blog that “when children are packed into the most underfunded, most segregated, most high-poverty schools, it is nothing but a form of institutionalized child abuse.”

Below is a link I found from CBS news on the issue. I will try and keep an eye out from the video clip I saw on the Today show this morning, because I think you all would enjoy it. Just something to think about, that is taking place in our own backyard.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/24/national/main6328396.shtml

*I keep trying to make it a hyperlink, however it will never show up for me, any suggestions?

Curriculum: Let it be your guide

Adults need organization and the ability to measure success. I agree with Dewey that Curriculum is for the teacher. Montessori schools and other creative based schools seem to increase the creativity of a child and give the child more control on his education. There should be a balance between the two. The Child needs to feel like he contributes to his own educational path, but the curriculum should be there as a guide, like a sherpa on a mountain. You know you need to get to the top, but some paths are more easily travelled. Other more zealous mountain climbers might want to go straight up without scaffolds, and the sherpa (teacher w/curriculum) should be flexible enough to guide all types of climbers (learners). We seem to talk about this in every course. Flexibility is the key to a teacher's success and also these days, to a teacher's survival. A child could care less what information you are delivering and what standard it covers in the world of No Child Left Behind. However, if it is fun and interesting, the child will learn something.

One of my favorites

One of my favorite Dewey lines from anywhere comes at the end of this essay. It's right at the end. After he makes the point that the curriculum is for the teacher, not the child, he then says:

It says to the teacher: Such and such are the capacities, the fulfillments, in truth and beauty and behavior, open to these children. Now see to it that day by day the conditions are such that their own activities move in this direction, toward such culmination of themselves.

Dewey is sort of throwing down the gauntlet, in his very Deweyan way.

Are fundamental principles threatening our future, equal opportunities, and living the American Dream?

Response to Strike.

Tax policies, economic development and funding for our schools all serve as roadblocks to adequately educate our children. Many Americans do not understand good tax and economic development policies and threaten the success of education. Public schools are dangerously underfunded, and have been developing over several decades. Teacher salaries have remained un-changed since the early 1970's despite inflation, we need to attract and retain education professionals. Poor working conditions and low salaries are what many teachers face around the United States. We need broad public support, a healthy economy and economic and tax structure to lead to good school funding, which allows for quality teachers and in turn a quality public education.

Cutting middle school sports is nothing, when you look at the fact CMS is cutting hundreds of teacher position and is just a preview of what's to come.
http://www.wbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=12188611


"There is no greater return to an economy or to a society than an educational system second to none."- John F. Kennedy

School Technology Importance in Today's Age and Dewey's Educational Theories Strike Again!

Middle School in the Bronx, NY describes the struggles faced due to lack of technology in their classrooms. Principle described how their staff was described as a band where no one was playing the same song. This video is long, but very informative, and extremely eye-opening. Students are hard-wired for technology, why can't all schools be? Principle describes the importance of Google Docs, greatest un-tapped resources of staff and students, emailing assignments,and participating in an online learning community.

Relating to Dewey

http://

Relating to Strike

http://

Spring Break filled with Dewey and Strike!

Hey everyone, this is Hayley and Ashley and we are going to be presenting The Child and the Curriculum by Dewey and Chapter 4 of the Strike text. We know that it is Spring Break and most of you are taking a break from school work and reading, but we wanted to go ahead and give you the questions and material that you will need to read and prepared to discuss next Wednesday!
Questions for Dewey:
1. On page 237, Dewey talks about how the child goes to school, and various studies divide and fractionize the world for that student. How much do you agree with this. Why or why not? Do you think that sometimes schools fractionize material too much so that the child has little room for self-exploration?

2. Dewey thinks that the logical and psychological aspects of experience are dependent upon on another, why is this and do you agree with his reasoning?

3. On page 242, Dewey describes the difference between a scientist and a teacher. According to his decription of a teacher is he accurate or are there parts of the job description that he is missing? If so, which ones and why?

4. Can an individual really gain interest in material if given the appropriate stimuli?

5. Would you agree with Dewey on his main ideas of how the curriculum is developed? Does it really focus on the child or not?

Questions for Strike:
1. Should Teshan be given a chance, why or why not?

2. How would you deal with Susan's disability in your classroom when resources are limited? How could you make the time spent with her fair to the others who are there to learn?

3. It is clearer how we can not discriminate upon race, gender, etc, but when we look at differences in people it can he harder to create equality among all students especially when each child is different, how would you address this in your classroom?

Here is an article that relates to the readings for this week:
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/06/comparability.html

I hope you enjoy this weeks readings although they are long! Have a wonderful Spring Break and Hayley and I look forward to hearing your reactions to this weeks Dewey and Strike discussion!

Sincerely,
Hayley and Ashley

Great Clip: Literacy Outreach

All-
Not sure if anyone saw this on CNN the other week, but I thought it was so inspiring, and I wanted to share it.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/02/25/cnnheroes.soriano/index.html

Hope everyone has a great Spring Break.
-Lauren

Law Presentation and Live Text

For reporting issues, I've made put the law presentation on LiveText (which I assume you are all familiar with by now). Here's what you need to do:

1. Each member of your group should upload the handout you've prepared for the class as your submission for the assignment. There's an attached rubric which I'll use to assess it. The rubric isn't just for the handout, but for the whole presentation. Don't worry -- it's just the assignment description put in rubric form with levels and such.
2. If you don't get this done before your presentation tomorrow, that's fine, but please upload it before Spring Break.
3. Let me know if you have any questions.
   

Logic and Universalism

I went and found some more clips by Professor Hickman from the previous Dewey clip and in this particular clip he describes much of what we were talking about last week on the idea of "universals" and uses a great example of opening/closing a door and the importance of context. Hickman describes the importance of context and Dewey's emphasis of context and its importance in logical form.

Dewey believes logical forms grow out of experience, and they are subject to experience. All knowledge is contextual and has to do with particular cases, and this goes back to what we discussed in class and the idea that logic is the formalization of the problem-solving humans begin to do everyday in a way it will be helpful for them in the future.

This is a video I found that was created at Southern Illinois Unviersity by Larry Hickman, about the life of John Dewey and his views on philosophy, psychology, and education. The clip goes on to define Democracy through Dewey's words, as "a belief in the ability of human experience to generate the aims and methods by which further experience shall grow in ordered richness."

I believe this clip provided a good background sense in Dewey's psychological theories and can be related to his political views on democracy. Hickman has devoted much of his professional life to the study of Dewey and it would be interesting to do more research on articles he may have published that provide more insight into Dewey's beliefs and theories.