Student Oriented Curriculum

I really like the ideas that this book presented and this alternative type of teaching. I think I would be not be willing to personally teach this type of way just yet. But I think I feel this way just because it is very hard for us, as teachers, to step out of our comfort zone that we experienced and are use to. I feel that if there were a few schools that were using this program and really succeeding at this type of teaching and could be great role models for others to observe and go off from, then I would be more willing to try this new system.

I really like how responsibility is being placed on the students. I feel that by doing a system this way, the students will feel that school is more important to them, and more meaningful. Just as an artist normally feels proud of their artwork, I feel that students would be proud to what they have created for units. As was said in our groups, it is about the processes, not the testing.

I think that the biggest achievement of a program like this is that students get to practice making and motivating themselves, and creating habits that will help themselves in areas that are not content based. Students can learn responsibility and leadership roles that will affect them for their whole lives. Great book, thanks for sharing it.

Waiting For Superman Reflection

I really enjoyed watching this documentary. When watching these types of films, I am constantly thinking how this affects me and what it is that we need to do to fix the problem.

It amazes me that we can continue to stand around twiddling our thumbs as the problem of our Nation’s Education system continues to fail. I feel that we have worked ourselves into a trap and can’t find any way to back out. I know that there are things that we are doing to try to improve our situation, yet I feel that it is too slow. If this problem has been ongoing for the last decades, as the film describes, then what action is it going to take to finally cause a big change?
I believe that since so many lotteries are popping up due to the popularity of charter school and not enough positions for the high demand, this is a sign that a lot more charter school need to be built. If something becomes popular enough more and more people jump on the band wagon, therefore I feel that eventually this problem will be solved and our nation will slowly move away from the Unions that seem to be in control of the school systems.
But my biggest fear is that it won’t happen soon enough. Failing rates in the U.S. is so high right now, as the movie illustrated, and there are so many world changes that are taking place and will continue to take place since the U.S. doesn’t have any wiggle room to fall behind. I feel that with climate change issues growing and economic issues evolving, we are going to fall behind if we don't teach kids to find new ways of living and implementing them. Otherwise, other countries in the world that have a better education system, China or Japan for example, will surpass us in developing these new systems of living that we need most. We need better education to keep up and educate minds to forming a better and continuing system that will be successful. Their minds are what are behind success.

Chapter 3

Now that I have practiced the Backward Design model from Practicum I found that I could take much more from this chapter. I really like how this model allows teachers to be thinking of their end goal before starting lesson planning. I feel that by doing this and constantly keeping the Standards in mind before starting lesson planning, it is so much easier to make sure all that we are teaching is based on the Standards. I like the concept of Standard Based teaching, I think that we just need to find better ways to teach and assess students as we are teaching these standards. I really liked in this chapter the example of the school in Salem, Mass that has successfully implemented the Backwards Design model. By hearing and reading of more and more successful examples of this model, it gives me a clearer picture of what we all should be striving for when we begin teaching. I also really liked that this school had also incorporated team teaching and hands on activities to go along with their Backwards Design model. It seems to make so much sense, if you know what standards you are going to cover, you can then use your imagination to come up with great lesson plans with the Standards in mind, instead of creating a fun lesson and then trying o figure out how it relates to the standards that we need to be covering and teaching students.

Chapter 9- Planning for Block Scheduling

I liked how this chapter was broken down into someone’s thoughts, and then the step by step thinking and how it was put into lesson planning and implemented. I was able to relate to the types of ideas that speaker was going over, and I could see how he took those ideas and put them into action, or into a tentative.
I loved the many examples that this chapter presented as simple exercises for helping students grow in the subject. I especially liked the idea of the activity/ game Tic- Tac - Sales. This activity could easily be improvised in many ways and its fun, yet on topic. Even better, a game like this forces students to try certain problems while still providing choices for students to choose the problems they are going to try to solve and mark.
I was really glad that this chapter provided different, alternative ways to get students involved by using something they always jump for. For example: the problem that was used in the book based on giving students vacation days for perfect attendance. That example is such a great way to pull students in since vacation day are something that they are not only interested in, but also it relates to them, and the students are doing the math being practiced is a fun way instead of the traditional way. I also really liked how this chapter showed so many real life examples for the math problems. By bring in real situations where math may be in the students lives, I think it helps the students see why math is important to learn.

Chapter 6- Organizing relationships for Learning

One part of this chapter that really stuck out to me was “Smaller is Better”. I totally agree with the concept and I believe it has contributed to my success. I love the fact that I come from a very small school where you know the majority of student’s faces. I feel that this system allows students to get the proper attention that they need when struggling, and teachers get to know each and every student. I know that my cousin went from my school and had to transfer to a much bigger school in 9th grade. She knew nobody and start to fail because the teachers didn’t pay much attention to her. It was like she was a single fish in the bigger mass, unknown. Although, I understand that with more and more school merging due to expenses and room within school, small school like mine are harder to find. I have heard of the system mentioned in this chapter and I think it would work well. By having mini school, or smaller units of students within the school, where a set of teacher, a team, work with only those students, simulates that small environment and can provide success for so many more students. I am glad that this model is being used more, I think it makes school a more community based system.

Chapter 12- Teaching Advisories

I remember very clearly advisor period in my high school. Most kids didn’t do anything; they just sat there talking with their friends for half an hour each morning. The main purpose of that time period was for us to organize and assemble our graduating portfolio that was required in order to graduate. I enjoyed working on mine, but most hated doing theirs because it was required and they felt it was stupid. I feel like my school advisory program did provide guidance during that time, but I do not feel that it did not create “activities to promote citizenship”. Attempts were made to explore personal interests by taking the multiple intelligence tests, but that was all on paper, I love how in this chapter advisory time is outside of the school, out in the “real world”. I think that this is the perfect opportunity for students to be learning about different types of work in their community that could apply to their future. Even if students won’t ever work in a mill, it could be great to go and see how one works. Students would be thinking in new ways and exploring their community at the same time. I love this idea, I agree that I think it would help students bond to their classmates in new ways, and like the story in the book, you never know what could happen and what experiences students will take from these adventures. They could really impact the rest of the student’s lives. I remember in Practicum a chapter in our textbook mentioned moving our school system to a more community based system where students get out and work a few day a week in the community being an apprentice. The idea in MMM wasn’t quite that far, but I think that by going out and doing hands on things in advisory period, school are closer to that community model than before.

Chapter 11- Teaming

I loved the comment in this chapter that: “the real world is not compartmentalized, so giving students integrated learning experiences will prepare them to be successful when they leave school”. I feel that as teachers we should be making the classroom simulate the real world as much as possible. By integrating all subject areas I can see how there would be so many benefits. Not only would it be easier on students to write a paper in one class and have it count in another class as well, cutting down on the student workload, it would also allow students to be thinking about similar concepts all day long and these concepts would become ingrained. For example, if in history class students were learning about the revolution and independence, and if in English class students were reading documents from the revolution or books about that era, in math they were practicing mathematics that was studied at that time period, and in science they were trying out or studying Benjamin Franklin’s inventions than students would get multiple different perspectives and ideas about this time period and they would be thinking about the Revolutionary era all day long for a couple weeks. Add in some cool activities or fun simulations pertaining to that topic and the information will probably stick will almost all the students a lot longer than it would have otherwise!