Final Post

This class has helped me tremendously. I had a basic knowledge of what goes into curriculum development and at the end of this class I was able to create a new curriculum. I feel that this class gave me some great tools or maybe a box of tools that I will need to help my students be successful. A curriculum needs to include so many things but most of all you shouldn't be afraid to try new things and make sure that technology is included.

My classroom curriculum

I think this class has helped a lot with my understanding of where I would like the curriculum  in my classroom to go. As I have said before after eight years of teaching this is my first year as a high school social studies teacher and I took over a classroom by being handed a curriculum guide. I think that this class has really helped me to see what I want in a curriculum. No matter what format it takes it needs to allow students to think and format ideas. It needs to engage them reading and writing that enables them to express their ideas more.

I know that students can't just sit in a classroom and listen to lecture or read a text. They need to be active both physically and mentally. So the curriculum needs to reflect this fact. I have been looking at my curriculum as part of my inquiry project often lately asking myself, " What do students need to know to have  a global perspective and how can I provide that in my classroom?" It is a big question and it has a lot of different implications but it is important. The current curriculum does not engage students to think beyond where we live. It doesn't engage them in thinking and problem solving what is going on around us. I know that is important and that they need these skills to be successful.

Where are we headed?

I am wondering where are we heading? It seems as if politicians don't really care if they fund education or they want to throw money at something that isn't working. I am wondering when do we give money to schools that are working. Why aren't we supporting programs that are engaging student and are producing students who can read, write, and think?
It seems we are very hung up on a test and the scores of the test. Is that how we have always gauges the success of students? I sat in a meeting this week, where I heard someone say all students should be college ready and go to college when they are finished with high school. I replied, " Are you really serious?" He was and I promptly went on to explain my way of thinking. Not all student will ever be college ready when they graduate and it is not fair to expect them to be. We have been limiting students for years by getting rid of the programs that met their needs. They needed shop and automotive, as well as other programs that got them ready to go to work. But we stopped tracking and put all students in the same class on the same track. Why? Because we didn't have the money to continue the way we were, so we put all kids into the same box. We need to have realistic expectations and stop forcing kids into the molds we want them to be in.
I was not well received, needless to say but it gave everyone something to think about.

Book Review Pod Casts

First, I just want to say thank you for helping me develop my summer reading list. It was amazing to see how the different podcasts were. Some of use added music or used powerpoint which was extremely interesting. 

When listening to pod casts I have to say I think Hamlet's Blackberry  will be at the top of the list. I was very engaged by the digital maxiumists theory. I am probably a minimalist in my family my mom, and both my sisters have Blackberries. Everywhere they go they are connected. It has been a choice not to always be connected. 

I was also liked the book Why Don't Student Like School?. I think this is a question we all would like to answer.  I enjoyed the fact that the author talked about teaching though stories. It has always been something I try and get my students to do I like to engage them in story telling.  It was also interesting how the author suggested that all people learn the same way. I want to see where the author was going with that.

My Weekly Blog for last week!

I have to say this week was just overwhelming! I don't think it what was due but just the week in general. We started using an online program in my freshmen Social Studies class and technology through us all for a loop. The program did not like 18 students on all at once and showed some of the quirks the program has not all that it showed me how much students really depend on the teacher. They had no idea how to work independently on the program. They wanted all the answers and didn't necessarily want to do the work for it.
I think that this when talking about chapter 8 and chapter 9 lead to an interesting week. I think that instruction in how to use media is important. On page 145, Jacobs point out some of the benefits of Education in Media Literacy.

• Media Literacy is interdisciplinary and easy to integrate into existing elements of existing/emerging curriculum
• Media literacy works well in teams and groups, fostering cooperative learning
• Media Literacy connects the curriculum of the classroom to the curriculum of the living room

I think I need to find a way to make sure this program is connecting to them and their life. Many of them so far think it is just busy work and I am not teaching them anything. I hoping when they see the end project they will realize that it is all worth learning.

Chapter 10: Educating for a Sustainable Future

As I read this chapter may thoughts went through my head but one was always louder. Coming from rural Maine, I am constantly hearing about how can we sustain education and preserve schools. This changed the conversation for me. I never looked at it as we were trying to sustain something that was really viable the way it was. We need to look at how can we create a school system that is healthy fininanical and can support itself as well as provide students the tools and skills that they need to be successful.
I think it goes back to the question how are we going to help our students live, long and healthy lives? We have to provide a foundation with the curriculum they are taught. We need to make sure we that we are teaching students how to sustain the future. We need to engage them in meaningful experiences in and out of the classroom. We them to be an active part of sustaining the future, it is not just about their education but it is about the world.

Drive

Is Education today too Type X?

In today's school I think that a lot of students are extrinsically motivated. They don't necessarily want to learn unless they know what they are going to get out of it. It is up to us as teachers to make sure that students have a cleat understanding of the purpose of a lesson. We have to provide this so that students are motivated to participate and be actively engaged. 

I know that we I was working at the elementary I had a reward box in my classroom. All my students had a chart and when they got so many stickers they got a reward. It provided motivation for those struggling readers that I worked with they need to see that they had earned the stickers for making progress.

Now at the high school I don't have a reward but I do have a candy jar. This candy jar does provide motivation for some. They look forward to the 3 jelly beans at the end of class. But I think that most of the motivation at the high school level has to be intrinsic. Students have to have this motivation in order to succeed. If they don't have this motivation then it is hard to provide it. I know that many high school students want to bargain with you and make deals for better grades. They weren't motivate in the beginning to get better grades.  How do we help these students?