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.