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Assignment

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Notes/Feedback

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Current Event

"Teen mothers should be treated equally and get the same education as ordinary students would."

I whole-heartedly agree. These small classrooms and 8-12 graders all in the same room are unbelievable. How are they supposed to learn what they have to in order to graduate? These are quite the obstacle for young people with that much responsibility to handle. I can see why many want to drop out. How can you learn in a setting where there is no help? These "alternative classrooms" aren't what they could be. There needs to be something done to help these girls get an education. Without one, they have nothing, because how would they be able to provide for their child(ren) if they don't have a high school degree? You hardly get any kind of money or find a job that will take a person without a degree. I hope something is done about this problem. It's just sad to think that our country's future is jeopardized by such events as these.

Good response, and as I told Lisa, I also agree.

Current Event

" I think back to elementary school and I know that I would not have been a productive learner if I had been required to sit in a class room for six hours with only a 40 minute break for lunch and recess."

I agree with the fact that these kids aren't going to be very productive. What do you do when you get bored? You space out or pass notes or something of the like, and being in one seat for a long period of time is not going to help these schools at all. Sure they will be able to implement the curriculum, but how many kids will be paying attention at the end of the day? Plus, like you said, "they need this for their physical and mental health and well being." I know I would go out of my mind with the amount of information being put into my brain in a short span of time. Plus, recess is when all of our childhood memories come from. It's what influences many writers along with other careers to do what they do, and hindering these kids from developing a sense of real life and growing from their experiences is not what we should be doing. Sure, they have time to socialize and gain the same experience at lunch time, but even just 20 minutes between the start of school and lunch will help them much more. Besides, I think they'd be starving when it came around to lunch, and eating with a hungry stomach can lead to many problems (by not knowing when to stop because you don't know when you are full until later).

Electronic Journal

What?
Urban education has to do with education in large cities where students far out number the teachers. There seems to be a decrease in teachers in these areas, which is sad because most kids in this sector are in dire need of education. The increasing number of people moving to cities and putting their kids in public school is quite alarming, and schools just aren't equipped enough to hold this overpopulation of students.

So What?
With overcrowding comes the problem of children not being able to get the education that they deserve. It is wrong to deny a person what they have a right to.

Now What?
Now it is only a matter of recruiting more teachers that are willing to teach in environments such as these. The government should also be helping out these large schools to expand so as to attend to the needs of the students even more. The government needs to intervene soon, otherwise the future of America will not be one that we will be proud to look at.

Good response. You got right to the point and answered all the questions.

Electronic Journal

What? Technology can be found in most classrooms in America, whether it be a TV or a computer. But then there are those cases when none of these are seen in the classroom. In my high school, all we had were really small TV's with really bad VCRs, and outdated projectors. This was at a private school where you pay over $4,000 a year; who knows what they did with that money--money my family could barely afford. But even some decent public schools have technology and more. At the school I visited for the project, it amazed me that there were no TV's, but there were computers... but I didn't see anyone using them.

So What? Well, most kids, nowadays, have computers at home and are far more advanced in using them than this generation has been able to. But then there are those who cannot afford a computer. Either way, computers should be available to schools, but not in classrooms (unless it is a technology class). Maybe a few computers in every classroom would be ok, but they really aren't a necessity, for the most part. It should be mandatory for kids to attend a tutorial of some sort that shows them how to use certain aspects, such as Excel, Word, and Power Point, as well as being shown good ways to do some kind of research.

Now What? We need to supply schools with computers, but not necessarily for all classrooms. It would be more helpful to have them available in a library, or have a computer lab where kids can go for help. It is just a matter of knowing what areas need it the most.

Electronic Journal

What? Assessment has to do with seeing if your students have learned the information that you have been teaching them. This can be given to them in many different forms, but the most effective is criterion referenced, where the teacher decides what the student should know. Testing can be hard for students because it can stress them out so much that they may not remember the information when they are handed a test-- a very common occurrence. On the other hand, assessment can make this a little easier and actually test if the student understands the material, whether through an informal assessment or a formal one.

So What? I think that there should be more of a choice in testing, and assessment does that. It does not put the student on the spot to remember information that they might have thought was not relevant to the subject. Sometimes it is hard to know what is important in a teacher’s lecture, so assessing the student’s comprehension will help the teacher to better their methods to ensure that the students do get the best teaching they deserve.

Now What? As a future teacher, I will learn not to throw pop quizzes at my students because it would make everything that I worked for—a trusting, professional relationship with the kids—and just help no one at all. I will try to make handouts that are relevant to my lecture or are just interesting and make sure that the students know what will be tested of their knowledge of any subject. I think that teachers in general should stick to more assessment than straight testing.