One of the most obivious steps I am taking to ensure all students succeed is going through this program at Walden. I have found inumerable resources which have been directly applied to my class. The support of fellow students provides further incite about experiences of others. This has had a direct impact on my work on curriculum in my district. The backwards design process is one I use when designing lesson sequences. I establish learning targets for my students based on national and state standards. I incorporate more real world applications to motivate my students and help them develop a deeper understanding of content. I share what I've learned with others in meetings and workshops.
I still feel the greatest obstacle is colleagues who fail to recognize the impact they have on their students. Their negative attitudes poison their classrooms and student perceptions. They still attend workshops, but for the sake of being away from their students instead of for acquiring more knowledge. I hope they will one day find the spark to inspire their students. My inspiration has been to be the kind of teacher I want my own children to have.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Where is Our Next Sputnik?
I couldn't have agreed more with Thomas Frieman's article "What's Our Sputnik?" (January 10, 2010). I think the priorities of our country have shifted far from helping and supporting those within our own country and set a priority with handling the problems of those overseas. I do not disagree with supporting our global neighbors, but think it has been at the expense of the infrastructure in our own country.
President Bush enacted No Child Left Behind, but failed to supply the funding necessary to ensure districts focused on more than these two content areas. Since its inception, US school have fallen further behind in science test scores compared with European and Asian countries (Banchero, 2011). Science is not an isolated subject: it has application in medicine, farming, and bridge building. In addition to keeping science testing out of NCLB, districts have left it behind as far as adequately supplying facilities and technology. How can we expect to raise scientifically literate citizens prepared for a global economy, when educators are not able to provide experiences necessary to support them?
In addition to lags in education, businesses are falling behind because other countries are offering better incenctives to send US companies overseas (Carey, 2010). To make ourselves more competitive, the government must partner with businesses, workers, educators, and other countries to best utilize the human resources available supporting the vitality of our citizens. There does not seem to be a Sputnik spurring us on in this moment. LIke Friedman, I believe we are being driven by overseas oil supplies and terrorist groups instead of by what is best for the people. Until priorities are shifted, the United States will continue to fall further behind in education, business and world leading nations.
Banchero, S. (2011, January 26). Students score poorly on science test. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704698004576103940087329966.html
Friedman, T. L. (2010, January 17). What’s our Sputnik? [Op-Ed]. The New York Times [Late Edition (East Coast)], p. WK.8.
Carey, W.P. (2010, May 19). Will the U.S stay globally competitive? It depends. Know WPC. Retrieved from http://www.knowwpcarey.com/article.cfm?aid=122
President Bush enacted No Child Left Behind, but failed to supply the funding necessary to ensure districts focused on more than these two content areas. Since its inception, US school have fallen further behind in science test scores compared with European and Asian countries (Banchero, 2011). Science is not an isolated subject: it has application in medicine, farming, and bridge building. In addition to keeping science testing out of NCLB, districts have left it behind as far as adequately supplying facilities and technology. How can we expect to raise scientifically literate citizens prepared for a global economy, when educators are not able to provide experiences necessary to support them?
In addition to lags in education, businesses are falling behind because other countries are offering better incenctives to send US companies overseas (Carey, 2010). To make ourselves more competitive, the government must partner with businesses, workers, educators, and other countries to best utilize the human resources available supporting the vitality of our citizens. There does not seem to be a Sputnik spurring us on in this moment. LIke Friedman, I believe we are being driven by overseas oil supplies and terrorist groups instead of by what is best for the people. Until priorities are shifted, the United States will continue to fall further behind in education, business and world leading nations.
Banchero, S. (2011, January 26). Students score poorly on science test. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704698004576103940087329966.html
Friedman, T. L. (2010, January 17). What’s our Sputnik? [Op-Ed]. The New York Times [Late Edition (East Coast)], p. WK.8.
Carey, W.P. (2010, May 19). Will the U.S stay globally competitive? It depends. Know WPC. Retrieved from http://www.knowwpcarey.com/article.cfm?aid=122
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