Destined new teachers
Crazy kids may bring happiness
Life shall be unpredictable
This class is one of my favorite classes. I enjoyed class last week, and was enlightened by the things I learned that I never knew, like the interracial marriage laws that are within the US for example. I look forward to learning something new every week in class, the same way I will look forward to sharing and receiving something new from my students each day or throughout the week as a teacher. The poem is a reflection of both class and my life as a teacher. The children and lives we are soon to encounter are each going to be genuine, unique, challenging, sweet, unruly all of these at once, and some different from the others. But I desire to embrace them and be open to each unpredictable day. In the second line I said crazy kids may bring happiness, because the reality is that for some of us, this may not be the path God paved the way for and happiness may not be the case. However if it is, does that make us crazy too? If so then crazy I plan to be!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Monday, September 24, 2007
Harold Hodgkinson Reading
Unlike the Education Primer which basically summed up the statistical aspects of our education and public school systems, Hodgkinson concentrated more on the students within the classroom. One thing that stood out to me from the reading was fact two from the "race facts" which said that the 2000 census allows you to check as many race boxes as a person wishes. But I never realized the questions that might come of checking three boxes as I do (black, white Caucasian and Native American). How did my SAT test scores, for example, count for each check box. Tiger Woods was used as an example in the reading, questioning of his four boxes checked, does that make him four people?
I completely agree with the information regarding desegregation and how it has not helped economic equality. It is very true I believe as the article states, that for the US to be such a wealthy country the poverty level is ironically very low. Now that we have reached racial desegregation in our nation, equally important to the future of our children today is economic desegregation. A child should not suffer from "underprivileged education" as I refer to it as, because of a economic situation, more often basing from their families, branching out to their communities, none of which they have any control over.
I completely agree with the information regarding desegregation and how it has not helped economic equality. It is very true I believe as the article states, that for the US to be such a wealthy country the poverty level is ironically very low. Now that we have reached racial desegregation in our nation, equally important to the future of our children today is economic desegregation. A child should not suffer from "underprivileged education" as I refer to it as, because of a economic situation, more often basing from their families, branching out to their communities, none of which they have any control over.
Sunday, September 23, 2007
United States Public Education Profile
What Are the Schools Like?
Public schools educate millions of children across the nation from grades k5 to twelve. In addition to educating 88% of 54.9 million students in the nation (private schools educating the remaining 12%), they provide an assortment of services for the needs of society's children. For instance school nurses and health care programs, counselors and psychologists, social workers, federal school lunch programs (a program where children from low income families can receive free or reduced lunch, and in the 2003-04 school year, 36% of students were eligible for the program), before and after school day care and pre-kindergarten programs. Not all schools keep all of the services within the school systems, that depends are the schools finances.
Generally schools are a major reflection of the community the school is within. For instance a school set in a higher income base community, will be better maintained, receive more money from the community and state, and more teachers will be willing and eager to teach there. On average only 9% of funding for our nation's schools is provided by the government, each state and community provides the rest of our school's budgets locally. The nation's funding average however has increased over the past three years.
Who Are Our students?
Over all more public school students are attending school in suburbs, towns and rural areas than in urban areas. However more African American and Latino students attend in urban areas. Four out of ten public school students are children of color, and this number is expected to increase extensively. It is projected that by the year 2020, nearly half of the nations school age will be children of color. African American and Latino students are more likely to attend high poverty schools than white students, and more than 1/3 of public school students are from low-income families. Many of our nation's students were not even born here in the US, 27% were foreign born children.
Who Are the Teachers?
Despite our nations diversity in its students, the public school teaching force is not at all a reflection of that. Almost 80% of our nations teachers are female and about 90% are white. These numbers have decreased a great deal since the seventies. Almost half of public school teachers have advanced degrees (47%), and majority of them have more than ten years experience (58%). Yet these teachers with the degree and experience are not teaching in school where they are needed most. More often in schools with a high poverty concentration and a high minority percentage of students, teachers with three years experience or less and teaching out of their field are educating students there. This mentioned earlier in what schools are like, is another example of how schools being funded better by the state and community with the money to do so are being better maintained, and are the better places for children to learn. Yet more students are being educated through underprivileged circumstances.
Generally schools are a major reflection of the community the school is within. For instance a school set in a higher income base community, will be better maintained, receive more money from the community and state, and more teachers will be willing and eager to teach there. On average only 9% of funding for our nation's schools is provided by the government, each state and community provides the rest of our school's budgets locally. The nation's funding average however has increased over the past three years.
Who Are Our students?
Over all more public school students are attending school in suburbs, towns and rural areas than in urban areas. However more African American and Latino students attend in urban areas. Four out of ten public school students are children of color, and this number is expected to increase extensively. It is projected that by the year 2020, nearly half of the nations school age will be children of color. African American and Latino students are more likely to attend high poverty schools than white students, and more than 1/3 of public school students are from low-income families. Many of our nation's students were not even born here in the US, 27% were foreign born children.
Who Are the Teachers?
Despite our nations diversity in its students, the public school teaching force is not at all a reflection of that. Almost 80% of our nations teachers are female and about 90% are white. These numbers have decreased a great deal since the seventies. Almost half of public school teachers have advanced degrees (47%), and majority of them have more than ten years experience (58%). Yet these teachers with the degree and experience are not teaching in school where they are needed most. More often in schools with a high poverty concentration and a high minority percentage of students, teachers with three years experience or less and teaching out of their field are educating students there. This mentioned earlier in what schools are like, is another example of how schools being funded better by the state and community with the money to do so are being better maintained, and are the better places for children to learn. Yet more students are being educated through underprivileged circumstances.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Public Education Primer
The information given in the Public Education Primer was quite revealing information for me. Also these are statistics that were relatively accurate when I was in high school and I am certain much of the information applied almost certaintly to where I went to school, Bayonne High School. The questions that circle my mind after reading this are, why these numbers are what they are? Is there something society can do about it? Is it societies fault? The school systems fault? I can say that there is positivity in the increase of how well the students are achieving, particularly students of color, because of where a lot of these students come from and where most of them go to school according to the numbers. That shows that at least these children are working hard to become a greater "statistic" for lack of a better word. I also wonder where the core of the problems begin because if you think about it, if lesser numbers become greater and vice verca for majority of the information gathered there will have been change for the better in our school systems. So what set of numbers on which table or pie chart needs to be focused on so that possibly the domino affect could take place in these areas?
I believe all the information in the readings was a broad over view of what we will be going more in depth with through the semester. My main question and concern is, as future teachers, are there ways we can approach these numbers where ever we end up teaching in which ever school district under whatever board... Are there possible ways we can bring concrete change? Or are we left to get in where we fit and just jump on the band wagon? My expectations at the end of this semester is to be more knoledgable in this field and the way it operates and works for the children and around the children, so that maybe I can find an answer to my question.
I believe all the information in the readings was a broad over view of what we will be going more in depth with through the semester. My main question and concern is, as future teachers, are there ways we can approach these numbers where ever we end up teaching in which ever school district under whatever board... Are there possible ways we can bring concrete change? Or are we left to get in where we fit and just jump on the band wagon? My expectations at the end of this semester is to be more knoledgable in this field and the way it operates and works for the children and around the children, so that maybe I can find an answer to my question.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Reaction to first class
I really really enjoyed the first class. This course will be my third education course here at Montclair and with every course I have previously taken I've been pretty happy with the Professor and the class material and have learned a lot. It's interesting to me that the university is a world of teachers and professors which are one in the same, however through my experiences only those who are teachers of the "art of education" for lack of a better explaination are able to excite me about learning and taking part in the course. I wish all professors could find some way to make each content area the most exciting thing they have ever shared with individuals. Dr. Goldstein's high energy personally and spunk is really refreshing for me being that this is my fourth year here and I have not seen much of that kind of personality in many of my previous professors.
Dr. Goldstein has excited me a lot about the the course this semester, especially towards our fieldwork at Arts High! It's been quite a long time since I have been in a class that the professor was excited about and I actually shared the same excitement. I am a dance major and the excitement for most of the classes in that department has even dwindled over these few years. I believe this class is going to be a breath of fresh air for my educational experience and I am so excited, honestly, and eagerly looking forward to the things in store during this course.
Dr. Goldstein has excited me a lot about the the course this semester, especially towards our fieldwork at Arts High! It's been quite a long time since I have been in a class that the professor was excited about and I actually shared the same excitement. I am a dance major and the excitement for most of the classes in that department has even dwindled over these few years. I believe this class is going to be a breath of fresh air for my educational experience and I am so excited, honestly, and eagerly looking forward to the things in store during this course.
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