WebLog 5

WebLog 5                                                                                                                     February 24, 2011

Slattery: After reading your book, it seems you have some extreme opinions on how politics and our economy have affected our education.

Apple:  Yes, I do have strong opinions.  But I also believe them to be true, and I believe that there are many people in the educational field who support these beliefs.  Congress has made a political spectacle of our educational system and this has caused tremendous inequalities in our society. The most recent No Child Left Behind act has completely disabled our children.  Not only are our children missing out on getting a strong education that is grounded with good values due to the way our teachers have to “teach to the tests”, but the minorities and lower classes of this country are not getting nearly the same education as the upper class families.  This is unacceptable, and we MUST create some possible, realistic solutions – and fast….before our educational system collapses!   

Slattery:  Whoa, calm down… no need to get so defensive!  I don’t necessarily disagree with you….I also believe that teachers need to create meaningful learning experiences that are grounded with good values.  I don’t think our teachers should be “teaching to the tests.”  I feel that too often teachers are bound by the hegemony of our educational society….or the neoliberal agendas, as you like to put it.  You are right in many ways.  Our teachers are not encouraged to allow students to question information, attitudes, or various interpretations of the curriculum.  And, I also feel that our system is somewhat prejudice as it does not really give room for our underprivileged students to “come out of the trenches” and make something of themselves.

Apple: Oh…so you do understand….

Slattery:  Yes, I do.  I believe that teachers should not just have the opportunities, but should also be encouraged to “think out of the box” when approaching curriculum.  They should be teaching to the “world of the student” and allow them to make personal connections to the curriculum through biographical and autobiographical experiences – such as the process of currere.

Apple: Yes!  That is exactly what I am saying!  There are no opportunities for such experiences when our system is forcing teachers to conform to the hegemonic right of conservative modernization! Something must be done….

Slattery: Agreed, but much easier said than done.

WebLog 4

WebLog 4                                                   

Part 1: (Chapter 2)

My current teaching position is a little different than that of a typical classroom.  I teach religious studies and Hebrew language in a self-contained classroom to students with severe behavioral and emotional disorders and learning disabilities.  Because my student’s behaviors are so extreme, it can many times be quite challenging to cover descent amounts of curriculum at one time – or even across multiple classes.  In addition, a good part of my “curriculum” is to try and teach a love for their upbringing, and connections to their religion.  Compassion is not always something that can be taught – especially to kids who are struggling with so many things in there day to day lives.

Due to all these factors, I feel that my approach has to be realistic.  I want their experience in my classroom to have meaning, and therefore I find that I need to be constantly creative and innovative in how I teach my “curriculum.”  I have to always “think out of the box.”  I don’t often use too much text, and if I do, I also have to be prepared with some tactile components in order for the students to be able to focus in non-traditional ways.  I use lots of materials like silly putty, pipe cleaners, or even glue, when teaching the Hebrew language.  I will have my students shape the letters out of something they can feel and touch – and in this way, they will probably remember these experiences much better than seeing it in print on piece of paper or in a book. 

When it comes to making connections within specific content areas, I do a lot of role playing and drawing, allowing my students to contribute to their learning experiences in their own way, and to have the opportunity to express their opinions and learn new ideas in ways that are not typical of that of a text book.  I believe that in the end not only is more learned, but I hope that I have also sparked that connection to their religious beliefs in a more significant way.   

In chapter 2 of his book, Slattery quoted Lisa J. Cary of the University of Texas who says “The study of curriculum issues…calls for an understanding at all times that curriculum is more than a text book, more than a classroom, and more than teachers and students….”  This statement strongly supports my approach to how I teach.  I have to consider my student’s home situation, mental and physical health, and simply – the mood that they are in when they walk in my door each day.  I have to cater to their individual needs and I have to make those experiences meaningful.

Part 2: (Chapter 3)

The theme of autobiography as it is quoted in this chapter by the practice of currere suggests that curriculum is approached by the interpretation of personal lived experiences.  We know that students learn better when able to internalize what they are learning.  Making connections between the curriculum and their own lives is a process in which I deeply support and practice in my own classroom.  I believe that it is a great shame that text books don’t necessarily support this type of learning, and think that it is a teacher’s responsibility to create regular opportunities for students to make these types of connections. 

WebLog 3 - Whose Markets, Whose Knowledge?

Apple discusses quite a few “tensions” as they relate to education in his second chapter Whose Markets, Whose Knowledge?  Most of them were his way of analyzing the conservative social movements that he feels has a powerful impact on the practice of education in the United States.  These tensions include:

·         Education for employment – educating for specific fields and therefore not widening the educational materials to cover more subject areas.

·         Highly standardized and regulated teaching methods – this type of control over what we teach puts teachers in an extremely limiting role, not to mention the focus of those educational lessons being on passing the standardized tests. 

·         The “Christian Right” being a powerful and influential part of education as it relates to public policy in the media, religion, social welfare, ect.   This influences the gender roles and family, and Apple says this to be a “most dangerous force in a child’s life”.

 For my blog, I would like to focus specifically on his selection titled: “Neoliberalism: Schooling, Choice, and Democracy”  Where he points to tensions revolving around what he has set up as public schools vs. private schools.  Many of his statements go back to the Managerialism theory.  That public schools have become the “black holes” for which money is poured and then disappears.  He continues to say that public schools are looked at through a cost-benefit analysis.  Obviously if we are going to look at schools from a business standpoint, it would seem to make sense that money spent on schools needs to have an effective outcome.  So where is breakdown, and why is the outcome too often ineffective? 

In addition, the social classes of our society greatly affect these outcomes as well.  Poor people don’t choose to be poor, ect.  People who cannot afford private school education are stuck in their districts where the failure rate is so high.  So where is the “choice”?   He quotes that the only way for “the poor to gain the right to leave bad schools and seek out good ones is through an “unorthodox alliance”.”  That alliance being one with Republicans and Business – since those are the most powerful groups which are “supposedly” willing to transform the system. 

He further states that “depoliticization” is making it very difficult for people with low economic, political, and cultural power to be heard.  And if they are heard at all, they are often acted on in ways that do not “deal with the true depth of the problem. “

I think Apple did a good job of establishing what he feels are the contributing “tensions” to the problems with our modern educational system, however…now what?  I am interested to see how he suggests we “solve” these problems in his future chapters, or at the very least attempt to “smoothen out” these proposed tensions. 

WebLog 2

WebLog 2                                                                                                                    January 27, 2011

Michael Apple had some solid and poignant points in the first chapter of his book, Markets, Standards, God, and Inequality.  While I did not agree entirely with all of his ideologies, he seemed to have a very strong handle on the big issues of today’s educational system and the history which got it there.  With that said, he chose in what my opinion, is a very “touchy” title for his book.  Educating the “right” way.   What is right?  And who is right?  There are so many political battles over education, so many laws passed and changes made to “better” the system.  But is it better?   

Being in a college of education program at the time that President Bush passed the No Child Left Behind Act, I found myself re-thinking what my focus was on going into this field and what my personal career goals were going to be.  On the one hand, I was seeing streams of seasoned teachers who were many times some of the best in their fields, have to go back to school to become “highly qualified”, and were most certainly not happy about this new law.  One woman who had been teaching for 35 years actually turned to me and said “get out while you still can.  Our government missed the boat again!”  I was shocked.  At the time, I wasn’t sure how I felt about all this political hoopla.  After all, our roles as teachers hasn’t changed, was this law really going to affect us in the classroom?  And on the other hand, I was becoming a professional in the field of special education.  I was very passionate about advocating for children who have special needs and the concept of “no child left behind” sounded like it was truly about those children.  But was it?  Is it fair to expect our children with cognitive delays to have to take the same tests as students who are able to learn typically?  The more I thought about it, the more I started to understand what that seasoned teacher meant. 

In Apple’s anecdote about his student Joseph, he brought up a very strong point that we’re told to focus on “standards”, and “raising the educational bar” but the truth is that Apple is right when he says that “the educational reforms may sound good, but often work in exactly the opposite way when they reach the classroom level. “

If our government set up our educational system to be successful, then why are so many students falling through the cracks?  Why is there so much failure?  Where are all these gaps and what is being done to fill them? 

I am sure that Apple has explored these questions at many levels, and I’m sure he will attempt to address some of them in following chapters.  However, even Apple may not have all the answers to educating the “right” way.  At the end of the day, I have to be able to tell myself that I did the best job that I could with the materials and knowledge that I have, and hope that my students will be successful regardless of the fallacies in the “system”.

WebLog 1: CLASS SURVEY

WebLog 1: CLASS SURVEY

Personal information
1. Heidi Levine-Shtern, University Heights, DassiShtern@gmail.com

2. Dassi     
       
3.  I have my BA in Moderate to Intensive Special Education from Cleveland State University.  I've been working in the field of Special Education for 9 years. 
    I am a teacher for the ETGAR program - a special needs Hebrew school program of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland. I teach a self contained class of children with severe behavioral disabilities as well as learning difficulties.  I create curriculum and make all necessary modifications to meet the specific needs of each of my students. 
    I am also an Educational Coordinator for the SEGULA program.  An inclusion program that is also a program of the Jewish Education Center of Cleveland.  There my role is to supervise classroom aides,work with the teachers and any other service providers to modify curriculum and all other aspects of the classroom environment that will better enable the student to be successful in an inclusion setting. 
   I recently resigned as Program Director of The Friendship Circle where I worked for 7 years to create and implement social programming for children with special needs and their families, and trained teen volunteers to work with children's specific needs. 

4. I am married and a mom of 3 girls.  I enjoy crafting, baking, and spending time with my family. 

Learning Style and more:
5. I am a very organized and detail oriented learner.  Being that I juggle a lot of things, it is important to me to have clarification on assignments and any information taught.  The more organized I feel, the more confident I am with my ability to take creative risks and ultimately be a successful student in the classroom.

6. I do enjoy the educational environment and learning from other professionals in the field.  While I do have some strong opinions on education and curriculum (especially when it comes to catering to students with special learning needs), and I like to voice those opinions, I do try to be an open minded learner when it comes to hearing and learning from other's experiences as well as their approach to teaching and working with various curriculum. 

7.  As I mentioned above, I do juggle a lot, and therefore I don't always have as much time to study/read as I would like to, but I do take school seriously and make it a priority. I will always work hard to get the assignments done well and on time.  

Education Past and Present

9. I am very passionate about teaching children with special needs, and see myself as an advocate for these children in my community.  While being creative and constantly thinking out of the box is something that I do daily to try and create opportunities where my students can be successful, I do wish there was more support for me as a teacher of different learners, as well as more access to various life skill and social curriculum that can work hand in hand with the typical classroom curriculum that we are asked to cover. This is an area where my students need constant attention, and of course the earlier the intervention, the more likely the child is to succeed.  

10.  I would like opportunities to collaborate with other teachers in order to learn from their experiences, as well as brainstorm additional ideas that I may find helpful and useful in my day to day teaching.  I appreciate being encouraged to think out of the box.  

About Dr. Shutkin:
11. What other classes do you currently teach, and what will you be teaching this summer/fall semester?