Read: Chapter 7 in the Intro to Teaching Book
ALL Respond to Teaching in an Era of Reform on page 229
Read: A New Order of Things by Saul Cooperman in the Charting a Professional Course book. Respond to the following questions:
If your last name begins with:
A-F Question #1
G-L Question #2
M-S Question #3
T-Z Question #4
Thursday, October 22, 2009
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I can see both sides of the retaining topic. I think that it does the student no good to struggle in a grade and then just pass them onto the next just because the teacher doesn't want the student to be "left behind." I think that by having the struggling student do some summer work or after school work to fix their problems would also work and allow the student to move up a grade level.
ReplyDeleteI think that Cooperman really makes you look at the schooling you went through in a whole differnt light. While in high school, you go to your classes and do the necessary things to pass. At the time, you don't really think about how you learn, you just do what you're told. I think that after reading Cooperman, you do realize that all the subjects you learned were seperate. You never took what you were doing in Algebra and tied that with Chem. it was always Algebra as a whole matter and Chem as a whole matter. I think that when I teach, I would like to tie different subjects together. I believe that it will allow you to interest the students in more than 1 subject at a time so that everyone can be involved and they can see that you can use more than 1 subject in a given situation.
I would rather hold a child back so they can fully understand what they were taught in that grade than sending an unprepared child onto the next grade level where they will fall even more behind. Although there may be a few complications from holding a child back I believe that it is better for the child. Yes, this may be stressful but I do not believe that it would be more stressful then being unprepared grade after grade. If a child is sent on even if they did not pass the previous grade, then they will be trying to catch up even years down the road. They will always be behind the other students. I do believe grade retention is beneficial and I do believe it is more likely to increase students learning. Sending an unprepared child onto the next grade will not increase the students learning. I believe they will be more likely to become overwhelmed and discouraged and stop trying to catch up and understand what is being taught. Although there are statistics showing students held back are more likely to drop out then normal high school students, I would like to see statistics on children who are passed on when they’re not prepared and whether they are more than likely to drop out.
ReplyDelete#1 High schools are currently organized into departments. There is math, science, history, and English departments, along with others. Not only are the classes sectioned off but so are the teachers and they way the classes are taught. In high school the teachers do not connect their class they are teaching with the other departments classes. The classes are taught completely separately and do not interconnect with any other subject. This type of organization was not very effective. At my school we took seven different classes every day. It would have been very helpful if these classes intertwined in the way they were taught. With this type of organization the teachers do not talk and plan a syllabus that is similar. Some subjects touch on the same material and it would be very helpful for the teachers to teach it around the same time as each other. The way high school is taught now is not very effective at all. It is much harder to learn seven different subjects when they are taught completely separately than if the seven subjects were intertwined.
I think that in the short of things, that holding a child back is the right thing to do, but on the other hand they may have deep psychological effects, such as the article articulated. It is important for students to understand the information that was taught to them all year because the next grade will have similar information that builds upon what they learned that year. Though, as our role as teachers we are not only teaching the youth, but we are preparing them for the future. How can we prepare them effectively if we hold them back and they endure psychological problems and end up dropping out of school in the long run? We just need to do what would be best for the kids.
ReplyDeleteAs I think back to how my high school years, I see now that in each of my classes there were no links with one class to another and if there were than it was very minute. After dwelling on that, I started to realize that my high school was sort of set up like a college department, where none of the teachers from all departments met together. Sure, they saw each other and probably shared stories with one another, but never really knew what the other teachers were teaching. In that case, I would have to agree with Evan and say that I would definitely incorporate more than one subject into my teachings. Like Cooperman said, it gives them a better realization to how life really is when they get older.
I do not agree with holding a child back a grade. I think that it can lead to a lot of emotional problems, mostly depression from seeing there classmates excel. Statistics also prove that childeren that are held back have a higher drop-out rate. I think that there are better ways to helping a child succeed rather than holding them back. There could be after school programs or tutoring. Even summer school would be better than holding a student back.
ReplyDelete(#2)According to Cooperman, young people want to experience interconnectedness and relevancy in their high school. Teachers can accomplish this by intertwining all the subjects together. They can set up their environment to attract students to learning. They can also develop the idea that learning can be fun.
I personally do not believe in retaining students. I think that there is a reason that these students don’t understand the material in the first place. We as teacher are responsible in figuring out why the student doesn’t understand: maybe it’s being taught in a way they don’t get, maybe they have a learning disability, maybe we’re teaching something that the child has never heard of or doesn’t know anything about and therefore they need more time or more background on the information due to their culture. Whatever it is there’s a reason and as a teacher I hope to find it. I don’t believe that if you retain a student there just automatically going to get it the second time around. If you always do what you always did, you’ll always get what you’ve always got. Meaning if you never change for the child who's to say they would understand the second time around.
ReplyDelete#3
The tree themes that Cooperman would organize in his “high school” of the future are the universe, the individual, and society. By the universe Cooperman would focus on Astronomy something that isn’t always part of the curriculum, yet he feels that students wonder about it. The individual would focus on how the body actually works. Examples of this would be how do we coup with sickness or depression and how we work together as a group of people. Society would steer their attention towards understanding the complexity of human society and how we live and work together. Even though Cooperman has some good ideas I don’t feel these are realistic in today’s society. I think we need to gear our lessons on things that interest students, but I’m a firm believer in reading, writing, and math. Those are the subjects I feel are most important for children to learn not how people interact together and astronomy.
I don't think that children should be held back there are so many programs now to help children that are not fully understanding the material that it is unnecessary. Children really do suffer when they are held behind, because it shows everyone else that they didn't make the grades to go on thus as soon as possible they drop out of school because all of thier friends have moved on with out them.
ReplyDeleteHigh schools are organized as college blocks. There is a block for each department such as english math science and history. Unfortanetly there is no communtication or ties between any of the departments. This is how my school was I believe that it would have been better and easier to understand if everything worked together instead of being torn in fifty different directions.
I would rather hold a child back than see them struggle the next year because the material is over their head. While, I understand it’s hard on both the student and the parents, holding a student back gives them a second chance to understand and grasp key concepts. If a child is promoted to the next grade even though they clearly haven’t mastered the material necessary, then the student is likely to become frustrated and may disconnect from the learning environment. Humans react to their surroundings and if they aren’t “getting it” then it’s more likely they’ll shutdown emotionally and eventually hate school. I think if a child is retained and teaching placements haven’t changed the student should be placed with the other teacher not the same. The original teacher’s instruction style may not have been effective for the student.
ReplyDeleteThe three themes around Cooperman would organize his “high school” of the future are the universe, the individual and society. He would use universe to examine astrology which isn’t regularly taught in today’s high schools. This idea allows departments to be connected. Another theme is the individual, which would focus on how the body works. Essentially it would examine how we as a society work together, much like how various parts of the body rely on each other. The final theme is society which focuses on how we live and work together. Again, he connects multiple subject areas to an idea. I don’t think this is realistic, because each department has their own standards they need to follow and accomplish in a given amount of time. Where I went to high school we had the option of taking either Chemistry or Biology II. We could take both if we wanted but could choose which order they were taken. This shows, that it’s very difficult to connect ideas across departments when students are taking courses at different times.
I think that there are different avenues a student can take to improve their acedemics rather than being held back. Summer school, tutors, and learning centers are just a few options they have to help them understand the topics they struggle in during the school year. Being held back can damage their self esteem. Being discouraged and embarrassed will make the student less willing to take extra efforts. I do believe that a student should know the necessary material before being advanced to the next grade but holding them back might not be the best road to take.
ReplyDelete#2 Students want interconnectedness and relevancy in their school experience. Pretty much they would like to know how what they are learning connects with evryday life and the world around them. While reading the article I was thinking that a teacher, even if they don't communicate with other departments, could ask their class to relate their subject they are learning in that specific class with their other classes. Cooperman stated a great exmple with the Panama Canal. (I do this all the time with my 7 yr old. I ask him to tell me one thing he learned in school today, and them we disscuss how this relates to other things in life)
I do not like grade retention. I feel as if students would be very embarrassed about being held back and possibly being bigger then their fellow students. And after hearing those drop out rates I do not think its a good idea at all. Maybe we can provide a program for them where they need to go back and relearn things on top of their classes already. I mean after school programs were given to students back at my elementary school. I was actually in one, so that I could pass a grade. I have been a great student ever since, it really taught me to pay attention and get my work done. I did not want to be held back. It make me work harder, and I know this might not work for everyone. It is just another idea that I guess I have seen work before. I do not like grade retention programs.
ReplyDelete#2 According to Cooperman, students today in high school want interconnectedness and relevancy in their school experience. I can relate to this, I would always try to ask how this could be applied to real life situations. I wanted to know how this could help me in the future. I think teachers should be prepared for these kinds of questions. Maybe relate problems to real life situations. Set up your room with realistic settings. Make sure they realize the importance to the information you are giving them.
When considering whether a student should be held back it is important to look at many aspects. It is necessary to make sure that the benefits are going to be greater than the negative effects it has on a child. I think that students should be held back to prevent them from just being passed through the system and end up in high school and are not able to graduate because they can't pass required state tests to do so. As teachers, it is our job to help students to be able to be successful out in the world and to do so students have to have certain abilities to survive such as being able to read and write. If a school is going to retain students I believe it is necessary to also provide for the needs of the emotional and psychological results. I also believe it is the schools job to emphasize to the students that these students are not held back because they are "dumb" or "stupid". All students need to then be educated on how everyone learns in different ways, speeds, and levels to help them realize that there is nothing wrong with being held back and that it is to their benefit so they can better understand the things they weren't able to pick up on the first time.
ReplyDelete#3 The three themes Cooperman would organize his "high school of future" around the universe, the individual, and the society. The universe would focus of why things are the way there are, such as through astronomy. The individual would focus more on the human body and the way it works and how it functions, psychology is a subject that would be taugh in this division. And finally the society would focus on being able to live with other people of society and being able to get along. I do not believe this type of connection would work. Today's education is greatly focused on getting students to be able to pass tests. I think it would take a lot of time to reform education to where is isn't focused on testing. I think that having everything connected would be great for everyone because I remember many times while in high school where the teachers never worked together to make projects or assignements connect in any way. I think that being able to make connections with things makes education deeper. I believe it is a great idea, but very unlikely to ever to reached.
I think that grade retention should be avoided when at all possible, but in some cases, it is just not avoidable. If a child is struggling with the work in their grade, they should first be offered additional help. Before and after school help and tutoring should be the first step if a child is behind on work. If the child can still not understand the information, I believe it is necessary to hold them back at the end of the year if they are not ready to move on. If they go on to the next grade without understanding the prior one, they are going to be even more behind. They will never be able to get ahead if they are always playing catch up with the subject matter. I think the students would rather feel they understand the work they may have already learned once, than be completely lost in the next grade.
ReplyDelete(#3) The three themes Cooperman would organize his curriculum around are the universe, the individual, and society. This universe would focus on subjects that aren't normally taught in public schools like astronomy and religion. The individual section would help teach students more about their body. As students are growing and changing, Cooperman believes they need to know about these changes and why they occur. The society would focus on current issues and the complexity of human society. I do not think this is realistic in our teaching world today. The major subjects that are studied in school now, have been taught since the beginning of schools. I do not think that now, after all these years, something this dramatic would change. It would take a lot of effort and many years for Cooperman's ideas to come through.
I do not think that a child should be held back, but sometimes it has to be done. If a child is not ready to move on to the next grade level then they are not ready to move on. I think that being held back is hard on a child emotionally, but if they do not understand the information that is brought to them now then how are they going to understand harder information? We need to let them know that it is okay to be held back and that it only helps them. A child should not be able to just pass through a grade because they will have problems with learning new information and understanding old information that they were suppose to learn. We need to teach children all of the skills we are suppose to teach them as teachers, if they do not pass tests on that information than yes they should be held back a year. They need to be able to read and write. In life they will face reading and writing their whole lives, so that is very important to learn and be able to do at a young age. As teachers, we need to let the students know that if they are held back they are not stupid; they just need more help and time with some areas of a subject or skill. We need to be able to help them with the emotional effects that being held back give to a child as well. We need to let children know that being held back comes to an advantage to them, so that they can use more time to spend on certain things that they did not understand the first time. It is important to know that all children learn differently and at different speeds.
ReplyDeleteCooperman makes me think of how things were when I was in high school a few years ago. When I was in high school, I did the work and didn’t really think about how everything would benefit to me in the future. We all pretty much just did what we were told to do. It was like clockwork in a way, everything was the same day to day. The classes I took in high school didn’t relate to one another by any means. While in English class, chemistry meant nothing at all. Each class was like a different world, no class would tie together at all. When I am a teacher, I want to tie different subjects together. I think that students will understand the subjects more and they will believe that everything we learn matters because it all ties together. I want students to know that in life, you will not use just one subject at a time you may use information from many at a time.
As far as grade retention goes, I am not a big supporter of it. I am more in favor of the alternative programs. If a student has fallen behind, then they should be give extra help in the needed areas. After the extra help, if the student is still lacking in that area, then I do believe they should repeat the entire grade. I am against promoting the child just because of wanting to keep him/her with their classmates. If a child still is not understanding something, though, I feel that I (as a teacher) must look at myself and my teaching methods to figure out where I may have went wrong.
ReplyDeleteThe three themes that Saul would organize his high school around are the universe, the individual, and society.
In studying the universe, he suggests a strong knowledge of astronomy. He would bring into play the study of things such as the Bible and the book of Genesis, along with othe basic beliefs about creation from other religions. In geometry, the students would study astronomy. Earth science would fit nicely with a study of our planet. Language and literature would also be able to find a nitch in this theme with the study of how our ancestors communicated.
In studying the individual, he suggests really taking a look at ourselves and how our bodies work. This would be taught initially through the study of biology and chemistry. He says that algebra could be woven into this theme. In understanding the individual, psychology would be taught, allowing students to understand their personalities and those around them. Students would become competent in a foreign language. All of these would be inter-woven between each other.
In teaching students about society, he suggests a study of history and our journey to where we are now. Sociology would be taught, along with economics, foreign language, and writing. All with the center focus of the theme of society and how everything is inter-related.
I believe that parts of his idea are possible in today's teaching world. Combining a theme between many subjects would help students to get a better grasp of how one thing can affect many. By seeing these themes in action in other areas, they will have multiple chances to put it to memory. I believe this would make it easier to test on too. Instead of studying a lot of random concepts, they would be able to study a corelating theme. I am not sure if all of his ideas would be readily accepted though. Religion is always a touchy topic. I think that he has great ideas, but it would definitely take some aggressive pushing to get these ideas to be allowed.
While I do understand where advocates for retention are coming from, I can't say I totally agree with them. I feel that because the stress put upon children who are retained is so great that it causes many of them to eventually drop out of school, retention should be an absolute last resort. As soon as a student begins to fall behind, tutoring programs should be immediately implemented. If the problem starts being worked on from the start there is a better chance of finding a solution other than retention.
ReplyDeleteCooperman believes that high school students seek "interconnectedness and relevancy" in school. In order for teachers to make this happen, a lot of planning outside of the classroom must take place. Teacher's throughout the different departments need to find a way to link their lessons in a way that students can see how different subjects interact with eachother in a real life situations.
The certainty of a childs success is the most important aspect of eduction. However, the effects of grade retention far surpass the examination of their learning experience. For a child to be held back a grade, it is detremental in ways that are unable to even be speculated by research. To start with children find enthusiasm in the identity they obtain from their grade level and classmates. To be held back means to be isolated from the identity that made school a comfortable learning environment. When students are not comfortable they also do not feel safe, and as stated in the chapter the need to feel safe is only surpassed by the need for survival. The ifficacy level of schools needs to be taken into consideration when making decisions to reatain students, and I strongly feel that high stakes testing is not an apropriate tool for determining a childs development. There are alternatives to grade retention that would be far less detramental to students such as summer scholl and after school programs. Another alternative I like that is yet to be implimented by couragouse leaders in education is that of school cirriculum discussed in Saul Cooperman's "A new order of Things."
ReplyDelete#3 The three themes Cooperman suggests to organize the high school of the future around are The Universe, The Individual,and Society. One thing that consistantly comes to my mind when I read this article are the words Awareness and Capability. Not only do I feel this is realistic, I feel that it is long over due. Teenagers are people who are at an age that they start to question the world around them. The cirriculum suggested not only gives them perspective that encompasses the existance they are apart of and all that has lead to the understanding of it, it also connects the previously separate schools of thaught to give them a sense of capability to be a part of this world. As I read this article I could not help but feel that this is not just what high school needs, but also what the world needs, and what is high school but the beggining of the world. This system would not only integrate this concept with an awareness of our existance as a whole, but it will also provide students with an opportunity for one last interconnected experience with their peers and teachers before life begins for each of them. Not to mention, with an all encompassing perspective and empowering sense of awareness.
I would hold a child back before I would see them struggle at a higher level. But at the same time when you hold a child back, it could have some psychological effects on them. It could cause them to think that they aren't as smart as the other kids and in some cases they could continue to struggle.
ReplyDelete3.) The three themes Cooperman suggests to organize the high school around are the Universe, the Individual, and Society. The Universe would focus on subjects that are not normally taught in schools like religion or astronomy. The individual would help teach students more about their bodies and the changes that happen to them. And society would focus on current issues that are happening around us.