Canestrari & Marlowe, Chapters 9 & 11

The following quotes come from Educational Foundations, An Anthology of Critical Reading, 2^nd Edition edited by Alan S. Canestrari and Bruce A. Marlowe.

“Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor.” (Canestrari and Marlowe, 92)

            From what I gather out of this, students are not learning anything; they are simply being given information.  Students need to be able to ‘digest’ the information they are given in order to understand the given information.  Students should not just be considered ‘depositories’ I feel like this is relatively mean and not what student’s should be considered.

“The teacher’s thinking is authenticated only by the authenticity of the students’ thinking.” (Canestrari and Marlowe, 95)

            Without students a teacher wouldn’t be a teacher; there would be no one to teach.

            If a student does not believe or agree with what a teacher is saying, then the teacher is not authentic to that student.  Students need to agree with or believe what a teacher says.  Students’ thinking is just as important as the thinking of a teacher.

“In problem-posing education, people develop their power to perceive critically the way they exist in the world with which and in which they find themselves; they come to see the world not as a static reality, but as a reality in process.” (Canestrari and Marlowe, 100)

            Technology Education (TE) classes always consist of problem-posing education.  These classes offer an opportunity to explore, specifically, explore technology.

            When making calculation prior to conducting an experiment in TE classes, most of the time you would account for the best possible conditions; making calculations for motion in a frictionless environment is a prime example of this.  We are calculating for the way we see best, not as it actually is.  Though the results would be very close, they would not be exactly the same.

“If you are planning to become a teacher, welcome, and prepare to be overwhelmed.”  (Canestrari and Marlowe, 112)

            Testing has an affect on everything.  Teachers need to be prepared to miss seeing their class during the time of standardized testing.

            In Technology Education (TE) there are no standardized tests for everyone, but there are tests for those in TE classes.  The TE standardized tests really only affect the TE department in the form of additional fund (in the form of Perkins Grant).

            Teachers need to be prepared to not only miss class time but also proctor standardized tests.

“While data from well-designed tests can help inform teachers as to their students’ mastery of content, those tests cannot provide help for teachers seeking to improve their teaching skills and qualities.” (Canestrari and Marlowe 114)

            Teachers can certainly assess a student’s knowledge through a test, but there are other ways as well.  Tests are typically the easiest to make and easiest to ‘grade’.

            A teacher can use the grades as a method to determine what he/she should emphasize more in class; this could also show what the teacher must review.  The teacher will be able to use this information to account for what they should include when they teach the content the following year.

“Every classroom should have not merely a qualified teacher, but a great teacher.” (Canestrari and Marlowe, 117)

            This is one of the most logical things I have read.  A teacher that can teach is good, but if he or she is not willing to learn more about the subject then he/she will not be able to effectively teach the students.  This is very important in Technology Education (TE) because technology is always changing.  Teachers in this area need to update their own education so they can be one step ahead of the students.

            A great teacher is one who knows what they are talking about, but is willing to work with the students to give them the best education possible.

Spring, Chapters 6 & 8

“Traditionally, community members exercised their control over public schools by electing representatives to local school boards.” (Spring, 148)

      Ha!  This seems to be true for small communities, but I do not see this happening with big districts.

      As we discussed in class residence of New York City did not get a say as to who was on the school board back in 2002; Mayor Bloomberg simply appointed several CEOs to the school board back at that time.

      The other issue with a board of education is that they also do not always listen to the public.  This does not make sense because the public really does not get a say in the students’ education.

“Ask people in your community to name the members of the local school board.” (Spring, 150)

      This is just as funny as the first quote.  The book goes on to explain that most people will shrug their shoulders when asked this questions because, they don’t know.  In reality do the members of the community know who they are voting for when they get to elect the school board?

      The school boards typically get the final say in what happens in schools.  As a member of the public, I feel as though it would be good to know at least one member of the local school board because this way if someone wishes to make a suggestion he/she knows who to go to.

“Home schooling is one answer for parents who want to take charge of their children’s education.” (Spring, 155)

      This completely makes sense because school boards are not always making the best decisions for students’ education.  This takes many variables out of play and the parent’s know exactly what their child is learning.

      The issue with this is that the parents now have to put together a curriculum for their child(ren)’s education and this take a lot of time.  Simply sending a kid to public schooling is easy but he/she may not learn everything the parents wish for him/her to learn.

“If we assume that high salaries attract the best teachers, then difference in teacher salaries between school districts might reflect differences in equality of educational opportunity for students.”  (Spring, 221)

      This is upsetting.  Teaching should not be about the money but educating students.

      If teachers are going for the money then the better teachers are all going to end up in the same districts and the districts that cannot afford the better teachers are going to end up with the not so good teachers.  Without having the best teachers the students may not get a strong education.

      Unfortunately, districts cannot turn away and recruit teachers for their staff.

“A national study of teachers’ working conditions found that full-time public school teachers at both the elementary and secondary levels are required to be at school for an average of 33 hours a week.” (Spring, 221)

      So according to my calculations this averages to 6.6 hours per day.  To me, this makes sense.  Most school days are about 6 hours and teachers typically spend up to an hour afterschool grading papers and getting ready for the next school day.

      These working conditions do not seem to be that bad.  A businessperson typically works 40/week for almost all 52 weeks in a year.  So not only do teachers average a shorter work week but they also don’t work 52 weeks/year, they actually work around 36 weeks/year.

“The 2002 school year opened with its usual cycle of teacher strikes.” (Spring, 202)

      I never fully understood what a strike was but from what I do understand, these teachers were not happy with something.  In my opinion teachers have it really good and what are they always complaining about.  Most teachers even have tenure and it would take a major foul to lose their job.

      I do feel as though there are some issues with teaching but I believe these issues should be settled within the school.  It is not always necessary to get the public involved with teachers’ affairs.

Spring, Chapter 7

“What is the academic power of standards and tests besides supporting the high-stakes model of equality of opportunity?” (Spring, 178)

      There is no power at all.  Standardized tests take away from the typical classroom setting, and the teachers’ curriculums revolve completely around the tests.

      I cannot stand that these tests as they take over everything.

“President Reagan’s secretary of education William Bennett would use his office as a bully pulpit to harangue educators to change their educational practices.” (Spring, 181)

      This is a really annoying fact.  I do not like when people use their power over other to take advantage.  William Bennett was an attorney that became the Secretary of Education, while in office, he preached to educators to change their methods of teaching.

      Coming in as a lawyer, what does he know about education?  This position would be good to have an educator in because they know what is best for the students.

“Since testing required academic standards for measurements, state governments entered the business of establishing academic standards for each grade level.” (Spring, 182)

      Ah… the standards!  I do not recall ever seeing state standards in Technology Education (TE).

      In TE the ‘Standards for Technological Literacy’ are on an international level.  It is important that student get a chance to meet these standards.  These standards are set to check a student understands of technology: the past, the present, and the future.

      Technology is always changing and these standards need to change with it, thus it make the most sense to one set of international standards cover the entire world!

“No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 mandates a schedule, target populations, and reporting procedures for high-stakes testing and academic standards.”  (Spring, 186)

      I never fully understood what No Child Left Behind (NCLB) is and this quote seems to explain part of it.

      From my understanding, school systems are required to test certain groups of students and report the results of the test(s).  Does this at all entail testing those who are not supposed to be left behind?  I would think that NCLB means that everyone should be tested not just groups of students.

“Cheating is likely as high-stakes testing is used to evaluate teachers and school administrators.” (Spring, 192)

      Cheating on high stakes testing??  I thought this was against the rules.  How can someone cheat on these tests…?  I believe that the saying goes: if you cheat, you are only cheating yourself.

      Additionally, what does it mean that the tests are evaluating teachers and school administrators?  Are they testing to see if teachers can follow directions?

      This quote really doesn’t make sense to me which is partially why I picked it.

“State and federal politicians are increasingly involved in issues of curriculum, methods of instruction, testing, and teacher certification” (Spring, 202)

      Fantastic!  These politicians sometime do not understand how ineffective the policies they create are.  Politicians make policies without proper knowledge.

      It would be good to get some educators to help make these decisions because they are actually in the classrooms.  Teachers actually deal with students in the classroom and have the best position to make these decisions.  

Kozol, Chapter 7

“Many things have changed in inner-city schools since then, some remain the same.” (Kozol, 162)

      Change can be good, but it can also be bad.  This quote appears to be discussing physical changes to a school, in which case, most are good.  According to what the book said, inner-city schools tend to be in disrepair.  Anything that could improve the conditions, of a school, are typically well accepted.

      It is important that every student be able to sit in a chair without worry that it is going to break when they sit on it.  Teachers need to have some form of chalk board or white board to post information relevant to the class.  All schools need to have some form of change.

“Physical disrepair and squalor may not be as blatant in most districts now, although there are schools I visit were conditions are good deal more offensive than the ones my students faithfully describe.” (Kozol, 162)

      Schools have a tough time making changes to a school.  Any physical changes to the school are typically voted on by the town.  The schools have to listen to the residence of the town as it is their tax dollars that would be paying for the changes.

      Where I live, the school district, in the next town over, put a decision to a vote three times before it was accepted.  The item voted on was whether or not to build a high school for the town.  (Some high school students from this town attended my high school or another local high school; thus, the town I lived in lost out on the cost of educating these students our neighboring town had to pay.)

“Overcrowding in the California schools was legendary by this time.” (Kozol, 169)

      Overcrowding is a big problem.  It isn’t fair to the students and it’s not fair to the teachers.  As it is the teachers have to plan lesson for 20 to 25 students, but to tack on another twenty is severe.  Most teachers only have the capability of servicing only a certain number of students because of the activity and supplies.

      Sharing is good but it doesn’t allow students to get the full experience.  Especially in Technology Education, overcrowding can create a safety issue; because there are too many students, thus not everyone may get the proper instructions or students may be so tightly packed that they can’t use the equipment properly, as two examples.

      Overcrowding is a big issue that can easily be resolve however, the cost to resolve this issue is very great.

“Some of the most disturbing documentation I was shown by lawyers for the plaintiffs came children only eight or nine years old who were attending one of the many California schools that suffered rodent infestation.”  (Kozol, 172)

      Rodents, in a school?  This is terrible.  Schools should really be sanitary place were the students do not have to worry about a rat running across the table.  I’m sure that in some urban school systems, students worry about this at home.

      Additionally this is a health hazard that needs to be taken care of immediately.  If OSHA were to find out about this, the school would have fines up the wazoo.  It could be cheaper to fix the problem than pay the fines.

Finally, it is upsetting that something of this sort has to be taken to court.  Schools should know that this has to be fixed as to remove the unhealthy conditions.

“Unlike the staggered luncheon sessions I observed at Walton High, lunch was served in a single sitting to the students in this school.” (Kozol, 176)

      The following line goes on to say that the school consists of approximately 3,300 students.  The lunch staff here must go nuts every day.

      As it is, it is enough work to make lunch for 3,300 students; but to have to have it ready to serve to all of these students at the same time is crazy.  In addition, how much time is allotted for the students to eat lunch?  If it’s only 30 minutes chances are that not everyone will get a chance to eat.  The students at the end of the line will not make it to the serving station until after the bell has rung for the next class.

      At my former high school, the lunch staff was sometimes unable to serve all of the students in a single lunch wave (there were three lunch waves).  In these cases there were only about 250 students.

“In the first pages of this book, I spoke of the sewing class for black fifth graders (female only) in the school in which I taught in 1964 and 1965 in Boston” (Kozol, 185)

      Well… if this isn’t racism, then I do not know what is.  I feel that a class like this is saying to the 5^th grade females of color, “this is all you’re good for.”

      I see this as racism because it is categorizing people.  The class is specifically for “black 5^th graders (female only).  Not only is this segregation, but this is sexism as well.