Folder 12

The following quotes come from Revitalizing the Commons (2006) by C.A. Bowers.

 

“In short the commons include all of the environment that sustain human life.” (Bowers, 2)

 

      There are many items humans use that were produced naturally.  Thus, this line is very much valid.  It is great that humans are using what
nature produced, but a limit needs to be set or the commons will cease to
exist.

 

 

“The destruction of the commons, in both Western and non-Western cultures, needs to be understood in terms of what has become the dominant characteristics of the Western
approach to development.” (Bowers, 4)

 

      It sounds to me as though this is part of the reason the United State National Park Service (NPS) was developed. 
The NPS is setup to protect land that the country finds valuable and
should not be disturbed.

      With people taking over all of the commons, the commons would no longer exist.

 

 

“The industrialization of health care, education, production and preparation of food, play, entertainment, and even thought and communication now cost more than many individuals and families can afford.” (Bowers, 5)

 

      Everything today is all about making money. 
These services cannot stand if they were not industrialized.  Industrialization was able to convert these from being for certain people to now be for everyone.

 

 

“As the lives of people in the West become less centered on the self-sufficient possibilities of the commons, and more in the industrial culture that is beyond their control, their insecurity becomes more palpable.” (Bowers, 8)

 

      The world started in the commons and is progressing away from it.  We will never be able to fully get away from relying on the commons.  We use many natural resources from the commons such as wood for building houses and rivers for drinking water.

      The methods we use to obtain these natural resources has certain become industrialized, there is a great need for mass production.

 

 

“The industrialization of agriculture is a prime example of this trend.” (Bowers, 10)

 

      If agriculture was not industrialized, how could enough food be produced to feed everyone on the earth?  The industrialization of agriculture has made it not only quicker to produce food, but easier as well.

      I found that the movie Food Inc. explains this concept very well.

 

 

“The future of the automated workplace can be seen in recent developments” (Bowers, 11)

 

      Oh yes, technology is taking over.  There are many human jobs that can be taken over by autonomous robots that can automate the typical workplace greatly.  Human workers cost too much.

      However, if humans are not being paid, who is going to buy the items that are being produced?  This will come full circle; humans make items to purchase with the money the earned (from making the items).  Robots make the items; humans cannot make purchases because of a lack of funding!  It’s quite ironic.

Kozol, Chapter 8

The following quotes come from The Shame of the Nation (2005) by Jonathan Kozol.

“The problem, as it soon turned out, was that the program had become too cheap to rapidly.” (Kozol, 189)

      Well is that a surprise?  Schools are losing all sorts of funding regardless of what program it is for.  The first, typically, to get cut are electives.  When a reading program is not being allotted much money this is a sure sign that the school is going downhill, if it is not already.

      School systems don’t want to spend money to improve programs, because the boards of education want the money for raises to ‘their people’.

“During the same period, another, somewhat more assertive series of reports and books and summit conferences and a national symposia began to promulgate a new set of pronouncements as to how to ‘fix’ our schools by codifying lengthy lists of school reforms that ‘work’[…]” (Kozol, 194)

      Reports that tell you how to ‘fix’ a school… that is funny.  There really is no one report that would tell someone how to fix a school because every school is different, from the students to the faculty.

      The documentation consisting of methods that ‘worked’ could very well be useful.  These documents could help steer a school in the correct direction but follow the documentation as it is written may be disastrous because the school is different.

“‘With lightning speed,’ the newly chosen principal has turned a failing school into ‘a place where students learn’ — ‘no ifs and buts’ — instructional time is ‘maximized,’ teachers are ‘utilizing more deliberate techniques’ and a poor-performing school is on the way to ‘a dramatic turnaround’[…]” (Kozol, 198-199)

      Impressive, a school principal took a failing school and turned it into a much better performing school and I’m guessing there were not issues from the board of education.  In fact, they probably appreciated that they did not have to do much to get the school to perform better.

      Additionally, I would imagine that the teachers enjoyed working for this principle because he or she made it work and it appeared to not be in a hostile situation!  I bet this principal is very much wanted by many other districts.

“And, indeed, before the president left office, many of his goals had more or less dissolved into thin air, and very few people that I knew could still remember what they were.” (Kozol, 202)

      Surprise, surprise… I feel like this happens in many cases.  Other situations arise leaving education on the back burners.

      This quote from Kozol refers to the presidency of George H. W. Bush.  This was the time of the Persian Gulf War… so I can see how the education issues were tabled.  It is upsetting to see that the education of the country’s youth is not important and there are many other issues that set education back.

“A former fifth grade teacher told The Morning News that teachers were ‘instructed…how to cheat’ by walking around their classrooms while the students worked on their exams, stopping behind students who had chosen the wrong answer to a question, and remaining behind such students until they selected the right answer.” (Kozol, 207)

      Now, I don’t like standardized test (or tests in general), but having the teachers cheat for the students?  This is terrible and is does falsify the test results and cannot be marked as valid.

      This is a disgrace not only to the teachers but the students as well.  I feel that the board of education is looking at the students as if they are stupid and cannot succeed on their own.  If the teachers cheat for the students, the students will never learn.  This is just embarrassing.

“Equal education, not surprisingly, was no more accepted as a plausible objective in that era than it is, in general, today.” (Kozol, 212)

      Equal education is tough because student learn differently.  It seems realistic that schools attempt to give students equal education but are unable to.

      Teachers need to rework the curriculum to fit the classes they teach, one method does not work for everyone.

Canestrari & Marlowe, Chapters 21,22 & 23

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

“The message appears to be that teachers do not count when it comes to critically examining the nature and process of educational reform.” (Canestrari and Marlowe, 198)

      This is both true and false.  When you look at some boards of education, the board consists of CEOs and major company executives and, “They know best,” thus teachers do not count.  However, some boards of education do consider the opinions of the teachers.  This is awesome because the teachers can voice issues regarding the methods or curriculum implemented by the board.

“Instead of learning to raise questions about the principles underlying different classroom methods, research techniques and theories of education, students are of then preoccupied with learning the ‘how to’ with ‘what works,’ or mastering the best way to teach a given body of knowledge.” (Canestrari and Marlowe, 200)

      As a teacher it is important to question what the board of education is enforcing or supporting, yet at the same time one does not want to over step there bounds.  Teachers need to make sure that they are ‘allowed’ to teach using whatever method they see works best.

      Additionally, teachers should just teach using the ‘easiest’ method because this doesn’t challenge them (as the teacher) nor does it challenge the students.  Teachers should vary the method too because not one method works for every student.

“First of all, any kind of teaching requires toughness.” (Canestrari and Marlowe, 205)

      I can sense that teachers need to be tough.  A teacher must keep control of his/her class.  In technology education (TE) classes, this is important because there is probably going to be dangerous equipment nearby, if the teacher is not tough in laying down proper safety rules there could be a serious injury.  Teaching is not something easy, it requires work and being tough.

“In each and every way that you work in the field, bring the best of yourself as a parent, citizen, and passionate learner into you work, and put ‘getting along’ in perspective.”  (Canestrari and Marlowe, 207-208)

      Teaching is a field that requires one to get to know everyone he/she meets.  Teachers have the chance to work one on one with students and parents along with other teachers.  Teachers have to be ready to face anything that may hit them.  These issues could be from a student not brining in his/her homework to one student starting a physical fight with another.

      It is important that a teacher be able to interact with everyone they meet in the appropriate way.

“To develop a critical voice, a teacher has to take the time to analyze directives, mandates, and messages from whatever the source and then use that analysis to speak up about issues willingly and strongly to the power sources.” (Canestrari and Marlowe, 211)

      A teacher’s voice is important.  Boards of education should be looking to the teachers to see what they are doing right and what they are doing well and what they could do better.

      If teachers do not help the boards of educations, education will never change and all of the same teaching styles and philosophies will remain the same (across the country.)

“Responsible citizens and especially teachers, given the power they hold in relation to hundreds of future citizens, must continually consider the source of the messages, the medium used to deliver the messages, and the recipients, often themselves.” (Canestrari and Marlowe, 212)

      In some cases teachers don’t have the opportunity to speak up, but in many cases there is a chance.  When given that chance, teachers need to take it to see that issues regarding the education of students are done correctly, effectively, and efficiently.