Talking Points #6- Oakes

Jeannie Oakes. "Tracking: Why Schools Need To Take Another Route"; from Keeping Track: How Schools Structure Inequality.

Oakes argues that grouping students based on their abilities is an ineffective method of teaching. Statistically, grouping students based on ability only seems to help the "top-tier" of students. This leaves the "average" and "below average" students behind. Oakes argues that alternative teaching methods must be implemented to improve the learning of all students.

• "Moreover, the nature of these differences (in learning) suggests that students who are placed in high-ability groups have access to far richer schooling experiences than other students." This quote is important because it shows the large gap in school experience between the top-tier of students and everybody else. School districts make sure that every opportunity is given to the top-tier of students, while they let the "below average" students muddle through the school day. The students who need the most help are not getting it, while the students who need the least amount of help are getting everything handed to them.


• "Recent work of cognitive psychologists suggests, for example, that academic ability is not unchangeable but developmental and grows throughout childhood." This quote is important because it shows that "average" and "below average" students can be worked with to improve their abilities. Educators must learn that no child is a "lost cause" or "unteachable". A student can have great academic success if they work hard in conjunction with their teachers to improve their abilities.


• "Unless teachers and administrators believe and expect all students to learn well, they will be unlikely to create school and classroom conditions where students believe in their own ability and exert the effort it takes to succeed." This quote is important because it shows just how necessary teachers are in the educational development of students. If educators do not believe that all students can succeed, then their students will quit on them because their teachers have given up on their abilities. If students do not feel that their abilities are being fostered by their educators, they will feel inadequate and become unmotivated to learn.

I found that this article was fairly accurate in describing how some school districts treat students who they perceive to be "average" or "under-performing". These schools give every opportunity to the "above-average" students, while leaving the other students to wallow in mediocrity. More learning tools must be given to "average" or "below average" students to reduce the educational learning gap among the population. Instead of separating students based on abilities, classes should include students of all different abilities. This way it could be possible for the "average" or "below average" students to learn not only from the teacher, but from the "above average" students as well. School districts must stop labeling their students based on ability. It makes every student in that district uncomfortable and self-conscious of their skills and their worth. Every child is worth something. No child is worth more then another. The educational learning gap can be reduced, but it will take hard work from the teachers, students, and administrators involved.

Talking Points #5- Kahne & Westheimer

Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer. "In the Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning"; from Phi Delta Kappan.

Kahne and Westheimer argue that educators must teach their children to use their service learning projects to transform their communities, rather than only using them to perform a civic duty. If children only try to be good servants of their communities without analyzing the problems plaguing them, then those problems will remain.

• "The hope (of the service learning projects) was that students' values and beliefs might be transformed by these experiences. As Lawrence Cremin explains, these educators believed that, 'by manipulating the school curriculum, they could ultimately change the world.'" This quote is important because it states what every teacher wants to accomplish. Every educator wants to instill the values in their students to not only be charitable within their communities, but to get at the root of the problems plaguing their communities and fix those problems. Students must be taught that you cannot put a band-aid on a gushing wound. Being charitable is only a band-aid being put on the gushing wound of community problems. Being charitable is wonderful, but being able to solve the problems is even better.
• "We attempt to 'apprehend the reality of the other' and then to 'struggle [for progress] together.' In so doing we create opportunities for changing our understanding of the other and the context within which he or she lives." This quote is important because it shows what students who truly want to solve the problems in their communities should be doing. Students must learn that before you can help solve the problems of another person, you must first see the problems from their perspective. This process goes beyond civic duty or performing community service. It is about thinking analytically to solve the plight of another.
• "While requiring students to 'serve America' (the rhetoric of the federal legislation) might produce George Bush's 'thousand points of light,' it might also promote a thousand points of the status quo." This quote is important because it shows that being charitable is not the only solution to our country's problems. Being charitable will not cause the problems to go away overnight. Being charitable to those less fortunate then you is only a small part of the overall solution. To solve a problem, you must first look at it from all angles and from all points-of-view. Working towards solving the problem completely is much more effective then putting a band-aid on the problem. Charity does not solve the problem, it continues to perpetuate the problem.

This article was somewhat long, but it was a fairly easy read. The article sent an important message to students. Being charitable is a wonderful thing, but being able to analyze the problems in your community in order to solve them is much more important. It is not a feasible idea to put a band-aid on a wound that requires stitches. So, it is not feasible to believe that charity alone will solve community problems. Believing that charity alone can solve serious community problems such as homelessness or poverty, is turning a blind eye to the real issues. This article reminds me of a very famous quote where "if you give a hungry man a fish, he will have dinner for one night, but if you teach him how to fish, he will never go hungry again." The purpose of our service learning projects is to experience life from the children's points-of-view in order to better educate them. By understanding other people's problems, we can come to a better understanding of how we relate to one another and how we can work together to solve each other's problems.

Obama presentation went well!

Hi everyone,

I hope everyone enjoyed my group's Obama presentation. The goal was to present you with the facts so that you can make an informed decision come Election Day, regardless of who you vote for.

Random Thoughts:

I thought the Sarah Palin appearance on Saturday Night Live was very entertaining. While I do not want McCain and her to win, she seemed to take the jokes about her in stride.

I saw a clip from a McCain rally last week in Missouri. The statements the people attending the rally made were extremely unsettling. One lady told John McCain that she was not voting for Barack Obama because he was an Arab. If that reason wasn't stomach-turning enough, I was stunned by McCain's response. McCain told the lady that Obama was not an Arab because he was a good man. This upset me because being an Arab and a good person are not mutually exclusive. You can be both an Arab and a good person. These people do not seem to realize that there are good and bad people in every race, ethnicity, or creed. The people at the rally have much to learn about people and life in general.

Remember to laugh,
James

Talking Points #4- Christensen

Linda Christensen. "Unlearning the Myths That Bind Us"; from Rethinking Our Classrooms.

Christensen argues that teachers must educate their students to question the stereotypes and inequalities found in movies, television, cartoons, and the world as a whole. Teachers and students must work together to create a world where respect, equality, and understanding are the ways of life, and stereotypes, inequalities, and racism is a part of the past.

• "True death equals a generation living by rules and attitudes they never questioned and producing more children to do the same." Wow! Just wow! I was floored to learn that a comment like this could come from someone my age. This girl is wise beyond her years. This quote is important because it illustrates that teachers must educate their students to question the rules and why they are in place. Educated people must question the "status quo". Humans are not meant to be mindless sheep following the herd. If humans do not question life, progress stalls and begins to move backwards.
• "We are not only taught certain styles of violence, the latest fashions, and sex roles by TV, movies, magazines, and comic strips; we are also taught how to succeed, how to love, how to buy, how to conquer, how to forget the past and suppress the future. We are taught, more than anything else, how not to rebel." This quote is important because it demonstrates the "codes" that are transferred to our children through the media. Children learn how to act and behave mostly through what they see in the media outlets. Teachers must educate their children to be individuals and to always question what they do and do not understand.
• "It (Cindy Ellie, A Modern Fairy Tale) celebrates the beauty, culture, and language of African Americans. It also puts forth the possibility of cross-race alliances for social change." This quote is important because it illustrates an example of what our society should be striving to be like. The beauty, culture, and language of every person should be celebrated. Individuality is beautiful. People, regardless of their races, should work together to solve their problems.

This article showed me the impact that television and media outlets had on me as a child. Like many people, I watched cartoons as a child. As a child, I was unaware of the racist and sexist stereotypes that were being conveyed to me by the media. I always enjoyed cartoons as entertainment only. As a child, I assumed that the media would convey the same values that my family believed. I always thought, to a fault, that all people accepted everyone as great people, regardless of race, creed, or ethnicity. As I have gotten older, I have realized that the world is not as accepting of everyone as my family and I are. Why does the world let these vicious and hurtful stereotypes to continue? As teachers, we have the obligation to teach our children to accept everyone for who they are and to disregard stereotypes. It is our duty to work with our students to leave the world in a better place then we found it.

Talking Points #3- Carlson

Dennis Carlson. "Gayness, Multicultural Education, and Community"; from Beyond Black And White.

Carlson argues that public schools must create a multicultural community where gayness is accepted. Gay and lesbian teachers and students must be allowed to be open about their sexuality and who they are. Carlson argues that discussions about gayness must be included in the curriculum to root out homophobia in the public school community.

• "Nevertheless, normalizing texts systematically exclude and neglect the culture of those outside the norm for the purpose of ratifying or legitimating the dominant culture as the only significant culture worth studying." This quote is important because Carlson is explaining that cultures outside the considered "norm", such as gayness, are not considered worthy enough to be discussed in the public school system. This type of attitude towards gayness contributes to feelings of homophobia among straight teachers and students. It also causes gay teachers and students to be afraid to show their sexuality in public.
• "This implies at the very least that educators involve young people in a discussion of gay identity within the context of a discussion of human rights in a democratic community, and it may extend to a discussion of caring for others, including the gay Other, in community." This quote is important because Carlson is stating that educators must teach their students that gayness is a human right and identity that must be protected in a community. Educators must teach their students to care about all the members of their community, including gay members.
• "Finally a democratic multicultural education must become a dialogue in which all 'voices' are heard and all 'truths' are understood as partial and positioned." This quote is important because all educators must teach their students that all people play an integral part in a community. All voices must be heard within a community and no voice should be silenced based on a person's sexual orientation.

I found Carlson's article to be very thought-provoking. Discussions about gayness are not talked about much in public schools. Gayness is considered by many to be too controversial or taboo to talk about. Silence about gay issues has caused homophobia to run rampant in the public school system. No one should ever go to school or work feeling uncomfortable about being who they are in public. How have public schools and communities been allowed to push gay issues under the rug? Educators must open up clear dialogues where gayness is discussed respectfully and where everyone has a voice.