Article of Subject: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/05/education/05teachers.html?ref=education
It was only 2-3 years ago that Teachers' Unions were throwing millions of dollars towards Barack Obamas Campaign. And now? They are practically revolting against the man who promised change for our country. They are currently angry at him because his reform to push more money into schools and eliminate protection against ineffective teachers has made unions angry. He's putting in more reform to the teacher and teachers are now feeling as if Obama and Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, is putting the blame for failed schools on them. So, were Obama and Duncan wrong for spurring a reform in teacher evaluation, preparation, and elimination? HECK NO!
I love teachers and I love what they do! We were angry when No Child Left Behind neglected to take notice of our teachers and focused on only standardized testing for funding, but now we have a president and adminstration making a move and we need to support them. We have to keep our teachers accountable. We have to put more accountability into our teachers and education leadership rather than just standardized tests. I want teachers to have a say in how they would like to teach schools, but let's face it...we have protected ineffective teachers for way too long because of unions and tenure and blah blah blah.
Now, it's too earlier for me to fully support charter schools because I'm a public school junkie, but I fully believe taking on education reform in a new angle will provide some successful results. Teachers aren't always the problem, but they are the GREATEST solution if we work with them in the right and effective way for students, especially those in the urban school.
-Nicole
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Social Promotion
I was reading the New York Times (online), when I found an interesting article underneath the education tab. It was an article about Mayor Bloomberg (of New York) and his plan to stop low-performing (students who scored poorly on standardized tests) 4th and 6th graders from moving on to the next grade. Hmmm....
I wanted to know more about what was going on in New York, so I decided to read the article and share the knowledge here, online.
In the New York School system, apparently they followed a policy known as "Social Promotion." Down below is a direct quote of what Social Promotion is (so you here it from the horses mouth and not my own):
"Previously, under a policy known as social promotion, school officials gave a pass to low-performing students under the belief that they would be more likely to drop out if they were held back and separated from children their own age."
At an East Harlem elementary school on Monday, Mr. Bloomberg said social promotion was “as cruel and mean a thing as we could possibly do for any student.”
“All we’re doing is setting those students up for failure,” he said. “We are not going to do that.”
Unfortunately, there is no hard, concrete evidence that the end of Social Promotion and the establishment of harder restrictions has been helping students. Less students are being heldback anyways thanks to rising test scores since Bloomberg's reign in office. Plus, Here are some statistics from the article: The city’s Department of Education said that 94 percent of low-performing students who were held back in the seventh grade earned a Level 2 (out of 4) or higher on their eighth-grade English tests. By contrast, 59 percent of those low-performing students who were promoted to the next grade reached that level.
So the final question of the day is, "Was/Is Social Promotion harmful or beneficial to our students?"
hmmmm....
Only time and real concrete evidence will tell.
In His Everlasting Love,
Nicole
I wanted to know more about what was going on in New York, so I decided to read the article and share the knowledge here, online.
In the New York School system, apparently they followed a policy known as "Social Promotion." Down below is a direct quote of what Social Promotion is (so you here it from the horses mouth and not my own):
"Previously, under a policy known as social promotion, school officials gave a pass to low-performing students under the belief that they would be more likely to drop out if they were held back and separated from children their own age."
At an East Harlem elementary school on Monday, Mr. Bloomberg said social promotion was “as cruel and mean a thing as we could possibly do for any student.”
“All we’re doing is setting those students up for failure,” he said. “We are not going to do that.”
Unfortunately, there is no hard, concrete evidence that the end of Social Promotion and the establishment of harder restrictions has been helping students. Less students are being heldback anyways thanks to rising test scores since Bloomberg's reign in office. Plus, Here are some statistics from the article: The city’s Department of Education said that 94 percent of low-performing students who were held back in the seventh grade earned a Level 2 (out of 4) or higher on their eighth-grade English tests. By contrast, 59 percent of those low-performing students who were promoted to the next grade reached that level.
So the final question of the day is, "Was/Is Social Promotion harmful or beneficial to our students?"
hmmmm....
Only time and real concrete evidence will tell.
In His Everlasting Love,
Nicole
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Three for One
Three Weeks. Three Schools. One Purpose.
A couple of weeks ago, I started thinking about my future and what God in store for me next. I had just finished my 8 weeks with Breakthrough Collaborative and loved being with the students. I wanted to continue my journey into learning about urban schools, but I really wanted to get the schools. Even though my students were high-achieving, low-income students, I only got to see them in a fancy private school that we used to host our program. I never had a chance to really see them in their schools. That's when I knew that that was the next step: To see students in their schools. I wanted to now go into schools of low-income students and provide them with more than just tutoring or friendship. I wanted to provide them with resources to prepare them for life in general. I wanted to do more than just teach in the summer...I want to equip.
Have we ever stopped to think that it goes beyond just policies? That policies can only go so far to help our student. We can try to provide text books and add desks, but what about the health and well-being of our students? We must really get down and get our hands dirty if we really want to start seeing great change in the students of the future. We need to go into low-income schools with full-force. We must provide hands of labor to help reconstruct poor facilities. We must provide knowledge in health and health awareness through resources such as hygiene kits. We must provide friendship and encouragement to both students and teachers. Extra books? We've got that too! Extra gently used toys for elementary schools programs? We've got that too!
In Three for One, we will use 3 weeks in the end of the school year to remind students to take care of themselves during summer. Three for One will be targeted to keep students motivated through the end of the school year and the summer. Three for One will also provide extra tutoring in preparation for final exams/final assessments. If we happen to come during prom season, we will help provide accessories and dress ware. We may even have to put on a prom ourselves!
Our purpose is to provide extra encouragement and resources for students as they finish their school year in low-income school districts. We hope to keep them motivated and prepared to come back healthy, safe, and ready to learn for the next school year.
If we provide these resources and extra encouragement and provide a pen-pal program as well, will we see a growth in student retention rates? Only time will tell, but I hope that through this blog, I will be able to enlighten you (and myself) on drop-out rates in low-income school districts, interviews with administration from different low-income school districts, and my adventures in working towards establishing Three for One.
It's going to be hard work, but I think it can be done!
Please keep me and this mission in your prayers.
In His Everlasting Love,
Nicole
A couple of weeks ago, I started thinking about my future and what God in store for me next. I had just finished my 8 weeks with Breakthrough Collaborative and loved being with the students. I wanted to continue my journey into learning about urban schools, but I really wanted to get the schools. Even though my students were high-achieving, low-income students, I only got to see them in a fancy private school that we used to host our program. I never had a chance to really see them in their schools. That's when I knew that that was the next step: To see students in their schools. I wanted to now go into schools of low-income students and provide them with more than just tutoring or friendship. I wanted to provide them with resources to prepare them for life in general. I wanted to do more than just teach in the summer...I want to equip.
Have we ever stopped to think that it goes beyond just policies? That policies can only go so far to help our student. We can try to provide text books and add desks, but what about the health and well-being of our students? We must really get down and get our hands dirty if we really want to start seeing great change in the students of the future. We need to go into low-income schools with full-force. We must provide hands of labor to help reconstruct poor facilities. We must provide knowledge in health and health awareness through resources such as hygiene kits. We must provide friendship and encouragement to both students and teachers. Extra books? We've got that too! Extra gently used toys for elementary schools programs? We've got that too!
In Three for One, we will use 3 weeks in the end of the school year to remind students to take care of themselves during summer. Three for One will be targeted to keep students motivated through the end of the school year and the summer. Three for One will also provide extra tutoring in preparation for final exams/final assessments. If we happen to come during prom season, we will help provide accessories and dress ware. We may even have to put on a prom ourselves!
Our purpose is to provide extra encouragement and resources for students as they finish their school year in low-income school districts. We hope to keep them motivated and prepared to come back healthy, safe, and ready to learn for the next school year.
If we provide these resources and extra encouragement and provide a pen-pal program as well, will we see a growth in student retention rates? Only time will tell, but I hope that through this blog, I will be able to enlighten you (and myself) on drop-out rates in low-income school districts, interviews with administration from different low-income school districts, and my adventures in working towards establishing Three for One.
It's going to be hard work, but I think it can be done!
Please keep me and this mission in your prayers.
In His Everlasting Love,
Nicole
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