From No Child Left Behind to Common Core education has taken a complete turn. It is no longer controlled by people that actually take part in the routine day to day, yet maybe it never has been. New people come into the office for the board of education and change education to what they think is best, even though they have never been in the classroom themselves. When it comes time to change the standards once again because the current standards are no longer working, a real teacher needs to be placed in the situation to decide how and what students learn. It is time to take the democracy out of teaching. Although this is not the main topic discussed in the chapter “How Engaged and Alive We Can All Be!” by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, it is an important …show more content…
With Common Core now teachers have many opportunities to change education and make it better. Teachers can take a state standard and add a twist to it. They can incorporate student’s likes and interests into a lesson. Teachers could also add fun experiments or crafts that go along with lessons. There are so many things a teacher can do to spice up a classroom and engage students, it just takes time and effort. Although it can be difficult for teachers to make time to do something new in the classroom, it is never impossible to try. Students need teachers that care enough to teach to the best of their ability, not just teach the standards and get by. In the chapter “How Engaged and Alive We Can All Be!” Jeffrey D. Wilhelm states that, “with some simple reframing (of curriculum into inquiry, of teaching for engaged transaction instead of information transmission), we can meet our students’ basic human needs for motivation, accomplishment, community, and much more” (Wilhelm 14-15). This idea can not be stressed enough. Making a difference in the lives of students starts in the classroom. Teachers need to stop being lazy and caring about the state testing and start caring more about their students. Teachers need to start making school engaging. Teachers need to start trying harder to make lessons geared towards students. To do …show more content…
For science this teacher did an series of experiments where students would get in groups and have to design an invention. There were stories that went a long with the lesson. To begin the lesson, the students were stranded on a desert island. They were given a packet of information. Each week the teacher would give them a new invention to build. The first invention was to build a bridge to get across a river. The students were given an scenario and supplies, and they went to work. The students actually had to build a bridge out of simple classroom materials, and to test the build the teacher would stack as many rubber erasers as she can before before it collapsed. There were four experiments in total, the others included: waterproof capsule, catapult, and a boat. This was so much fun for the students. They all seemed to love this activity. It was great to see so many subjects combined to make a lesson. This idea took work and time to complete but it was worth it in the end. The students were engaged and they learned a lot. I would definitely use this idea in my future
Student-teacher accountability is important to fixing our
If teachers did not have to spend so much of their time focused on covering each topic that the state will test on, they would be able to create a safe space for students to try, fail, and ultimately love to learn. Sadly, this is not the
The fact that our school system currently does not motivate us needs to be changed. In America the standards are too rigorous, which causes the teachers to be rushed and miss some of the most important content. There needs to be a value in the system, this will ensure that the needed education is kept, and allowing the students to stay motivated. In order to allow this there is a need to reflect upon what other countries are doing better.
Introduction Public education standards reform has been in progress for over a decade with Common Core State Standards being implemented in majority of public school systems since 2009. The big question that surrounds this reform is whether or not these government mandated policies and guidelines are fulfilling their promise in guaranteeing that “No Child is Left Behind.” Lefkowits and Miller (2006) started a “National Dialogue” in 2001that span over four years to find answers to this question. This paper will evaluate the outcomes of this dialogue concerning assessment, accountability and public participation, as well as the long-term promise of the standards movement.
The official website also emphasizes the idea of insuring individual student competency and readiness throughout their K-12 education. Despite the fact that, at a glance, it seems to be attempting to achieve great things, the Common Core has been highly controversial amongst those who it’s implementation affects. In order to understand this controversy, we need to acknowledge the beliefs and values of The Common Core and its creators, as well as its successes and failures as an attempted educational reform.
In return they need to instead focus on allowing the students the ability to obtaining transferable skills. By making these changes, the likelihood of students being better prepared for entering the work force upon high school graduation, learn to handle conflict appropriately, work through their problems, and finding creative solutions will increase. The youth would reap these benefits due to have more time directed at gaining both street smart and book smarts instead of only spending the school year stressed about excelling at the latter or the two in order to advance to the next grade level. By allowing teacher the opportunity to teach once again, rather than reducing them down to the position of test administrators, teachers will regain their passion for enlightening young minds.
If a parent is unhappy with their child's education, the mandate of common core makes it impossible for them to approach their local school board with concerns. Decisions about a child's education should be the responsibility of the community. That way the specific needs of a community can be addressed. Turning the Board of Education into a National School Board is the wrong way, In an effort to force the hands of local government to enforce national curriculum standards, the federal government has violated the NINTH? amendment.
With this amount of time you would expect to see major improvements in our system, but no real improvements have occurred. In fact, the obsession with making kids succeed with this terrible system has lead to detrimental effects on our staff. The wants and actions of people and politicians have led to state governments across the country to enforce punishment on schools that fail this already flawed system. The effects of this punishment can be seen nationwide from superintendents rigging test results in their favor to teachers helping their students to cheat. These effects are a far cry from their desired effects of pressuring staff to do their best in everything they do.
One instructional practice will enhance the classroom is giving the students participation with the classroom. John Dougherty talks about how letting the students participate in establishing the classroom rules in his article Classroom Management and the Middle School Philosophy. He further elaborates to say that it contributes to increased compliance, lower numbers of violations, and greater academic success. This could be as simple as asking the students how they believe they learn best like Brodhagen discussed in This We Believe… and now we must act. It is discussed that since these adolescent learners have participated in a numerous amount of education already that they will be able to give a teacher an understanding of how they successfully
The authors provide research-based evidence and practices to support each of these areas. Additionally, the authors point out that a teacher must be reflective and make data-based decisions when applying new practices to a classroom, as each classroom and each community is unique with its own set of needs. The first of the three areas of effective teaching MacSuga-Gage, Simonsen, and Briere (2012) discuss is “delivering explicit and engaging academic instruction” (pg. 1). This means that teachers should seek instructional activities which support effective instruction and can be supported empirically by research. The authors highlight many of the characteristics of effective teachers who deliver “explicit and engaging academic instructions” (MacSuga-Gage, Simonsen, & Briere, 2012, pg. 1) including prioritizing objective, sequencing activities to maximize the use of time, focus on increasing student engagement, reducing the student-to-teacher ratio, and managing instruction using positive strategies.
To accomplish this, I present a curriculum that focuses on students' interests and is relevant to their lives. One way I do this is by inviting students to discuss the lessons and units they will study, then, they are given the opportunity to provide their input, ideas, and preferences. Students are also encouraged to set their own learning goals. By doing so, as a teacher, I can prepare richer activities which appeal to different learning styles. As learners, students are motivated to achieve their own goals.
In 2013 “76% of teachers backed the Common Core, but the portion in favor has now plummeted to 46%” (Henderson, 2015, p. 10) according to a survey completed by the EdNext poll. Supporters believe CCSS provides equity to education as all students will be provided instruction based on the same curriculum, and the pedagogy will still be at the discretion of the teacher. “Another advantage is that the CCSS will be almost ubiquitous across the nation, creating increased opportunities for collaboration” (Liebtag, 2013, p.
Creativity, collaborative problem solving, and critical thinking are all concepts that are vital concepts a great teacher will add to their curriculum. This all sounds really structured, and by the book. Teachers also need to engage their student’s different activities and projects that interests are key. Every class is
The change was bound to happen sooner or later. It has been in process for years and it has finally been accomplished. According to Susan Jolley, a highschool teacher, this movement had been in process for years, “The decades-old movement toward standardization of both students and teachers” (Jolley, 2014, 83). The effect Common Core will have on students is a positive one. It is stressful to undergo a change, but students will receive long-term effects from the Common Core.
Each of this week’s articles provided ways to transform student learning and increase engagement and motivation in a classroom. Through reading, it is evident classroom environments are just as important as content. I fist read Dwek’s article, Brainology: Transforming Student’s Motivations to Learn. This article challenged different ways our brains learn and process information. In addition, it posed questions and ideas about how to best influence student learning.