Final Blog

1.     a) The first thing that needs to be done is to get anyone involved in education (including the politicians, parents, and communities) and discuss that fact that there is no quick fix in education.  Too much pressure is placed on improving schools, and the adults tend to lose sight of the main goal- providing a quality education for our kids.  When the adults are too focused on being perceived to have the answers an claim credit for success in schools, the goals for our students are pushed aside and placed with short term goals that often times prohibit learning.

b) Second, a curriculum needs to be developed that outlines the most important content and skills to be taught and fostered in the classroom.  This will ensure that students are receiving the same curriculum regardless of what class they may be placed in.  Also, if teachers do not have to worry about what to teach, they can focus more on the delivery of the content and skills.  Teachers will have the opportunity to develop activities and strategies to use to relay the information to students. 

c) Stop giving money to charter schools and focus on the existing public schools that already exist.  Charter schools are not the answer, and the continual additions of new charter schools are only fragmenting an already damaged system.  Instead, the money invested into charter schools should be given to low performing public schools who may need additional funding for facility improvements, technology, or other needs that are being sacrificed because of lack of funding.  I believe that charter schools are only continuing to widen the gap, and instead of focusing on solutions for all schools the divide is being made more apparent with the addition of more and more new charter schools.

d. Get rid of standardized testing.  As shown throughout many chapters in Ravitch’s book, standardized testing is prohibiting students from actually learning in the classroom.  Instead, students are being taught strategies to find the right answers to multiple-choice questions.  We are doing students such a disservice by teaching to the test.  Students are losing out on transferable skills that will prepare them for competitive jobs in the real world.  As long as standardized tests remain the measurement for student learning, students will be pressured to learn skills that will not prepare them for what is to come after their years in the classroom.

e. We need to begin to focus on our teachers.  Teachers are one of the most, if not the most, single important factor in education after the students.  Teacher education before entering the classroom should prepare them for delivering content while teaching pedagogical skills.  Similarly, we need to make the teaching profession appealing so that the most qualified people will be drawn to the profession. 

2.     The most meaningful aspects of Ravitch were ones that I felt I could apply in my own classroom.  I believe that it is important that we, as educators, work to develop a solid curriculum that delivers the most important content and skills.  This will provide some sense of unity despite the fact that students and teachers are in individual classrooms.  Mostly, Ravitch was very educational for me.  I learned a lot that I had not previously known about the education system for which I work.  I feel that I am more knowledgeable when it comes to issues that plague the education.  It will give me a ground to stand on when I may possibly face some of these issues in my career.

3.     As a teacher, I can continue to work my hardest in the classroom.  After reading Ravitch, I realize that there is so much to learn about the system for which I work.  Most importantly, I need to continue to educate myself about the education system so that I can make the most educated decisions in regards to my own classroom and decisions that I make in my own career.  As a citizen, I need to foster skills, qualities, and values in my students that will make them better prepared to become functioning members of society.  Students spend so much time in school and as an educator I need to model the values that are important for students to learn.  I need to continue to create a learning community that educates the student as a whole.

4.     Ncte.org is an association that is devoted to improving the teaching and learning of English and the language arts across all levels of education. The association and website provides aid for instruction, assessment, and evaluation.

Cateweb.org is an association that provides a magazine and countless opportunities to attend conferences that develop skills for teaching English. 

5.     Experiential sources:

-       California Shakespeare Theater

-       The Tech Museum in San Jose

-       Attend a CATE conference

-       Seek of art museums that may have culturally relatable exhibits that could highlight elements of a particular novel

-       Interview a Twitter/Facebook employee to gain knowledge on how to implement the social network as an educational aid.

Still Like to Read: I would like to spend my spare time, when I can find it, to read some of the “classic novels” that are so celebrated in public schools.  Because I attended private high school, I was not exposed to many of these great novels.

-       The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck

-       Moby Dick- Herman Melville

-       Clearing the Way: Working with Teenage Writers by Tom Romano

-       The End of Education: Redefining the Value of School by Neil Postman

-       Novels by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Still like to investigate:

-       California English Journal from CATE

-       English Journal from NCTE

Still like to attend:

-       Keep Calm and Read On in Santa Clara presented by CATE

-       Any conference by Kate Kinsella in regards to ELD learners

Still like to see:

-       Shakespeare’s Glob Theater in London

-       Oxford University in England

-       The American Writers Museum in Washington

-       England, specifically places many of my favorite authors once walked

-       Cambridge University