I am also about to be done with this book; I'll contribute soon. I've been trying to finish up the 5955 paper and have just been chipping away at this while riding the clock at work. One more shift should do it.
If I finish in time, I will also have a copy should anyone want to borrow it. I can bring it to orientation.
Finished this last week---this was incredibly compelling stuff, full of many well-taken points. The main theme of the book, in my opinion, boils down to whether or not students are first priority; Woods argues that they get lost in the shuffle behind meeting standards, accumulating course units, and increasing standardized test scores. I agree with many of the reforms he proposes, especially with regards to school scheduling. I had "block scheduling" in high school, and at the time, I despised it. I hated sitting in class for such a long period of time. However, hindsight is generally 20/20, and now that I am looking at high school from the perspective of a teacher, I think fewer classes for longer periods of time is definitely the way to go, especially when Wood offers alternatives that allow the same number of course units to be met over time. Arguably, a student with 8 courses rarely accomplishes anything when teachers are relegated to 40-some-odd minutes after preparation and class transition.
Wood's metaphor of the canoe really stuck with me (For those who don't get around to reading it, he just likens school to crossing a river. You can get from Point A to Point B by car---quickly, with little detail, or by canoe---slow, allowing everyone to see everything rather than everything whizzing by.)
I also liked Wood's "no-nonsense, make it happen" approach. I did what I wasn't supposed to do from the e-mail, put my cynic's hat on, and found myself thinking that these were all great ideas, but likely would not be practical in a public school setting with tons of kids. Pretty much every time that happened, there was a passage addressed to the "Yeah, but" people, with the main point being that responding that way is part of the problem, not the solution, and that teachers/principals can only do so much about stuff out of their hands, such as state budgets; it is best, therefore, to leave that in the hands of the bureaucrats and act in the interests of the students as best as you can, since excuses are often just covers for opposition to reform.
If I was going to create my own school I would implement several ideas from A Time to Learn; the Career Portfolios, designing school programs with clear objectives applicable to real-world situations to show students why they need a certain class, a four-class two-semester program, longer lunches, curriculums that exemplify the three lists of positive attributes of a productive citizen on pages 103 and 104, a senior capstone, career portfolio, and the student handbook that includes a list of relevant core classes as well as practical school information like a map of campus. The career portfolios and capstones (similar to the capstones most BA’s have to complete at GC) seem like helpful ways to demonstrate student comprehension as well as ease their transition into the workplace with evidence of hard work that they can include with their résumés. Four-class semesters were easier for me and are something I am familiar with from my own high school, as are year-long special topics classes like languages, upper division math, history, and science classes which usually require more time for students to grasp the concepts discussed. A student handbook with a list of relevant core classes and campus map would have benefited me greatly as a freshman, as would a longer lunch. With only three minutes to get from class to class and thirty minutes for lunch it was hard to wriggle down narrow hallways past roughly 1,500 students to get where I needed to go; I would have loved a longer lunch period (we had three lunches and the last was usually slim pickings for food and seating). I am intrigued by the “house” approach to dividing the school but am concerned that it could create curriculums that were too divergent to the point that if a student decided they wanted to switch to another interest they would be too far behind to make up the work. It might also create a divisive sense of solidarity among the student body with students more loyal to their “house” than to the welfare of the whole school. This might lead to unhealthy competition, especially if one group was consistently more “popular” or academically successful than another.
Question: Would dividing a school into "academic houses" or "units" like those described in the text benefit or hinder learning in your opinion and why?
2. I absolutely love the block schedule. I think that would definitely ease my life as a teacher, and building relationships with fewer students would cultivate, stronger and more personal relationships. I also like some of the other examples Wood provided about other schools schedules where teachers teach the same group of children from freshman year to senior year, which is similar to the children who preferred that option in “Freedom Writers.” In my high school during my senior year, I saw the implementation of the option to intern. I wish this had happened sooner and I do think that a lot of my time senior year could have been put to better use. This is a great idea I would want to be used in my school. I think having an advisor throughout all of high school is also a great idea. This is used in college for a reason and the bonds made with advisors are far stronger than any other bond with a teacher you only see once or twice a year like a counselor. I also like the amount of activity the students have within their school. Their involvement in the interviewing/hiring process for new teachers or heading up a department in the school by answering phones and giving tours is amazing. It seems like this really creates more pride in the school for each student. Unstructured free time where time management skills are made is another favorite. It shows students how much responsibility you trust them with while providing a life lesson. I would want to include that in a school of my choice. And the last idea I think is great is the senior portfolio that is compiled over time throughout their school career and showcases their accomplishments and future goals
I am also about to be done with this book; I'll contribute soon. I've been trying to finish up the 5955 paper and have just been chipping away at this while riding the clock at work. One more shift should do it.
ReplyDeleteIf I finish in time, I will also have a copy should anyone want to borrow it. I can bring it to orientation.
Finished this last week---this was incredibly compelling stuff, full of many well-taken points. The main theme of the book, in my opinion, boils down to whether or not students are first priority; Woods argues that they get lost in the shuffle behind meeting standards, accumulating course units, and increasing standardized test scores. I agree with many of the reforms he proposes, especially with regards to school scheduling. I had "block scheduling" in high school, and at the time, I despised it. I hated sitting in class for such a long period of time. However, hindsight is generally 20/20, and now that I am looking at high school from the perspective of a teacher, I think fewer classes for longer periods of time is definitely the way to go, especially when Wood offers alternatives that allow the same number of course units to be met over time. Arguably, a student with 8 courses rarely accomplishes anything when teachers are relegated to 40-some-odd minutes after preparation and class transition.
ReplyDeleteWood's metaphor of the canoe really stuck with me (For those who don't get around to reading it, he just likens school to crossing a river. You can get from Point A to Point B by car---quickly, with little detail, or by canoe---slow, allowing everyone to see everything rather than everything whizzing by.)
I also liked Wood's "no-nonsense, make it happen" approach. I did what I wasn't supposed to do from the e-mail, put my cynic's hat on, and found myself thinking that these were all great ideas, but likely would not be practical in a public school setting with tons of kids. Pretty much every time that happened, there was a passage addressed to the "Yeah, but" people, with the main point being that responding that way is part of the problem, not the solution, and that teachers/principals can only do so much about stuff out of their hands, such as state budgets; it is best, therefore, to leave that in the hands of the bureaucrats and act in the interests of the students as best as you can, since excuses are often just covers for opposition to reform.
If I was going to create my own school I would implement several ideas from A Time to Learn; the Career Portfolios, designing school programs with clear objectives applicable to real-world situations to show students why they need a certain class, a four-class two-semester program, longer lunches, curriculums that exemplify the three lists of positive attributes of a productive citizen on pages 103 and 104, a senior capstone, career portfolio, and the student handbook that includes a list of relevant core classes as well as practical school information like a map of campus.
ReplyDeleteThe career portfolios and capstones (similar to the capstones most BA’s have to complete at GC) seem like helpful ways to demonstrate student comprehension as well as ease their transition into the workplace with evidence of hard work that they can include with their résumés. Four-class semesters were easier for me and are something I am familiar with from my own high school, as are year-long special topics classes like languages, upper division math, history, and science classes which usually require more time for students to grasp the concepts discussed.
A student handbook with a list of relevant core classes and campus map would have benefited me greatly as a freshman, as would a longer lunch. With only three minutes to get from class to class and thirty minutes for lunch it was hard to wriggle down narrow hallways past roughly 1,500 students to get where I needed to go; I would have loved a longer lunch period (we had three lunches and the last was usually slim pickings for food and seating).
I am intrigued by the “house” approach to dividing the school but am concerned that it could create curriculums that were too divergent to the point that if a student decided they wanted to switch to another interest they would be too far behind to make up the work. It might also create a divisive sense of solidarity among the student body with students more loyal to their “house” than to the welfare of the whole school. This might lead to unhealthy competition, especially if one group was consistently more “popular” or academically successful than another.
Question: Would dividing a school into "academic houses" or "units" like those described in the text benefit or hinder learning in your opinion and why?
2. I absolutely love the block schedule. I think that would definitely ease my life as a teacher, and building relationships with fewer students would cultivate, stronger and more personal relationships. I also like some of the other examples Wood provided about other schools schedules where teachers teach the same group of children from freshman year to senior year, which is similar to the children who preferred that option in “Freedom Writers.” In my high school during my senior year, I saw the implementation of the option to intern. I wish this had happened sooner and I do think that a lot of my time senior year could have been put to better use. This is a great idea I would want to be used in my school. I think having an advisor throughout all of high school is also a great idea. This is used in college for a reason and the bonds made with advisors are far stronger than any other bond with a teacher you only see once or twice a year like a counselor. I also like the amount of activity the students have within their school. Their involvement in the interviewing/hiring process for new teachers or heading up a department in the school by answering phones and giving tours is amazing. It seems like this really creates more pride in the school for each student. Unstructured free time where time management skills are made is another favorite. It shows students how much responsibility you trust them with while providing a life lesson. I would want to include that in a school of my choice. And the last idea I think is great is the senior portfolio that is compiled over time throughout their school career and showcases their accomplishments and future goals
ReplyDelete