Educational Issues: Poverty

Riley Chickering

Educational Issues: Poverty

First of all I really enjoyed this presentation because there was no lecturing involved. Even though they were going over something completely new to us, they found a way to make it completely engaging by moving us around the room and running us through different activities.

On the note of poverty, there were a couple things that really stood out to me. The first was how difficult it is to live on off a minimum wage salary. A lot of the time, these people have to choose to not pay for something each month. Stemming off that, I can't imagine being a kid and living like that, having to worry about having the power shut off on you. I completely understand why a student living in poverty like this would come to class without their homework done and not motivated to do work in class. You can't be motivated to do school work when you're always worried about being hungry. As teachers we have to understand what some of these kids go though everyday and try to help to the best of our abilities.

Teaching Hope 129

Riley Chickering

Teaching Hope 129

I really wish schools were able to give teachers and students more opportunities like this one. Learning through primary sources is such an awesome way to learn about history, especially if that primary source is alive and talking to you. Also, I think seeing actual historic sites that students have read about can really change the way they view those events. I think trips like these are awesome for students because it allows them to learn outside of the normal school setting, and to hopefully have some fun while doing it. I just wish there was more opportunities like this, and taking my students on  a trip like this is definitely something I want to do someday.

Teaching Hope 114

Riley Chickering

Teaching Hope 114

This is probably my favorite of all the entries I've read so far. It really highlights the struggles of being a teacher, of working hard to create the best lesson for your students just to have it shot down. It also highlights how much you can do to help the students you work with, and how no matter how unreachable a kid may seem, to never stop trying to reach them. This was definitely an inspirational entry for me because it sparks my desire to help kids who are struggling. It just goes to show how much influence a good teacher can have on their students.

Episode 4

Riley Chickering

Episode 4

A lot of Episode 4 was about how our country is not doing as well as other countries when it comes to education. Our response was standardized testing, and a lot of it. Students in America these days have to take a standardized test once a year from third to eighth grade. Then on top of that, one standardized test called the SAT's has a huge impact on where we can and can't go to college. I just think it's crazy that we leave so much riding on these standardized tests, it's really not fair. I also really liked the question that Jordan brought up about why these standardized tests have to be timed. I mean if what we care about is that students can come up with the correct answer, why do we care how long it takes them to do so? It just doesn't make any sense to me.

The idea that I did like from the video was the inner city schools that specialized in different activities. I feel like that helps students to feel comfortable in their schools and maybe to even have some extra motivation. I just think it's a really cool idea to allow students to do what they love while in school.

Episode 1 Reflection

Riley Chickering

Episode 1 Reflection

I thought episode 1 that covered 1800-1900 was very interesting for a couple of reasons. The first is the fact that during that time the average amount of time that a child was in school was 82 days. I just think that's a crazy number considering that we now go to school for 13 years, 17 if you include college. I don't really understand what the point of going for 82 days is, I mean how much can you learn in 82 days?

Another point I found very interesting was that public school was for the wealthy almost exclusively. If you had money, you got to go to school for a longer time and get a better education. If you didn't have a lot of money, well you were just out of luck. It made me realize just how lucky we are in today's society to have everyone receive a free public education.

The third point that I found interesting was the fact that African Americans weren't allowed access to public education. That's not terribly surprising to me, but what was interesting was the fact that they also got in huge trouble if they were even found with a textbook.

Honestly I'm just really glad that we are where we are today with our education programs.

A Nation At Risk

Riley Chickering

A Nation at Risk

This country is definitely in a tough spot when it come to education. We used to be one of the world leaders in education, but now our students test scores are middle of the pack at best. A big point brought up though is that in the years since 1983 America has put a lot more focus on education and what the problem is. Luckily now we area actively pursuing solutions to our mediocre test scores. Unfortunately, our test scores have gotten slightly worse since 1983. 

Another alarming factor is the amount of kids who do not achieve a high school diploma. A crazy statistic from the article was that as of 2008 minority students only had about a 50% chance of graduating, with Native Americans below 50%.

A very positive fact is that our teachers are becoming more and more qualified due to an emphasis on teacher quality. A system that I really like is the performance based salary that some schools have adopted where teachers get paid different amounts depending on how well they are doing their jobs. 

I think a big factor in this whole problem though is the problem of poverty and of parents who may not care about their childs education. I think the culture has changed when it comes to parents expectations of their kids in school. I think back in the days of America being on top in the education world parents were a lot stricter with making sure their kids worked hard in school. Of course, the poverty levels do not help either because we all know that if a students needs aren't met, he/she is not going to perform well in school.

Teaching Hope 96

Riley Chickering

Teaching Hope 96

This is definitely an extreme case when it comes to coming into the school in distress, with something on your mind. This got me thinking about how a teacher should handle themselves at school when something at home is bothersome. Do you try and act as normal as possible and go about you day as usual? Do you proceed as this teacher did and tell your class exactly what's going on with you? I think it definitely depends on the situation, what the problem is. If something is upsetting you though your students will notice for sure, I don't think there's any way of you hiding it from everyone. So I think you certainly have to address it in some way. In some cases if it's a smaller manner, perhaps you just tell them something is going on but it's going to be okay and you're fine. If it's something bigger, maybe you tell your students what's going on like this teacher in the story. Either way I think you must have a game plan going into the day, knowing that you may not be at your best that day. But I think at the same time it's good for students to see us vulnerable at times, it helps them to relate, helps them to remember that were just like them.