This week, our assignment was to read Chapter Twenty-six of John Dewey's Democracy and Education, the section titled Theories of Morals. In the first paragraph Dewey states,
"It is a commonplace of educational theory that the establishing of character is a comprehensive aim of school instruction and discipline. Hence it is important that we should be on our guard against a conception of the relations of intelligence to character which hampers the realization of the aim, and on the look-out for the conditions which have to be provided in order that the aim may be successfully acted upon."
I do believe there is much truth to this statement, but also, outside of an analytical framework of establishing character, I wonder, how do we examine and/or understand the character of our students?
Well, first of all, I think it important to define the word, character. Webster's Dictionary defines it as "one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual". In general, I think this definition is pretty "on the mark", but I believe that definition is merely a "jumping off point" for viewing the character of our students.
In general, I think that educators view "character" as a positive or negative attribute, one that can lead to the type of overall person a student becomes. As a matter of fact, a myriad of "character education" programs abound in order to help mold and shape individuals and a multitude of resources, curriculum, and ideas abound on the subject. Below are listed just a few websites, at which resources for "character education" programs can be found.
Live Wire Media
http://www.goodcharacter.com/
The Josephson Institute: Center for Youth Ethics
http://charactercounts.org/
The National Center for Youth Issues
http://charactered.net/
With these, and many others and examples, what does the emphasis really boil down to? In my opinion, I think developing "character", is a way of insuring that teachers are shaping students who are prepared to be a part of the larger society around them in a positive manner. And what do teachers have to balance that with? The character of every other person around the child. From their parents, to their friends, to musicians and actors, to historical figures of the the past and leaders of the present. Modern media bombards our students with examples, not always role models, of behavior, actions, and consequences. Our challenge as educators, is to guide our students to analyze, evaluate, and understand the connection between actions and what those actions mean to the broader scale of a person's life. What kind of person is one becoming when they act a certain way? How can that example (and there are many, good and bad), translate to teaching our students the strength of their own actions and consequent character?
In my opinion, formal "character education" and/or positive role-modeling can help shape and form who our students become.
This blog contains thoughts, ideas, and inspiration from the world of education. Enjoy!
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Out-of-School Factors and Communication
In the article Poverty and Potential: Out-of-School Factors and School Successes, David C. Berliner outlines 7 major factors that directly contribute to student success at school. They are as follows:
1) Low birth-weight and non-genetic prenatal influences on children
2) Inadequate medical, dental, and vision care, often a result of inadequate or no medical insurance
3) Food insecurity
4) Environmental pollutants
5) Family relations and stress
6) Neighborhood characteristics
7) Extended learning opportunities
The article goes on to describe, in detail each area and what affects and/or results have been seen around each issue. By no means, is this insignificant data and/or unimportant explanations, however, I think the greatest point about each factor, is in the following fact, mentioned early-on in the article which is as follows:
"U.S. students spend about 1,150 waking hours a year in school versus about 4,700 more waking hours per year in their families and neighborhoods."
As a classroom teacher in a low-income neighborhood, this fact and the 7 aforementioned factors were the greatest challenge to student learning! No matter the curriculum I used, the type(s) of instruction I provided, the classroom environment, all of my hard work could be undone from the last bell of the day until the first bell of the following. This is not to say that each day that my classroom was a cocoon of perfection and support and that I was doing everything right, because that would simply not be true. However, the support, or lack thereof, of the home environment and parents/caregivers of my students had the potential, and often power, to"trump" any and all progress/work I was making with a student.
Thus, two major relationships, that of child and teacher/school and that of child/home come into play, but often the relationship between teacher/school and home is the one that is most important and influential and is often most difficult to maintain!
This is especially poignant in low socio-economic environments, where a consistent address, phone number, person to speak with, may not be available.
Thus, what to do?
Well, to a certain degree, I think the onus first lies with the teacher/school. For many parents, the fact that a school thinks as much, or at times more, of their child as they do, is KEY. The school/teacher being a resource for communication, information, and education is absolutely vital to the well-being of the child and the home/school relationship and it is NOT an easy task!
All of that said, there are a variety of communication avenues available. These include but are not limited to: phone calls, "snail mail", e-mail, blogging, text message, and/or visitation with families. Some of these ideas may be more or less applicable, depending on the environment, but in the end, they all communicate the same message: I/we care about your student.
As I mentioned before, the method in which a teacher/school communicates with a parent/home may vary, but the desired outcome is always to establish a stronger relationship. Below are links to 2 websites who speak more about this issue.
From Suite 101: An article on how open communication can help
http://teachertipstraining.suite101.com/article.cfm/teacher_communication_with_parents
From The Harvard Family Research Project: An article about what effective communication can do
http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/effective-home-school-communication
In the end, I believe that the major concern is that both parents and schools are willing to put in the effort to communicate with each other in order to help ensure future successes.
1) Low birth-weight and non-genetic prenatal influences on children
2) Inadequate medical, dental, and vision care, often a result of inadequate or no medical insurance
3) Food insecurity
4) Environmental pollutants
5) Family relations and stress
6) Neighborhood characteristics
7) Extended learning opportunities
The article goes on to describe, in detail each area and what affects and/or results have been seen around each issue. By no means, is this insignificant data and/or unimportant explanations, however, I think the greatest point about each factor, is in the following fact, mentioned early-on in the article which is as follows:
"U.S. students spend about 1,150 waking hours a year in school versus about 4,700 more waking hours per year in their families and neighborhoods."
As a classroom teacher in a low-income neighborhood, this fact and the 7 aforementioned factors were the greatest challenge to student learning! No matter the curriculum I used, the type(s) of instruction I provided, the classroom environment, all of my hard work could be undone from the last bell of the day until the first bell of the following. This is not to say that each day that my classroom was a cocoon of perfection and support and that I was doing everything right, because that would simply not be true. However, the support, or lack thereof, of the home environment and parents/caregivers of my students had the potential, and often power, to"trump" any and all progress/work I was making with a student.
Thus, two major relationships, that of child and teacher/school and that of child/home come into play, but often the relationship between teacher/school and home is the one that is most important and influential and is often most difficult to maintain!
This is especially poignant in low socio-economic environments, where a consistent address, phone number, person to speak with, may not be available.
Thus, what to do?
Well, to a certain degree, I think the onus first lies with the teacher/school. For many parents, the fact that a school thinks as much, or at times more, of their child as they do, is KEY. The school/teacher being a resource for communication, information, and education is absolutely vital to the well-being of the child and the home/school relationship and it is NOT an easy task!
All of that said, there are a variety of communication avenues available. These include but are not limited to: phone calls, "snail mail", e-mail, blogging, text message, and/or visitation with families. Some of these ideas may be more or less applicable, depending on the environment, but in the end, they all communicate the same message: I/we care about your student.
As I mentioned before, the method in which a teacher/school communicates with a parent/home may vary, but the desired outcome is always to establish a stronger relationship. Below are links to 2 websites who speak more about this issue.
From Suite 101: An article on how open communication can help
http://teachertipstraining.suite101.com/article.cfm/teacher_communication_with_parents
From The Harvard Family Research Project: An article about what effective communication can do
http://www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/effective-home-school-communication
In the end, I believe that the major concern is that both parents and schools are willing to put in the effort to communicate with each other in order to help ensure future successes.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Let's Talk About Sex...
What?!? Huh?!? Yes, really, let's talk about it! S-E-X. It's one of those issues that is simply always "out there" and the variety of thoughts, responses, and curriculum in circulation are many and varied.
In general, there are two major schools of thought: abstinence-only education and sex-education. However, those "schools" can be broken-down into a myriad of opinions, rationales, and ideologies that are attached to either school of information. As an educator, I strongly feel the bottom line about sex education and other "hot button issues" is this: It is the responsibility of an educator to provide appropriate, accurate instruction in the best way they see fit.
As a teacher who is certified to teach grades K-12, I fully recognize that this means a variety of different approaches depending on the grade-level of student. However, I am a strong believer that honest, engaging, emotionally and socially appropriate conversation about sex is imperative to developmental, individual, and social growth and understanding. In my opinion, the consideration of how to provide education about human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, contraception and other human sexual behavior are all issues to be considered when deciding how, what and why to teach when teaching about sex.
Finally, I want to say that this is a HUGE, often heated issue and one that I fully recognize people have a strong emotional response to. I purposely wrote this article in a way that simply “opens the door” to dialogue and discussion, rather than taking sides. I intentionally did not make this article all-encompassing, with a multitude of facts and figures, rather, I wanted to begin the larger discussion of what we teach our students about sex and why. I welcome any and all comments, I just ask that they are respectful of individual experience and/or opinion and they allow for further discussion, rather than put a specific idea, person and/or organization in the “spotlight” and/or “hot seat”.
The following websites are just a few resources about sex education.
AVERT (An International AIDS charity)
http://www.avert.org/sexedu.htm
Advocates for Youth
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/stateevaluations/index.htm
Doin' It Right
http://www.doinitright.org/
Guttmacher Institute
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_sexEd2006.html
National Abstinence Education Association
http://www.abstinenceassociation.org/
Planned Parenthood
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/resources/resources-educators-86.htm
SexEd Library
http://www.sexedlibrary.org/
Teen Source
http://teensource.org/pages/
In general, there are two major schools of thought: abstinence-only education and sex-education. However, those "schools" can be broken-down into a myriad of opinions, rationales, and ideologies that are attached to either school of information. As an educator, I strongly feel the bottom line about sex education and other "hot button issues" is this: It is the responsibility of an educator to provide appropriate, accurate instruction in the best way they see fit.
As a teacher who is certified to teach grades K-12, I fully recognize that this means a variety of different approaches depending on the grade-level of student. However, I am a strong believer that honest, engaging, emotionally and socially appropriate conversation about sex is imperative to developmental, individual, and social growth and understanding. In my opinion, the consideration of how to provide education about human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexual intercourse, reproductive health, emotional relations, reproductive rights and responsibilities, contraception and other human sexual behavior are all issues to be considered when deciding how, what and why to teach when teaching about sex.
Finally, I want to say that this is a HUGE, often heated issue and one that I fully recognize people have a strong emotional response to. I purposely wrote this article in a way that simply “opens the door” to dialogue and discussion, rather than taking sides. I intentionally did not make this article all-encompassing, with a multitude of facts and figures, rather, I wanted to begin the larger discussion of what we teach our students about sex and why. I welcome any and all comments, I just ask that they are respectful of individual experience and/or opinion and they allow for further discussion, rather than put a specific idea, person and/or organization in the “spotlight” and/or “hot seat”.
The following websites are just a few resources about sex education.
AVERT (An International AIDS charity)
http://www.avert.org/sexedu.htm
Advocates for Youth
http://www.advocatesforyouth.org/publications/stateevaluations/index.htm
Doin' It Right
http://www.doinitright.org/
Guttmacher Institute
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_sexEd2006.html
National Abstinence Education Association
http://www.abstinenceassociation.org/
Planned Parenthood
http://www.plannedparenthood.org/resources/resources-educators-86.htm
SexEd Library
http://www.sexedlibrary.org/
Teen Source
http://teensource.org/pages/
Friday, April 10, 2009
Introduction
This blog is part of my class Social and Cultural Politics of Education: Personal and Contextual Perspectives, as part of my graduate program (Technology in Education) at National-Louis University.
As part of the course, I'll be blogging at least 10 times about issues related to education, culture, sociology, politics, and/or social justice.
I hope to explore a variety of topics and look forward to further investigation and conversation from these posts!
As part of the course, I'll be blogging at least 10 times about issues related to education, culture, sociology, politics, and/or social justice.
I hope to explore a variety of topics and look forward to further investigation and conversation from these posts!
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