Blog 6

1.  Following the resignation of Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, I spoke with President Obama and offered him the following pieces of advice:

a.  Dismantle the Department of Education.
With the money saved:
b.  Provide Federal incentives for students in order to graduate in low performing schools.
c.  Lower/eliminate income tax for teachers.
d.  Incentives for better nutrition in school.
e.  Subsidize professional development for teachers.


2.  Ravitch has been meaningful to me because she has created a platform for me from which to argue.  I feel strongly about some of the things she has written and I have done my best to poke holes in her arguments.  For example, regarding San Diego:  Ravitch gave only one side of the argument.  What did the Board members say that agreed with the Superintendent?  What were their reasons for agreement?  What other measurables existed that may have been used to tell a different story?  Using measurables to account for learning is very hard to do in a large scale.  It can be used for and against you.

3.  As a teacher, I can do my best in the classroom everyday with the students entrusted to my care.  Teachers cannot get bogged down by the problems at-large.  If they do, they are doing their students a disservice.  As a citizen, I can get involved in school board meetings or get on the board of an educational foundation.  I can advocate for educational initiatives that I feel strongly about.

4.
a.)   www.socialstudies.org - National Council for the Social Studies

• Democratic principles and values: the very foundation of social studies
• Diversity and Inclusiveness: The organization affirms cultural diversity, combats discrimination, and recognizes multiple perspectives
• Global Interconnectedness: an understanding of the relationships between and among peoples and countries around the globe
• Intellectual excellence: rigorous thought and inquiry
• Open and reasoned civil discourse: an environment conducive to airing a variety of opinions and views in a respectful manner
• Pursuit of Knowledge: the shared desire for continuous learning and improvement
• Altruism and Commitment: compassionate, ethical, collaborative, and service-oriented citizens

b.)  http://www.uft.org/committees/atss - Association of Teachers of Social Studies 

The mission of the Association of Teachers of Social Studies/UFT is to provide a network through which Social Studies educators and other related professionals can advocate for Social Studies education and share scholarship, information, strategies and practices related to those issues that are both important and relevant to Social Studies instruction.

5. 

a.) Experiential Resources

i.  local history programs/curriculum for high schools in Bay Area

ii.  subsidized field trips

iii.  shadowing opportunities

iv.  intern opportunities

v.  high school - elementary school partnerships for student mentors

b.)  Books by Kevin Starr (state historian)

i.  Americans and the California Dream

ii.  Inventing the Dream: California through the Progressive Era

iii. Material Dreams: Southern California through the 1920's

iv. Endangered Dreams: California through the Great Depression

v.  Cost of Dreams: California on the Edge

c.)  Journals

i.  The Journal of the California Historical Society
A quarterly journal published by CHS since 1922, California History features illustrated articles by leading scholars and writers focusing on California and the West from pre-Columbian to recent times. The journal regularly features compelling essays augmented by content-rich images, book reviews, CHS collections, and commentary—all examining the ongoing dialogue between the past and the present.

ii.  The History Teacher, currently in its 45th volume, is the most widely recognized journal in the United States devoted to the teaching of history. Published quarterly (released in November, February, May, and August), it features informative and inspirational peer-reviewed analyses of traditional and innovative teaching techniques in the primary, secondary, and higher education classroom.
d.) National Conferences
i.  The World History Association Conference:
http://www.thewha.org/future_wha_conferences.php

ii.  National Council for History Education Conference:
http://www.nche.net/conference


e.)  Places in world I should visit relative to my content area: For comparison, the development of wine regions of the world
i. France
ii. Italy
iii.  South Africa
iv. Chile
v.  Portugal

Read the NY Times article “More Pupils Are Learning

Online, Fueling Debate on Quality” on the Moodle site.

Discuss the implications for education, for your school

community, and for your own teaching.

Copy-and-paste does not an education make.  

A drop-out factory does not become a reputable school by allowing students to google their way to a diploma.  I find it very disheartening that this method of education has replaced student learning.  A student cannot fully grasp the literary genius of the greats by reading excerpts of novels.  

I believe use of technology should help facilitate learning -- a la moodle discussions, etc -- but NOT be the be all end all of what is required of students.  This year, all teachers at my school are required to use moodle for each of their classes.  I predict there will be some growing pains associated with this change, but I also believe that students (and parents) will benefit from the use of an online classroom.  However, I strongly believe that online learning will never replace the outcomes gained from effective classroom instruction.  Since most of how we communicate with each other is non-verbal, then in-person learning will always be better than learning behind a computer screen.  Moreover, as reading continues to become less and less of a requirement for learning, learning outcomes will continue to slip and we will see more corners cut in order to show statistical gains (like the featured school in Memphis aiming to curb dropout rates).  

I will be utilizing moodle (and equivalent) in my future teaching to allow students constant access to information.  However, this will never replace my classroom instruction.

  

Review the “Technology Resources for the Teacher”

document on Moodle. Explore a minimum of four links

with which you are unfamiliar and discuss how each

can support student learning in your classroom—now

or in the future.

http://citationmachine.net 

This will help my students with their citations.  Citations are a very cumbersome thing to teach and learn.  However, the use of this website will allow for an easier way to create the polished product without taking time and energy away from the actual research and writing.  

http://teachertube.com

I can use this website to search for relevant video that supports curriculum as it is focused on teaching.  Showing documentaries or full-length feature films are great but they also have a tendency to spread the subject too thin across irrelevant topics.  Effective use of this website can result in a more efficient use of classtime.

http://titanpad.com/ 

I can use this for group writing projects and/or peer editing.  Our students live within a 60 mile radius so in-person meeting outside of school hours is difficult.  This website can provide a platform for group written work so that assignments do not have to be limited to in-person meetings.

http://prezi.com

This is a great media tool geared to the digital-minded students.  Constantly moving text and visuals facilitate learning in a way that makes powerpoint obsolete.  I think students will really enjoy using this for their presentations which will make learning more fun.

Interdisciplinary Teaching & Learning

I always enjoy teaching about WWI.  This topic tends to engage
a majority of students due to the proximity to the modern era, the violent
nature and wide scope and scale of the event.  I believe effective utilization
of literature and art from this era could enlarge, broaden, and enrich
understanding of the subject.  There are two examples that I will summarize
below with the benefits and challenges of each:

1.  Dulce et Decorum est, the poem by Wilfred Owen, is known for the
horrific imagery and condemnation of war.  With sufficient scaffolding, this can
really provide students with a solid understanding of the issues that
helped cause the war: nationalism and militarism.

http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit/collections/item/3303

2.  Gassed, the painting by John Singer Sargent.  As you can see in the link,
the painting is a depiction of the aftermath of a mustard gas attack.  This
painting can help enrich students' understanding of the damage of the
new technologies of war as well as a view of the Western Front and the
dreary nature of "no man's land".
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Gassed.jpg

I responded to Jerry's blog.

"MIND THE GAP": Session 2

1.   "Over the years, I have consistently warned against the lure of 'the royal road to learning', the notion that some savant or organization has found an easy solution to the problems of American education."

I agree with Ravitch and I believe that this statement is applicable to many facets of our nation -- not just education.  For example, a quick fix solution is typically sought out during election campaigns for budget reform, health care reform, etc.  However, the problems with education, health care, etc. are complex.  Therefore, the solutions to fix the problems will also be complex.  In education in particular, the politicization of curriculum and content has spun a messy web of consequences in which the quality of instruction suffers for American children. 

"Over time, my doubts about accountability and choice deepened as I saw the negative consequences of their implementation."

I look forward to Ravitch further unpacking this later in the book.  What exactly did these consequences look like?  What would happen if education policy headed full-steam down that path?  What are some counter-arguments to accountability and choice?

2.  I agree with Ravitch's definition of a well-educated person.  I try to think of examples of what this looks like today in our nation and I come up short with a concrete example.  A well-educated person should know how to think critically about their world around them.  This is a blanket statement to be sure, but the immeasurability is what makes this difficult.  To put some hypothetical questions around this - why did you vote for candidate x? how does that vote affect you?  what do you want your children to learn? why? how? why spend money on this?   There should be reasonable answers to questions like these that benefit the individual and society as a whole.

3.  I appreciated the opportunity to engage in a discussion with the class.  I speculate more about Ravitch herself.  I wanted to stir it up a little bit.  Basically, who is she?  Why did she decide to become a historian of education? What created her biases?  I wanted to try to legitimize her, or perhaps un-legitimize her as 'windy rhetoric'. 

4.  standard 10.10.3  Students analyze instances of nation-building in the contemporary world in at least two of the following regions or countries: the Middle East, Africa, Mexico and other parts of Latin America, and China. -- Discuss the important trends in the regions today and whether they appear to serve the cause of individual freedom and democracy.


Website: http://www.globalissues.org/issue/103/middle-east
Article:http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/07/09/120709fa_fact_filkins?mbid=gnep&google_editors_picks=true
Book: http://www.amazon.com/Power-Faith-Fantasy-Michael-Oren/dp/1605146730


I read this book recently to bridge my gap and I found fascinating, albeit biased, history of the United States in the Middle East.  One of the first things I learned is the various definitions of what is included in the Middle East.  There are many different interpretations.  I also discovered that the very young and sovereign United States back at the end of the 18th century created a navy at great expense and great risk in order to avoid paying "bribes" to Barbary pirates serving various North African states.  The U.S. presence in this region has always been very complicated by the big two topics that are no-no's around the dinner table -- religion and politics.

5.  One of the articles I am reading for my research is "Narratives of Nation -State, Historical Knowledge, and School History Education", by Bruce VanSledright.  In it, he discusses how history education is shaped and what might happen if educators pursued different visions of education by exploring alternative views of history (non-textbook narratives).  This could lead to other questions about how to engage students in artifact analysis, primary source analysis, and recognize bias.  This author was convincing enough for me to use some of his references to build more knowledge about alternative views of history education, as this will be central to my project, which is to engage the reluctant history learner.

6.  Meg, what are some creative educational experiences you have facilitated as a high school social studies teacher?  What do you think might be a good way to wrap some pedagogy around my content questions?

Outside-School Experiences that Expanded Subject-Area Content Knowledge

I was fortunate to live in Strasbourg, France following graduation from University.  Years later, I ended up teaching World History at the secondary school level.  As a former resident of Strasbourg, I was immersed in the rich culture and historical significance of the Alsace region.  I spent much of my time walking around the city and surrounding area checking out museums and monuments.  I also had the opportunity to speak with elderly Strasbourg natives that had lived through WWI and WWII.  One conversation in particular has remained etched in my memory.  This particular gentleman lived in the same home his entire life and without ever moving, he said he has been 5 nationalities.  He counted -- German, then French...then German again, and then back to French.  Then he smiled and said, "Now I am European."
Today, the city of Strasbourg is celebrated as a symbol of European peace and stability.  While Brussels is considered a European Union capital, Strasbourg is the headquarters of the EU Parliament building and many other important EU governmental institutions.  It is fascinating to think that in one lifetime, the same region that has been a cause for world wars is now the centerpiece for a peaceful cooperation among many historic foes.  I have always shared this "outside-school-content-area-expanding-experience" to my students when we study WWI and WWII.  I believe they appreciate the non-textbook anecdote that provides more context and texture to their reading assignments.

Response to Class Discussion of Ball's, "The Subject Matter Preparation of Teachers"

It was interesting to hear various viewpoints.  In particular, I observed a few categories of opinions.  Multiple Subject vs. Single Subject and then those with a few years of classroom experience and those without many years.  

In general, I was most curious to hear from Multiple-Subject teachers with little classroom experience.  I sympathize with the daunting thought of having to 'know everything', as required for a Multiple-Subject teacher.  I recall feeling uncomfortable with my level of content knowledge as a Single-Subject teacher -- in spite of the fact that I had a degree in a Social Science.  However, after teaching for a few years, I grew in a comfort level with what I did know, while cognizant that I still know little (relative to everything) but had a desire to keep learning more.  I have continued to increase my content area knowledge by reading, watching films, and through conversations with colleagues, classmates, and professors.  I conclude that there is no simple answer to the questions, "how much content knowledge is enough to be a good teacher?" and, "where can I learn enough to be a good teacher?"  As I shared in the class discussion, the standardized test (CSET) is one way to assess how much a teacher knows... and passing it provided a boost of confidence for what I felt my level of content knowledge is.  However, as I mentioned above, I still know little ... relative to everything.

Status of My "Question", etc.

I am very confident in my question and am moving forward with further research.  I have already set up some preliminary experiential learning experiences in the form of interviews from key people who have been instrumental in the formation of the modern Napa Valley.  I also have contacted colleagues who have experience in this subject who can point me in the right direction for primary and secondary sources.  

***I commented on Alex Iwaszewicz, Jerry Cauchi, and Alana Scott.

What is the history of the Napa Valley?
What are the major influences of the area?
How has the area influenced California and the United States?
How can local history be made more motivating and interesting for reluctant learners?
What are the main cognitive and affective obstacles to learning history and social studies?