Research Paper Presentation

http://www.livestrong.com/article/375849-how-extracurricular-sports-have-a-positive-influence-on-children/

Discusses the growing obesity problem in America, and sports' programs involvement in attempting to control this.  Academic achievement has been positively linked to higher math and reading scores. Also, classroom behavior and self esteem have been found to improve with the inclusion of sports, along with a better learning environment.

http://www.isbe.state.il.us/IRTF/pdf/recess_elem_school.pdf

Discusses the positive effect of playgrounds/recess on children's development.  Cooperation, school spirit, and organizational skills are acquired while children are playing.  These skills transfer into the classroom, and help children to work on interacting in groups and working together.

Writing Circle Blog 4 (Reflection)

Overall, I really enjoyed this assignment.  I thought it was beneficial to receive feedback from my peers on both my research paper and timeline.  At first we took turns each time going over our blogs and viewpoints.  This then eventually led to each of us coming up with our research topics.


Katie's research topic is going to revolve around standardized testing.  She shared that as a student she did not have trouble with these tests and was a strong test taker.  We found that this could be an interesting twist/viewpoint for her paper, since she is overall against standardized testing.  I can relate to this also because I too did not particularly have trouble with these tests as a student.  However, as a teacher I tend to be more against them as a standard that our children need to live up to. Katie will also concentrate on NCLB and the current legislative actions towards standardized testing which are discussed in chapter 15.  Chapter 15 was the most current chapter, which I find to be very relevant and interesting to our specific class.


Emily's research topic is going to revolve around gifted students.  Emily was previously in the gifted program ever since she was younger.  She therefore wants to concentrate on the benefits of schools with gifted students.  However, she wants to also look at the other side of her topic and discuss the possibly negative outcomes and affects of gifted programs.  The public school system that I attended also had a gifted program.  I remember certain students around second and third grade being separated from everyone else.  I felt very confused by this and as a child did not understand why this was happening and why I wasn't joining them too.  I think this would be helpful for Emily to include in her paper.


Kayleigh's research topic is going to revolve around the different types of education systems.  She is going to split her paper up into each type and describe the benefits and downfalls of each.  These types of schools range from private, catholic, independent, charter, and public.  She is going to wrap up her paper by giving her own viewpoint towards the best education, which is the public school system.  I personally related to this a great deal because as I have discussed in my previous posts, my research paper is revolved around the public school system.  I found it very encouraging that Kayleigh and I shared the same viewpoints/opinions on this topic, and we each shared our ideas throughout our writing circles.


Aaron's research topic is going to revolve around demographics.  He plans on being a future English teacher and wants to discuss his opinions on including them in his classroom.  He is student teaching at Brush High School where this topic will occur in many of his classrooms, so I feel like he could include his predictions and expectations for this.  This is a very relevant topic currently in our schools, and I feel like Aaron will find a lot of information on this.


As I said before, writing circles really did help me work towards my research paper.  I was not quite sure which topic to choose for awhile, but as we continued to have enlightening conversations I came to the conclusion that the public school system is very important to me.  It was very important to me as a child, and student growing up, and is extremely important to me as future educator.

Final Timeline

http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/educational-foundations-timeline

Writing Circle Blog 3

Today in writing circle, we many worked as a group on solidifying our research papers.  We discussed using our timelines to incorporate important dates that revolve around our chosen topic.  For example, for my topic of the public school system, I would include some significant dates that I included in my timeline.  I would use these dates to research deeper into the public school system.  We also gave each other ideas or sources that we each could use throughout our research.


For my research paper I plan to begin by describing the various research that I have done on the public school system.  I have found many important dates that tie around this topic, but I plan on choosing three or four that I find are particularly significant in both the public school process, and the way I came about thinking towards the public school system.  I want to include important historical affects that impacted America's schools, the ultimately formed them into what they are today.


The final section of my paper I would like to draw inferences, thoughts, and ideas.  These ideas and thoughts would be my own.  They would be my opinions both towards the public school system now, and my opinions about how/why these school progressed/changed over the years.  Throughout my entire life, I have followed and enrolled in the public school system.  I have had many experiences, both good and bad, and I would like to share these in my paper.  Along the way, my viewpoints have changed and matured and I plan on expressing this well with this topic.  In my opinion, this will all tie together nicely and hopefully flow into what I hope is a solid research paper.

Timeline Construction

Reference Page for my timeline:


(This appears in the correct formate in my draft, and then when I go to submit it, it changes, so I am not sure why it does that.)


Edmund, S. (2012, June 12). American educational history: a hypertext timeline. Retrieved from


           http://www.cloudnet.com/~edrbsass/educationhistorytimeline.html


Applied Research Center.  (2012).  Historical timeline of public education in the US.  Retrieved June 


           9, 2012, from http://www.arc.org/content/view/100/48/

Elizabeth, M. (2012).  History of public schools.  Retrieved from  http://www.educationbug.org/a/

           history-of-public-schools.html

"Equity in K-12 Public Education" Class. (2007).  Timeline for co-education in public schools:  1668-


           1998.  Retrieved from http://sitemaker.umich.edu/educationalequity/co-education_gender

           _equity_timeline

Spring, J. (2011).  The American school:  A global context from the puritans to the Obama era. (8 ed.)

           New York, NY:  McGraw-Hill.

Public Schools

After debating my final topic these past few weeks I have finally decided on public schools.  As I previously discussed, I have gone through the public school system all my life and I truly believe that it has had a significant impact on my life.  In my opinion, public schools can be just as effective and educational as private schools, and under much less fortunate circumstances. 


Throughout our history, our government has strived to promote and improve America's public schools.  They have passed laws and changed legislation in order to create equal and better opportunities for our country's children and students.  Although I will admit that I am not exactly 100% familiar with these exact laws I know that some of them may not always be as effective as planned or hoped.  In my opinion the implementation of standardized tests may be one of those situations.  I believe that these tests have put a great deal of strain and stress on teachers and have placed concentration on exam skills rather than overall long-time learning. Through my research paper I would like to learn more about these laws and incorporate them with my topic.  Therefore I have found that chapter 15 will help me a great deal, and encourage me to look up other useful materials.


In my previous experience in the public school system I have came across many teachers that have guided me to where I am today.  I will never forget these teachers, and will always remember the significant impact they had on both my life and my decision to become an educator.  I want to take what these teachers gave me, and incorporate it into my own classroom.  They are living proof that the public system can and will work.  They did not only teach me about academics, but they also taught me great life skills that I will use for the rest of my life.  They taught my to love and cherish education.  The other day in class, we discussed the notion that "education is power".  I 100% believe this, and I want to spread this thought in teachings.  I want my students to love to learn, and to take their knowledge into the real world and succeed in anything they set their minds too.

Unnecessary Consumerism in our Schools

I really enjoyed our group discussion on Tuesday's class about consumerism in America's schools today.  We first discussed how much children are being targeted over the years, without even realizing it.  In schools everywhere there are advertisements that are specifically aimed for children, and for children only. Teachers use rewards such as Snickers, Twix, etc. to promote learning and for external reinforcements.  Is this a problem though?  If this is what really works for children, then in my opinion it is fine, but to a certain point.  Teachers should know the line between what and where is too much.  Also, I think there is a line for the age that this reward system continues into.  For young children, this seems to be a great way to get them engaged and excited for learning.  However, children need to also  come to the point where they are rewarded just for the sake of achievement and success in their academics.


Another topic that we discussed was the fact that even beginning at a young age, children are being taught that their education is to gain a career and make money.  I mean, this is very true in a way but there are also many other important factors that should be included in their education.  In my opinion, not everything is about money but that is just how I was brought up in my family.  Ultimately though in our country, we are striving to gain education in order to obtain a career, make more money, and therefore consume more goods.


In our country today we are consumed by the fact that "brand names are better than generic brands."  I am not going to lie I am exactly this way.  There has even been certain examples where I will be in a store, compare the both, find that they are the exact same, and I will still pay more for the brand name.  Why are we like that?  I believe it is because TV, media, newspapers, etc. have constantly pounded into our heads that these are better and more efficient.  In our group we discussed that brands even become apart of our identities.  We have come to need them in our lives and they make us feel much more better, comfortable, and content.


Our group ended our conversation discussing the case in Cleveland where the child was taken away from his parents.  He was taken away from them because he had become so obese in their care, that it was to the point where social services thought he was in danger.  He was then given to a caretaker in Columbus where he began to lose some weight and get back to a normal life.  When is it okay to take away a child from their parents?  In this case, doctors thought his parents were neglecting him and therefore that was a reason for him to be taken away.  However, what kind of damage did the child then endure socially, emotionally, etc?  I feel that this is an extremely touchy subject, but in my opinion I agree with the child finally being taken away.  His parents were indeed putting his life endanger.  

Timeline Rough Draft

Here is the link to the rough draft of my timeline:

http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/educational-foundations-timeline

I wasn't sure of a theme yet, but I was planning on creating a timeline based around my strongest beliefs and viewpoints towards both my education and education in general in our country.  I kind of wanted to work off of these important dates and events to base around my research paper.

Hopefully this link works.....if not please let me know!

Writing Circle Blog 2

During our previous writing circle, I came up with my a topic that I feel relates to me in many ways.  Our group discussed the various different types of education and how each applies to certain families and communities.  For example, we discussed the difference between Hawken and South-Euclid Lyndhurst school systems.  I think this relates to Chapter 15 of The American School.  I found this chapter to be really interesting because it gave an overview of what is currently happening in the government's educational solutions.  The government is currently facing a huge problem pertaining to economic problems effecting school systems all over the country.  When I visited both schools, I really did enjoy both them.  However, Hawken was much nicer and I could tell that much more money was spent into every aspect of the school.  I got the chance to meet the teachers in both schools and I really did like all of them.  They all seemed to truly be there for their students and really enjoy themselves with their interactions with them.

I noticed in Hawken though that parents played a huge role in their children's education.  There were parents everywhere; in the halls, in the classrooms, in the offices.  They even seemed to stay around after dropping off their children, which made me kind of confused in a way.  At South-Euclid the only parents I saw were those picking and dropping off their children.  Both parents at each school seemed interested in their child's education and happy.  This made me wonder, is there a line of intrusion for parents in their children's lives?  It was obvious that parents at Hawken paid a lot of money each year for their children to attend the school, which in my opinion is fine because they want their child to have the best.  But......what is the best education?  Is Hawken that much better of an education than the public school right around the corner?  

Another thing that I noticed that there was little, to no diversity in the classrooms at Hawken.  Where as in South-Euclid Lyndhurst, there was diversity everywhere.  I student taught in a low-income school back in Columbus, where there was also a great deal of diversity.  I had the chance to compare that school to another upper-class community and I noticed many differences.  The teachers in the low-income schools had much more to deal with, and many more differences to accommodate.  I'm not saying that those schools are better, but I am saying that it seems extremely unfair that some children have a significant amount of opportunities, where as some children face very little chances.

Sugar Coating our History

Today in class our group discussed Mexican-Americans relations in the school systems.  As we began researching within the chapter, we found that Mexicans that migrated into the United States stood for Catholicism.  This made them distinctly different than other groups of people that migrated into the country.  This was because America's private schools accepted them into their schools because they shared the same religion.  Therefore Mexican-Americans had a place in our school system and were accepted where as the other groups were segregated and forced the form their own independent schools.  I found this to be particularly interesting and obviously unfair.  I mean it is a good thing that America accepted Mexican-Americans but then it made it even worse that they did not accept everyone.  


As we continued to research we also learned that American farmers also accepted Mexican-Americans.  They did this because they used them for cheap labor in their farms.  This then made me think more into it, and I came to the conclusion that Americans only accepted Mexicans because it was in their own favor and directly benefited them.  As we discussed as a whole class, we also found that this was a common factor in all of the various groups that migrated into our country and were viewed as minorities.  As we continue to have discussions in this class based around discrimination, racism, and diversity I have began to realize that our ancestors have not been as accepting and including as they have informed us.  As children, we learned about American history, and most of it was all the positive aspects of all of the stories and events.  Also, what is taught in schools, is only what they want us to know and to learn about.  Therefore everything seems sugar coated and some may not even be completely honest.  As future educators, one of our main goals is to inform our students in the best possible way of the most important aspects of life.  We want them to then use this learned knowledge to come up with their own inferences and opinions.  But, if we only educate them on the tips of these significant facts and information, aren't we coming up just a little short?