End of Semester Post

This is my final blog posting of the semester and am unsure whether I will continue to post. I do not think that I will be posting on as regular a schedule but it's nice to know that I have some people to follow and a place to spew my thoughts on education.

The thought that I keep coming back to as a result of the work in this class is that improvement, be it curricular, individual or for schools in general takes time and a commitment. In order to make the gains in curriculum to make our students global aware and ready for the 21st century, we need to commit to making progress and the schools we work in should honor that commitment in terms of professional development, time and resources. The most effective schools are always evaluating themselves and in search of constant improvement. I heard the CEO of Proctor and Gamble, Robert McDonald, say that" in business, the mission statement stays the same but everything else changes over time". With the endless amount of research, best practices and exemplary material available at our fingertips, we possess the opportunity to better ourselves. The key is coming up with a plan, sticking to it and dealing with the uncomfortable issues that arise as a result of this plan.

Thanks and the best to those that have been reading.

-Ben

Do we still need textbooks in high schools???

The vexing curriculum that I chose to respond to has been brought to light recently with Apple's release of it's ipad. I have had a few conversations with teachers at my school about the possibility of the ipad or ebook replacing the traditional textbook. In my interview with a curriculum leader a few weeks ago, the leader I interviewed said that removing traditional textbooks and replacing them with online options would be the first thing she would do if afforded the opportunity. Beginning this school year (2009-2010) the state of California began offering it's science and math textbooks online via ebook. Other states such as Florida and Texas have also begun looking in to converting to online text books. Also, text book publishers like McGraw-Hill, Houghton Mifflin, Kaplan and others have begun working with apple and ebook manufacturers to make the above statement a reality.

The primary reason states are looking to make the jump to online texts and ebooks is financial. Books can cost districts hundreds of thousands of dollars. Books can cost anywhere from 50 to 100 dollars per student. Other benefits of online text books are their ability to be updated instantly by the publisher and the need for a student to carry one ipad, tablet or ebook that can download multiple texts. Some drawbacks to ebooks can be the fact that some students lack internet access at home, teachers inability to work with this new technology and an infrastructure that may not be ready for a complete conversion to online texts.

My take on this issue is that although this technology is exciting and seem to be an inexpensive option for schools, it appears as though there are a lot of unanswered questions. I beleive that in the next 5 to 10 years, many of the bugs will be ironed out and students will have the opportunity to learn via online texts. If I were asked as the leader of a school if this were the way to go, today, I would say that we should wait and see. Like almost all technology, the price will go down, the process for distribution and consumption of ebooks will be streamlined and many unanswered questions will be answered over time.

Taking the Digital Plunge

In order to show Ed what I've learned from last week's readings, I decided to create a twitter account for myself and find some people in education to follow (administrators, technology, and wellness). This week, I have enjoyed reading people's "tweets" and have encountered some interesting links to areas of interest amongst the 25 to 30 people I follow. I also have received messages from people that I have chosen to follow and enjoy the opportunity to interact with educators with some of the same issues and ideals. This appears to be a very valuable tool in terms of professional development and has begun to be a part of my routine every day.

I haven't made any tweets yet and don't know if I ever will but it is staggering to me the ease in which you can be connected with others who have such thoughtful information to share. What a inexpensive and effective tool for professional development! It's like the reference that Bill Ferriter made in his article, teachers need to model learning through technology and be transparent in the process. Sharing this process with students can be informative for the teacher and the student and begins to hit on the possibilities that technology affords us.

Do Kids Need to Come to School Everyday?

The book that we have been reading, Curriculum 21, continues to point to the fact that we are not meeting the needs of our students through our current educational system. I really like Jacobs' theory that "form should follow function" or the way that we do things should come second to the purpose of why we are doing something within a school. With the multitude of learning options that students have via the internet, I am wondering why we require students to come to school every morning at 8am when the are bleary eyed and half awake. This type of schooling meets the needs of some students, but probably not the majority. I think a flexible schedule at the high school level would better meet the needs of our learners and offer them some accountability for their learning. The option of coming in to school at a later time or taking a class or two online could be offered to older or more mature students who have proven that they can handle the responsibility of school in this manner. This would be a more effective way of transitioning our students to life after high school where work and academic schedules can vary significantly from a basic 8:00-2:00 school day.

I am sure that a flexible schedule is much easier to incorporate in theory than in practice. I know at my school, we are hamstrung by a variety of issues that impact the master schedule and that one schedule is difficult to meet the needs of all learners. It would be interesting to look at what other public schools across the country are implementing for schedules in order to more effectively use their time.

National Curriculum

I found it interesting the suggestion by Jacobs that a "national array of thoughtful, well-articulated curriculum options" be made available by the federal government as a sort of guideline for states to work under. Notice that Jacobs is not saying that we should have a national curriculum but a variety of resources supported by the federal government. This could be used as a framework by states and give common language and an understanding of effective curricular examples. Standards could be developed with input from the best teachers at all levels and unite our educational system. At the very least, teachers would have access to methods that were supported by researchers and teachers alike. A great system would also have instructional strategies available to teachers as well. I'm sure this would be a huge undertaking and that our federal government would somehow find a way to screw it up but it seems as though these curricular options would provide a great impetus for change within our educational system and a useful model for any educator.

Primary Goal of High School?

Once again, the readings for the week have left me with more questions than answers. It appears to me that high schools need to be diverse in order to meet the wide range of needs of their students. I believe, as it was stated in one of the readings, that adolescents (and all students for the most part) need to see the real world application to what they are learning. The problem in carrying this theory to practice seems to be how schools can do this within the current educational framework we are working under. Due to budget constraints, special education, standardized testing and everything else, it is hard to prioritize how to effectively provide these real world applications in a diversified way to meet the needs of all of our students.

I like the idea of giving students skills that they can apply directly. My school provides students the option to UTC , a school that provides students with the opportunity to become certified in a variety of skills including building construction, horticulture, and welding, among others. The trick will be to find a feasible model which provides appropriate responsibility and skills to it's learners.

Middle Level Practices....All Nothing?

Having minimal knowledge of middle school practices and procedures, I was struck at the scope of challenges for middle schools. It seems as though they are pulled in a variety of directions in terms of standardized testing, NCLB, preparation for high schools and a focus on literacy. Add these issues to the developing minds and bodies of adolescents and it is clear to see how schools and districts can move away or adopt pieces of the middle school concept.

As a result of the readings for this week, I can't get away from the idea that research states that students perform better academically and socially when the middle school philosophy is carried out in all areas. Therefore, a community needs to have a clear vision for what they are, in terms of a school, and what they are NOT. Without this focus and vision for these early adolescents, it is difficult for teachers and students to gain the skills necessary in order to be sucessful.