Both E.D. Hirsch & Ted Sizer have different views on education and how schools should be run. Sizer argues that students should be able to develop their minds in school, and further expand their thinking habits. On the other hand, Hirsch argued that school should teach students the fundamental building blocks of our society. He claimed schools should schools should teach students the knowledge that would help them in their future. While Sizer focused on how schools can influence a student at their current period of time, Hirsch focused on how school can develop a student into becoming someone successful in life.
Hirsch and Sizer’s theories contradict each other. Hirsch chooses to focus on the future while Sizer chooses to focus on the present. Having an education at one of the schools Sizer funded and started, I realized that I did indeed learn how to use my mind well. Using the habits of mind, I can be intellectually alert and be able to think about important aspects learned and school and compare and connect it to my life and the society I live in. I believe that Sizer’s theory is more resonant in my own personal experience because he shows that a student’s opinion is valued just as much as a person of higher status. In the New York Times article Theodore R. Sizer, Leading Education-Reform Advocate, Dies at 77 , Fox states “The principles hold, among other things, that a school is an egalitarian community and that the student is a valued worker in that community, with the teacher in the role of mentor or coach.” To Sizer, a student is not just somebody who a teacher can reprimand and look down upon. They are someone that is “a valued worker in that community”, the community being the school system they are in. The teacher serves the role of the “mentor or coach”, someone who can help the student figure out how to connect social aspects to their life. The teacher doesn’t teach and expect the student to understand, the teacher helps the student learn how to connect what they learn and further develop their thinking. The article also states “Do not make trouble for me, the teacher’s side of the compact went, and I will demand little of you in return.” This is saying that teachers do not want to start drama with a student, they don’t want to cause trouble. If the students listen and don’t act up, the teacher will treat the student as a valued part of the community. I believe that some teachers do this in School of the Future. I believe that there are some teachers who are passionate about what they teach and what students to understand how it connects to their daily lives. They don’t want to just teach something out of the textbook where the student can not connect to, they want to teach something out of a textbook and then relate it to a student’s life.
Hirsch believes in a theory that is not used in School of the Future, for obvious reasons. He believes that schools should teach students the basic knowledge in each core subject, so they can comprehend anything that is thrown at them. In the Wikipedia article http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._D._Hirsch,_Jr, it states “He concluded that schools should not be neutral about what is taught but should teach a highly specific curriculum that would allow children to understand things writers take for granted.” Hirsch believes that schools should teach students a “highly specific curriculum”, this way students can have basic knowledge in every subject, and not be dumbfounded later in life. I don’t believe that this theory works too well because of that fact that Hirsch does not think about how the school curriculum affects a student’s life. Why would a student want to learn about history when that doesn’t affect them right now, or what makes a student want to learn calculus when they only need basic math skills to go shopping? Hirsch does not make a curriculum interesting to students, meaning less students will want to learn. They will not want to pay attention in school because they don’t see how it connects to their lives. With Sizer, teachers connect what is learned in the classroom to the outside world, helping students understand how what they learn in class affects how they actively participate in society. Hirsch is just teaching students to memorize a couple of facts. I believe that Sizer has the better theory because he understands what students need, and understands how teachers accomplish this goal.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
Homework 44 -Big Expectations for School
For all of our lives, since we were born until the day we graduate college, we are told that attending school will prepare us for our futures, and help us find fulfilling and well playing jobs. We are constantly told that the only way we can have a successful career is to attend school. However, according to Thomas L. Friedman, most corporations will hire international employees because Americans don’t have the education required to do what others in other countries know how to do. Friedman states “These local incentives matter because smart, skilled labor is everywhere now. Intel can thrive today — not just survive, but thrive — and never hire another American.” Although this seems rather harsh, especially the “never hire another American” part, it makes me question whether institutions are actually preparing us for our futures as much as they same they do. If other people in other countries are just as skilled as we are, and they probably work for less, what makes us so special? Instead of just competing with other Americans for a job, we are competing internationally for the same job. Also in the article, the quote ““As a citizen, I hate it. As a global employer, I have the luxury of hiring the best engineers anywhere on earth. If I can’t get them out of M.I.T., I’ll get them out of Tsing Hua” — Beijing’s M.I.T.” appears. Even though Americans don’t want to hire international employees, they will because these other employees are way better than Americans these days. Friedman explains that international employees are more common to become hired because of their intelligence levels. In America, where our schools lack the proper education and many students are just sliding by with teachers who will pass any student, we have nothing to show for ourselves. Once being one of the smartest countries, we are now part of a dumb generation where American corporations won’t even hire their own kind.
After reading Obama’s speech, my hopes were lifted. This speech was moving, powerful, and gave me a reason to attend school every day. After reading Friedman’s article, I wondered why even try when someone else in some other country will land the job I am dying for? However, Obama’s speech changed my mind. I was able to connect to him, to forget that he was the President of the United States; instead he was another human being that went to school. One thing that always provides contradictions between people are whether schools do another to prepare students for the future. Obama touched on this topic in his speech, when he said “But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.” This made so much sense to me. The schools we attend can have the best teachers in the world, the teachers that dedicated their lives to providing us with the education they feel we deserve. We can have the most supportive parents in the world, ones who are always there pushing us in order to make sure we succeed in everything we do, and even if we don’t we know that we tried. We can have all of this, but none of it matters if we don’t contribute to our education. What is a good teacher if there are not students who are willing to learn? What is a supportive parent if their child does not try in anything they do? Obama was correct when stating that we need to try in school in order to have a successful career. His speech really struck me, and made me understand the benefits of school.
After reading Robert Kiyosaki’s article “We need two school systems”, I beg to differ. Sure schools are preparing students to become future employees, but two types of schools? That’s just ridiculous. What if some people don’t know if they would prefer to be an employee or an entrepreneur? I like Kiyosaki’s idea of teaching students two tracks, the track to being an employee and the track to being an entrepreneur. But I would edit his plan in the way of combining these two tracks. Give students an option to take a couple of classes in entrepreneurship in high school, to show them what it takes to run a business. Maybe they aren’t sure what goes on to it, how can they just jump right away into a college that focuses on running your own business? I think he makes a valid point that schools are constantly preparing students to be future employees of America, but if students know of no other option, what do they do? Most schools don’t offer classes in entrepreneurship, but maybe if they did we’d have more future CEO’s in our society.
I believe that schools should prepare their students as well as they can to have a successful career. In our current school, it is very easy to pass a class, as long as you do the work and participate somewhat of the time in class. In order to fail a class, you have to never attend. The teachers will pass you no problem, but what is this saying for our generation? We barely try that hard in school, while kids in Stuyvesant have about five hours of homework a night. Sure we have exhibitions, but we have a whole year to work on them, and sure we have tests and quizzes, but how often is that? Now that I am complaining of course, but after reading the previous article, I feel stupid. If I’m in America, shouldn’t I have the benefits of receiving a good education to have a successful career? Not if somebody from another country ten times smarter than me will take that same job. This makes me question the institutions we call schools values and beliefs, are they really working to prepare us for our future, or are they beginning to give up on us as a whole?
After reading Obama’s speech, my hopes were lifted. This speech was moving, powerful, and gave me a reason to attend school every day. After reading Friedman’s article, I wondered why even try when someone else in some other country will land the job I am dying for? However, Obama’s speech changed my mind. I was able to connect to him, to forget that he was the President of the United States; instead he was another human being that went to school. One thing that always provides contradictions between people are whether schools do another to prepare students for the future. Obama touched on this topic in his speech, when he said “But at the end of the day, we can have the most dedicated teachers, the most supportive parents, and the best schools in the world – and none of it will matter unless all of you fulfill your responsibilities. Unless you show up to those schools; pay attention to those teachers; listen to your parents, grandparents and other adults; and put in the hard work it takes to succeed.” This made so much sense to me. The schools we attend can have the best teachers in the world, the teachers that dedicated their lives to providing us with the education they feel we deserve. We can have the most supportive parents in the world, ones who are always there pushing us in order to make sure we succeed in everything we do, and even if we don’t we know that we tried. We can have all of this, but none of it matters if we don’t contribute to our education. What is a good teacher if there are not students who are willing to learn? What is a supportive parent if their child does not try in anything they do? Obama was correct when stating that we need to try in school in order to have a successful career. His speech really struck me, and made me understand the benefits of school.
After reading Robert Kiyosaki’s article “We need two school systems”, I beg to differ. Sure schools are preparing students to become future employees, but two types of schools? That’s just ridiculous. What if some people don’t know if they would prefer to be an employee or an entrepreneur? I like Kiyosaki’s idea of teaching students two tracks, the track to being an employee and the track to being an entrepreneur. But I would edit his plan in the way of combining these two tracks. Give students an option to take a couple of classes in entrepreneurship in high school, to show them what it takes to run a business. Maybe they aren’t sure what goes on to it, how can they just jump right away into a college that focuses on running your own business? I think he makes a valid point that schools are constantly preparing students to be future employees of America, but if students know of no other option, what do they do? Most schools don’t offer classes in entrepreneurship, but maybe if they did we’d have more future CEO’s in our society.
I believe that schools should prepare their students as well as they can to have a successful career. In our current school, it is very easy to pass a class, as long as you do the work and participate somewhat of the time in class. In order to fail a class, you have to never attend. The teachers will pass you no problem, but what is this saying for our generation? We barely try that hard in school, while kids in Stuyvesant have about five hours of homework a night. Sure we have exhibitions, but we have a whole year to work on them, and sure we have tests and quizzes, but how often is that? Now that I am complaining of course, but after reading the previous article, I feel stupid. If I’m in America, shouldn’t I have the benefits of receiving a good education to have a successful career? Not if somebody from another country ten times smarter than me will take that same job. This makes me question the institutions we call schools values and beliefs, are they really working to prepare us for our future, or are they beginning to give up on us as a whole?
Monday, March 1, 2010
Homework 42- More Research and More Thinking
The question I hope to answer my research is: “What is the difference between public high schools and private Catholic high schools in New York City, and how does religion play a role in the curriculum taught in private schools?”
In my neighborhood of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, I am faced with private schools all around me. Xaverian High School (an all boys school), Bishop Kearny High School (an all girls school), Fontbonne Hall Academy (also an all girls school), and Bay Ridge Preparatory School (a coed school) to name a few. Several of my friends attend these schools, and people from around my neighborhood are always surprised when I tell them I attend a public school in Manhattan. It’s unheard of, unless the school is some popular, big name school, such as LaGuardia or Stuyvesant. It never bothered me that I didn’t attend a private school, after all I am not Catholic, and these schools are Catholic schools. However, I did start to wonder what was so special about private schools. What can they possibly teach that is so wonderful, that they can stick a ridiculous ticket price on to the tuition? Sure they explore religion, and students are required to take a religion class, while public school students are not required to because religion does not play a role in a public school curriculum. But what else is so special about it?
In the terms of this matter affect the meaning of my life, it doesn’t affect me at my current age. I have attended public school all my life, and although I am attending a private university in the fall of 2010, that is different than attending a private high school. However, this matter will affect me at a later age, when I do have a family and have to decide where to send my children to college. Sure some of these pros and cons are subject to change (such as the tuition costs and curriculum), but by knowing the basics I can have some idea of where I want to send my future children. Although it is rather early to be deciding this at my age, I can also help my family members (such as my cousins who have toddlers) decide upon sending their child to a public or a private school.
In my neighborhood of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, I am faced with private schools all around me. Xaverian High School (an all boys school), Bishop Kearny High School (an all girls school), Fontbonne Hall Academy (also an all girls school), and Bay Ridge Preparatory School (a coed school) to name a few. Several of my friends attend these schools, and people from around my neighborhood are always surprised when I tell them I attend a public school in Manhattan. It’s unheard of, unless the school is some popular, big name school, such as LaGuardia or Stuyvesant. It never bothered me that I didn’t attend a private school, after all I am not Catholic, and these schools are Catholic schools. However, I did start to wonder what was so special about private schools. What can they possibly teach that is so wonderful, that they can stick a ridiculous ticket price on to the tuition? Sure they explore religion, and students are required to take a religion class, while public school students are not required to because religion does not play a role in a public school curriculum. But what else is so special about it?
In the terms of this matter affect the meaning of my life, it doesn’t affect me at my current age. I have attended public school all my life, and although I am attending a private university in the fall of 2010, that is different than attending a private high school. However, this matter will affect me at a later age, when I do have a family and have to decide where to send my children to college. Sure some of these pros and cons are subject to change (such as the tuition costs and curriculum), but by knowing the basics I can have some idea of where I want to send my future children. Although it is rather early to be deciding this at my age, I can also help my family members (such as my cousins who have toddlers) decide upon sending their child to a public or a private school.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Homework 41- Initial Internet Research on Schooling
Kennedy, Robert. "Private vs Public Schools". The New York Times Company. February 23, 2010 http://privateschool.about.com/cs/employment/a/teachingcond.htm
This article explains the differences between public and private schools. It contains pros and cons on both sides, and also explains how private school education and teaching defer. However, this article is very broad, and does not focus on one city. It focuses on the generalization of private and public schools. What was very interesting about this article was the fact that it stated that there is no clear winner in the game of public versus private schools; it is more based on the personal preference of teaching style a student prefers.
This short article deserves reading for its simple and easy to read context. It has subtitles and text underneath the subtitles to detail what each paragraph is about, and is written in simple English, a language anyone can understand. With resources listed on the bottom of the article, readers can understand where the author pulled his information together from.
Kelly, Melissa. "Teaching at Private Versus Public Schools". The New York Times Company. February 23, 2010
This article explains the differences between being a teacher at a public versus a private school. It also contains pros and cons on both sides, and explains how even though private school teachers get to choose their own curriculum to teach, they still have guidelines to follow. It also explains how private school teachers receive less money than public school teachers in salary earnings. However, this article also is very broad, and does not focus on one city. It focuses on the generalization of the pros and cons of teaching at private and public schools. However, one can assume that the pros and cons are mostly the same for each city across the United States, except for a few differences.
This short article also deserves reading for its simple and easy to read context. It, like the first article, also has subtitles and text underneath the subtitles to detail what each paragraph is about, and is written in simple English, a language anyone can understand. With resources listed on the bottom of the article, readers can understand where the author pulled his information together from. There are also links in this article that send the reader to other articles, with information that may be relevant to the topic.
Vitello, Paul. "14 Catholic Schools May Shut Down". The New York Times. Feburary 23, 2010
This article explored why fourteen Catholic Schools in New York City might close down. Two of the reasons were the enrollment figures were declining, causing a decrease in budgets. With a decrease in budgets, the schools are not able to maintain their teacher’s salaries and state of the school. One very interesting fact stated in this article was Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, a school in Jackson Heights, Queens, currently only has 180 students enrolled, when decades ago it had 2,500 students. The article than went on to list other schools that were scheduled to shut down or merge with other schools at the end of the current school year.
This article was also simple and easy to read, and had the writing style of a typical New York Times article. The article listed statistics and included a photo, making the reader engaged when reading this article. This article also included a text from a Bishop, giving the reader a sense of understanding how a school official is reacting to this news.
Hernandez, Javier C. "Secular Education, Catholic Values ." New York Times (2009): n. pag. Web. 1 Mar 2010..
This article explored how Washingtown has transformed catholic schools into charter schools, and how Mayor Bloomberg has unveiled a plan to transform four Catholic Schools in New York City into charter schools. The article also explains how this change has happened in Washington, and how it has affected the students whom attend the now reformed charter schools. Since the change has already happened in the state of Washington, this article explores how schools were affected, and how the community has reacted to this change.
This article was also simple and easy to read, and even though it focused on schools in Washington, it tied together the plan Mayor Bloomberg also has in turning catholic schools into charter schools. It gave several examples, but focused directly on one school and explained the students and teachers reacted. This article also had the writing style of a typical New York Times article, like the article above. It listed statistics and included a photo, making the reader engaged when reading this article. This article also included a quote from a senior scholar at Boston University, and quotes from parents of children who attend the schools.
Chen, Grace. "God, Allah, Christmas, and Ramadan: Should Any Religion Be Expressed in Public Schools?". Public School Review. March 01, 2010.
This article explored the pros and cons of having religion be expressed in public schools, and whether religion should be able to be taught in public schools. Along with listing the author’s thoughts, the article also has quotes from newspaper articles and journalists. The article does not stand a conclusion as to whether religion should be taught in public schools; rather it provides enough information for the reader to decide the answer to that question.
This article was extremely simple and easy to read because of its subtitles and topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph. Written as if it was a speech for a debate, this article plays devil’s advocate, and explores both the pros and cons of religion in public schools.
GreatSchools Staff. "Private versus Public". Great Schools. March 01, 2010.
This article also explored the idea of public versus private schools, and which is better in a parental perspective. This article explains the differences between tuition costs, the admissions process, and benefits of, teachers, curriculum, and class size between public and private schools. This article is written catered to parents, and offers advice based on what is best for their child.
This article was more towards the bias side, stating facts mixed with opinions. The subtitles make the article easy to read and follow, and since it is a rather long article, the subtitles make the article easy to skim if needed.
Additional Works Consulted
Mascia, Jennifer. "Teachers Strike at 10 Catholic High Schools." The New York Times [New York City, NY]. The New York Times Company, 15 Apr. 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2010.
Postman, Andrew. "What's the bestw ay to go-private school or public? A parent on the brink of the big decision does his homework and parses the alternatives." New York Family Guide [New York City, NY]. New York Family Guide, 2004. Web. 23 Feb. 2010..
"Frequently Asked Questions About Our Issues". Americans United for Separation of Church and State. March 01, 2010.
This article explains the differences between public and private schools. It contains pros and cons on both sides, and also explains how private school education and teaching defer. However, this article is very broad, and does not focus on one city. It focuses on the generalization of private and public schools. What was very interesting about this article was the fact that it stated that there is no clear winner in the game of public versus private schools; it is more based on the personal preference of teaching style a student prefers.
This short article deserves reading for its simple and easy to read context. It has subtitles and text underneath the subtitles to detail what each paragraph is about, and is written in simple English, a language anyone can understand. With resources listed on the bottom of the article, readers can understand where the author pulled his information together from.
Kelly, Melissa. "Teaching at Private Versus Public Schools". The New York Times Company. February 23, 2010
This article explains the differences between being a teacher at a public versus a private school. It also contains pros and cons on both sides, and explains how even though private school teachers get to choose their own curriculum to teach, they still have guidelines to follow. It also explains how private school teachers receive less money than public school teachers in salary earnings. However, this article also is very broad, and does not focus on one city. It focuses on the generalization of the pros and cons of teaching at private and public schools. However, one can assume that the pros and cons are mostly the same for each city across the United States, except for a few differences.
This short article also deserves reading for its simple and easy to read context. It, like the first article, also has subtitles and text underneath the subtitles to detail what each paragraph is about, and is written in simple English, a language anyone can understand. With resources listed on the bottom of the article, readers can understand where the author pulled his information together from. There are also links in this article that send the reader to other articles, with information that may be relevant to the topic.
Vitello, Paul. "14 Catholic Schools May Shut Down". The New York Times. Feburary 23, 2010
This article explored why fourteen Catholic Schools in New York City might close down. Two of the reasons were the enrollment figures were declining, causing a decrease in budgets. With a decrease in budgets, the schools are not able to maintain their teacher’s salaries and state of the school. One very interesting fact stated in this article was Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, a school in Jackson Heights, Queens, currently only has 180 students enrolled, when decades ago it had 2,500 students. The article than went on to list other schools that were scheduled to shut down or merge with other schools at the end of the current school year.
This article was also simple and easy to read, and had the writing style of a typical New York Times article. The article listed statistics and included a photo, making the reader engaged when reading this article. This article also included a text from a Bishop, giving the reader a sense of understanding how a school official is reacting to this news.
Hernandez, Javier C. "Secular Education, Catholic Values ." New York Times (2009): n. pag. Web. 1 Mar 2010.
This article explored how Washingtown has transformed catholic schools into charter schools, and how Mayor Bloomberg has unveiled a plan to transform four Catholic Schools in New York City into charter schools. The article also explains how this change has happened in Washington, and how it has affected the students whom attend the now reformed charter schools. Since the change has already happened in the state of Washington, this article explores how schools were affected, and how the community has reacted to this change.
This article was also simple and easy to read, and even though it focused on schools in Washington, it tied together the plan Mayor Bloomberg also has in turning catholic schools into charter schools. It gave several examples, but focused directly on one school and explained the students and teachers reacted. This article also had the writing style of a typical New York Times article, like the article above. It listed statistics and included a photo, making the reader engaged when reading this article. This article also included a quote from a senior scholar at Boston University, and quotes from parents of children who attend the schools.
Chen, Grace. "God, Allah, Christmas, and Ramadan: Should Any Religion Be Expressed in Public Schools?". Public School Review. March 01, 2010
This article explored the pros and cons of having religion be expressed in public schools, and whether religion should be able to be taught in public schools. Along with listing the author’s thoughts, the article also has quotes from newspaper articles and journalists. The article does not stand a conclusion as to whether religion should be taught in public schools; rather it provides enough information for the reader to decide the answer to that question.
This article was extremely simple and easy to read because of its subtitles and topic sentences at the beginning of each paragraph. Written as if it was a speech for a debate, this article plays devil’s advocate, and explores both the pros and cons of religion in public schools.
GreatSchools Staff. "Private versus Public". Great Schools. March 01, 2010
This article also explored the idea of public versus private schools, and which is better in a parental perspective. This article explains the differences between tuition costs, the admissions process, and benefits of, teachers, curriculum, and class size between public and private schools. This article is written catered to parents, and offers advice based on what is best for their child.
This article was more towards the bias side, stating facts mixed with opinions. The subtitles make the article easy to read and follow, and since it is a rather long article, the subtitles make the article easy to skim if needed.
Additional Works Consulted
Mascia, Jennifer. "Teachers Strike at 10 Catholic High Schools." The New York Times [New York City, NY]. The New York Times Company, 15 Apr. 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2010.
Postman, Andrew. "What's the bestw ay to go-private school or public? A parent on the brink of the big decision does his homework and parses the alternatives." New York Family Guide [New York City, NY]. New York Family Guide, 2004. Web. 23 Feb. 2010.
"Frequently Asked Questions About Our Issues". Americans United for Separation of Church and State. March 01, 2010
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Homework 40- School Interviews
Part A
Interview with my sister, Kayla:
Do you think by choosing or constructing your own curriculum, students would have a larger desire to learn and attend school on one's own free will?
Yes , because it would be more fun and you don’t have to associate yourself with subjects that you do not care for. I would like to study what I enjoy. Such as history, English, and science to name a few. But I could do without math, because I am not a big fan of it.
At what age do you have the right to choose your own curriculum?
College is the correct age. While you’re still developing you don’t know what you want to do, or what you want to pursue. Once it comes time to college must make a decision because adult, and you know what you enjoy and like learning about, and have a sense of what you want to do with the rest of your life.
What are some of the major ways school has contributed to our lives?
It helps you get a job and it helps you learn how to socialize with others because you are around others a lot.
How has influence from society and others helped influence your decision to attend college?
I want to attend college because people don’t look down on you, look at you as an equal on an intelligence level with a college degree. If you don’t people look at you as if you are not as smart as they are.
Interview with my friend Billy
Do you think by choosing or constructing your own curriculum, students would have a larger desire to learn and attend school on one's own free will?
Yes I think that students would deffinitly have a larger desire to learn=)
What are some of the major ways school has contributed to our lives?
Of course has basically taught us all the skills we need to be successful in life...without a good education your doomed.
How has influence from society and others helped influence your decision to attend college?
Encouragement from friends and family helps people gain confidence in themselves to attend college.
Interview with Adam Wardas:
Do you think by choosing or constructing your own curriculum, students would have a larger desire to learn and attend school on one's own free will?
Yes, because you'd be interested in the subject, so you'd want to learn more about it
What are some of the major ways school has contributed to our lives?
School has helped me see the differences in people... it gave me problems that I had to solve.
How has influence from society and others helped influence your decision to attend college?
Society has made college look fun, however i still see it as an institution of learning.
Interview with my friend Yang:
If no one influenced or pressured you to go to college ever in your life would you still consider going, why or why not?
Yes because i want to be able to have a career and life of my own when I’m older. i don’t want to have to depend on others and i feel a college education is essential to having a better future career wise.
Do you believe you would receive a better education at a private school versus a public school, and to what extent would the education be better(if it is)?
i don’t think it is a matter of private or public school, I think it’s a matter of each individual school. there are some public schools that have given kids a better education including better range of class choices, better staff teaching them, more available extra tutoring, etc than others and then there are some private schools that don’t teach well or much at all but have kids with better grades because the teachers are easy graders but the kids don’t even learn anything. It’s all about each individual school but i feel a majority of my friends in public schools have gotten better educations.
How do you believe the material we learn in school affects our society and workforce?
hard to answer....not sure how to answer this. i'd say yes and no, depending on class. example: economics teaches us a lot for investments and such...i don’t know this question confuses me.
Interview with myself:
If no one influenced or pressured you to go to college ever in your life would you still consider going, why or why not?
I would still consider going to college because I feel that without a college degree, you can not succeed anywhere in life. Even though I had college drilled into my head since I was a freshman, I still believe that college is a huge milestone in our lives. Without a college degree I feel as if people would judge you, and it would be harder to get a steady job.
How do you believe the material we learn in school affects our society and workforce?
I believe that what we learn in school helps prepare us for our future. Even though algebra, trigonometry, and physics might not seem as if they play a big role, I believe that it is better to know these things. But having a variety of knowledge in each core subject, one can be extremely diverse.
Do you believe you would receive a better education at a private high school versus a public high school, and to what extent would the education be better(if it is?
I don’t believe that a private high school education differs from a public high school education. The core subjects are still taught. In some particular private schools, religion is taught as a class. Religion is not allowed to be taught at public schools, because of the diverse student community. Except for the price tag on a private school, I highly doubt private schools are any better than public schools. In the case of high school education anyway.
Part B
After conducting my interviews, I realized that even though people complain about going to school all the time, they still believe it is a big part of our lives. If given the choice to not attend college, people would still attend because they believe that a college degree helps them succeed in life. Initially, I thought that people would feel that if they did not have to attend college they would not. From what I hear from my friends and others, school is such a hassle for them. All the school and homework, all the stress of receiving grades, the waking up early in the morning. But here I was, giving them a chance to throw all that away. I told them they would not have to listen to others pressure them into attending college, but here they are telling me they would still attend. I have to admit I was rather shocked, but I was also proud.
Interview with my sister, Kayla:
Do you think by choosing or constructing your own curriculum, students would have a larger desire to learn and attend school on one's own free will?
Yes , because it would be more fun and you don’t have to associate yourself with subjects that you do not care for. I would like to study what I enjoy. Such as history, English, and science to name a few. But I could do without math, because I am not a big fan of it.
At what age do you have the right to choose your own curriculum?
College is the correct age. While you’re still developing you don’t know what you want to do, or what you want to pursue. Once it comes time to college must make a decision because adult, and you know what you enjoy and like learning about, and have a sense of what you want to do with the rest of your life.
What are some of the major ways school has contributed to our lives?
It helps you get a job and it helps you learn how to socialize with others because you are around others a lot.
How has influence from society and others helped influence your decision to attend college?
I want to attend college because people don’t look down on you, look at you as an equal on an intelligence level with a college degree. If you don’t people look at you as if you are not as smart as they are.
Interview with my friend Billy
Do you think by choosing or constructing your own curriculum, students would have a larger desire to learn and attend school on one's own free will?
Yes I think that students would deffinitly have a larger desire to learn=)
What are some of the major ways school has contributed to our lives?
Of course has basically taught us all the skills we need to be successful in life...without a good education your doomed.
How has influence from society and others helped influence your decision to attend college?
Encouragement from friends and family helps people gain confidence in themselves to attend college.
Interview with Adam Wardas:
Do you think by choosing or constructing your own curriculum, students would have a larger desire to learn and attend school on one's own free will?
Yes, because you'd be interested in the subject, so you'd want to learn more about it
What are some of the major ways school has contributed to our lives?
School has helped me see the differences in people... it gave me problems that I had to solve.
How has influence from society and others helped influence your decision to attend college?
Society has made college look fun, however i still see it as an institution of learning.
Interview with my friend Yang:
If no one influenced or pressured you to go to college ever in your life would you still consider going, why or why not?
Yes because i want to be able to have a career and life of my own when I’m older. i don’t want to have to depend on others and i feel a college education is essential to having a better future career wise.
Do you believe you would receive a better education at a private school versus a public school, and to what extent would the education be better(if it is)?
i don’t think it is a matter of private or public school, I think it’s a matter of each individual school. there are some public schools that have given kids a better education including better range of class choices, better staff teaching them, more available extra tutoring, etc than others and then there are some private schools that don’t teach well or much at all but have kids with better grades because the teachers are easy graders but the kids don’t even learn anything. It’s all about each individual school but i feel a majority of my friends in public schools have gotten better educations.
How do you believe the material we learn in school affects our society and workforce?
hard to answer....not sure how to answer this. i'd say yes and no, depending on class. example: economics teaches us a lot for investments and such...i don’t know this question confuses me.
Interview with myself:
If no one influenced or pressured you to go to college ever in your life would you still consider going, why or why not?
I would still consider going to college because I feel that without a college degree, you can not succeed anywhere in life. Even though I had college drilled into my head since I was a freshman, I still believe that college is a huge milestone in our lives. Without a college degree I feel as if people would judge you, and it would be harder to get a steady job.
How do you believe the material we learn in school affects our society and workforce?
I believe that what we learn in school helps prepare us for our future. Even though algebra, trigonometry, and physics might not seem as if they play a big role, I believe that it is better to know these things. But having a variety of knowledge in each core subject, one can be extremely diverse.
Do you believe you would receive a better education at a private high school versus a public high school, and to what extent would the education be better(if it is?
I don’t believe that a private high school education differs from a public high school education. The core subjects are still taught. In some particular private schools, religion is taught as a class. Religion is not allowed to be taught at public schools, because of the diverse student community. Except for the price tag on a private school, I highly doubt private schools are any better than public schools. In the case of high school education anyway.
Part B
After conducting my interviews, I realized that even though people complain about going to school all the time, they still believe it is a big part of our lives. If given the choice to not attend college, people would still attend because they believe that a college degree helps them succeed in life. Initially, I thought that people would feel that if they did not have to attend college they would not. From what I hear from my friends and others, school is such a hassle for them. All the school and homework, all the stress of receiving grades, the waking up early in the morning. But here I was, giving them a chance to throw all that away. I told them they would not have to listen to others pressure them into attending college, but here they are telling me they would still attend. I have to admit I was rather shocked, but I was also proud.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Homework 39 -First School Assignment
Part A
People are always talking about how much they hate school, and how they can’t wait until we don’t have to go anymore. I have to admit I had this same thought at times, but when you actually think about me, school helps us develop and grow. This sounds really stupid now, but honestly, if we were not in school what else would be doing with our time? When you actually think about it, up until we are about sixteen (if you’re lucky), you can not get a job, meaning you will not have a source of income to support yourself. Sure you can live off your parents, but what about once they kick you out? School helps us develop our minds, and teach us things we will need to know in the future. Sure learning quadratic functions or the formula for a circumference of a circle seems stupid now, but maybe you might need it in the future. It’s not a definite possibility, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. What I’m basically trying to state is the fact that without school, we will have nothing to do with our lives. Sure you can sleep in late and not have to worry about homework, but you also won’t have your friends you met at school or learn how to use your brain to think.
I also believe that school is the government’s way of civilizing us. Every since we were young, we were taught manners, how to interact with others, and how to share by our elders. But what better way to actually work on these techniques then by surrounding us in a room with others our age, for five days a week, approximately six hours a day. By surrounding us with others our age since we were young, we were able to understand the proper way to interact, the proper way to be kind to others, etc. The school system helps young minds learn to become civilized when all they care about is themselves, and think everything belongs to them. We also learn how to speak and write, further continuing our ability to interact with others.
One of the most interesting and powerful questions I believe was raised in class was how is school similar to a hierarchy, where the teachers are the ones in command and we but simple followers? Another question I had was how do private schools compare to public schools; do private school students receive a better education? Another question is how does religion play a role in our education system?
Part B
Sitting down, tapping my pencil, my eyes room to the clock on the wall. Ten more minutes until I am free, I think. The teacher writes some more formulas on the board. More note copying, isn’t it wonderful? This my friends, is what I call a classroom setting where we the students sit down quietly and copy the notes our teachers so kindly write on the boards. Civilization at its best is how I think of it. We all sit down at our tables, copying down notes that we will never again review once the school year is over. We act like we are listening to the teacher giving a lecture in the front of the classroom, but really we are thinking about our plans for afterschool or how adorable our crush looked today in the hallway. It’s a strange experience in my opinion, how we all so cooperatively sit down and write down facts that we could rather not care about.
As Andy so kindly puts it, our classrooms we sit in are like boxes that we are always trapped in. We travel from box to box, learning different things in each class. Rather robotic in a sense, we arrive at school, follow our fellow classmates to our next class, and maybe shoot out a smart comment at times. This all goes back to my theory that school is the government’s way to civilize us. Somehow, without us even realizing it, they managed to trap us in a boxed building, letting us out only for lunch, which is less than an hour. They managed to keep us occupied for six hours of our day, making sure we are all safe in a contained building, learning useless information. When you think about it this way, school doesn’t seem so interesting now does it?
Of course there are consequences to trapping us in boxes, without giving us an opportunity to think on our own. We become so use to having things told to us that we lose the ability to think on our own. We forget how to process something, how to analyze and further develop our thoughts. Without any free space to think and learn on our own, we become trapped in our own minds.
People are always talking about how much they hate school, and how they can’t wait until we don’t have to go anymore. I have to admit I had this same thought at times, but when you actually think about me, school helps us develop and grow. This sounds really stupid now, but honestly, if we were not in school what else would be doing with our time? When you actually think about it, up until we are about sixteen (if you’re lucky), you can not get a job, meaning you will not have a source of income to support yourself. Sure you can live off your parents, but what about once they kick you out? School helps us develop our minds, and teach us things we will need to know in the future. Sure learning quadratic functions or the formula for a circumference of a circle seems stupid now, but maybe you might need it in the future. It’s not a definite possibility, but it is always better to be safe than sorry. What I’m basically trying to state is the fact that without school, we will have nothing to do with our lives. Sure you can sleep in late and not have to worry about homework, but you also won’t have your friends you met at school or learn how to use your brain to think.
I also believe that school is the government’s way of civilizing us. Every since we were young, we were taught manners, how to interact with others, and how to share by our elders. But what better way to actually work on these techniques then by surrounding us in a room with others our age, for five days a week, approximately six hours a day. By surrounding us with others our age since we were young, we were able to understand the proper way to interact, the proper way to be kind to others, etc. The school system helps young minds learn to become civilized when all they care about is themselves, and think everything belongs to them. We also learn how to speak and write, further continuing our ability to interact with others.
One of the most interesting and powerful questions I believe was raised in class was how is school similar to a hierarchy, where the teachers are the ones in command and we but simple followers? Another question I had was how do private schools compare to public schools; do private school students receive a better education? Another question is how does religion play a role in our education system?
Part B
Sitting down, tapping my pencil, my eyes room to the clock on the wall. Ten more minutes until I am free, I think. The teacher writes some more formulas on the board. More note copying, isn’t it wonderful? This my friends, is what I call a classroom setting where we the students sit down quietly and copy the notes our teachers so kindly write on the boards. Civilization at its best is how I think of it. We all sit down at our tables, copying down notes that we will never again review once the school year is over. We act like we are listening to the teacher giving a lecture in the front of the classroom, but really we are thinking about our plans for afterschool or how adorable our crush looked today in the hallway. It’s a strange experience in my opinion, how we all so cooperatively sit down and write down facts that we could rather not care about.
As Andy so kindly puts it, our classrooms we sit in are like boxes that we are always trapped in. We travel from box to box, learning different things in each class. Rather robotic in a sense, we arrive at school, follow our fellow classmates to our next class, and maybe shoot out a smart comment at times. This all goes back to my theory that school is the government’s way to civilize us. Somehow, without us even realizing it, they managed to trap us in a boxed building, letting us out only for lunch, which is less than an hour. They managed to keep us occupied for six hours of our day, making sure we are all safe in a contained building, learning useless information. When you think about it this way, school doesn’t seem so interesting now does it?
Of course there are consequences to trapping us in boxes, without giving us an opportunity to think on our own. We become so use to having things told to us that we lose the ability to think on our own. We forget how to process something, how to analyze and further develop our thoughts. Without any free space to think and learn on our own, we become trapped in our own minds.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Homework 38 - Art Project Cool
The Cool Fool from Sandy G. on Vimeo.
This project actually turned out differently than from what we planned. In the beginning, we wanted to have a scripted video, showing cool vs. uncool. Andy would play two different versions of Mike. One as the cool kid who everyone wants to be friends with, and one as the uncool kid who tries too hard to fit in. After a bunch of takes, we decided to just scrape that idea and put together a video portraying what we thought was cool, along with some of our old ideas. We put in scenes about people playing basketball in gym, us hanging out and playing cards, and us just having fun in general, because we felt that was our definition of cool. Our definition of cool is just having fun and not caring what people think, and our video portrays that. Of course, we did play the roles of our characters, me being the one obsessed with Mike, Carrie being the one who doesn’t know who he is, Sandy the one who doesn’t think he’s cool but will act like she does, and Kate just thinking he’s a loser. We wanted our video to be funny, and portray coolness in school.
In our art, we just wanted people to understand that there are many definitions of art, not just one universal definition. In our video, we showed people that being cool is just having fun with the people around you. When people watch this video, they won’t see an obvious structure or a scripted story, because to us that is fake. We didn’t want to have to script our something in order to show people what we believed was cool, we wanted to show how cool can be found in our daily lives. By scripting out what each person says, and how they try to act cool, we are not truly representing how cool directly affects us. In my opinion, our video helps people understand that they don’t need to act a certain way to be cool. They don’t need to follow unspoken rules, and act like someone they are not just to fit in. “Just be yourself” is an overstated statement, but I believe that we should instead be who we are, and act the way we are. We shouldn’t have to act like someone we are not in order to be deemed “cool”.
Making art does seem cool to me. To me, art is a portrayal of an individual’s creativity. When someone puts themselves out there, whether it is in the form of art or others, I think it is cool because they are showing the world what they want people to know about them. I also believe that making art is a talent, and talents are cool. Although an individual’s art varies because their taste varies, the essence of making something important to show the world is still there. I believe that being cool means portraying to yourself who you want to be, and art is one form of doing just that.
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