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School reformers
sometimes resemble the characters in Dr. Seuss’s Solla Sollew, who are
always searching for that mythical land “where they never have troubles, at
least very few.” Or like Dumbo, they are convinced they could fly if only they
had a magic feather. In my writings, I have consistently warned that, in education,
there are no shortcuts, no utopias, and no silver bullets. For certain there
are no magic feathers that enable elephants to fly. (p.3)
This quote really
stood out to me when I read Chapter one of Ravitch’s book. The metaphorical
comparison of reformers to characters in Seuss’s Solla Sollew provides a
strikingly clear picture of the “fantasy” land in which many reformers live.
There are no magic feathers, or shortcuts, that reformers can take in order to
fix the American education system. While
everyone involved in the education system, politicians to teachers, would love
a quick fix to our current issues will not make failing schools succeed or
close the achievement gaps this easy solution simply does not exist. I liked
that this quote summarized Ravitch’s viewpoint on the matter, as I feel the
same. I look forward to seeing where the book goes with this idea, and hope
that Ravitch has solutions and not only criticisms.
The more uneasy I
grew with the agenda of choice and accountability, the more I realized that I
am too “conservative” to embrace an agenda whose end result is entirely
speculative and uncertain. The effort to upend American public education and
replace it with something market-based began to feel too radical for me. I
concluded that I could not countenance any reforms that might have the effect—intended
or unintended—of undermining public education. (p.13)
This quote was
meaningful to me as I share Ravitch’s opinion that a reform that makes public
education in America more like a corporate business than a public service does
not sit well with me. Ravitch states later in the chapter that American public
education is so closely tied to the promise of American life. I feel that if reformers and policymakers were
to try to alter this system and make it more like a business, where schools
compete for the top students and test scores are measured like profits, what
kind of product are we producing? The goals of education reforms should be to
help schools to develop better curriculum and in turn educate young people in a
way that makes them successful thinkers and citizens.
2. Chapter two: On page 16, Ravitch gives a brief definition of a well-educated person. How would you characterize a well-educated person? What should any well-educated person know in today's world?
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I agree with
Ravitch’s statement that the “well-educated person has learned how to explain
ideas and listen respectfully to others.” Additionally, I believe that a
well-educated person is one who knows how to think critically, who does not
simply accept facts or information presented to them as the truth but analyzes
what they read and what they hear and evaluates it based on evidence and their
own perspectives. Any well-educated
person should have basic knowledge about the world in which they live and how
their culture, country, and background shape the way that they and others see
the world. A well-educated person should understand how to engage in
intelligent conversation without degrading or dismissing the opinions of
others.
3. Thinking about the class discussion on the book, what stands out for you? What would you have liked to say that you did not say?
I found the class discussion of the book to be interesting and informative. What stood out most to me is that most of my peers seem to agree with Ravitch that public education should never be run as a corporation as it does not carry the same goals or the same “products”. Additionally, it seemed as though most of us agreed that standardized testing acts as accountability check in the business model style of reforming education. We all feel that this kind of testing puts enormous pressure on all involved in the education system, most significantly the students and the teachers, and that this form of assessment does not necessarily judge the knowledge of the student nor the value and skill of the teacher. I cannot think of something I would have liked to say that I did not say.
4. Choose one gap you listed from your subject area and identify 3 resources: a website, an article, and a book that can help you fill that gap. List these and discuss what you learned from one of these.
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A gap from my
subject area that I see is the resources available to educate and inform
mainstream teachers of autistic students on how to correct and manage difficult
behaviors that these children may exhibit as well as how to best include and
instruct them in a general education setting.
One excellent
resource I discovered is on the National Education Association website. There
is an entire page devoted to Autism Resources for Teachers. The page includes
information on what autism is and how it effects those who have it, helpful
instruction methods and techniques, and activities and materials. This page can
be found at http://www.nea.org/home/15151.htm.
Another
incredibly useful resource I found was a website called http://www.nationalautismresources.com/.
The website includes Autism 101 Tips
for Teachers New to Autism, as well as an array of products that your school
can buy to assist your students with autism such as electronic communication
devices, conversation and social prompts, informational books on how to help
your students as well as books for students to better understand their feelings
and difficulties, and much more.
A book that I found that I believe is a particularly useful resource is How
to Set Up a Classroom for Students with Autism: A Manual for Teachers,
Para-professionals and Administrators by S.B. Linton. The book has tons of
helpful ideas for setting up your classroom for students with autism. The book
has detailed instructions about classroom set up as well as behavior
intervention plans and much more.
5. Your annotations of resources are meant to be both scholarly and brief. Discuss in detail why/how any two of these articles were useful to your topic/question(s). Consider such things as listing specific information you learned that you didn't know before; how this new learning leads to other questions or sources; why this writer was convincing; whether you would seek this writer out for other articles he/she has written, and anything else you'd like to state in a blog that others can learn from and read.
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Rossetti, Z. S., & Goessling, D. P. (2010). Paraeducators' Roles in Facilitating Friendships Between Secondary Students With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorders or Developmental Disabilities. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 42(6), 64-70.
This article was very interesting as it outlined how paraeducators can facilitate friendships between high school students with autism and their non-disabled peers. Although this article was written with high school level students in mind, I believe that a great deal of it is applicable to elementary age students as well. I found this article very interesting because it provided realistic suggestions of ways in which paraeducators, or teachers, can encourage autistic students to engage in conversation with their non-disabled peers and improve their social skills. One thing in the article that I found to be a useful suggestion to have autistic students connect with their peers is
Higginson, R., & Chatfield, M. (2012). Together We Can Do It: A Professional Development Project for Regular Teachers' of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Kairaranga, 13(2), 29-40.
This article was very useful for my topic/questions because it emphasized the importance of professional development for teachers in mainstream classrooms who have autistic students. One thing that was very clear from this article was that many general education teachers initially have negative attitudes and lack of understanding towards their autistic students. Additionally, they are not informed about what strategies are effective for thee students nor why these strategies are necessities for these children. The study found that through this professional development program, teachers became more knowledgeable and tolerant towards children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The authors of the study recommend professional development programs such as the one outlined in the article as an effective way to assist teachers to make changes needed to include students with ASD in their mainstream classrooms.
Blogs I responded to:
Sarah Wilkerson
Kaitlyn Vignocchi
Jennifer Steele
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