Final Blog
1. The first five things that I think
should be done about education are as follows:
a) One of the first things that I believe
needs to be done about education is change the way we use and view test score
data. Policy makers have come to blindly accept test scores as they are without
any hesitation or questioning. Test score data have become the final say and
all educational reform decisions are being made based on tests score data. However,
when all of our trust is placed in an inherently flawed set of data, true reform
cannot occur. Test scores become meaningless when they fail to measure the greater
goals of education. They become useless when schools manipulate the scores by
excluding certain students (traditionally low-performing students) from even
taking the tests. They become a faulty form of measurement when the standards
are lowered and test questions are dumbed down. And they become insignificant
when data becomes the sole form of student and teacher assessment. As Ravitch
states, we need to become “data-informed rather than data-driven” (p. 228). Test
score data are driving all major reform decisions in education, when we should
be using test scores as a means to an end.
b) The second thing that I think needs
to change about education in America is the amount of money being spent of
public schools. Despite what many politicians and educational reformers may
think, money is important. Resources are vital for both teacher and student
success. Money gives schools the opportunity to provide students with small
classes, good teachers, and a broad liberal arts education including arts and
sports programs. All of these things are essential in allowing our students to
become well-rounded and well-educated citizens of the world. Money, when used
wisely, enables student success. All schools—wealthy and poor—should be able to
provide students with these basic services. Additionally, using test scores as
a way of deciding how much money a school receives will only make the problem
worse, as schools with low-test scores are often the ones who need the most
help.
c) The third thing that I believe needs
to change in education is the amount of emphasis the nation tends to place on
the core subjects of Math and Science. Math and Science are important, but
testing students’ skills in math and science will not produce a responsible and
functional citizen in the world. A well-rounded education that includes
history, foreign language, and the arts is important in order for students to
fully participate in our culturally diverse society. Without a broad liberal
arts education, students will not be prepared to be responsible citizens in the
real world, as our world is not made up of jobs requiring only mathematicians
and scientists. By stressing the importance of knowledge in all subjects,
students will better be able to make connections across curriculums and will be
better equipped to find and succeed at what they love.
d) The fourth thing that we must do as
a nation in order to change the current state of American education is to
change our expectations. We have lowered our standards for students and for
teachers to the point of uselessness. By lowering standards on tests and in the
classroom, we are communicating two very important messages to students that significantly
affect student learning. One is that students have learned that the bare minimum
is acceptable in education. Passing a class with a D is perfectly okay with
some students, and low-standards are “average” now. The bare minimum in
society, however, is unacceptable and is not tolerated. How will students learn
to strive for achievement if the expectation is just to “get through it?” The
second message—and even more detrimental—that we are communicating to students
by lowering standards is that we don’t have faith in them. Low standards tell
students that we don’t believe in their abilities and that they will never
succeed if the standards are higher. Thus, students see no point in going
beyond what is asked of them. They are not motivated to use their knowledge in meaningful
ways, or even gain the knowledge they will need in the first place. Knowledge
in school is becoming simply information in a textbook, and students will not
learn to apply their knowledge in productive or positive ways in the world to
benefit themselves and society.
e) Finally, the fifth aspect of the
American education system that must be addressed is using testing as our only
method of accountability. Tests can only measure what they are designed to measure.
This means that if a math test is designed to measure a 4th grader’s
knowledge of specific math concepts and rules, it cannot measure other ways
students may have learned those concepts, or how students apply those concepts
and rules to solve different problems. It cannot measure how effective the
teacher was in teaching the material because there are so many other variables
in test-taking and student learning. Most importantly, tests cannot measure
what is most important in education. As Ravitch makes clear, “The goal of
education is not to produce high test scores but to educate children to become
responsible people with well-developed minds and good character” (p. 228).
2. What has been most meaningful about
Reading Ravitch for me is learning more about the current political issues
surrounding education in America. Reading about the history of reform in
America’s education system has also helped me to see the patterns of reform
that have not been successful and define my own views on what would improve
education in America. Ravitch’s book had allowed me to better understand my own
teaching philosophy and how I can improve my teaching practices to promote a
well-rounded, applicable education in student learning. Ravitch has allowed me
to emphasize my teaching practice more toward the more important goals of
education, like creating well-educated and well-rounded citizens of the world.
3. Based on the current state of
American education, as a citizen I believe a lot can be done through simply
becoming more aware of the current issues in education and using that awareness
and knowledge to vote for what should be happening in education, rather than
accepting what is. I believe that citizens who are truly interested in changing
the education system in America need to become as knowledgeable as possible by
gaining information from everyone involved—teachers, administrators, and
politicians.
As a teacher, it is hard to see what can be done on the larger scale to
change American education for the better. I feel as though we are a community
of teachers with little power over wealthy politicians. We are at the mercy of
the decisions being made above us, and there is a constant power struggle
between teachers and politicians. In the classroom, however, I believe there
are several things that we can do as teachers to prepare students for what they
need to know in the real world. As teachers, we have the opportunity to shape
our students’ thinking, attitudes, and feelings about the learning and
education. Although I do think requirements in the American education system
like standardized testing limit teachers in certain ways, I also believe that
teachers can learn to be creative “within the lines.” By creating meaningful
and engaging lessons that will allow students to use their knowledge and
authentic contexts, we can teach to the standards and make sure that what
students are learning if applicable to real life. More importantly, as teachers
it is our responsibility to interest our students in learning and inspire them
to think beyond the test and text. Despite limitations, teachers maintain the
ability to change education from inside the classroom.
4. The two subject area associations I
chose to look at were the CFLP (The California Foreign Language Project) and
the CLTA (The California Language Teachers’ Association).
The CFLP is an organization that was developed by Stanford University.
The organization is dedicated to challenging language professionals to improve
and expand language programs in California. It involves teachers in
professional community. On the main page of the website, there are various
links to foreign language resources, events and discussions, and standards in
frameworks. There website also has information about the 23rd annual
summer seminar for language teachers (“Standards-based Instruction in the
Context of 21st Century Skills’). In additions, the CFLP offers
student workshops on language teaching for prospective world language and culture
teachers.
The CLTA is an organization with various links to resources for foreign
language teachers. Links include advocacy, affiliates, awards, job opportunity
links, membership information, and conference information. The CLTA sponsors
the largest world language conference in California, which location changes
between Northern and Southern California every other year. This website is a
valuable resource for California foreign language teachers.
5. Over the next few years, there are
several world language resources that I would love to see in the Bay Area and
in all of California.
One experiential resources I would love to visit is Chicano Park in San
Diego, CA. I visited Chicano Park on an immersion trip in high school, but I
didn’t know a lot about Chicano history and culture when I visited. After
studying Chicano culture, history, and art in college, I would love to visit
this culturally significant sight again and find a way to incorporate the
murals in the park into my classroom. Another experiential resource I would
like to explore more is La Peña Cultural Center in Berkeley, CA. La Peña uses
the arts, education, and social action to promote peace and cultural
understanding. They organize over 200 events a year and offer classes in
Latin-American music, dance and other art forms.
There are several books in my subject are that I would like to research
further. I would love to research the genre of Chicano youth literature and
find a ways to incorporate some of the books in the genre in my curriculum.
Some of these include books by Francisco Jimenez, Sandra Cisneros, and Rudolfo
Anaya, and more. I’d like to explore the possibility of using excerpts for
these books in Spanish to explore cross-cultural issues existing among Mexican-American’s
in the U.S. today. Using books from the Chicano genre also opens up an
opportunity for interdisciplinary teaching and learning.
Two academic journals in my subject area that I would like to
investigate further are Studies in Second Language Acquisition and the Journal
of Linguistics and Language Teaching. Studies in Second Language Acquisition is
a journal devoted to the scientific research of acquisition of any second or
foreign language. The Journal of Linguistics and Language Teaching is dedicated
to research which makes connections between linguistics and the implications
linguistics has on language teaching.
Finally, there are still several sights in the world I would like to see
and experience connected to my subject area. Participating in the Día de los
Muertos events in Mexico is at the top of my list. I also hope to spend some
time traveling through Central and South America (top countries: Perú,
Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, and Costa Rica) learning more about the
Spanish-American cultures, history and traditions. I am particularly interested
in researching dialectal/linguistic variation in Latin and South America.
