1. “I feared that choice would let thousands of flowers bloom but would not strengthen American education.” page 12
The movement for choice- whether it be vouchers, charters, or other-seems to equate different with better. The question should not be “What does that school offer which mine does not?” but instead should be “Does that school offer a better education than mine?”
“The new corporate reformers betray their week comprehension of education by drawing false analogies between education and business. They think they can fix education by applying principles of business, organization, management, law, and marketing and by developing a good data-collection system that provides the information necessary to incentivize the workforce-principals, teachers, and students-with appropriate rewards and sanctions.”
page 11
Yes, the business model works with businesses- businesses which are staffed with adults. Students are not adults nor can they be expected to behave as such. The discrepancy between the mental and emotional maturity of each organization’s “workers” is so great there is a question as to why success was universally expected. Furthermore, even though school staff were given an incentive under this model (albeit a negative incentive) what were the incentives for the students? Were they really able to comprehend that teachers would be fired or schools closed? This is just too abstract to grasp as well as irrelevant to most students.
2. A well educated person is knowledgeable in a variety of subjects. They are able to understand, synthesize, and apply their knowledge. A well educated person thinks about ideas and information; they are able to express themselves and share their knowledge, ideas, and thoughts with others. A well educated person in today’s world should know about technology, current and world events, history, science, literature, social issues, etc...
3. What stood out to me from the class discussion of Ravitch was the universal narrowing of curriculum everyone has witnessed due to standardized testing. Focusing on math and reading as well as teaching to the test seems like a rule rather that an exception to the rule.
There was nothing that I wanted to say and did not have the opportunity to voice.
4. I chose grammar as the area I wanted to address. This is a list of possible resources to help with grammar:
- Book: The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation by Jane Straus
- Website: http://englishgrammar101.com
- Article: The PurDue Owl website has many different articles/handouts on various grammar topics
Like a lot of people (specifically those who have been out of elementary school for quiet a while) I no longer have a firm grasp of grammar vocabulary. After reviewing The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation I learned if a verb follows to, it is called an infinitive phrase and is not the main verb. I also learned that contrary to my prior belief, you may end a sentence with a preposition just as long as you do not use extra prepositions when the meaning is clear without them.
5. My research question: How can street art be used to teach social justice?
First Resource: Reclaiming San Francisco: History, Politics, Culture. I focussed on the chapter titled “Street Subversion: The Political Geography of Murals and Graffiti” by Timothy W. Drescher. This chapter discussed murals and briefly touched on spray-can art and billboard corrections. Murals are found throughout history from prehistoric caves to tomb painting. In the 1920’s murals started to transition from being an elite expression to one of the community. The New Deal mural program commissioned artists to paint murals that communicated messages. The style used to paint the murals was social realism. 1960-1974 saw a major growth in grassroots political activism which spurred the community mural movement. As opposed to the murals commissioned by The New Deal, community muralists addressed issues and perspectives that were rarely presented in the mass media. As time passed, the murals style moved from realism to postmodernism. Graffiti or spray-can art and billboard corrections also became popular.
This book briefly mentions The Billboard Liberation Front. I would like to further research this group.
Second Resource: Banksy: Wall and Piece by Banksy. This book is an autobiography by Banksy; a popular graffiti artist from Great Britain. This book contains direct statements as to why someone chose to be a graffiti artist.
"I am going to speak my mind so this won’t take long.
Despite what they say graffiti is not the lowest form of art. Although you might have to creep about all night and lie to your mum it’s actually one of the more honest forms available. There is no elitism or hype, it exhibits on the best wall a town has to offer and nobody is put off by the price of admission...
The people who truly deface our neighborhoods are the companies that scrawl giant slogans across buildings and busses trying to make us feel inadequate unless we buy their stuff. They expect to be able to shout their message in your face from every available surface but you’re never allowed to answer back. Well, they started the fight and the wall is the weapon of choice to hit them back."
- Banksy
Before I started researching my guiding question I thought of social justice in terms of race, gender, and sexual preference. After reading this quote I added socioeconomic status to that list as well.
6. Question for Meg: Have any studies been done on re-test results for information on past standardized tests? Since students are being taught to the test and memorizing how to take a test rather than connecting the information to their lives and prior knowledge and learning the information, do they have a lower rate of recall? If we tested a fourth grader on what they had learned in third grade would they score higher, the same, or lower?
Dear Tammy:
ReplyDeleteFirst, I think your research into the intersection of street art and social justice is fascinating. I will be eager to hear about your proposed classroom application of this....and I know that it will be powerful for your students.
And, your question about a reassessment of students is excellent. In theory, simply being taught for a test does not usually make for a deep, meaningful learning experience, and, I would guess, would also not make for long-term knowledge. I am curious about this and will follow up.....
Meg
I completely agreed with your analysis of the second quote you chose from Chapter One. I too think that the business model DOES NOT and CANNOT work in schools. Like you said, children do not have the mental and emotional maturity to fully understand the business model’s incentives and penalties like an adult in the working world would.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to hear about what your research topic is about! Having a political science background, I have always been interested in this type of freedom of speech that enables those who would otherwise not be heard to express their beliefs about social justice issues through art. I am very eager to hear about the progression of your research.
Hi Tammy,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you and your response to the Ravitch chapters. In my blog, I also chose a provocative quote about how business models are being used to in education. I agree with you and think that it doesn't work because students/kids aren't products. I really liked the questions that you brought up about incentives for teachers and students. I think that if you have great teachers, then there shouldn't be a need for incentives for students, because learning and knowledge they are getting is enough of an "incentive".
Hi Tammy!
ReplyDeleteWow! Your inquiry regarding street art and social justice is so riveting.. I cannot wait for you to share it with us!
I, too, agree with your definition of a well-educated person. However, your addition of 'self expression' is really something to give me food for thought on the matter.. and I concur! I think that self-expression comes in so many varied forms and I think that we see less and less of it in today's world.
See you Tuesday!
Hi Tammy,
ReplyDeleteThis is my first chance checking out your blog, and I wanted to say that your idea for the capstone project is so interesting! I am excited to see where it goes and the information you uncover. Have you seen the documentary Exit through the Gift Shop? As for this week’s blog, I agree completely with the philosophy that the business model does not apply towards education. The questions that you posed were totally accurate and well-stated. In my blog I also discussed how adult incentives hinder students’ potential and progress. Looking forward to checking in on your progress!