Both, Hirsch and Sizer both have different arguments about how students should be educated. Hirsch believes in knowing background knowledge helps one understand things. For example what is being discussed at the time, will help the individual become a better reader. He believes that the role of school is to teach you content that will be used to help you out in college level literature. In his view, students should take tests so knowledge can be determined from the individual: "tests are far fairer than more subjective means of assessing student performance." Basic knowledge in his eyes helps the individual connect to cultural literacy; this is what the individual will need when trying to make sense of the dominant culture.
Sizer in the other hand has a very different approach when compared to Hirsch. He believes in using the Habits of Mind and trying to approach a certain situation deeply by using the Habits of Mind. He likes the idea of education being much focused into one topic, so the student can gain all the insights and all there is to learn about that one topic. He wants to get students to find one thing they care about, and put it under the microscope. His goal is for them to be taught what they care deeply about; there is no list of things to know.
I believe that Hirsch and Sizer make good views on how students should receive their education. I agree with both of them when it comes to my personal schooling experience. I have been going to SOF since sixth grade and the Habits of Mind have been used a lot throughout my middle school year. We still use them to this day, but we have adapted into using it without realizing that we are. Since sixth grade I have been pushed to use the Habits of Mind that are looked upon deeply in our school: significance, evidence, alternatives, point of view and connections. Even though all of us have been using them since elementary school, we weren’t notified about how much it can enhance our education everyday. Sizer wants young individuals to "explore a single subject for several months and then present an ''exhibition'' of their work to demonstrate what they've learned"(Mosle) Because School of The Future is based on Sizer’s view on education, I was able to view certain topics in a rich and deep thought out curriculum, instead of glancing at it and learning new material by maintaining my basic knowledge. I feel like attending Sizer’s school, I have experienced part of my education by deepening my mind and focusing on material for longer periods of time.
From what I can remember, most of my education, at least from Middle school has been based off of Sizer’s views. Although, there are always times where Hirsch’s idea is involved as well. For example: molarity, ions and the periodic table do create an emphasis on our knowledge. But this knowledge later on gets lost, yes many of us will frantically be memorizing these notes before a big test, but will we be able to remember this a year from now? I agree that with basic knowledge you will indeed become a better reader, because the more knowledge you have the better you will understand the material being read. Reading will also determine how well we will do in our near future, take college for example. It’s a big part of our lives and should be incorporated into our curriculum a bit more. At times I feel like students from other schools have more basic knowledge compared to me; this may be the outcome of going to a Sizer school. Then again, Hirsch only focuses on literature, what about the math and science curriculums? Will students need to read off of math or science textbooks to gain all the common knowledge? What about projects and labs? Don’t they help us gain knowledge as well?
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Hwk 44
There are many institutions that surround our society today, from institutions related to the government and others that have to do with public service. Education is also known as an institution since it is structured to set the behavior for a set of young individuals. When one thinks of school they usually think of teachers, students and an environment created for learning; but it is much more than that. School is a disguised battlefield where young individuals are brainwashed to do what society wants them to be doing.
There are many cases where many think that if “x” happens in school then it will have a “y” outcome. For example if the teachers choose to teach a certain curriculum, students will do better in their future; but how can this be determined? What if the individual decides not to stay on task, or learn anything that is being taught to them? What if discipline does not work on them either? Then what happens to their future, will school be the blame for how their future turns out to be in the end? A student’s future is determined by his or her own actions, if they are willing to be good at something then they will be able to do it, whether they have an education or not. That’s how it was in the future but in our society without an education we are screwed.
The society bombards us with messages that make all young individuals to go and do well in school. School is primarily an institution designed for us to do well later on in our life. If we want to succeed in our future, we need to earn a good education so we are able to become what we want to do in our near future. In President Obama’s speech at the start of the new school year in the fall of 2009, he states: “You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it” (Obama). He also explains how not only will education do well for our own future, it will make the future of our nation good as well.
School is supposed to be a “sanctuary” for young individuals so they can learn and be able to get new knowledge and have deep thoughts. This all has much to do with the teacher and the schools goal for its students. In the clips we have seen so far in class, the teachers arrive on their first day to teach greeted with ill mannered students that have no respect at all for their adult figure. When the teachers gain knowledge on discipline, and learn how to catch all the attention of the young individuals, they all seem to accept the fact about what they are actually in school for. As a teacher and a creator of three charter schools in Harlem, Ms. Kenny states: “If you had an amazing teacher who was talented and passionate and given the freedom and support to teach well,” she said, “that was just 100 times more important than anything else” (Herbert). A teacher plays a big role on how well a student can do well in school, not only does the students have big responsibilities, so does the teacher figure.
There are many roles that are equally played in a student’s life, there is the teacher that teaches passionately and wants to see change for her students and the students that want to do well in their future. This is what the society wants school to be all about, but this isn’t always the turn out. There are many limits to what school can or cannot accomplish, because the student has to be willing to be responsible as well, both roles need to balance out for an accomplishment to be created. The top priorities for schools should be to teach young individuals to be responsible for their own actions that may determine their future, whether they choose to do well or not; they will not be able to blame anyone but themselves when their futures do not turn out to be so well. This should be decided by the government and all the other administrations related to schooling. Schools are expected to teach us to survive on our own in the future, whether it be in our career or in the outside world, we should always be prepared for what we will deal with in our future. This all depends on how the individual perceives it…
Citations:
Obama, Barack. "Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama: Back to School Event." whitehouse. N.p., 8/9/2009. Web. 11 Mar 2010.
Herbert, Bob. "Where the Bar Ought to Be." New York Times(2010): n. pag. Web. 11 Mar 2010..
There are many cases where many think that if “x” happens in school then it will have a “y” outcome. For example if the teachers choose to teach a certain curriculum, students will do better in their future; but how can this be determined? What if the individual decides not to stay on task, or learn anything that is being taught to them? What if discipline does not work on them either? Then what happens to their future, will school be the blame for how their future turns out to be in the end? A student’s future is determined by his or her own actions, if they are willing to be good at something then they will be able to do it, whether they have an education or not. That’s how it was in the future but in our society without an education we are screwed.
The society bombards us with messages that make all young individuals to go and do well in school. School is primarily an institution designed for us to do well later on in our life. If we want to succeed in our future, we need to earn a good education so we are able to become what we want to do in our near future. In President Obama’s speech at the start of the new school year in the fall of 2009, he states: “You want to be a doctor, or a teacher, or a police officer? You want to be a nurse or an architect, a lawyer or a member of our military? You’re going to need a good education for every single one of those careers. You can’t drop out of school and just drop into a good job. You’ve got to work for it and train for it and learn for it” (Obama). He also explains how not only will education do well for our own future, it will make the future of our nation good as well.
School is supposed to be a “sanctuary” for young individuals so they can learn and be able to get new knowledge and have deep thoughts. This all has much to do with the teacher and the schools goal for its students. In the clips we have seen so far in class, the teachers arrive on their first day to teach greeted with ill mannered students that have no respect at all for their adult figure. When the teachers gain knowledge on discipline, and learn how to catch all the attention of the young individuals, they all seem to accept the fact about what they are actually in school for. As a teacher and a creator of three charter schools in Harlem, Ms. Kenny states: “If you had an amazing teacher who was talented and passionate and given the freedom and support to teach well,” she said, “that was just 100 times more important than anything else” (Herbert). A teacher plays a big role on how well a student can do well in school, not only does the students have big responsibilities, so does the teacher figure.
There are many roles that are equally played in a student’s life, there is the teacher that teaches passionately and wants to see change for her students and the students that want to do well in their future. This is what the society wants school to be all about, but this isn’t always the turn out. There are many limits to what school can or cannot accomplish, because the student has to be willing to be responsible as well, both roles need to balance out for an accomplishment to be created. The top priorities for schools should be to teach young individuals to be responsible for their own actions that may determine their future, whether they choose to do well or not; they will not be able to blame anyone but themselves when their futures do not turn out to be so well. This should be decided by the government and all the other administrations related to schooling. Schools are expected to teach us to survive on our own in the future, whether it be in our career or in the outside world, we should always be prepared for what we will deal with in our future. This all depends on how the individual perceives it…
Citations:
Obama, Barack. "Prepared Remarks of President Barack Obama: Back to School Event." whitehouse. N.p., 8/9/2009. Web. 11 Mar 2010.
Herbert, Bob. "Where the Bar Ought to Be." New York Times(2010): n. pag. Web. 11 Mar 2010.
Monday, March 1, 2010
Hwk 42
Egypt:
"International Academic Components Found in NG Program." New Generations Schools. 2008. Web. 3 Mar 2010..
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Generation_Schools
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Egypt
Even though the main concepts of schooling are the same throughout many societies around the globe, we all seem to be learning something that relates to our society. Just like in the United States, there are tests given out in certain levels of school and the students are split up in a similar way. There are also a variety of schools a student can be enrolled to; for example: Arabic schools and Experimental Language schools which are considered Government schools. The Private schools would be Ordinary schools, Language schools, Religious schools and International schools.
The question that I have been paying close attention to throughout this unit is based on how there are different curriculums in different societies. A question I have related to the previous question is: how does the history of a society impact their curriculum? We all go to school around the world because that’s where all the kids belong, but we never actually think behind what we are being taught. How will it all affect us in the future? By doing all this research I want to figure out what different topics are being taught to students around the world, and how it would affect them in their personal future. If a student from Egypt has knowledge on their history, and a student from the U.S. has knowledge on U.S. history, how will one be able to take advantage of that in the future?
Most of the curriculum in Egypt is similar to ours. Most of this seems to be adapted from our requirements in schools. This can be seen by looking at the curriculum in New Generation schools, which are a group of international English and Arabic schools in Egypt. While offering American Diploma, the school ties the curriculum with Arabic and religion. This school offers a list of curricula which includes community service, cultural studies, a senior project and more. By looking at this I was able to gain insight about how a different society’s curriculum is similar and different from ours. The core subjects are basically the same in this specific school, but the language being taught is Arabic. In our society we usually have Spanish taught in language classes.
Math Curriculum in Pakistan:
"The Mathematics Curriculum in Pakistan ." Web. 3 Mar 2010..
Many of the subjects taught in math may be the same in other countries, but the timings of these subjects being introduced to the students are different. This can have a big impact on how educated one generation may be compared to the next generation. There may also be different effects on how well the teachers are prepared to teach their curriculums.
This subject matters to me personally because my family is from Pakistan and I would like to know how a student I Pakistan’s math curriculum may differ from my math curriculum. We have knowledge on the same topics but it depends on how they are introduced to us as well. Because the curriculums before did not seem to show much improvement in the students learning skills, there were revisions made on text books and teaching aids. If the leader is not capable of leading a group of followers while teaching something they are not prepared to teach, there will be many negative impacts in the future. This seemed to be the case in the math curriculum in some schools located in Pakistan.
This will be able to predict the outcome of ones future. Even though many of the responsibilities may fall on the student, the teacher has equal responsibilities. If the work being taught is not well prepared then the student may not be able to learn much. This seemed to be the case in Pakistan with their math curriculum. The teacher has a big impact on how the students are doing in school. If they are not doing so well it will reflect poorly on the teacher.
Math Curriculum based off Saudi Arabian Education:
"Curriculum/Program." Saudi Academy. Web. 3 Mar 2010..
So far my research shows that many of the schools in the Middle East teach all the subjects taught in the U.S. while keeping religion in mind. This is where the curriculum mainly differs from our society and the societies in the Middle East. The culture, tradition and heritage in a society can really make a curriculum stand out amongst others. In this school located in the U.S, these three things are used to teach in an Islamic based school.
In the Islamic Saudi Academy located in Virginia, math is a subject where skills need to be built, just like how it is here in New York. In middle school and so on, students that show proficiency will likely move in an accelerated pace. This needs to be proved by teacher recommendations and how well the student performs on tests. Math subjects are introduced to students when they have reached the certain level of difficulty. This can connect to schools in our society because there are advanced placement classes for students that are able to do more challenging materials without any problems.
This topic matters since it shows how a society has set up a curriculum to match their needs. In many of the Middle Eastern countries, religion is a top priority. This is why they are keeping religion incorporated within their curriculum even if they are located in the U.S. This is why many of the schools have Arabic being taught; the Q’uran is usually mentioned as well. It somehow ties the studies back to their religion and culture so that the students are not able to distance their selves from the very important aspects of their life. They are always reminded so they are able to set apart wrong from right.
"International Academic Components Found in NG Program." New Generations Schools. 2008. Web. 3 Mar 2010.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Generation_Schools
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Egypt
Even though the main concepts of schooling are the same throughout many societies around the globe, we all seem to be learning something that relates to our society. Just like in the United States, there are tests given out in certain levels of school and the students are split up in a similar way. There are also a variety of schools a student can be enrolled to; for example: Arabic schools and Experimental Language schools which are considered Government schools. The Private schools would be Ordinary schools, Language schools, Religious schools and International schools.
The question that I have been paying close attention to throughout this unit is based on how there are different curriculums in different societies. A question I have related to the previous question is: how does the history of a society impact their curriculum? We all go to school around the world because that’s where all the kids belong, but we never actually think behind what we are being taught. How will it all affect us in the future? By doing all this research I want to figure out what different topics are being taught to students around the world, and how it would affect them in their personal future. If a student from Egypt has knowledge on their history, and a student from the U.S. has knowledge on U.S. history, how will one be able to take advantage of that in the future?
Most of the curriculum in Egypt is similar to ours. Most of this seems to be adapted from our requirements in schools. This can be seen by looking at the curriculum in New Generation schools, which are a group of international English and Arabic schools in Egypt. While offering American Diploma, the school ties the curriculum with Arabic and religion. This school offers a list of curricula which includes community service, cultural studies, a senior project and more. By looking at this I was able to gain insight about how a different society’s curriculum is similar and different from ours. The core subjects are basically the same in this specific school, but the language being taught is Arabic. In our society we usually have Spanish taught in language classes.
Math Curriculum in Pakistan:
"The Mathematics Curriculum in Pakistan ." Web. 3 Mar 2010.
Many of the subjects taught in math may be the same in other countries, but the timings of these subjects being introduced to the students are different. This can have a big impact on how educated one generation may be compared to the next generation. There may also be different effects on how well the teachers are prepared to teach their curriculums.
This subject matters to me personally because my family is from Pakistan and I would like to know how a student I Pakistan’s math curriculum may differ from my math curriculum. We have knowledge on the same topics but it depends on how they are introduced to us as well. Because the curriculums before did not seem to show much improvement in the students learning skills, there were revisions made on text books and teaching aids. If the leader is not capable of leading a group of followers while teaching something they are not prepared to teach, there will be many negative impacts in the future. This seemed to be the case in the math curriculum in some schools located in Pakistan.
This will be able to predict the outcome of ones future. Even though many of the responsibilities may fall on the student, the teacher has equal responsibilities. If the work being taught is not well prepared then the student may not be able to learn much. This seemed to be the case in Pakistan with their math curriculum. The teacher has a big impact on how the students are doing in school. If they are not doing so well it will reflect poorly on the teacher.
Math Curriculum based off Saudi Arabian Education:
"Curriculum/Program." Saudi Academy. Web. 3 Mar 2010.
So far my research shows that many of the schools in the Middle East teach all the subjects taught in the U.S. while keeping religion in mind. This is where the curriculum mainly differs from our society and the societies in the Middle East. The culture, tradition and heritage in a society can really make a curriculum stand out amongst others. In this school located in the U.S, these three things are used to teach in an Islamic based school.
In the Islamic Saudi Academy located in Virginia, math is a subject where skills need to be built, just like how it is here in New York. In middle school and so on, students that show proficiency will likely move in an accelerated pace. This needs to be proved by teacher recommendations and how well the student performs on tests. Math subjects are introduced to students when they have reached the certain level of difficulty. This can connect to schools in our society because there are advanced placement classes for students that are able to do more challenging materials without any problems.
This topic matters since it shows how a society has set up a curriculum to match their needs. In many of the Middle Eastern countries, religion is a top priority. This is why they are keeping religion incorporated within their curriculum even if they are located in the U.S. This is why many of the schools have Arabic being taught; the Q’uran is usually mentioned as well. It somehow ties the studies back to their religion and culture so that the students are not able to distance their selves from the very important aspects of their life. They are always reminded so they are able to set apart wrong from right.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)