Roots of Learning » Uncategorized

The Case for Smaller High Schools

admin — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 02:45:42 +0000

As our country’s population grows as never before, high schools in many of the most densely populated areas (and areas with the highest concentration of social ills) have become, in my opinion, “failure factories.” With upwards of 3 to 4 thousand students, those who aren’t lost in the shuffle are much more likely to stand out due to disciplinary problems than they are due to outstanding academics, sports prowess, or leadership.

In New York City, some leaders have recognized this phenomenon, and have responded by replacing over 20 failing high schools (each with student enrollment of around 4,000) with much smaller schools focused around a vocational theme. For example, the “Academy of Health Careers” and the “Law, Government, and Community Service Magnet High School” each have fewer than 550 students, and have proven to have higher graduation rates than the old “factories.”

While I am not a proponent of federal intervention in the particulars of education, I would like to see some type of federal incentive for districts that make extraordinary efforts to reduce class size and overall school size at the high school level. For every thousand “more” kids enrolled, the chance of the individual students thriving plummets substantially as they, quite literally, get ‘lost’ in the crowd.

The Importance of Vocational Education

admin — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 19:08:11 +0000

For a person to be well-rounded, it is important to not only have a strong general (classical) education, but also to have a vocation. The classical education stands as vocations change. But to start off in the workforce and in the adult world, the ideal is to have both a strong foundation in academics and the ability to do something marketable, whether that be program a computer, conduct genetic research, dig an oil well, or drive a backhoe. I love reading about programs such as the following, and wish I heard about more of them – have any to share? – Heather

A program in Arizona provides schools, day-care centers and nonprofit organizations with refurbished and recycled computers. The program, a nonprofit initiated by Intel and Motorola in 1997, gave about 2,000 refurbished computers to 349 Arizona schools last year. The program also teaches students technical skills as they refurbish the computers. “The students learn the social responsibility of properly disposing e-waste,” a high-school computer instructor said. “The students also gain the experience of using their skills to help others and contribute to their community.” The Arizona Republic (Phoenix)

Overheard

admin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:10:47 +0000

This from a friend (and teacher) who used my Summer Mini E-Course: “This is a great resource! Thank you for all of the creative ideas. I have been looking for something other than workbook pages! My children will love them.”

I love getting feedback too – Thanks!
- Heather

Transformation! or, The Care and Feeding of a School

admin — Sat, 30 May 2009 03:12:24 +0000

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch, some great local education news: “Carver Middle has been transformed from a failing school… to an exemplary one.” Read on.

All it really takes is a little TLC. Amazing that it took a first time principal, rather than a current staff or commnity member, to take notice! Great job done!

I am creating a Technorati Account

admin — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:39:51 +0000

Anyone else out there use Technorati? Technorati Profile

An Online Tool for Vocabulary Building

admin — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 01:53:01 +0000

If you are looking for an alternative to a paper dictionary, or if you would like to find a rhyming dictionary, thesaurus, and traditional dictionary all in one place, complete with audio tools that allow you to hear the pronunciation of the word, check out www.wordcentralcom. It is a site from Merriam-Webster and, while its offerings are not as comprehensive as a collegiate dictionary, it is a great tool for elementary and middle schoolers who are in need of suggestions of synonyms in writing, rhyming words for poetry, or an online dictionary reference. Happy word hunting!

- Heather

A Strategy for a Beginning Researcher

admin — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 23:25:23 +0000

I was working with my 3rd grader on a writing project for school. I noticed that he had taken copious notes in school in preparation for a report, and that most of them were written in simple, fact-based sentences. When asked to write a rough draft, he drafted a boring topic sentence, copied each fact from his notes, then wrote a boring concluding sentence. (I think it was “That is what I have to tell you about…”)

Does this sound familiar?

I was impressed at the amount of information my son had researched, but at the same time, I wanted to work with him so that he’d understand that simply regurgitating facts from notes does not make a well written report. I also realized that I couldn’t tackle all the issues of good writing with this one project or I’d alienate and overwhelm him, and possibly turn him off to the whole process.

So, I took a first step.

I quickly typed up his ‘rough draft’ and separated each sentence (did it in 18 pt font and skipped multiple lines between sentences) then printed them out, cut them apart, and directed him to group like facts together. This turned his one, very long paragraph into three – it was much more organized. I also pointed out a few areas where he had very similar facts that could be combined to make more interesting sentences, and make the report ‘flow’ more nicely.

I was pleased with the outcome of this little experiment, and I think it helped his project. He enjoyed manipulating the strips of paper that had his facts on them, and it gave him a way to edit that was very tactile and low-risk.

As for those lame opening and closing sentences? I decided that we’d tackle that beast with the next project!

As always, I’d love to hear feedback from fellow parents or from teachers.

Heather

Our spiritual impressions

admin — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 01:00:06 +0000

Whether you are a parent, a teacher, or both, you make your greatest impact on the children in your life not by the content of what you ‘teach’ them but by the person you demonstrate to them every day – in other words, by who you are. I read a wonderful article recently on the spiritual life of teachers. It refers to the following quote from Romano Guardini, “It is not so much what we say, nor even what we do, that speaks loudest to our students; it is who we are.”

This has important implications in the classroom as well as in the home. Human faults such as anger, pride, vanity, impatience, and sloth are common. If we seek to become inspirations to children, and if we seek to teach our children not only how to do things, but how to be good people, then it is essential that we take an honest inward look at our own faults, first and foremost.

Life is, as many have said, a ‘journey.’ We are all in different places. I am working on extending my patience and tolerance with my own children, who sometimes have me frazzled by the end of a long work and parenting day. A simple way I am doing this is by taking that moment in between stimulus (i.e., the kids doing something that drives me bonkers) and response (my frustrated respnose) to take a deep breath and search for a more patient, tolerant response. Sometimes it works; othertimes it doesn’t. It is my hope that by at least making the effort, I am not only making my home more harmonious, but I am demonstrating the kind of restraint that I’d like to see in my children.

I’d like to hear from other parents on this issue. Thoughts?

Heather

21st Century Skills

admin — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:29:38 +0000

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills presents a framework for 21st century learning that includes not only the ‘basics’ of core subject areas, but also areas that have been all but abandoned under NCLB, such as communication, critical thinking, and innovation. I applaud their efforts and urge you to take a look and see if your state is in the partnership. At the time of this writing, mine is not. I will be writing to my representatives to urge them to expand our statewide initiatives to include these critical pieces. I’d also love to hear from you – what do you think of The Partnership for 21st Century Skills?

Heather

Technology, Goals, and our Ever-Narrowing Attention Span

admin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 02:49:14 +0000

I read the following and just HAD to share it:

Constant access to information, communication, and technology has become such a big issue, experts say, that its implications go beyond a lack of productivity and focus at work. eMail and information overload also eats into the quality of relationships both at school and at home.

“Attention is the bedrock to learning, memory, social connection, and happiness,” Jackson says.

And yet, at many schools and businesses, a culture is developing that rewards immediacy over focus, so that attending to what’s new at any given moment takes precedence over long-term goals. The result? A series of interruptions, such as eMail, that get in the way of the big-picture goals. – eSchool News

While I think we all worry about the effects of things like video games on our kids’ attention spans, we rarely consider the adverse effect of interruptions such as email. I’d love to hear from parents who may want to weigh in on whether these great technological advances have encouraged reactivity and urgency to the moment in the home over long term family and personal goals. As I write this, I am frustrated that I cannot deliver my learning modules to parents more quickly. However, I always keep up with my work-related email. Am I trading in a long term (and to me, very important) goal for immediate reaction to a myriad issues that are not as important?

Heather