Peabloggy

As our society becomes increasingly globalized and dependent on technology, educators must stress a new kind of literacy that goes beyond the written text. Students need to effectively navigate the web, evaluate information for validity, and use a variety of technological tools to create texts, not to mention the as-yet-unknown implications of social networking sites like Facebook and Myspace. What is the most effective way to introduce these emerging literacies into the classroom?

Ben Wilkoff’s post, The Ripe Environment Discourse, raises some thought-provoking points on collaboration, and pushes for a more meaningful use of technology in the classroom. This post has also been nominated for Edublog’s 2007 most influential post.

–Katie Harris

When I first saw the headline in The Washington Post that read, “Anne Arundel Looking Overseas for Teachers,” I thought, “How exciting! An exchange program for teachers. I would have found it so exotic to have a teacher from a different country when I was in school.” Oh how naive I can be.

The district is looking to hire teachers from the Philippines because Maryland colleges don’t “produce” enough teachers to fill open positions, and many professionals are not willing to work for what the districts pay. But this problem is not isolated to Anne Arundel county schools alone - low pay is a concern of many new teachers across the country, and a frequently cited reason for young professionals to choose a different career track. As someone who benefited from great teachers in Northern Virginia public schools, this is disheartening.

But according to The New York Times, higher numbers of conventionally “smart” people are becoming teachers in spite of the compelling financial reasons to do something else. The Times cites a December 2007 report by the Educational Testing Service (the company that administers state tests for teacher licensure) indicating that new teachers from 2002 - 2005 scored higher on the SAT’s and earned better grades in college than teachers entering the profession in the mid-1990’s.

One question the Times article fails to answer is, why? What has attracted these individuals to the profession of teaching? I don’t have any official answers (other than my own), but in considering the possibilities, I find a great deal of hope.

- Rachel Bowers

Last week, a high school student told me about a tough experience he had this fall: he didn’t make the team.

This high school sophomore spent a week in basketball tryouts, competing against ninety other students for a 12 member team. Of course, not making the team can be an opportunity for character growth, but this student’s tale made me remember participating in my own school tryouts for basketball (middle school, that is, before everyone towered over me). Only twenty girls showed up.

Percentage-wise, most of us were able to participate in a high school sport of some kind. However, the large comprehensive high school today excludes the majority of its population from after-school sports, causing me to question the purpose of sports in education. Do athletic programs exist to create community and school spirit, or send a lucky few to college with scholarships, or provide students with activities after school? Sometimes these purposes can be at odds with one another.

I’m not suggesting that coaches no longer cut students from teams. Instead, I wonder if schools could provide another outlet for the athletically inclined in the form of an intramural program. A quick search on the Internet reveals that schools in other regions of the country already have these kinds of programs in place. Club teams or church leagues aren’t an option for students without transportation or extra cash, and intramural sports after school could help develop a greater sense of community in an overwhelmingly large school.

–Katie Harris

(I recently posted a blog about the conditions in Darfur, Sudan.  If you haven’t read it, please refer to it in relation to this post.)

 Lifting for Lives is an event that I attended this week.  It was dreamed up by a guy that has a heart for the Sudan and does not want to sit around doing nothing about it.  He trained for months on bench press and took pledges by the pound for a lift-a-thon where the funds raised would go to the Sudan.  Peoples’ pledges ranged from 10 cents a pound to $4.00 a pound!

He did the lift and was able to bench press 405 pounds!

I think it is great that one individual assessed what he had (in this case: muscles) and used it to contribute to the Sudan.  This individual inspired me.  I do not need a lot of money to make a difference in the world.  I just need to use the resources that I do have to be creative and dream big. 

There are kids in the Sudan that are dying because of starvation, unclean water, and no protection from the violence that surrounds them.  Luckily, I know of a way to help them.  If you are interested in learning more please check out thesudanproject.org

-Anna Oparah

I heard an interesting presentation in a class the other day on KIPP schools.

KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) schools are charter schools that focus on serving extremely low SES communities with an emphasis on completing schooling all the way through college.

For all the aspiring teachers out there, KIPP schools generally pay relatively high salaries, but have much longer school days, meet for a few hours on Saturdays, and go almost year round. But if you are interested in serving in a high need area, in an environment that will allow you to be very free with your instruction and method, I would recommend giving them a look –>here<–

–Luke Webb

We can all remember the feeling— sweaty palms, fidgety feet, hands clutching the podium with the desperation of a drowning man: the dreaded high school oral presentation. I have been spending time this semester with 11th graders at a local high school, and had the opportunity to watch these students present on political individuals who made a significant impact in the world, a spin-off on Profiles in Courage.

The students made many interesting choices, ranging from Maynard Jackson, the first black mayor of Atlanta, to Anna Politkovskaya, a world-renowned Russian journalist. Other students chose the predictable and school-worn names— Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, etc. I enjoyed watching these presentations and getting a sense of each student’s personality, but something was troubling me. Many students were laughing and speaking in sarcastic voices, which probably had something to do with nerves and self-consciousness, but they were giggling over the bravery of Harriet Tubman, the existence of American slavery in the past, the courage of social activist Rosa Parks (who was not just tired from a long day of shopping, as some textbooks claim). Why was battling social oppression and injustice funny? I wanted to say something, but as a mere observer in the classroom, it wasn’t really my place.

This situation still baffles me, but one thing I have gathered is that students have trouble making emotional connections to historical events, thus rendering the accomplishments of Tubman and others a bit meaningless in the minds of students. A classmate of mine suggested that perhaps the atrocities of slavery are so far removed from American society today, students have trouble comprehending. Stories of the past seem almost silly to them. I still don’t know whether this fully explains what I witnessed in the classroom, but it is something for teachers to consider. Does anyone else have any speculations on what was going on in that 11th grade classroom?

—Katie Harris

I am constantly amazed when I talk to random people around the Peabody Campus at the variety of opportunities for professional application of what we learn here. It’s most likely because I already have my sights set on the particular population and subject I would like to teach. So it’s good sometimes to see that even with a degree that seems so specialized there are still a multitude of ways it can be used to benefit whatever community you live in.

You can get an idea of what I mean here.

–Luke Webb