Within Brian Crosby’s blog, “As many as 1,000 parents, teachers unleash frustration at Palm Beach County School Board meeting,” Crosby brought up the argument about new academic programs, and whether or not these programs are too intricate or too simple. In Crosby’s blog he linked a news article titled, “School board members respond to crowd protesting new academic programs with pledges for change.” Within this link, news reporters wrote about the Palm Beach County School Board meeting, which was an argument about whether new academic programs are needed in schools.
While reading the news website that Crosby had linked, the question, “Does our school need a new academic program,” came to my mind. In my opinion, I think new academic programs help us sometimes, but not all the time. In many cases, schools need a new academic program because the program they have right now isn’t working out so well. By creating a new academic program, the schools that are doing horrible can become successful. However, sometimes schools are already successful. So if we were to apply a new academic program to a school that is already successful, the school would not benefit from the new program because they are already doing really well. So, does Arapahoe High School need a new academic program? In my opinion, I believe Arapahoe High School doesn’t need a new academic program because Arapahoe is already doing a really great job at preparing students for college and the future. If we apply a new academic program, I believe that we would be creating a very complex high school. If most students are already doing well at Arapahoe High School, then that means that Arapahoe does not need to consider making any changes to program that’s being used today.
If we were to apply a new academic program to Arapahoe High School, many classes would become more challenging to students. This is because the new program that was issued would set higher standards for students’ learning. Classes like English, Math, and Science would all become very difficult classes to pass. If classes like these were made more difficult, many more students would fail these classes. Then as more and more students fail classes, more students begin to drop out of high school, which isn’t good. All these horrible ideas of failing and dropping out of high school were created just by applying a new academic program. If we are going to apply a new academic program, we must make sure that it benefits the students and the teachers in some way. If we don’t take the students and teachers into consideration when creating a new academic plan, then the plan will fail. New academic plans are great strategies when you are trying to create a successful school, but we have to recognize the pros and cons of the plan before applying it. Otherwise, the plan will only destroy the school, not help it succeed.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Today’s Schooling, is it Good Enough?
Throughout Tony Wagner’s article, “Rigor Redefined,” Wagner grasps our learning and describes the “seven survival skills,” that he believes are the keys to becoming successful in the real world. Within his article, Wagner worries about today’s schooling techniques and wonders if the techniques being taught to the students are good enough to help us become successful in the real world.
When I was reading Wagner’s article, “Rigor Redefined,” the question, “Are we going to be well prepared for the future,” came to my mind. I believe that right now, schools and teachers are teaching us everything we need to know about the world and how become successful in the future. They’re teaching us how to read, write, and communicate, but I think that the schools need to teach us a couple other things as well. To become successful, we do need to know how to read, write, and communicate, but we also need to learn to think for ourselves and know how to analyze information that is given to us. Schools need to teach us critical thinking, problem solving and oral communication techniques that will benefit us in the future. I personally think that all schools should teach the fundamentals of Math, English, Science, and History, but also put some time and devotion into what Wagner calls the, “Seven survival skills.” For example, our English class is teaching us how to think for ourselves and how to comprehend information that’s being taught to us. Within our English class we do lots of activities that help us learn to use the “Seven survival skills.” The skills that are taught to us in English class also help us in all of our other classes as well. This is why I think all schools around the world need to teach the skills that our English teachers are teaching us at Arapahoe High School.
Everyday around the world, children go to school to learn how to become successful in the future. However, the schools aren’t doing their jobs if all they’re doing is teaching the children how to read and write. Schools need to teach the “Seven survival skills,” if they want their children to become great students in high school and eventually collage. I know that I’m going to need to graduate from collage in order to become the person I want to be in the future, and the only way to ensure that I’m ready for collage is to be taught the “Seven survival skills,” and how to use them to my advantage. In order for us to do very well in school, we all need to be taught more than just how to read and write. We need to be taught the “Seven survival skills,” which are the keys to becoming successful in the real world.
When I was reading Wagner’s article, “Rigor Redefined,” the question, “Are we going to be well prepared for the future,” came to my mind. I believe that right now, schools and teachers are teaching us everything we need to know about the world and how become successful in the future. They’re teaching us how to read, write, and communicate, but I think that the schools need to teach us a couple other things as well. To become successful, we do need to know how to read, write, and communicate, but we also need to learn to think for ourselves and know how to analyze information that is given to us. Schools need to teach us critical thinking, problem solving and oral communication techniques that will benefit us in the future. I personally think that all schools should teach the fundamentals of Math, English, Science, and History, but also put some time and devotion into what Wagner calls the, “Seven survival skills.” For example, our English class is teaching us how to think for ourselves and how to comprehend information that’s being taught to us. Within our English class we do lots of activities that help us learn to use the “Seven survival skills.” The skills that are taught to us in English class also help us in all of our other classes as well. This is why I think all schools around the world need to teach the skills that our English teachers are teaching us at Arapahoe High School.
Everyday around the world, children go to school to learn how to become successful in the future. However, the schools aren’t doing their jobs if all they’re doing is teaching the children how to read and write. Schools need to teach the “Seven survival skills,” if they want their children to become great students in high school and eventually collage. I know that I’m going to need to graduate from collage in order to become the person I want to be in the future, and the only way to ensure that I’m ready for collage is to be taught the “Seven survival skills,” and how to use them to my advantage. In order for us to do very well in school, we all need to be taught more than just how to read and write. We need to be taught the “Seven survival skills,” which are the keys to becoming successful in the real world.
Monday, October 5, 2009
Absences in School
In this blog post titled, “So How Could I Still Teach My Students If School Was Cancelled?” by Brian Crosby, Crosby described the importance of attending school. He explained that many students miss school because of illnesses and that it would be nice to be able to teach his students while they’re sick.
Crosby said that if we don’t attend school we miss out on a lot of learning. I believe he is correct because if we miss school for two or three days, that’s days of learning time that could have helped you with problems you had. Also, the days you miss could have been days that the teacher taught a new concept and you missed out on learning it because you were absent. Now you are going to have to learn that new concept on your own time because you weren’t at school. School time shouldn’t be wasted, especially if you are behind in a certain subject because you will only end up falling farther behind in that subject due to your absence on that day. I know sometimes we get sick and we can’t make it to school. Although we are unable to attend school sometimes, we should come in as soon as possible and make up work or get caught up if we missed something important like a new concept. In class we are doing new stuff everyday and a lot of people miss our class. Those kids should come in and get caught up before it’s too late because if they don’t get caught up they develop a habit, and that habit gets worse and eventually worsens their grade. Another reason why you should get caught up as soon as possible is because if you don’t get caught up then you might have missed something important that could be on a quiz or test that is coming up, so make sure to get caught up with everything in all your classes so you don’t end up failing quizzes and tests.
While writing my thoughts out, the question, “How badly would being absent in school affect our grades?” came to my mind. I believe that being absent affects our grades enormously. At first being absent may not sound like it would drop our grades a whole lot, but as we are continuously missing class our grade drops because we are missing out on a lot of information that needs to be learned in class. That information can’t be missed because it is information that could help you throughout your life and that information can’t always be re taught. Kids all around the world have the habit of being late or absent and it really affects their grade level for the class or classes they missed. Everyone should be attending school everyday or at least for a majority of the school year. As you can see, being absent may not seem like a huge deal, but it can become a big deal if you don’t come in and make up work and get caught up. So, my advice to you is to come to school everyday and make up work or get caught up if you are absent, that way you end up having high grades instead of low grades.
Crosby said that if we don’t attend school we miss out on a lot of learning. I believe he is correct because if we miss school for two or three days, that’s days of learning time that could have helped you with problems you had. Also, the days you miss could have been days that the teacher taught a new concept and you missed out on learning it because you were absent. Now you are going to have to learn that new concept on your own time because you weren’t at school. School time shouldn’t be wasted, especially if you are behind in a certain subject because you will only end up falling farther behind in that subject due to your absence on that day. I know sometimes we get sick and we can’t make it to school. Although we are unable to attend school sometimes, we should come in as soon as possible and make up work or get caught up if we missed something important like a new concept. In class we are doing new stuff everyday and a lot of people miss our class. Those kids should come in and get caught up before it’s too late because if they don’t get caught up they develop a habit, and that habit gets worse and eventually worsens their grade. Another reason why you should get caught up as soon as possible is because if you don’t get caught up then you might have missed something important that could be on a quiz or test that is coming up, so make sure to get caught up with everything in all your classes so you don’t end up failing quizzes and tests.
While writing my thoughts out, the question, “How badly would being absent in school affect our grades?” came to my mind. I believe that being absent affects our grades enormously. At first being absent may not sound like it would drop our grades a whole lot, but as we are continuously missing class our grade drops because we are missing out on a lot of information that needs to be learned in class. That information can’t be missed because it is information that could help you throughout your life and that information can’t always be re taught. Kids all around the world have the habit of being late or absent and it really affects their grade level for the class or classes they missed. Everyone should be attending school everyday or at least for a majority of the school year. As you can see, being absent may not seem like a huge deal, but it can become a big deal if you don’t come in and make up work and get caught up. So, my advice to you is to come to school everyday and make up work or get caught up if you are absent, that way you end up having high grades instead of low grades.
Monday, September 28, 2009
No More Blogging?
In this blog titled, “What If We Couldn’t Blog Anymore!?” by Brian Crosby, Crosby explained that blogging in school is an essential part in learning how to write better and become great thinkers. He says that if we couldn’t blog anymore we would become less educated in writing and thinking for ourselves.
While reading Crosby’s blog a question came to my mind, “How would this affect us?” It would affect us by crippling our advantage to better our writing and thinking skills. I’m not saying that we wouldn’t become great writers without it; I’m saying that without blogging we would lose an advantage that would really help us better our writing and thinking techniques. For example, in class we are doing PLN responses. If that technique was taken away then we wouldn’t have the advantage to connect with people all around the world and we wouldn’t have the ability to get involved with discussions and better our writing and thinking sills. All around the world people are blogging and interacting with other people around the globe. If blogging was exiled from the internet then we all would have one less advantage to help us become outstanding writers and thinkers.
While writing this response another question came up, “How would this change people’s lives?” I believe this would change many lives by exiling a big part of people’s lives. Like I said, many people love blogging and for many other people blogging is apart of their daily life style. If we were to take blogging away a lot of people are going to be upset and angry. For some people if blogging were banned, it would hurt their life style especially if blogging was a big role in those people’s lives. That is why blogging shouldn’t be banned. If we ban blogging all we are doing is taking away a huge advantage that we could use to help better our diction and better our writing and thinking techniques. That is what I believe would happen if blogging were exiled.
While reading Crosby’s blog a question came to my mind, “How would this affect us?” It would affect us by crippling our advantage to better our writing and thinking skills. I’m not saying that we wouldn’t become great writers without it; I’m saying that without blogging we would lose an advantage that would really help us better our writing and thinking techniques. For example, in class we are doing PLN responses. If that technique was taken away then we wouldn’t have the advantage to connect with people all around the world and we wouldn’t have the ability to get involved with discussions and better our writing and thinking sills. All around the world people are blogging and interacting with other people around the globe. If blogging was exiled from the internet then we all would have one less advantage to help us become outstanding writers and thinkers.
While writing this response another question came up, “How would this change people’s lives?” I believe this would change many lives by exiling a big part of people’s lives. Like I said, many people love blogging and for many other people blogging is apart of their daily life style. If we were to take blogging away a lot of people are going to be upset and angry. For some people if blogging were banned, it would hurt their life style especially if blogging was a big role in those people’s lives. That is why blogging shouldn’t be banned. If we ban blogging all we are doing is taking away a huge advantage that we could use to help better our diction and better our writing and thinking techniques. That is what I believe would happen if blogging were exiled.
Monday, September 21, 2009
New Technology
In the blog post titled, “Good Teaching can be Enhanced with New Technology,” by Brian Crosby, Brian posts a quote that tells us that new technology in schools helps us obtain more knowledge and it makes teachers better at teaching. It explains that all schools should have updated technology or more enhanced technology to help us as students and teachers to learn and teach more thoroughly.
This blog post made me ask the question, “How does new technology enhance our knowledge?” I believe new technology enhances our learning because it has better techniques that are more up to date techniques that we as students can actually learn and use everyday. The new technology can help us in a lot more ways that the old technology couldn’t. Everyday we use strategies that help us do our homework and do a greater job in school. The new technology can help us enhance those strategies so that we can do an even better job at school. In class this year we are doing PLN responses. This is an example of how technology can enhance our learning. Our PLN responses help us become better writers and great thinkers through the use of new technology. This technology is available all over the world and I believe that everyone should use this technology to their advantage. Whether it’s using it to better writing skills or to obtain valuable information, the new technology shouldn’t be wasted. Everyone should obtain and use this helpful new technology. This also brought up the question, “Does the new technology give us new opportunities?” Yes, this new technology prepares us for the future and opens our lives to new opportunities. These opportunities could be jobs that we might want to do the rest of our lives. The new technology could help us obtain the job we always wanted and it could better our opportunities to obtain higher paying jobs. All this technology could better enhance our lives and our futures and that is why we all should not let this new technology go to waste!
This blog post made me ask the question, “How does new technology enhance our knowledge?” I believe new technology enhances our learning because it has better techniques that are more up to date techniques that we as students can actually learn and use everyday. The new technology can help us in a lot more ways that the old technology couldn’t. Everyday we use strategies that help us do our homework and do a greater job in school. The new technology can help us enhance those strategies so that we can do an even better job at school. In class this year we are doing PLN responses. This is an example of how technology can enhance our learning. Our PLN responses help us become better writers and great thinkers through the use of new technology. This technology is available all over the world and I believe that everyone should use this technology to their advantage. Whether it’s using it to better writing skills or to obtain valuable information, the new technology shouldn’t be wasted. Everyone should obtain and use this helpful new technology. This also brought up the question, “Does the new technology give us new opportunities?” Yes, this new technology prepares us for the future and opens our lives to new opportunities. These opportunities could be jobs that we might want to do the rest of our lives. The new technology could help us obtain the job we always wanted and it could better our opportunities to obtain higher paying jobs. All this technology could better enhance our lives and our futures and that is why we all should not let this new technology go to waste!
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Campus Safe or Unsafe?
According to the article, “A Promising Life, Ended in a Lab Basement” by James Barron in New York Times, a Yale student was murdered and stuffed in a wall in the science part of the Yale building. This murder has scared everyone on Yale campus and everyone around the United States.
Twenty four year old Annie Le was valedictorian of her high school class. She was studying in the Science department and was apparently murdered and stuffed in a wall near the science classrooms.
Murder always scares me and I'm sure that it scares everyone else too. Even if the murder took place at Yale, I still believe we as students should be careful about who we meet and see. How did she die? Well nobody knows yet but they think that the death was no accident. So apparently it was a murder. The murderer hasn't been found yet but the police are working on it. This made me think the question “Is our campus safe?” Hopefully it is, and I do believe it is. However, I would still be careful around campus even if the campus seems safe.
Everywhere around the world, murders take place. This one murder at Yale just shows how violent humans are, how a life can change in an instant, and how anywhere and everywhere you go isn’t always safe, especially in big cities such as Denver. How can we prevent ourselves from becoming a victim? One way is to always be carful about who you hang out with, who you meet, and who you see. Any stranger you see could be a murderer or a kidnapper, so always watch your back. If you feel like you are being watched, then go hang out with your friends or call your parents. Those few ways of being careful about whom you see and meet could save your life. This article has changed the way I think of the world around us. Now I know that the world is a very dangerous place and that I should always be carful.
Twenty four year old Annie Le was valedictorian of her high school class. She was studying in the Science department and was apparently murdered and stuffed in a wall near the science classrooms.
Murder always scares me and I'm sure that it scares everyone else too. Even if the murder took place at Yale, I still believe we as students should be careful about who we meet and see. How did she die? Well nobody knows yet but they think that the death was no accident. So apparently it was a murder. The murderer hasn't been found yet but the police are working on it. This made me think the question “Is our campus safe?” Hopefully it is, and I do believe it is. However, I would still be careful around campus even if the campus seems safe.
Everywhere around the world, murders take place. This one murder at Yale just shows how violent humans are, how a life can change in an instant, and how anywhere and everywhere you go isn’t always safe, especially in big cities such as Denver. How can we prevent ourselves from becoming a victim? One way is to always be carful about who you hang out with, who you meet, and who you see. Any stranger you see could be a murderer or a kidnapper, so always watch your back. If you feel like you are being watched, then go hang out with your friends or call your parents. Those few ways of being careful about whom you see and meet could save your life. This article has changed the way I think of the world around us. Now I know that the world is a very dangerous place and that I should always be carful.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Extra Time in School?
In this blog post, “Extra Time in School, if done right, I’m for it,” by Brian Crosby, Brian explains the pros and cons of having extra time in and at school. He explains how extra time can be very helpful and how it can be a waste of time.
Brian explains that if the extra time in school is spent on helping kids who are struggling in certain subjects, he would support the idea. I agree with Brian because not all students are perfect and are advanced in learning. Some students need time to practice the skills that the teacher is trying to teach them. That is what I believe the extra time in schools should be spent on. Should it be spent on just learning or extracurricular activities too? Yeah, why not! Kids who participate in sports and clubs tend to get better grades and overall due better in school. Having kids spend extra time in school would be a very good thing for kids who are having trouble in a certain subject or just need time to study and do homework. However, if the extra time were spent to intensify what is already being taught, then it would be a waste of time because those students who can’t keep up with the skills that they are supposed to be learning, will just get farther behind.
Schools all over the world should have extra time in and at school because there is a plethora amount of students in the world who are excellent in school and do all of their work, but then fail their unit tests. This problem is probably due to the lack of studying and time management. With all the sports and activities that students participate in around the world, some kids might not have enough time to go to practice, do homework, and study. That is why being able to have extra time in and at school is such a great thing to have. Having extra time to study or go ask for help on a subject just might be the solution to this “failing unit tests” problem. So, should we have extra time in and at school? If the extra time is used responsibly and correctly and not just to intensify subjects, then yes, we should have extra time.
Brian explains that if the extra time in school is spent on helping kids who are struggling in certain subjects, he would support the idea. I agree with Brian because not all students are perfect and are advanced in learning. Some students need time to practice the skills that the teacher is trying to teach them. That is what I believe the extra time in schools should be spent on. Should it be spent on just learning or extracurricular activities too? Yeah, why not! Kids who participate in sports and clubs tend to get better grades and overall due better in school. Having kids spend extra time in school would be a very good thing for kids who are having trouble in a certain subject or just need time to study and do homework. However, if the extra time were spent to intensify what is already being taught, then it would be a waste of time because those students who can’t keep up with the skills that they are supposed to be learning, will just get farther behind.
Schools all over the world should have extra time in and at school because there is a plethora amount of students in the world who are excellent in school and do all of their work, but then fail their unit tests. This problem is probably due to the lack of studying and time management. With all the sports and activities that students participate in around the world, some kids might not have enough time to go to practice, do homework, and study. That is why being able to have extra time in and at school is such a great thing to have. Having extra time to study or go ask for help on a subject just might be the solution to this “failing unit tests” problem. So, should we have extra time in and at school? If the extra time is used responsibly and correctly and not just to intensify subjects, then yes, we should have extra time.
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