The Goals of American Schools

An American child spends the majority of it's formative years in school. Around age 18 the new adult is expected to emerge from their educational cocoon full of knowledge that will make them successful and happy. What is this knowledge? While there are National Standards for Education (by the Common Core State Standards Commission) they are not mandatory and have only been adopted by 45 states and three territories. Even having adopted such standards to make it easier for students to transfer between states, the individual states largely decide what is to be taught in their schools by school board committee and popular vote.  In general, the goals of America's schools follow a few common themes: academic advancement, social and civic study, personal development, and vocational readiness .

http://www.nap.edu/

A school's primary goal is to give a student a sense of history and a sense of the future. American schools tend to focus on U.S. History, state history, and United States geography, while reinforcing the importance of mathematics and technology in the job markets of the future. English and communication skills are required for all students, for all twelve years, but foreign language tends to be only found in secondary education requirements, and then may be required for only one or two semesters. There are those who argue such a nationalistic view of education could actually hurt American children's chances of competing in the international job market.

Schools are seen by many as a tool to transform children into nationally-minded reconstructionists aimed at repairing the social inequities perceived in today's society. These persons feel that the best way to prepare these children to do real good  is to tie their education into societal contributions such as school-to-work credits and service credits like volunteer requirements. These methods may actually foster a more democratically-minded and socially aware adult who is better equipped to handle national politics than children given rigidly academic educations.

1. “Kansas Evolution Hearings Part 6” http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/kansas/kangaroo6.html Accessed 2012, September 14.
2. Sadker, David Miller. Teachers, Schools, and Society, 2010. Page 151.
3. Image credit: "National Science Education Standards", National Academy Press, Washington, DC. Accessed 2012 Nov 17. [http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4962]

Santa's Reindeer - Alaska Department Fish & Game

*From:

Santa's Reindeer

Santa’s Magical Reindeer (R.t. saintnicolas magicalus) look very similar to common reindeer or caribou, but have many characteristics that distinguish them from the seven common subspecies: barrenground (Rangifer tarandus granti), Svalbard (R.t platyrhynchus), European (R.t. tarandus), Finnish forest reindeer (R.t. fennicus), Greenland (R.t. groenlandicus), woodland (R.t. caribou), and Peary (R.t. pearyi).

Home Range and Population: Santa’s reindeer live at the North Pole. They are cared for by Mr. and Mrs. Claus and a few specially trained elves. Even though there are only nine R.t. saintnicolas magicalus, they are not listed as a threatened or endangered species. The life expectancy of Santa’s reindeer is infinite. There have been no deaths or fatalities, though some very close calls have been reported due to slippery rooftops and heavy jet traffic around the Los Angeles airport. The nine reindeer are named: Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, and Rudolph. All are extremely agile, quick, and friendly.

General Description and Differences Between Subspecies: Among the common subspecies of reindeer, the largest bulls shed their antlers in late October and the small bulls and non-pregnant cows shed their antlers in April. It is not known when or if Santa’s reindeer shed their antlers. We do know, from a few furtive sightings, that their antlers appear to be extremely velvety and robust in late December. Santa’s reindeer also have the unique and remarkable ability to fly. The Claus’ have helped to further develop and condition this ability enabling them to fly great distances in a very short time period, provided they receive frequent carrot snacks.

Rudolph: One of Santa’s reindeer, Rudolph, was born with a genetic abnormality. His nose is bright red. As a calf, the other reindeer excluded Rudolph and often made disparaging remarks about his nose. However, this genetic abnormality became his greatest asset. One fateful, snowy and foggy Christmas Eve, Santa summoned Rudolph for his bright red beacon of a nose. Rudolph guided Santa and his sleigh through the treacherous night by the light of his nose. Had it not been for Rudolph, Santa’s sleigh would have been grounded. Christmas stockings would have remained devoid and limp, and Christmas day would have been marked with cries of sad disappointment. From that fateful eve forward, Rudolph has been revered and honored by his fellows and through stories, legends and songs.

Little more is known of Santa’s reindeer. They remain well loved and rarely seen, though several reports of harness bells and hoof sounds on rooftops are reported each Christmas Eve.

"Text: Nancy K. Long Illustration and Photo: ADF&G Staff Web posted 12/10/04, updated 12/6/05."

This "article" has been reproduced in its entirety without permission from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. All images and content above this notice is the property of the ADF&G and Nancy K. Long.
For the original PDF on their site, please click the Link.

Personal note: The ADF&G website does have a wonderful listing of factual information for educators. Not that everything in this article isn't completely vetted by science. A lot of the information here definitely is.
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=educators.teacherresources

Long, Nancy K, and Alaska Department of Fish & Game, "Santa's Reindeer". Posted December 10, 2004. Accessed December 13, 2012. [http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/education/wns/santas_reindeer.pdf]

Standards Based Education

            A standards based education  is one where the student is expected to learn a certain, pre-determined knowledge base. Often, the student's progress is tracked by performance standards in the form of frequent standardized testing and is built around preparing the student for the multitude of other standardized tests that will be foisted on them by the teacher, to pass; by the district, for funding; by the school, to graduate; and by the university, to get in. Then the cycle begins over again. The standards set down for the student's education are often lofty and overly-optimistic. The standards may presume that a student arrives in a certain grade completely prepared by previous education to start material and simply absorb it. Teacher pay and bonuses often go on the line as bets against how their class performs on the standardized tests molded to represent the latest set of standards.

            The standards themselves, called “content standards” are usually determined by someone who has not seen the inside of a primary or secondary school for decades. These standards are not even universal! Certain districts with poor grades on standardized tests may lower the standards to meet the students in order feel they are preparing the students better. It is completely possible for a student to excel under the standards at one school, move, and then completely fail to meet the standards of the next school. The difficulty may not be the only thing to change as those who edit the standards decide exactly what content goes in them. Does the content revolve largely around a textbook? Does the school need a new textbook to fit the new standards? Can the school afford new textbooks?

            The changing content for standards based education and individual school districts' ability to keep up with these standards creates a risk of disconnect between what government says the students should be learning and what they actually learn. This disconnect results in changing standards which results in more disconnect and a caterpillar effect in which the governments are constantly trying to do what is best for the student while the student ends up further and further behind the “standard”.

1. Sadker, David Miller. Teachers, Schools, and Society, 2010. Page 151.
2. Image: "Regents? Hey, they’re a breeze". Published August 18, 2010 at 7:12 am by Michael Huber, timesunion.com  Accessed 2012 Nov 27. [http://blog.timesunion.com/schools/regents-hey-they/970/]

Grades & Mission Green.

So, I was very busy these past couple weeks with studying, and taking, final exams. Here's what I know (officially documented in bold):

• Intro to Education: 1000/1000 A. (Yes, I didn't miss one point all semester!)
• Intro to Technology for Educators: 505/500. A. (Full credit plus extra!)
• Organic Chemistry I: A-. 
• Genetics: B*. (The B was sent to me by Professor, but not "officially" reported on my transcript yet.

All in all I had little to no life but it was really worth it!
(Quite a few photos after the jump)

Why Teachers Seek Tenure

When a new teacher is hired by a school they engage in a year-long contract with the school. Once a teacher has worked for the school for a variable, but long, period of time the school may offer the teacher “tenure”. Tenure is a continuing employment contract that does not need to be resigned each year. It is assumed that a tenured teacher will return to the school each year though some tenure contracts do require the teacher to “check in” and verify they will be teaching there each year.

A tenured teacher is no long subject to the probationary period held to newly hired teachers (Sadker 455). A school district or principal wishing to fire a tenured teacher must show reasonable cause to remove the teacher from their contract, which is significantly more work than firing a new hire and the tenured teacher has grounds to fight back. A tenured teacher is usually not removed (at least without great difficulty) in favor of hiring new teachers that would earn less and therefore offers some job security in hard economic times as well.

This job security extends to the teacher a sense of intellectual security as well. New hires are less likely to tackle controversial topics with their students or offer opinions not in line with the textbook or school district. A tenured teacher is likely to hide their personal life, such as their sexual orientation or being a worshiper of a religion (or no religion) not in line with the community majority (Sadker 456). As new teachers still fall within probationary periods an unethical administrator could have the opportunity to fire a teacher if they found out the teacher was an atheist, homosexual, divorced, a single parent, or just about anything else under the guise of probationary discretion.

Tenure protects a teacher once they have earned it or convinced their employer to extend it to them. This is great news for good teachers who spark children's minds to think outside their communities box but can be a headache for schools when the tenured teacher really does need to be removed. The district must show gross incompetence on the part of the teacher, insubordination, or have budget cuts. A school can end up stuck with a teacher with a great record who begins significantly slacking once they receive tenure.

Sadker, David Miller. Teachers, Schools, and Society, 2010 McGraw-Hill. New York.

Image: "Suit seeks to overturn 'outdated' teacher job protections - latimes.com" Posted TUESDAY, MAY 15, 2012. Accessed 2012 Nov 27. [http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2012/05/suit-seeks-to-overturn-outdated-teacher.html]

Image: "Tenure Review for Fictional Teachers" by Julie Shain on June 26, 2012. Accessed 2012 Nov 27.[http://www.collegehumor.com/article/6788004/tenure-review-for-fictional-teachers]

How Class Time Relates to Student Achievement

http://www.unique-wall-clock.com

For education in general time really is the currency of teachers. School days have only so many hours in them, and these school days tend to be broken up into several classes, a lunch period, time to travel between classes, and then time settling students into their seats and handing out materials. When taking into account the amount of time taken away from regular classes by assemblies, poor attendance, or class disruptions, the period of time per day actually spent in instruction and learning seems inadequate. John Goodland performed a study to determine the time spent in these different activities over several grade levels. He determined that about 74% of school time is spent in school instruction  However, when determining the efficiency of the that time he found a low amount of time spent on what he calls “academic staples” including reading and writing. Only 6% of time in elementary school is spend on reading, and only 2% in high schools. In contrast, the amount of time the student spent listening to lecture increased from 18% in elementary school to 25% in high school  Other research concludes that when more time is allocated for subject-matter learning, student achievement increases.

When asking the question “is class time related to student achievement” the answer is a resounding “yes”. Very few are the students that can skip class, read only the textbook, and ace the exams; this is true even of college students. More time spent in class means more time focusing on important concepts and certain hands on material that is better handled through discussion or experimentation. However, as previously seen, the method of instruction matter greatly when it comes to individual retention. It may be impossible to cover all the modes of learning in order to give every student the best possible chance to retain the information, there obviously is not time for that. If time cannot be begged, bartered, or stolen in order to get more instruction in the classroom, perhaps the answer is developing a more effective teaching method to interest a greater base of students in the subject and encourage home study.

1. Sadker, David Miller. Teachers, Schools, and Society, 2010.
2. Clock Image: "Teacher Clock". Unique Wall Clock .com. Accessed 2012 Nov 17. [http://www.unique-wall-clock.com/professional-clock-office.htm]

From Melting Pot to Cultural Pluralism

To completely describe Americans in terms of culture requires a carefully constructed and open-ended definition that integrates and qualifies the terms “melting pot” and “cultural pluralism”. While both terms describe the people who either immigrated or were born into cultural subsets within the large country, neither can adequately describe the country's culture on its own.

Melting Pot - Longwood.edu

The term “melting pot” is used to describe the idea that immigrated persons are automatically American simply by adopting the freedoms and rights of the Constitution of the United States. Each immigrant now pursues happiness while being legally protected from racism, sexism, agism, and religious persecution. All flavors of religion, race, and cultural identity are absorbed into the term American much as many colors of wax crayons are melted together to form one mass of multicolored wax. However, like describing the blended colors of melted crayons by the predominate hue, constraining American culture to the “melting pot” definition strips the immigrant groups of their individuality.

The term “cultural pluralism” describes those persons who, though mixed in the melting pot of America, retain their cultural or religious individuality. They are American but they are also African, or Jewish, or Hawaiian, or Sikh. While this may better describe Americans by embodying the dual nature of the young country composed of so many immigrant groups, it could be argued that it detracts from the “American identity” by forming clearly defined borders between the cultural, religious, or racial groups.

In order to completely define America and the people who choose to live there one must use at least both of these terms. People of diverse backgrounds live together under the shared promise of personal freedom protecting their pursuit of happiness, and can define themselves by both their ancestors and their culturally dissimilar neighbors. American culture is best defined as a melting pot for cultural pluralism.  

1. Nurmi, Amanda. "English Only: A Contradiction." Published 2012 April 19, Language & Identity: Spain & Greece 2011. Accessed 2012 Nov 17. [http://blogs.longwood.edu/spain2011/2012/04/19/english-only-a-contradiction/]
2. Sadker, David Miller. Teachers, Schools, and Society, 2010. Page 151.