tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post6254998188762103013..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: What is the Purpose of Education, K-12 and Higher?Melissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-58589905510500795622014-02-10T21:37:19.841-08:002014-02-10T21:37:19.841-08:00Oh Anthony, I hope you didn't think I linked y...Oh Anthony, I hope you didn't think I linked your letter and this article believing that you only wanted to make money. It is quite clear that you wanted a career, not just a job. <br /><br />Thanks for writing.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-69571927827182521712014-02-10T20:00:42.257-08:002014-02-10T20:00:42.257-08:00Hi, I'm the UW grad who wrote the letter to th...Hi, I'm the UW grad who wrote the letter to the CSE department. Thank you for reading and linking to my post, I hope it can start a productive dialogue about funding for education and how to properly address socioeconomic inequality.<br /><br />Maybe of interest, I am also an alumni of Eckstein and Roosevelt.<br /><br />In the discussion that you're proposing regarding my letter to UW CSE, I want to make sure my message is not misinterpreted.<br /><br />1. Technology and computer science is my childhood passion. I just loved, loved math and science. My cliched goal was to become an astronaut. =) I did not focus on STEM merely because it's currently a financially lucrative career. I would have wanted to study computer science regardless of career outcomes. This is no less valid than someone wanting to pursue Art or Music.<br /><br />2. My letter should be read in the strict context of a student already opting in to study computer science at UW, but the opportunity to do so is not available to all who wish to apply.<br /><br />3. I actually have to agree with the statement "Higher education should be promoted to all students as an opportunity to experience an intellectual awakening, not just increase their earning power". I want to emphasize that for me, intellectual awakening and earning power just happens to intersect, which is a nice to have. That said, I took advantage of all opportunities to take in Humanities electives throughout my UW college career, including economics, sociology, linguistics and art, which are all outside of STEM. It is absolutely important to acknowledge and value STEM as equally "intellectually awakening".<br /><br />4. Not worrying and reaching for financial security is very much a *privilege*! This privilege is something I still have to compete with even as a professional and entrepreneur. I have to compete with entrepreneurial peers with family wealth, trust funds or previously accumulated wealth to fall back on in the case of their companies failing. I don't begrudge anyone for deploying resources available to them to pursue their passions, but I do not enjoy that sense of security.<br /><br />5. Learning to code does not guarantee a lucrative career. Software Engineering is a craft to be learned over time as an academic career, one does not simply "learn to code" and land a 6-figure job. I do think the financial opportunity is mis-represented by some boosters of the craft.<br /><br />6. However, groups who are under-represented in STEM fields should rightly be encouraged to view STEM as a viable career option and should receive encouragement if it aligns with an individual's interests.<br /><br />I'll leave with a relevant quote by John Adams:<br /><br /><i>“I must study Politicks and War that my sons may have liberty to study Mathematicks and Philosophy. My sons ought to study Mathematicks and Philosophy, Geography, natural History, Naval Architecture, navigation, Commerce and Agriculture, in order to give their Children a right to study Painting, Poetry, Musick, Architecture, Statuary, Tapestry and Porcelaine. (12 May 1780)”</i><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15976368099583621098noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-76130073887175045522014-02-10T17:50:17.733-08:002014-02-10T17:50:17.733-08:00From the introduction to the ELA CCSS [bold added]...From the introduction to the ELA CCSS [bold added]:<br /><br />NAEP Reading Framework<br />Grade|Literary(%)|Information(%) <br />4 50% 50% <br />8 45% 55% <br />12 30% 70% <br /><br /><i>Because the ELA classroom must focus on literature (stories, drama, and poetry) as well as literary nonfiction, <b>a great deal of informational reading in grades 6–12 must take place in other classes</b> if the NAEP assessment framework is to be matched instructionally.</i><br /><br />footnote to table:<br /><i>1 <b>The percentages on the table reflect the sum of student reading, not just reading in ELA settings</b>. Teachers of senior English classes, for example, are not required to devote 70 percent of reading to informational texts. Rather, 70 percent of student reading across the grade should be informational.</i><br /><br /><a href="http://www.corestandards.org/ELA-Literacy/introduction/key-design-consideration" rel="nofollow">Intro to CCSS English Language Arts</a><br /><br />fyiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-14647253066903653222014-02-10T16:40:36.493-08:002014-02-10T16:40:36.493-08:00FYI, I'd have to look into that but I'm pr...FYI, I'd have to look into that but I'm pretty sure I read it as a straight-up 50% fiction, 50% non-fiction. But it's a good question and that no one knows for certain means that the messaging may not be as wide-spread/in-depth as it should.Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-27660822549451487932014-02-10T15:33:10.069-08:002014-02-10T15:33:10.069-08:00Or, are they suggesting students just read more as...Or, are they suggesting students just read more as they move from elementary to middle to high school, so that the amount of fiction does not change so much as the total quantity of reading?<br /><br />An analogy: <br /><br />Suppose every day I eat an apple and a banana. 50% of my fruit consumption is apples. I then start eating an apple, a banana, and 2 oranges every day. Now 25% of my fruit consumption is apples. Am I eating fewer apples? No. I just increased my consumption of other fruits. <br /><br /><a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2013/02/fiction_and_nonfiction_common.html" rel="nofollow">Tackling the Fiction/Nonfiction Balance in Common Core (Again)</a><br /><br />fyiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-70243633619995801662014-02-10T15:03:34.209-08:002014-02-10T15:03:34.209-08:00FYI, well, if you are reading less fiction, you ar...FYI, well, if you are reading less fiction, you are moving somewhat away from it. Melissa Westbrookhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12588239576000641336noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-12943067591916153812014-02-10T14:16:52.436-08:002014-02-10T14:16:52.436-08:00The CCSS for ELA (English Language Arts) include l...The CCSS for ELA (English Language Arts) include literacy standards for science and history/social studies, where most nonfiction is read. It does not mean less fiction should be read in LA, or that we move away from fiction. On the whole, across subjects, there is generally more nonfiction than fiction. <br /><br />http://www.corestandards.org/ela-literacy/rh/6-8<br /><br />fyiAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com