tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post689383701665441052..comments2024-03-28T02:21:17.452-07:00Comments on Seattle Schools Community Forum: Where Seattle Public Schools is FailingMelissa Westbrookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17179994245880629080noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-48270969486397113572009-07-19T20:21:06.359-07:002009-07-19T20:21:06.359-07:00In my experience Helen, the two go together... or ...In my experience Helen, the two go together... or at least, life is vastly richer if you allow the two to go together... and the depth of understanding is greater... a mix of inductive and reductive/deductive reasoning... in shamanic terms, allowing both the masculine and feminine 'wisdoms' to work together in unity... and all people have both the masculine and feminine wisdoms, regardless of your actual gender...Sahilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610179287237833742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-65960847979004795992009-07-19T18:16:22.124-07:002009-07-19T18:16:22.124-07:00"I think he made the leap based partly on the..."I think he made the leap based partly on the games we have been playing and applying the logic in those games and partly by using intuition/functioning at the same level of frequency as the state where that knowledge exists."<br /><br />If you have the first (the ability to apply logic), why would you need the second? Especially when it comes to math? Seems to me Occam's Razor (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam%27s_razor) applies here.<br /><br />Helen Schinskehschinskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10316478950862562594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-79089587826093551112009-07-19T08:43:25.711-07:002009-07-19T08:43:25.711-07:00I am working a lot with the ideas of Peter Senge a...I am working a lot with the ideas of Peter Senge and others, including Brian Swinne, Rupert Sheldrake and Robert Fritz. <br /><br />And a lot of my thinking about consciousness and learning has been informed by my understanding and use of INTUITION married with LOGIC... by ideas about the collective unconscious and the morphogenetic field, about cellular memory and the knowledge-carrying/transmission ability of DNA - which is where my thinking about education in culturally-appropriate ways comes from, by my experiences on my shamanic journey - about being in a certain state where KNOWLEDGE and UNDERSTANDING just presents itself effortlessly and is simultaneously KNOWN/UNDERSTOOD and FELT, which is about creating a space where things vibrate at the same frequency. If you can alter the frequency at which your brain waves cycle, you can 'pick up/receive' information from other things vibrating at that frequency - just like a radio transceiver. Which is what shamans and mediums and clairvoyants and 'shapeshifters' do, which is what the Russians and Americans have been experimenting with for a long time in the field of 'remote viewing'. Its a state children often access - indeed exist in almost full-time - effortlessly. This is not all whacko stuff - I have a Finnish acquaintance - mathematician Matti Pitkanen - Topological Geometrodynamics - working on an equation for consciousness... <br /><br />Connor (coming up for 6 on 30th July), yesterday, piped up from his carseat .... "Mum, 2 times 3 plus 1 equals 7, doesnt it?" <br /><br />We have not done any multiplication games... we have done addition and begun subtraction and play 'what if' all the time, and he's realised in the simple scenarios we play that the outcome doesnt change if all we're doing is changing the order of the elements...<br /><br />I know for a fact that he hasnt been exposed to multiplication in his kindergarten class - in fact, formal instruction in anything even vaguely 'academic' has been pointedly missing - which has been a source of concern for many parents at AS#1 (I am ambivalent on this issue)...<br /><br />So, where did this leap in knowing come from? He's a very smart being... I think he made the leap based partly on the games we have been playing and applying the logic in those games and partly by using intuition/functioning at the same level of frequency as the state where that knowledge exists.<br /> <br />And if he can do that, cant all kids, <b>given the appropriate encouragement and resources?</b><br /><br />I don't discount the material/ideas Geary and others are working with - I'm just saying there is more to it than that, which is what Senge and others are saying... which is what many people cant or dont want to recognise because some of it is not able to be verified empirically ...which is what real education will be about once we get out of the old paradigm...<br /><br />Namaste<br />SahilaSahilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610179287237833742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-41258137163772452762009-07-19T04:35:03.970-07:002009-07-19T04:35:03.970-07:00No Achievement Gap
Urban boards must have a third ...<i><b>No Achievement Gap<br />Urban boards must have a third core belief and commitment: The academic achievement gaps between White and Asian children as compared with African-American and Hispanic children can and will be eliminated.</b></i><br /><br />This assumes that every family has the same resources and motivation to follow the dominant ideas of the dominant group.<br /><br />Do these folks also plan for elimination of the math gap between US students and high scoring children in Singapore?<br /><br />There are differences between<br />#1 ... hoping<br />#2 ... planning<br />#3 ... executing <br /><br />Where do core belief and commitment fit with the above?<br /><br />It seems that we are big on reports from commissions on the achievement gaps but clueless on:<br />#2 ... planning<br />#3 ... executingdan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-31043511664586330842009-07-19T04:16:00.525-07:002009-07-19T04:16:00.525-07:00In many industries (Construction for example) Cent...In many industries (Construction for example) Central overhead runs at 2.5% and the smallest companies have slightly larger percentages. Consider OSPI reported per student expenditures with an eye on central administration expenditure as well as teaching:<br /><br />STATE school average 2006-2007 per student<br />Total Expenditures $8692<br />Central Administration 7% = <b>$599</b><br />Building Administration 6% = $520<br />Teaching 69% = $6008<br /><br />SEATTLE<br />Total Expenditures $10515<br />Central Administration 9% = <b>$968</b><br />Building Administration 6% = $656<br />Teaching 66% = $6916<br /><br />OLYMPIA<br />Total Expenditures $8333<br />Central Administration 6% = <b>$483</b> (half of Seattle by dollar amount)<br />Building Administration 6% = $519<br />Teaching 71% = $5876dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-66710480245304522342009-07-19T04:07:51.364-07:002009-07-19T04:07:51.364-07:00Our k-12 education system with Federal and State E...Our k-12 education system with Federal and State Education Bureaucracy included is an astonishingly expensive and equally astonishingly ineffective system. It serves children and families poorly and centralized bureaucrats well, while the Public Taxpayer foots the bill. This system does not serve student interests nearly as well as it serves particular adult’s interests.<br /><br />If Seattle Central Admin ran at 3% then<br />$10,515 x .03 = $316<br />Saving $968 - $316 =$652 per student<br />45,000 x $652 = $29.3 million less spending annually for central admin than under the current system.<br /><br />Of course this restructured system would not require a $264,000 plus benefits and percs superintendent. For the real decisions that increase student learning will be made at the school level, where the principal will have much greater control and responsibility over budget and instructional materials than currently.<br /><br />Accountability will be greatly improved as school trustees support their principal but also require accountability.dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-34878998135558085072009-07-19T04:00:37.712-07:002009-07-19T04:00:37.712-07:00...."There are so many things we hope childre...<b><i>...."There are so many things we hope children get from their education, but when we discuss "data driven decision making," or "accountability," or "standards," or "merit pay" for teachers we become complete reductionists,</i></b><br />The sad part is that most of the above seem more like efforts to manipulate the game than efforts to improve learning and the lives of students.<br /><br />Our hopes are hardly served by the current structure of governance in Seattle.<br /><br /><i><b>"Many of us stakeholders in Seattle’s public schools believe that there are many elements in our system that work just fine and are worth preserving. In fact, why doesn’t the district leave those schools and elements alone and focus on the schools and elements that need attention, and help them?"</b></i><br /><br />"All the talk about accountability in public education produces little if any improvement. It is time to end the trend toward centralized authority in education at both the state and national level. Sham accountability must end. No Child Left Behind sanctions were often counterproductive. A school with its own board of trustees and a principal having greater control over both budget and instructional decisions would be a significant improvement. Then the principal as leader could be easily supported and held responsible by both the trustees and school community. This structure would greatly reduce central administration inefficiency as well as fad- and vendor-based decisions. Such schools are necessary if we are to make the substantial improvements needed in public education. Learning improvement occurs locally. Believing otherwise is folly."dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-40447255935868619892009-07-18T19:12:42.884-07:002009-07-18T19:12:42.884-07:00"What is our national standard (whatever nati..."What is our national standard (whatever nation you are in) for getting a child to smile? For getting a child to publicly ask a question? For getting a child to confidently present an idea?..."<br /><br />Ira David Socol's questions make me wince, as I know that in its data driven quest towards standardization and uniformity, SPS won't, can't answer them. In what other aspect of life do we expect individuals to undergo a 13 year process, and be at the same stage as their age peers all along the way? Socal's article could fit in any of a number of threads but seems especially well suited here, were we're comparing the progressive common sense lingo of "reform" with the reality of policy, action and outcome in our schools. <br /><br />"There are so many things we hope children get from their education, but when we discuss "data driven decision making," or "accountability," or "standards," or "merit pay" for teachers we become complete reductionists, assessing (very badly) a tiny fragment of all that expected learning - and most often - not even anything which is really important. And in doing this we tell children they are worthless, and we assure that success in school is a matter of socio-economics and playing the "those-in-power" game, and nothing else."<br /><br /><a href="http://education.change.org/blog/view/evaluate_that_-_schools_for_children" rel="nofollow">http://education.change.org/blog/view/evaluate_that_-_schools_for_children</a>owlhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01630051682382673928noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-45678233679366792202009-07-18T11:42:34.062-07:002009-07-18T11:42:34.062-07:00And as an antidote to the Ruth Parks book on educa...And as an antidote to the Ruth Parks book on education and poverty... have a look at the New York Times reports on: How Race is Lived in America; Children of the Shadows; and Class Matters....<br /><br />Broad and SPS and the education system ignore these factors that contribute so greatly to the mis-education of ALL of our children...<br /><br />Excellence for All? Not until these basic, root inequities are addressed.... and if society generally is not ready to go there, arent our schools the first/frontline public institutions able to make a difference?Sahilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610179287237833742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-70370477763830107922009-07-18T11:08:19.366-07:002009-07-18T11:08:19.366-07:00http://www.solonline.org/FifthDiscipline/introduct...http://www.solonline.org/FifthDiscipline/introduction/<br /><br />I cant copy and paste any of the writing from this introduction to Peter Senge's Fifth Discipline, but this thinking is the difference between Broad and the SPS District's meddling in education and the core of what real education is about.... <br /><br />There is such an eloquent and plainly true description of what education is today and how we are raising our children...<br /><br />Please go and read it....<br /><br />and then come back and tell me that what's going on in SPS (and the education system generally) is OK....Sahilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610179287237833742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-34253853145863932442009-07-17T08:25:53.756-07:002009-07-17T08:25:53.756-07:00Speaking of the achievement gap, I came across a r...Speaking of the achievement gap, I came across a recent report on how black and white students are performing by state. The report comes from the Institute of Educational Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics. It uses NAEP data.<br /><br />It shows that in Washington State, the achievement gap grew worse in 2007 in all four categories analyzed: 4th and 8th grade math, and 4th and 8th grade reading. Huh.<br /><br />How did this happen? In all four categories, scores for white students went up, and scores for black students went down.<br /><br />You can find the report <a href="http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/studies/2009455.pdf" rel="nofollow">here</a>. Check out how we did compared to other states.<br /><br />Hat tip to <a href="http://www.quickanded.com/" rel="nofollow">The Quick and the Ed</a>.Mr. Edelmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16100732082087823318noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-89218004402448143132009-07-16T19:51:19.257-07:002009-07-16T19:51:19.257-07:00Whoops, decided I might want to google the actual ...Whoops, decided I might want to google the actual figures rather than posting based on what I remembered from living there.<br /><br />New Hampshire has among the highest property taxes in the country -- 5th by property value, 2d by income. So while their income taxes are limited, their property taxes are sky high.djhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01720927162286657378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-61115303737701135482009-07-16T19:48:03.603-07:002009-07-16T19:48:03.603-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.djhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01720927162286657378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-84634762436985592952009-07-16T18:44:44.288-07:002009-07-16T18:44:44.288-07:00techymom - what I meant to say is that the whole p...techymom - what I meant to say is that the whole premise of our society is built on irrational assumptions, and assuming that we need to teach our kids to read large tomes of text to make them ready for a successful life is also false...<br /><br />I didnt say dont teach them to read and that reading is not a very valuable mechanism for knowledge transfer... what I said - or meant to say - is that we teach our children that they have to move into certain occupations that require that ability or their lives will be miserable... and those occupations are contributing to the destruction of the world and any semblance of diversity/humaneness...<br /><br />how many doctors, engineers, lawyers, accountants, IT specialists does the (western) world need (with the accompanying consumerism), when 95% of the world's population is starving to death, dying from water-borne diseases, doesnt have water, healthcare etc.... or when our own citizens dont have healthcare... and whats the point in the drive towards further technological advances in the west, when those advances dont help the 3rd world?<br /><br />Our perspective and priorities are totally skewed... and our schools are perpetuating that.... home and school is where our kids learn to buy into this warped view of life and where they fit into it...Sahilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610179287237833742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-56749965237674530422009-07-16T18:36:46.957-07:002009-07-16T18:36:46.957-07:00In regard to AAA it was said:
"I believe the...In regard to AAA it was said:<br /><b><i> "I believe the district tried this with the African American Academy, which was an all city draw school that offered a strong African American studies focus and culture. It did not close the achievement gap for the students that attended the Academy, in fact, it was one of the lowest performing schools in the district, and thus widened the achievement gap."</i></b><br /><br />What the district ignored doing was: using instructional materials and practices known to increase achievement in educationally disadvantaged learners.<br /><br />What they did do was:<br />the exact opposite of what empirical studies indicate will produce increased achievement.<br /><br />Sure enough achievement did not increase ...... is anyone surprised?dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-22211980448853346952009-07-16T18:05:25.310-07:002009-07-16T18:05:25.310-07:00And how are we to attract anyone into the teaching...And how are we to attract anyone into the teaching profession? Let's see....<br /><br /> * low pay<br /> * long hours<br /> * discipline challenges<br /> * and now - no reward for creativity or individualism in any form.<br /><br />Until robots are available that can fulfill the teaching function, we can look forward to less and less competent people taking these jobs, because they will truly be the jobs of last resort.dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-10568419430701443962009-07-16T18:03:58.473-07:002009-07-16T18:03:58.473-07:00..... (continued)
Those running our schools opera........ (continued)<br /><br /><b>Those running our schools operate as an oligarchy and often tend to mandate that teachers do the opposite of what empirical evidence indicates. </b> After a decade of failure in mathematics, many choose to stay the course with costly to implement and maintain “Reform Math” and have no interest in correcting their errors. For them ideology and profits trump evidence. In Washington State, our former Superintendent of Public Instruction produced mathematical chaos throughout the state by pushing her inquiry-based reform math agenda during 12 years in office. Nationally the story has been much the same via National Science Foundation (NSF) grants, which funded the development, promotion, establishment, and use of “Reform Math”. The universities love this money for it increases department budgets and prestige. It should be noted that much of what math teachers and the public have suffered through and been oppressed by came from a few hundred million dollars in NSF funding. It is now time to move from the suspicion that “Reform Math” might not be a good idea to political activism to stop it.<br /><br />Currently members from a select group of ideologues are involved in directing the development of National Common Core Standards. <b> These unelected developers were not even appointed by elected officials. Most are unqualified or marginally qualified to be involved. </b>Many were the authors of past chaos. Phil Daro immediately comes to mind or anyone from the Charles A. Dana Center. The Dana Center became the hired ($770,000+) agents of our state’s former superintendent and worked to continue the “Reform Math” chaos in our state. NAEP math (the nation’s report card) from 2003 to 2007 reported Achievement Gap changes among the worst in the nation for Washington’s Black students in 4th grade as well as 8th grade and produced the same miserable results for Hispanic students.<br /><br />To obtain academic improvement, we must improve classroom environments not by administrative fiat but by supporting teachers, parents, and students. We must be developing, improving and maintaining learning communities by assisting teachers to meet the needs of each student and increase student core knowledge.<br /><b><br />The acknowledgement that students are individuals having differences in interests, genetic abilities, environmental skills, and intellectual capabilities would be an excellent antidote to the insanity of broad general government mandates about what all students will do.</b><br /><br />Since we are already captives of vendor-based standards, I trust we will not be far off if we refer to the Common Core Standards as the No Vendor Left Behind Law. <b>These vendor-friendly standards will be products from the oligarchy not of democratic decision-making. It is time to focus on providing each child with the education they need to lead successful lives and careers. Another artificially raised and expensively monitored bar is not the answer just ask any parent, child or teacher. It is time to end the trend toward centralized dictatorship with a million-mom march in support of democratic reforms for greater local autonomy in the classroom and school.<br /></b>dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-39158516552951247172009-07-16T18:00:40.318-07:002009-07-16T18:00:40.318-07:00A Plan to Increase Achievement: Explicit Instructi...A Plan to Increase Achievement: Explicit Instruction Not National Standards.<br /><br />If you've been suspicious of "discovery" or "inquiry" learning that can be found throughout our schools, your suspicions are well founded.<br /><br />Good teachers plan classroom instructional design not just on past experiences but also on relevant data. One of the best places to look for empirical evidence likely to increase achievement is the book "Visible Learning", a synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement that collectively looked at 83 million students. It reports the following effect sizes:<br /><br />Problem based teaching = 0.15<br />Inquiry based teaching = 0.31<br />Direct Instruction = 0.59<br /><br />An effect size of 0.30 or lower is ineffective. Thus discovery teaching is ineffective and direct instruction is far superior. The following should be a non-issue: "Discovery/Inquiry" vs. Example Based "Explicit/Direct Instruction"<br /><br />Studies, occasionally underwritten by publishers and other special interest vendors, in “the publish or perish” academic world often conflict with one another generating confusion and rendering the phrase “research shows” meaningless. Fortunately, some peer reviewed empirically validated studies show direct instruction can be the source of increased achievement. Kirschner-Sweller-Clark’s (2006) “Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work: An Analysis of the Failure of Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching” is excellent.<br /><br />A special issue on “Evolution and Education” of the Educational Psychologist journal, October 2008 contained the target article: "An Evolutionarily Informed Education Science" by David C. Geary. It also contained an accompanying piece “Instructional Implications of David C. Geary’s Evolutionary Educational Psychology” by John Sweller. These contain explanations for how constructivist discovery/inquiry learning began and why based on brain architecture it remains an ineffective mode of instruction.<br /><br />While few classroom teachers of mathematics may reference the above studies, almost all experienced classroom math teachers, interested in increasing the measurable academic achievement of their students, are well aware of the inadequacies of inquiry learning that these studies validate. While some guided discovery activities may be beneficial, unguided discovery fails as an effective instructional mode. Research mathematicians and highly trained knowledgeable scientists use inquiry to make discoveries and expand the knowledge base but students are novices not experts. <br /><br />(continued)dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-21600945669156274302009-07-16T17:54:09.366-07:002009-07-16T17:54:09.366-07:00"New Hampshire, with it's limited income ..."New Hampshire, with it's limited income tax has some of the lowest class sizes in the nation. Most of their schools have an average of 10-12 students per class. I guess they have to compete with Exeter......"<br /><br />The actual class sizes aren't anything like that low. http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/new-hampshire/ says the student-teacher ratio in NH is 13:1 (that includes tons of staff who aren't classroom teachers). http://www.education.com/schoolfinder/us/washington/ says 18:1. <br /><br />Exeter's student-teacher ratio is 8:1, by the way.<br /><br />Helen Schinskehschinskehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10316478950862562594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-19390432625314563142009-07-16T17:21:55.160-07:002009-07-16T17:21:55.160-07:00So, let me get this straight...
Teaching childre...So, let me get this straight... <br /><br />Teaching children how to learn things by reading books will cause the rest of the world to consume at American levels? I don't buy it, sorry. Text in books is a very effective, low cost, low-tech, sustainable, reusable and proven way of transferring and preserving knowledge. We do our world a disservice by letting the skill of reading follow the skills of growing and preserving your own food into the mists of history. I intend to teach my child both, but it sure would be easier if the schools would help a little more.TechyMomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04650916001250022778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-16223359275375791232009-07-16T17:09:58.917-07:002009-07-16T17:09:58.917-07:00Techymom... Your point of view is valid if you acc...Techymom... Your point of view is valid if you accept the premise that we need more of what we have in this world.... at the risk of vilification, I dont accept that...<br /><br />I think this world is entirely off track/out of balance and our education system perpetuates that... more of the same in our schools will only help us careen straight into a catastrophic dead-end...<br /><br />I dont know how anyone can argue anything else when you look at the reality of how life is for the 5.75 billion other souls on the planet who dont enjoy the quality of life most of us here in the west do... when you look at the environment... <br /><br />and we cant pull the rest of the world up to our level of excess - I read a stat somewhere the other day that we would need the resources of multiple additional earths to do that.... wish I could remember where I read that - I'd include the link...<br /><br />But that's OK - we lucky few can all fiddle while Rome burns, right?Sahilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610179287237833742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-42060277897492261492009-07-16T16:59:43.057-07:002009-07-16T16:59:43.057-07:00Sahila,
I agree to a certain extent, but I think ...Sahila, <br />I agree to a certain extent, but I think that you need to balance the need of kids to learn in different ways with the reality that a great many careers require the ability to learn by reading books. Kids need to build the skills required to consume long texts. While I think that 16 year olds should be able to decide on non-academic tracks in school, I do not think that its ok to make that choice for 7 or 8 year olds. Kids need to learn how to learn from text, how to read quickly, how to sit still for long enough to read long texts, how to skim, etc. These are skills that take a long time to master, and must be started early if a student wants to have any chance of getting through, for example, medical or law school. No, not everyone needs to be a brain surgeon or a lawyer, but everyone should have the basic skills that allow them to make the choice. It's the same as the math discussions... Kids who can't do fractions in their heads will struggle with Calculus and fail to become engineers, and kids who can't sit still to read 200 pages in a few hours, and absorb the content, will struggle with most college classes.TechyMomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04650916001250022778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-83237859120862948882009-07-16T16:47:35.435-07:002009-07-16T16:47:35.435-07:00New Hampshire, with it's limited income tax ha...New Hampshire, with it's limited income tax has some of the lowest class sizes in the nation. Most of their schools have an average of 10-12 students per class. I guess they have to compete with Exeter......adhochttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12912714470992480644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-9518579763268061332009-07-16T16:31:31.442-07:002009-07-16T16:31:31.442-07:00Teaching children in a culturally appropriate way....Teaching children in a culturally appropriate way... <br /><br />Dont ask children to sit still at desks in rooms for 40 or 90 or however many minutes... children (and adults) are not designed to sit still in one place and learn by rote...<br /><br />Children, especially those from many cultures other than WASP, learn by hearing stories, by <b>doing</b>, by inventing, by actively problem solving, by learning by experiencing, by apprenticing to masters of areas of knowledge, by having knowledge passed down in multi-generational communities, by being part of multi-age groups of children with the older ones teaching the younger ones, are used to natural, open environments instead of an enclosed factory-style building...<br /><br />Show the relevance of what's being taught to the mother-cultures of the children its being taught to... show how it relates, reference it back so that it makes sense in the context of the children's backgrounds...<br /><br />That means having to give up the idea of the supremacy of western civilisation and scholarship... it means honouring other cultures who acquired equally valuable knowledge in other ways... that means allowing children to keep and celebrate and actively live their differences in all areas of their lives - public (school) and not just private - instead of insisting on assimilation...<br /><br />I dont see any of that in the public education system....Sahilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11610179287237833742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28765366.post-33665138417517500712009-07-16T15:17:17.357-07:002009-07-16T15:17:17.357-07:00wseadawg said:
As a parent, I want all the re...wseadawg said:<br /><i><b><br /> As a parent, I want all the resources my kids teachers need to do their job. As a taxpayer, I feel they'd have a lot more, right now, if SPS quit piddling away so much on pet projects like their Amazon.com like "data systems" that "profile" our kids.<br /></b></i><br /><br />Amen!!! But do not be narrow, broaden those accusations of piddling away.<br />In many industries Central over head runs at 2.5% and the smallest companies have slightly larger percentages.<br /><br />Consider OSPI reported per student expenditures with an eye on central administration expenditure as well as teaching:<br /><br />STATE school average 2006-2007<br /><b>Total Expenditures $8692<br /> Central Administration 7%</b><br /> Building Administration 6%<br /> <b>Teaching 69%</b><br /><br />SEATTLE<br /><b>Total Expenditures $10515<br /> Central Administration 9%</b><br /> Building Administration 6%<br /> <b>Teaching 66%</b><br /> <br />OLYMPIA<br /><b>Total Expenditures $8333<br /> Central Administration 6%</b><br /> Building Administration 6%<br /> <b>Teaching 71%</b><br /><br />NORTH THURSTON<br /><b>Total Expenditures $8306<br /> Central Administration 7%</b><br /> Building Administration 6%<br /> <b>Teaching 70%</b><br />----------------<br /><br />We are already captives of vendor-based standards, (WASL costs etc) I trust we will not be far off if we refer to the coming National Common Core Standards as the No Vendor Left Behind Law, for they will be products from the oligarchy not of democratic decision-making. The developers of these standards were not elected and not chosen by elected officials.<br />-------------------<br />Whatever happened to the apparently discarded Curriculum Audit, which was very critical of the SPS? Now that the recent annual evaluation found Curriculum and Learning at a very low 2.0, perhaps the $125,000 curriculum audit needs to be revisited.dan dempseyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15536720661510933983noreply@blogger.com