Mind the Gap!

RAVITCH QUOTES

In Ravitch's The Death and Life of the Great American School System, the two quotes that struck me came from page 13, in what seemed to be her cry for change in our present public school system:

"We must ensure that students gain the knowledge they need to understand political debates, scientific phenomena, and the world they live in. We must be sure they are prepared for the responsibilities of democratic citizenship in a complex society." I completely agree with this assertion, that schooling MUST prepare students to be active citizens in the world and prepare them to participate in democracy, not just leave the democratic process to their parents, or more affluent neighbors, or public figureheads. During my senior year of high school, my government teacher required as an assignment that all students who had turned 18 register to vote. She also required that we volunteer time at a local polling place, just to see what voting looks like, the type of participation needed, and how simple it is to VOTE! Because of her, I have less anxieties about voting and what it entails, and I am sure to familiarize myself with the different measures and parcel taxes that are on the ballot each time I vote.

In her second quote, Ravitch states, "We must be sure that schools have the authority to maintain both standards of learning and standards of behavior." I couldn't agree with this more. I feel that often times in districts where class sizes are large and resources and man-power are low, teachers are reduced to baby-sitters, merely maintaining a classroom environment where the goal is to get everyone seated for a lesson that will eventually be disrupted by students who lack respect for education. At my high school, many teachers are currently lamenting the lack of discipline that occurs when students are referred to the office. How many times must certain behavior-problem students disrupt class learning before they are suspended, expelled, or removed? Sometimes in our society, even parent involvement can allow students to bypass expectations of behavior. I keep thinking about the recent incident in Brentwood, CA, where several students were suspended for their vandalism of the school as a "senior prank," and how parents protested the suspension, as it would affect their students' grades by missing tests during finals' week. Eventually, some students and parents took the situation "to court." My thought: where is the accountability of these students' actions? Didn't they think about the consequences before the committed vandalism? What message are these parents sending to their children by saying that due to the tradition of "senior pranks," they shouldn't be suspended for their actions? I thus agree with Ravitch, that discipline cannot be undermined; schools must have some authority with regards to behavior.

Regarding Ravitch's definition of a "well-educated person" on page 16, I somewhat agree. I agree that a well-educated person should be literate in many subject matters, should be equipped to explain ideas to others and listen respectfully, too. In today's world, I think a well-educated person should be well-versed in human rights, should understand and participate in the democratic process, should have the ability to think critically about all the messages and texts he/she reads and sees on a daily basis, and should understand the value of being educated, not only as a mean to become wealthy.

In thinking back to the class discussion on Ravitch (Chapters 1 and 2), I am continually drawn to the topic of A Nation At Risk. I continue to agree with A Nation At Risk's definition of a "Learning Society," and I sadly believe that our nation continues to deviate from a Learning Society in so many ways. More than anything, I want my students to graduate knowing that education will improve their quality of life if they continue to pursue it, and treat it with respect and honor.


CONTENT KNOWLEDGE GAPS

In reference to my content knowledge gaps, I have decided to work on my knowledge of linguistic terminology outlined in the CSET, and improve my awareness of terms such as morphology, productive rule, synchronic/diachronic, lexical, umlaut, etymologies, allophones, etc. Below are three sources (a website, an article, and a book) that can help me fill this gap in knowledge. From browsing the Center for Applied Linguists (CAL) website, I learned that there are specific organizations, resources, and professional development workshops to aid teachers in applying linguistic theory to their classrooms:

Website: http://www.cal.org/

Book: Crystal, D. (2003). Dictionary of linguistics and phonetics. Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

Article: Hockett, C.F. (2006, October). A course in modern linguistics. The Language Learning Journal. 8(3), 73-75. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-1770.1958.tb00870.x


INQUIRY TOPIC

One article I chose to annotate in my wikispace is "Contemporary Cinema in Language Learning: From Linguistic Input to Intercultural Insight" by Mark Pegrum, Linda Hartley, and Veronique Wechtler. This article is useful to my topic of teaching French cinema because the study affirms that students want to see foreign language cinema in the classroom and feel that it will be an engaging way to learn. I also chose to annotate "Francophone Films in the Classroom" by Russell Rose, because he discusses the use of francophone films produced outside of France, thus giving a holistic cinematic view of all francophone countries and cultures. Students should have awareness and knowledge of many francophone communities and dialects outside of those in France.


QUESTION FOR MEG

Meg, I am still struggling to pinpoint a final inquiry question. Two possibilities are: What can francophone cinema teach to a high school audience that the textbook cannot? What are the benefits of showing and studying francophone cinema in the high-school level classroom? I am just unclear as to how answering these questions will translate into a final product (unit, film, website, or handbook). Thoughts?

SEE MY COMMENTS FOR COLLEAGUES:

Yadira Zapata - unahistoriadeunamaestra.blogspot.com
Troy Bristol - fatheadtroysmc.blogspot.com
Mike Rose - mikejas.blogspot.com