Really? Harry Potter?

Talk about a slap in the face to educators everywhere. I've never looked at it like that, but it's true, millions of kids have read the Harry Potter series, Twilight series, and a few others without hesitation. Their interest rates are through the roof. And there aren't any pictures!!! While Loewen can be a little on the extremes on his main points throughout his book, he is right on target with this statement. So how do we make learning "entertaining" for students? Entertaining isn't the right word, how about "enticing"? Yes, technology in the classroom helps, but after so long, the students come to expect it and technology will no longer be exciting. Powerpoint will become a thing of the past. So what do we do?

I won't become reliant on Powerpoint for starters. I love integrating the technology into the classroom. While novicing, I did this for about a week. Initially the students were intrigued, but once they got use to it they seemed to fall back into their lathargic selves. We still need to mix it up a bit. For example, those "higher order of thinking" questions we (the teachers) are suppose to ask the students to answer on exams, why not pose those questions orally in class and allow them to discuss it? You simply act as a moderator or prospect. Obviously roles would need to be established, as well as rules, regulations, and expectations for the class in order for the idea to be successful. Hopefully you have establish the basic rules, regulations, and expectations towards the beginning of the year, and have been consistent in maintaing those since. The activity could help the students see how they can answer, for example, a DBQ. Then, when we give them a DBQ on the exam, they have an idea of how to organize their thoughts, how to analyze the materials, etc., therefore giving them the accessability to be successful. Again, this is merely a quick example an educator came up with, so some fine-tuning is necessary.

"They (the public schools) will not be redeemed by trifiling reforms." (Loewen 305) Henry M. Levin has it right. Reform is defined as improving by alteration, substitution, etc. according to dictionary.com. If reform is simply going to be laughed out of imposition, how do we go about fixing the broken system? How about reconstruction? According to a medical dictionary, reconstruction is the repair of an organ or part by reconstructive surgery. Yes, in this example, education is the organ/part needing reconstruction. To get more basic, compare education to a house. Education reform is like replacing the siding or shingles. But the siding and shingles aren't the issue, it's the foundation that's cracking. How do you solve that? Your go back to the basics and lay a foundation. The education system has never been torn down and reconstructed to suit the ever changing society. It has simply been built on time after time. While the goal has been to adapt the learning and teaching strategies to be most efficient, they tend to lag behind the social changes by a generation or two. We need to go in, gut the house of education, and reestablish ourselves as educators and professionals.

Another Week

Another week gone by and we are that much closer to the end of the semester. Even though my classroom lacks technology, I was able to steal a DVD/TV combo from another classroom for one hour this past week. I was able to show a few minutes of a documentary on the ties of prohibition to the rise of organized crime (the Mafia) in the U.S. I was able to get my students interested in making connections and using prior knowledge to figure out why the Mafia rose to power.

Most of my students have grown up with or around gangs. When I asked them what the number one reason many "thugs/gangstas" become "thugs/gangstas", one young man responded, "Cash, cars, clothes, and hos". Many of my students know drug dealers. It's no secret. But I was able to tie in the importance of the effects of prohibition through their own experiences with modern day "gangstas".

On the flip side, I had them discuss the differences between 1920s gangsters and their gangstas. Many ideas were tossed around, such as the prestige and respect that seemed to be carried by the 1920s gangsters. Another student pointed out that the 1920s gangsters were white. I asked, "True, but how are the ethnicities between 1920s gangsters and modern gangstas similar?" A student responded, "They all make up the lower class of their times."

I felt like this week was one of my most promising. My classes seemed much more attentive and on task. Perhaps it has to do with my ability to throw together a quick power point with some examples of WWI propaganda. Maybe it's because I can efficiently search for an article quickly during a lesson. It could have to do with the fact that even though my school has little technology, I find ways to incorporate it on multiple occasions whereas my C.T. sticks strictly to his lectures. What I do know is that simply trying will initially grasp the students' attention. The rest is up to us.

Can I do it?

I'm having a major issue with the idea of being able to teach all of the fun, interesting, real history we have been discussing in class and not simply teaching the content on the standardized tests they are required to take. Of course I don't want to fall into the pit of teaching to the test, but I want to teach in an inner city high school where my paycheck will rely on my ability to help the school meet their AYP. Dealing with that and the pressures of still being an effective teacher while the administration keeps tabs on me throughout the first couple years as well as the issues you hear teachers complain are persistent in inner city schools: parents not caring, students not speaking English, students not caring, classroom management, etc.

But the more I think about it, the more I list all of the obstacles I am going to face, I'm no longer afraid. Overcoming those obstacles are what will make me a great teacher. I would rather acknowledge all that I am worried about than say I am not afraid of anything.

While I'm teaching I'm realizing that I won't always be able to bring in all of this technology, and on many occasions not even half of the technology applications I would like. Power Point is a wonderful tool, but what about when I can't use it? I am using more handouts than I can plant trees for. I understand that this is a technology age, but when the resources just aren't available adaptation isn't such a bad thing. It's up to us to keep it interesting.