Study: British Math Teachers Some of the Worst in the World

http://www.educationnews.org/global/152166.html

 This article talks about how British Math teachers rank 2nd lowest according to a study conducted by Plymouth University. Czech Republic was ranked the lowest.

An elementary school teacher in England requires only a C in Math GCSE to be qualified to teach, while secondary school teachers must have a degree in a math-related discipline. According to the article in the Daily Mail, most elementary school math teachers in Japan have a degree in mathematics.

The conclusions drawn by the Plymouth researchers point to improved training as the way forward. Raising the requirement for primary school teachers to at least a B in GCSE and making maths degrees and continuing career training a requirement for those wishing to teach at the secondary level are the necessary first steps. Tony McAleavy of the Plymouth Center says:

‘Teaching needs to become a respected profession in this country, on a par with the law and medicine, and then we will attract more able people.'

 I agree that if the requirements are raised then Britain may not fall so low on the list. Having higher expectations and requiring that teachers are experts in the subjects they teach might make a big difference.

I almost wish there were global education standards that could be followed so that countries were not competing with one another around the world and that some countries were not lacking this or lacking that and that we were all on the same page.  

Chapter 7 / Philosophy of Education

The presentation about Chapter 7 was about the Philosophy of Education.

First,  the group shared the definition of philosophy and theory.  Then, the group handed out a survey which everyone took which would help us determine which educational philosophy each of us fell under.

The philosophies are:  Perennial, Essential, Progressive and Social Reconstruction.

I fell under Social Reconstruction. The results didn't surprise me too much because my undergrad degree consisted of many social work classes and a lot of the beliefs of someone who would believe in social reconstruction would be a social worker.  I think once I dig deeper into the philosophy I fall under that it will make more sense to me in an educational sense. I look forward to finding out more and how my philosophy can help shape me as a future educator.

Unequal Education

This video was about two schools in the same vicinity of one another. Riverdale and South Fordham schools. Riverdale was in a nicer middle class neighborhood and South Fordham was in a 'ghetto' like area which was not the safest area for students to navigate around in. The principal would walk the grounds of the school to make sure the students were getting to class and were safe.

Riverdale school had a nice track and field and South Fordham did not - they had to use an indoor gym.  Riverdale had a band - students played instruments and at South Fordham students played keyboards - they could not afford to have a school band. Riverdale had licensed teachers; and South Fordham had unlicensed teachers teaching several subjects.

As one can see from this video alone; education for these two schools are unequal.  One school has more than the other and that is unfortunate for the students at South Fordham.

I feel that every student deserves an equal education and it should not matter where a child lives; however, that is not the case. If you live in a nicer area;  it is likely the school your child will go to has more to offer and better resources - I-pads, computers, a track and field, etc. If the area you live in is not the nicest, chances are the school your child will go to will lack resources and funding and your child may not be as fortunate as the child going to the school in the nicer area. 

I do hope that some day this all may change and that all education will be equal and that each child will have access to the same resources and that it will not be a matter of whether you live in a rich or poor area. Each child deserves an equal education no matter what.

Mother hopes others will opt out of standardized testing

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/20/pennsylvania.school.testing/index.html?iref=allsearch

When I read this article I immediately thought of the book I'm reading, The Global Achievement Gap.  Schools are focusing more and more on preparing students for standardized testing and worrying about their achievement rather than worrying about if their students are learning anything they can take into the real world. What good will taking a test do in the real world? It probably will do very little.

This article talks about how parents have the option to take their children out of the standardized testing due to religion; however, one mother says it goes far deeper than religion and she feels that the tests do not represent the schools very well or her child.

Some parents feels that there is less curriculum and more focus on preparing students for these standardized tests and this disappoints parents because it does not accurately portray the schools or their children.

Some parents think that the parents that are taking their kids away from standardized testing are hurting education. There are two sides to this story and either one has valid points.

I do feel that schools are focusing less on the needed curriculum and are trying to focus more on preparing students for standardized testing. I think this is okay for the time being; however, one needs to look at the bigger picture. How are these tests going to help these children as adults? Will they help with social skills? Will they help in a job interview? Will they help in a job? Not really..  It almost seems schools are in a race to be at the top.  As in the book, "The Global Achievement Gap".. There are many good schools; however, what are the students learning? They  are basically learning how to take a test and in the end this isn't something that is going to help them in their future.

Chapter 6

The presentation of Chapter 6 was about the history of  of education in the United States. It was an informative presentation.
The history of education has changed quite a bit since it first began - it first began with the "3 R's " - reading, writing and arithmetic. Religion was also a big part of schools.
Eventually, the separation of church and state occurred in the early national period.
During the common school movement a standard curriculum was created in addition to the "3 R's".
Something I found interesting during the presentation  was that in just 1982, high school was "redefined". The NEA, realized students needed more skills. Not all high school students went to college and the NEA felt that students should have more skills if they decided not to go to college.
After the presentation we saw a video about Native American Indians and the history of boarding schools. It is something that I had already learned about in the past in a Native American History class. American Indian children were forced to go to boarding schools and assimilated to the "English ways". They were unable to speak their native language and were forced to speak English and also become Christian. Fortunately, many Native Americans returned to their culture in their adult years.

Chapter 1 - The Global Acheievement Gap

5 things that I have learned:

 1. Employers look for people who can engage in good discussion.  They have to know how to work well with others. They need to know how to engage others.

2. Engage in critical thinking. It means being curious about why things are the way they are and being able to think about why something is important.

3. "Leadership is the capacity to take initiative and trust yourself to be creative. I say to my employees if you try five things and get all of them right, you may be failing. If you try ten things, and get eight of them right, you're a hero. If you set a stretch goals , you'll never be blamed for failing to reach a stretch goal, but you will be blamed for not trying. One of the problems in a large company is risk aversion. Our challenge is how to create entrepreneurial culture in a larger organization."

4. "The biggest skill people are missing is the ability to communicate: both written and oral presentation. It's a huge issue for us."

5. Children aren't as curious as they should be; and neither are adults.

Speaking in Tongues

I thought the DVD, "Speaking in Tongues" was a very good one. I think immersion programs are a fantastic idea. Having the opportunity to grow up bilingual is a great thing and it expands your thinking and  you get to be more or less immersed in another culture by learning it's language.

My mom and dad are both from Austria and when I was four years old my parents moved to Austria for a year. Before we moved I spoke nothing but English; but, when we moved to Austria for that year within two weeks I was speaking nothing but German.  It shows that a child can learn a foreign language at a younger age better than at an older age.

A younger child's brain is like a sponge and it soaks up what it learns and it sticks there. It is the prime time to learn a foreign language and I think this is a great thing. Several years ago I was living in Austria as a nanny. I was a nanny for a 5 year old boy and an 8 year old girl. The boy went to an American school. Before going to school there he did not know a word of English and was thrown into an English speaking school and within months he spoke English. When I was living there I spoke nothing but English to him and he is now bilingual in English and German. He was not in an immersion program; but, his story is very similar to that of an immersion program because he is a young child who must learn a foreign language - English.  His sister had a harder time learning English because she was going to a German grade school; however, she then transferred to an English school and eventually to the American school after having a better grasp of the English language. 

I am thankful to be able to speak German. When I travel to Austria I am able to communicate with my relatives and I am able to make my way around the country. Many individuals in Austria do speak English; however, it does help to know German because there are those who do not know English at all or know very little English.  I am thankful to know both German and English and I hope to pass the German language on to my future children.