Chapter 31

I found chapter 31 to be really disturbing to say the least. I understand that Derek’s behavior was disruptive and not at all how it should be, but to suspend a child once and then expel him at a meeting the following Monday I find to be a bit ridiculous. Yes, Derek acted out but why wasn’t counseling advised for him? He obviously wanted attention, even if it was negative and that stems off from something deeper than just wanting to be in trouble all the time. Then, instead of getting him counseling he is suspended and almost immediately expelled. Then Jan doesn’t even really give Derek another chance.

Merely judged him on what she personally observed, even though she already had an attitude towards Derek, and expels him. I find this harsh, and unfair. I do not feel that the staff did enough to help this student and that troubles me. Furthermore, the part on page 493 where Don is quoted as saying, “Call the police. I’m going to call the police…He is damaged goods.” (page 493) This is the worst thing you can ever say to a student and he is saying it to a student that is already distraught. Whether Derek deserved the suspension or not, to tell a student that he is damaged goods is a striking blow to that child’s self-worth. And I for one, think it is horrible.

Hidden Curriculum

I really found the section in chapter 27 under “critical pedagogy and the curriculum” to be really interesting. Hidden curriculum is rampant in our school systems and has existed since the first school opened up its doors. It is diminishing with more and more teachers teaching from a multicultural viewpoint but they are the minority in the percentage of teachers out there. The small portion of this following excerpt pretty much sums up what hidden curriculum is. “The hidden curriculum refers to the unintended outcomes of the schooling process. Critical educators recognize that schools shape students both through standardized learning situations, and through other agendas including rules of conduct……….and grading procedures”. (page 413)

This excerpt shows that ways of teaching are very important and what is being taught and how is equally important because the underlying messages given can stick without students for a lifetime. The example on page 414 showing that even administrators and teachers have a skewed viewpoint of gender stereotypes is a great example of hidden curriculum getting in the way of actual facts. I really liked how the author also listed things that can come out of ‘classroom sexism as a function of the hidden curriculum results in the unwitting and unintended granting of power and privilege to men over women and accounts for many of the” outcomes listed. (page 414). It is important that we as teachers understand that not only is our teaching knowledge important, but the way in which we teach it is important so we can get rid of things like racism, sexism, stereotypes, etc. This will help the future generations live together in more peace and having more respect for one another.

The first article I read for this week was “Kids Take on ‘The Test’”, and I found it extremely interesting, but it raised some important concerns as well. I really enjoyed reading all the answers the students gave to the questions. It is always an amazing thing to really know that students are enjoying the learning experience and that can be found in any PBL project we have looked at as a class. Whether it be from the video or the articles. I also found it wonderful that test scores were raised from what they had previously been. However, throughout the article the PBL project and learning for the state test seems a little intense on an overall level. By intense, I mean, is there any time left for studying anything else but reading, English, and math. These are three very important subjects but what about science and social studies?

I know that in the school I am student teaching at as well as other schools in the area the amount of time given to social studies is not adequate in my opinion. It is important to remember that with social studies it is not only dealing with history. It is dealing with a broad number of social sciences: history, geography, sociology, psychology, political science, and economics. If three subjects are getting hours of attention both in class and outside of class, where does that leave social studies? I wish there were more time during school and during the year to teach but there isn’t and social studies is equally important to the other subjects. So, that would be my only concern. Time limitations.

The second article I read was “What Do Lepidopterists Do?”. I really liked this excerpt from the article: “Because lepidopterists (butterfly experts) themselves do not yet have answers to these questions, the students could not find the answers in the back of any textbook. So, taking on the roles and responsibilities of scientists involved in such a study, they set out to find the answers on their own. The unit was, in other words, problem-based”. I really liked this because too often we see students just turning to the glossary or index in the back of the book to find answers. But the way this PBL was done, it forced the students to look outside their book and that is really important. This way the students had to do research and that is a tool they will need to know for a lifetime.