it is no novelty to read that most americans are obese. it is no surprise that todays kids are falling victim to diabetes, heart disease and other health issues that are related to seditary and obesse lifestyles.
so I applaud senator Jane Nelson of introducing a bill that would require physical education as an everyday part of schooling. Physical Education was reduced from the curriuclum in order to have a "hard academic" element in texas education.
now we all know due to common sense that obese and unhealthy kids are not to be blamed on public education. it has to do with technology the enables humans to not physically work hard and limited outdoor activities and diets that consist of produced foods.
several years ago there was a bill introduced and a law passed which does not allow teachers and campuses to give fatty or sugary treats to kids. it has reached so far that in the teachers lounge vending machines there are only baked and governmentally acceptable healthy foods. i mean come on for realz. teach people how to be healthy, make people be resonsible for teaching their kids to be healthy. it is so much easier for busy parents to turn on the tv or tell their kids to play a video game that it is to take a walk or play catch or dance. Society as a whole is failing in the health department, blaming teachers does not create a solution.
so back to Senator Nelson's bill, great idea until you get to the part where there will be standardized test to assess the kids health and schools liablity. all kids are to be held to the same standard measure, shouldn't maybe a baseline be established and the home environment be considered before we penalize schools for another societal problem.
Monday, February 12, 2007
How to Fix Education in America
I enjoyed the visit and information share by Colin Harrison during the Febuary 5th class. with his work on technology and its influence on learning I keep returning to the school that had little technology and high test scores and the answer of we read lots of books. last summer I attended a conference with stephanie harvery and she relayed the information that children spend about 15 minutes a day of acutal reading in a classroom. with success I have had and the test scores my students achieve with out lots of technology, I believe in the efficacy of reading books.
2) my second thought and continuous wondering of how the standardized testing works in england. one of the main reasons I am returning to graduate school is because I feel as if the education system is so broken and the people who hold the power to improve the educations system choose not to either through dilebareate mishandling of priorities or they are so far removed from what is actually happening they have no clue how to handle the situation.
each year we are given more standards and more laws are created as to what is going to make our school system more effecient.
Texas schools are in a crisis, so much money and energy has been spent on standardize testing and the highstakes results that kids are not being taught how to think. I believe several of the main problems with the standardize tests is that they are becoming indicators/benchmarks of teaching as opposed to documentation of students growth. I liked how in the UK they take a base test at age 7 that predicts their success and schooling institutions are then held to that baseline standard for each student as opposed to an across the board continum.
I also believe that since funding is tied to standardized achievement that many administrators/institutions/policymakers do not care about the students as a whole individual but rather what they look like on paper. At my school if students are in need of extra tutoring/services the first and priority reason they recieve its that they will be tested and counted on the schools state report card, if not then we will see what we can do.
Another idea that stuck is that the testing goes in two year increments and the test are made to resemble real-life litearature, what a novel concept. Kids and teachers are so standardized out that they teach solely to pass the test because if not their teaching position could be in jeporady.
and another thing, what was this business that Mr. Harrison said where independent associations could come in and do alternative testing and measurements for a mere two dollars a head. WHAT??
Texas and the united states needs help as a society, so many fail to recognize what we teach todays kids in how our future problems will be solved. so for a school system that was created in the industrial age and created to produce workers, who know rows and order we need to ask our self what type of school system should we be creating in the technolgy revolution, in the age of ideas where highlevel thinking skills are prized.
Society as a whole has to step up and create proper funding and policies that promote real life problems solvers who are capable of THINKING!!!!!!!!!
2) my second thought and continuous wondering of how the standardized testing works in england. one of the main reasons I am returning to graduate school is because I feel as if the education system is so broken and the people who hold the power to improve the educations system choose not to either through dilebareate mishandling of priorities or they are so far removed from what is actually happening they have no clue how to handle the situation.
each year we are given more standards and more laws are created as to what is going to make our school system more effecient.
Texas schools are in a crisis, so much money and energy has been spent on standardize testing and the highstakes results that kids are not being taught how to think. I believe several of the main problems with the standardize tests is that they are becoming indicators/benchmarks of teaching as opposed to documentation of students growth. I liked how in the UK they take a base test at age 7 that predicts their success and schooling institutions are then held to that baseline standard for each student as opposed to an across the board continum.
I also believe that since funding is tied to standardized achievement that many administrators/institutions/policymakers do not care about the students as a whole individual but rather what they look like on paper. At my school if students are in need of extra tutoring/services the first and priority reason they recieve its that they will be tested and counted on the schools state report card, if not then we will see what we can do.
Another idea that stuck is that the testing goes in two year increments and the test are made to resemble real-life litearature, what a novel concept. Kids and teachers are so standardized out that they teach solely to pass the test because if not their teaching position could be in jeporady.
and another thing, what was this business that Mr. Harrison said where independent associations could come in and do alternative testing and measurements for a mere two dollars a head. WHAT??
Texas and the united states needs help as a society, so many fail to recognize what we teach todays kids in how our future problems will be solved. so for a school system that was created in the industrial age and created to produce workers, who know rows and order we need to ask our self what type of school system should we be creating in the technolgy revolution, in the age of ideas where highlevel thinking skills are prized.
Society as a whole has to step up and create proper funding and policies that promote real life problems solvers who are capable of THINKING!!!!!!!!!
what is a conversation?
K: I just want you to know that I am highly against and completely upset with the combination of the two classes especially on testing day when they have not ever tested in my classroom, I can give you 10 researched reasons about why small group size is more effective and about 10 that I personally believe about consistancy. if you were goign to combine the classes this should have started in october...
B: if you feel this way you should have read the memo last week and then come by my office to have a conversation
K: i read the memo it was the same arrangement as it has been on past memos MC is to monitor/assist both teachers, there was nothing about combing classrooms
B: again if you want to have a conversation come by my office, but there is no need to bark at me
K: well I am listening to you and you are listening to me, and we are having a dialouge, I consider that to be a conversation
B: if you feel this way you should have read the memo last week and then come by my office to have a conversation
K: i read the memo it was the same arrangement as it has been on past memos MC is to monitor/assist both teachers, there was nothing about combing classrooms
B: again if you want to have a conversation come by my office, but there is no need to bark at me
K: well I am listening to you and you are listening to me, and we are having a dialouge, I consider that to be a conversation
Monday, February 5, 2007
Telling a story
so i told the following story at a superbowl gathering. i tried to make it be a monolouge but there were several questions that were thrown out as I told the story, realizing that with all my close friends, we interupt and overlap many many times in our conversations, story telling is no different.
So I woke up Saturday with a headache, oh my god, I felt so bad. And thought I can’t drive there, but then he texted me and I was like I have to. If I said I would come and then didn’t show… I mean it took him a week to get over me being two and half hours late last Sunday, granted I didn’t call and I don’t think he is over it yet, so anyway…
I couldn’t take a shower because my hot water was out which I think I did by flipping a switch and not turning it back on, anyways, I ran a whole tub of water, and go to stick my hand in it and it is like ICE cold. Have a headache, can’t take a bathe, this is not looking good. So I talked to jess and she was like GO. And I I was like I said I would go so I have to go. She told me just take myself and show up with dirty hair, he wouldn’t care. So dirty and all, and with lots of medicine I packed a bag and left. I showed up in tyler and he was so excited. I was so excited, but we were cool. And I get to his suite and..
No we didn’t have the talk, but listen to this, the universe and all of it’s humor.
I get there to the hotel, motel, hotel Holiday inn, which is tyler is like as good as it gets and we’re in the room for like two minutes and then then there’s a knock and there’s this lady with a tray and there is fruit and cheese and champagne and wine. I know so sweet and he’s trying to be romantic. And I am like I am dirty and have a headache. And He was like lets drink champagne and I was like you are on your own guy. Too much a whole bottle the night before. So anyway I was like no champagne for me and no I didn’t drink any, finally at dinner that night managed a couple of drinks. So told him about your wine, my champagne and clays beer. Nothing like an eight month old, I mean nine month old. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe she is almost a year. So we just watched a movie, and I kinda napped and read and then…
We went to this restaurant, shogun and it has a couple locations, we thought it was the sushi location, turns out it’s the um, um place where they cook infront of you, you know benihana style. So they set us at our table, we are the only ones in there and like three people come by our table and they and then they’re like is it your anniversary?, um, no, your birthday, um no… finally after the second person asked us the same question were finally just would say like it is Saturday night.
So our chef comes and he is really funny but the first question he ask is and he is like so are you married, and we are like no. so she is your girlfriend and I laugh and he just sits there, and the chef is like he didn’t say anything. And we kinda both just spit out it’s Saturday night.
No we were totally not hands all over each other, we were just sitting. He’s a republican. I know, it’s because his parents were, I know me with a republican. Give him some time and he’ll be a democrat. (haha)
And which point we both take a large sip of our drinks.
It was a nice dinner but the question kinda hung in the air, you know.
No it hasn’t been nine months, since august, you know almost six months.
So no we didn’t have the talk but…
So I woke up Saturday with a headache, oh my god, I felt so bad. And thought I can’t drive there, but then he texted me and I was like I have to. If I said I would come and then didn’t show… I mean it took him a week to get over me being two and half hours late last Sunday, granted I didn’t call and I don’t think he is over it yet, so anyway…
I couldn’t take a shower because my hot water was out which I think I did by flipping a switch and not turning it back on, anyways, I ran a whole tub of water, and go to stick my hand in it and it is like ICE cold. Have a headache, can’t take a bathe, this is not looking good. So I talked to jess and she was like GO. And I I was like I said I would go so I have to go. She told me just take myself and show up with dirty hair, he wouldn’t care. So dirty and all, and with lots of medicine I packed a bag and left. I showed up in tyler and he was so excited. I was so excited, but we were cool. And I get to his suite and..
No we didn’t have the talk, but listen to this, the universe and all of it’s humor.
I get there to the hotel, motel, hotel Holiday inn, which is tyler is like as good as it gets and we’re in the room for like two minutes and then then there’s a knock and there’s this lady with a tray and there is fruit and cheese and champagne and wine. I know so sweet and he’s trying to be romantic. And I am like I am dirty and have a headache. And He was like lets drink champagne and I was like you are on your own guy. Too much a whole bottle the night before. So anyway I was like no champagne for me and no I didn’t drink any, finally at dinner that night managed a couple of drinks. So told him about your wine, my champagne and clays beer. Nothing like an eight month old, I mean nine month old. Oh my gosh, I can’t believe she is almost a year. So we just watched a movie, and I kinda napped and read and then…
We went to this restaurant, shogun and it has a couple locations, we thought it was the sushi location, turns out it’s the um, um place where they cook infront of you, you know benihana style. So they set us at our table, we are the only ones in there and like three people come by our table and they and then they’re like is it your anniversary?, um, no, your birthday, um no… finally after the second person asked us the same question were finally just would say like it is Saturday night.
So our chef comes and he is really funny but the first question he ask is and he is like so are you married, and we are like no. so she is your girlfriend and I laugh and he just sits there, and the chef is like he didn’t say anything. And we kinda both just spit out it’s Saturday night.
No we were totally not hands all over each other, we were just sitting. He’s a republican. I know, it’s because his parents were, I know me with a republican. Give him some time and he’ll be a democrat. (haha)
And which point we both take a large sip of our drinks.
It was a nice dinner but the question kinda hung in the air, you know.
No it hasn’t been nine months, since august, you know almost six months.
So no we didn’t have the talk but…
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