January 29

We began today with a writing into the day in response to a Calvin and Hobbes comic about academic writing.  Then, Megan read all of the persuasive appeal paragraphs from last class and we voted on which appeals were most convincing.

After that, we got into groups and answered questions (found on the PowerPoint) about "In the Basement of the Ivory Tower."  Each group was then assigned a section of "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work."  These group read and answered questions (also found on the PowerPoint) about that section.  Finally, we divided up the groups so that each of the new groups had at least one person representing each section.  These new groups shared what they had read.  In essence, after this group work, each person knew what the whole article said even though he/she hadn't read the whole thing.  In these new groups, we also talked about whether we believed the idea that schools filter people into the same social class in which they began.

Homework:
Ignore all the homework in the homework column for today.
Instead, post on your blog what you are thinking after today's discussion.  What are the two readings making you think about?

January 24

Today, we did a writing into the day about the Cizek quote.  After that, we talked about the expectations and purposes of the blog.  First, we read and analyzed examples of readings responses and blog comments.  Then we talked about what makes a "good" comment.

What makes a "good" comment:

• Shows how others perceive what the author wrote
• Gives a new point of view
• Broadens the author's ideas
• Encourages the author to look back and think about what he/she wrote
• Asks questions
• Responds to the writer's ideas
• Offers opinions about the writer's writing
• Offers rebuttals

After this discussion, we talked about the persuasive appeals: ethos, logos and pathos.  After looking at and discussing an example of each, we broke into 6 groups.  Each group was assigned to write a paragraph either in favor of or against standardized testing in one of the three appeals.  We will be reading these next class to see which ones are most persuasive.

Homework:

Read "In the Basement of the Ivory Tower" and post a reading response to your blog.

January 22

Today, we talked about standardized testing, and each person needed to keep a pro/con list of standardized testing in his/her daybook.  We began with a writing into the day about what the benefits of NCBL were supposed to be.  We listed the following as benefits:

• promote literacy
• increase math skills
• increase test scores
• be more competitive with other countries
• students can change schools if they are attending a failing school
• students can change schools if they are being bullied
• standardized tests can be used to measure student and teacher success
• higher standards for teachers and students
• NCBL was created to give everyone an equal opportunity

Then, we watched "Why Standardized Testing Fails" - a TedTalks video (minutes: 0:00-7:22; 9:30-11:30) and answered in small groups the questions on the handout about this video.  With the small groups, we also talked about what we think assessment should move to (if it should move at all).

After this discussion, we talked about highlighting and used the highlighting suggestions on page 40 of Practical Argument to highlight "My 54 Year Love Affair with the SAT".  Finally, we talked about what we wrote on our pro/con lists.

Homework:

Post to your blog an explanation of what you think the ideal assessment plans for schools would be.

January 17

For the Writing into the Day, we responded to a quote by Paulo Freire and discussed his concept of the "banking" model of education.  We defined this model in the following ways:

• It's a "repeat after me" model.
• Students get the information, regurgitate it on a test and forget it.  It's a "cram, cram, cram" method.
• Students memorize without thinking about or applying the information.
• Students do not have their own opinions, interest or investment in the information.
• Students learn the information only to learn it.
• Education is a big herd of sheep.  Teachers are told what to teach so students learn only what the system wants to be taught.  It's black and white; no other path is offered.
• In some classes (like Math or Physics), there is only so much creativity a person can have, so the "banking" model isn't as bad.

We also talked about teachers and what "good" teachers do:

• Teachers can make a subject interesting even if students do not completely understand the subject.
• Teachers contribute a lot to the learning environment.
• Students can tell when teachers don't care about what his/her students think.
• "Good" teachers are both entertaining and effective.  They push their students.  They are interested in their students.  They are able to teach what the students are there to learn.  With "good" teachers, students take away more than just what's on the curriculum. 
• The purpose of teaching is to get the message across to students.

Then, we discussed the expectations and due dates for the Exploratory Proposal (first draft due February 7 for workshop; second draft due on February 14).  Next, we watched "Is Education Killing Creativity?" - a TedTalks video (minutes: 9:00-20:00).  We discussed the video in partners, concentrating on questions about whether school is really killing creativity and the kinds of people that school produces.  Finally, we used the "Dialogic Journal" handout to annotate the article, "Keeping Creativity in Schools."

Homework: 

• Finish the dialogic journal for "Keeping Creativity in Schools."  You do not need to post it on your blog.
• Read "No Child Left Behind Act 2001" and post a reading response on your blog.  Use the "Responding to Readings on Your Blog" handout that we discussed last class. You need to bring the article to class, but not the reading response.

January 15

Today, we did a Writing into the Day with a quote about positive thinking.  In response to this quote, we had a debate about whether positive thinking leads to success.  Some people said that positive thinking is necessary because without it, a person is setting him/herself up for failure.  These people argued that a positive attitude will lead to a positive outcome and will make things easier.  Others said that persistent positive thinking is necessary because one needs to have a positive outlook even through hard times.  Some said that positive thinking must be combined with hard work.  Still, others argued that positive thinking is overrated.  They said that there are very unhappy, cynical people who are very successful.  They said that a person needs to have the drive to succeed and that a person cannot always expect a positive outcome.  They asserted that just because a person has positive thoughts does not means everything will work out positively for that person.  We also talked about how we define "success".  We came up with ideas like happiness, money, reaching goals and being able to trust those with whom you interact.  Some said that success is different for each person.  One person argued that "success" is usually defined in big picture terms, looking far ahead; however, we have little successes each day, such as getting out of bed and getting to class.

After our discussion, we talked how to post and comment on the blog as well as the expectations for reading responses and research process posts.  Then, we did a mind-body exercise to help us remember each other's names.   

For the last 20 minutes of class, we read "Seven Ways High School Prepares You for Failure" and completed a triple entry journal about this article.

Homework:

• Before class on Thursday, post your triple entry journal (either by taking a picture or just writing out what your journal says) to your blog.
• Before class next Tuesday, respond to at least two of your blog group members' posts.

January 10

Today, we covered the course objectives and policies as well as the sequence of assignments.  We also talked about how to read the daily calendar as follows:

• The "In Class" column explains what will be covered in class that day.
• The "Homework for Tonight" column explains the homework that will be due the next class.  For example, the homework in the row of January 10 (today) will be due on Tuesday.
• Anything in italics signifies things what needs to be brought to class that have not been upload to Blackboard
• Anything in small caps signifies something that is due on Blackboard.

We also talked about important things of which to be aware on Blackboard.

• In the "Course Info" tab, you will find the syllabus and the daily calendar.
• In the "Discussion" tab, you will find forums to which you will post your blog link and drafts of papers that will receive commentary from Megan.
• In the "Course Work" tab, you will find all the readings and handouts you will need to bring to class and/or complete for homework.  This tab is organized by folders labeled for each day we meet.  
• Any title in blue means you need to print a handout out and bring it to class on the day listed on the folder.  For example, the folder labeled "January 15" has a blue title, which means you need to bring that document on January 15.
• Any title in green means you need to print a reading out and bring it to class on the day listed on the folder.  You do not need to do the reading, though, because we will read it in class. For example, the folder labeled "January 15" has a green title, which means you need to bring that document on January 15.
• Any title in red signifies the homework for the day listed on the folder.  The homework will be do the following class period.  For example, if you have a red title in "January 10," it will be due on January 15.

We also responded to quotes about school.  We talked about how people should not judge homeless people because we do not know what has happened in their lives.  We cannot assume that they have dropped out of school or that they are drug addicts.  We cannot know what happened in their lives unless we have experience.  We also talked about the idea that ignorance is a choice.  Even if a person does not have access to books, he/she can learn things outside of books.  Finally, we had a brief debate about whether street smarts or book smarts is more important.  We may continue that debate on Tuesday.

Homework: Create a blogger account and post the hyperlink to Blackboard.  The subject should be your name.  In the message, you only need to include your link.