Chalk

In the first scene, a teacher asked a boy to mention something related to history and the boy did not respond. The next scene shows different teachers teaching different subjects. It also showed how students interacted with the teachers. With some teachers, the students seemed well engaged with the lesson. However, there was one teacher who seemed to have trouble engaging with the students. The students are unmotivated and undedicated to classes. There was one scene where students were fighting physically outside and another scene where students were verbally arguing during Mr. Lowrey's class.

Mr. Lowrey is a first year history teacher who seemed to have trouble engaging with his students. Whenever he is in front of the students, he seemes unprepared and nervous. He tried to teach the class seriously however, students clearly did not have any interest. Students would "bully" him by taking his chalk during his lecture. It was clear that he had no control over the students and the classroom. However, there seemed to be improvement with engaging with the class after Mr. Lowrey added humor to the lesson. There was one scene where he was in the library, studying classroom management. He is improving slowly however he is still struggling with discipline. There was one class where a cellphone rang in the middle of class. Mr. Lowrey forced the student to leave because he refused to give up the cellphone. As the student walked out, he called Mr. Lowrey a horrible teacher and Mr. Lowrey retaliated by calling him a horrible student. He clearly regretted it and was distracted from continuing to teach the class. It is evident that he wants to be a good teacher. There was one scene where he visited a student's house to explain a child's expectation. Mr. Lowrey managed to win the slang-spelling bee (Spelling Hornet)! He gives credit to his students that helped him practice. He is not sure if he will be coming back. "Being a teacher is a gift."

Couch Webb is a second year physical education teacher who makes the effort of engaging with her students. This is her second year, so she has some prior experience in dealing with her students. She believes in the school system and tries her best to be consistent. For example, one of the school policy is called lockout. This is where students are sent to PCR when they are late. There was one scene where Couch Webb chased after a boy who ran in class late. While the boy was running, he shouted back, "She always lets me in." Couch Webb called out to the instructor and confronted her about the problem. It seems like the faculty finds Couch Webb pushy and a little aggressive. She truly believes in the target policy. She believes that she needs to approach people different, less aggressive.

Mr. Stroope is a third year history teacher. It seemed clear that he had goal issues from the previous year. His goal was to be less sarcastic, improve on cleanliness and improve on punctualness in lesson plans. He is a very funny teacher which makes it easy for him to engage in the class however, he is very sarcastic. He believes that teachers should not have a friendship with teachers, but have a relationship. He believes that talking to students truthfully about problems and showing students that he cares for their well-being is important. There was one scene where he talks to his students and advised him/her to discontinue from using words that Mr. Stroope did not know. In this video, it seemed like all he cared about was winning the teacher of the year award. He was trully passionate about winning however he did not. He was very upset about losing. He threw a chair across the room after a student made a statement. He regretted losing his patience in front of his class.

Reddel is the assistant principal of the school. She tries to keep things in control however, she thinks that her friends take advatange of the power she has. There were a couple of scenes where she was frustrated with this kind of treatment. There were some instances where she did not get home till 10 pm. There were also instances where she was chasing down a student through the halls. She really tries her best and cares for the students.

This movie showed me how a teacher can take many approaches to how they want to teach the class. There are a number of approaches however, one thing remains the same. A teacher needs to engage with the students in order to be a successful teacher. If the lessons are not engaging, then students are not learning or absorbing. As a result, it becomes a one-sided relationship.

What seems to be the biggest challenge facing K-12 students?

To me, I think the biggest challenging facing K-12 students is finding the motivation to learn from a curriculum that is not challenging or stimulating. A number of our past readings emphasize this statement. Mike Rose's narrative explains his time in vocational education, "...a place for those who are just not making it, a dumping ground for the disaffected" (Rose-2). For this reason, some teachers don't try to teach the students the necessary skills required for jobs. Instead, they give just work to keep the students busy instead of challenging them. "I did what I had to do to get by, and I did it with half a mind" (Rose-2).The curriculum for vocational education was clearly not challenging or engaging enough for students. "...the intellectual equivalent of playing with your food" (Rose-2). It is clearly evident that a curriculum that is not engaging or challenging fails to accommodate students' needs. Students need to learn skills that apply to real life situations like jobs and etc. Without this, students become bored and unmotivated to continue bettering themselves. Therefore, I believe that the biggest challenging facing K-12 students is a curriculum that fails to challenge, stimulate and engage in the mind. 

WS: How does section 48 & 49 pertain to the assignment?

Section 48 and 49 is about classification and compare/contrast essays. Classification first classifies things into different groups. Within those groups, it represents how similar and different items can be in the series. Items in the same group have similar characteristics but are different compared to the other groups. This can pertain to the assignment by the different kinds of information we have. When formulating an essay, we brainstorm a number of different information from different sources. To make things easier, we group the similar information together and compare it to the other types of groups of information. This is an easy way to organize the ideas we have for our assignment. Section 49 is about compare/contrast essays. Comparing things explain how things are similar, while contrasting explains the differences. This pertains to the assignment because this current paper is a compare/contrast essay. We are supposed to compare and/or contrast the educational system with any changes we are willing to make in the K-12 curriculum. We have to observe the K-12 students and come up with changes that could help improve their learning experience.

How does Mike Rose and Lewis Black help you think about education differently?

Lewis Black mentions that "our school is broken" (Black). So much time and money is being invested in schools to have special facilities such as gymnasiums, swimming pools, cafeterias and etc. The examples used in the video was Robert F. Kennedy community schools with modern buildings, costing half a billion dollars. He also mentions that students lack the challenge of a school curriculum. To try and solve this issue, students are being sent to charter schools, which offer a better education. However, the acceptance in this school is a lottery-based method, only allowing a selective few to enter. Lastly, the last thing he mentions is the quality of the faculty of public schools. Some of the faculty in public schools are not qualified to teach students. 

Mike Rose also believes that children need a much more engaging and challenging education. Another point both agree on is the unqualified people of the faculty in schools. Without qualified teachers, who will challenge or motivate the students to learn? Standardized tests are considered the ultimate "student achievement and teacher effectiveness" (Rose). How can goodness be judged based on a single test score? 

As Rose well explained in his narrative, he was placed in vocational education, where a majority of the children placed in this division were troubled students. Some people of the staff placed in vocational education did not make the effort of properly educating and motivating the students. Rose mentioned that the teachers needed to be creative to teach a class filled with troubled children. However, most did not even care to try. Students are more than capable of learning, no matter the circumstance. Without a challenging or engaging curriculum, how would students be motivated to learn? If they are not challenged, then they will not absorb anything. Through my educational journey, I had enough exposure to a number of teachers with different teaching styles. Among those, there was a few teachers that did not care for their students' grades. It was very frustrating to watch such an instructor, teaching in a one-sided dialogue. I definitely agree that a challenging curriculum would keep students focused and motivated to learn. In my opinion, this is a task for qualified teachers who care for their students' success.

John Gatto's "Against School"

This essay was very interesting to read because it showed a different perspective against school. Gatto thinks of school as "...labaratories of experimentation on young minds, drill centers for the habits and attitudes that corporate society demands (Gatto - 5). He views schools as institutions that brainwash children in order to provide for society. As people, we know not to buy things that we do not need. However, society needs to profit from us. How do they do that? They use schools to bring children into the equation. As a result, we, humans, start craving for things that we want but not need. Another interesting point Gatto mentioned was that school was a "selective function." This refers to Darwin's theory of natural selection. To help the human race be more superior than previous generations, the school is used as an eliminating institution. "Schools are meant to tag the unfit" (Gatto - 4). Poor grades, remedial classes, detention and other punishments are ways of tagging inferior people. After this process, they are eliminated in the reproductive sweepstakes. Once the inferior people are out of the equation, a small fraction of children will be trained to continue this ongoing cycle and control the population.

When we think of school, we connect it to success. Society now requires children to go to school to be successful. Jobs, nowadays, require a minimum of a college degree. As time goes on, the standards keep increasing their expectations. We think school is what leads us to have successful, happy lives. We assume that the schooling system are supposed to: 1.) Make good people. 2.) Make good citizens. 3.) To make each person his or her personal best. However, many people before us managed to become successful without a formal education. "If Thomas Edison could publish a broadsheet at age twelve... there's no telling what your own kids could do" (Gatto - 4). Gatto believes that the solution to this entire problem is to let children manage themselves.

I found this to be a very interesting essay to read because it showed me a side that never came across my mind. I believe it to be a little on the extreme side however, some of the points mentioned made me stop and think about our educational system. Perhaps some of these points could be valid in certain schools. In schools that do not care for their students and such. I never been in a school with such condition, so I cannot confirm this. I was fortunate to have been in schools that cared for every student's education. Even fellow classmates that were not doing well were cared for, the best the school could offer.  

How are the two schools different?

KIPP Academy was a school filled with students of mixed cultures and backgrounds. Hispanic, black and students from poor families were among the students that attended KIPP Academy. This school has a reputation of a number of successful students. Through their educational journey at KIPP Academy, they continued to excel and earn academic achievements. However in high school and college, they slid backwards or failed to graduate.These children were overwhelmed by stress and failed because character was not being reinforced individually. On the other hand, Riverdale Country School was an elite school. Students in Riverdale were not developing qualities to deal with adversity. Instead, they were shielded from the possibility of failure. The students tried their best however, they were not fundamentally challenged. That being said, it is important to support and nurture children emotionally. "If more parents hug and kiss and coo in those first years, we'd have a  lot more happy and successful children" (Large - 2).

Rough Draft: The Role of a Mentor

           What makes a person successful? There are numerous factors that lead to success, including formal education. Teachers play a very big role in this part of students' lives. Depending on their relationship in the classroom, it could positively or negatively impact the students' path to success. There are a number of roles that a teacher can be however, the role of a mentor is the most important. Mr. Escalante and Ms. Watson were great models that played the crucial role of mentor in their students' lives.

            In the movie, Stand and Deliver, Mr. Escalante was a newly hired math teacher at Garfield High School. The school lacked funding, authority, security and control. As a result, students were rebellious and had no respect for authority whatsoever. In one scene, the students rigged the bell timing, which caused the bell to ring earlier than the usual time. In another scene, two boys walked in Mr. Escalante's class late. The way the boys walked in class and their tone toward Mr. Escalate was disrespectful. Due to the situation at Garfield High School, the faculty, community and even the students had very low expectations. When Mr. Escalante arrived at Garfield High School, he noticed that his students lacked the motivation and determination needed to success. However throughout the movie, Mr. Escalante plays the role of a mentor and slowly changed  each one of his students' lives.

            On the other side of the spectrum, in Mona Lisa Smile, the movie centers an art history teacher named Ms. Watson at Wellesley College, a very prestigious and luxurious school compared to Garfield High School. Wellesley was an all-girls school filled with women from highly wealthy and well-respected families. The Wellesley college and community was surrounded by strict rules and traditions. The purpose of women attending Wellesley was to prepare them for marriage, children and family. Ms. Watson was an independent woman who represented individualism and choice, which was frowned upon. Any change in rules or tradition was deemed unacceptable. For example, a nurse at Wellesley handed out contraceptives to the students. One of the students reported this incident in the school paper and, as a result, the school board decided to fire the nurse. As a mentor, Ms. Watson challenged the authority and changed the lives of her students.

            One of the characteristics that enabled Mr. Escalante and Ms. Watson to become good mentors is their determination. Starting with Mr. Escalante, he showed his determination of many occasions. The faculty and parent's expectations of Mr. Escalante's students were low. Out of everyone in the movie, Mr. Escalante was the only one who believed in his students and, for this reason, he was determined to demonstrate the capabilities of his students by teaching them calculus. To help prepare his students for the advanced placement calculus exam, he held late and early classes, as well as summer classes. The faculty was against the summer program because most of the classrooms were reserved for remedial classes. As a result, Mr. Escalante held his summer classes in a room similar to a locker room, with no air-conditioning and limited space. To show the degree of Mr. Escalante's determination, he offered class during break, offered out-of-school tutoring and taught English at night for free. During this time, his wife claimed that he was not home enough to teach his own son math. By mentally and physically draining his own body, he suffered from a heart attack. After a few days in the hospital, Mr. Escalante checked himself out of the hospital and continued to prepare his students for the exam.

            Ms. Watson's determination also made her a positive example as a mentor. During her first day of class, she was completely shut down by her students. Ms. Watson's formal education was looked down upon because she previously went to a state university. Her students memorized the syllabus and quoted the textbook word-for-word, when Ms. Watson attempted to explain various artworks. However, she did not let this phase her. Instead, she became determined to gain control back in her classroom to teach art history. The next day, she created a whole new syllabus and stunned her entire class. During this process, she gained authority back in her own classroom and showed that wealth, social rank and marriage obligations did not have positive effects on their grades. There were no special treatment for any of the students in Ms. Watson's class. The women were furious with Ms. Watson however, after every class, they slowly started respecting her.

            Mr. Escalante and Ms. Watson shared a second characteristic that made them both positive examples for fulfilling the role of mentor. This characteristic is their ability to teach beyond a classroom setting and into real-life situations. Mr. Escalante not only taught calculus, but he taught real-life lessons as well. In the beginning of Stand and Deliver, the faculty and parents did not have much expectations from their students. Mr. Escalante believed in his students and pushed them beyond anyone's expected limitations. Not only did Mr. Escalante shown his determination, but he passed it on to his students. He taught his students to believe in themselves and strive for success, despite what anyone else thought. He also taught them to push themselves beyond their limitations. One has to push one's self to better themselves. Lastly, he taught his students to be independent. There was one scene where one of the girls were asking their mother to sign a permission form for the calculus class. The mother quoted, "Men don't like women who are smart." The daughter replies, "I don't want to depend on a man for the rest of my life." Mr. Escalante changed the lives of his students by giving them motivation, emphasizing their determination, encouraging their self-confidence, embracing their independence and challenging their limitations.

            Ms. Watson was an independent woman who wanted to make a difference in the world. The purpose of Wellesley was to prepare women to become housewives to accommodate their husband and future children. She wanted to show her students that there was more to life than marriage, kids and a family. One of her students, Joan, wanted to go to law school however, she thought it to be distant dream. Ms. Watson encouraged her to apply to Yale and become a lawyer while having a family. Joan got accepted to Yale however, declined the offer because she wanted to become housewife instead. Wellesley is a very elegant school surrounded by traditions and rules. In the college and community, there is a right way to everything. A right way to teach, a right way to think, a right way of art and etc. Ms. Watson taught the women to free their mind from the strict rules and traditions and think for themselves. The faculty was not fond of Ms. Watson's teaching style and questioned her educational plan. As the movie progressed, Ms. Watson was accused of "challenging the roles the women were born to do" (Mona Lisa Smile) by one of her students. Ms. Watson had no intention of disrupting the "role of women," she just simply wanted to show her students that they had choices. Towards the end, Ms. Watson was invited to teach another year at Wellesley under strict conditions. However, she declined the offer the decided to go elsewhere because she did not want to conform to Wellesley's traditions. At the very end, Ms. Watson's students looked at Ms. Watson as a good role model and mentor.

            Teachers play a very crucial role in their students' lives. They assist in playing the important part of guiding their students to success. There are number of roles available for teachers to choose, however mentor is the most important role. Mr. Escalante and Ms. Watson are great examples of teachers that played this important role. Both teachers were placed in very difficult positions with extreme conditions however, both had the characteristics of a mentor that won the respect of their students. Mr. Escalante and Ms. Watson both possessed the determination to make difference in their students' lives. In addition to teaching the subject they were assigned to teach, they taught lessons that had real life applications. Through their hard work of fulfilling the role of mentor, both instructors successfully made a positive impact on their students' lives.