Educational Issues

These are the list of issues we got in 276.  

Current Educational Issues for Exploration

General issues:

·      high stakes testing (retention vs. social promotion)	·      school security
·      standardized testing and pressure on teachers	·      grading methods and procedures
·      teen suicide and prevention efforts in schools	·      child abuse and teacher obligations with relation
·      effective discipline	·      effective classroom management
·      immersion programs for English speakers	·      immersion programs for ELL students
·      qualities of effective teacher education programs	·      routes to alternative licensure
·      Title IX	·      budget cuts, school financing
·      NCLB legislations and renewal/reform efforts	·      charter schools
·      late-start school for older students	·      standardized curriculum
·      UPASS	·      use of Channel 1 in schools
·      home schooling	·      school voucher programs (school choice)
·      teacher salaries	·      professional development (in-service) efforts
·      year-round schedules vs. traditional schedules	·      integration of technology into classrooms
·      use of social networking in classrooms (twitter, facebook, etc.)	·      cell phones in schools
·      role of federal agencies versus local state control	·      school size (smaller high schools)

                                                English teaching issues:

·      scripted reading instruction	·      Accelerated Reader and improved reading comprehension
·      effectiveness of Read 180 for struggling readers	·      text selection: classics vs. contemporary lit vs. young adult lit
·      teaching poetry to adolescents	·      use of adolescent literature in the classroom
·      integration of media literacy into English classrooms	·      teaching vocabulary
·      teaching spelling as a discrete subject	·      reading and writing workshops

Specific Vocabulary

I have had the idea for a long time to do some sort of Vocabulary Unit where the words are functional and have to do with real life, things that kids will experience and come across in real-life.  I came up with the following list:

 

Travel:

               *Itinerary                         *Embassy

    *Layover                                                        *Luggage

                *Gate         *Terminal

                    *Security                                                                    *Check luggage

Financial:

                        *Credit (Card)  *Mortgage

*Debit (card)                                *Reimburse

                        *Collateral                                    *Gross Income

                        *Stock                                              *Net Income

                        *Currency                             *Salary

                        *Traveler’s Check                          *Wage

                        *Deposit                                           *Transaction

                        *Withdrawal

Education:

                   -Tuition

                   -Transcript

                    -Resume

                    -ACT (American College Test)/ SAT (Scholastic Atitude Test)

                  *Undergraduate (undergrad)

             *Graduate (Grad)

            *Bachelors (BA or BS)

            *Masters (MS or MS)

            *Application

            *Scholarship

            *Grant

            *Grading on a curve

            *Rubric

Skin Care:

           *Moisturizer                    *Astringent                                    

       *Exfoliation                              *Non-comedogenic                                                

              *Foundation                               *Cosmetics    

               *Cellulite                                    *Keratosis Pilaris

Business Vocabulary:

 *Free Market                                                *Blue collar                        *White collar

 *Capitalism                                                  *Supply and Demand        *Black Market

Maybe a teacher could do an activity where they give these words to students to study and learn.  A teacher could also have students work in units to come up with their own specific vocabulary words (sports, music, etc.)

A couple of cool videos from my Multiculture Class

Jane Elliot's "Blue Eyed/Brown Eyed" discrimination test video.

Amistad Academy, Achievement First

Some Random Ideas

*On the first or second day of school, show students a picture of yourself when they were your age. The goofier the picture, the better!

*Send an email to your students' parents at least once a week to let them know what is going on in your classroom.

*Textthemob.com! This is an awesome website where you can create a poll and have students text in their answers! (similar to an I-clicker). Only students with unlimited texting can do this (otherwise they will be charged), so make sure to have students pair up. This is a great way to engage students. Be careful of your school's cell-phone policy, though.

*Class blog!

*There is always the issue of teaching literature with questionable material. While one has to be sensitive to the community in which one is teaching, my YA Lit Professor at BYU (Raphael Jonstaneux) gave some great advice. Some literature that contains themes concerning sexuality has a great place in the classroom. However, make sure what you are teaching is not pornographic or sexually stimulating. "Scarlet Letter" is fine because it deals with the consequences of adultery, but is not graphic. When I was in 11th grade, we read "Growing Up" by Russell Baker. Fine book, but contained at least 2 very sexually explicit scenes. In my opinion, this is inappropriate in public schools.

*Use Lewis Carroll's "Jabberwocky" to have students identify what type of speech the made-up words are. Then, discuss how they knew that. (by using context clues)

*For a well-written 5P essay model written by an 8th grader, check out this site:

*Don't forget the amazing resource of Novelinks!

*For an idea for high school seniors, use the essay "An American Scholar" by Ralph Waldo Emerson. It talks about the need to not be a bookworm, and that a true scholar is creative and gains real-life experience, not study their life away. I love this essay!

*If you ever use the "My House Has Stars" unit, show them a clip from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" to activate the schema. The best clip is at the very beginning, when it shows how Toula's family culture is quite different than her peers. Then, after the clip, have kids discuss some of the things important to Toula's family's culture. This will prep them to explore their own culture.

*If teaching satire, you can use Brad Paisley's "Celebrity" and "Online" (this one is a bit suggestive, so censor as needed) to teach that satire is not just bitter, it can be funny and amusing too!

Punctuation matters! Here is the link to two different letters with the exact same words but different punctuation. The letters mean exactly the opposite of each other! Fun, entertaining, and very informative. Students will love it.

*How do high school student really feel about graduation?

Listen to Vitamin C's "The Graduation Song"

Then, have students read the following passage from Annie Dillard's novel An American Childhood:

**********

For any sort of unit on beauty/women's vanity, perhaps use excerpts/summary of Pope's "The Rape of the Lock," Scott Westerfields "Uglies," and (my personal favorite), Dan and Ben Tengelsen's song "Factory" (lyrics and actual song at this link). By contrast, use the song "Wrinkles" by Diamond Rio to talk about accepting ourselves. Maybe talk about cosmetics, Mary Kay wrinkle cream? I don't know.

*Tier 1, 2, and 3 Vocabulary Words! Click here for an explanation!

A lot of times, English teachers give lists of Tier 3 words. Think of tests you've had on "phobia" words, for example: Chronophobia (the fear of time), astraphobia (the fear of thunder and lightening), entonophobia (the fear of ticks). TOTALLY LAME! English teachers should focus their vocabulary instruction mainly on Tier 2 words. But be aware that some ELL students may need help with Tier 1 words.

*When dealing with sex in literature, be careful! You don't necessarily need to avoid it altogether, but avoid giving students sexually explicit material to read ("The Notebook," for example). Books like "The Scarlet Letter" are good because they deal with the aftermath and the consequences of an affair without being graphic or inappropriate.

*For a possible extra credit activity, have students make a "Goodreads" account. Show them your Goodreads and explain how it is a useful way to keep track of your books (ones that you've read and want to read), and also how it is fun to compare books with your friends.

Cool Quotation

The following is a quote from a book called "To Sir, With Love," which is about a black man teaching white kids in the rough slums of London.  I really like how it describes a teacher's responsibility to teach to students' needs.  

            "It may sometimes be rather deflating to discover that a well-prepared lesson did not really excite Johnny Smith's interest, but, after all, the lesson was intended to benefit Johnny Smith, not his teacher; if it was uninteresting to him then the teacher must think again.  You will discover that these children are reasonably fair, even when they comment on us.  If we are careless about our clothing, manners, or person, they will soon notice it, and it would be pointless to be angry with them for pointing such things out.  Finally, from the reviews, the sensible teacher will observe the trend of individual and collective interests and plan his work accordingly."            

                              Pg. 65-6.  

There is a movie version with Sydney Poitier that I want to see!