Response to Social Justice

The first thing that I did when I started this assignment was question myself about what social justice really meant.  I tried to think of a definition and all I could think of was that it was an arbitrary word.  That made me think.  So of course, I went to the holiest of holy online sources, Wikipedia, to look it up.  They had a pretty solid definition that i agreed with.  It said, "social justice is generally used to refer to a set of institutions which will enable people to lead a fulfilling life and be active and contributors to their community".  This made me further think about how arbitrary the term really is.  When I say that I think the term is arbitrary, I mean that it is an idea that exist, but will not realistically ever happen.  There are so many other factors that must be set in place from racism to socioeconomic status to make a truly equal school and education system.  While I do think that social just ice a good thing and something that every aspect of education should strive for, I think that it is a goal that can never be reached. While most know that this goal is unattainable, they still strive for it, which shows admiration to the cause and determination to make it a reality.  The reality is that it isn't fully possible and people should know that.  With factors not in place to create a perfectly social juscticed system, people will still be shafted, much like urban schools are being shafted now.

I may have rambled there for a bit.  My main idea is that the system isn't perfect, and striving for a perfect system is in itself impossible with out solid ground to start on.  Somebody is always going to disagree, that is the reality.  My opinion of course.  I want social justice, but i want to be able to achieve a goal.  maybe social justice is something that should be thought of after other issues have been resolved.

Now to the article that I decided to read.  I found an article that has to do with teacher evaluations.  It talks about how new teacher evaluations are going to ruin education by placing emphasis on teachers performance whether it be through test scores or a evaluation report.  While evaluating someone in itself can be a hard task, I agree that the methods created to evaluate teachers are ways to keep accountability, but what kind of accountability.  With these type of evaluations, teachers will learn which hoops they must jump through in order to survive and stay employed.  I say this because I have a strong belief that when faced with unemployment, people will look out for themselves rather than the greater good.  The greater good is the students.  We are currently changing curriculum to make students more knowledgeable, yet we give teachers little option on how to teach as they are evaluated based on a 5 point scale.

I'm going to side track for a little bit.  Being in the military, I have seen this 5 point scale as it was used to evaluate everyone once a year in the armed forces.  The scale was 1--poor to 5--outstanding.  3 was average.  Average is supposed to mean that you aren't bad, you do your job, your good.  But with inflation and people wanting to look good, over time everyone is handing out 5s like they are candy.  5s were supposed to be reserved for the elite, the best of the best.  When we look at a bell curve, it would only be 3-5% that would receive a 5.  Now everyone gets 5s.  I received 4s for my first 2 years, and i was reprimanded for not getting a 5.  4 was above average.  I can understand how they want everyone to strive for the best, but not everyone will.  So i began to play the game.  I tweaked my yearly bullets to receive a 5. I played the game, got 5s.  I was most certainly not excellent.  I did my job, went home and didn't shine my boots.  This creates a society where people don't want to be outstanding, but they will be outstanding on paper.

Teachers will learn to play the game.  If their evaluations are based on students grades, you can be sure that most will teach to the test, and I don't blame them.  It is their job on the line.  If they grade teachers based on a certain evaluation criteria, you can be absolutely sure that teachers will focus on the aspects that they are being graded on.  This is going to alienate some teachers.  I don't think this moves towards a education system that wants social justice.  IF they give teachers criteria that determines if they keep their job, then they should understand that those criteria became the only thing that matters to them in regards to their job.

This whole rant has left out the students.  I think that says alot about what is happening to students because we focus so much on the teachers, passing/failing rates, and accountability that it becomes less and less about the students.  I don't have an answer about how to make it more about the students and that depresses me.  Once students learn the fact that life is a game with hoops everywhere, they will learn to jump through them just as adults to to survive in a competitive market.

Response to "Critical Pedagogy and Popular Culture in an Urban Secondary English Classroom"

I found this article interesting because it explores the other and less savory side of education.  While going through all of the education courses here at EWU, I see alot of perfect scenario type instruction and learning techniques.  We all know that the real world is not perfect and sometimes we have to deal with what limited resources we have to work with.  It is easy to think that all schools across the US are treated fairly, but as this article points out, it just isn't the case.  Surely its a question on alot of peoples minds how public education is created equal yet some schools are much better off financially.I think it is very sad that these urban schools get the shaft when it comes to finances while rich area schools are doing just fine.  It really hits home when he points out that there aren't enough science books for kids to be able to take them home and they have to copy problems down onto their own paper in order to do them for homework while a rich area school not four miles away is getting a 5 million dollar stadium.  I secretly hoped the stadium wouldn't be built in order to buy books for the urban school, but I knew that that is the sad truth about public education in the US.  These poor urban schools seem like they are en endless repeating pattern where they keep spiraling into failure.  Resources in these schools are obviously limited and it seems that no one but students seem to care.  After all, it is their education and when they know what they are not getting, it will make at least some of them want to act.

I especially like the section in which they tried to relate literature with the actual students.  While most students don't read on their own time, Students in the urban schools most definitely do not read on their own.  Getting students to read and enjoy is going to be much more than just forcing reading on them.  AS a teacher, I feel that is going to be my one biggest goal.  I want to help students discover reading on their own.  Of course books aren't for everyone and not everyone is going to be interested in reading.  If we as teachers can successfully give students the tool so that they know how to use it and use it later in life, then I feel like we have won.  This article does just that by finding material that relates to them.  I totally agree that dated material isn't going to get anyone interested in reading.  Books from the early American era have little in common with students today, and if we want to get them interested in reading then we shouldn't put dated books in front of them.  We have to give them materials that relate to their culture if we want them to engage.  Using the movie Stand and Deliver in conjunction with Native Son is an excellent example of getting students interested.  While Native Son itself may be dated and unwanted by students, Stand and Deliver hits very close to home for students in urban schools.  Using SaD is a genius way to get students into NS.  Also, Edwards James Olmos is the shit.  Getting students involved is the key to their education and this experiment taps into this idea, with seemingly good results.

While this is a great example and idea to get students interested, I feel that it wont be easy for all teachers to do.  Its ideal and i hope to be able to relate material to get students excited about reading.  Who knows, maybe it will work, maybe it wont.  I know it will be alot of work to implement it.  I really enjoyed this reading and agreed with everything they had to say.  It really is a depressing topic when I think about how shafted these Urban schools are in the education department and it is going to be an endless downward spiral until we as teachers figure out a collective way to excite these students at learning.

Response to "The Critical Pedagogy Reader"

Mclaren, you get a gif too for being hard to read.

While reading through this article, began to wonder how old it was.  He used an example about culture that relates back to hippies in the 60s.  I scrolled back up and looked at the publication date.  2009, come on McLaren, there have been more cultural events since the 60s!  Other than that I though the article was pretty interesting and almost equally as dry as Freire's.  Although learning about the situation in Brazil cleared up why his philosophy was so hardcore.  The part that interested me the most was the the different forms of knowledge.  Technical knowledge, which is knowledge that can be measured and quantified.  Practical knowledge had to do with knowledge that helps people live daily in the world. After I got to this point, I stopped and tried to think about what the next type of knowledge he would talk about.  I couldn't think of anything.  It was amazing to me that there are so many types of knowledge, and each very different in their own way.  The fourth was Then there was emancipatory knowledge, which is knowledge that is bridged between practical and technical.  It is interesting that there is two types of knowledge and a third that combines the two, making a totally different type of knowledge.  This is something I think that I will remember forever.  It is interesting to think about my own knowledge and decide if its technical practical, or a combination of both.

I did think the whole "invisible curriculum" was interesting.  While reading it I couldn't help but think i was reading whistle blower reports on education.  It is all true, especially the part about teachers trying not to be sexist, but it happens anyhow.  He is simply telling the truth.  So much you hear the black and whites of teaching.  That is good and all, but life is full of grey, no absolutes.  If teaching a certain way was easy, then it would be done.  But real life isn't that easy.  Mclaren brings up the fact that there is an elephant in the teaching room, and it should be embraced, not ignored.

Response to "PAULO FREIRE: CHAPTER 2 OF PEDAGOGY OF THE OPPRESSED"

This is how I felt after reading this.

I hate writing one word sentences, but I am going to.  Ugh.  I came across words in every other sentence that I have never heard of.  This text was extremely hard to read and at times pretty difficult to follow, but I feel I got the main point that Freire was trying to get across.  Before I get into that, I wanted to mention that this text felt like it was written as a logic equation first, then translated into a worded argument.  The way he sets up his arguments, it become very hard to disagree with what he is saying as he does well to prove his points.  I am going to take his word for it that he has made logically sound arguments because I am not going to (or in the mood) to see if it is logically accurate.

His idea that students are considered information banks was very interesting.  I think that it is dis concerning that students are treated this way and teachers have the mentality that they are information providers for students and themselves are the sole sources of information.  I think that this is probably true in some cases, but not in all as Freire makes it sound like a worldwide epidemic that all teachers suffer from.  I find it hard to believe that all teachers treat students as empty banks to store storage.  Their minds maybe more emptier than ours, but with knowledge poured in, it will eventually grow in time.  Pouring knowledge into students is necessary and I think Freire makes a valid point in saying that it may create a lack of creativity.  Although, one needs knowledge to be creative with it.  If someone only knows one thing, then there isn't really any chance of being creative, because they only know the one thing.  With more and more knowledge at the students fingertips, they will be able to make connections between them and possibly make connections that no one else has thought of.  Pouring knowledge into people is necessary.  The way I think about it is that if everyone started from scratch with their education and didn't learn previous knowledge created by society, then they would have to relearn and discover these new ideas.  By pouring this prior knowledge into students, we can skip the step of them having to create these previously created ideas and instead build upon them.  Society would never grow if we just taught them to be creative.  The students need all the prior knowledge so they can build upon it so that every new generation isn't reinventing the wheel.

I don't know though, he makes a good point, but I feel like he is talking in absolutes.  His points are very valid and I think he is very right in pointing out a potential serious problem with education.  We don't want robots, but we don't want to reinvent the wheel every generation.

Common Core State Standards

The CCSS in my opinion are a step in the right direction.  Making a set of goals that is readily available and easy to relate with subject material will undoubtedly create accountability for teachers across the board.  My goal is to be very familiar with each goal so that I can see where they fall with lessons, readings, or coursework.  Each goal is a very narrow and specific goal, which will be easy to incorperate into a lesson.  The coursework and goals for the specific grade levels are mapped out and easy to read.  The introduction to secondary education goals even gives concise goals.  Students " are expected to meet each year’s grade-specific standards and retain or further develop skills and understandings mastered in preceding grades"(CCSS).

The CCSS creates a level of continuity for the education system across the US.  The simple goals for each content area give all teachers milestones and goals that they know every other teacher is following.  While CCSS may or may not be a step in the right direction, it is a step that the US education system is taking together.  Working together on education and using the same standards across the board will create accountability for all educators.

The one thing that truly stood out to me was how similar each content area was with its goals.  Each of the content areas had ten goals each, and all goals are largely similar.  The content areas in the sub categories are even the same throughout every content area.  They all have key ideas and details, craft and structure, integration of knowledge and ideas, and range of reading and level of text complexity.  This will make it easier for teachers to transition goals and determine what needs to be taught.  Each teacher that learns the CCSS knows that they have to incorporate these four sub categories, and within each sub category the actual goals are largely similar.  A goal for 6th grade literature is "Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of a specific word choice on meaning and tone" and the corresponding Informational Text goal is "Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings" (CCSS).  As we can see, there isn't much different about the two goals.  They have the same common goal, but branch out a tiny bit depending on the larger goal.  This makes learning and memorizing the goals that much easier because you know what goal 6 is for literature, and now you have a fairly good idea of what goal 6 is for every other content area in English.  This ease will help teachers and allow them to seamlessly transition between content while using goals that are largely similar rather than changing content areas while having to completely change goals.  CCSS makes understanding and knowing goals much better for teachers, and when teachers are comfortable with the goals they are teaching, the student prospers also.

"Discussion as a Way of Teaching"

While reading this, I was at first dissapointed that the author did not give the outcome to the DNR situation!  That story really got me interested and got me into reading further.  When it segwayed into discussion tactics for the classroom, I realized what had happened.  I was drawn into the debate that was created, and that spark was all I needed to continue reading.  I think that this is very important because it directly relates to students in the classroom.  I imagine leading a discussion can be one of the hardest things to do effectively in the classroom and be successful with all students.  While the text could be dry and dense at times, I felt it got the point across that discussion is important and how they work.  Knowing that when people go into discussions that new information or ideas can be created is a great benefit in itself.  If one person tries to do what a group of people try to discuss, they wont come up with the sheer amount of ideas because they simply don't have the ability to see things from all sorts of viewpoints.  This is excellent in regards to students, because it allows the students to share their ideas with the class rather than the teacher being the end all of information in which they are feeding to the students.  Students may learn new ideas that they never would have thought of on their own, which promotes self actualization of their learning.

The most important idea that I took from this excerpt was that proper discussion creates good habits of collaborative learning.  While students should know how to do things on their own, they should know that putting their ideas together with others could possibly create better or altogether different ideas.  Like the person in the DNR segment at the beginning, he or she quickly second guessed themselves about the stance that they were taking.  The addition of outside ideas made him change his whole perception on the subject, which can be seen as learning in progress.  As teachers, I think that telling students that learning never ends, and through discussion new and different ideas can be created and maybe even change or previously cemented ideas.

About Jason Edwards

I am currently a senior here at EWU, and am on track to graduate in the winter quarter of 2015.  This last fall quarter was my placement quarter, yet I have not received a placement.  I am hopeful that I get one soon so that I can get started with becoming a teacher candidate.  I have completed all of my English requirements except for Shakespeare and am ready to graduate!  I finally feel like the fun part of the coursework is beginning with my classes this quarter, and feel like I have professors that are pretty interested in their teachings, which is always a good thing.  

Up until 6 years ago, I never touched books or had any interest in reading whatsoever, except comic books.  I have always been a comic book lover and reader, my one real hobby.  On a deployment I learned my true love for reading.  As there was alot of downtime and lulls in work, I would read comic books or graphic novels that my wife would send me.  When people see someone reading comic books, it gave them the idea that there was something better to do than reading about Daredevil or Spider-man.  I decided to pick up a book instead and try that, and i realized that people won't mess with you while you are reading a book, because its not a comic or a video game.  This is where I became hooked on reading and read everything I could get my hands on.  After that I decided to pursue English or literature in college, and here I am!

As for strengths and weaknesses, I feel that my strengths come from knowing my weaknesses.  I consider myself very easy going, laid back, and stress free.  I can even be a bit lazy at times.  For some reason, I have this fear of being late with anything, so that keeps my procrastination in check.  I pride myself on being punctual, and rarely if ever am I late.  I know that I procrastinate and am a little too easy going at times, but knowing helps me keep them in check.  Throughout college I realized that I am a pretty strong writer and am a very auditory learner, so I barely take any notes.  I have 2 legal pads that I have used to take notes throughout my whole EWU career.  My wife thinks that I am crazy for not taking notes and she might be right.  Making lesson plans is going to be difficult for me for this reason.  How hard can it be, I survived Dr. Binney and Dr. McHenry(which are my two favorite professors, they challenged me like no others have), so I am confident I can survive making a TPA.

I also feel that I am a strong people person, I have no problems with talking and conversation.  I imagine that's a necessity for teaching.  Even if someday i find teaching is not for me, I will always have the drive to help people.  Helping people is why I decided to go into this career. 

I did almost cry at the bookstore when i saw the "Edgar Allen Poe Compilation".  I thought that I was done with American Literature.  I guess Poe had more dark plans for me.  I call it the "cinderbook".  I am definitely interested in reading the rest of the material, as I have never read them before.

I always enjoy when people say that teaching is 90% relationships, because I know that i will excel in that area, and I am ready to hone the rest of the 10% on learning how to make TPa and following the CCSS!