My (Tentative) Inquiry Project Question.

For my inquiry project I want to research on how special education classrooms are the same and different in other special education classrooms in another school district. As of right now my inquiry project question is tentative but more than likely the direction I will be going in. I feel that there are guidelines that all special education teachers have to follow but many different ways to teach and set classroom boundaries. From my current knowledge every school district has a different way to teach children. I feel this would be perfect for me because I would love to teach special education in a urban school district.

When is Enough…Enough in our Classroom?

Like it are not there will always be politics in teaching. From politician to celebrities, everyone wants their own philosophy incorporated in how “they” think are schools should be run. I was doing some research online the other day when I found out that certain schools in the west coast made their students watch celebrity PSA’s (Public Service Announcements) to teach there middle school and some elementary students about being adducted, drugs, and knowing your body.

Here is a PSA from 1984 called “Strong Kids!! Safe Kids!!” were Henry Winkler and his friends the Fronz talk about molested and kidnapped. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agK2uZBNbnU Is it me or is it ironic that Mr. Winkler the guy who made out with several of different women each week is teaching our kids about me molested. Apparently if would have learned this lesion when he was in school he would be just as cool as Potsy. Well if that don’t strike you than maybe you can have your ten year old kid sing the penis song to your way home. Thanks Pedro!! Maybe the school systems in the west cost didn’t know about the D.A.R.E. program that was established a year before PSAs like this and others stared to hit classrooms.

Television in the classroom can be effective if what you are showing to teach. Like in the reading that we read in class government has a lot to do with how our schools operate and function. Hopefully they know more now than they did 23 years ago. If not well have Paris Hilton talk about drugs and Britney Spears doing as PSA on how to be a better parent. The one major step to improve our school systems is to have Hollywood stay in Hollywood and have educators stay as educators.

Schools are ideal sites for democratic citizenship education (Revise)

“Schools are ideal sites for democratic citizenship education” –Walter C. Parker (Pg. 3)

The quote form Teaching Against Idiocy by Walter C. Parker hits on so many points. The quote is trying to say that schools are great for social equality. Parker says that the interaction in schools can help children enter social consciousness of puberty and develop the habits of thinking and caring necessary for public life. I feel that this is true because it enlightens a child to different cultures, races, and genders that they might have not seen before. This also helps students with their social interactions as well.

Parker states that there are three keys to do this. First, to increase the interaction of students who are culturally, linguistically, and racially different from one another. Second, orchestrate these contacts so as to foster competent public talk. Third, clarify the distinction between deliberation and blather and between open and close deliberation. (Parker, pg. 4) By doing this I feel that it will help children become more diverse and could help expand their horizon of the world around them.

When I was growing up I was the only white student in mostly all my classes till I got to college. By learning how different races and cultures function always amazed me. In college, I started to see ethnic groups outcast other ethnic groups members. Some schools are not so much culturally diverse. I support this quote because when kids grow up, and are sheltered in their own world (Our homes) and school is a portal to expand ones knowledge of the different races, genders, and cultures in our lives. This is why schools are the Mecca for democratic citizenship education. I am a strong believer in diversity among students.
-Richard Liptak

The First Reading

In the reading “A Public Education Primer” the author goes into certain area like where are the students, who are the students, who controls public education, how are they funded and the advancements in public education. Some facts that I read in this story is that 9 out of 10 students are in public schools, more Latins and African Americans attend urban school district, four out of ten public school students are color and that more than one third of public schools students are from low income families. Also other interesting notes are how more than 90% of funding for public schools come from state and local sources and that more than 60% of educational spending on a average goes towards instruction while only about 8% goes to administration. Also from the reading student scores have gone up in math in forth and eight grade since the 1990s but the scores stayed the same in science scores. Also whites and Asians have better test scores. The good news about this article is that more students are graduating high school by 43%. The other bit of good news is that almost half of all public school teachers have advance degrees and majority have more than 10 years experience. By what I see in the reading is that there are higher educated teachers than ever before. This reading was filled with a lot of useful information and I enjoyed reading it

Welcome to Earth

On planet earth we have educational facilities called schools. The way they are structured are from grades one to six, which are known as elementary school, seven to eighth, which are known as middle school, and nine to twelve known as high school. The content knowledge of the student in known by their grade level. Students are required to know certain subject areas such as Math, Reading, and Science. As shown by the PEP, Math, reading, and Science scores have risen from 1990 to 2005 in elementary and middle school, yet in high school scores have declined from 1990 to 2005. This decline is due to low moral from students, lack of resources and educational funding. By improving this, it will show an improvement on scores in the upcoming years.

Most of our students come from a Caucasian background. There are about 53% whites, 5% Asians, 15% African Americans, 24% Latino, and 6% American Indian. Due to the surrounding areas that we live in we want a positive and successful education for our students. As successful educators we find ways to connect language, music, cultural background and lifestyle of different students to make them feel comfortable not as an outsider. Our main goal is to push our students and motivate them to succeed in what ever they choose to do in life.

Our teachers often begin at or about the age of 22 and having received a bachelor?s degree. Many continue to pursue their own education as well as working to educate their students. 47% of our teachers have achieved a master?s degree or doctorate, and 58% of our teachers have been working in the field of education for over ten years. The majority of our high school educators are trained specifically in there are of content, ranging from 79% of Mathematics instructors to 84% of Social Science instructors. Although the Federal ?No Child Left Behind Act? does not require instructors to have a degree in their field of teaching, it does require them to, ?demonstrates subject matter competence.? A constant flow of new ideas about teaching is coming into our education system through an average of 14-21% of full time teachers with less than 3 years experience. These instructors, though lacking in experience,, more than compensate with a passion for teaching and a wealth of new and exciting ideas!