This blog will help us to discover New Jersey together outside of our classroom adventures. The more we get out and explore our state, the more we can understand how where we are influences what we are.
Today's discussion was really informing. As we all probably could tell, attendance was a major concern for all four groups of individuals. Parents, students, teachers, and the administration are all worried about urban schools and the conditions they presently face. All four groups have different approaches on how to better the system, and by combining all of them, I do believe something could be done to help these schools. Every kid should have the eligibility to graduate and be successful, some just might need some help to get to that point.
As Tori reiterated every group felt that attendance was a major issue holding back the urban community from having a successful school system. The lack of desire to be in school and the lack of kids that actually attend class makes it hard for the administration to judge their faculty and to enforce discipline it makes it hard for the teachers to adequately teach their classes and it makes it difficult for the students to graduate. All of the groups came up with good ideas for potential solutions however as Mrs. Siegel pointed out most of the groups heavily relied on an alumni group that does not really exist. Each of the different groups would need to work together to come up with other options as to who we can turn to to receive the necessary funding.
Attendance was definitely the issue that pretty much every group mentioned. I felt that this was pretty much expected. I think attendance was most focused on because a lot of these issues within the urban school districts stem from this problem. If children are not attending their classes, they are less likely to be able to understand the material presented in class and they will not gain a full school experience. Also, if the students are not in school, it is difficult to keep track of where they are. Some may stay at home taking care of the house, however others are probably on the streets and getting into trouble. What surprised me about this conversation today was the lack of conversation of overall school security. I remember the parents requesting for there to be more security presence, and the administrative group that I was in mentioned uniforms and how they will help with school security. But this issue was not explored as much as I thought it was going to be. When the parents mentioned an increase in security that made me think back to the Heart of Stone video we watched, where increased security actually made students feel even more unsafe and even felt that it was a violation of their privacy. So it would have been useful if as a group, we came up with a solution to improve the safety of the schools, but without making the students feel violated and more inclined to act out. That would be a very difficult balance to keep.
I agree with Emma in where not many groups were concerned about security. Security can help make sure that the students are staying on school grounds during school, which will help with attendance. The administrative group suggested a survey which could be a good idea, however students might not take the survey seriously and they will never get an accurate answer. Every group made excellent points on how to bring our community together to help the present and future students. Actions speak louder than words and in this type of community people, besides the alumni, need to step up and make a difference. All of these groups want to help the students and by working together they can strive to get their motivation.
I feel that every group pretty much agreed on the fact that for our school to succeed, the attendance rate needs to increase. The Administrative group proposed a lot of good ideas that could definitely work and make a difference immediately. However, most groups were relying on Alumni to help with fundraisers and to be heavily involved, which is ironic in itself since the graduation rate of our school is incredibly low and decreasing by the year. I feel that the groups confused our hypothetical school to Weequahic High school that we saw in the documentary, and this is were the Alumni idea came from. So instead of relying on Alumni involvement, we could have a great focus on community involved, donations from various organizations, and hold fund raisers. For any real change to be made all four groups need to collaborate and cooperate with each other, realizing that each group is ultimately working for the students and trying to help educate the youth of the community. Parents need to get on their child's case and put a huge emphasis on education and going to school. The Administration needs to restructure the attendance system, create better, more hands on, relatable, classes that apply to the students lives and that are valuable to them. Teachers need to learn different methods of teaching and show their students that they care about their education. There is a lot of remodeling to be done, and it cannot be done over night, but it is definitely long over do. The United States in general is in need of a huge education reform.
As everyone else has said attendance is such a problem in urban districts. Students either feel that there are more important things then going to school or that they don't feel safe going to school. In order to make all the programs each group suggested a success the first thing that needs to be dealt with is increasing the attendance level. Each idea sounds like they could be a big success but everything relies on the students. An increase in security and efforts to help motivate. If the students can prove their motivated to attend school daily then the alumni will see that donating money to help improve the school wouldn't be a waste.
As I was listening to all the groups talk about their plans to help better their school, I noticed that a lot of the ideas were going to be implemented by force. For example, some of the groups wanted more security. As we saw in "Heart of Stone," the students that were interviewed did not respond well to all of the security measures that were implemented in the school. Students felt uncomfortable and violated because of the security, instead of increasing security systems by hiring and purchasing more personnel and new equipment maybe we can keep closer tabs on students by developing relationships with the students. In the movie, we saw that Mr. Stones relationships with his students was extremely positive and was a way that he could ensure the boys safety as well as all of the other students by keeping a close eye on them. The student group also made a point about making certain classes mandatory. Some of the ideas for the classes were great, but I do not think that they should be forced upon the students. For example, forcing all students in grade 11 to take an SAT course is not very realistic. Looking at all of the stats, as a class, we have pointed out that many of the students who graduate from high school do not go on to receive a post secondary education. That being said, requiring all students to take the SAT course would be counter productive. Making the course optional, will help to better the students that are actually interested in taking the class. This way, students will not be held back by others who do not want or even need to be in this very specific and specialized class. As we have seen throughout our time in class, force is not always the best way to solve certain situations. Look what happened in July of 1967.
It gave me a great sense of satisfaction hearing that all other groups were as greatly concerned with attendance as we were. It felt as though all areas found a sync. One thing that bothered me was the parents' excessive use of statistics. It was information that we all knew, and it made it hard for us as the administrators to understand the underlying problems that they wanted attention paid to. Lastly, it was also extremely gratifying to know that all the issues the students want fixed, and their proposed methods of doing so, are VERY similar to what the administrators present in our three year plan. If the situation of funding is not a problem, it will be a seemingly easy transition to a better school.
So far in todays discussion the main issue in each group that clearly stood out was the attendance rate. I agree with Chelsea on the issue with the parents. I felt that they kept blaming everyone else instead of focusing on ways to fix the issue. As a teacher, I would ask the administrators how is there plan for the attendance rate going to actually work? Students have to want to go to school, not be forced. The student group gave great points that definitely tied in with everyones thoughts on ways to create a better learning environment. After all we are all there for the students.
All of the ideas that we came up with for solutions to the problems required funding. I did not hear any good plans to generate funding to make our plans successful. I believe it is the administrators' duty to come up with specific ways to fundraise.
Every group during the discussions focused on attendance rate, and fundraising, two very hard problems to tackle. Attendance is up to the students and their motivation to show up to class and try to succeed. Fundraising is up to the alumni and their dedication to their high school. Both problems are very big IFs. I do not think any group had a specific plan that required less funding, every group had plans that required a copious amount of money.
Today's discussion was really informing. As we all probably could tell, attendance was a major concern for all four groups of individuals. Parents, students, teachers, and the administration are all worried about urban schools and the conditions they presently face. All four groups have different approaches on how to better the system, and by combining all of them, I do believe something could be done to help these schools. Every kid should have the eligibility to graduate and be successful, some just might need some help to get to that point.
ReplyDeleteAs Tori reiterated every group felt that attendance was a major issue holding back the urban community from having a successful school system. The lack of desire to be in school and the lack of kids that actually attend class makes it hard for the administration to judge their faculty and to enforce discipline it makes it hard for the teachers to adequately teach their classes and it makes it difficult for the students to graduate. All of the groups came up with good ideas for potential solutions however as Mrs. Siegel pointed out most of the groups heavily relied on an alumni group that does not really exist. Each of the different groups would need to work together to come up with other options as to who we can turn to to receive the necessary funding.
ReplyDeleteAttendance was definitely the issue that pretty much every group mentioned. I felt that this was pretty much expected.
ReplyDeleteI think attendance was most focused on because a lot of these issues within the urban school districts stem from this problem. If children are not attending their classes, they are less likely to be able to understand the material presented in class and they will not gain a full school experience. Also, if the students are not in school, it is difficult to keep track of where they are. Some may stay at home taking care of the house, however others are probably on the streets and getting into trouble.
What surprised me about this conversation today was the lack of conversation of overall school security. I remember the parents requesting for there to be more security presence, and the administrative group that I was in mentioned uniforms and how they will help with school security. But this issue was not explored as much as I thought it was going to be. When the parents mentioned an increase in security that made me think back to the Heart of Stone video we watched, where increased security actually made students feel even more unsafe and even felt that it was a violation of their privacy. So it would have been useful if as a group, we came up with a solution to improve the safety of the schools, but without making the students feel violated and more inclined to act out. That would be a very difficult balance to keep.
I agree with Emma in where not many groups were concerned about security. Security can help make sure that the students are staying on school grounds during school, which will help with attendance. The administrative group suggested a survey which could be a good idea, however students might not take the survey seriously and they will never get an accurate answer. Every group made excellent points on how to bring our community together to help the present and future students. Actions speak louder than words and in this type of community people, besides the alumni, need to step up and make a difference. All of these groups want to help the students and by working together they can strive to get their motivation.
ReplyDeleteI feel that every group pretty much agreed on the fact that for our school to succeed, the attendance rate needs to increase. The Administrative group proposed a lot of good ideas that could definitely work and make a difference immediately. However, most groups were relying on Alumni to help with fundraisers and to be heavily involved, which is ironic in itself since the graduation rate of our school is incredibly low and decreasing by the year. I feel that the groups confused our hypothetical school to Weequahic High school that we saw in the documentary, and this is were the Alumni idea came from. So instead of relying on Alumni involvement, we could have a great focus on community involved, donations from various organizations, and hold fund raisers. For any real change to be made all four groups need to collaborate and cooperate with each other, realizing that each group is ultimately working for the students and trying to help educate the youth of the community. Parents need to get on their child's case and put a huge emphasis on education and going to school. The Administration needs to restructure the attendance system, create better, more hands on, relatable, classes that apply to the students lives and that are valuable to them. Teachers need to learn different methods of teaching and show their students that they care about their education. There is a lot of remodeling to be done, and it cannot be done over night, but it is definitely long over do. The United States in general is in need of a huge education reform.
ReplyDeleteAs everyone else has said attendance is such a problem in urban districts. Students either feel that there are more important things then going to school or that they don't feel safe going to school. In order to make all the programs each group suggested a success the first thing that needs to be dealt with is increasing the attendance level. Each idea sounds like they could be a big success but everything relies on the students. An increase in security and efforts to help motivate. If the students can prove their motivated to attend school daily then the alumni will see that donating money to help improve the school wouldn't be a waste.
ReplyDeleteAs I was listening to all the groups talk about their plans to help better their school, I noticed that a lot of the ideas were going to be implemented by force. For example, some of the groups wanted more security. As we saw in "Heart of Stone," the students that were interviewed did not respond well to all of the security measures that were implemented in the school. Students felt uncomfortable and violated because of the security, instead of increasing security systems by hiring and purchasing more personnel and new equipment maybe we can keep closer tabs on students by developing relationships with the students. In the movie, we saw that Mr. Stones relationships with his students was extremely positive and was a way that he could ensure the boys safety as well as all of the other students by keeping a close eye on them.
ReplyDeleteThe student group also made a point about making certain classes mandatory. Some of the ideas for the classes were great, but I do not think that they should be forced upon the students. For example, forcing all students in grade 11 to take an SAT course is not very realistic. Looking at all of the stats, as a class, we have pointed out that many of the students who graduate from high school do not go on to receive a post secondary education. That being said, requiring all students to take the SAT course would be counter productive. Making the course optional, will help to better the students that are actually interested in taking the class. This way, students will not be held back by others who do not want or even need to be in this very specific and specialized class. As we have seen throughout our time in class, force is not always the best way to solve certain situations. Look what happened in July of 1967.
It gave me a great sense of satisfaction hearing that all other groups were as greatly concerned with attendance as we were. It felt as though all areas found a sync. One thing that bothered me was the parents' excessive use of statistics. It was information that we all knew, and it made it hard for us as the administrators to understand the underlying problems that they wanted attention paid to. Lastly, it was also extremely gratifying to know that all the issues the students want fixed, and their proposed methods of doing so, are VERY similar to what the administrators present in our three year plan. If the situation of funding is not a problem, it will be a seemingly easy transition to a better school.
ReplyDeleteSo far in todays discussion the main issue in each group that clearly stood out was the attendance rate. I agree with Chelsea on the issue with the parents. I felt that they kept blaming everyone else instead of focusing on ways to fix the issue. As a teacher, I would ask the administrators how is there plan for the attendance rate going to actually work? Students have to want to go to school, not be forced. The student group gave great points that definitely tied in with everyones thoughts on ways to create a better learning environment. After all we are all there for the students.
ReplyDeleteAll of the ideas that we came up with for solutions to the problems required funding. I did not hear any good plans to generate funding to make our plans successful. I believe it is the administrators' duty to come up with specific ways to fundraise.
ReplyDeleteEvery group during the discussions focused on attendance rate, and fundraising, two very hard problems to tackle. Attendance is up to the students and their motivation to show up to class and try to succeed. Fundraising is up to the alumni and their dedication to their high school. Both problems are very big IFs. I do not think any group had a specific plan that required less funding, every group had plans that required a copious amount of money.
ReplyDelete