8.30.2009

Traversing the Information Gap


In David Warlick's response (Teacher Shock) to my "What are we doing?" post he brings up a great point; "But they have missed so much, and I do not know how to fill this gap." Warlick writes.

These students truly have missed so much. My fear is for my high school students post-graduation. Where will they ever get this information that they have missed? Our schools are not designed as a whole to produce independent critical thinkers - even though everything the districts push down through the ranks demands "making" critical thinkers out of our students. So, if the schools are not designed to fill these information gaps, we as educators must do it in the classroom.

A lot of the information that Warlick blogs about are the methods we need to be taking hold of in the classroom.... helping to fill the information gaps that our students suffer from.

The question is how do we get the districts, states and federal government to fill the information gaps with us? What are your thoughts?

More to come...

Mike Meechin
mike@innovateeducation.com

flickr photo by martin werker

8.28.2009

What Are We Doing?

Today was a defining moment for me in my educational career. Today I encountered a question from a high school junior as we were discussing the founding of the American colonies in the early 1600s. The student asked a question about the pilgrims using the automobile. I was not sure how to respond, other than to correct and clarify that the auto came almost 400 years later.

After my day ended and I was able to reflect on this young adult's question, I had only one thing on my mind...

What are we doing?

Here is what I see. But I am only a professional educator, what do I know? I see students that are lacking so much real-world knowledge that are one year away from high school graduation. My classroom is filled with the "Standardization Generation", who know nothing other than math, reading and writing. We are developing children to pass a test... that is all. I challenge any politician, superintendent, principal that says otherwise. I challenge them to step foot in my classroom and answer the questions of my students.

Is Detroit a state? Did the Pilgrims drive cars? The Pacific Ocean is off the east coast of Florida. What is a state?

What are we doing?

These "Standardization Generation" students have become "dumbed" down by the standardization of education. This is a fact. I do not care what research says; I do not care what experts say; I do not care what districts demand. We are selling a generation of students short, and the public systems are failing them. These children will not be able to function post "public school". Sure, they'll be able to read a little, write a little, and do a little math. However, what happens when this students sits in a college classroom? What happens when this student interviews for a position? What happens when this student has to teach his or her children? Shame on us.

What are we doing?

More to come...

Mike Meechin
mike@innovateeducation.com

8.27.2009

Fresh New Presentations in the Classroom.


Wow!

That's the response my classroom filled with young minds had when seeing my first presentation using Prezi [www.prezi.com]. What a huge compliment from a group of people who have their minds stimulated by a wide array of eye popping creations ranging from iPods to PSPs to XBox 360s. To get the "wow" reaction is something to write home about.

Prezi is a presentation program that creates flash videos. Your Prezis work off of a concept map instead of using slides as in most traditional presentations. It is truly a magnificent piece for the classroom, addicting as well. My colleagues and I had created several over the past few days just for the fun of it.

The site does offer a free account, which is what I have been using. This is a great option for those who may want to check it out. The do offer additional plans at a couple of different price points. What a great piece of technology that I just had to share.

Enjoy!

More to come....

Mike Meechin
mike@innovateeducation.com

8.17.2009

Comparing Apples to Oranges = ?


So, as I was sitting in the third hour of our welcome back pep rally professional development workshop today, many questions came to mind. As we began to tear our data apart from last school year we [the faculty] began to question the relevancy of the data. Here is what happened.

We were comparing two year data, that of 9th and 10th grade students that had taken the Florida Comprehensive Achievement Test [FCAT]. We were comparing 2008 data with that of 2009 data to see is students made learning gains. Now, here is where I take issue.

If comparing two sets of data, that of 2008 and 2009, we should be comparing the same group of students, right? However, we were comparing data from 9th and 10th grade students from 2008 and comparing that with the results from 9th and 10th grade students from 2009. This data is not from the same group of students, how can it be relevant in telling us anything about learning gains? The 2008 9th graders became 10th graders, their data is relevant. But, the 10th graders in 2008 became 11th graders in 2009 and their data was not taken into consideration. The 9th graders in 2009 were actually 8th graders in 2008, again their data is not being compared either.

So, to sum up... we are comparing data from a two year period to examine learning gains, but from two different groups of student data. This is how we are grading schools and assessing student needs. Your thoughts?

More to come...

Mike Meechin
mike@innovateeducation.com

flickr photo by dslrphotos

8.16.2009

Being the "D".

I begin work again tomorrow as a public educator. I have been at the same school now for six years, and the end of the summer is here. My school is one that is labeled by the Florida Dept. of Education as being a "D", based on student scores from the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test [FCAT]. Which, brings me to my point. What does being a "D" mean?

This diatribe was sparked by my reading of David Warlick's work on his 2 Cents Worth blog. He writes with a consistent message in mind... Is standardization the key? While I have no simple answer... well, actually yes I do... NO. However, this is a bit more complex than a one word answer. My "D" school is not that at all. If you listen to the suits in Tallahassee, they will tell you that our students are not performing to the standards set by the state... and they would be right.

But, back to Warlick's question, is standardization the key? My school, its faculty, and its students would tell you no, it is not. I believe that we are bringing them in the wrong direction, setting the wrong bars, with the wrong standards. If you came into our school (something I would challenge any politician to take time to do) you would see learning going on. It may not always be the one size fits all kind of learning. However, it is learning nonetheless. You would see our population of students, ones whom have many daily challenges in life, learning about life. But yet, with all of this learning happening... we are still a "D". If being a "D" means that we educate students in ways that they need to be educated, well then I will take it.

I think that is the answer to Warlick's question. We need to educate students in ways they need to be educated... not in the way standards tell us we need to educate.

More to come...

Mike Meechin
mike@innovateeducation.com