Response to Kozol

The one aspect I would like to focus my thoughts on is, Mrs. Corla Hawkins. I believe Kozol choose to talk about her for several reasons. One of those reasons and the most important one being that there is hope, hope for those students that are thrust into an environment of neglect and disadvantage. Some of the other reasons are; Kozol wants us (the readers) to understand that there are always going to be good and bad teachers in every school system, no matter inner city or suburban. As much as we would love to hear about all the bad teachers in the disadvantaged school systems, we need to hear about the good ones as well. Another reason would be that Kozol wants us to make the most out of our situation, no matter what it might be. Mrs. Hawkins did just that, she provided an environment of joy, love and learning in an environment of decay and destruction. Granted, majority of the students Mrs. Hawkins had in her class may never go to high school and even college; they may end up as gang members, criminals and in worst cases a victim to the violence in the community, she wants them to enjoy life and believe that they can be greater than those around them think they can be. In my opinion, Mrs. Hawkins is prime example of what any teacher should strive to be, no matter inner city or suburban schools.  She’s dedicated her time, money and life to provide a better place for those around her, not just the students; that are not so fortunate. When she lays her head down at night, she knows she is making a difference and given 100% of herself to making this spinning mud ball a better place.              

Task Three Question

Would you like to explore the problems in our educational system and provide your own opinions and solutions?

1/3 of students today drop out before graduating high school.  An alarming number of teachers are leaving the profession within five years.  The U.S. ranks 21st and 17th in the world in science and math even though we're the richest country in the world.  (The Today Show, “Education Nation Series”)

I’m sure there are more than these 3 problems within our educational system, but these are the three issues I’m going to explore. First, we need to ask ourselves why: Why are so many students dropping out, why are teaching leaving within the first five years and why is the United States 21^st and 17^th in the world in science and math scores.

I think students are dropping out because they are bored, not challenged and not understood. If a student isn’t interested in a subject they tend to day dream and not pay attention; some of these behaviors maybe a result of poor eating habits and lack of stimulation. It’s been proven that if students eat right and exercise they tend to be more alert and willing to pay attention and even participate in class. I blame the teachers for not challenging the students. If all the teacher does is give the student busy because they don’t care. How is that the students fault? They have been taught since preschool to listen and do what they teacher says and if the teacher tells them to do busy work, they do it. In our diverse society, I can see how a student can go without being understood. Majority of the teachers only relate to those students that are “normal”. I think it’s hard for a teacher to show interest in a student, when that student may be into activities that the teacher doesn’t agree with or doesn’t want to understand.

My suggested solution is to fit the student to the activities or classes they enjoy, similar to the college environment. Sure there are going to be core classes that I student must pass, but give them more options and let them feel like they are in control of their education, instead of the education controlling them.

As far as the teachers leaving the profession goes, many of them don’t realize teaching is harder than what they thought it would be and the pay really does suck. Within the first five years, they get burned out by the amount of time they have to dedicate and start looking for something new that will pay more. Majority of them don’t realize it takes a master degree and a doctrine to make substantial income in the teaching profession.

I think a multiple year job-shadowing or internship would be beneficial in the longevity of teachers today. Make sure they completely understand and know the responsibilities of a teacher and the lack of financial reward that comes with it.

Test results are very touchy subject to discuss, there are so many variables to tracking test scores, and it’s hard to justify the importance of them. I want to refer to the five Ws: Who, What, When, Where and Why. Who’s taking the tests, inner city or suburban students? What did they cover? When were they taken; time of day and day of the week? This can really affect the results of a test. Let’s say it was right after lunch and the student ate too much, they are going to be lethargic during the test, resulting in lower scores. Where were they taken, inner city or suburban schools? Why take them at all? The only fair way to rank the United States students against the rest of the world is to give the same tests to everyone at the giving time; then and only then will we be able to compare results evenly and fairly. This is what I mean; give the tests to the United State’s students at 8:30am on a Tuesday and continue with this procedure for the rest of the world that is being compared.                 

       

Let Teen-Agers Try Adulthood Response

In the essay “Let Teen-Agers Try Adulthood,” Botstein points out several problems with the current high school environment; many of those issues focus on the social demographics that occur in high schools, not the actual curriculum. He wants us, the audience, to understand how these demographics can cause some major issues in the high school environment. Botstein uses the Littleton High School incident as an example of what can happen in the worst case scenario. I do agree; I think there is a segregation problem that causes some social acceptance issues with some teenagers. I think he is right in his assumptions about the struggles teenagers deal with while in high school and that it’s a terrible comparison to what the real world is going to be like. However, I don’t agree with changing the age of high school graduates from 18 to 16. I think there should be more pressure on high school students to be the best that than can be, before going into college or the workforce. It would benefit high school students if they were required to work a part-time job or participate in an internship, during their senior year. This would help them develop those traits that they can’t learn in the classroom and understand what the workforce environment is really like.

"Where College Fails Us" Question One Response

This is my second college experience. The first time, I attended Vatterott College getting a certificate in CAD, Computer Aided Drafting. At that time, I thought that is was the best thing for me, my family and my career. I had always liked to draw and lay things out has a kid, I figured Vatterott would give me skills I would need to get a job and start a career, in drafting. It did for a short term. After getting laid off or let go from my drafting job back in March, I decided it was time to go back and I changed my career ambitions. This time around, I’m going into the health and wellness industry, I’m hoping this will provide a career for me. I’m planning to graduate with a degree in Health and Exercise Science. The reason for the change is simple; over the past 5 years I’ve lost over 160 pounds and I’ve also been a certified personal trainer for the last 4 of that. I really enjoy working with people that are where I was and letting them know there is hope and weight loss can be done. I feel this degree will go hand and hand with being a personal trainer. I think that college is worth the time, the effort and the expense. The one thing I don’t agree with is, allowing kids that don’t really want to be here, stay here. They are not only wasting money and sometimes tax payer’s money, but they are also wasting the time of the teachers. If all you came to college for was to get away from your and learn how to drink, go do it somewhere else.     

 

Summary Response to Bird's Essay

Caroline Bird who wrote, “Where College Fails Us, “explains that college isn’t for everyone. She also points out that even with a college degree; some of the graduates won’t find a job in their specific field. In her opinion, she thinks a student should take into consideration the cost of college, the value of it and the desire that one has to go, before going. I have to agree with her. I’m not sure some one that is 18 or 19 years old really knows or can appreciate the value of a college degree. They may have a good idea, but they really don’t know. There is always going to be an exception of course. For the majority of students, I feel there should be a 1-2 year waiting period before going to college. During that time period, students should have to work jobs that don’t require a college degree; places like fast-food restaurants, retail stores and the grocery stores. This environment would help build some behaviors that are needed in college; like being on time, respecting others and doing things under pressure with the expectation that it needs to be right the first time. These jobs would give the students a good idea of what he or she wants to do with their life and help them realize what direction they should be headed in.  

Task Two Self Evaluation

What is the thesis for your paper? 

Over the past 62 years, she has made it her personal conquest to impact the lives of every person that has crossed her path, in one way or another, especially children.

List the main points you make in your paper.

My mom's 3rd grade teacher showed her the potential she had and she didn't have to be the "Fat Little Girl" anymore.

My mom's struggles with adapting to a new and much larger school than what she was use too, for high school.

My mom finding her calling as a child care provider as an adult.

My mom and I had to deal with the same struggles of being an over weight child and over coming that to be the people we are today.

What was the most helpful advice you received from your peer evaluation?

The most helpful advice I received was the compliment that I wrote a good paper. I some times doubt my writing ability, it was nice to hear from my peers that I wrote a good paper.

What was the most helpful information you received in class for your paper?

The outlines and the mock paper were the most helpful information I received during class time, for this paper.

How many drafts of this paper do you think you wrote and how/when did you write them? For example, did you compose at the keyboard, did you write lots of notes to yourself, did you pre-write or outline, did you write in small chunks of time or sit down and produce an entire draft at one sitting?

I only did one draft this time because I took the time to do an outline, after my Q&A session. I also used the answers from my Q&A session to guide my thought process. Those two steps made the rough draft process easier for me.

What would you do differently with this paper to make it more effectively, or what did you try to do that you just don’t think you got a good handle on?

I wouldn't do anything different. The process I used seem to be effective and made this paper easy to write.

What are most pleased with about this paper?

I'm pleased that I was willing and able to use different techniques than just free-writing. Writing was never a good subject for in the past, it's nice that it's easier now than it use to be.

Task Two Interview

My interview process with my mom went well. Since we live together and I'm hardly home, I gave her a list of questions to think about. A couple of days later, we sat down and expanded on some of her answers. I learned a lot about the early years of her life that I never really knew or heard about. Some of the struggles she faced was; transitioning from the country environment to the city when she was 13, learning from her older siblings failures and being groomed to do things that she had no interest in.

I intend to transition from the Q and A format to an actual story by turning her answers into paragraphs. Since I've known my mom for 31 years, I can expand on her original thoughts with ease. Creating a story line of her educational experiences shouldn't be that difficult.

My major concern is finding time to gather my thoughts and put them on paper. I've got a lot of personal things going on right now, that's interferring with my writing process. I'm just going to have to clear my mind and focus on the task at hand, in order to overcome this obstacle.  

Becoming Educated Resposne

My definition of education is; the process in which you learn new foundamentials, procedures and increase your knowledge about specific subjects. My education is very important to me, I never want to stop learning and increasing my knowledge. Being in the position I'm in, a non-traditional student changing careers, education means much more to me than it ever has. The knowledge and education I receive here at MWSU is going to determine what I can do for the rest of my life. That's everything from what career choices to what I will be able to do when I retire. I'm sure that majority of the students don't look at it like that, maybe they should. Most of them are here to have fun and maybe get an education in the process. I'm here to improve myself and provide my family with the life that they deserve. At the end of this educational journey, I want my family to be proud of me and I want to be proud of myself. In some sense, I'm like Barbara Jordan, I want to do the best that I can. I don't want anyone to think less of me for my efforts. Actually, I want people to think highly of me for returning to school full-time and not accepting anything less than my best.