Teaching ASL in Elementary School EU190

Hello class,

late update on our ASL project. We finally made to St. Elizabeth Elementary, shot and edited this short piece with these lovely kids. Sharing...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOcwLOda66k

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shlc9uNF1lQ


Happy Holidays,
Lynn

ED190 Fall 10 Retreat Photos--287 pics

Hello Class,

Sorry being late posted; check it out!!

http://picasaweb.google.com/117927974584563712672/ED190RetreatFall10?authkey=Gv1sRgCMP6-KHVmIfXdA#

Have a great holiday and keep studying hard : p

Best,
Lynn

Tim Wise-The Pathology of White Privilege

Part 1 : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZ8xQPdjJfM&feature=related
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlqLijhxT_M&feature=related
Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQWP7fUSPJU&feature=related
Part 4:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o13Lr6Sr_cU&feature=related
Part 5:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VuA_wXi02I&feature=related
Part 6: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRo_jYssnXQ&feature=related

its kinda long but its definately worth it

Limits to creativity outside of the school

During our class' final presentations, I noticed how a lot of us, including myself, have emphasized the importance of creativity in the classroom--creativity and freedom in expression, in thought, and in dialogue. Some students were able to utilize the creative-promoting space of our final to share their final projects with the class, such as through the band performance, Shiva's poem, and Jamie's music list. However, even if some chose to write the traditional paper for their final, those papers were not very limiting. Instead, we were encouraged to build connections between what we've learned in class and what we hoped to learn more about; there was creativity in connection and in dialogue within our writing.

In one of my Media Studies courses, we cover the rights to creativity. In the following video, Lawrence Lessig makes an argument for the future generations and their claims over creativity and expression via the Internet http://www.ted.com/talks/larry_lessig_says_the_law_is_strangling_creativity.html#

So if not in the school, then where do we find our spaces for creativity and expression, and in what ways can we utilize these spaces?

Good luck with finals and in performing for the test, but please never forget to think outside of, to test, to try, to deconstruct, and to redesign the limits and parameters that these tests and assignments create for us. 

--Steph

Divergent Educational Resistance

-Shiva Patel's Final

Clips

A short statement about "race science" in the historical point:

Generally speaking, people look different. Throughout history, physical similarities within groups have been a source of community and personal identity. At the same time, they have also been served as the basis for racial formation and categorization. While physical differences are interpreted through social and cultural frameworks, scientific understanding of race and human variation has complicated perspectives of what race is and what it is not.

Despite the certainty with which these historical studies made their pronouncements, race has remained not only a leading concept within a variety of disciplines, but also a continuing object of scientific investigation and argument. It is not hard to find proof of heated debates on the topic among experts from various scientific backgrounds, such as anthropologists, physicians, geneticists, and psychiatrists. The purpose of this research project is to trace the origins of a scientific concept of race and to interrogate its transformations and applications over time. The sources selected will highlight the multiple, and quite ambiguous, definitions of race, gender, sexuality, and human inequality provided by race science; they will also draw attention to the correlation of the concept to the idea of species, linguistic group, nation, and civilization.

Here are the clips shown during the final:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM-MVdX7sQw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UZS8Wb4S5k&feature=related

Thanksgiving Day

Hello everybody :)

I know it is kind of late, but I wanted to share with you something that happened on Thanksgiving Day.
Ok, so I woke up like at noon (yeah I do this often) dragged myself to the kitchen and made myself a sandwich (yeah I did brush my teeth first).  I totally had forgotten it was Thanksgiving Day.  I couldn't go home this year because it is too expensive.  I got a text from one of my friends and he invited my over to his house to eat dinner. His mama cooks real good.  Anyways, he lives all the way in San Rafael, so to get to his house in public transportation, in a holiday, took me 2 hours.

I was in the BART station in downtown Berkeley waiting and texting (yeah I get reception there).  Then there is an announcement that pets are not allowed in the BART unless they are in a leash, a cage, and/or are to help differently able people.  An old middle-aged man says to me, "If I have a pet, I am gonna take him whenever I want and in the BART." I said to him, "Yeah, ok." Then he continued, "Yeah, kids are worse anyways, all that crying, all that loud talking, eghh." I shared with him, "Oh yeah! I know! I don't like to hear kids crying and throwing fits in the BART. It is sad to hear them cry and a little bit annoying too." We both laughed.

- He then showed me bag and said, "I got a new sweater today"
- I said, "Cool, where you get it at?"
- "My friend gave it to me as a gift for Thanksgiving."
- "Oh ok. Your friend is nice."
- "Happy Thanksgiving. You going to eat with your family?"
- "Thank you. Happy Thanksgiving too. Naw, I am going to a friend's house.  His mom and him invited me to dinner. Have a good day."

Long pause.

- "I don't know what I am going to eat."
- I did not know what to reply to that.
- He quickly continued, "I am going to Oakland to find a place to stay there. I usually stay in Berkeley around the Library [the public library] but I try not to be around there when the kids are out of school." Sights and looks away.
- "Why?" His response to this was intense and opened my eyes to how homefree people are mistreated in the streets.  I did not know it was this bad.  Once in San Francisco, I defended a homefree guy from some girls that were yelling at him and being rude, but this particular man has suffered more disrespect.
- He goes, "Because there is no respect anymore.  I have gotten spit on 9 times.  And you know by who? All 9 times by middle-aged and young white women. They are just so mean to me.  Once this girl was with her parents.  I picked up a penny that fell when she was putting change in the meter and she told me, 'Give it back!!! give it back!!!' and then she spit on me. All for a stupid penny that doesn't even go in the meter! And the kids. Those kids are bullies. All of them, but the black ones bully me the most.  I try not to be out around here before school, during their lunch, and after school. When I am walking on the sidewalk and they are coming towards me, they push me. I move a side a little bit but they don't even move.  They take all the sidewalk space and even for wheelchair people they don't move.  They trip me when walking down the sidewalk. They punch me and yell at me." Inhales and exhales, and continues, "Anyways all the kids these days are so disrespectful. And they are the future? Thanks God I am old!"

I put all this in quotes because immediately after our conversation I typed it on my phone.

I said to him, "Sorry about this.  Nobody should experience such disrespect.  If that child was mine, the one that spit on you, I would of slapped her hard."

He smiled

I asked him, "Are you going to be ok today?"
He said, "Yeah, I have done this before.  I have gone without eating for 4 days straight. I will be fine."
I said, "Is there anything I can do to help you?"
He responded, "Like what?"
"Well is it ok if I give you money for dinner?"
"Sure! I would like that."
I gave him some money and he gave me hug. We both got in the BART and continued talking.

We continued talking until he got out the train.  He graduated from Berkeley in the 60's (I did not record this. If I remember correctly though it was around this time).  He lost his home due to a foreclosure.  His dog died.  He walks around Berkeley with all his stuff, a backpack and the clothes he is wearing.  He just wishes that kids were raised better.  He said that he respects people and wishes people would respect him too.  He said that everything is messed up, "Kids raising kids and the economy is all bad."

I am thankful I met him and gained so much perspective from him.

- Yeriko S.

Have a good week everybody!

Ed190 Fall2010 retreat pics

Hello Class,

Here are the pic taken during our retreat!

I'll be uploading more after my finals, so keep checking back the blog link for updates =)

http://picasaweb.google.com/117927974584563712672/Ed190Fall2010RetreatPics?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ6Csfn-r8faXg#

Interesting Article about CA's school funding

A study done at Pepperdine University claimed that CA schools spend sufficiently on schools yet don't get good results. This article shows the Pepperdine study is not accurate:

http://www.cbp.org/pdfs/2010/101201_SFF_Pepperdine_Study.pdf

This info may be important to know if research or policy in the future cites the Pepperdine study as legitimate research.

A short mix from previous ED190 class

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXJOsZIq0mA&feature=related

About diversity and Berkeley

Cheers,
Lynn

Coop: American Sign Language Video

ASL ED190 coop group  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPMpsgZU6wU

Hello,

Check out our video on youtube and learn some sign language!!

Alphabet:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMQHd1UBkeI

Counting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGHLvfw4bvg

Cheers,
Lynn

The Marriage of Politics and Education

Hey friends,

I thought I would share a few articles about the political climate in the education space as the semester begins to wind down (about time!).  This semester, I had the privilege of taking an education policy graduate course where I learned about who are the major movers and shakers who create and implement education policy, how interest groups or constituents influence those policies, and the short and long-term policy effects as they trickle down to the classroom.  My perception of education and the capacity of reform definitely changed in this class, partially because I no longer viewed education as this isolated field in society but, as some scholars call it, an "open system" susceptible to the socioeconomic and political forces that are continuously influencing what educators prioritize.

This article from the NYT talks about the appointment of the new chancellor of NYC schools, Cathleen P. Black and some of the controversy surrounding her limited background in education.  She will be replacing Joel I. Klein who recently resigned and assuming his responsibilities to manage the nation's largest school system serving 1.1 million children with 135,000 employees and 1,600 schools.

The proponents of Black's appointment are very critical on her lack of exposure to the education space; Mayor Michael Bloomberg had appointed her for her experience as a veteran CEO in the media business.  Just recently, the mayor and the state education commissioner reached a settlement to proceed with the appointment with the condition that a former principal of a Bronx high school named Shael Polakow-Suransky would become the chief academic officer to oversee curriculum and testing at the NYC Department of Education.  This dual appointment will in theory help offset the lack of education expertise that Black brings to the NYC Department of Education but still retain Black's keen ability to manage large organizations.

You can read more about the article yourself, but what I took away from this were a few things:

1)  Mayoral control over school systems.  In theory, the mayor represents the people and will make the appropriate decisions with the city's good in mind, but with this power comes an injection of politics into the education space which (ironically) distorts the true intentions of education policy frequently.

2)  Educator vs. management background.  The appointment of a business entrepreneur to manage schools is not a new idea (NGOs and major foundations, for example, are often founded by these very people), but it's questionable whether the problem is actually inefficiencies within the school system or curriculum problems.  When you are managing schools, you often need more than just a management background but a very deep understanding of the classroom dynamics, school district politics, and so forth or else you will not understand the constituents you are managing and serving.  On the other hand, someone with teaching experience is not necessarily qualified to run a organization serving more than one million children.

Some food for thought.  Would love to hear back!

Michelle

Some contributions to class topics

Hey all :)

Sorry for the lateness of this post... life has been a little crazy lately, but I wanted to make up for my absences during our disabilities and gender discussions by contributing some interesting material to the blog.

First the topic of students with disabilities in schools. Personally, this was a topic I would have loved to talk to the class about in person. In my response and in my evaluation of the reading I found myself very focused on the issues of specific learning disabilities (SLD), because my mother's literacy consulting company, Ashlock Consulting, which I have worked for on-and-off for the past four years, has taken on the challenge of addressing students with reading difficulties... including SLD's. I have heard some implied criticism in class about set programs and specific instruction for teachers on how to go about teaching... which I feel is unwarranted and just plain wrong; teaching is a profession with better ways of teaching having been already proven through research, especially in the field of reading and literacy. If there are methods of teaching that are scientifically proven to enhance the learning of children, especially those with SLD's, then those methods should be vigorously implemented and enforced. Anyways, many schools still have a way of diagnosing students with SLD's that has been proven scientifically ineffective and allows for students to drift further away from the performance of their grade level. However, there are ways to better assess and treat students for their difficulties. Here is a testimony to the US Congress made by Dr. Douglas Carnine of the University of Oregon that addresses this issue in a clear and concise manner. I hope you all read it!

http://archives.republicans.edlabor.house.gov/archive/hearings/108th/edr/idea031303/carnine.htm

Secondly, on the topic of gender, I wanted to play devils advocate and see if I can spark some discussion around the issue of income discrimination by gender. Thomas Sowell of Stanford argues (in the video link below) that the reason for income discrimination is due to the choices of marriage and child rearing, and that without those variables the difference in income is insignificant. Do you all agree with this? I find it to be an interesting argument and would love to hear some other opinions.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EK6Y1X_xa4

I hope everyone gets something out of this testimony and the video. Please feel free to discuss with me issues surrounding the first topic specifically because I would love to have a conversation about Ashlock Consulting and what it's all about.

Steven Ashlock

Linking to past Ed190 blogs

Hi, ed190 family. This is JWP

I thought about how to expand our blog more and I was thinking how about linking our blog to past and future ed190 blogs to make a closer relationships.

here is the link for the past ed190 blog which includes personal feeling about ed190 and ed190 missions statements on that time and some memorable ed190 retreat videos of each semester.

linke is : http://educ190.blogspot.com/

I will introduce some of the story past ed190 studetns wrote on the blog below.


-story1

...after ed190
I am currently working at a biopharmaceutical in San Francisco. I love being there, but I know that this is merely temporary as my true passion still lies as an educator. Being present to this fact provides me so much strength with my current standing in life, and what is to come. From my constant glances at my cubicle walls containing inspiring quotes from my fellow students to the support given and received from every member in my neurology team, ed190 never leaves my thoughts. Never do I have a doubt about my future abilities to teach my students...or whether or not I will become a teacher at all. That is what ed190 has given me. That knowledge that my potential is limitless. This is the stand I will take for every student I interact with. And for that, I am forever grateful to the Ed190 space.

-Kim Nguyen
The Transformers: We are all Goldfish
Class of 2007


-story 2.

My ED190 Story I consider myself an ED 190 All Star. Between '05-'07 I was a student, a facilitator three times, and a researcher for the Education for Change project. Education for Change just made a lot of sense to me--a lot more sense than the classes I was taking in the Haas School of business at least! After working my tootsie off to get admitted into the prestigious business school I found myself stuck between two seemingly polar opposite worlds: classes on how to make your letterheads look professional on one side, and organizing afterschool programs at Castlemont High School in East Oakland on the other. It was easy to decide how to spend the rest of my intellectual and emotional energy.

Since graduating in '07 I've had the privilege of working in the education systems here and abroad. I worked after school at Rosa Parks Elementary in Berkeley and also in Korea at a private English academy. These positions were my chance to employ the tools we learned in Education for Change in real life! And I took that chance. Here and abroad my students made their own class rules, exercised consensus, and systematically questioned the systems in place in their young lives.

But empowering the students wasn't without difficulty. At Rosa Parks, every class consensus was contested by entitled students unwilling to compromise. And even the simplest decision to have snacktime at a different location was met with sanctions from the school itself. Bringing change into the afterschool program was like bringing salt water taffy to a party: many were skeptical and to enjoy it took a bit of time (and chewing!).

In a Korean English Academy, the obstacles to radical change were of a different breed. Consensus was rarely difficult to achieve, but students struggled to understand the concept of "radical." For instance, snacktime was in their realm of possibilities, but not snacktime beyond the classroom door. "Radical" is all relative to the norm, and the Korean norm is particularly conservative. (Closed circuit cameras in every classroom probably compounded these conservative aptitudes.)

After reading some of these posts, I'm refreshed to know Ed for Change is still vibrantly alive and kicking! I just wanted to check back in with the community, and checking in is an integral part of it! As we adventure into the world and continue collecting the vials of vital life juice, it's important we keep keep the community alive. I suppose that's pretty easy to do--just keep bringing people into the world of equal voices, into the world of critical pedagogy. Everyone wants to be there deep down, and we have a pretty neat framework that can help the world achieve that. No matter what your job is, teaching, acting, accounting, fire-fighting, home-making there is a place for community building.

Speaking of which! My band Swingset Committee just got signed and released our first album! We are touring California and moving to NYC where we will be starving artists (hopefully not for too long!). Give us a listen at our myspace: www.myspace.com/swingsetcommittee and if you dig the groove you can download our EP "In Transit" on iTunes.

Also, if you want to see a good live show: Feb 15th in SF @ El Rio, Feb 19th in LA @ R Bar, and Feb 25 in SD @ West Coast Tavern. All the details are on the Myspace.
Lets all keep the dialogue going and the modes and systems flipping on their heads.

-Andrew Belinsky
Class of 2007

World map for various issues including education and inequality of sex

Hi, this is JWP.

Here is really good and vivid map indicating education, inequality, and other central issue status

here is the snap shot of it.

you can select the issue and compare the statistics btw years and countries.
link is : http://hdr.undp.org/en/data/map/

wish it can be a good source in addition to our class material.

Overall percent of education expenditure dedicated to tertiary education

I will upload several maps related how country spend money on education.
Map is always good to understand the flow easily and quickly so I will upload maps first for busy educ190 family.

Below is the map for
"Overall percent of education expenditure dedicated to tertiary education"

The more reddish and lighter green the color is, the more pecentage of money people spend on education.

Below is the bar graph for the same survey as above regional map.

if you want to see more of inromation about this map

go to :    http://www.nationmaster.com/red/graph/edu_edu_spe_ter-education-spending-tertiary&b_map=1

and the source was coming from  "United Nations Human Development Programme "

(P.S : Interestingly, US is not among top countries spending much of money on education in overall population survey)

Measure Intelligence?

Hi, ed190 family :) This is JWP.

As we talked in class about tests measuring human's intelligence, I have  always been suspecting that IQ test also cannot measure one's intelligence.

I have searched good article about it and found following one well explaining relationship btw IQ test and human intelligence

article is below

How Does A Simple IQ Test Measure The Complex Human Intelligence?

By Awdhesh K Singh 

 

Intelligence is a little understood concept like love. While we all know intuitively if a person is intelligent or not, yet it is very difficult to define intelligence in precise words. A distinguished panel of experts defined intelligence as the individual's ability to understand complex ideas, to adapt effectively to the environment, to learn from experience, to engage in various forms of reasoning to overcome obstacles by careful thoughts.

However, most of the experts have their own definition of intelligence. Goleman, one of the international experts on "Emotional Intelligence", believes that intelligence means how successful a person would be in school and in various kind of jobs, or how will they get along with others. Yet, it is impossible to measure such ability in a person as it is hard to measure how one would get along with others. Still some people believe that emotional intelligence is most important for the success of the person. It is said "A high IQ makes a person good managers while a high EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient) makes a person good leader".

The quest for the true meaning of intelligence led Gardner to conclude that Intelligence is not a unitary trait. He concluded that man have multiple intelligences (MI). He identified as many as eight intelligence viz. Linguistic (syntax, phonology, semantics, pragmatics); Musical (pitch, rhythm, timbre), Logical (Mathematical number, categorization, relations); Spatial (accurate mental visualization, mental transformation of images); Bodily (kinesthetic control of one's own body, control in handling objects); Interpersonal ( awareness of others' feelings, emotions, goals, motivations); Intra-personal (awareness of one's own feelings, emotions, goals, motivations) and Naturalist( recognition and classification of objects in the environment).

Stenberg's gave another theory of multi-intelligence which he called "Triarchich theory of intelligence" where he divided the intelligence into three categories i.e. analytical (or componential); experimental or creative intelligence and practical intelligence.

Thus even after centuries of research, we have yet to arrive at the common definition of intelligence. When we don't have even a common definition of intelligence, what is the relevance of the IQ tests which are so popular in all countries that a common man identifies intelligence with IQ test score?

The IQ Test

Despite of the existence of numerous definitions of intelligence, there is only one common method to measure intelligence that is accepted worldwide viz. Intelligent Quotient (IQ) test. It is also called "Binet and Simon Test" that was published in 1905. This test has withstood the test of time even after a century. The IQ test continues to be the only universally accepted method of measuring human intelligence.

IQ tests do not measure the absolute intelligence of a person but they measure the person's intelligence in respect of the other person. The average IQ score is taken as 100. The higher than 100 score indicates that he person is more intelligent than the average person and less than 100 score indicate below average intelligence.

These IQ tests have become extremely popular over the years and almost universally applied for selection of the graduates and postgraduate students by the examinations like SAT or GRE. In most of the countries similar tests are conducted for college and university admissions. Even for selection of the candidates for jobs, often the IQ score is the quickest and most important criterion for selection.

The reason why IQ scores are such a universally accepted criterion for deciding the suitability of a person for a job or a higher course of study is not without any basis. There have been several studies which have confirmed that the people with high IQ score have much better chances of success in life. For example in an study conducted in 1925 by Lewis Terman followed the lives of the people who had IQ of 130 or more to find the relationship between the high intelligence and occupational success and social adjustment. The study established that on the average, the people with higher IQ have earned more degrees, attained higher occupational success and salaries, experienced better personal and social adjustments and found to be healthier at each age than the average adult.

However no psychologist or scientist could ever explain how such a simple test which can be completed within few minutes, can so easily measure the intelligence of the person which is such a complex trait of human personality? How can one' ability to remember words, solve mathematical problems, fill in the blanks or reading comprehension skill has anything to do with the person's ability to make friends, get along with people, provide leadership, adjust to social environment and succeed in life?

Defining Human Intelligence using the concept of Science of Soul

It is stated in ancient Indian and western philosophies that the physical self (body and mind) is the material manifestation of the imperceptible self of the person (soul). The soul is the source of all the "known" aspects of the human personality like, love, emotion, intelligence, habits etc which can be felt by all of us but can't be measured. However the signature of the soul (like the DNA) is coded into all the physical aspects of the person which can be understood only by the soul of another person. Hence if a person is intelligent he can identify the soul and hence the mind of the other person through his external manifestation like action, face or speech.

It means that if you read an article, you actually understand the mind of the writer? If you see the face of the person, you know automatically if the person is truthful or a fraud, honest or dishonest, sad or happy? Intelligence, therefore, means how accurately you identify another person by knowing only little "known" aspects of him like his body movements, his gestures or his walking style? Therefore, intelligence can be defined as

Intelligence is the ability of (the soul of) an individual to understand(the soul of) another entity from one or few physical manifestation of the entity like face, signature, writings, texture of the skin, voice, walking style. .

How IQ Tests Test Your Intelligence?

The IQ tests are often divided into different categories like quantitative test, verbal ability and analytical tests. Each test measures the intelligence of the person. A typical quantitative test question may be as following.

 

Q. Please answer the following question as YES or NO

Ram has only forty-eight dollars. Can he buy a bicycle that costs one hundred twenty dollars if he borrows fifty-seven dollars from Tom and fifteen dollars from Harry?

 

The above problem is a simple problem for the students of mathematics, which may be solved even by a child. You have to simply find out if (48 +57+ 15) is more than 120 or not. If the amount is 120 or more, John can buy the bicycle otherwise he can't. As we see here that the sum is 120 so Ram can buy the bicycle hence the answer is YES.

However, if you type this simple question to any computer, it simply can't tell you whether the answer is Yes or No.

Why even the best computer in the world can't solve these simple problems which even a small child of ten years can do?

The answer is simple because the computer does not have soul so it can't understand the mind of the person who framed the problem.

We are able to understand the problem because after reading this problem we are able to understand the mind of the person who has prepared this question. We understand his mind when he framed this question? Therefore, we "understood" the problem and provided the "right" answer i.e. the answer that was there in his mind. Thus what we are reality doing by answering this question is that we are understanding the mind and logic of the person and discovering the same answer by using the same logic which was in the mind of the person who framed the question.

 

Let us now take another example that is prepared by me.

Q. Identify the missing number?

2, 5, ? , 17

(a) 9

(b) 10

(C) 11

(d) 12

 

Now when I framed this question, I had a "sequence" in my mind. These numbers forms a sequence and the nth number of the sequence is n2 + 1 where n is the serial no of the term. However, when you wanted to answer this question, you have no idea, who I am; neither you know how I think and what logic was in my mind when I framed this question. Yet by reading the numbers, if you are intelligent, you can understand the logic in my mind through my external manifestation (the number series) and discover the same logic that was there in my mind. Therefore, if you (like me) have concluded that the missing number is 10 then you got the right answer.

Intelligence is the Proof of Soul

Therefore, it is evident that intelligence is the trait of only living creatures as only living creatures can have soul that connects them to the other beings of the universe. Even the most powerful computers of the world can't have even the intelligence of a child. Intelligence of a person is synonymous to the soul of the person and the body and mind are the external manifestation of the soul. It is from the body or the actions of the body that we (our soul) are able to understand the unseen "self" (soul) of others and know their mind that is unknown to the senses. This explanation of intelligence can explain all types of the human intelligence like emotional intelligence, multiple intelligence, linguistic intelligence etc that are discovered by the different psychologists and scientists over a period of time.

 

Who is Awdhesh K Singh ?

 

Mr. Awdhesh K Singh is a government of India officer. He is an Engineer by education and philosopher by passion. He has published several papers in International Journals and Conferences on the subject of E-governance and the application of Artificial Intelligence tools like Fuzzy Logic (FL) and Expert Systems (ES) for E-governance. He also has keen interest in the study and application of Indian Philosophies for solving the real-life problems of the modern world.

 

From. Jalessa Noel Bryant

Hey y'all here's video clips and pictures of some of my encounters during
my recruitment trip.
VIDEO- 1103: Commentary about the juvenile detention center being across
the street and adjacent to the community's only elementary and high schools.
VIDEO-1106: Counselor letting us into Pacific HS.
VIDEO-1114: SmartBoard Demonstration.
API Scores: Just a list of LAUSD's API scores
HumongousSchool: Inside Downtown Business Magnet School
Gangdress Policy: A list of so called "gang attire" that we found at
Highland HS and SOAR high school (both in Lancaster).

For pictures
http://groups.google.com/group/ed190blog/web/API Scores.jpg
http://groups.google.com/group/ed190blog/web/gangdresspolicy.jpg


http://groups.google.com/group/ed190blog/web/HumongousSchool.jpg

For Videos

http://groups.google.com/group/ed190blog/web/VID+00004-20101025-1103.3GP

http://groups.google.com/group/ed190blog/web/VID+00005-20101025-1106.3GP

http://groups.google.com/group/ed190blog/web/VID+00006-20101029-1114.3GP

-JWP (this is JONGWOO PARK. someone asked so... sorry for confusion)

(p.s : Downloading method is same as I emailed to ed190 family :)  )

IF THERE ARE ANY IDEAS OUT THERE ABOUT HOW THE BLOG CAN BE MORE HELPFUL OR EFFICIENT...PLEASE LET US KNOW!

the Blog Coop Team

To the lovely ED 190 class:

First off, I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. Whether or not we all agree with how Thanksgiving originated I hope that we can all agree that its nice once in a while to give thanks. So to begin, Id just like to say thanks for this class. This class has, for me, been quite a different experience. A class where I actually get to express myself! Who would have thought? A class that I actually enjoy attending! Well it's certainly been a relief and a change, and while there have been some tough moments, Im pretty sure that we are all going to be leaving this class with a lot more understanding. Now these are just a few questions I've had which I thought might be interesting to open up to the class to see people's inputs and to understand other points of view; so just some food for thought:

1. my skin is certainly of a specific color yet I'm not considered a person of color. Why is this? Is this not discriminatory in of itself?

2. I'm a white male: Does this automatically mean that I'm privileged? And how am I supposed to understand these privileges despite the fact that I don't always feel they exist?


again, just some food for thought, please respond if you have the time or even ask some questions of your own...who knows...somebody out there just might try and answer them. I hope it doesn't sound corny when i say I love you all....but I do. Happy Holiday...see you all in a few days.

Aaron Goldberg

http://www.good.is/post/q-a-diane-ravitch-skewers-every-education-reform-sacred-cow/

Youth in Journalism

Transitioning from my private, Catholic school, which served me from first to eighth grade, to my public high school forced me out of my comfort zone. The transition questioned the comfort I found in being uncomfortable with myself, in being the outcast, in having planned my way to Harvard Medical School, and in seeing straight A's as the answer to life's success. 

Attending one of the public high schools of the Montebello School District helped me find a voice in my times of discomfort, during which I drew myself further from the person who I thought I needed to become in order to actually understand the person who I was. 

The platform where I was able to take a grander perspective on where my passions and priorities were: high school journalism. 

As I briefly mentioned in my life map, I was a member of my high school's nationally-recognized journalism team. While my school was getting the bad end of the NCLB stick for low scores on our AYP, my journalism team was being recognized among the other top high school newspapers from both public and private schools across the States and among other American schools abroad.

However, journalism was greater than the recognition among other schools and the national conferences that we were able to attend as long as we were able to pay for a plane ticket. 

Before ever applying to be a part of the staff--or even to be a reporter--all students went through the most challenging class: Journalism 10: Introduction to Journalism with, then Mrs. Wellenstein, who was both the journalism adviser and teacher at the school. However, she was most popularly known for her professional attitude that intimidated every student and challenged her students to think beyond their comfort. 

Ultimately, I came out of the class feeling so defeated. While my grade showed an appealing A, I felt defeated because all of what I assumed I knew about others, as in their stereotypes and histories, were so wrong. News, feature, opinion, entertainment, and every other sort of article deserved its own sort of attention and style, and I had to adjust the ways in which I wrote and communicated with others. 

Reporting as the timid, scrawny, barely going through puberty Asian tween in a high school where I knew no one and in a community that I never before consciously built connections was more intimidating than the "Wellenstare," those eyes of disappointment Mrs. Wellenstein gave to students who she just knew wouldn't give their full efforts to an assignment. I was so used to writing for the grade and in my five-paragraph framework. I was so used to believing that communicating meant getting an answer out of someone and, more specifically, finding an answer that I already expected. 

However, after my one year of introductory reporting and three years as a Copy Editor to our staff, the articles that were produced from those initial sets of questions, that which only had three or four questions relevant for the actual interview, elicited greater sense human connection. I fell in love with writing and interviewing, in that process of communication and what can be learned from it. 

It's strange because I came to Berkeley believing I would continue with journalism because of what I had taken away from it and the interests that I built from stories in social constructions, school policies, education, the arts, and in the power and privilege of having a voice. However, I was so overwhelmed with trying to impress the school by focusing on my classes, that I pushed away the only thing I knew I loved. My drive and aggression to write articles and editorials began to erode, and I feel sad to say that I don't think I have that same drive and passion--or that voice--that I carried with confidence as a teenager in high school. 

Last Monday, when the students of the class were invited to listen in on the talk by Elizabeth Soep on Youth Radio and its relationship with Youth Media International. Her talk reminded me about the power in allowing youth to have an outlet for their voices. Soep said that one of the most fundamental structures that makes Youth Radio so successful is its use of "collegial pedagogy," which is the youth and adult collaboration to produce something that may be significant for both parties and that neither age group can do better without the input of the other. 

The following is a video demonstrating how the power of this collegial pedagogy can create interesting pieces of journalism, of reporting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZ1mCTQx3UI

• Karina is the teenager who filmed the event
• Denise is one of the staff members of Youth Radio, who tracked Karina through a MySpace search and helped make the video and format the story that is still essentially Karina's. 

In my own roots with youth journalism, and as I have seen embedded in an organization like Youth Radio, I have been able to establish greater relationships with myself and my community through the power of a voice. My voice had the privilege of having my high school newspaper as a platform, but it was only through the confidence and support of my adviser Mrs. Wellenstein that I really got to challenge myself in understanding what voice I wanted to carry. 

I hope that organizations like Youth Radio will continue to support the flow of communication so necessary to getting a community and groups of people to connect and work with each other for common goals that oftentimes get lost in translation, assumptions, and manipulation. 

--Steph Wong  

Tracking & Ability

Hey Everyone!

So today in my Soc 113 (Soc. of Education) we talked about a couple of claims that reminded me of our conversation yesterday & last week.

I. Determinants of Track Systems
  1. Systems matter!  Some are rigid and some are fluid.
  2. 2 CLAIMS:
1) Maureen Hallinm: Tracking is a technical device (meaning that considering student's prior achievements, more tracking is needed so the tracks are based on who's achieving in what capacity).
2) Jeanie Oakes: Tracking is a political move.  Segregation has moved inside the schools.  (Braddock: The more racially diverse, the more rigid the tracking).

II. The effects of tracking systems
- Its very hard to determine the effects of tracking systems because analysis tends to reveal variables that weren't considered before.
- The students play an active role in entering tracks (so if the student body changes, the variables change, and effects will be confounded).
- Tracked students: Cover more material, high achievement & learn less because everything is watered down.
- Untracked students: Cover less material, less achievement, but learn more because details are kept in the learning materials.

III. Why the Effects exists (Pathways)
- Instructional: If you're not exposed to something, you're not going to learn it.  That's why students in the high track cover more material and "know more." BUT had the low track been exposed to the material they may have known more as well (no chances given to low track students).
- Social: Student in specific tracks discover who they are, their capabilities based on their placements.  Therefore, achievement is undermined because of placement.  (These social based studies are done with younger kids but have more significance when done with older kids).
- Institutional: Others understand where kids are.  Parents/ Teachers regard a child in a particular capacity, act upon their abilities, and place them.  This is better and more likely for younger children because parents are "hyper-attentive" to them and know their abilities in different capacities.  Cooperation with teachers could put them in a better position later tracking.

With all that said, (hope it wasn't too confusing!)consider the discussions on ability and our current systems of tracking.  Are the current methods generating desired effects?   How do they address different ability groups (physical & mental) and what are the pros and cons of in school segregation and integration?

I also have another question that may seem a little outlandish but here goes:

Can collegiate athletes be considered a tracked ability group?  A lot of times they're separated from the "mainstream" student population and given specific academic regimes.

Just food for thought :)

Here we go !!!!! Educ190 retreat pictures !!!!!

http://groups.google.com/group/ed190blog/web/ed190.jpg
http://groups.google.com/group/ed190blog/web/2.jpg
http://groups.google.com/group/ed190blog/web/3.jpg
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http://groups.google.com/group/ed190blog/web/7.jpg
http://groups.google.com/group/ed190blog/web/8.jpg
http://groups.google.com/group/ed190blog/web/9.jpg
http://groups.google.com/group/ed190blog/web/10.jpg

-JWP

Two articles for education methods.

Here are two articles for education methods.

first one is "the child-driven education" method.
http://blog.ted.com/2010/09/07/the-child-driven-education-sugata-mitra-on-ted-com/

Here's a quote: "If children have interest, then education happens." This educator uses real student-driven learning, where the teacher provides the tools and facilitates and the children, through discussion and collaboration, learn on their own. It rocks.

The second one is an article about solutions for education:
http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/living-in-dialogue/2010/05/stephen_krashen_fix_poverty_an.html

-Amelia

-JWP

LGBT News :D

Ahhhh thanks for sending this out Rokes!!
some more resources:
Queer today - queertoday.com
INCITE - http://inciteblog.wordpress.com/
National Black Justice Coalition - http://nbjc.org/
Transgriot, trans, POC  - http://transgriot.blogspot.com/
Kenyon Farrow - http://kenyonfarrow.com/
Queers for Economic Justice- http://q4ej.org/
FIERCE- young POC queers in NYC- http://www.fiercenyc.org/index.php?s=91
Pam's House Blend, Black lesbian - http://www.pamshouseblend.com/
enjoy. <3 QUEER LOVE

-Lean

-JWP

LGBT News :D

Hello Beautiful Class,

:D Sorry about missing Wednesday, but my wisdoms had to come out before they further damage my nerves.
Everything went well, but I still can't feel my bottom left lip (hopefully I can regain some feeling later this week).

A few of you approach me about LGBT issues and how y'all can spiffy yourselves up with the current issues and
news of the LGBT community. So here are some of the resources I use to keep myself updated on what's going
down :D Let me know if y'all have any questions. :D


For Regular Juicy Gossip News/or What's hot Visit:
http://www.outtraveler.com/
or http://www.out.com/

For News about HIV/aids Epidemic Visit:
http://www.hivplusmag.com/

For LGBT News around the world Visit:
http://www.advocate.com/News/


:D Happy Monday

just saw something that i thought was funny that could occupy you for a good minute:
http://whatthefuckhasobamadonesofar.com/

-Josephine H

-JWP

Possible Fundraising

Hello Class,

This is the fundraising committee and would like to inform you of some possible locations for fundraising, which include Yougurtland, House of Curries and Jamba Juice. We would love your input if you have any other suggestions for fundraising alternatives. We are also considering having a raffle but would like to know if anyone has anything they would like to donate for the raffle so we could weight out our options. The money we raise will not only help those in need but if we are extremely successful, it may also help lower every ones fees.

Thanks on behalf of the financial/fundraising committee
Kovid, Judith and Amoriz

-JWP

NYTimes Article, "For Youths, Depression Often Has a Sequel"

Click this link to read an article on the recurrence of depression for youth. 


-- sumbmission from James

Race and Ethnicity discussion

Hi everyone,
I have been thinking a lot about the discussion my group was having yesterday about how race has affected my own experience in education, and during class when I looked back I shared that race was not usually on my mind, and, perhaps due to my own ignorance, really hadn't had a very profound impact on my life.  But now that I've thought about it more, I am realizing that this is in itself a form of my racial privilege.  I can't speak for anyone other than myself, but as a caucasian I never identified specifically with my race, being 'white' doesn't mean anything to  me, and it doesn't affect who I am or who I want to be. But I cannot deny that it has allowed me the privilege of being able to ignore how my race shapes my experiences. And, because I had not experienced firsthand racial discrimination, I was in a position to brush off the notion of race as a factor in my educational experience, and to assume that because it wasn't blatantly there before my eyes, it wasn't there at all.  Even though I had good friends of many different racial and ethnic backgrounds, we weren't sitting around seriously discussing race, it just didn't come up that often. And so I hadn't had a serious discussion of race with a diverse group of people and I am actually very thankful to have heard so many diverse views in our class. I'm curious to know what else people think because I'm sure most of the discussions in class were truncated for time reasons.

Thanks everyone and have a good Halloween weekend!

-not written by but uploadede by JWP

To Whom it may concern

I was very disappointed with the activity and how it turned out. The premise was to alleviate personal accounts within institutionalized racism, but how can one affectively do this without sharing one's personal experience, therefore adding to the discussion? I held off for a while because the whole conversation about ETHNICITY (NOT RACE) is very touchy and many comments seemed to be redundant, but when separated into groups, I found that our focus actually hit home for me, causing me to address a personal experience. The conversation took a spin for the worse because I was personally attacked. I made the comment, " for people like me, we have no choice but to cheat the system because the system was NOT made for us to succeed in it." I was told that my merit for entering Cal was questionable. This is absurd! The point of the conversation is to educate and tell others how to understand one another, not to bash and attack. That was a clear breach of our SOA as a class. I cannot say that I was shocked, given this person's narrow and harmonious- like view of society. Privilege is real! some of us have it, and some of us do not. I do not, but because I know how to work the system and use it to my advantage does not make me a cheater, it makes me a survivor. I am an African American Female who faces a double-bind of being of color and female. I face this everyday of my life and refused to be downplayed because I can play the game and can play it well. So the next time you want to question my merit, check my transcripts(yes they're legit), check my experience, and last and certainly not least, check your privilege.

-not written by but uploadede by JWP

Map of race distribution

Hi, this is an interesting map of race distribution in America

see this map and have a time to think about what this means or how we can change this

follow is the link to the map

http://gawker.com/5643051/how-white-is-your-neighborhood

An awesome video about education and creativity!! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U&feature=player_embedded

-Amelia 

Hello! I would love to share this article:

http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/language-minority-students/a-return-to-the-mexican-room-the-segregation-of-arizonas-english-learners-1/gandara-return-mexican-room-2010.pdf

It's a really important study looking at english language learners in our school system. Please read it!!!! (especially before the language, culture, and immigration group presents)

<3 Amelia

ps. Love!!

Recommended Reading

Thought I'd recommend a reading to anyone that's interested!  It's a book by Linda Darling-Hammond called The Flat World and Education: How America's Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future.  It is extremely relevant to our discussion this past Wednesday on teaching and funding.  I highly recommend it :)


-- Maureen 

"Can Teachers be Evaluated by their Students’ Test Scores? Should They Be? The Use of Value-Added Measures of Teacher Effectiveness in Policy and Practice"

Sean P. Corcoran's piece on the use of value-added measures of teacher effectiveness: http://www.annenberginstitute.org/pdf/valueAddedReport.pdf


Contributor: Nirali

Genesis of a class blog

Before the Monday, Wednesday 4 to 6 p.m. Fall 2010 Education 190 student-teachers take over the posts of this blog, it is important for the facilitators of this blog to establish some of our goals, purposes, and intents for this blog. 

Our goals are simple. We want to provide an online space for those who:

• are not heard in class 
• have realized new points, perspectives, and/or opinions based on in-class discussions
• would like to provide other pieces (videos, essays, articles, etc.) important to the discussions we create, in the name of education 
• raise questions and criticisms against the theories and academics of education 

Our audience is each other. The Monday, Wednesday 4 to 6 p.m. Education 190 class, of A's, B's, and Nirali; we are all student-teachers.  

Our individual contributions will help create this online space. The ways in which you can contribute are 1) via e-mail to account: ed190blog@gmail.com, or 2) by dropping a clearly written or typed post into the class drop-box, addressed to "ED 190 Blog." 

Our voices should be considered, learned from, and continued. All posts may be anonymous upon request, because the purposes of this blog is for the raw, organic discussions and points we would like to share with each other. The content should remain organic, but we will NOT upload any posts with hateful, attacking, or aggressive tones. 

Our interests in the blog are both short-term and long-term. Short-term: We want to create a space that is an extra outlet for the student-teachers of this class. Some suggestions include using the blog to showcase your own reading response or to summarize your team-teaching group's lessons. Long-term: This blog might be used to share our growing ideas and conversations on education to influence others or as a space for us to continue our relations after the end of this class. 

We look forward to receiving the posts and participating, ourselves, in the growth of this blog!

Best,

The ED190 Blog Cooperative Team -- Aaron, Jong Woo, Michelle, and Stephanie