Response to Ch. 6&7 (Week 4: Part II)

     From the reading this past week, specifically in Ch. 6: “A Classroom as Wide as the World,” it is apparent that educators need to prepare students to be successful on a global scale.  International cooperation and communication is something that is a necessity for many of the jobs today.  I feel that teachers need to prepare students in America to be successful for international jobs.  More importantly, we need to make sure our student have a greater sense of awareness and what is going on outside the town they live in.  Informing students of global events and integrating such events into the curriculum needs to be something that we, as educators, focus on.  The more exposure we can provide our students on an international level will better prepare them for their future endeavors. 

            In some cases, I feel that students in the US are somewhat isolated and unaware about what is going on in the world around them.  I know that when I was in school, it wasn’t necessarily something that I thought about.  I think that other countries do a much better job of informing their students about events happening on a global scale.  Dr. Jacobs states, “…While learning a second language is standard in other industrial countries, only 50 percent of US high school students study a foreign language.”  Just through the foreign language exposure, students in other countries are getting a leg up on US students. 

            A great resource to communicate internationally is through the use of the Internet.  One of my practicum placements involved skype sessions with a class from every state.  It was a great opportunity for students to meet other kids their age and at the same time, giving them the opportunity to recognize some of the differences and unique qualities each state has.  To branch off this idea, classrooms could do the same type of activity on a global scale.  What better way to teach students about different countries than having students from a specific country inform their peers around the world?  Talk about engaging!  In closing, Dr. Jacobs offers, “I would like to see a day when our students’ education is not bound by the four walls of a school but can be as wide as the world.”  As our educational system in the US advances as time passes, I can see school systems making a push to communicate internationally.  I think that it is something that can only benefit students.

            Ch.7 titled, “Making Learning Irresistible,” is a goal that all schools should have.  Students should come into the classroom excited about what they are doing and ready to take on assignments and tasks.  For this to happen, it takes work from the teacher, students, and the curriculum.  One key issue mentioned in the chapter was the idea behind grades.  I think that current students are more grade-driven than ever.  I constantly have students asking me, “Is this going to be a graded assignment?”  That is a question that I cannot stand.  I think that students should put their best effort forward, regardless if they will be receiving a grade or not.  Students have become so focused on grades that they have, in some cases, lost sight of the learning.  I have found that students can be extremely clever when looking at rubrics.  They can find exactly what they need to get the grade they want.  They figure what they can leave out of the assignment so they do not have to do any unnecessary work.  I do feel that grades serve an important purpose in schools.  However, grades can be a negative aspect if students are so grade-oriented in all of the work they do. 

            Another key point mentioned in Ch. 7 was the idea of student ownership of work.  This is a topic that I have addressed in previous blogs in relation to students problem-solving on their own and teachers there to help or facilitate questions.  It is a balancing act when it comes to helping students and letting students figure things out on their own.  A little struggle when problem solving is good.  It allows students to see that they can accomplish things on their own.  However, too much of a struggle can be negative.  If this happens, it can shut students down completely.  One thing is for certain is that the students, not the teachers, should be doing most of the thinking and the work in the classrooms.  This was something that was mentioned as a problem in Mabry Middle school, in Ch. 7.  A shift occurred when students were given ownership to their learning.  It was no longer the teacher leading students through assignments, but rather students figuring things out for themselves and solving their own problems.  Giving students the ownership of their learning makes learning situations more meaningful.  There is more riding on it once a student knows it will be up to them to complete an assignment or task.