Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Curriculum Discussion
so your mtng with daisy was... not good?
the workshop today, btw, made me feel like a crappy teacher
Carl: why
Susie: you know, i dont do too much inquiry-based stuff in my class yet
Carl: I've never taken anyone elses perscription either btw
you don't?
Susie: and right now, my version of scaffolding is providing partial notes and lots of worksheets with filled out stuff
im always afraid that im giving kids too much worksheet based stuff
where they're justconcerned about filling in blanks
recall type stuff
Carl: but if they are filling in blanks with answers that they really think about it kind of is inquiry
Susie: often its not,its just straight notetaking
i always run into this issue with tyrone
he lloves taking notes
Carl: same with bernice for me
Susie: and he always just wants me to write stuff down for him so he can copy them word for word
yeah its the same with bernice for me too
and so he's "passing" my class because he's doing all the"work"
but he doesnt do any of hte assignments that require indepedent thought
Carl: unless you sit next to him
Susie: right and literally even then its like pulling teeth
to get him to say anything on his own
becuase he'll just come righ tout and say it - "since you know all hte ansewrs or how its suppoesd to be, why dont you just tell me what i need to write"
Carl: Its like the way they think of school is so grade centered some kids don't seem to be thinking about learning
Susie: yeah its disturbing
Carl: This is why I feel bad lately is because daisy was pointing out that kids are just barely doing anything deep
Susie: but yet its hard when you're faced with the stupid regents
and they force you to cover all this content
and if anything, you are teaching them content
its esp hard in math too, to get to the "deep" stuff
when i feel like its small, concrete baby steps you take and learn
and then once you solidify that small skit, you move onto the next
Carl: tests are so shallow too. they are supposed to know all this stupid stuff, like memorizing area formulas they learned in middle school
Susie: thats my traditional view of math and its hard to shake it
Carl: yeah I hate that
Susie: and yet the challenge that you face is a lot of them dont know it so its more like a remedial class
Carl: the whole goal is learning one skill so you can use it on the next skill
Susie: you're teaching right now, in order to meet their needs
banana kelly apparenltly does 9/10th grade mixed age, interdisciplinary math-sci classes
crazy
they co-teach
so everybody in 9/10th grades get coteachers for math/sci
and their class size are like, 27
Carl: so does this one school (school for the future???) I saw at the conference
and they taught algebra and physics to the freshmen??
Susie: they do living environment and math a
and take the regents in the 10th grade like we do
from what i hear its mostly math based
but im like, doing a non-linear math curriculum? thats gotta be kinda hard
Carl: It would have to be just like random
like "check out this bacteria growth pattern" and then "what are the odds you'll have a unibrow"
and then maybe with two or three units a year you could review what you did and explain how it is connected
I would like that, it would get kids to see a different view of math as a subject
Susie: yeah...
i can see this workshop/grant being really cool, to go check out other schools and see what they're doing
Carl: amazing that we can so easily discuss these intracices of sci/math curriculum development for a half hour
and yet not write a lesson plan
Susie: but it also kinda stresses me out, like, man, what are we doing
Carl: but yeah that will be cool seeing other people
Susie: but even with banana kelly, they've been around forever
they didnt start doing this integrated math/sci stuff until 3 years ago
same with landmark, they didnt do muti-age science until 2 years ago
Carl: I think what sucks is we don't have alot of resources, or a real conversation about curriculum for either of our subjects
Susie: so i guess its ok, like we're just trying to start a freakin school
thats hard enough for now, and we're managing
just have to see the bigger picture here
one day we'll get to where banana kelly and fannie lou and whateve rother schools are at
Carl: all that and doing stuff like this conference will be great...
because we can unabashedly and unapologetically steal all of their ideas
Susie: i got chicken noodle soup stuck in my head
i was thinking
seirously
why dont we replicate schools just using their model and CURRICULUM
it seems like a lot of these schools have curriculum all worked out
and spent a lot of time reseraching and developing it
Carl: yeah
YEAH
that is really what schools are doing
what was cpess's curriculum I wonder
Susie: because the packet describes how in 2002, banana kelly was having major literacy issues with their 9th graders
poor test scores, poor regents pass rates, poor class pass rates (around 50%)
and then they brainstormed for like 2 years and came up with this math/sci curriculum thats changed things around
and im like, well then, why do we have to go and make all the same mistakes? why dont we just jump straight into the solutions? all we need is the curriculum i feel like, to make it work
anyways, all my thoughts from the workshop today
it is now 11, i was planning to sleep at 8
you should go to sleep too
Carl: Really all the other essential features of our school (advisory, portfolio, integrated classes) Are like window dressing for curriculum
Like that stuff is the clothes and the curriculm is the body, without the curriculum its just a pile of fabrics
Susie: if currriculum holds the key to student engagement, class management, learning, all that
right
we say advisory is the heart of our curriculum
i mean our school
but i feel like we should say curriculum should be to
o
Carl: because our advisory has no curriculum
Susie: and im personally glad that our PD is focusing on that, even if it may not be the best solution for everybody
you know what i mean?
Carl: yeah
Susie: i really do feel like we're having to reinvent the wheel so much
Carl: and we are already thinking about using this as a way of stacking up curriculum now
Susie: and i like rep inc's idea that they're going to replicate successful schools, but if they're going to they should really provide more support
Carl: it would be cool if we were trying out other units from other schools
Susie: aand curriculum is a big piece
the workshop today, btw, made me feel like a crappy teacher
Carl: why
Susie: you know, i dont do too much inquiry-based stuff in my class yet
Carl: I've never taken anyone elses perscription either btw
you don't?
Susie: and right now, my version of scaffolding is providing partial notes and lots of worksheets with filled out stuff
im always afraid that im giving kids too much worksheet based stuff
where they're justconcerned about filling in blanks
recall type stuff
Carl: but if they are filling in blanks with answers that they really think about it kind of is inquiry
Susie: often its not,its just straight notetaking
i always run into this issue with tyrone
he lloves taking notes
Carl: same with bernice for me
Susie: and he always just wants me to write stuff down for him so he can copy them word for word
yeah its the same with bernice for me too
and so he's "passing" my class because he's doing all the"work"
but he doesnt do any of hte assignments that require indepedent thought
Carl: unless you sit next to him
Susie: right and literally even then its like pulling teeth
to get him to say anything on his own
becuase he'll just come righ tout and say it - "since you know all hte ansewrs or how its suppoesd to be, why dont you just tell me what i need to write"
Carl: Its like the way they think of school is so grade centered some kids don't seem to be thinking about learning
Susie: yeah its disturbing
Carl: This is why I feel bad lately is because daisy was pointing out that kids are just barely doing anything deep
Susie: but yet its hard when you're faced with the stupid regents
and they force you to cover all this content
and if anything, you are teaching them content
its esp hard in math too, to get to the "deep" stuff
when i feel like its small, concrete baby steps you take and learn
and then once you solidify that small skit, you move onto the next
Carl: tests are so shallow too. they are supposed to know all this stupid stuff, like memorizing area formulas they learned in middle school
Susie: thats my traditional view of math and its hard to shake it
Carl: yeah I hate that
Susie: and yet the challenge that you face is a lot of them dont know it so its more like a remedial class
Carl: the whole goal is learning one skill so you can use it on the next skill
Susie: you're teaching right now, in order to meet their needs
banana kelly apparenltly does 9/10th grade mixed age, interdisciplinary math-sci classes
crazy
they co-teach
so everybody in 9/10th grades get coteachers for math/sci
and their class size are like, 27
Carl: so does this one school (school for the future???) I saw at the conference
and they taught algebra and physics to the freshmen??
Susie: they do living environment and math a
and take the regents in the 10th grade like we do
from what i hear its mostly math based
but im like, doing a non-linear math curriculum? thats gotta be kinda hard
Carl: It would have to be just like random
like "check out this bacteria growth pattern" and then "what are the odds you'll have a unibrow"
and then maybe with two or three units a year you could review what you did and explain how it is connected
I would like that, it would get kids to see a different view of math as a subject
Susie: yeah...
i can see this workshop/grant being really cool, to go check out other schools and see what they're doing
Carl: amazing that we can so easily discuss these intracices of sci/math curriculum development for a half hour
and yet not write a lesson plan
Susie: but it also kinda stresses me out, like, man, what are we doing
Carl: but yeah that will be cool seeing other people
Susie: but even with banana kelly, they've been around forever
they didnt start doing this integrated math/sci stuff until 3 years ago
same with landmark, they didnt do muti-age science until 2 years ago
Carl: I think what sucks is we don't have alot of resources, or a real conversation about curriculum for either of our subjects
Susie: so i guess its ok, like we're just trying to start a freakin school
thats hard enough for now, and we're managing
just have to see the bigger picture here
one day we'll get to where banana kelly and fannie lou and whateve rother schools are at
Carl: all that and doing stuff like this conference will be great...
because we can unabashedly and unapologetically steal all of their ideas
Susie: i got chicken noodle soup stuck in my head
i was thinking
seirously
why dont we replicate schools just using their model and CURRICULUM
it seems like a lot of these schools have curriculum all worked out
and spent a lot of time reseraching and developing it
Carl: yeah
YEAH
that is really what schools are doing
what was cpess's curriculum I wonder
Susie: because the packet describes how in 2002, banana kelly was having major literacy issues with their 9th graders
poor test scores, poor regents pass rates, poor class pass rates (around 50%)
and then they brainstormed for like 2 years and came up with this math/sci curriculum thats changed things around
and im like, well then, why do we have to go and make all the same mistakes? why dont we just jump straight into the solutions? all we need is the curriculum i feel like, to make it work
anyways, all my thoughts from the workshop today
it is now 11, i was planning to sleep at 8
you should go to sleep too
Carl: Really all the other essential features of our school (advisory, portfolio, integrated classes) Are like window dressing for curriculum
Like that stuff is the clothes and the curriculm is the body, without the curriculum its just a pile of fabrics
Susie: if currriculum holds the key to student engagement, class management, learning, all that
right
we say advisory is the heart of our curriculum
i mean our school
but i feel like we should say curriculum should be to
o
Carl: because our advisory has no curriculum
Susie: and im personally glad that our PD is focusing on that, even if it may not be the best solution for everybody
you know what i mean?
Carl: yeah
Susie: i really do feel like we're having to reinvent the wheel so much
Carl: and we are already thinking about using this as a way of stacking up curriculum now
Susie: and i like rep inc's idea that they're going to replicate successful schools, but if they're going to they should really provide more support
Carl: it would be cool if we were trying out other units from other schools
Susie: aand curriculum is a big piece
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