Teresa has questions about Christie's school rating proposal

In an article posted last month on N.J.Com, Gov. Christie announced that his administration has developed a “new system for rating school performance for the state’s annual schools report card.”   There are approximately600 school districts in N.J. that will be classified into one of three categories:  focus category(3), priority category (2) and reward schools(1).    The New Jersey Commissioner of Education states that the new system will enhance schools who are failing. Some of the state’s annual school report cards will be reviewed…………..performance on state tests over-time and achievement gaps between high and low income students will be rated, as well as additional statistics on how well prepared students are for college.  

The new system was explained in a waiver for the state’s application to remove some requirements for the NCLB (No Child Left Behind) Law.  This new system for rating school performance statewide is just one of many proposals pushed by Governor Christie’s administration to drastically change New Jersey’s education system.

After reading the article, I reflected on my recent visit to the state site for the annual school district report card.  I had an opportunity to view several district report cards including: Passaic, Clifton, Linden, Union City, and a district near the Jersey Shore.  The statistics were very revealing especially in the area of mobility rates (meaning the students may move away quite a bit) for the high schools in Passaic and Clifton, and NJ Ask scoring percentages.  It was interesting to note that in the predominantly lower SES level districts the mobility rate was high compared to the higher SES level districts.  Also, attendance rates were higher in the higher SES level districts as well.

The question I ask is this—Do you think that the new rating system will truly improve performance levels for students as well as teachers or do you think that it may apply more unnecessary pressure in school districts that have much to contend with already? Do the lawmakers need to move quickly with making Christie’s proposals into law or should these changes be tested out in the districts in question over a period of time to see if they actually will have a positive influence over the performance of these districts in question?

Megan has a question about using music in the classroom

I recently read an article entitled Music in the Classroom by Jennifer O. Prescott. The author suggests that using songs while teaching can enhance the students’ learning experience. She believes that songs can be used in any subject area and at any grade level in order to make the lesson more fun! Prescott states that using songs is an effective way to have students internalize information they need to learn for mastery. She also maintains that when a teacher uses a song to help students memorize something, that that particular knowledge sticks with them. I still remember a song my fourth grade teacher taught us to help us learn the seven continents. In that case the music worked for me!



My cooperating teacher uses songs in her first grade classroom all of the time. She has a song for just about everything they do, and the students absolutely love it. She uses the songs when it’s time for them to move on to something new. The first graders have fun singing the song, and then they’re focused for the next task.


Do you think that using songs in the classroom can help students learn better? Do you think that there’s a limit as to the grade and age in which this approach is effective? Or are these songs great for all grade levels? Would you consider using songs in your lessons and in your classroom? Why or why not?

Do we need to use those building blocks more? Stephanie poses the question.

A recent article in the New York Times states that more and more schools are putting a greater enphasis on "block centers."    What are block centers, you ask?   Block centers are areas set aside in a classroom, usually are the primary level, where students are able to use the ever-popular "building blocks."   Block centers appear to be gaining new popularity due to concerns that academic pressure and technology are squeezing play out of young children's lives.   Many argue that teachers are getting too wrapped up in their very prescriptive curricula and that young students are losing the opportunity to explore and create things.  

Studies that date as far back as the 1940s indicate that blocks help children absorb baisc math concepts.   A 2001 study followed 37 preschooler and found that those who had had more sophisticated block play got better math grades and achieved higher standardized test scores.   Additionally, a 2007 study found that those students with building block experience scored significantly better on language acquisition tests . 

Natinal school-supply companies like Beckers and Lakeshore added more than a dozen block-related products to their catalogs this year.   Teachers appear to be seizing the opportunity to connect these building block centers to their curruculum in a variety of ways.    Teachers are finding that technology can be integrated into block centers.   Seemingly, there appears to be a correlation between students who use blocks and build things and the ability to take pictures with cameras or i-pads, create documentaries and master the art of editing.  

What do you think of this idea of "block centers?"    Are teachers, in your estimation, getting too involved in the academic pressures and forgetting the play aspects of schooling?   Do you see a correlation between block building and math skills?   Do our students need more play opportunities during school time?   Why? What do you remember about building blocks when you were in school?

The Importance of Parental Involvement in School and in the Lives of Their Children: Tara shares a story

I am going to tell you a story that occurred to a student in the class in which I am completing my field experience.   This scenario could be used as a psychological study on the importance of parental involvement in school. This story could be longer, but I will try to summarize it as best I can.

A very bright and very loveable child in our third grade class has been having some trouble at home. His real mother is in jail, and his stepmother has two children of her own.   She also has a baby with the student's father. It seems as though this stepmother does not want to raise this child because he is not her own. A few weeks ago, the student forgot his homework, and this mother refused to give him lunch. One may wonder why the student's parents were not taking responsibility and checking the student's homework, but this is what occurred. The school gave the student lunch, and told the mother they would report her if this was to happen again. A couple of weeks later, the school found out that this student spent some time in an institution for the mentally disturbed because the stepmother mother had called the police and asked that the child be taken away after he threw a "temper-tantrum." The student was supposedly diagnosed with an impulse control disorder, yet the teacher saw that he was not receiving any treatment for this. The school decided to report the parents to DYFS and let them know that they have had problems with these parents before.   The school administrator told DYFS that this student never showed any signs of being angry, mean, or disruptive in any way in school. In fact, he is a very loveable child. The school then found out that the stepmother had already called DYFS about this child and said that he was a threat to her other children. The school was very upset over this and is insisting that DYFS look into this and either find help for this student.   The school administrator also asked DYFS for help for the family, as well.    Since then, the student has been staying with his grandparents. They took him to the circus over the weekend, and they have been helping him with his homework. He has gotten A's and B's on his tests and assignments since he has been staying with them. He told the teacher, "I am staying with my grandparents because nobody else wants to take care of me."

Could you imagine feeling this way at such a young age? The teacher has been trying to do more activities in her class that would cause students to get more one-on-one time with her, so she can spend some time with this student. She has been trying to give him as much verbal praise and rewards as appropriate just to build his self-esteem and his comfort in school. She has never had a problem with this student before, and she truly believes that it is because the students all know that no matter what happens, they will get unconditional love in that school.

I believe that positive parental involvement and support in children's lives and school careers is SO important, yet it is severely declining in our schools. This is an extreme case, but I encounter a problem with lack of parental involvement every day. It can be something as simple as the parents do not speak English, so they do not attempt to help with homework or the parents believe they cannot do the homework assignments themselves, so they cannot help with them, to cases like the one  that occurred with this student. This child went from being in a home with neglectful parents and forgetting his homework, to a loving place with his grandparents and getting A's and B's on his assignments. Have you ever had any instances where you believed parents should be doing more to get involved in school to support their children? Was anything done about this? What are ways you believe you could foster positive parental involvement within your own class? What do you think you could do for those students whose parents will not get involved no matter what you do?  Comments?   Any similar stories to share?   

Block Scheduling: To Be or Not To Be. Kendra has a concern

It has come to my attention that one of the reasons why a family member of mine switched from a public school to a private school was because of block scheduling structure that was in place in the 45-minute classes a day to block scheduling (fewer classes per day with longer time period devoted to each period) is a big adjustment for both students and teachers. Some teachers complain that with a block schedule structure, there is a loss of class meeting time in an overall school year.   Generally speaking, in a block schedule structure there are 90-minute classes with the same students meeting every other day. Many students complain that they can't sit in a class for that long.

On the other hand there are teachers and students who appear to like block scheduling. Students may appreciate not feeling overwhelmed and by being given an extra day in which to do the assigned homework.  Some teachers feel that block scheduling  gives them  more time to teach their lesson, objective.   They do not have to rush through the lesson just to get it done. Moreover, with a block schedule structure teachers have more time to focus on specific areas in which students are struggling.    As future teachers, which scheduling structure do you prefer and why?   

How's about we get those students moving? Yvette poses a question to think about.

The purpose of the NJEA convention is to introduce teachers to new strategies and ideas for the classroom. One of the workshops I attended was entitled "The Kinesthetic Classroom: Teaching and Learning through Movement" with presenter Michael S. Kuczala. The point that the presenter was trying to get across was that studies have found students who are more physically fit tend to perform better academically. This workshop demonstrated small ways in which teachers can have their students be more active in the classroom, and as a result, perform better academically. These small activities also resulted with students having better upper body strength. Kuczala talked about "brain breaks" and their importance in elementary classrooms especially. He showed simple things such as doing jumping jacks while spinning in a circle, running in place, and passing a balloon from partner to partner while students were back to back. He also showed an arm movement in which he touched his nose with his right hand and with the left hand he reached over his right hand and touched his right ear then he switched to touching his nose with his left hand and reaching over to with his right hand to touch his left ear (he repeatedly switched a few times back and forth). Some of the activities he demonstrated take 90 seconds at most and are great to use before a lesson to get the blood flowing or somewhere in between to keep the children awake, aware, and listening. He also demonstrated a couple of methods that incorporated constant movement and could be used to review for tests or review content. Students could review math addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division facts with a tweaked version of rock, paper, scissors or the teacher could review with the class using multiple choice by assigning a movment (i.e. jumping jacks, hopping on one foot, clapping) and having the entire class answer altogether.



Would you consider using these activities in your classroom? Do you think that it would be beneficial to your students? Looking at the younger elementary grades in particular, do you think that these "brain breaks" would help the students remain focused on the lesson or would they get out of control and, in turn, take away more time from the lesson?

Cara asks about extending the school day and year

Quality or Quantity?

Does more time in school matter? Several scholars have argued that simply extending school time in and of it will not produce desired results. However, in recent years some notable extended time programs have produced gains in test scores, graduation rates, and college attendance by increasing the amount of time students spend in school by nearly 60%. Do you think by extending the school day and/or school year students would benefit and there would be an improvement in teaching and learning?