Blog 14: School Vouchers

Nicholas Matuszewski

Blog 14

Educ. 361

11/2/2011

School Vouchers

            School vouchers are basically scholarships given to families instead of the students to allow families to choose which school their kid(s) will attend and have all or part of the tuition paid. The idea behind this is that it will improve the education students will receive. The money can come from the government, private organizations, or a combination of both. This is a very controversial topic and is debated today.

            I am not really sure on what I think about them but because I don’t know much about them. Right now I would say that while I do think that in some ways school vouchers are good they are probably for the most part bad. I like the idea of giving families the power and opportunities to choose where their kids go to school but I am not sure I like where the money is coming from and the schools it goes to. I fear there may be a great rise in private schools being built, meaning more money going to private schools, leaving public schools in the dust and with little funding.

            Many schools are struggling and surviving on limited funding making me worry that if school vouchers increase the schools might end up being ran like businesses instead of a school. Schools are already getting sponsorship money from companies like Pepsi or Coke, what’s keeping schools from expanding on this and becoming filled with advertisements and look like a real life YouTube website. Our country’s economy problems are forcing people to look for ways of making or getting money any way they can. Everyone seems to think that the government is the answer. Our government should be more of a helper instead of an answer. The more money the government spends and hands out the more the people will suffer to resupply the funds. Private organizations to me will give money to help others but want something in return for their services. This could lead to exploiting schools for their benefit. Is this how it is, maybe not but the way things are looking now it wouldn’t surprise me if we see more of this in the future.

            I am new to the school voucher system and hope to get a better understanding about it in the future. Right now I can’t see any overall good coming from implementing them and hope I am wrong. When it comes to helping out families and giving the opportunity for children to get a good education I am all for it. But to what extent will vouchers affect all schools in the long run? Time will tell and I hope they make the school voucher system better and not so one sided. It seems that public schools have the upper hand and only hope that school vouchers will not be a problem to both private and public schools in the future. Throwing money at a problem is not the answer, but taking the money given and using it wisely can be the answer. Schools have more hands than cookies in the cookie jar. We need to find a more efficient system to make sure there are enough cookies for all.

Blog 13: Project or Problem Based Learning

Nicholas Matuszewski

Blog 13

Educ. 361

11/2/2011

Project or Problem Based Learning

            When I was in Phuture Phoenix I spent most of my time at the Phantom Knights Charter School in West De Pere. I mostly helped the students with their math but also had many opportunities to help the students with some of the projects they were working on. I helped with research and I even helped them work on their projects. I mostly guided them with their projects but most of the time the student did the work. At first I wasn’t sure how well a project based school would be at teaching students but soon found that it was a pretty good place for certain students to learn. The students do lots of research and hands on work giving them lots of experience on finding information about their project and how many of them relate to the real world. In this aspect of what they do at this school the students learn a lot. They do learn more this way than what they are supposed to learn doing computer based lessons.

            There are a few things about the Phantom Knights Charter School that kind of bugged me about how the students learn. Besides the hands on projects the students do most of the core subjects are done on computers. The subjects aren’t really taught, they are explained on the computer and then the students do the work or math problems after the introduction. There are two people who work with the students when they need help but there is only so much a student can learn from a computer lesson and assignment. The math done on the computers really bugs me. The thing that really bugs me about this is that the problems given after an explanation of how to do it is done in multiple choice answers. Many of the students didn’t even look at how to do the problems and just guessed at the answer. They can do this because they have to get better than a 70% to move on to the next chapter/assignment and they can keep guessing till they do so. The only time it really matters is when they take the chapter test because the people running the place see the scores and can’t let them move on until they pass the test. The students come up with all kinds of excuses on why they didn’t do so good.

            From what I have observed there are many good things that come out of charter schools. There are also some questionable things as well. I can see why there isn’t much data to show how well charter schools are for the students who attend them. The project based learning helps the students out tremendously while the subject work they do on the computers can be nothing but going through the motions. To me this kind of evens things out on how well students learn making the data inaccurate and tough to compile. I have seen some situations where one student was a plaque to the other students with his bad attitude and unwillingness to learn anything. There are some students where there isn’t much you can do but I do feel that a charter school environment gives troubled or struggling students a chance to succeed in school and in life.

Blog 12: Response to Intervention (RTI)

Nicholas Matuszewski

Blog 12

Educ. 361

10/31/2011

Response to Intervention (RTI)

            RTI is finding out a student’s strengths and weaknesses in how they learn and understand what is being taught. By figuring out these strengths and weaknesses teachers can use this information to be able to better teach their students according to their learning abilities. This can lead to getting assistance in the classroom or having the student(s) qualify for special education. This can be difficult for teachers due to the fact that students possess wide ranges of learning abilities.

            RTI differs from special education in that RTI is figuring out how to successfully teach to all students in the classroom where special education is based more on helping students who struggle with learning by giving them mostly one on one help with a person who is specialized in special education. While all parents want their kids to pass RTI so their kids don’t fall under the category of needing special education, the fact that many students who pass the RTI may need specialized help remains and the parents may not realize this. Students falling in the gray area of the RTI, which is where a student isn’t considered as learning disabled but is close enough to where they more than likely need more help, have a good chance of struggling even more in school because they cannot get the help they need based on their RTI. Having special education in schools is expensive making it limited for school to decide which students can receive special education.

            RTI is good for a teacher to figure out how to better teach their students. While this helps teachers understand how their students learn, it also can hurt a teacher by having gray area students who are struggling hinder the learning of the other students. It is hard for a teacher to meet state testing requirements if they have to focus a lot of their time on trying to get the slower students caught up or on task. This can get the teacher behind in their lessons. Teachers can’t do everything on their own they need outside help as well. Parents need to understand RTI, what their child’s learning abilities are, and how they can help their child at home. By getting parents more involved and understanding their child’s RTI ranking, teachers will be greatly helped and able to continue moving forward with teaching their students.

            RTI can help students by qualifying them for the help they need but can also hinder their learning. Sure money is usually the deciding factor when it comes to whether or not a school has the resources to provide help for struggling students. But there are other ways teachers and students can get help. By getting parents to understand their child’s learning abilities teachers can get cheap and much needed help. I feel that parents don’t really know what RTI is and don’t fully realize what it means where their child’s learning abilities rank. By educating parents about RTI and what it means, parents will have a better understanding of what they can and have to do to help their child become a better learner. They will realize that the teacher is limited in what they can do and any help parents can bring to the table would be great for both students and teachers. Every child is special. Special education helps students who are slow and higher learners. RTI simply tells teachers where their students rank and if they qualify for special education. Without outside help, teachers will continue to struggle with getting their students to understand and get through all that needs to being taught.   

Blog 11 My Personal Multiple Intelligence Ranking

Nicholas Matuszewski

Blog 11

Educ. 361

10/17/2011

Blog 11: My Personal Multiple Intelligences Ranking

Rank	Intelligence	Rank	Intelligence
1	Intrapersonal Intelligence	7	Moral Intelligence
2	Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence	8	Musical Intelligence
3	Interpersonal Intelligence	9	Naturalist Intelligence
4	Linguistic Intelligence	10	Existential Intelligence
5	Logical-Mathematical Intelligence	11	Spiritual Intelligence
6	Spatial Intelligence

Blog 10: Should Boys and Girls be Educated Separately

Nicholas Matuszewski

Blog 10

Educ. 361

10/17/2011

Blog 10: Should Boys and Girls be Educated Separately?

            When boys and girls are educated separately they probably have many reasons for doing better in school because of this. Some of these reasons may be because they feel more comfortable working with students of the same sex, have an easier time conversing with one another, and because they are similar in the way they think. Even though evidence may show that students who are in same sex schools learn better, I still don’t think that boys and girls should be educated separately. The question “should boys and girls be educated separately” seems to be lacking information to me. Is it asking if they should be educated in separate schools or educated in the same school but only with other students of the same sex? For this blog I am going to assume the question is asking if they should be educated in separate schools.

            My biggest concern with educating boys and girls separately is how it may affect the students socially. Let’s take reading for example. If students are discussing a book they read boys and girls may differ in how they interpret what they have read, how the story may relate to something they have experienced, how they feel about what they have read, and they may have very different predictions about what may happen in the story based upon what they have read. Students may better understand what they have read by talking with other same-sex students but may lack hearing many different perspectives, especially from the other sex. This may hurt students in the future when they converse with the opposite sex because they don’t really understand each other and the way they think. The more they practice interacting with one another the better their communication skills will be.

            Another concern I have with same-sex schools is delinquency. I feel that if students are in a same-sex school they may get bored or sick of being with the other students of the same sex. The rules these school may have in these schools may also affect them. These circumstances may lead students to be more delinquent. Being told what they can and cannot do may be accepted by them at first but the repetitiveness of day to day interactions in classrooms with other same-sex students will get a bit old. Students may break away from the norm or what is expected of them simply because they need a change. Conflict due to being in a same-sex school may also arise between students and their parents/families because they have a hard time dealing with the differences between school life and home. I guess seeing the movie Dead Poets Society has influenced me a bit on what I think about same-sex schools/learning.

            I have little idea how the data between same-sex schools and diverse-sex schools relate to one another and if one shows to be much better or not. Academically same-sex schools may show that their students are learning at a high level, but this makes me concerned about the social aspect of their lives. Will learning in same-sex schools hurt students once they finally go out into the workforce? I don’t know but I am concerned that our future may be lacking good and efficient communication between boys and girls. How are guys supposed to build up the courage to ask a girl on a date if they are too scared because they had little or no interaction with girls, or vice versa? I actually feel that teaching boys and girls separately and together could work the best. The problem with this though is how?

Blog 9: Accommodating Diversity

Nicholas Matuszewski

Blog 9

Educ. 361

10/17/2011

Blog 9: Accommodating Diversity

            I feel that teachers are at a disadvantage when it comes to accommodating diversity in their classrooms. Cooperative learning is a great tool for a teacher to use when accommodating diversity. By incorporating cooperative learning into the classroom learning environment the teacher will be able to address the many different needs the students possess and allowing the students to teach each other.

            One way to begin accommodating diversity would be by beginning a new school year trying to create good classroom management. This may sound like something that every teacher tries to do anyways but I only say it to show how important it is when dealing with diversity. A classroom environment created into a class of well-behaved students can help reduce negative diversity that more than likely will show up through not-so-well behaved students. When students learn together on what is expected in the classroom and how it’s going to work accommodating diversity is being applied during this process.

            Another example of accommodating diversity is gathering students together at a reserved spot in the classroom (an example would be a giant rug the students and teacher can all sit around) can be a great place to introduce students to the many types of diversity and how (if possible) it should be handled. Some of the diversity students possess is very sensitive and tricky to deal with. Sharing stories and creating oral mini-lessons in diversity if students bring it up is a good way to teach students about it. This may sound like a simple and maybe ridiculous idea but I have seen it firsthand on how effective something so simple like this example can be.

            The many differences between each student can cause friction between them. This friction can be used to get students to use their differences as a tool to work together towards a common goal. Putting diverse students together who are at the same learning level can help further their learning quickly and effectively. At first it may be difficult figuring out what group to put each student into. But this should become clearer after testing their reading levels. Applying cooperative learning into reading will help the students become independent learners which will trickle down into the other school subjects being taught. Students in same leveled (or close) learning groups will learn at the same pace as their same leveled group members. If some students show major improvement in their learning then they can be moved up into a higher leveled group.  

            There is no perfect way for teachers to handle all the diversity they have to deal with. There are lots of examples and ways to deal with diversity but it is up to the teachers to decide which way(s) are best to use with their current students. How will I try and accommodate diversity in my future classroom? I won’t know until I get there but at least I will have a lot of ideas on how to do so.

Blog 8: 4th Grade Native American Food and Lodging Rubric

Nicholas Matuszewski

Blog 8

Educ. 361

10/12/2011

Blog 8: 4^th Grade Native American Food and Lodging Rubric

Oral Presentation Rubric : Native American Food and Lodging
Teacher Name: Mr. Matuszewski
Student Name:     ________________________________________
CATEGORY	4	3	2	1
Understanding of Topic	Show full understanding of the topic.	Show good understanding of the topic.	Show good understanding of parts of the topic.	Do not seem to understand the topic very well.
Preparedness	Students are completely prepared and has obviously rehearsed.	Students seems pretty prepared but might have needed a couple more rehearsals.	The students are somewhat prepared, but it is clear that rehearsal was lacking.	Students do not seem at all prepared to present.
Comprehension	Students are able to accurately answer almost all questions posed by classmates about the topic.	Students are able to accurately answer most questions posed by classmates about the topic.	Students are able to accurately answer a few questions posed by classmates about the topic.	Students are unable to accurately answer questions posed by classmates about the topic.
Vocabulary	Use vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Extends audience vocabulary by defining words that might be new to most of the audience.	Use vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Includes 2-4 words that might be new to most of the audience, but does not define them.	Use vocabulary appropriate for the audience. Do not include any vocabulary that might be new to the audience.	Use several (5 or more) words or phrases that are not understood by the audience.
Organization	Presentation was well organized and put together so the audience greatly understood it.	Presentation was well organized and put together so the audience understood most of it.	Presentation was not well organized and put together where the audience had some troubles understanding it.	Presentation was poorly organized and put together where the audience never really understood it.
Information	All information presented was clear and well defined.	Most information presented was clear and well defined.	Most information presented was clear but not well defined.	The information presented was not clear and not well defined.
Participation	All members of the groups fairly participated in presenting.	The members of the group presented somewhat fairly.	The members of the group participated unfairly.	One person in the group did most of the presenting.