Monday, September 30, 2013

What is Right With Our Schools?

My blog title is just the opposite to the article title, "What is Wrong With Our Schools."  Yet the content of the article stresses how we should focus on what we are doing well, and we are doing well, raising achievement for so many low performing students.  Yes, we have a segment of students who do not perform well and believe school is not that important to them. So the bottom line is to focus on what we do well to increase student achievement and replicate the process for our other kids.

What is Wrong With Our Schools?  Jull Berkowicz and Ann Myers. 9.26.13.  Education Week - Leadership
https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6806707884730346906#editor/target=post;postID=6361350268327854149

A Good Idea? Intellectually Disabled Students with Other Students

Rhode Island, by court order, is now required to include intellectual disabled students in "some" classes with regular students to raise their level of academic achievement.  Examples in the article seem that the intellectually disabled students have disabilities more serious than those we see in our Title I classes.  However, this is an age-old question.  Is this a good idea or not?  Mainstreaming was the term used in the past.  How do you feel about this practice?  Do you think other states besides Rhode Island will follow suit?

Share your comments below.

R.I. Redoubles Efforts for Intellectually Disabled.  Christine A. Samuels.  9.25.13.  Education Week Premium Article. 
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/09/25/05sheltered_ep.h33.html?tkn=RNOFXieCKRkPVzCBRjZl0hDBmyZpAdPohLM1&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Drawing Pictures Helps Comprehension

We Title I teachers know that many students learn through visual imput, whether it be illustrations, videos, games, or TV viewing.  What we probably don't do enough is visual output - asking kids to draw pictures about what they are learning in vocabulary and understanding content.  The author of this article was an illustrator herself in class and often used it as a technique to learn.  She has translated "drawing" into a study strategy, one that I am sure would help many of our struggling learners. Be sure to look at the example illustrations.  (Another term for this practice is sketchnoting.)

Read and share your ideas with colleagues.

Visual Notetaking in the Classroom.  Wendi Pillars. 9.24.13. Education Week Teacher
http://www.edweek.org/tm/collections/ctq-collaboratory/2013/09/23/ctq_pillars.html