305 Matching Annotations
  1. Mar 2019
    1. show the Muscogee Nation website as a complementary source.

      I think that by using relevant and updated sources, a greater connection can be made, to illustrate that Native Stories are not just historical but are also current.

    2. encourages children to read between the lines

      something I think adults should also be encouraged to do

    3. replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day.

      I also think it would be a benefit to use literature that more accurately explains who Columbus was.

    4. In this article, I ask teachers to rethink literature used to teach children about Indigenous peoples.

      I agree that there needs to be a change in how American students are educated regarding the history of Indigenous peoples.

  2. Feb 2019
    1. Learning best occurs when a learner is placed into an experience that looks both familiar and strange,

      So true! We must push out of our comfort zones and experience some degree of stress in order for substantial growth to occur. These are the experiences that shape who we become.

    2. my intent was to provide students with substantive tools for the interrogation of concerns—tools they could use right then and there but also carry into their present and future lives

      Situations like this is where the most authentic learning can take place. Students can view the problem as something tangible since they have a personal experience or vested interest. A dialogue that explores possible solutions or compromises often creates positive takeaways for adolescents. This helps build confidence for when they encounter similar problems late in life.

    3. No matter what you do, tensions remain in your classroom.

      The realness of this statement is refreshing. Honestly, no matter what you do sometimes, you cannot avoid tensions. Take a deep breath, be honest about it, and do what you need to do to make peace.

    4. Acknowledging and unpacking tensions and the pull they have on us creates opportunities for learning. They are not roadblocks to be avoided but experiences to be explored.

      I honestly wrote this down on a sticky note to look at during the week because I knew it would be a hard week. Assessing why and where our tensions are in life is the first step to embracing the wobble in my opinion. I think it makes us take a step back and reevaluate.

    5. dialogical classroom
    6. They would rather that students, very often those marginalized by the mainstream culture of the school, keep their fi res within.

      I found this part interesting because I know many school counselors who would hope that students speak up about their "fires within" so they can learn to cope with and/or overcome them in a supportive environment.

    7. The nervousness we sense before giving a performance or prior to running down a sand dune strapped to a hang glider are instances when tension can quite literally give way to creative or actual fl ight.

      I was a child who was very nervous about any type of public speaking, especially in front of my peers. I can relate to this feeling of flight. I was eventually able to overcome it when I became a teacher and gained confidence, but I'll never forget that feeling of flight.

    8. Tension is the primordial ooze from which learning occurs.

      Without some sort of challenge like the one tension creates, there wouldn't be a sense of motivation to explore solutions which facilitates learning.

    9. I’m just not convinced that we can make classes threat-free. I can do much to minimize threat, but I can never be completely sure what might cause students to feel threatened.

      In this day and age I don't think it is possible to have a completely threat-free class either. However I believe a teacher can build an environment to at least feel safe even if there are some things that nobody can anticipate. That false sense of security could make all the difference even though there is only so much a teacher can control.

    10. We can ignore those tensions or we can develop appropriate and substantive ways to address them.

      I love this sentence. I wished that all educators would address problems head on so that growth can occur.

    11. t through dialogue, we were now ready to connect our understand-ings to the scheduled lesson plan

      This is a great example of identifying the problem at hand and working it out as a group to come to a universal understanding. This will allow everybody in the classroom to be on the same page and build a better learning environment in the process.

    12. my students had this experience to draw upon as a model for how to make sense of a situation in nuanced and insightful ways.

      I try to call back to previous learning, discussions, and activities as often as possible with my students. This helps them to see the connections between class periods, texts, and assignments. It also helps to build investment in the material that we are learning because they can see how it affects them.

      I began to think critically about how to make connections to students' experiences and to previous learning after studying the SIOP method.

    13. Students expressed a range of views: some defending the metal detectors, some seeing both sides of the argument, and still others declaiming their adamant opposition to the process.

      Exercises like this are real-life pathways to teaching writing skills that are useful to students. Because these students had an emotional investment in the topic they were asked to write about and discuss, they were likely more able to express their opinions and see how they compared to the opinions of their peers. This is similar to what students are asked to do when writing essays for tests like the ACT or SAT.

    14. those muscles that had garnered my attention remain loose and enable easier movement and greater range

      An example of how the practice of yoga can be used to help explain how teaching through tense situations has its benefits. This reminds me of the PWL introduction by Garcia and Allen.

    15. Tension is the primordial ooze from which learning occurs.

      Tension does not have to be feared but can be used to facilitate learning in other ways.

    1. The Pose, Wobble, Flow (P/W/F) framework has helped us conceptualize this mindset

      I like this framework idea because it validates an educators desire to continuously evolve their own methods.

    2. t still isn’t.

      Additional indication that teaching practices are constantly evolving so the conversation should continue to evolve as well.

    3. a set of best-practice teaching methods

      As educators I think it is important to understand that there is no "one size fits all" when it comes to teaching. I like that this addressed within the introduction.

    4. Practitioners of yoga often speak of mindfulness

      As teachers, we should always be mindful. Everything we teach should be thought out and intentional. This is part of being mindful

    5. Often, as teachers, we wobble as we decide when to follow mandates that don’t sit with us too well.

      This is something I can relate to. There have been many times I've felt I had to follow a certain rule as a teacher that I do not necessarily agree with. This would be my own personal "wobble"

    6. While wob-ble may initially cause frustration, it also signals a commitment to increased discipline and deepened practice

      I enjoy this analogy. It helps us to realize we need to embrace the challenges we face when teaching and that only then can we be fully satisfied after reaching our end goal

    1. hat process can sometimes shake her confidence and she likes interacting with other math-lovers around fun problems as a way to remind her of her capabilities and passion for the subject.

      The math circles give freedom to play, explore, and make mistakes for teachers and mathematicians at all levels.

    2. For me, it’s a lot of listening, wandering around seeing what people are doing, having a sense of the room and then knowing what I want people to get out of the session

      When students are asked to work together and "play" with each other, they take ownership of their own learning. This makes me think of the ways in which kids teach each other tricks in video games, make video tutorials, etc.

    1. I try to make my literacy work a sustained argument against inequality and injustice. I want my students to be able to “talk back” when they encounter anything that glorifies one race, one culture, one social class, one gender, one language over another: texts, museums, commercials, classes, rules that hide or disguise domination.

      What a high and motivating standard to hold for educators.

    2. Bill and I didn’t have any Filipinos in the classroom, but we had students whose families had struggled to find meaningful work, who experienced economic exploitation, who fought with others for better lives.

      Is this reaching cultural proficiency? Students practicing empathy and connecting cross-culturally, and really breaking down the barriers that divide culture into cookie cutter categories?

    3. Then I overcorrected. Instead of an all-white lineup, I taught almost all African American literature, which was an improvement, but still problematic. When one student in class tallied up all of the races in class and suggested I teach by the percentages present, I realized I had once again erred. As an Asian American, she wanted to be included. And then there was the graduate who returned and chided me for not preparing her with any “traditional” literature.

      This one paragraph rings so true to my own personal experience in my field. As a social studies teacher in a super diverse community, I am striving for perfect cultural proficiency.

    4. I want my students to be able to “talk back” when they encounter anything that glorifies one race, one culture, one social class, one gender, one language over another:

      This is very powerful. Students should be able to feel they have a voice and that their opinion matters. Especially in their education

    5. My error—and the error of the department that hired me—was to see these students as “disadvantaged” instead of seeing their brilliance.

      This concept of seeing students as disadvantage instead of seeing their brilliance reminds me of the great quote by Albert Einstein, "Everybody is genius but if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing it is stupid."

    6. hen I overcorrected. Instead of an all-white lineup, I taught almost all African American literature, which was an improvemen

      I appreciate that Linda realized the mistake that she made, and I am glad that her other students in the classroom were able to speak on their own behalf so that they could have more representation.

    7. My error—and the error of the department that hired me—was to see these students as “disadvantaged” instead of seeing their brilliance

      Understand that students can be "disadvantaged" and "brilliant" at the same time. It does not have to be one or the other.

    8. disadvantaged

      I want to know why is this word negative? Why are we as a society so afraid to acknowledge that there exist students who are disadvantaged?

    9. “There is something good here. And not just because more white families have moved to this side of town. There’s always been something good here. People just have to open their minds to see it”

      The whole concept of perception is so important to our students. Are the perceptions we've been fed for years an actual Truth? Gentrification always describes making places "better" but challenging our students to think "better for who?" is important.

    10. my lack of knowledge about African American Vernacular

      This article rings so true for many white educators, especially us ELA teachers. For many years I would consistently correct my student's grammar or insist on using "proper" English as we were in school. I then was educated on how alienating it is to students whom you want to feel included in your classroom.

    11. It provides both the writing text for my classroom and the social text where our lives intersect and we deepen our connections and understandings across lines of race, class, gender, nationality, and sexual orientation.

      The read-around is such a great way to create a classroom community where students feel heard and are comfortable sharing their own personal stories that may evoke strong emotions. I'm wondering if Linda had any students who were reluctant to share at first and how she encouraged them to do so in the future.

    12. And when they saw how their lives and stories intersected with the struggles of other people, they became more adept at making connections across cultures, races, and time periods.

      Making connections is such an important part of learning and retaining knowledge while reading. I also agree with Linda when she expressed that you should find books about life situations your students may currently be facing, such as a parent having trouble finding work, instead of only focusing books that match different races.

    13. No one who gave me the award even watched me teach.

      I find it surprising that an award for Outstanding Teacher was given without an observation taking place. Linda's thinking is correct about how answering questions the right way and applying is how to receive the award. Although I'm sure the award was well-deserved, and she is being modest about her teaching ability and the difference she makes in children's lives every day.

  3. Jan 2019
    1. “The median wealth of White households is 13 times that of Black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households.” And then I ask, “How did this ‘gap’ happen?”

      As a teacher in the inner city I try to expand my students' view about how housing and wealth are directly tied to Civil Rights. My students are well aware that their educational resources are not equitable to the Philadelphia suburban districts, but they may not be well versed in the history of housing segregation in America. As Christensen points out, it is important to look at our history in order to develop solutions.

    2. real estate covenants that didn’t allow people of color to live in certain sections of the city
    3. It provides both the writing text for my classroom and the social text where our lives intersect and we deepen our connections and understandings across lines of race, class, gender, nationality, and sexual orientation.

      The read-around sounds like it would serve a purpose similar to the advisory strategy of using a "Circle of Power and Respect". https://originsonline.org/bookstore/advisory-book-revised-edition-0

    4. demonstrates your ‘family’ doing something together.

      This makes me think about strategies that Stephen Cary suggests in his bookWorking with English Language Learners https://www.amazon.com/Working-English-Language-Learners-Second/dp/0325009856

    5. “I didn’t realize that other people went through the same things we [African Americans] did.”

      Choosing texts that provide mirrors of students' own lives and windows into the lives of others is the most effective way for us to help our youth connect to each other and the world around them.

    6. I taught “disadvantaged” students.

      The idea that students are "disadvantaged" creates a deficit-based learning environment, rather than one that is asset-based. https://www.memphis.edu/ess/module4/page3.php

    7. A critical literacy means that students probe who benefits and who suffers, how did it come to be this way, what are the alternatives, and how can we make things more just?

      Simple questions that challenge students as readers and thinkers, often leading to complex and difficult answers.

    8. still hadn’t created classrooms that matched the classroom in my imagination, where students read, argued, and wrote passionately. I moved in the right direction when I stopped believing that I was the one who knew and they were the ones who needed to know. I became curious about what I didn’t know:

      I think this is the struggle for so many teachers. Figuring out how to move beyond this idea of being the "one who knows" requires a lot of work on the part of the teacher. And yet are we actually allowing this kind of work and reflection to take place in our schools? How can we better support our teachers?

    9. My students’ voices and lives didn’t need “housekeeping”; they didn’t need to be told to “hush.” They needed a teacher who could unleash their beauty on the page and their capacity to discuss and argue in the classroom. When I stopped attending to test scores and started listening to the music of my students’ voices and seeing them as “more than a score,” I increased my capacity to engage them. I knew what didn’t work, but I still didn’t know what did work.

      Connecting with students, listening to them, attempting to understand their lives and outlook it at the heart of what we do as teachers, and yet for many administrators the focus is still solely on test scores.

    10. We can choose to push back against the disadvantaged narratives and mandates that continue to lurk in our schools and society and instead build a curriculum that puts students’ lives at the center

      This is an inspiring ending to the article, however, I believe that teachers have their hands tied when it comes to curriculum design for the most part. I believe for things to change it will take more than just the hard work and support of the teachers. It will take those in power positions within education to change which will in turn cause a "ripple affect" of change down the ranks.

    11. I finish this chapter of class by asking students to write a piece of historical fiction

      I think creative writing, like the one the author is mentioning, can play a huge role in classrooms. It is perfect for students to practice their writing but more importantly, it gives students a platform to have fun while still relating the story to the content material. Students always seem to enjoy these kind of assignments from what I have seen in my classroom.

    12. I bring in students’ lives in two ways. First, the unit itself is about their lives and the unfolding narrative of how racial inequality, displacement, economic disparity, as well as resistance and resilience are currently playing out in their neighborhood.

      I feel that relating to each individual class like the author's example is one of they keys for learning to take place. The teacher must make connections through relatable course work to build student interest on the topic.

    13. First, the award itself was boastful. I was a good teacher, but the best? No way. I wasn’t even the best in my school much less the entire western United States. But I was the one who had applied, pulled together a résumé with the help of my colleagues, and apparently answered their questions in the right way

      I love her humble attitude here. I feel like most teachers are this way. I believe most teachers work as a team and learn from each other so they can always support one another.

    1. Padlet, however, allowed for a rapid online brainstorm where every voice in the class was heard, captured and left visible. This deepened in-person follow-up dialogue by allowing students to tap all of their peers’ ideas at once.

      Difference between simply using technology for the sake of saying you did, and using technology to increase equity in the classroom.

    2. Both educators were “blown away” by how well students understood concepts they hadn’t been able to describe previously in classroom dialogue, traditional lab notebooks or on tests. In both classrooms, technology helped the students start to share their voices.

      What about this method got the students to share their thoughts? Did they feel more comfortable with this method? Were they simply attracted to it being "different"? Does it reflect their own social interactions more closely?

    3. Instead, the teachers had visions of diverse groups of students vigorously discussing literature, science or math.

      Reminds me of Matt Kay's approach to teaching. https://www.stenhouse.com/content/not-light-fire

    1. Those of us who are here today need go back only one, two, or at most three generations, to find a time when the household was practically the center in which were carried on, or about which were clustered, all the typical forms of industrial occupation.

      We don't have to travel very far back in time to where the household was similar to the one room school house. In the early, 1900s the parents instructed their children while learning from the grandparents. Meanwhile, the children learned while teaching each other the essential tasks of the house. Today, families are often divided. Both parents must work to make ends meet, while the children are occupied by technology that is most likely foreign to the family "elders." This family model that I described is now considered the norm.

    2. One of the most difficult tasks a teacher has is "hooking" students that are not interested in education to find a purpose in the classroom- playing off their interests is a great way to align their goals with yours

    3. s useless to bemoan the departure of the good old days of children’s modesty, reverence, and implicit obedience, if we expect merely by bemoaning and by exhortation to bring them back. It is radical conditions which have changed, and only an equally radical change in education suffices.

      I think that in today's society there are so many more things that can be a factor in distracting students from their education. This can include technology, since many students have easy access to their phones. It could be something that is affecting them in their home life. It is important to change the way information is presented to the students in way that reflects their current interests and needs.

    4. Indeed, almost the only measure for success is a competitive one, in the bad sense of that term—a comparison of results in the recitation or in the examination to see which child has succeeded in getting ahead of others in storing up, in accumulating the maximum of information. So thoroughly is this the prevalent atmosphere that for one child to help another in his task has become a school crime

      From experience, even today I will notice students comparing their capabilities to other students. I think that it is important to measure their own individual progress over time separate from their classmates. Each student develops differently at their own pace, but that does not mean that they aren't learning. I think that peer learning is also an important tool as different lessons and perspectives can be taught to the student through a classmate.

    5. we cannot overlook the importance for educational purposes of the close and intimate acquaintance got with nature at first hand, with real things and materials, with the actual processes of their manipulation, and the knowledge of their social necessities and use

      I kept reading this quote over and over. Learning with a purpose. Connecting learning to real life situations. Authentic learning experiences. Why do I need to know this? How is this going to help me in real life? This is an everyday question for me. We teach to a sate curriculum. We teach to a test. But yet our administration can not understand why our students are not retaning certain information.. Student will learn if their is a purpose/interest. If they know that what they are learning means something and that they can use it some way somehow.

    6. There is little order of one sort where things are in process of construction; there is a certain disorder in any busy workshop; there is not silence; persons are not engaged in maintaining certain fixed physical postures; their arms are not folded; they are not holding their books thus and so. They are doing a variety of things, and there is the confusion, the bustle, that results from activity.

      I agree with Dewey on this quote. If students are engaged and collaborating with fellow students a classroom should not be silent. If students are working together they are talking to one another and getting ideas off of each other and being engaged in the assignment. Isn't this what we as educators thrive for. Student engagement. To me a quiet classroom is a classroom full of students who are not actively participating in their work.

    7. It has a chance to affiliate itself with life, to become the child’s habitat, where he learns through directed living; instead of being only a place to learn lessons having an abstract and remote reference to some possible living to be done in the future. It gets a chance to be a miniature community, an embryonic society.

      I think it is extremely important for schools to be a place where students are able to use what they learn and direct it to real life. Being a high school math teacher I am constantly asked why do I need this? when am I ever going to use it? Sometimes I actually get stuck because some of the stuff they are never going to use. Do not get me wrong there is many things that you learn in algebra and especially geometry that you can apply to real life, but why not add a class to teach students the importance to balance a check book, or budget to buy a house, or how to invest in stocks. Many district schools do not have these classes to offer because of funding. Many kids come out of high school and have no idea of the importance with some of these things.

    8. order is simply a thing which is relative to an end

      I love this! I make such a personal connection to this sentence along with the paragraph that follows it. At my job, I teach lessons to 15-20 children who are under 3 years old. Sometimes (actually most times) things are a bit chaotic and disorderly. Some of the children's parents think its too chaotic, but in my eyes I think those are the situations in which the most learning is happening. When each child is engaged in different activities in different ways, I think that can be an environment in which the most impactful learning is happening. Embrace a little chaos!

    9. such work engages the full spontaneous interest and attention of the children. It keeps them alert and active, instead of passive and receptive; it makes them more useful, more capable

      Students shouldn't just be passive recipients of knowledge. Although the context in which Dewey wrote this is very different than the way the world is now, I still completely agree with this point. Students should be given opportunities to do hands-on and meaningful work in order to make them active participants in their learning. By doing so, they will become more active members of society in the future.

    10. the school itself shall be made a genuine form of active community life, instead of a place set apart in which to learn lessons.

      This is so true! A lot of my work in undergrad has been focused around building meaningful communities to promote engagement in the classroom. Schools/institutions of learning and society should go hand-in-hand, not be separate entities. It's interesting to think that Dewey wrote about this so long ago, yet there still seems to be a disconnect over 100 years later.

    11. When the school introduces and trains each child of society into membership within such a little community, saturating him with the spirit of service, and providing him with the instruments of effective self-direction, we shall have the deepest and best guarantee of a larger society which is worthy, lovely, and harmonious.

      How different would this American society be if these words of John Dewey were realized? Would there be less violence, less prejudice, less poverty, less drug dependency?

    12. the division into “cultured” people and “workers,” the separation of theory and practice. Hardly one per cent. of the entire school population ever attains to what we call higher education; only five per cent. to the grade of our high school;

      It is this construct in our society that contributes to systematic poverty. We need to change our mindset and focus. We need to provide an equitable education for all.

    13. We must conceive of them in their social significance, as types of the processes by which society keeps itself going, as agencies for bringing home to the child some of the primal necessities of community life, and as ways in which these needs have been met by the growing insight and ingenuity of man; in short, as instrumentalities through which the school itself shall be made a genuine form of active community life, instead of a place set apart in which to learn lessons.

      What a relatable paragraph to our world today! This speaks to the pointlessness of high stakes testing. With all of the energy and funding poured into the process of standardized testing, we have little to no energy left to teach students the value of their social community and skills they can use to be lifelong learners.

    14. In all this there was continual training of observation, of ingenuity, constructive imagination, of logical thought, and of the sense of reality acquired through first-hand contact with actualities.

      Dewey paints a picture of what we call “simpler times,” when the household was its own producer and consumer, every member serving a purpose and coming together like the gears in a machine. This particular statement, seen in isolation, sounds like the best kind of education one can have. When one is in charge of their learning, their inquiry is organic and holds personal value.

    15. Whenever we have in mind the discussion of a new movement in education, it is especially necessary to take the broader, or social view. Otherwise, changes in the school institution and tradition will be looked at as the arbitrary inventions of particular teachers;

      This is an important question we need to ask ourselves as educators and policy makers: Are we taking the social view? Do our decisions help the greater good? Will our decisions help create social justice? Or are they an arbitrary fix for the good of “data”?

    16. All that society has accomplished for itself is put, through the agency of the school, at the disposal of its future members.

      This is a statement I feel strongly towards. I see schools as an opportunity to end systematic poverty, as a place to provide students with a chance to change the world and better themselves. But in today’s world, over 100 years after Dewey wrote these words, we see a self-proclaimed democratic society that still segregates its schools by not allocating funding where it is needed most.

    17. The unity of all the sciences is found in geography. The significance of geography is that it presents the earth as the enduring home of the occupations of man. The world without its relationship to human activity is less than a world

      I find it interesting hearing "the unity of all the sciences is found in geography" this makes sense to me as geography includes our whole world however ironically I feel this is a subject I learned the least about in the classrooms as a young student.

    18. What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all of its children.

      My understanding of this quote is that teachers and everyone in the community should treat each child as if they are their own in order to give them the best education possible.

    19. Only by being true to the full growth of all the individuals who make it up, can society by any chance be true to itself

      I am a full supporter of an inclusive environment where children learn to work with others who have different personalities and ability levels. I also love that a new focus on STEM education is giving students from all ability levels the opportunities to create and become innovators as they learn to be social beings and work together to solve problems.

    20. the application of science resulting in the great inventions that have utilized the forces of nature on a vast and inexpensive scale

      I agree that we need to focus more on how science has been used by great inventors. Great inventors of the past can inspire children to connect science to the world around them and think critically about innovative ways to change the future.

    21. We cannot overlook the factors of discipline and of character-building involved in this: training in habits of order and of industry, and in the idea of responsibility, of obligation to do something, to produce something, in the world.

      I am so happy that discipline and character-building were mentioned here. This is an important social aspect that children need exposure to at a young age. It is also important to note that "immediate personal concern" helps children make real-world connections and have empathy about solving problems in the world today.

    22. To do this means to make each one of our schools an embryonic community life, active with types of occupations that reflect the life of the larger society, and permeated throughout with the spirit of art, history, and science.

      The reference about schools being "active with types of occupations that reflect the life of the larger society" resonates with me. This will help children look beyond just being an individual being and see that they are part of a larger society. It will also help them realize that they can actively contribute to making it a better place for everyone.

    23. The children worked this out for themselves with the actual material, aided by questions and suggestions from the teacher.

      Hands-on experiences, exploring curiosities, developing questions that will drive their explorations while the teacher supports and coaches this is what I am trying to do with PBL in my classroom.

    24. the school itself shall be made a genuine form of active community life, instead of a place set apart in which to learn lessons.

      This made me reflect on the work that we did in my school last year. The question posed to us by our principal was this, "If we are not a school, what are we?" This question stemmed from the children's book, Not a Box. How can we as teachers work not just with our students but collaboratively with one another to create an environment of student driven learning?

    25. with real things and materials, with the actual processes of their manipulation, and the knowledge of their social necessities and uses.

      Authentic learning experiences!

    26. The children, as they gained in strength and capacity, were gradually initiated into the mysteries of the several processes. It was a matter of immediate and personal concern, even to the point of actual participation.

      I read and reread these sentences several times. How often are children actually connected and participating in their own learning to this extent? How can we get there in education?

    27. Yet the range of the outlook needs to be enlarged.

      This is the challenge that presents itself to teachers. How do expand our outlook beyond the traditional confines of the classroom, curriculum, standardized testing?

    28. The children worked this out for themselves with the actual material, aided by questions and suggestions from the teacher.

      Even back in the early 1900s it sounded like hands-on experiences could be one of they keys to learning.....very interesting ;) ;)

    29. . No training of sense-organs in school, introduced for the sake of training, can begin to compete with the alertness and fullness of sense-life that comes through daily intimacy and interest in familiar occupations.

      I think this sentence demonstrates exactly what the concept of connected learning is trying to accomplish in education. Interest-driven education with the focus on a related career or occupation is essential to quality learning. This, in turn, can improve our society by the education system providing qualified individuals with skills that will allow them to contribute happily in today's society. Skills that might not have been learned if interest was not present first. Daily learning is always stronger when people can relate and find interest in the subject matter, whether in a conventional education setting or not.

    30. That this revolution should not affect education in other than formal and superficial fashion is inconceivable.

      Just like everything in society, education must evolve to keep up with how the world today functions. It should not be a completely separate entity from all the changes that occur in society. Education must continually change to match the demands of society. Leaders in education should also have the task of anticipating what will be important to learn in future societies. The coveted skills that make people successful change over time as the world evolves. It is the education system's priority to roll with the changes in a positive direction for the betterment of the students and society itself. Easier said than done, of course.

    31. Whenever we have in mind the discussion of a new movement in education, it is especially necessary to take the broader, or social view. Otherwise, changes in the school institution and tradition will be looked at as the arbitrary inventions of particular teachers; at the worst transitory fads, and at the best merely improvements in certain details

      It is funny to read these few sentences and realize how this has not changed in over 100 years. Education is at the point now that so many new concepts, strategies, interventions, etc, are being introduced into schools, and at such a rapid pace, that I feel many teachers find it hard to decipher what will work and what is just a "transitory fad" as Dewey mentions. I completely understand where Dewey is coming from in this regard and I don't blame modern day teachers for being hesitant to change or accept new inventions or theories that are abruptly thrown at them most times.

    32. Indeed, to those whose image of the school is rigidly set the change is sure to give a shock.

      This phrase sticks out to me because I have felt this shock before. I like to have my students up out of their seats or getting into debates about texts that we are reading. Unfortunately, I have had administrators walk into my room and believe that my carefully planned lessons were "chaotic". How can we work within the constraints of a prescribed curriculum or rigid administration while still invigorating students in the way Dewey describes?

    33. No training of sense-organs in school, introduced for the sake of training, can begin to compete with the alertness and fullness of sense-life that comes through daily intimacy and interest in familiar occupations.

      The word "intimacy" brings Dewey's argument to life. How can we expect students to develop a level of intimacy with school content if it is disconnected from their interests and from their home life?

  4. Mar 2018
    1. Scholars have exhaustively documented the discrimina-tory treatment that minoritized populations continue to experience

      Many, if not all of my students are minorities. They come to me often with questions regarding their race or where they were born. I fee that the talk of diverse cultures and backgrounds, minorities, and inequality must be addressed in school much more than it is currently.

    2. schools and community organizations that fail to educate all communities equally

      I know personally, I do not feel that I learned enough in school about civic responsibilities and knowledge. I wish that this type of education started at a younger age, instead of middle and high school.

    3. l stark differences in youth participation along lines of race, class, and educational attainment

      Depending on various factors such as race, class, money, etc., there are inequalities that present different types of opportunities to everyone. This inequality is something that needs to be recognized, so that people know it exists and can start work on changing it.

    4. our intent is to expose the normative ideas that inform policy, practice, and research in civic education as a basis for problematizing them and offering new competencies that can lead us toward a more inclusive and critical vision of civic life.

      This is a goal that I have/want my students to understand. I want them to learn about civics, and also realize that civics is constantly changing and they must keep up with the change and advocate for change.

    5. we focus on selected literature that is representative of and offers clear perspectives on the dominant paradigms of civic education as well as new models of participation emerging throughout the field of education research writ large.

      It is important to not only show how civics is thought of in our community now, but also how there is room for change in relation to civics.

    6. move beyond practices of civic participation and toward practices of civic interrogation and innovation

      This statement is important to me because it shows that students not only need to gain civic knowledge, but they also have to realize that there is room for growth and change relating to civics.

    7. the role that media outlets play in portraying people of color in stereo-typical and victim-blaming fashion

      The media often only shows "one side" of the story. For kids, when they only see this one kind of information, they grow up hearing these stereotypes and judgments, and typically then grow up thinking this way themselves.

    8. these citizens must continuously negotiate the extent of their identification and engagement with a society in which they have experienced

      As I stated previously, my ESL students recognize that sometimes, there are not fair opportunities for all. I feel that this is a topic that is rarely discussed in school, and is a topic that my students question often.

    9. all citizens enjoy equitable access to opportunity

      Many of my English language learners do not have equal opportunities, even compared to other students in their school, and they know this at a young age. This is why this must be a topic that is talked about in the classroom setting.

    10. much of the civic education young people experience in school encourages them to engage in public life based on the core assumption that the infrastructure of our democracy is sound

      Our students learn about the United States and the government all from the United States' point of view. Therefore, the way that the United States is run is seen as correct. There is rarely a time for students to ask questions or have a differing opinion. #ED677

    1. who was assaulted in her math class

      I'm just noticing now this mention that it was a math class where this happened. I'm not sure what to make if it really, and I don't want to over-make ... but/and I can't help but wonder about the connection.

      My thinking about math education and the relationship to oppression/liberation is prompted by looking recently at the resources of the Youth People's Project (such as the Flagway Game) started by Bob Moses vis a vis the Algebra Project.

      http://www.typp.org/

      Mission YPP uses Math Literacy Work to develop the abilities of elementary through high school students to succeed in school and in life, and in doing so involves them in efforts to eliminate institutional obstacles to their success.

      Vision YPP envisions a day when every young person — regardless of ethnicity, gender, or class — has access to a high quality education and the skills, attributes, and community support s/he needs to successfully meet the challenges of their generation.

    2. As Black women, moth-ers of Black children,2 educators, critical scholars, and spiritual beings,3 we are devastated by the ubiquitous assault against Black people, and we know that Black children are suffering too.

      Notice the authors here naming who they are in relation to this work.

    1. and an experience from your own life

      This is connected learning

    2. concept toward which they are working, but as the art emerges, they may make countless adjustments and new decisions that result in a product they probably didn’t imagine from the start

      Teachers are very much artists in the sense that the work is infinite and never complete. There is always room to improve.

    3. failing

      The fear of failure can certainly deter some from even trying to wobble.

  5. Feb 2018
    1. for the often frustrating feelings of uncertainty inherent in the re-cursive process of improving one’s practice.

      This is SO helpful and validating.

    2. xacerbating the commonly held belief that when it comes to theory and practice, never the twain shall meet

      It truly does feel this way sometimes! A lot of things are great in theory, but in practice things change... For example, things that take 10 minutes in theory take 20+ in practice.

    3. writers should write the books they wish to come upon.

      I've heard something like this before... If what we want doesn't exist, we can make it happen!

    4. For instance, when students’ learning needs differ across a particular class, it can be difficult to find one teaching approach that will accommodate and en-gage all of them.

      This is my wobble. I teach ESL where my students are in different grades and at different levels of English language proficiency. I want to get better at differentiating for my lower level students.

    5. dual sense to refer to both the moments of psychological well-being one experiences in singular moments during the everyday course of teaching, and the larger overall project of linking complementary poses together over the span of one’s teaching career.

      It is important to see and realize the accomplishments you are making as a teacher. Data is important to help show student and teacher growth.

    6. This week for the first time, I allowed my students to be the "teachers" and they loved it. It was hard for me to give up some control, but it ended up paying off and benefiting the students!

    7. When wobble occurs, you may feel as if nothing in your teach-er education program has prepared you for this, and you may very well be right. Because teaching and learning are complex and alinear processes, because the classroom is a dynamic context, and because students can be mercurial, wobble is guaranteed.

      Wobble is unpreventable and is part of the job. Working through the "wobble" is difficult, but must be done to reach all students.

    8. adopting a pose requires considerable mindful-ness, for poses focus on the “why of teaching: why teaching methods work in particular ways in particular settings”

      Including ESL standards into my teaching plans. Using hands on games and learning strategies. Each class is different, depending on the students. Something that works for one child may not work for another one.

    9. not about an endpoint;

      About the process

    10. even teachers whose practice is apparently seamless to the outside eye will continue to wobble in response to changes in their teaching contexts

      Every teacher "wobbles" even if it does not seem like it. Do not be hard on yourself if things aren't working "perfectly." That is part of the job, and things can improve.

    11. Differentiation I differentiate all of my lessons due to my ELs' varying levels.

    12. Do not view challenges as defeat, but as areas to grow.

    13. I hear teachers questioning themselves on a weekly basis. Teachers without experience or with experience still question their practices. Collaboration and discussion can help with this.

    14. Teachers must welcome difficulties and not see them as failures. Trying new strategies should be welcomed and encouraged.

    15. These texts routinely problematize that alluring notion that there’s a set of best-practice teaching methods some-where out there that are so foolproof they should come with a money-back guarantee.

      There is not one perfect method for teaching. Some strategies work for some students, and other strategies do not. Teaching may change day-to-day or year-to-year. One must be flexible and willing to differentiate instruction.

    16. teachers have a special responsibility to teach from a social justice perspective, tack-ling issues of privilege, problems of equity and access, and the possibilities inherent in social and civic action.

      We must teach our students how to be active citizens who participate in our government and continue to learn about our world, not just academics.

    17. writers should write the books they wish to come upon.

      If you want to see a change, you need to be the one to go get it/make the change. You cannot wait around for it.

    18. In other words, when you wobble, it doesn’t mean that you’re failing. Rather, it signals that you are pursuing worthwhile poses that require learning, reflection, and professional growth.

      I love the positive spin that this places on "wobbling". Just as we encourage our students to learn from their mistakes... it is important for educators to follow their own advice. The emphasis should be on professional growth when individuals wobble, and I think that this quote really hits it home...

    19. you’re never “finished”

      TRUTH!

    20. pause, observe, and critically read the demands of the context, unpack the assumptions embedded within those demands, and determine mindfully how to respond

      While this is important to us as teachers, this equally is just as important to our students.

    21. attempts to do so vary according to the specific challenges presented in the circumstances and context at hand.

      Teachers all are different and have a variety of teaching styles. The same can be said of our students. They all are different and learn very differently. Therefore, it is important to be flexible in a classroom because what works for one student might not work for another student, especially when working with special education students!

    22. Wobble occurs routinely in the classroom when something unexpected emerges, such as an unpredictable question that neither the students (nor you, for that matter) can adequately address, or a spat that breaks out be-tween students that has absolutely nothing to do with the academic subject at hand. When wobble occurs, you may feel as if nothing in your teach-er education program has prepared you for this, and you may very well be right.

      Constant. Working with autistic kids, I constantly question myself. Why is this behavior occurring? What can I do to prevent the behavior from occurring again? Am I actually helping at all? Who, in their right mind, thought it would be a good idea to have me teach and be in charge of children? Am I in the right profession? Am I doing enough? What can I do to be a better teacher?

    23. we collaborate with colleagues who provide moral support and at the same time challenge our thinking.

      I am so lucky and so blessed to have such awesome colleagues. Not only am I able to go to them for advice, but I also continuously am able to bounce ideas off of them and grow with them. I would not be able to survive work, were it not for my colleagues.

    24. increase mindfulness through fo-cused breathing and concentration

      Many teachers at the high school, where I work, attempt to utilize mindfulness techniques to help the students do exactly that --> focus on their breathing or some other activity to get them in a learning mindset.

    25. “how-to” aspects of teaching: writing standards-based lesson plans, designing mean-ingful projects for their future students, figuring out how to grade them fairly, and so forth

      I remember this so well. I always was so focused on creating "perfect" lesson plans and projects, making sure that I correctly wrote objectives and incorporated the standards. It wasn't until I was in the field that I realized how much more there was to the art of teaching. There's so much that occurs that never is taught in an undergraduate classroom.

    26. In so doing, they experience “wob-ble” as a guaranteed and necessary part of the growth process. While wob-ble may initially cause frustration, it also signals a commitment to increased discipline and deepened practice. Persisting through wobble produces a sat-isfying sense of being “in the flow,” of focusing oneself so intently on the activity of the moment that time seems to disappear.

      As I mentioned earlier, I love the yoga metaphor. Specifically, from own experience, the concept of growth process is integral for educators. Recognizing one's limitations but always striving for self-improvement is important to maximize the impact for students. While I do not necessarily place complete credence "in the flow" of the metaphor, but I think that for educators when one has the self-awareness of one's inherent limitations, an individual becomes so much more effective within the classroom.

    27. After years in the profession, shouldn’t teachers eventually figure out how to get it right? Maybe not. Personally speaking, we know that though our uncertainties and apprehensions differ from those we experienced in our early years of teaching, we have them all the same. What’s changed is that we don’t view them as liabilities, but as challenges that can further our pro-fessional growth.

      Perhaps I have been preoccupied myself into viewing education through through the same biased context. Especially, with the apt yoga metaphor (which I will mention in a subsequent annotation), I forget that while policymakers and educators preach about the changing K12 demography-we forget that experienced educators evolve as well...? Not only do students change-but educators grow as well... We need to remember that since educators have such an important role...

    1. en. As Bakhtin(1986) explains, “there can neither be a first nor a last meaning,” but instead the totality of meaning exists in an infinite chain and “each individual link in it is renewed again and again, as though it were being reborn” (p. 146). In such a cosmos, change might not be a new perspective, but a deeper and more clarified affirmation of an existing one. Change might not be that I’m thinking something entirely new, but that I’m thinking in new or deeper ways about something I’ve come to accept.

      This to me is an expression of life-long learning but also speaks to the fact that learning is not a destination but a never-ending process through which we journey together. In my experience, wobbling and deeper understandings rarely come on their own but rather are initiated by outside forces such as colleagues, teachers, and world events.

    2. A common conception often characterized by teachers is theidea that the classroom is rarified space, somehow different and perhaps also protected from “the real world.” I argue that such has never been true, that “the real world” or, more accurately “the wider world,” has always impinged on c

      In many ways, this is what Paulo Freire's pedagogy is telling us. Equally, considering Maslow's hierarchy of needs, if a student is in constant fear of being deported or family being deported, their sense of safety is threatened and if basic needs, of which safety is one, are not met, then students will struggle more with learning.

      Of course what goes on outside the classroom inevitably impacts what occurs in it.

    1. Academic and scholastic, instead of being titles of honor, are becoming terms of reproach.

      This still seems to be the case. Why is it that the pursuit of knowledge in itself is no longer valued. In order to find new applications, often times, exploration with no specific purpose is needed. The practical application is often discovered afterwards. How can we know that a new drug on mars will cure cancer unless we go to Mars to explore?

    2. It is an anachronism

      Yes we still see this today. Dewey's ideas are certainly still relevant in the 21st century.

    3. It is through what we do in and with the world that we read its meaning and measure its value.

      The value of the earth certainly seems to be a politicized topic in the 21st century. The earth is invaluable yet some do not see it as having any value.

    4. certain disorder in any busy workshop; there is not silence;

      The word "certain" struck me here. It is not true disorder, rather a type of organized chaos. To the unfamiliar eye though it may appear as disorder. The working classroom can be a great learning environment for students!

    5. A spirit of free communication, of interchange of ideas, suggestions, results, both successes and failures of previous experiences

      We can learn much from our failures, often times more so than success. It is equally important to share failures and examine them carefully so as to improve.

    6. improvement

      "Advance...growth...improvement" These words all show that it is increasing knowledge, as opposed to the amount of knowledge which is important to Dewey. I agree with this sentiment that the goal of teaching is to increase knowledge and understanding. Not all pupils will gain the same amount at the same time, but we should strive for the increase.

    7. the school must now supply that factor of training formerly taken care of in the home

      Many parents rely on schools to be the sole teacher of the pupil. It is important for schools to engage parents to support the pupils learning at home as well. When schools and families can work together to support good learning habits and values, the student is more likely to be successful.

  6. Jan 2018
    1. That we learn from experience, and from books or the sayings of others only as they are related to experience, are not mere phrases. But the school has been so set apart, so isolated from the ordinary conditions and motives of life, that the place where children are sent for discipline is the one place in the world where it is most difficult to get experience

      This quote caught my attention and interested me because it greatly relates to my EL students. Since my students typically move to the Unites States from other countries, they do not grow up having similar experiences to their peers, teachers, and their new community members. This can be difficult, especially when background knowledge is needed to understand content and to form comprehension. By having real, hands-on experiences at school, this would help close the gap for not only EL students, but for all types of students.

    2. Hardly one per cent. of the entire school population ever attains to what we call higher education; only five per cent. to the grade of our high school; while much more than half leave on or before the completion of the fifth year of the elementary grade.

      This quote opened my eyes to the fact that our school system is teaching to students, who a majority of the time, do not move on to receive a higher education. This is why it is so important (as Dewey states) to implement "skill/community" classes into our schools.The following link will show you a video I watched in one of my other connected learning courses: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U. The video explains how the education system needs to change to reach students who do not always follow the path of achieving a higher education, just as Dewey states in this article.

    3. I get to see this a little at my technical school because everybody has a hands-on class for two hours a day. Whether it's learning about healthcare or designing robots, every student has to have a 'thing' that they contribute to.

      It's a little microcosm of what is possible, although it's frustrating as an academic teacher. That aforementioned community doesn't always translate to what I'm doing, and I wish it did. I don't have many students caring about what the math curriculum demands of them, and I'm willing to find any way possible to increase the interest level.

    4. community

      What does this mean? We have so many differing communities within a much larger community?

      People push for a national standard of learning, but I always thought that where you lived - even within the United States - should determine at least some aspect of what is important in schools. Not all Americans need the same education, and it's best for educators to tailor education for each individual student as much as possible.

    5. Whenever we have in mind the discussion of a new movement in education, it is especially necessary to take the broader, or social view. Otherwise, changes in the school institution and tradition will be looked at as the arbitrary inventions of particular teachers; at the worst transitory fads, and at the best merely improvements in certain details—and this is the plane upon which it is too customary to consider school changes.

      Dewey's entire work seems current in the 21st century. Has nothing changed? Why not!? Even from my short (6 years) of teaching I have been frustrated by educational fads. I can imagine how 30 year veteran educators feel - numb and resistant to change. Every year it seems administrations in every school building troll for new exercises to increase the learning of students by completely disrupting the progress and work lives of many educators. It's a constant state of working for arbitrary inventions of other educators that detract from everything an educator might be doing right in their classroom. Why can't the focus be finding and reflecting on our own practices in the classroom?

    6. The children worked this out for themselves with the actual material, aided by questions and suggestions from the teacher.

      I find this to be related to what I have been learning through STEM lessons. Much of the push requires students to learn through their own experimenting and hands on activities. It is much more student centered than teacher centered. Students are able to find solutions and defend their work rather than simply follow steps to produce results.

    7. When occupations in the school are conceived in this broad and generous way, I can only stand lost in wonder at the objections so often heard, that such occupations are out of place in the school because they are materialistic, utilitarian, or even menial in their tendency. It sometimes seems to me that those who make these objections must live in quite another world. The world in which most of us live is a world in which everyone has a calling and occupation, something to do. Some are managers and others are subordinates. But the great thing for one as for the other is that each shall have had the education which enables him to see within his daily work all there is in it of large and human significance

      This really makes me reflect upon the maker movement. I am a tinkerer and a builder by nature, yet I've struggled to find value in a makerspace. I always build for purpose; to construct something. I learn in order to do and I do (tinker) in order to learn. Even I can't help but see some tasks as menial and materialistic in a school unless they are tied to an exploration of knowledge or a way to innovate rather than reconstruct and needlessly reinvent. Could constructing a pen holder out of PVC in a makerspace without a plan or greater purpose be more than materialistic and menial? Could instead of making just one, why couldn't we donate these creations to a school in our community that has a need? That would not only bring in purpose, but also community.

    8. motive, of spirit and atmosphere.

      Students like many adults today need to find a reason to do something. Learning does not happen fully if a person does not see the value in what they are learning. There has to be a motive.

    9. between teacher and pupil, or between teacher and parent

      I find this more of a triangle in today's education system. It is not only teacher and pupil or teacher and child, but rather all three in constant communication and contact. It truly is a team effort when it comes to learning.

    10. While training for the profession of learning is regarded as the type of culture, as a liberal education, that of a mechanic, a musician, a lawyer, a doctor, a farmer, a merchant, or a railroad manager is regarded as purely technical and professional. The result is that which we see about us everywhere—the division into “cultured” people and “workers,” the separation of theory and practice.

      It seems to me that in our current age there is an active effort to bring practice back into the classroom. In STEM education, in particular, the basis of this teaching practice is to solve problems. The problem is there, and real, and students know this. The solution has cultural, personal, and societal indications that can't be ignored. The path to the solution is found through a gain in knowledge. To understand the problem is to gain knowledge about it.

    11. Plato somewhere speaks of the slave as one who in his actions does not express his own ideas, but those of some other man. It is our social problem now, even more urgent than in the time of Plato, that method, purpose, understanding, shall exist in the consciousness of the one who does the work, that his activity shall have meaning to himself.

      Perhaps with my background within Higher Education Administration-I see this type of discussion occur quite frequently with the discussion of the value of a liberal arts education. This is interesting to me to see that close to one hundred years later, this debate of the extrinsic vs instrinsic value of a liberal arts education still rages on within educational policy making...

    12. Otherwise, changes in the school institution and tradition will be looked at as the arbitrary inventions of particular teachers; at the worst transitory fads, and at the best merely improvements in certain details—and this is the plane upon which it is too customary to consider school changes.

      I think this quote serves as counterpoint to the Connected Learning and Research Agenda quote on Page 14 (Connected learning recognizes a tension... ... competition for scarce opportunities.) The tension that the Agenda describes is an incomplete implementation of connected learning that some may consider as a fad in the eyes of Dewey. Again, to make sure that the Agenda policy makers can implement the alternative connected learning pathways, policymakers must take on Dewey's broader social view that we must undertake the learning paradigms that enhance student learning...

    13. Yet the range of the outlook needs to be enlarged. What the best and wisest parent wants for his own child, that must the community want for all of its children.

      I think there is alot to unpack with this quote... A lot of what Dewey was discussing was the transition in the industrial revolution with students from home learning to external community based learning. The reminds of me the mirra quote-describing the fact that teachers are "conditioned to avoid messiness..." For me, I do not think it is that the teacher is conditioned to avoid messiness, I think rather society (community) is conditioning educational processes so it can better determined what did it wants for all of its children. (Outcomes such as graduation rates or test scores...) I think if we really want to implement connected learning to individualistic outcomes-we need to be prepared to implement it across the board...

    14. But it is true that certain very real and important avenues to the consideration of the history of the race are thus opened

      Hands on experience can open the mind. Peek interest along with storing knowledge.

    15. It has a chance to affiliate itself with life, to become the child’s habitat, where he learns through directed living; instead of being only a place to learn lessons having an abstract and remote reference to some possible living to be done in the future

      What is should be!

    16. school itself shall be made a genuine form of active community life, instead of a place set apart in which to learn lessons.

      This is great way that schools should be! The children should not be going to school to just read stories and write about them. They need to go to be educated not only in reading and writing but to be an active member in society!

    17. . In all this there was continual training of observation, of ingenuity, constructive imagination, of logical thought, and of the sense of reality acquired through first-hand contact with actualities. The educative forces of the domestic spinning and weaving, of the saw-mill, the gristmill, the cooper shop, and the blacksmith forge, were continuously operative.

      I feel like we lose this now a days. Everything is done for us. Just the basic sewing something together or even using a sewing needle is foreign to these children. It is sad to see that society is not making as much as it use to but relying on technology and machine made.

    18. we learn from experience

      While in my undergraduate studies, I was "taught" how to be a teacher. It wasn't until I was in the profession that I really learned how to be teacher. Now, five years later, I can say that, while I have learned quite a bit from being in the profession, I still have an immense amount of learning to do yet. My experiences and my learning from experiences is far from over!

    19. We cannot overlook the factors of discipline and of character-building involved in this: training in habits of order and of industry, and in the idea of responsibility, of obligation to do something, to produce something, in the world. There was always something which really needed to be done, and a real necessity that each member of the household should do his own part faithfully and in coöperation with others.

      I completely am onboard with the emphasis of personal growth in students; however, there gets to be a point of exhaustion when we, as teachers, try and try so hard at school only to get no feedback on the home-front, thereby perpetuating this "I don't care" mentality from the students. We often reiterate to our students the importance of being accountable and responsible, thus enabling their work truly to show who they are; yet, this doesn't ever seem to sink in. It does not seem to matter how innovative we try to be with our lessons or how often we attempt to incorporate technology in the classroom. That "I don't care" mentality still exists. Is this because of years of being passed through? Now that these students are at the high school, there's no turning back? I especially agree that "each member of the household should do his own part faithfully and in cooperation with others", but how do we best service our students when even this does not seem to work?

    20. Only by being true to the full growth of all the individuals who make it up, can society by any chance be true to itself.

      This is powerful. What are we doing to ensure that our students won't "slip through the cracks"? How can we provide individualized opportunities for growth?

    21. a real motive behind and a real outcome ahead.

      This describes the premise behind design thinking and the importance of students understanding their purpose and to share what they have created with authentic audiences.

    22. the school itself shall be made a genuine form of active community life, instead of a place set apart in which to learn lessons

      I'm wondering if project-based learning is one way to accomplish this.

    23. A spirit of free communication, of interchange of ideas, suggestions, results, both successes and failures of previous experiences, becomes the dominating note of the recitation.

      Dewey is describing 21st century skills (in the 20th century...how progressive!).

    24. the growth of a world-wide market as the object of production, of vast manufacturing centers to supply this market, of cheap and rapid means of communication and distribution between all its parts.

      I read this and all I can picture is an assembly line of students going from class to class, being provided with vital information, until they've attained all of the requirements necessary to be considered "complete" as they continue through their last march through the high school, which we fondly call graduation.

    25. not to our impulses and tendencies to make, to do, to create, to produce

      Students innately want to make, do, create and produce and find success when they have opportunities to do so. There's no "right" answer when they create.

    26. the increase in toleration, in breadth of social judgment, the larger acquaintance with human nature, the sharpened alertness in reading signs of character and interpreting social situations, greater accuracy of adaptation to differing personalities, contact with greater commercial activities.

      This sentence sparked, for me, notions of the inter-connectedness of globalization, which many argue had its start at the turn of the century with the industrial revolution.

      Thanks to globalization, knowledge and information is more readily available to us today. For example. before sending my student on their international experience, I am able to work with them to research the destination in terms of culture, health, safety, and other practical topics.

      Ideally, access to this information results in the 'compensations that Dewey states here such as an increases tolerance. It has been my experience that mere availability of information is not, on its own, enough to be rewarded by those compensations that Dewey lists. However, as Dewey states in his next sentence, when we are able to couple this information before departure and continue instruction/reflection during a student's international experience, students do begin to demonstrate those 'compensations.' The key being, to mix theory with experience.

      In the article Transitioning from Conventional to Connected Teaching, this mix of theory and practice and the ultimate result of "authentic, civically engaged projects" is defined as Connected Learning. (Perhaps Dewey was on to something...)

      See: http://thecurrent.educatorinnovator.org/collection/what-does-it-take-teach-connected-learning

    27. Knowledge is no longer an immobile solid; it has been liquefied

      With the digital age, I agree with jhartman and ccantrill that this statement is even more true today. I also believe that, thanks to the digital age, we can take Dewey's statement a step further and rather than just sharing information (liquefied knowledge), we can work together in the creation of new or further development of knowledge. John Seely Brown, in his Global One-Room Schoohouse lecture, said that unlike generations before, we are able to not only access knowledge but 'engage in active conversations in real time.'

      I believe Dewey would see the digital age as a real opportunity for access to information and collaboration, while acknowledging that education is still divided, perhaps more than ever, by class due to the simple fact that not all schools have access to funds necessary for the most up-to-date technology. Private schools will continue to have 3-D printers and laser cutters, while inner-city schools will continue to creatively problem-solve with antiquated computers.

    28. It keeps them alert and active, instead of passive and receptive; it makes them more useful, more capable

      "They shouldn't be forced to learn them [derivatives] unless they are part of the solution to the problems they are faced or challenged with." This statement by ndsteinmetz made previously resonated with me.

      I am currently teaching a course to first-year college students that is designed to introduce them to a new culture and essentially "teach" students how to travel. I have made an intentional effort to "create context" (John Seely Brown) in which what we discuss in class has demonstrated real-world connects, consequences, etc.

      The issue I am having is that students are not able to see these connects, but rather expect me, as their instructor, to make the connections for them. My struggle is to begin to help them learn how to learn, instead of to teach them how to recall what I say.

      See: http://dmlcentral.net/the-global-one-room-schoolhouse-john-seely-brown/

    29. This has not been done “on purpose,” with a full consciousness that the school must now supply that factor of training formerly taken care of in the home, but rather by instinct, by experimenting and finding that such work takes a vital hold of pupils and gives them something which was not to be got in any other way.

      I agree that schools are not trying to have students learn material that is not benefical for them. I feel like schools need to redo there cirriclum and understand the background from where the pupils are coming from. I feel like there should not be a universal program, rather a cirrclum that benefits students in the school/ district.#Ed 677

    30. Our school methods, and to a very considerable extent our curriculum, are inherited from the period when learning and command of certain symbols, affording as they did the only access to learning, were all-important

      As a educator, I agree that our cirriclum is outdated. We are teaching skills that are revelant from years ago. A lot of the skills that educators teach in school today, do not apply to the children of the future. Do you feel your schools cirrclum will be revelant for the future of your students?#ed677

    31. If we go back a few centuries, we find a practical monopoly of learning

      This quote connects to Mirra's article because she describes connected learning as a way to develop real, self, and world connections(. Mira , 2017). I believe as educators, we need to teach academics for all job skills. [http://thecurrent.educatorinnovator.org/collection/what-does-it-take-teach-connected-learning![])

    32. No number of object-lessons, got up as object-lessons for the sake of giving information, can afford even the shadow of a substitute for acquaintance with the plants and animals of the farm and garden, acquired through actual living among them and caring for them.

      This makes me think of a quote by Benjamin Franklin, "Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I learn." I find that when we focus our efforts on involving students in the learning process, the learning is much more meaningful and lasting.

    33. The children, as they gained in strength and capacity, were gradually initiated into the mysteries of the several processes.

      I like how Dewey uses the word "mysteries" to describe the processes. What really struck me about this is that learning is a process that is most naturally initiated by curiosity. This line of the speech eludes to the fact that children were exposed to the way that the various household processes worked at the same time in which they developed a curiosity in such process. This natural learning process is one with which I wish we had more time to expose children to in a school setting.

    1. homes being disrupted—by divorce, evictions, mental illness, alcohol, or drug addiction.

      As a teacher, I never really know exactly what is happening on at home for my students. Some do a great job at hiding their struggles while others do not. We all have our own struggles to go through in life. Students should feel good when they are in school. They need to see teachers genuinely care and want to help them succeed.

    2. I became curious about what I didn’t know

      Learning from my students is one of the things that I look forward to the most when teaching. They inspire me constantly to learn more and look at things from a different perspective. They remind me to question what I read and what I am told.

    3. Their test scores guided our work.

      So much of teaching is focused on test scores today. As a math teacher, I find that not only students but teachers are more worried about test results than what learning is actually taking place. Taking a test is not an easy task for all students. There needs to be a better way to indicate learning than simply taking tests all of the time.

    4. teaching language arts means plumbing my students’ lives to bring their stories and voices into the classroom as we examine racial injustice, class exploitation, gender expectations, sexual identity, gentrification, solidarity, and more

      Involvement! Students want to relate, feel like they can have a voice in the matter. That is what pulls them in and that is what allows them to learn! That is something I still work on. I want my students to have a voice in their work, to feel like it was their idea, their invention in the art room.

    5. was to see these students as “disadvantaged” instead of seeing their brilliance

      This reminds me of Standardize Testing. Why must the test tell how smart the child is? It doesn't define the child and it should not define their intelligence off of a couple of questions.

    6. . I’m forced to make difficult choices about what I include and what I leave out

      I love how this teacher is going out of her comfort zone to change things based on what her students need.

    7. was to see these students as “disadvantaged” instead of seeing their brilliance

      I think we tend to slip into this mentality far too frequently. Mainstream society is constantly looking for students to perform in a certain type of way, to fit a certain mold, which causes educators to devalue differences to what we "want" students to do.

  7. May 2017
    1. Their vivid memories of 9/11 were shaped by mediated images and their parents’, friends’, and teachers’ frightened reactions. Despite clear differences in their individual recollections, the youth all agreed that 9/11 had a lasting impact on their lives.

      I'm very interested in youth activism and youth coming together to fight racism and other prejudices. Most of the readings I've completed focus on Black youth empowerment or (young) women empowerment. Whilst at the base level it is the same type of hatred and skewed policies that allow for this type of prejudice to exist - it's very different. Young Black men have to be cautious of wearing certain clothes or speaking in a particular way - but more times than not, suspicious parties will keep their distance. In the instance of Muslim-Americans, suspicious parties, even with no grounds, stop & frisk or begin surveillance.

  8. Apr 2017
    1. I’m not asking for some all holy savior to come and coddle us into equality I’m asking for you to understand our struggles and our hardships To understand that if we have to learn with each other we should also learn about each other so we can bring each other up

      Powerful

    2. Addressing the issues that plague urban education requires a true vision that begins with seeing students in the same way they see themselves

      In my experience, through writing and making we can often start to see each other and surface the ways we see ourselves.

    3. a context that dismisses students’ lives and experiences while concurrently speaking about, and advocating for, equity and improving schools

      A context that we create.

    4. many more have come to view school as a discrete space, as if what happens outside school has little to no impact on what happens inside school.

      This is one of the most important things to open up in a framework of Connected Learning.

    5. Consider a common scenario in urban schools, and one I have witnessed often, where the teacher and student have different conceptions about what it means to be on time and prepared for class. For many students, being on time and prepared means being in or around the physical space of the classroom at the appointed hour and being able to access whatever materials are necessary for the day’s instruction.

      So many situations - just like this, can really be alleviated by setting firm expectations at the beginning of the year. The point of this article is to show some simple ways that teacher and student opinions or mind sets differ - but in any classroom, but especially in ones where student and teacher may share different values, it is important to have clear expectations.

    6. educators must create safe and trusting environments that are respectful of students’ culture. Teaching the neoindigenous requires recognition of the spaces in which they reside, and an understanding of how to see, enter into, and draw from these spaces. 

      Make them feel of having social capital, the society/ community they trust and rely on

    7. are ill equipped for helping each other through the work of navigating who they truly are and who they are expected to be in a particular place.

      We need to help students develop the positive sense of self.

    8. To be in touch with the community, one has to enter into the physical places where the students live, and work to be invited into the emotion-laden spaces the youth inhabit

      I consider this as authenticity.

    9. Urban education experts typically don’t live in urban communities.

      This is also a problematic situation when experts do not really involve in the community where they are needed the most in order to get more information that can help them thinking in different perspective.

    10. What’s important to note is that the teacher in this scenario had rendered the student’s self-image as “prepared and on time” invisible.

      This is interesting in the way that a teacher should be able to understand the perspective of the student itself.

  9. Mar 2017
    1. A growth-mindset idea in this saying.

    2. Yes, Sometimes I found that some events happened in my life that helping me developing ideas to get progressed either in as a member of family or communities as well as the practical things in those community.

    3. be mindful with surrounding, especially the classroom and have the responsive thought to make sure there would always be progress, no matter how slow it might be.

    4. Yoga metaphor is awesome. Yes, extending the previous quality and eventually, we will become flexible meaning that we get progressed.

    5. questioning and reflection leading to improvement.

    6. Is this the opposite idea of ethnocentric? If Yes, I do agree, It is important to consider others culture.

    7. I used to be a homeroom teacher for four years and I did find that there will always be achievement gap between students coming from affluent family and students coming from lower class economic family. As I teacher, the only things I could do were motivating them and being ready to help them regarding with their academic performance.

  10. Feb 2017
    1. we are diving back into annotation

      Another big thank you! As I've mentioned on Twitter, your course's "re/turn" to a previous Marginal Syllabus conversation (from October) is what Joe, Jeremy, and I hoped would happen over time - that educators would find conversations and texts that resonate with their interests and courses, and then join the text-based conversation via ongoing annotation. This turns the text-as-conversation into an open educational resource (OER), and - like you - we hope other educators and courses revisit these conversations to support their own learning.

    2. a significant jump-start to that sense of belonging to a community, both within the course and beyond it.

      I've had students say similar things about using Hypothesis to read together. I'd like to explore the relationship between open/collaborative web annotation and community-building... many questions to consider...