Investigation continues after girl killed by RIPTA bus - ABC6 - Providence, RI and New Bedford, MA News, Weather

FYI. This may affect one of the schools you are in. We will discuss this on Monday.



Investigation continues after girl killed by RIPTA bus - ABC6 - Providence, RI and New Bedford, MA News, Weather

Gloria Ladson-Billings, Michael Lomax, Gary Orfield on "The Other 3 Rs: ...

Gloria Ladson-Billings, Michael Lomax, Gary Orfield on "The Other 3 R's"

Teaching after Brown v Board of Education Choice 2

Between Barack and a Hard Place: Challenging Racism, Privilege and Denia...

Between Barack and a Hard Place: Challenging Racism, Privilege and Denial

Teaching after Brown v Board of Education Choice 1

Transgender film made by RI high school student 2013-2014 

is full of insights regarding transgender topic and issues. 

https://vimeo.com/96847325  

We watched this video in class and it was quite powerful. Now that you have had time to reflect, what are your thoughts about the video. Did it increase your understanding of transgender issues? Would you share what you have learned with family or friends?

Madison Man Stunned After Father Hospitalized During Encounter With Police

http://whnt.com/2015/02/10/madison-man-stunned-after-father-hospitalized-during-encounter-with-police/#ooid=pmZjNhczpxGmRjWcUAHUKFkBUUEfpVms

Director Comey Discusses Race and Law Enforcement

About privilege and race. Your thoughts?

Ron Wolk: A tale of two states, Rhode Island and New Hampshire

Published: February 09, 2015 01:00 AM

Comments 14

 159  17 +10  0  0  6

BY RON WOLK

For as long as anyone can remember, American students have worked their way through public schools by listening to teachers talk in classrooms, then repeating in quizzes and standardized tests as much as they could remember.

About a decade ago, education officials in Rhode Island and New Hampshire decided students would try harder and learn more if they had to demonstrate that they had actually mastered the requisite skills and knowledge in order to advance. So they moved from an obsolete, time-based system to competency-based education (CBE). Students would no longer get credit for just sitting in classrooms and regurgitating information; instead, they would have to show that they had actually learned the material and could apply what they learned.

Instead of relying on standardized tests to assess students, both states required students to demonstrate their learning through exhibitions, portfolios of work, performance and end-of-year tests. Scores on New Hampshire’s standardized tests would not count toward promotion or graduation. In Rhode Island they would count for no more than 10 percent of the credits toward graduation.

Students in both states would still be required to take and pass courses in core academic subjects aligned with state standards, but courses would be redesigned from content-heavy and traditional top-down instruction to instead be competency-based. New Hampshire would develop specific competencies for each course. Rhode Island would require students to be proficient in six core areas: English, math, science, social studies, the arts and technology. In addition, students would have to demonstrate proficiency in such applied-learning skills as critical thinking and problem solving, decision making, research and analytic reasoning, and personal or social responsibility.

Both states endorsed personalizing education to address the specific learning styles, interests, strengths and needs of the individual student. Rhode Island students were to be encouraged to “pursue their interests and passions both inside and outside of school.” New Hampshire went further and mandated “extended learning opportunities” whereby students could earn course credit for supervised internships, projects and work in the community.

In short, well ahead of the rest of the nation, both Rhode Island and New Hampshire rejected the belief that all students should receive the same education in classrooms at the same time and in the same way. Instead, they subscribed to the idea that learning can happen in any place in any way and at any time. Student achievement should be assessed and credited not by standardized tests but by students actually demonstrating and applying what they learn.

As the years passed, Rhode Island marched in place for a while and then retreated when most schools continued with business as usual. The commitment to multiple measures was never fully accepted, and state officials steadily increased the 10 percent limit on New England Common Assessment Program scores until a “passing score” was deemed necessary for a student to graduate. Today, the state remains mired in a system where time is the constant and learning is the variable, and where the “learning” is largely “delivered” through classroom instruction.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire has stuck with its vision, working at ground level with principals, teachers, parents and students to make CBE successful. Much work remains to be done, but progress is steady. More students are earning credit for supervised internships and projects in communities. Research shows significant declines in dropouts, school failures and disciplinary problems. Student engagement and learning have increased. Students say their work is more challenging and their interactions with teachers are more rewarding.

New Hampshire now ranks second in the nation on the 13 indicators that make up Education Week’s “Chance for Success Index” that captures lifelong learning opportunities, from early childhood through K-12 and higher education and work. Rhode Island ranks 24{+t}{+h} — behind every one of its New England neighbors.

New Hampshire’s progress has positioned it, perhaps better than any other state, to implement the controversial Common Core successfully. It has translated the new standards into course competencies that are more compatible with the Common Core’s emphasis on problem solving and analytical reasoning. And the new computer-based tests will not be used to assess individual students. Rhode Island is implementing the Common Core and has delayed until 2017 the consequences of the statewide standardized test.

It should be clear by now that there is no “one grand solution” to the problems of American education. But competency-based education can be a crucial first step toward a much-needed redesign of the nation’s faltering public education system.

Rhode Island should try again, beginning with the selection of a new education commissioner who has the vision and courage to blaze new trails.

Ron Wolk is a former vice president of Brown University and a member of the Performance Assessment Board that is working to move 13 New England high schools toward personalization and performance-based assessment.

from Providence Journal

After reading Delpit,"Will It Help the Sheep?" and Hill and Johnston. "In the Future, Diverse Approaches to Schooling," what are your thoughts about what happened in these 2 states? I look forward to discussing this in class. 

Thinking About Power, Privilege and Difference

To facilitate our discussion of Johnson and S.C.W.A.M.P. I am starting our discussion and thinking on line since the snowstorms have made our meeting together complicated. Listed below are some ideas from your think pieces about Johnson. As you read these, discuss your response with one another or comment below. 

1. One part of the reading I really found enjoyable was the part pertaining to the paradox of privilege. For instance, when it stated that "race privilege is more about white people than it is about white people." I  it found rather intriguing because it had to do with the idea that in today's world people are more concerned over the fact that you are a certain color rather than being concerned over the type of person you actually are. 
2. Another thing I really liked about these readings is the part where James Baldwin's idea that no one is black or white before coming to America is mentioned.
3. A good point Johnson brought up that I have realized before is that people are afraid of the unknown only because of things they do not know.
4. Racism and judgment is not something people are born with. 
5. I completely agree with another statement Johnson said that we can't overcome these negative attitudes until we answer the question as to why we feel the way we do toward others. Personally, I believe that this is a matter of what our parents, grandparents, or other older relatives have exposed to us...
6. A powerful point Johnson makes which really grabbed my attention and wholeheartedly agree with is "we are not prisoners to some natural order that pits us hopelessly and endlessly against one another. We are prisoners to something, but it's closer to our own making than we realize, and we, therefore, are far from helpless to change it and ourselves. 
7. I have worked as a cashier and I find that there are much better ways to judge a person on first meeting than color of skin they happened to be born with. Clothing, posture, hygiene all come to mind as factors I use to assess people the first time I meet them. 
8. We have been taught in schools ever since elementary levels that the term "racism" is a term only of the past. It does not exist anymore because of the FEW that chose to stand up for what is right. But in reality, racism is still alive in the hearts and souls of many people that can't come to terms with diversity. Not everyone has the same point of view, but is important to society that we can look at things in a different way that everyone can agree on. 

After doing S.C.W.A.M.P. and reading Johnson, your awareness of power privilege and difference in our everyday lives and society is heightened. Do you have an example of power privilege and difference to share from your own experience or current events or just from our environment?

Welcome to the FNED 346 Blogging Adventure!

Sometime before February 2, you will set up your own blog to use this semester for all your Talking Points assignments and to keep track of your thoughts about any of the issues we cover.

A blog is your very own personal online journal. It is public, in that I and your classmates can read it and comment on it, but it is your space and you can control most of it. (If you want to make it private so that "only" members of this class can read it, we will figure out how to do that together.)

In the context of this course, your blog has two purposes:

1. )Your blog will provide a space for you to keep all of your Talking Points Assignments over the course of the semester together. You will not hand in written assignments to me each week; rather you will post them on your blog. In this sense, your blog is merely your assignment notebook that you will use as you read and prepare for class each week. You will also be posting any additional thoughts you have: responses to class discussion, after thoughts, things you forgot to say in class, relevant experiences you have, reflections about your service learning assignment as they relate to the readings.

2) Creating your own blog will also introduce you to the blogisphere if you do not know this place already. I hope that you will discover creative educational uses for this online medium. You will see how easy it is to use blogger.com and perhaps it will inspire you to bring blogs into your own classroom someday.

To start your own blog, you will go to:
http://www.blogger.com

The big orange box at the top right of the page will direct you to creating your own blog on a site called blogspot.com. Follow the instructions to open up a free account. Do not forget your Username and Password!! You will need them to login every time.

As you fill in the information, you will be asked to name your blog. This title will appear at the top of your blog. (Mine is called FNED 346 03 Spring 2015).

Then you need to choose an address:

http://__________________.blogspot.com
  
This will be the web address associated with your site. You can call it anything you like. Be clever or simple (or both) - it is up to you.

You will also need to choose a design template  for your blog. Look through the options listed and see what appeals to you. You can change this later and can even find fun, creative templates at sites like PYZAM,  Once you have the account set up, you can start posting. A "posting" is an entry on your blog. (For clarification, you can have one blog, but many postings.) Give the post  a title and then compose as you would any journal entry. When you are finished, hit the button at the bottom that says Publish Post. Your post will not appear on your blog until you publish it. You can always go back and edit old posts and create new ones. 

Your First Post
Your first post should be a short introduction to you: who are you, how your semester is going so far, what do you do when you are not in class, etc. (Just a short paragraph -no big deal). You will post the rest of the entries as they are due (see course syllabus for dates), or whenever you have something to say! 

When you are done creating your site and posting your first entry please come back to this blog and, at the end of my first posting (scroll down), post a comment that includes your blog address so that I can post it in the link list to the right.

Some Tips and Helpful Hints
Once you are in your blog, look at the top right hand corner of the screen. If you click on the word CUSTOMIZE, you will be able to make design changes,m create new posts, edit old posts, etc. (You can only do that if you are logged in to your blog.)  

Once you are in the CUSTOMIZE screen, you can do all kinds of things to make your blog a bit more interesting. Change your fonts and colors, edit a post, change your settings. See the tabs at the top of the screen for all kinds of options. 

Poke around online and make a list of websites related to education, diversity, social justice or anything else relevant and post them on your blog. You can add all kinds of things by ADDING A GADGET from your LAYOUT tab. 

Just do the best you can with this. If you get stuck, don't fret...I am happy to help you anytime as you work on getting started. Send me an email, come see me in office hours, or grab me after class. And remember: you can't break it. It is just a blog. Everything can be changed if need be!

Good Luck!
JS:)