221+Agenda+-+4.4.17

1. What is the long-term educational purpose of school?
Food for thought:
 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKWr_OCdVEs (Yong Zhao)
 * Assumptions about schools now
 * molding to be a certain way
 * to fit into jobs
 * suboordinate
 * living in the past- "fixing the past"
 * meeting standards
 * Teach to the average "normal"
 * getting away with mediocre
 * Bland
 * Learning because we have to learn
 * Uniqueness and differences as a problem
 * Assumptions about what schools should be doing
 * focus on creativity
 * entrepreneurship
 * Enhance individuality
 * Humanistic
 * fostering human skills that only people can accomplish
 * Should follow the students and their skills
 * Prepare for the competitive nature of their futures
 * Acknowledge strengths and differences
 * Be different than the average
 * It is not good enough to be good
 * Assumptions about students
 * Unique
 * Creative
 * Born Learners
 * What we want students to think about us
 * Creative
 * Enthusiastic
 * Passionate
 * Curious
 * Do we buy into assumptions?
 * Kind of: understand what he's saying but don't know if we agree
 * what's it going to take to get there? What's the plan to change education system?
 * cycle of average education
 * if we push everyone to be the best people can be, we create a new average
 * support college system model where students can explore passions/talents
 * Would he ask students to pick careers in middle school?
 * no: they should explore what their interests are, but they haven't found their true passion
 * always changing and finding new skills
 * don't prepare students for specific jobs (jobs always changing)
 * even in college we are figuring out what we love/the best fit for us
 * be able to create choices and opportunities in your skill set, use your talents
 * there will be an entire new field of jobs by the time middle schoolers are adults
 * quit trying to change the achievement gap: sounds like we're going to stop trying
 * discover and support gifts -- have kids play to their strengths
 * At Garry:
 * talk about careers -- show support
 * not aggressively achieved
 * math: attempts to have all children obtain similar skills
 * not a bad motive: cares about students, sees potential in every student
 * focal students: see their standard test scores but their scores don't represent full scope of ability
 * not showing accurate skill set
 * figure out strengths and how it can be incorporated in other subjects
 * English: could of had students pick their own book--individualize the lesson instead of making kids read the same book
 * difficult to find one book that is at everyone's reading level
 * fear:
 * how do you come up with consistent assessment?
 * keeping with learning objectives/efficiency
 * in real world you don't always get to study/do what you want
 * Argument against: find value in everything, not just things that kids like
 * read the same book through individual's lense
 * create learning opportunities -- sometimes we have to be compliant
 * goal: let kids choose 50% of lesson
 * Student Voice:
 * you can have learning goals and student voice at same time
 * you can do your best to teach an objective but it's up to the student to decide what they actually learn/obtain in a given lesson
 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3xyRsyxENo - (Sandra Alberti)

Underlying assumptions (shared and unshared)

How have you observed this play out at Garry?

School Examples Common Threads in the Examples: Questions:
 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcSsrgPmajE
 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMxqEkg3wQ0
 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoE02gS4aAc
 * student choice and investment
 * hands-on learning
 * genuine interest
 * real - authentic
 * enthusiastic and innovative educators
 * moment to moment assessment (formative)
 * teacher as facilitator and mentor
 * students are self-directed
 * cross-disciplinary
 * education follows the project and the students
 * basics "just in time" instead of "just in case"
 * Is the Common Core accomplishing its intended objectives?
 * Are the objectives hitting the "right" target?

2. Analyzing teaching

 * Math Lesson


 * Housekeeping:**
 * **Inquiry-Based PET (upload to BB; deadline window - Apr 6-7)**
 * **Home visits**