Blog 1 Chapter 1 Beers

In Chapter 1, Kylene Beers brought up some very interesting points. The twenty-first century is very different from any other time period, especially when it comes to the educational system. In schools, it seems that the only thing that administrators are concerned about is the adequate yearly progress and state assessments. This is due to the No Child Left Behind Act. However, I think focusing on just test results is not good for students. It is very discouraging that the state government solely looks at test grades to determine how smart someone is. The story about Derek is important to remember because there are certainly a lot of students who are dealing with a lot of pressures and difficult times at home. School administrators need to pay attention to other needs of students besides their educational one. If a student is starving and has to take care of siblings, then how are they supposed to care and do well in school or on tests? Unfortunately they can’t and that’s the problem. When teachers have students similar to Derek they should stay positive and concentrate on the student’s improvements. Positive reinforcement is detrimental to the student's success. Also, it is vital that teachers collaborate and work together. This way, they are able to get to know students better and they can focus on the students’ needs. Also, in this century I think it is important for students to connect and become involved in their own learning. I am a Social Science Education Major and in my future history class I would love for my students to read about a historical event. However, I think it would be wise for the students to read about something historical that they are interested in. I will decide on a specific time period and then the students would chose to read about ANYTHING in that time period as long as it is school appropriate. (I would have to approve the topic before they read it.) I think that would be a good assignment because students would have a say in their homework and they would have more intrinsic motivation to do it. Overall, I found the chapter very interesting and I agreed with Beer’s opinions.