Nature of Schools--Group Meeting & Learning outcomes

Hi Class, 

This is my reflection for this weeks learning outcomes.  My group (the Trailblazers) spent time orientating ourselves to "Tappedin" and some of the other ways to communicate on the internet.  I established an office where our group could convene. Sorting through the requirements of the course was a big part of our first week.  Our group was quick to collaborate on our first project--the powerpoint presentation on Thursday July 3.  We evaluated our topic (culture and education) and divided our content in order to make sure we each had a part in the assignment.  I completed the powerpoint because of my prior experience with online learning.  The content we studied introduced our class to some of the main issues in education today.  

The topic we studied, culture, was interesting and pointed to some important issues in education today. Our reading covered issues about learning differences, cultural issues, and bilingual education.  The readings were especially helpful in their predictions about the future of the make-up of our classes. Our reading suggested that by 2020 half of the students in the United States will be of non-European dissent.  We also learned some of the different styles for incorporating topics into the curriculum that add ethnicity. Making the curriculum diverse is especially important so students from different cultures will feel more connected to their learning and their identity. 

We also learned about some other topics in education today.  Understanding who and what influence curriculum design was interesting to me.  It was surprising to see the many factors that establish and change curriculum.  I still want to explore the topic of academic freedom and the extent that a teacher has power to design what they will teach in the classroom.  Principals seem to have more control than teachers, especially when trying to improve standardized testing and state requirements.  

I also learned about the economic issues facing our schools and the ways that schools differ from location to location.  Wealthier communities have more money and usually better schools, while inner-city schools seem to get the least attention from the state and federal government. Other issues that sparked an interest are the impact of television on students learning styles.  They are more visually orientated now, and prefer other forms of learning to reading.  Differentiating instruction will be the most import thing in the future of curricular design.  

The issues we learned about so far represent what we as teachers have to consider before we even start to teach.  Students come to school from a variety of backgrounds, cultures, genders, economic differences, and gender.  Before they begin to learn effectively, we have to find ways to incorporate our students diversity into our teaching.