Pleasing the Teacher.

Many times, I've received papers full of the professor's correction. By the time I had in my final draft, the paper looks exactly as if the professor has written in himself. Student's are often in conflict with themselves. Do I write what I really think or do I write what my teacher wants to read? Because my grade depends on it, of course I choose the latter. I mean, who wouldn't? I had one professor who asked her students to critique a book. When my critique questioned the credibility of the author, she returned my paper with soooooooooooo many red marks, I thought the paper had gotten shot! My second draft was much different of course. I wrote it praising book. When your at the mercy of a professor, what else can you do?

Who are these people??

Define the term ESL. What exactly makes a person qualified to be branded this term that carries a negative connotation? When some people hear ESL, the words immigrant, right-off-the-boat come to mind. The image of an uneducated person seems to be the poster example for ESL students. This makes me feel very enraged because what people don't know is that many of these students are in fact, professional's back in their own countries. These men and women should be praised for their bravery and for their determination to learn a new language. They have difficulty adjusting to the educational system in America but they recognize that they must get an education in order to have a better life. I commend these people because I know that it would be very difficult for ME to do this.

Spanish.

I am the Spanish teacher whose kid can barely speak Spanish. How weird, right? Each and everyday, my husband and I struggle to teach this girl the language and it can be sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo frustrating! Of course, I do my best to speak and read to her, but she doesnt show much interest in it. When she was little, we alternated between the two languages, the very same way we alternate when we speak "Spanglish". However over the years, English has become the more dominant. My husband and I discuss sending her to DR for a whole summer, but I'm way too attached for to her and there is no way I can send her there for so long. I feel like we are loosing a our culture and a bit of who we are. I imagine that our grandchildren will have no relation to Dominican culture by the time they are grown. This makes me very sad.

wedding stuff

planning a wedding in the midst of teaching kindergarten, going to school and having a child, is asking for a nervous breakdown. Yesterday, I woke up at 4am and my mind was running WILD. I kept making mental notes of everything I had to do during the week, regarding school, my daughter, work, and the wedding. I felt so overwhelmed and anxious. Finally, by 7am I decided that I couldnt take it anymore. I got up from bed and started doing the things I had to do. I just cant wait for it to be all over.

...

Having nothing else to read on the train every morning, I figured ehh... why not keep on reading Peter Elbow. And it started to like some of the things he wrote, even its first few pages on free writing. He makes good points about keeping a free writing diary. This could get a person writing and could be theruputic. And what better way to master a skill than to practice it over and over again. He hasnt fully convinced me yet but I have to admist that many of his strategies could really allow a person to brainstorm their ideas before they begin writing a paper. He says there will be alot times when you'll have to edit, maybe cross out and add pointers, but you'll be working on all the ideas you have about a topic. You've done that by putting them down on paper without inhibition. Usually, when I write a paper, I go straight to it. But after reading Elbow, I realized how much time I spend on one specific sentence, making sure that it is perfectly written. With all that time, I'm sure there were valuable ideas that I forgot about.

Free Writing = Free Junk??

I have a love-hate relationship with free-writing. I love when I get to express my thoughts without fear of interruption, judgmental opinion or grammatical errors. The problem is, sometimes this free writing can turn into a complete piece of garbage. Peter Elbow says that's okay, as long as your been exercising your handwriting. But I don't know.... as a teacher, I would say I worry when students take a prompt and run with it so far as to end with writing their super market shopping list. I would know, I've done it plenty of times.

a Caribbean way of life

After class, I couldn't stop thinking about what Charlene and Lisa had said in class. Lisa had made a comment regarding the way people are brought up in education in the Caribbean. She said that there was no such thing as working with groups. In school, you kept to yourself and did your work on your own. To this, Charlene quickly jumped in to agree with her. After giving it much thought, I have to say that I too, would like to jump on the bandwagon. Having been raised in New York, by very traditional Caribbean people, I have to say that it has been my experience that these people have no concept of what it means to "work in group". Their school experience never provided them with one. I don't want to say that they advocate team work or unity. I want to say that working in groups calls for many other aspects that Caribbean people are not accustomed to, which is why 'group work' does not exist. For instance, collaborative learning opens the door to critique. It something that is not looked upon negatively. In fact, when in groups, students are encouraged to critique and analyze a published piece. This would be considered outlandish for a even a working-class Caribbean person to do. I have to say that this topic could really be a source of interest for me. I think I would like to pursue it in the future.

Synecto---WHAT??!!

What this activity made me think of was a friend's grandmother, Talin. She always speaks in metaphors that sound very much like synectoches. Metaphors I've heard of... but what I've never heard of is a synectoche (sp). Between Natasha and I, we were trying to figure out what this word meant as we took on this activity. We had no way idea how we were going to complete this activity without knowing what the word meant. We thought that by figuring out this type of metaphor, it would better help us complete the activity. The real challenge wasnt figuring out what the underlined words stood for, but coming up with what synectoche meant. We thought that the underlined words/phrases stood for other larger concepts. We later found out that what we came up with wasn't very far off from the definition of synectoche. I think it would've really helped Natasha and I to have known before hand, what the word meant. However, it probably wouldnt have been as much fun as it was to figure it out.

Curriculum Project-- First thoughts

I plan to design a unit that primarily centers on African-American literature. The question I would like to my students to focus on is the role that race and gender has played in influencing African-American writers and their pieces. In order to address this question, I want my students to analyze work written by authors who my students have first learned about. I think it is crucial that the students have some background information about the author they are reading as well as their reason for writing. Because I plan to work in Harlem, a neighborhood composed of mainly minorities, I hope to expose my students to literature that is inspiring, motivation and promotes writing in a positive light.
I plan to incorporate a variety authors, some well-known, some controversial, and some unrecognized. In my first thoughts on the curriculum project, I thought I would completely ignore certain author's and their books because of their content and lack of authenticity. But I realize now that some of these books might be the ticket to attracting some of my students to the unit of study. Although these books will not be our primary reading source, we will discuss what makes these books so popular. We will talk about how African-American men and women are depicted in them and how these depictions eventually become stereotypes. I plan to use Sister Souljah’s The Coldest Winter Ever.
Langston Hughes’ poetry has played a significant role in my life and I hope that introducing his work in my class, will encourage the students to continue reading his work outside of my classroom. Langston Hughes’ poetry will also work well with our reading of Fences by Lorraine Hansberry. The students will be able to make comparisons between two pieces. Using Langston Hughes’ A Dream Deferred, my first prompt will ask the students to think about their own dreams and hopes for the futures that did not come through. When did they come to the realization that their dreams would not come true? How did they feel? I think this introductory prompt will work well for senior high school/freshman college students who have begun thinking about the future of their lives.

The Poetry Book.

Our yellow poetry book contains a many pieces that I think are versatile and our class will find intriguing. From poetry by the genius Langston Hughes to The Third Bank of the River, I think the professor could not have put together a richer packet. It makes me wonder about the selections that reading/writing teachers choose to expose their students too. I'll never forget my Prose Writing professor who gave us Jonathan Ames, "I shit my pants in the south of france". What was she thinking? Of course, with a title like that, it's needless to say that EVERY student did the reading that week. Which brings me to the question, how do you choose reading that is appropriate for what your teaching, appeals to diverse group of students and at the same, is challenging? It is critical to expose students to new cultures through different texts. It a just one of the ways to help prepare them for their future courses.

Tovani - Coming clean about reading!

Finally. That's my first response after reading Tovani's I Read It, But I Don't Get It. It's about time that an educational book is honest about what is going on in our schools. Schools place so much emphasis on decoding skills that they completely forget that a a big,--- actually HUGE part of being a good reader means that a student can actually comprehend what she or he is reading. Tovani made me think about how much schools love to label their readers as being in level "m" but fail to realize that this readers do not understand a word they are reading. I also love how aside from providing us teachers with ideas to use in the classroom, Tovani isn't ashamed to write about her own experiences with reading. I think this is what makes her so credible and endearing to her students. What I also like about her is that she doesn't expect teachers to do all the work. She sets the expectations for the students and lets them know that as good readers, they are responsible for making sense of their reading, not just sit back and ignore things.

The wooden shack place

While reading this article, I felt that I could relate to Robert in so many ways. For one thing,we both group up in urban cities, lived in apartments and have parents who come from the islands. In fact, when I read the poem and interpreted in very much like he did. I made many of a assumptions that he had. I understood things to mean one way when they really meant another. Like Robert, the mentioning of Sears in the poem made me believe that the young girl came from a middle class family. Like Robert, shopping in Sears means to me that you come from a higher social economic background than I did. Like Robert, I know real poverty.
Honestly, I started to feel quite dumb, for the lack of a better word. On the other hand I also felt I could relate to Mike Rose. As a teacher, when we bring something in to the classroom, such as a poem, we have certain expectations from the students. We think we know how they will react, interpret and understand it. We fail to recognize all the diverse backgrounds our students have as well as all the prior knowledge they bring into the classroom. This article brought me to an "aha" moment. As a teacher I am guilty of having frustrating moments when one of my students doesn't see things the way I would like to them to. But after reading this article I thought back at the times when my own teachers probably didn't understand where I was coming from. I promise to go easier on my students from now on.

Review of Earlier Blog

After reviewing my earlier blog and the article on Expository Writing, I started to change my mind about some of the things I wrote earlier. Although the article offered good strategies on how to teach Expository Writing, I began to think that the lesson cycle included too much too fast. I wondered, how much time would be left for review? How would the teachers cater to the students who had difficulty in one area and not the other? Although I would still use some things in my classroom (the chart), I think for of their ideas are a bit "old school". For one, the vocabulary activities were a bit typical. I think there are so many different ways of teaching vocabulary that would have made it much more interesting to the students.
I still think the article is a great help for teaching expository writing but as I stated earlier, I'm concerned with the flow of the lesson and how it deals with students who don't grasp certain skills as fast as others.

What should colleges teach?

The article written by Stanley Fish, "What Should Colleges Teach?" caught my attention immediately. It is a hot topic among college students who often complain that they aren't being taught useful skills that they will need later on in life. These students are left to wonder to what extent will they need to know the symbolism is Candide? How will this knowledge help when they become graduates who lack the skills to write proper resumes? It is a problem I encounter with my own fiance , an accountant whose job requires that he constantly write detailed reports, employee assessments and client feedback. Although a genius in math, he struggles to write the simplest emails. He is not aware of how to probably use past tenses or other grammar usage. In his freshman comp. class, he spent the semester reading Dante's Inferno and the first book of Gennesis. Again, these are valuable reads but it would have been beneficial to spend sometime reviewing writing skills. I think there is a notion that no one really talks about, the fact that no one really prepares you for college writing. In high school we write essays and in college we write papers. Although the they might seem the same, these are very different. The level at which one writes a college paper is much deeper in thought and critique. You sort-of jump in to college and think you know how to write. I was one of these people. And then you get a shocker. It is because of this that I completely agree with the ACTA, someone needs to be held accountable for this. Stanley Fish makes a good point when he says that composition should be considered as an essential skill.

Expository Reading and Writing

My first semester in college, I was one of those students who had a tape recorder. I had to capture every single word the professor was saying. It wasn't enough that I would take three page notes because at home when I would read them, I would realize that I had three pages of junk. The fact that I could not take proper notes stems for the very root of what this article is talking about. I wasn't able to distinguish was important about what my professor was saying. This is the same as not being about to read an excerpt and extract a main idea from supporting details. What I find about the lesson created by these teachers is that is is incredibly rich and amazingly, covers EVERYTHING you come possibly think of when it comes to expository writing. It will planned and structured. The chart of signal words and phrases that correlate with expository structures is an excellent idea and I could see it perfectly hanging in one of my future classrooms.

FInal Class

I loved doing the activity that Rubin suggested on our last day of class. What a wonderful way to end the semester. I learned so much about my classmates. They have so much to offer their future students! It was a very personal moment for me to speak about my father. I think that's why I was so emotional. This activity was totally relevant to our course because as adult students in higher education, we too face many obstacles in our lives and we work to overcome them so that we can achieve our goals.
Kudos to Professor Gleason for ending our class so nicely!

Paulo Freire's Theory of Adult Literacy Education

Mairenis Cruz
Professor Gleason
Adult Language and Literacy
May 11th, 2010

Paulo Freire's Theory of Adult Literacy Education

Paulo Freire has been perhaps, one the most revolutionary educational philosophers in the twentieth century. Freire’s Pedagogy of the Oppressed, has played a key role in reforming many educational practices and providing an alternative system, one that values critical thinking and liberation.
Born in Brazil on September 19th, 1920 to a middle class family, his family encountered many hardships after the Great Depression that turned their seemingly comfortable life into one of poverty and suffering. Freire spent much of his childhood playing football with poor children. His academic life was also on the wrong track as he was left four grades behind. Despite facing so many obstacles, Freire and his family were able to turn their adversities around. In fact, his own life experiences have helped shape his theories on progressive educational practices and personal liberation.
Freire’s book has contributed many ideas that have been ground-breaking and have made a considerable impact on the educational world. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, he focuses on several central theories.
In his theory of learning, Freire critiques the educational system as one where the teacher is seen as the source of all knowledge and the students are considered empty vessels that receive information that is essential to their life. In the same form of a banking system, Freire’s Banking Model of Teaching functions as if the teacher works to deposit “truth” and data into the mind of a student, who then accepts these to be real without any question. The student receives, memorizes and repeats this information which is considered a gift given to those who technically “don’t know anything” from those who “know everything”. The curriculum is chosen by administrators. It is structured in a way so that the students are purposely are not aware of what is occurring in the world around them and have no say in what they learn. With such a system, students are not actively using the knowledge that they already have to further their thinking and learning. It inhibits their thinking and controls their mind and actions by making students believe that they are essentially in this world and not with the world.
Freire sees learning as a process that needs to be developed over time through the exposure to different concepts. Students need to be critical of what they read once they have achieved an understanding of it. Comprehension and analyzing are skills that are not acquired easily. They demand that the reader play close attention to what is being read and study it to the point that he can speak freely on it as if he were the co-author of the text. This is part of problem-posing education, when information is bestowed to a student for his or her consideration. Freire explains, “the role of the problem-posing educator is to create; together with the students…[it] involves a constant unveiling of reality” [81].
The role of the teacher and the role of the student must be interchangeable. Both need to be aware that learners can be teachers and teachers can be learners. This would cancel out any form of totalitarian reliance on the teacher that would lead to the Banking Model of Teaching. Students should know that they have the ability to fully understand a subject matter. Teachers need to know that content cannot be taught without the vital experiences that the student already brings with him upon entering school. Anyone who believes that content can be taught in such a manner that is completely separated from reference to a learners existing knowledge, would only be succumbing to an oppressor’s ideology.
Teachers need to inform themselves about the world from which the student comes from. It is important to know the goals that a student is working towards, his aspirations, his conflicts and even his struggles. Only then can a teacher appropriately teach the student before him, only then can a teacher demonstrate love and respect for who the student is.
In education, it is essential that we consider what kind information and skills are imperative for a student to have. As mentioned before, students need to be critical of facts that they encounter and search for meaning within them. They must be taught to think in a democratic manner and their must be no restrictions or limits on what can be discussed and questioned. In Pedagogy of the Oppressed, dialogue is referred to as “the encounter in which the untied reflection and action of the dialoguers are addressed to the world which is to be transformed and humanized”. [88] Thus, limiting what can and cannot be discussed would only be contributing to the control of one group over the other.
Freiran theory states that schools are used as part of the overall political propaganda that attempts to instill ideas that belong to the government, businesses and other oppressors. Unintentionally, it contributes to the oppression of people. A true democratic setting is ideal but not often realistic. To say that one is a democrat is not sufficient enough if these words are not supported by one’s actions. What a person does is a better representation of who he or she is than what he or she says. Tolerance is also referred to in a positive light. To be tolerant does not signify that one must conform to ideas that one does not agree to. It means to be respectful of what is different from what we know and believe.
Freire’s theory of consensus indirectly relates conflict as a part of life. Disagreements are the root from where reflection and thought arises. Intending to censor the thoughts and opinions of others is part of the oppressors attempt to control the freedom of the oppressed.
Freire’s pedagogy is that education can play the designating role in bringing about social change for the oppressed. He believes that literacy will be the main factor in allowing the oppressed to take a stand against the oppressors who have been denying their right to grow as human beings for as much as a lifetime. He worked to put focus on the relationship between these two and claimed that the oppressed who became literate would enter into a new reality about society that he had not been aware of before. It would be then that the oppressed would work to transform this reality and rise above it. This modern, critical consciousness would allow the oppressed to understand that the only way to transform this world would be to identify the aspects to this oppression having occurred overtime by the very oppressors themselves, and not as an unchangeable part of nature. Those who have been restricted must seek to free not only themselves, but also the oppressors.
Critical consciousness is a term created by Freire that refers to having acquired a full understanding of how the world works in terms of social and political spectrums. It also refers to taking charge and revolutionizing our world, once having been enlightened, the rudiments that are keeping the oppressed down. Praxis as Freire defines it in Pedagogy of the Oppressed is the "reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it" [51]. It is only when the oppressed has authentically desired to alter his reality that he will be able to act upon the notion for change.
In the aforementioned banking concept of education, Freire correlates the relationship of between teacher and student with that of the oppressor and the oppressed. He states that the teachers (many of whom aren’t aware of their contributions to the dehumanizing of the student) deliver communiqués to the students who passively accept and adapt to what the professor is saying. This contradicts the very principles behind liberating oneself from the oppressor. Students do not realize that they are frequently educating the teacher and view themselves like objects, such as book. As stated earlier, in the world and not with the world. They don’t see themselves as merely adapting to a world created by the oppressors, who have no interest in seeing it being transformed.
Only later in life, might these students discover the real path to becoming fully human. These students will search for genuine liberation through praxis. Although some revolutionaries and leaders will claim to offer emancipation through slogans and propaganda, only those who have completely declined communiqués and the banking method will have received freedom. Only through dialogue and communication can the contradictory teacher-student relationship cease to exist. Notably, the teacher will come to learn in conjunction to the student and it will serve as an opportunity for all those involved, to grow as human beings. The teacher remains cognitive and is constantly shaping her reflections in accordance those of the students. The teacher is often presenting new information in a way that the students feel the need to challenge and view critically. Thus, they will arrive to new understandings. Freire explains, “Liberating education consists in acts of cognition, not transferrals of information” [79].
When teaching Brazilian peasants how to read, Freire encountered that they did not have much confidence in themselves. Their belief was one that they had heard many times from others and had adapted to. In their view, they were not capable of learning anything; they were unproductive and even comparable to animals. They were unconscious of the knowledge they possessed from life experiences and associations with other people. At one point, one peasant went as far as to say to Freire, “Excuse us, we ought to keep quiet and let you talk. You are the one who knows, we don’t know anything” [63]. This peasant demonstrated his full immersion in the banking method. He failed to welcome dialogue as the engine that would launch a new recognition of reality. With his theory of opportunity, Freire took it upon himself to be the voice of the oppressed. He centered his work in the educational field with the basis that he would provide better prospects for the poor.
The most important thing about problem-posing education is that it allows the student to expand his thinking into a never ending future. The threat of an end is non-existent to him because it is seen as limiting his ability to move forward. The only time that the past is even considered, is when it is looked at as a learning experience and an opportunity to rectify the future.
Paulo Freire’s theories of adult education place a large emphasis on dialogue and praxis as part of the overall effort to transform the world. The idea of communication and giving voice and hope to those who are oppressed by oppressors is part of his philosophy to make the world a more just and human place for all. Finally, his revolutionary ideas of using experience as part of a new approach to progressive education is largely all part of his pedagogy; to become what we are naturally supposed to become, more human.






Works Cited
Freire, Paulo, Pedagogy of the Oppressed (30th Anniversary Edition). New York:
Continuum, 2000. Print.

Smith, M. K. (1997, 2002) “Paulo Freire and informal education”, The Encyclopedia of
Informal Education, 4 November 2009. Web. 7 May 2010.

Reflection on Adult Learners of Language & Literacy

After spending the past year working as a Teachers Assistant in the Bronx, I can say that it has been a year of learning and great experiences. For years, I took courses that would prepare me for to teach children and to work in the childhood education field. However after taking this course I came to understand that their is a whole other spectrum in the world of education, that of adult education. It is one that I had no idea was so intricate and so relevant to our society. I learned a lot of things in this class. I learned many statistics/theories, read interesting books but most importantly, I came to some realizations that perhaps I wouldn't have come to if I had not taken this course.

For one, I had the chance to research braille literacy. This is something I had no knowledge of before and now I find myself fascinated by it. I was shocked to learn about how much more independent a person who is visibly impaired can be if he or she can read and write braille. I also could not believe the scarcity of braille materials. The paper sparked my interest in braille and would like to pursue more research on it.
Another thing I was enlightened about was all the obstacles that adults face when returning to school. My own family members who have immigrated to New York have tried to return to school but have not been successful. They have enrolled in ESL and GED classes only to drop out before completing them. Prior to taking this class, my impression of this was that they lacked the motivation, the skills and even the intelligence necessary to be in school and learn the English language. I had not considered all the other difficulties they have faced. This class made me more appreciative of their efforts and come to a deeper understanding of adult education. I am more eager to help my family members pursue their education, especially my cousin Raquel. I think she would be a perfect candidate for the I-BEST program.

I would have to say that one of the highlights of our class was going to the Center for Workers Education because as someone who is new to the program, this trip made everything we've been learning about so much more real. It was also great to get some inside information that we probably would have never known if we had not visited the CWE.
Another thing I liked about this class was having the chance to speak with other students who went to through this program. It was important for me to hear from them about their experiences after the masters program.
My favorite book that the class read was Paulo Freire's Pedagogy of the Oppressed. It is one of those books that changes your life. It really opened my eyes and I will keep it in my personal library forever.
For me, this class was worth while. I learned a lot and and it only reassured me that I chose the right program after all.

Summary on Gerry McNenny's article

Summary: Collaborations between Basic Writing Professionals and High School Instructors: The Shape of Things to Come

A report published by The Council for Adult and Experiential Learning in 2008 provided National and State to State data on the status and development of adult learning in the United States. This report showed that only a thirty seven percent of adults in the country (between the ages 25 to 64) has attained an Associates Degree or higher. An alarming twenty nine percent of adults in the country have only a high diploma and have never taken any college courses. These statistics create the basis for the growing movement in favor of higher education in the United States. In Gerry McNenny’s article, “Collaborations between Basic Writing Professionals and High School Instructors: The Shape of Things to Come”, an argument is set forth regarding the importance of building a strong connection between high school writing instruction and college level writing in preparation of students so that their transition into college is a smoother one.
In the past, programs who have worked with high schools and public universities achieved a significant amount of success. In 1998, CUNY as well as the FIPSE in Virginia participated in programs that worked in conjunction with high school teachers, curriculum developers and college professors to enhance the writing of high school graduates entering into college for the very first time. Special funds have been set aside by U.S. Department of Education to address this issue. It is seen as a truly imperative that the country focus on this matter as it plays a key role in the reduction of funds spent on remediation courses offered in many public colleges. These courses are taken by students who lack the proper skills to enroll in entry level college writing courses and therefore, must develop their basic writing skills.
The first step in creating this liaison is getting people to talk about issues that are going on and getting both sides to discuss them. Both Basic Writing professionals and high school teachers have a lot of knowledge to offer. Those involved in Basic Writing programs can provide information on the needed instruction, while high school teachers confer about the learning needs of their students. McNenny’s article offers a model that can be used by both parties who wish to collaborate together in hopes of building the aforementioned disparity.
The California State University was fortunate enough to receive funding from the legislature that that provided a nine million dollar yearly grant. This capital was to be used for creating a program that would establish the bridge needed involving high school teachers and college writing professionals. The grant proposal stated that the success of the students would be determined by a ninety minute exam, the English Placement Test (EPT) that included reading comprehension, multiple choice and an essay on a unknown topic that would be timed. Teachers would also be subject to evaluation through questionares and interviews to determine their awareness of the CSU/Diagnostic Writing Service. Two teachers would be chosen at random for follow-ups and discussion of curriculum. At the end of the school year, they would be asked to reflect on what they have learned about from working with the EPT.
Timed writing exams have been the target of much criticism by those who believe that these assessments do not provide accurate representation of a student’s writing skills. One of the people who has made this critique is Mina Shaughnessy, who declares that these timed exams place unnecessary stress on students and therefore hinder their ability to perform as well as they are capable of. In a case study performed by Barbara Gleason on second language learners, she found that these students were unable to pass the Writing Assessment Test because of general mistakes in their writing. These students were professional individuals with degrees from foreign countries and were forced to repeatedly take this exam because they could not pass it. They were prevented from taking CUNY undergraduate courses because of this. Marilyn Sternglass was the first to point out that these students were being penalized for not using “idiomatic expressions” that often take non-native speakers many years to learn.
Other problems with these assessments are that they often fail to take into account speakers of other dialects and vernaculars such as the African-American Vernacular English. Rubrics for these tests do not bear in mind this and have biases against these vernaculars. Despite the inequalities of timed testing, the reality is that this method proves to be the most efficient manner of evaluation if one takes into account economic factors.
CUNY institutionalized programs such as “book flood”, Sustained Silent Reading and Shared Book experience have provided ways in which students can become emerged in conversation, reading and activities that help develop various literacy skills. These programs have been successful as these students have surpassed others in standardized testing. Adele Gihooly examined the effect of reading 1,000 pages of literature and the reflection of these in journals. The outcome of her investigation showed that these students had a significantly higher passing rate of fifty six percent in their timed tests. Other skills were also improved upon.
The collaborators between the high school teachers and college instructors feel that they must work together from the very beginning to the very end in making sure that they build a curriculum that works hand in hand with each other. They adapted a Freireian philosophy, looking at the reality of the situation and working and focusing on how to find a solution.
High school teacher input was crucial as they worked closely with the students and could better interpret their literacy needs. The program was designed so that high school teachers could choose a new and specific teaching strategy to research, implement and reflect upon. However it was kept in mind all the obstacles that high school teachers face in their day to day lives. For example, they regularly teach up to five classes per day composed on 38-40 students, they are overwhelmed with papers to grade, they must write lesson plans and meet state standards. As if all this wasn’t enough, teachers are responsible to covering reading comprehension, writing, technology and public speaking skills. McNenny states that being able to accomplish this within a forty-five minute time frame is something to be marveled with.
Basic Writing Professionals have important positions in constructing the gap. They can provide teachers and students with appropriate feedback, assignments, questions and strategies to use during the teaching of writing. Writing Professionals also can also inform the students about what will be expected from their writing once they reach college and strategies and activities they can partake in to better help their writing. This can be very beneficial as many high school teachers have received very little instruction on teaching writing and surrender to very strict and unoriginal forms of instruction.
Teacher-researched projects helped bridge the gap by emphasizing the reflection of the research being conducted. A journal was given to each teacher to record and write notes on. It was a great way for teachers to communicate with each and offer insightful information that they otherwise would have not shared. It was especially good for first year teachers who could use this as a learning resource. It is also much more personal and credible to teachers than an educational textbook.
The influence of groups on student writing was researched by one of the teachers. Her results showed that when students were aware that their writing would be read by their peers, they paid more attention to their piece of work. They also enjoyed being able to participate in sharing their work with others because it offered them real-life experiences. Other researched projects included authentic assessments, free and creative writing.
Basic Writing professionals provided the link between participating schools. They were able to share results found by other teacher-research projects and found that they spread rapidly among the educational community. This allowed for discussions and meetings that were more rich and in-depth. Teachers were also able to swap ideas and learn from each other. They also used the chosen research projects to identify areas of need for students.
The collaboration with high school and college instructors has been a successful one. To date, they have participated in four semester and plan to enter into their fifth. As a result, high school students have demonstrated more interest in enrolling in universities after their graduation. They have maintained contact with peers already enrolled in college through email to talk about their new experiences. Additionally, teacher-research projects remain being one of the most valuable ways for teachers to share their work with each other.
The root of McNenny’s essay is her stance on how important it is for educators to build a bridge between high school and college writing instruction so that students are able to succeed once they enter college writing courses. Student’s lack of preparation results in the need to take required remediate courses that delay college entry, damper a student’s motivation and can lead to higher dropout rates. The collaboration between high schools and college can be the fundamental factor in changing of these statistics.

Braille Literacy

Mairenis Cruz
Professor Gleason
Spring 2010

Braille Literacy
Braille Literacy indicates having the skill to decipher and produce the Braille code, a technique usually used by people with extremely poor or no vision at all. Before one can go into deeply explaining what Braille literacy is, we must first define what each term means when it is separated from each other. Literacy, as many people understand it to be is the ability to read and to write. This description sounds very straight forward and very comprehensible but the truth is that literacy is in fact, much more complex than this. Reading and writing do make up a large fraction of what it is to be literate but there are other, more intricate factors such as communication, comprehension and even interpretation. These must be taken into account before labeling a person as literate in any language. On the other hand, Braille is a method for used by blind people in order to read and write. It is a form of code that uses six dots that can be positioned in multiple ways within two columns to represent letters in a writing system.
Braille was developed by Louis Braille in 1824 in response to a twelve dot code devised by an army captain so that soldiers could communicate silently during battle. Charles Barbier’s twelve dot code was too difficult for L.Braille to understand because it obliged those reading it to look at the each individual marking and it took too long for the reader to scan across the page. Braille created his own code using six dots instead of twelve but what was significantly important about it was that it could be used to write as well, unlike other types of codes that had been created for the blind. It wasn’t until two years after his death that Braille was officially recognized in France. Today, it is widely used in many parts of the world.
Contrary to the popular impression, Braille is not used by all blind people. In fact, in 2007 a report published by the American Printing House for the Blind stated that out of 57,696 United States children labeled legally blind, a measly ten percent was used Braille as their main reading and writing system. This number has seen a major decrease from the earlier years. Back in 1960, about fifty percent of children enrolled in school were literate in Braille. It is believed that the reason for this deterioration of Braille usage has been because of improvements in technology, problems with school budgets and reforming ideas about how to educate the blind.
The United States Congress passed the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which called for the integration of blind students into conventional schools with children without disabilities. It also mandated that programs that d services to these students receive federal funding despite the disability in consideration. In all, a total of twenty-seven states have passed legislation that makes it a law to provide blind children with the prospect of learning Braille in schools.
For various reasons, Braille has been loosing popularity over the years. In the article, “The Braille Literacy Crisis for Children”, Louise Johnson, a teacher at the Utah School for the Death and Blind, addresses many of the issues revolving the idea that there is a dilemma within the Braille education system. Fewer children are being taught to read and write in this medium. His article criticizes three theories blamed for this setback. The first accusation is made at the huge developments in technology that have provided various sources from where children can acquire information. These sophisticated pieces of equipment (talking calculators, watches, recording devices, television, and computers) provide the blind with an easier access to information that does not require that they read or write. Johnson argues that if everyone were to receive information this way, we could make the same case for all readers and writers, visually impaired or not. “I believe the idea that visually impaired children do not need literacy comes in part from the idea that visually impaired people will always be helpless and dependent.” (Johnson) Being able to read in any situation provides a person with the independence they need to live a substantial adult life.
Johnson also points out the need to for an appropriate amount of Braille instructional time. Although many blind students are mainstreamed into regular schools, they aren’t taught in Braille the equal amount of time that other students are being taught reading and writing skills. It is unfortunate because it hinders not only they’re chance of being literate but also their ability to develop skills in other subjects such as math and science. Johnson’s final criticism is that the Braille code should not be simplified anymore than it already is. She claims that Grade 1 Braille is crucial because it establishes the fundamentals necessary to produces fluent readers and writers. She believes that what would be most beneficial to these students is indeed to be part of an inclusive classroom, but be given ample support within the school and home setting.
Braille literacy means that one is able to use Braille in various forms as well as other sources of information that can be used to extract knowledge. The rationale as to why being literate is so important is the same one behind “knowledge is power.” It is explained that reading and writing empowers those whose vision is impaired by stimulating their aptitude and allowing them to take control of their own studies. It is essential to their academics but also to other aspects of life because being literate enables a person to better communicate with others.
Phil Hatlen discusses his own experience teaching when other teachers believed that recorded materials were an acceptable form of teaching literacy. Teachers used this medium because they found that it was much more convenient to acquire books on tape rather than books written in Braille. It was also to a great extent, easier and more resourceful to get through material this way instead of through Braille.
Hatlen represents the other side of the spectrum. He believes that using recorded materials would incline the students to become dependent on these and encounter bigger difficulties trying to learn Braille later on in life, having lost crucial time. Hatlen is so passionate about his belief that having a good set of listening skills does not qualify one as being literate that he compares the notion to that of a visual person who would not be considered literate if he or she were not able to read and write, but did in fact had great listening skills. Although he makes this statement, he acknowledges that recorded materials are a great source for the blind and that when working with Braille, could really be the model circumstance for many people.
Another person making a case in favor of Braille is Penelope A. Zago, a consultant from the Michigan department of education. In her article, “Weaving the Cloth of Literacy: The Relationship between Braille and Reading”, she makes the claim that Braille is a very creative tool for students who are visually impaired. It makes it possible for students to make a connection between any prior knowledge they might have and writing. One example she gives is journal writing and how rewarding it could be for someone to read what they’ve written years before about their life. She uses a metaphor to explain the connection that goes on when reading Braille to that of weaving a cloth. In many instances, blind students have not been exposed to certain visual concepts. They are free of fallacies and stereotypes so when introduced to new concepts, in a sense they begin with clean slates. What Braille does is that is works to create the meaning that these readers need.
Demographics also play an important part in the marker for Braille literacy. S.J Spungin claims that it is often that these reports cannot be trusted. They don’t present accurate information because they don’t ask direct questions such as, “are you blind?”. They simply make general assumptions that often lead to contradicting data. One report made by the federal government affirmed the decrease of blind people while several states opposed this statistic and claimed that the number had risen in recent years. However, what these reports do show is that the number of students who learned Braille at an early age have excelled in school and been comparably successful to the students who have no recorded disabilities. This has also proven to affect the students long term success as a study conducted in Washington from 1998-1999 showed that only forty four percent of adults who were blind were unemployed in contrast to the seventy-seven percent who were unemployment and did not read Braille.
This same report also revealed that out of the 85,000 blind adults currently living in the United States, ninety percent were engaged in Braille literacy and had work. Visually impaired people that could not read and write Braille only had a 1 out 3 success rate of service with pay. Braille represents a key dynamic of the achievements made within the blind population.
Given all the positive grounds for Braille literacy, one would want know why statistics show such an increase in the number of illiterates in the blind community. Spungin thinks that several reasons are responsible. For one, there are people who choose not to learn how to read Braille. They believe that Braille serves as an acknowledgement to the outside world that this person is in fact blind. It has nothing to do with being well-read but with how one wants to be perceived by others. Another reason is the lack of competent instruction available to the blind, making it difficult to find the suitable supplies to teach this medium or limited ones that provide very light support. Individualized Education Plans are often limited to whatever the school can afford and lead to unrealistic views of the visually impaired children need. These impediments are part of some of the leading aspects of Braille literacy decline.
There are organizations that are working to working to overcome some of the aforementioned obstacles. One of these is the American Foundation for the Blind which aids people with vision loss by providing them with the right information and sources they need to lead healthy, independent lives. It also provides training to teachers in Braille under various concentrations. The National Braille Press is a non-profit organization that prints thousands of books yearly for blind children. They strongly believe that “Braille is the only true means of literacy for a person without sight” and very importantly, that those who are blind have the same access to information as those that do have their sight.
It is known that being literate is a door opener for all people because it can lead to profound knowledge. Braille as literacy is no different. It is the channel that grants this same access to those disabled because of their vision.
















Bibliography
1. 200 Years: The Life and Legacy of Louis Braille.
American Foundation for the Blind, 2009. Web. 1
April 2010.
2. “Braille Literacy.” 22 Febraury 2010 at 18:30.
Wikipedia. Web. 30 March 2010.
3. Johnson, L. (1996). The Braille Literacy Crisis for
Children. Journal of visiaul impairment and
blindness; 90(3). Web. 27 March 2010.
4. Hatlen, P. “Comprehensive Literacy”. Literacy: Issues
for People Who Are Blind, Parents and Professionals
(2002). Web. 1 April 2010.
5. Zago. P. “Weaving the Cloth of Literacy: The
Relationship between Braille and Reading” Issues
for People Who Are Blind, Parents and Professionals
(2002). Web 1 April 2010.
6. Spungin, S.J. (1996). Braile and beyong: Braille
literacy in a larger context. Journal of visual
impairment
and blindness; 90(3), 271-274. Web. 30 March 2010.
7. “ Who We Are”. nbp.org, n.d. Web. 30 March. 2010.

Response to Preparing for Success

Quote: "Some learners are unable to go beyond, "I want to learn English." when learners lack the basic functional skills or knowledge necessary to articulate specific goals, the effectiveness of learner-centered instruction is reduced because learners are not self-directed. Instructors need to provide intensive support that will help learners first recognize and describe their needs so that they can then develop specific goals." (p.24)

Response: This quote was significant to me because it speaks of the lack of motivation that students have and the fact that they don't have direct and clear goals which to strive for. Wanting to simply learn English is a goal that is much too simple and fails to look at the bigger picture...that learning English could potentially lead to a better job, greater communication skills, etc. This is a problem that is reoccurring in adult education. Students need to have intrinsic motivation. As teachers we need to be able to work with them by outlining the areas in which they need help and how creating goals that will help make things better.

online braille games

Hey class,

The AFB has this really cool website online where you can play braille games. They're pretty fun and can be helpful for those of you interested in learning to read braille. It's mainly geared towards children but I think that you will still enjoy it.

Mighty

www.afb.org/braillebug/Games.asp

High School Graduation Rates Rise

Hey! I found this article on the DOE website and I thought the class might find it interesting. If you can, please post your thoughts.
-Mighty


Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein Announce That High School Graduation Rate Rises to All-Time High of 63 Percent, Marking the Eighth Consecutive Year of Gains
03/09/2010


More Students Earning Regents Diplomas than Ever Before

Drop-Out Rate Cut Nearly In Half Since 2005

Hispanic Graduation Rate Above 50 Percent for the First Time

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Joel I. Klein today announced that New York City’s four-year high school graduation rate rose to an all-time high of 63 percent in 2009, according to the State Education Department, which released the data today. Between 2008 and 2009, the June graduation rate rose nearly three percentage points, extending its continuous rise since the Mayor won control of the school system in 2002. Including August graduates, as the State and City both now do, the 2009 graduation rate is 62.7 percent. The increase was accompanied by an even larger rise in the proportion of students earning Regents diplomas, which will become the State’s standard diploma in two years. Additionally, students of all ethnicities continued to make progress, with graduation rates increasing for white, Asian, black, and Hispanic students. For the first time, more than half of the City’s Hispanic students—56 percent, including August graduates —graduated in four years. The Mayor and Chancellor were joined for the announcement at Tweed Courthouse by Ernie Logan, President of the Council of School Supervisors and Administrators (CSA) and Leo Casey, Vice President of Academic High Schools of the United Federation of Teachers of the United Federation of Teachers, as well as principals of high schools from all five boroughs including Evelyn Collins, principal of the Manhattan Theatre Lab High School; Vincent A. Maniscalco, principal of Staten Island Technical High School; Michael Athy principal of Bayside High School in Queens; Charles Osewalt, principal of the Morris Academy of Collaborative Studies High School in the Bronx; and David Cohen, principal of Brooklyn’s Midwood High School.

“After a decade of stagnation, New York City’s graduation rate has increased for eight consecutive years,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “And not only are more students graduating than ever before, but the number of students dropping out has been cut nearly in half in just the past four years alone. We won’t be satisfied until every student graduates from high school, but our City’s principals and teachers deserve enormous credit for the significant progress we’ve made.”

“More than ever, graduating from high school is a prerequisite for success later in life, so it’s encouraging that increasing numbers of our students are reaching this significant milestone,” said Chancellor Klein. “The fact that more are also earning Regents diplomas is an especially promising sign that students are graduating prepared to meet the rigorous challenges in college and in their careers.”

Since 2005, when the State began calculating graduation rates using its current methodology, the City’s June graduation rate has risen by 12.5 points. The dropout rate has been cut nearly in half during the same period, falling to a new low of 11.8 percent—a decline of 10.2 points since 2005. In all, 3,300 additional students in New York City graduated in June 2009 compared to June 2008, with that number rising to almost 6,200 additional students when August graduates are counted.

New York City’s four-year graduation rate of 62.7 percent includes students who graduated in August after completing remaining requirements over the summer. Because the State only began including August graduates in its calculation last year, however, comparisons to previous years exclude August graduates. Exempting these graduates, the City’s four-year graduation rate rose to 59 percent in 2009 from 56.4 percent in 2008 and 46.5 percent in 2005. Moreover, the five-year June graduation rate rose to 66.1 percent in 2009 from 62.6 percent in 2008 and 55.7 percent in 2006. The six-year June graduation rate rose to 65.6 percent in 2009 from 61.8 percent in 2008 and 58.5 percent in 2007.

A larger percentage of graduates than ever before—44.6 percent—earned a Regents or Advanced Regents diploma in June 2009, compared to 40.9 percent in 2008 and 30 percent in 2005—a 14.6 point increase over four years. To earn Regents diplomas, students must meet more stringent graduation requirements, including passing Regents exams. The percentage of students earning less rigorous local diplomas fell to 14.4 percent in June 2009 from 15.5 percent in 2008 and 16.6 percent in 2005—even while the overall graduation rate has increased and the requirements for local diplomas became more rigorous.

Additionally, the percentage of English language learners who graduated in four years rose 3.9 points between June 2008 and June 2009. The graduation rate among these students was 39.7 percent in June 2009, and 44.4 percent including August graduates, up from 35.8 percent in June 2008 and 25.1 percent in June 2007. This increase is particularly significant given that English language learners are often recent immigrants and must master English while working to meet all other graduation requirements simultaneously.

The graduation rate among special education students was 24.7 percent in June 2009, up from 22.5 percent in June 2008 and 17.1 percent in June 2005. Including August graduates, 26.6 percent of special education students graduated in four years.

Students of all ethnic groups continue to achieve higher June graduation rates. For the first time, the percentage of Hispanic students graduating in four years rose above 50 percent, with 51.8 percent of Hispanic students in the class of 2009 graduating in four years, compared to 48.7 percent in 2008 and 37.4 percent in 2005. This 14.4 point increase over four years compares to a 9.9 point increase among white students and a 10.5 point increase among Asian students during the same period. Overall, 53.9 percent of percent of black students in the class of 2009 graduated in four years, compared to 51.4 percent in 2008 and 40.1 percent in 2005, an increase of 13.8 points since 2005. Including August graduates, 55.9 percent and 57.8 percent of Hispanic and black students, respectively, graduated in four years in 2009.

These gains come as the Department of Education strengthens its focus on preparing students for postsecondary work and success. The Department is providing all eleventh-grade students in the City with a free online SAT preparation and college planning tool in advance of the spring and fall 2010 SATs. Also, the DOE has launched a college readiness initiative focused on expanding and strengthening AP course offerings through AP teacher training workshops in up to 40 schools. The program seeks to improve access to courses, raise student scores on AP exams, and increase the supply of AP materials available to teachers and students.

In recent years, the City and State have used a shared methodology to calculate graduation rates. Before the State began calculating graduation rates, the City adopted its own methodology in 1986, which remains the only basis for historical comparisons. Using the City’s old formula, the graduation rate rose from 58 percent to 68 percent between 2005 and 2009, an increase that tracks closely to the State’s calculation. Since 2002, using the City’s old methodology, the graduation rate has increased by 33 percent, or 17.2 points—from 50.8 percent to 68 percent. Before the start of the Bloomberg Administration, the graduation rate had been essentially stagnant for a decade, hovering around 50 percent.

Professor Rangel's Workshop

Thank you Professor Ruben Rangel for coming in and sharing your insights on Paul Freire. I found that the class was very theraputic and that we were all able to connect and learn a little more about each other. I really liked the true word activity because it made me think and evaluate my life. It's strange that the words we chose, although relate to conflict in our lives, also relate closely to the things/people we love. Professor Rangel said that these are the things we should make a priority. I would've loved to have done all the other acrivities he had planned.

i-Best Program

I'd like to thank Amy and Wynne for their presentation last week. I thought it was informative and very engaging. What I liked the most was the "gallery walk" because we were able to read the views of our peers in a non-threatning way. Also, we didn't just sit and discussed the articles we read, we were able to move around. It was very effective for me to know what the other students in my class were thinking about the reading. I will implement this method in my own classroom.
As far as the I-Best program at LaGuardia Community College, I feel that it is providing the adequate help to those who are trying to advance themselves. Amy and Wynne are very dedicated to the work that they are doing, and those are the kinds of people needed to run programs like these. The I-BEST program provides alot of support, more than what the usual GED/Job training programs usually do. It has a higher success rate because it incorporates these two so that their students are preparing themselves in more ways than one. Although I am still a bit skeptical about vocational training because I feel that most of these lead to low paying jobs that they could've acquired even without the training, I guess it is a stepping tool. I would just like to see a program that while it does offer some immediate results, also follows through with its students in the long run, making sure that they get the proper help for some long term success.

Test Scores determining Tenure

Time after time, the DOE never fails to surprise me. Using student's test scores to determine whether teachers should receive tenure is an outrage. This is just another example of America's reliance on test scores as a determining factor of success. It seems that the DOE simply doesn't take into account how diverse New York City students are not only on the basis of nationality but also educational needs. It fails to recognize other types of assessments that would examine more accurately the way students have progressed over a year. A test score cannot account for all the students have done through out the academic year. This is just another case of "blame the teacher" for the failure of the educational system. There is no mention of funding, programs, or individual needs as a part of student success.

I am in complete agreement that test scores cannot be the sole indicator of student achievement. The article suggests that individual portfolios would be a "much better method of evaluation". Portfolios are a good way to show how a student changes over time. However, what happens when students begin to create work for the simple task of putting it in their portfolio? It often lowers the quality of work. If portfolios are going to be used, their needs to be a system of evaluation used to determine the quality of published pieces.

NYT: High Schools to Offer Plan to Graduate 2 Years Early

Looking back at my four years of high school, I can honestly say that I don't think I ever did anything productive. My classes were often interrupted by fights and disruptive and disrespectful students. I choose to go to Bayard Rustin H.S. becuase of a Creative Writing program that they had. Only to find out once I got there that the program lacked resources and was sooned closed. From my experience, I can say that had their been such a test as the one mentioned in Alex's article, I would've taken it without giving it thought! I do think that these would only benefit a small percentage of students and would give them preference over others.

This makes me wonder, isnt this just another way of giving priority to exams? If these were available, wouldnt it be the case that many teachers would be teaching towards the tests? Wouldn't many of the learning and life skills that students need before they go to college be completley disregarded?

English literacy = better economic status?

From our Wiley reading, one of the points that caught my attention was the idea that there are tax payers who contribute to services that they do not necessarily benefit from, such as higher education. This intrigued me because I really feel that behind all the promotion for English literacy within the immigrant community, there is an underlying idea that becoming literate guarantees some sort of higher economic status. There is a sense that learning to read and write the English second language will open the doors to better paying jobs but the reality is that many immigrant SLA learners only develop basic oral language that allows them to "get by". They don't have the proper skills or educational background to compete with native speakers. In a way, I feel that the situation is not presented to them accurately.

How does everyone else feel about this?