I have no TV

Yes, I will admit, I did not switch to digital! Oh the horror! All I can watch is the incessant media messages urging me to immediately call, run, check, install, just hurry before you miss the latest scandal on "Real Housewives of New Jersey" or the breaking news on how many cigarettes Obama smokes a day. Have I been missing the world? I must admit, at times, it feels just like that. So I am ready to admit: I am a T.V addict.

Without television there is strange quiet in my home; I do not have the option of the "Power" button, but instead have the power to choose what I will do. I will finish that Rasputin Biography, check on the little herb garden, write, try to teach myself "To Elise" by Beethoven. But I must hurry, the cable man is coming soon, and I may not have enough time.

My Super Hero

I got this cite from my former professor. http://plethoratech.blogspot.com/.

He suggested this as a pre or post-writing activity for elementary stduents. I'm not sure if this is an effective exercise, but I think this would be great for younger students or those who need that extra motivation to use their imagination.

This could be a great picture prompt to prepare students for the HSPA. After all, that is why we are here.

Here is what I came up with. I am getting ready to pen my first adventure.

http://www.cpbintegrated.com/theherofactory/

Final Project Google Page Link

http://sites.google.com/site/curr530finalprojectvayda/

Here is my final project! It has been a pleasure being a part of this class!

Graduation 2009 Speech

Dear Graduates, Faculty, Families, Board of Education Members and Mr. Mayor,

I would like to welcome you all on this warm June evening as we celebrate the 2009 Commencement.

In Ukraine, where I grew up, on graduation night the school bell would ring one last time during the commencement ceremony. Although students heard this bell daily warning them to go to class, go to lunch, move to the next class, or go home, this final time the bell would wail a somber farewell. So when I walked through the hallways of BHS on the last day of finals, as the remaining few students jolted out of the building, and the loose leaf notes, old textbooks, forgotten sweatshirts littered the floor, I couldn’t help but wonder what these halls have seen?


They have seen you as shy and timid freshmen enter the building with massive book-bags shuffling quickly from class to class. They have seen you come back as sophomores with a few mistakes made, a few lessons learned. As juniors these hallways witnessed you peaking into the world that awaited, filled with due dates, responsibilities, hurt, love, awareness, compassion, forgiveness, and of course tests, on paper and in life. Finally, your last year as you confidently strolled the halls of your school, they looked back on you with a familiar admiration. Everyday they heard of your future destinations: Berkley, MIT, Delaware, Rutgers, Montclair, Marines, and many others. They have watched you grow, mature, and now leave the comfort of their watch to carve your own path. We will all remember you, what will you take away from BHS?


Perhaps you will not remember that quadratic equation, or the 21 comma rules, or the atomic number for plutonium. What you will remember are the friends, teachers, teammates, coaches, guidance counselors, and anyone who has shaped you in any way through these four years. Take with you the academic knowledge you have acquired, the ability to think, solve problems, and communicate, ability to be kind, compassionate, and accepting of others.


All this you will need to enter the ever-changing 21st century world, where LOL replaces real laughter, where you can break up on a text message and where you are likely to never physically write and send a letter in the mail. While some of you will be businessmen, doctors, lawyers, engineers, artists, scientists, teachers, there are graduates in this crowd who will become search engine optimizers, green architects, or anti-hacking security specialists. You are the generation that will lead our world. As president Obama put it, “If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress.”


Whatever path you chose, remember the hallways of BHS and the last bell sending you off on an endless adventure we call life.

Congratulations and best of luck in your bright future!

My Avatar!

Although it looks like I have one eye, I guess this is pretty close. I am also missing a waste and elbow joints! That was fun!

What a Difference a Word Makes: Review

Stiggens, R., & Chappuis, J. (2006). What a difference a word makes: Assessment for learning rather than assessment of learning helps students succeed. Journal for Staff Development, National Staff Development Council, Vol.27, NO.1.

Reading this article brought forward a realization of how little I think about assessment in the classroom. I have devoted much time reflecting on the current state of education, specifically, the outdated Language Arts Curriculum, 21st century skills, or restrictive NCLB laws. Conversely, assesment has not been a major element of reflection.
In sum, the article encourages "assessment for learning rather than assessment of learning"(Stiggens and Chappuis, 2006). One aspect of the article that I found myself agreeing with is getting students involved in the assessment process. The authors of the article encourage students and their teachers to become "partners in the classroom assessments process, relying on students-involved assessmetn, record-keeping, and communication to help students understand what success looks like, see where they are now, and learn to close the gap between the two."(Stiggens and Chappuis, 2006). In my own classroom, students keep a grade sheet where they figure out their grades and keep track of their progress throughout the year. I find that keeping grades a secret from students until the end of a marking period is unecessary and somewhat elitist.

In addition to students' involvement in assessment, Stiggens and Chappuis mention four other essential aspects of successful assessment: clear purposes, clear targets, sound design, and effective communication. Most of the objectives for effective assessment are fairly obvious and what I believe effective teachers currently practice.

In Language Arts, majority of assessment includes writing samples which are incredibly time consuming to assess and grade. So when the article suggested that teachers "must figure out ways to comment on the quality of students' work and then schedule time for students to act on that feedback before being graded" (Stiggens and Chappuis, 2006), I was taken back. I was sure the next suggestion was for teachers to grow another pair of hands and an extra brain, yet the authors conceeded that it would be difficult to accomodate such practices on a regular basis. Unfortunately, this is old news. I learned to write by following my teacher's criticism and correcting my mistakes. Although I try to give my students the same opportunity, I agree that in addition to the myriad of tasks that already fill up the teaching day, this would be difficult to accomplish.

Furthermore, the article suggests use of learning teams where teachers can experiment with different types of assessment and collaborate with other collegues to improve teaching practices. I have always been a proponent of peer coaching and believe that peer collaboration is an integral part of professional development.

Although the article did not contain anything groundbreaking, the authors neverthelss agree that "if we don't begin this dialogue, this study of assessment for learning, we are relegating assessment to its accountability role and passing up its potential benefits to students." (Stiggens and Chapuis, 2006). While we have little power to change standardized testing imposed by law, inside our classrooms we can certainly maximize student acheivement through clear and effective assessment.

Video: Our Competition

Did You Know?? Reaction

Should I be scared? Are there people still out there that don’t realize that we live in a world that is not even remotely close to Shakespeare’s time, the 1800’s, and even England in the 1900’s? The music also made me think of a painted and angry Mel Gibson ready to slaughter the British. Are some of the numbers interesting? Yes, but this is nothing new, shift does indeed happen and we are racing top speed into an un-chartered territory of the incredible technology age.

I remember when my father bought our first computer in 95’, now I check two email accounts daily, blog, communicate on Ning, use Wiki, and post homework online for easier access. I look forward to finally getting and using a smart-board and getting rid of that dusty overhead projector that has an incredible power to hum students to sleep.
Am I preparing my students for the 21st century? As an English teacher, I would like to believe so. I use my laptop to access videos and power point presentations; we also use the lab to research online and play interactive grammar games. I tell students that they will always need the skills to write well, whether they are sending an email or preparing a presentation; that can never be replaced.

From what I have seen, students that have access to technology are preparing themselves. In my school, students informed me about http://www.blockmyass.com/, a website that helps them get around districts’ control of what they can and can’t access in school. I also saw one of my seniors filling out a Rita’s job application online while simultaneously checking on the status of her admission at Montclair. Inadvertently, we are all moving with the shift.
As educators, technology is truly essential, conversely it should not replace traditional teaching, instead gently blend with it. We need more money for technology! We need to train older teachers to implement more technology in the classroom; we need to train young teachers to effectively apply technology to increase the effectiveness of lessons and learner’s motivation and enthusiasm.

Can a teacher be successful without any technology? I am sad to say, no. No longer is a strong personality and personal enthusiasm enough. This is especially true for students from low socioeconomic areas. Give these children access to information, give them skills to do simple things like communicate well in an email, send at attachment, and find a job online. Maybe then this student will realize that China has four times the population of U.S and our honor students can beat up their honor students!

Japan Video

I was definitely not impressed. I expected to see young students doing advanced math. I agree with my classmates, the noise was too much, kids seemed to be everywhere, and if I were that teacher I would rip my hair out. I wish I understood the content better to see how advanced their lesson really was. Did they do well? Or did the teacher simply check if they did the work? Are these students our kids' competitors? Was that chaos or really motivated future engineers and scientists? I would like to see more.

My first, second, and third grade were spent in a Soviet Union school. We wore uniforms with a Lenin star on it, we raised our hand, but never lifted it off the table, we were petrified of our teacher, and we learned, a lot. When I came to United States I skipped from third to fifth grade. The math at the Elizabeth elementary school which I attended was at my second grade level.

I've Been a Bad Teacher

I know when I am being a bad teacher. Today is one of these days. After going to bed past midnight for the last two nights, it is hard to be creative, exciting, motivating, enthusiastic. It is even harder to be a good teacher as I begin my lesson, " Today, we will be covering Persuasive Text of the H.S.P.A" I say with obvious dread. The kids look back at me with glassy eyes. I understand them and refuse to get mad. Today I am not doing what I love, I am doing what I am suppose to . So I try my best to gather patience and strength.

In one of my classes, instead of taking a practice test, we ended up talking about what persuasive texts we encounter in real life, not on a test. The discussion lead to everything from PETA to abortions to republicans to vegetarians and credit cards. The kids woke up, well sort of, they actually just slowly emerged from their standardized test-induced coma. I really think they learned more in that discussion than from the entire month of "HSPA Blitz".

On Thursday instead of practicing open-ended question we will be debating topics like the Octomom, obsession with celebrity gossip, and other controversies that are bound to get them fired up. Maybe there is a way to teach even test prep in a manner that connects to students through an authentic and relevant learning experience. Maybe there is hope after all.

Next week I'll send them off with a blessing to do well as they sit in a room for almost 10 hours. I hope that some of them will still like learning after that.

Comment to Kati on EWEG (problems)

Kati,
I really like your idea about updating and aligning curriculum to create flow. I also like the idea of purchasing technology such as smart boards and new calculators. I wonder how you would get the students to the mathematics breakfast club? Do we have enough money to also provide extra transportation?

Budget from EWEG Grant

Title I: $45,000

-reevaluation and rewriting of the middle school math curriculum to more closely align it with state standards.
- designing a summer math program for students to prevent summer learning loss
- updating materials: textbooks, calculators
- technology: purchase of smart-boards, computers etc.
- establishing/maintaining a free tutoring center.

Title IIa: $38,000
- relevant professional development focusing on most effective math practices and
use of newly available technology
- establishment of peer-coaching groups led by master –teachers to exchange techniques and strategies.
- workshops on creating successful inclusion classrooms to ensure raising test scores of special education students
- Achieve 100% highly qualified staff

Title III: $12,000
- updating ESL curriculum to include interdisciplinary concepts such as mathematical terms and word problems.
- updating materials: dictionaries, teaching materials
- hiring ESL teacher to run weekly workshops for ELL students focusing on math

Title IV: $3500
- assemblies that will focus on motivational speakers with personal experiences.
- Establishment of an after school club that focuses on an anti-drug message through work with community.

Title V: $7200
- establishing a reward program to raise teacher motivation and morale.
- establishing a student reward program for academic achievement.
- any needed technology, textbooks, teacher materials
- pep rally before the standardized test to raise motivation

Pink: A Whole New Mind

I agree with Pink; the Conceptual Age is truly upon us. However, we must not forget the left side that has gotten us this far. Again, balance is key. Although minor, it is a pleasure to see the Visual Prompt added to the Language Arts portion of the H.S.P.A. While a small step, it is in the right direction.

Letter to Dr. Hirsch: Week 3

Dear Dr. Hirsch,

Your many laudable accomplishments no doubt make you an expert in your field. As a fellow pedagogue, I am delighted to see that we both share a passion for literature, so much that we have devoted out professional lives to it. No doubt you have been inspired by Wordsworth, Shelly, and Keats as much as I have; yet I find it equally hard to imagine that a right brain man like yourself would truly believe that our educational goal is to force facts on our students.

I cannot reject your entire theory; students undeniably need to know core knowledge in order to then generalize it and apply to real-life situations. For instance, I understand that knowing the definition of “metaphor” is an important step to extrapolating metaphors from text. Nevertheless, I believe that creating an original metaphor is the ultimate learning tool. How can we take that away from our students? Like many of your critics, I too feel that “because a child's experience cannot be assumed by a teacher, teaching must allow for hearing and seeing -- for listening to and interacting with the child”(Feinburg 1). While your ideas seem to over-simplify educational goals, you also ignore the myriad of reliable research which has formed our policies up to this point. Your theories lack essential components which foster curiosity, promote experience, and create motivation for our students.

I have a proposal which I believe will further enlighten the weaknesses of your ideas. You speak of creating socioeconomic and racial equality in our schools through uniform content knowledge, so I propose that you test out your theory in a low socioeconomic, urban environment. Try to implement repeated practice and memorization as your founding elements of instruction. It would be difficult to imagine what would happen to student motivation and classroom management as a result. How will you connect you instruction to students’ previous experiences? How will your students benefit from memorizing terms and facts such as “abominable snowman”, “absolute zero”, “absenteeism”, etc.? I can hear the questions now, “Why do we have to know this?” and unless you can provide a meaningful answer, you will loose your students.

Is our educational system ideal? No, but to revert to the basics of feeding facts and expecting a result is archaic and obsolete. Unfortunately, life is not a game of Trivial Pursuit and our successes are not measured through an engaging conversation about Lincoln. I respect the dedication you have put into your work, but even you at times must admit that all you have accomplished has not been merely through a memorization of facts.

Respectfully,
Alla

The Saber-Tooth Curriculum : Week 3

1. Should education be based on disseminated the important skills needed by society in the present and for the future?
I think the word “based” scares me. Should skills necessary to thrive in our society be included in all areas of education? Absolutely! Should the curriculum be based on those skills alone? I have to disagree. We have to strive to provide our students with skills that will not only help them get and then keep a job; we must also instill a sense of human decency, compassion, acceptance, respect, and global awareness.

2. Should curriculum change reflect the common goals of the community in enabling its members to function as citizens?

Creating a meaningful curriculum should undoubtedly include shared goals of the community. However, as in the “Saber-tooth” community, these vital decisions seem to often be made by outdated wise men whose ideas are rooted in obsolete theory and practice. So the answer is yes, changes in the curriculum should reflect needs of the community, yet these changes must be made with foresight and input from a variety of sources.

3. Should curriculum focus on skills or content knowledge as its primary focus?

I absolutely believe that between the two, skills should be the primary focus of curriculum. As an English teacher, with skills as an emphasis, I can have flexibility in my approach to teaching these skills. Although I would love to cover many great short stories, poems, a few more novels, and plays, I put my selfish needs aside, as I think of my students in the real world. As a result, I realize that knowing the basic plot of Hamlet will not help them as much as being able to interpret text, extrapolate meaning, and express themselves through writing. Although skills should be the focus, the content must be congruent to these skills. After all, in order to teach essential skills, students must be motivated by the content.


P.S I really enjoyed reading "The Saber-Tooth Curriculum"! Besides being clever, it is a perfectly simple reflection on our faulty education system.

Try and hang the English teacher

I thinks it's especially funny that the English teacher is a bottom-heavy, old woman.

This I Believe: Week 2 Post 2

Students often come up to my desk and ask me “is that cho moms in the picture?” They are referring to the picture of me and my mentor, Dr. Kathy Gerard, with whom I had the pleasure of working with during student teaching at University of Delaware ( go Blue Hens!!). “No, that’s the person who inspired me to be the teacher I am today” I simply tell them. She made me realize that I am made for this job. She taught me that integrity is one of the core principals of good teaching, that passion is contagious, that students will respond to consistency, humor, and my own humility. She taught me everything from effectively tracking attendance to effectively motivating a student recently transferred from a juvenile detention center. (He became inspired by Atticus Finch from To Kill A Mockingbird).

She did all this with tremendous natural wisdom and grace; I was thankful, but didn’t realize how much she would influence my professional life. Over the past four years of teaching I have combined her ideals with some of my own. This I believe: every student can learn and be motivated and sometimes the means may be outside the constraints of standards. I believe that in addition to content, we teach our students how to live, think, dream, accomplish, respect, and fight for what they believe. I get chills every time I see a face look at mine with a true hunger for knowledge and appreciation for learning. (wish I could see that more frequently). I believe that I can always be a better teacher and I believe that I can unlearn whatever holds me back.

I was discussing this poem with a wonderful colleague and wanted to share it with you. (format is way off)




What Teachers Make, orObjection Overruled, orIf things don't work out, you can always go to law school
By Taylor Mali
He says the problem with teachers is, "What's a kid going to learn from someone who decided his best option in life was to become a teacher?" He reminds the other dinner guests that it's true what they say about teachers: Those who can, do; those who can't, teach.

I decide to bite my tongue instead of his and resist the temptation to remind the other dinner guests that it's also true what they say about lawyers.
Because we're eating, after all, and this is polite company.

"I mean, you¹re a teacher, Taylor," he says. "Be honest. What do you make?"
And I wish he hadn't done that (asked me to be honest) because, you see, I have a policy about honesty and ass-kicking: if you ask for it, I have to let you have it.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could. I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional medal of honor and an A- feel like a slap in the face. How dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best.

I make kids sit through 40 minutes of study hall in absolute silence. No, you may not work in groups. No, you may not ask a question. Why won't I let you get a drink of water? Because you're not thirsty, you're bored, that's why.

I make parents tremble in fear when I call home: I hope I haven't called at a bad time, I just wanted to talk to you about something Billy said today. Billy said, "Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don't you?" And it was the noblest act of courage I have ever seen.
I make parents see their children for who they are and what they can be.

You want to know what I make?

I make kids wonder, I make them question. I make them criticize. I make them apologize and mean it. I make them write, write, write. And then I make them read. I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful over and over and over again until they will never misspell either one of those words again. I make them show all their work in math. And hide it on their final drafts in English. I make them understand that if you got this (brains) then you follow this (heart) and if someone ever tries to judge you by what you make, you give them this (the finger).

Let me break it down for you, so you know what I say is true: I make a goddamn difference! What about you?

Curriculum and Standards: Week 2 Part II

Do you see the standards and laws as a shackle or a benefit for schools? How about your particular school?
It is difficult to call curriculum standards and laws a shackle; however, it is just as difficult to truly see them as a benefit. I cannot imagine a system which gives the teacher complete freedom of curriculum, and with that, I see standards as a pathway to teacher accountability, an attempt to create equality between school districts, a tool for focus and consistency, and a promise of accommodations for various learners. On the other hand, I have found that standards at times hamper creativity and leave little room for truly significant learning, the kind that goes beyond strong learning verbs. Can we ever find a balance, while keeping our students’ interests in mind? Can we create standards that value true learning experiences and not hollow test-taking skills?
I often find myself thinking about the standards that I get to highlight on my weekly lesson plans. Besides the mind-numbing H.S.P.A prep that we have in the month of February, I never felt shackled by standard 3.4 or felt that standard 3.2 disallowed me from truly engaging my students in creative writing. For the most part, my passion and enthusiasm have been my standards. When planning lessons, I think about the learning goal: why am I teaching this? How can I make this relevant? What is the most interesting way to present this to my students? Although the standards seem to take the back seat, inadvertently, they are always addressed.


In general, do you think most teachers adhere to the standards, or create an individual curriculum package particular to their setting? If your thought is the latter, is there a need then for standards?
I think that there are three types of teachers; those that play by the rules or standards in this case, those who step outside the lines to explore more creative ways of teaching, and those that ignore the standards much like they ignore the immense influence they have on the development of our students. Although I think standards are absolutely necessary, I believe that teachers should be trusted as professionals to reasonably step outside those standards.
During my first year of teaching, I had an experience that highlighted some drawbacks of standards and curriculum. I was informed on my first day that if I taught anything that wasn’t in the curriculum, I could technically be held responsible. Then came time to rewrite the curriculum, this is where I lost some faith in the educational system and perhaps some of naiveté. After getting a new addition of the Language Arts textbook, we got together in teams arranged by grade to literally copy the new material into the old curriculum. Incredulously, I realized that there is a tremendous rift between what the curriculum and standards are ideally designed for and how they function in the reality of a school setting. Much like the previous question, I believe there must be a balance between giving teachers meaningful direction while simultaneously trusting their professional judgment.


Several national and education organizations have taken on the voluntary challenge of creating educational standards or guidelines to be used on a national level. They are not mandatory but highly recommended. Take a look at them. Should we have national standards rather than state standards?
Unfortunately, I have become slightly pessimistic about school reform. I think too many times it takes the form of a nervous administration trying to reach an empty benchmark. I would like to see a set of national standards that truly create equality in our schools while leaving room for meaningful teaching and assessment. While researching this topic I came across an insightful article: http://www.nyssba.org/clientuploads/forecast%20pdf/forecast0607.pdf One idea truly resonated as I read: by instituting national standards are we again trying to create “one-size-fits-all” mentality? By taking away control from local level, can we truly take into account the myriad of communities across this nation? This challenging undertaking is commendable, yet the insurmountable variables may be too many to address; can our test-subjects endure another experiment?

A Big CURR530 Welcome!

Hello All,
To my Bloomfield colleagues, don't be alarmed, I am using this blog for a hybrid course at Montclair State. Although this may get a bit confusing, I am sure that some of these posts will intertwine with the topics that we have or will discuss.

Since I am a vivid dreamer, I am sure the anxiety of taking my first hybrid course will produce dreams filled with blinking password screens, never-ending website addresses, and a computer screen that devourers me like a flesh-eating zombie. Naturally, I figured this would be a good time to complete my first assignment.

I am an English teacher at Bloomfield High School, and I absolutely love what I do (almost every day). My passion for teaching has so far dictated my goal for the future: supervisor of a small Language Arts department with a light teaching load. However, for a someone who planned to be a surgeon, a psychologist, and became a teacher, I cannot count anything out.

I was born and raised in Kiev, Ukraine, and came to U.S in 1992, living the American dream ever since, thanks to my mother and father: my role models, my heroes, my inspiration.
Although a bit timid, I am looking forward to being challenged by this class, after all....*insert an inspirational quote about facing challenges here.*

*Next goal: learn how to format posts. Picture: La Romana, Dominican Republic, one of my favorite places