Visitation at Arts High School

I went to visit Arts High School on Friday, December 7. It was nice being in math classroom. There were two classes, an SAT junior class and a math applications senior class. The students in both classes did not listen to the teacher and were very noisy. They were also being disrespectful to each other and the teacher. This kids had difficulty with math and understanding some of the concepts they had to learn. The teacher was very nice and I liked her a lot. If I had to spend the day at Arts High School again, I would want to spend the day with her. I got to interact with the students and help them with the questions that the teacher assigned to them. I enjoyed interacting with the students and I learned a lot from them. There were two computers in the room and they worked very slow. The students did not have any type of textbooks except for the math applications class. However, their textbook remained in the classroom. The teacher mostly used worksheets to teach lessons. In addition, she had students go up to the board and do problems from the tests and homework to make the students feel confident in doing math problems. Arts High School was different from when I went for the orientation. When I went for the orientation it was more quiet and the students seemed well behaved. Then when I was there on Friday, the students were being disrespectful to each other, cursing in the hallways, and some did not even care that they were in school. I also got to go to a meeting for all math and English teachers. The meeting was about how teachers should be making their tests look like what is going to be on standardized tests and the HSPA. It was a very interesting meeting because the teachers were complaining about the students how they are being disrespectful and showing up late to class. The teachers said that some students come an hour late to school and they do not care at all.

Abbott v. Burke

Abbott versuses Burke dealt with predominately low-income and minority students and youngsters attend public schools and preschools in 31 poor urban communities across New Jersey. In the landmark Abbott IV (1997) and Abbott V (1998) rulings, the New Jersey Supreme Court ordered a set of education programs and reforms widely recognized to be the most fair and just in the nation. There are seven Abbott cases that went to the Supreme Court.

The framework that Abbott v Burke formed is rigorous content standards-based education, supported by per-pupil funding equal to spending in successful suburban schools. Universal, well-planned and high quality preschool education for all three- and four-year olds. Supplemental programs to address student and school needs attributed to high-poverty, including intensive early literacy, small class size and social and health services. New and rehabilitated facilities to adequately house all programs, relieve overcrowding, and eliminate health and safety violations. School and district reforms to improve curriculum and instruction, and for effective and efficient use of funds to enable students to achieve state standards. State accountability for effective and timely implementation, and to ensure progress in improving student achievement.

The goal of the Abbott programs and reforms goal is to give every child the opportunity to attain "his or her own place as a contributing member in society with the ability to compete with other citizens and to succeed in the economy." Education Law Center continues to advocate for improvements in student achievement by working to hold the State, districts and schools accountable for effective implementation of the Abbott programs and reforms.

No Child Left Behind Reading

The purpose of the No Child Left Behind is to examine the academic progress of students and the preformance of schools and their districts. Students in the 3rd to 8th grade get standard testing by the state every school year. If a school or district fails, then they have to suffer the consequences. This allows a parent to move their child to a school that shows progress and the schools that failed has to pay for the transportation. Teachers are rated twice a year by the state to make sure they are teaching the cirrulum the way the state wants them to. Teachers wrote down accommodations and as long as the objectives were included, a teacher had fulfilled the requirements to be rated proficient. The biggest test was in April and to prepare for this test there would be monthly tests that helped students prepare for it. When April came, students taking the tests were treated to breakfast every day, given snacks throughout the day, and offered activities instead of instruction in the afternoon. Special needs students were accommodated by one or two teachers' aides that were not called out of the session for any reason. There is so much emphasis is placed on testing, the focus of education is lost. Children wouldn't so much be taught to learn as they would be taught to pass a test. Also teachers would not be caled teachers anymore but rather testers. Stergios Botzakis engaged his students in small group activities and discussions. He told his students that the standardize tests were not the end for them, but they had to take these tests becuase it is used as gatekeepers for higher education. It is relevant for students to be vigilant and critical about the world that they are situated in. The point of education is to create environments where all children can experience the power of their own ideas.

Arts High School Orientation

I thought that the high school was really nice. It seemed like I high school that I would want to attend. All the teachers were really nice and so were the students. I enjoyed seeing the artwork throughout the school. These kids are extremely talented. I also enjoyed seeing the dance room and the broadcasting room. Our tour guide was really nice and a lot of fun to talk with. I would like to teach at the Arts High School one day because it makes you feel like your welcomed into the school and it is like one big family between the students and teachers.

When we were observing the main quad for class, there were a lot of observations that I made. Some of the observations were assumptions based on what I saw. For example, there was someone that looked like they were doing homework, which was an assumption. That someone could have been doing something else. This will help me out in answering my iquiry project because when I observe I learn more about my surroundings and what is going on. Even though I make assumptions, the assumptions help me know what students and teachers might be thinking. You should collect as much information as you can. Getting a lot of information helps you describe the surrounding of a classroom. For example, you want to write down how the students face the teacher, how the desks are set up in the classroom, are there any posters hanging up on the walls of the classroom, and so on. You also want to write down conversations among students and students with their teachers. Writing down information of how the students dress is also good because you see the difference between students who dress differently.

Walter Parker Reading

Walter Parker feels that there are to many citizens that have idiocy. He feels that the public schools should educate students not to become idiots. People do not want someone who is an idiot and uncapable to run their government in their country. We need to teach democracy in our classrooms and educate our students to the fullest extent. There are three ways that we can accomplish this, Parker states.
1. We need to increase the variety and frequency of interaction between students who are culturally, linguistically, and racially different from one another.
2. Organize contacts to foster knowledgeable public talk about common problems.
3. Clarify the distinction between consideration and nonsense and between open and closed reflection. We should expect, teach, use words, and model competent.

What role do the states and the feds have in shaping public education?

The state and federal government both have important roles in shaping public education. The state funds the schools while the federal government decides the students that can attend public schools to get an education. Even though both forms of government shape public education, the state government has more to do with shaping public education.
The state government teaches their citizens intellectual instruction and moral discipline. The state needs to enlighten the minds of their citizens, purify their hearts, and teach them their rights and obligations. The state needs to do this because the state wants educated citizens and not idiot citizens who are uneducated. The state government supports public schools and wants the students to get a good education. In addition, the state government made a law in the 1880s and 1890s that demanded that only English should be used in the classroom. However, this caused a huge controversy within the states especially in Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Illinois. The Germans pressed for bilingual schools in some of the cities, and in other cities, they simply wanted the study of the language as a special subject. For instance, the state laws in Wisconsin said that class was to be taught in English. However, a county superintendent said in his annual report that it was better to look the other way when he found out that some public school classes were taught in German.
The federal government shaped public education in many ways. “From the start, Congress used the national domain to support common schools. The Ordinance of 1785 declared that ‘there shall be reserved the lot No. 16, of every township, for the maintenance of public schools, within the said township.’”[1] The federal government shaped public education by reserving land so that schools could be built to educate the citizens of the United States. The federal government helped give the common school a continental reach. In addition, during the 1920s, a federal law passed that said English must used in the classrooms and not any other language. Later on, the federal government required patriotic exercises in the classroom such as the Pledge of Allegiance. The federal government wanted students to become democratic and have respect for the country that the students live in. They also passed and enforced strong essential attendance laws.
In conclusion, the state and federal government shaped schools into what the schools are today. Both the state and federal government are involved with the school system today. However, the federal government is still trying to shape the schools by becoming more involved with public schools since they are less involved. While the state is constantly being involved with the public school system, because the state wants to shape the school system so that every student gets a good education.
[1] Tyak, D. (2003). Seeking Common Ground: Public Schools in a Diverse Society. Cambridge: Harvard.