EDUC 2110-Lesson 6:
Alphie Koln
Overview Viewpoint:
Lesson 7 of Education 2110 focuses on a writer named Alphie Koln. His articles involve school education. For this lesson we were to choose 2 different articles from him. After we were to answer the following questions to both articles. Mainly the questions that are asked is to see if we shared the same viewpoints as Alphie Koln. This lesson gives you more of a greater idea on how you want to be in your classroom.
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Question #1
Why did you select this article to read? In other words, what compelled you to read this article?
What to Look for in a Classroom
By Alfie Kohn
I was curious to know what he was going to say. When I visit classrooms I always look at every detail on how a teacher has their rooms. Mostly because I want to have a nice room that students will feel comfortable in. I wanted to know how in what ways will the way the classroom looks effects the students. This article compelled me to want to read it because classrooms are where the student gets most of their education from so what’s in it is very important. I also wanted to know what the cons of having some of these things were.
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Question #2
Describe the primary points that were made by the author.
The way a classroom is set up can really help a student learn. Around the school should look nice. The school should be well organized and have an appealing atmosphere. Staff and teachers should also be very welcoming. The teacher shouldn’t sound controlling but should sound nice and genuine. This causes for students not to like their teachers if their over controlling to them. It’s good to have stuff on the walls. It’s good to get the students involved with it and put their work on the walls and it doesn’t even have to be the best of the best work but more diverse.
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Question #3
Indicate if you agree or disagree with the author's points. Why or why not?
I have to agree with some of the points that the author made. The way the classroom is actually set up can help a student learn. It’s good for the student to be in a comfortable environment. When a student is comfortable it makes them want to learn and it motivates them. The article also talked about other areas other than the classroom. It also important for the whole school to look good so it gives a good feeling to be there. It has to be appealing and make the students want to come there. This article also talked about the way the teacher should also act towards the students. How they should be welcoming, I wouldn’t want to make the student feel unwelcomed.
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Summary
The way the school and classroom is very important. It can help a student feel more comfortable in wanting to learn. Also it’s important for them to feel safe. The author listed some really good signs and good ideas to worry about. The teachers and staff also play in big roll on the students and guest feeling welcomed.
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Research Question
What things make students feel unsafe in a school or not want to be their?
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2005-08-16-school-safety_x.htm
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Research analysis
There are a lot of things that can contribute to a student not wanting to go to school or not feeling safe. A lot of times students feel unsafe because of bullying. When students get bullied and feel like their teachers aren’t doing anything to protect them it makes them not want to come to school. Often this leads to students making bad grades and having bad attendance. Other things can also be the cause like what the students see like many school fights or riots. When school fights happen students can start to feel unsafe. If there is many a student can start to feel that the staff and teachers aren’t doing much to protect students.
The environment plays a big role. A school has to be supportive of their students. A school should also be inviting for guest and students. When teachers teach poorly it can also make a student not want to come to school. A lot of times a student depends on the teacher and when they feel like the student isn’t there for them they also sometimes stops listening to them. Drugs have also been a big problem. Many students are also bringing weapons to school or storing them in their cars causing students to feel unsafe.
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Question #1
Why did you select this article to read? In other words, what compelled you to read this article?
The Case Against Grades
By Alfie Kohn
It sounded interesting to me. Grades determine a lot of things in school and I was curious to know a lot more about it. I was also curious to know what Alfie Kohn had to say about it also. There are some people who feel like grades mean nothing when it comes to schooling. I feel like grades actually mean a lot that’s why it compelled me to want to read the article.
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Question #2
Describe the primary points that were made by the author.
Grades might not reflect a student’s performance. To most students grades mean everything to them. A student will do anything to keep from getting a bad grade. Most time a student focuses more on getting that good grade then learning something. They focus on the achievement and not getting and keeping the information that they learn. It takes away their interest of actually learning something. Grades also tend to motivate students. It gives them the desire to want good grades.
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Question #3
Indicate if you agree or disagree with the author's points. Why or why not?
I have to agree with his points. Back in high school I really only focused on getting good grades and not actually on the material. Of course in my family if you got good grades then you get money so of course I was going to do anything just to get the money. So I have to admit that grades didn’t reflect my performance. Although I made good grades after a couple days of a test I took I wouldn’t remember half of it.
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Summary
Grades create an inadequate method on if a student is learning something or not. Grades also don’t prepare students for the future or real world problems. Students are more worried about just getting the good grade and not actually learning it for future purposes. Good grades are kind of like a bribe. Through elementary school to high school you learn that you have to get good grades. So it becomes a natural thing to just to goal for good grades and that’s it. Students may actually learn better when they aren’t pressure by grades. Me personally I now actually learn better when being pressured by grades. If I mess up on a grade it makes me want to work extra harder so that the bad grade won’t affect me to hard. Which causes me to learn the material because I’m studying really hard.
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Research Question
Do grades reflect intelligence?
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Research Analysis
People learn in different ways and different patterns. People learn differently like they get test anxiety or panic attack so their grades can’t reflect on them. Most times schools don’t make proper adjustment for students with these problems. Most times they have everyone on the same standard academic grading so they still think they can still do things the way everyone else can. Grades determine your effort it doesn’t really reflect an individual’s intelligence.
Sometimes students also just got lazy. You could probably obtain a lot of things easy and know a lot more than most of your class and still get bad grades. Or they just don’t want to learn because of the teacher. They can still be smart. Grades is also just a good way to see a student’s progress. Grades also just help for motivation. It motivates students to want to do better.