Passion Counts: The “I Love” Admissions Essay

• Passion Counts: The “I Love” Admissions Essay
• Rethinking Schools - by Linda Christensen – Fall 2016
• Article Link

• Title: What's a great piece of advice for teachers?
• Source/Author/Date: Justin Franco, Nov. 4, 2016


• 
  
  Key Points: This article is a great reminder to think of our students as people and not test scores or grades. When we think we can't possibly take one more minute of the "craziness", stop and remember they are just kids and we are the adults.
  Relevance: This article has relevance because it addresses students from all backgrounds and mentions the challenges are middle school students are faced with.

URL: www.quora.com/what's-a-great-piece-of-advice for-teachers/answer/Justin- Franco

What's a great piece of advice for teachers?

Justin Franco, Teacher of things, learner of stuff, Nov. 4, 2016

This is my “Focus Brick” in my classroom:

It’s in the top-center of my back wall so it faces me while I’m teaching. It’s just a regular old brick with the letters “TJK” written in washable marker. There’s not much to it, but it's an incredibly effective tool for me because it's a constant reminder of something I frequently forget:

They're Just Kids.

I teach middle school (ages 11–14 in the U.S.), and those students can be just…miserable at times. They're going through difficult physical and emotional changes. They're struggling with creating a personal identity. Many of them are just beginning to realize the significance of their problems at home: strained relationships, financial hardship, abuse and neglect.

This hellish cocktail of hormones and identity confusion causes them to be absolutely insufferable at times. They can be rude, combative, insensitive, disrespectful, ignorant, lazy, and just about every other negative adjective you’d associate with the angst-ridden depths of modern puberty.

Without a constant reminder of the rough developmental stage they’re experiencing, it can be easy for me to take their words and actions personally.

They don’t mean it personally, and even the ones who want to personally attack you don’t really understand what they’re doing. Many of them have very little subconscious control over their thoughts, and any child development expert will tell you these kids don’t yet have the brain development or emotional awareness to genuinely evaluate the consequences of their actions before they act. So remind yourself:

They're Just Kids.

They’re not test scores.

They’re not machines.

They’re not adults.

We can’t treat them like test scores. We can’t expect them to perform like machines. And—as much as we want to at times—we can’t expect them to act like adults.

So in those moments—usually at the end of the day—when I’ve been beaten down by the ceaseless onslaught of bureaucratic idiocy that is the American education system; and half the class hasn’t even looked at the assigned reading from the night before; and three kids are sleeping—two because they were up too late playing Destiny and one because he was taking care of his infant brother while his single-parent mom was working her second job; and one girl keeps chanting “this class is sooooo stupid” while the girl behind her braids her hair; and two boys are chasing a girl around the room while waving a dead bug in a tissue at her; and two others are playing games on their phones; all while I’m trying to discuss the finer points of standard ELACC8L5.a…

…in those moments, I need to hold back from raging at these unwitting victims of pubescent insanity, so instead I take a deep breath, stare at my Focus Brick, and remind myself:

They're Just Kids.

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• Title: What's a great piece of advice for teachers?
• Source/Author/Date:
• 
  

  Justin Franco, Teacher of things, learner of stuff, Nov. 4, 201 Key Points: This article is a great reminder to think of our students as people and not test scores or grades. When we think we can't possibly take one more minute of the "craziness", stop and remember they are just kids and we are the adults.
  Relevance: This article has relevance because it addresses students from all backgrounds and mentions the challenges are middle school students are faced with.

What's a great piece of advice for teachers?

Justin Franco, Teacher of things, learner of stuff

Written 24d ago · Upvoted by Anne W Zahra, M.Ed. Language Teaching

This is my “Focus Brick” in my classroom:

It’s in the top-center of my back wall so it faces me while I’m teaching. It’s just a regular old brick with the letters “TJK” written in washable marker. There’s not much to it, but it's an incredibly effective tool for me because it's a constant reminder of something I frequently forget:

They're Just Kids.

I teach middle school (ages 11–14 in the U.S.), and those students can be just…miserable at times. They're going through difficult physical and emotional changes. They're struggling with creating a personal identity. Many of them are just beginning to realize the significance of their problems at home: strained relationships, financial hardship, abuse and neglect.

Corporal punishment still allowed in 15 states??

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/corporal-punishment_us_58337528e4b030997bc0efad?section=us_education

It is absolutely insane that there are still 15 states in our contry that allow corporal punishment.  Not only that, but there are seven additional states that don't "prohibit it".  Our education system in the United States is certainly not top notch in comparison to other countries, and it's reasons like this why. The article addresses a letter that was sent by the Obama administration, specifically by Secretary of Education, John King Jr., requesting (and giving reasons why) that school officers and governors should eliminate the practice in ALL states.  Not only is it obsurd that the practice is something that even still takes place, but African American children (male and female) are victims of physical discipline more frequently than white students - so are students with disabilities.  This adds yet another layer of sadness to this issue.  My hope is that this letter will prompt change in our education system and society as a whole.  So many students need their classroom and school to be a safe, consistent place for them that they may not have outside of school walls.  The thought of students coming to school in fear of their teachers, peers, and other adults is sickening to me.

Sir Kenneth Robinson: How to Escape Education's Death Valley

         

How to Escape Education's Death Valley 
Sir Kenneth Robinson

April 2013

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_how_to_escape_education_s_death_valley

Key Points:

1.       Education in the US is based on conformity rather than the reality of diversity. Sir Kenneth highlights the point that students suffer from “childhood”. He says that children prosper when a curriculum touches and accesses their interest and curiosity. His point that, if you sit a child down and expect them to do 6 hours of office scribing, you get wiggly children is so evident in today's schools. I believe that this is more relevant now than it ever was. With drop-out rates at an all-time high in many areas, we need to be finding ways to excite the interests of students, encouraging them to explore and expand their interests rather than just having them become pencil pushers in classrooms.

Graduation Rates for Students with Disabilities on the Rise

Graduation Rates for Students with Disabilities on the Rise

By Christina Samuels on March 23, 2015 5:11 PM

Audience: Educators, Parents

Key Points:

Graduation Rates for Students with Disabilities on the Rise. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act allows students with disabilities to stay in school at least until age 21, or longer if state laws allow making it difficult to compare one state's graduation rate to another.  States have different definitions for what a "regular high school diploma" is for a students with a disability.

Relevance:
The U.S. Department of Education broke out four-year graduation rates for different student subgroups as of the 2012-13 school year. Even within standardization, there is variability, different definitions in diplomas and student with a disability are just two factors.  

Data Overview: Students With Disabilities, In School and Work - Education Week

Data Overview: Students With Disabilities, In School and Work - Education Week

Published Online: May 29, 2015

Published in Print: June 5, 2015, as Students With Disabilities, In School and Work
Audience: Educators, Parents, policy makers

Key Points:

Nearly 6 million students with disabilities attend public schools in the United States. The Education Week Research Center compiled data from the U.S. Department of Education in order to shed light on the high school achievement and post-high-school outcomes of students with special needs. 

Relevance:

Compiled data from the US Dept. of Education shows the results and highlights key patterns regarding the educational status of students with disabilities. There has been gains on math and reading tests but the gap still remains.  Data on High School outcomes, graduation rates and type of diploma are shown as are the rates that young adults with disabilities have been employed, participated in job training, or attended a postsecondary school following high school.