Change/Reform in Education

Use this presentation to guide the creation of your proposal for change.

Writing justifications for TWO sources:

The written justifications for sources of inspiration should address how the ideas and assertions put forth by the given author or speaker inspired and are connected to that point in your presentation. Be as specific as possible, citing information/ideas as directly as possible, and explain fully how this source contributed to the point in your presentation. End your justification with an MLA citation of the source.

Type up these justifications in a google doc to submit through google classroom by Thursday, 3/5.

Here is an example justification from a past student:
Takaharu Tezuku designed a kindergarten in Japan that used this idea in a similar way. With a completely open and unrestricted building, children explore and adventure. In his TED- Talk "The Best Kindergarten You've Ever Seen", Tezuku explains the benefits of this fluid system. He says that because of the noisy environment, "these children show amazing concentration in class". Tezuku also says that children benefit from their exploring and lack-of-control through adventure and resiliency. Although these aspects might only partially apply to high school students, one proponent of this system did. Tezuku said that this lack of control "makes them learn how to live in this world". This idea is directly applicable to any fluid class system. Through it, the students would be better equipped to take on the challenges the world presents to them, especially college!

Tezuka, Takaharu. "The Best Kindergarten You've Ever Seen." TED. April 2015. Lecture. https://www.ted.com/talks/takaharu_tezuka_the_best_kindergarten_you_ve_ever_seen/up-next.

Mentor text

Read this piece and consider the ways that this applies to your own views on education.
Write in response to these connections, and also describe how these ideas connect to one of the ideas presented by one of your authors in the articles you read.

Emerson Application Activity due Wednesday, 2/18

Please complete THIS APPLICATION ACTIVITY with Emerson's "Education" piece for next Wednesday.

Agenda for today (in my absence)

Welcome to class today!
Please submit your synthesis essays either on google classroom (if typed-- submit plan on paper to the inbox) or to the inbox if handwritten, with the plan stapled to the back.

You have this full class period to read in your reading book.  
You may also spend some time researching the credibility of the author(s) of book one, and learn more about his/her motives in writing this book and if this book is part of a larger continuing body of research or part of a larger story; consider how what you learn about his/her credibility affects your reading interpretations

Tomorrow, we will take the quiz on sentence placement; this site has some good review exercises.

Synthesis Essay on the Role of Education in a Democracy

Please use this class period to begin planning your synthesis essay using THIS PROMPT.
You could use the PHONE approach to write this essay, but it is not required that you do so.
After planning, you can go on to drafting the essay.
This essay will be due on Monday, February 10th, and should be TYPED and submitted on google classroom.

Mentor Text Study

Read this poem by John Donne:

“No Man Is An Island”—by John Donne

No man is an island,
Entire of itself,
Every man is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thy friend's
Or of thine own were:
Any man's death diminishes me,
Because I am involved in mankind,
And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls;
It tolls for thee. 

Then, respond in one of the following ways:
Personal—Respond to the ideas and main message set forth in this text.  Examine how it applies to your life and your own understanding and beliefs.

Creative—Choose a line or phrase from the text to develop into your own writing.  You could make this an opening or closing line in your own writing, or begin your own story based off the line or the ideas within this text.

Extension—Look up the phrase “for whom the bell tolls” and you will find a book by Ernest Hemingway of the same title, as well as a song by Metallica.  Read more about the book or listen to the song, and explore in your writing how it connects to this text by John Donne and if you might want to explore the writings of Hemingway or the songs of Metallica further from this short introduction.

"What Kind of Citizens Do We Need?" by Joel Westheimer

Read and take notes on the ideas given about links between education and citizenship in THIS ARTICLE.
Feel free to also use this printer-friendly format for this reading.



IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES

Fill out this doc responding to various quotations of importance you pulled from the article.

Here is a link to the quotations of importance I found while reading... feel free to use these or compare them to your own chosen quotes.