Talking points Kliewer

1.) "Anne, who, ...had been left out of her high scool transition planning conference. In this meeting, her committee had decided that Anee, who has down syndrome, would become a preschool aide. Anne did not particularly care for young children..."

I feel like anyone in the world would think "of course you should ask what placement Anne would like to have." It seems elementary. Often it is quicker and easier for people to make decisions themselves. I imagine that's why they wouldn't have involved her. But of course it was wrong. So why does it happen? I think it is because no body is paying enough attention to know that it is happening. IF Anne wasn't your daughter or friend how else would you know? That is another reason why we need democracy in schools. If Anne was firmly rooted within a community the group would ban together to keep her best interest in mind.

2.)"Gardner(1991) answers his own questions by suggesting, as did Dewey, that schools must first recognize themselves into locations where the three r's are posed as "problems, challenges, projects, and opportunities."

I chose to write on this quote because I don't want to forget it. It is not as emotion evoking as some of the other quotes, but rather a very useful "nut and bolt" of education. It is interesting that this article lists math and linguistics as the two fields where one's intelligence is measured. This is especially ironic when you think about how rote and thoughtless math can often be taught as. We don't teach how to thin our ways out of problems, we teach how to follow the directions to get out of problems. So if math measures intelligence and math is simply following the directions then intelligence is just following directions... right?!

3.)"The presumed defectiveness exists not as an intrinsic commodity of the child who thoughts fail to fit within a perceived static border of normality."

I like this statement because it embodies all that is unable to be bottled. We cannot neatly package intelligence, spirit, and normality into a neat little scale which we can measure against. Everyday a person is different. Everyday a person has experiences, becomes older and grows. Nobody can live the same day twice. But tests are tests are tests. They don't account evolution, revolutions, transience, love, empowerment, curiosity, development, community, friendship or anything else human. They are rigid, made up and arbitrary. Which is more important, the test or the child?

I really like this reading because it let me see things through someone else's eyes. I don't know if I would have seen Isaac for the literary and dramatic master that he was. It was nice to have someone break down curious behaviors into enjoyable quirks rather than devastating dysfunctions.

Talking points Shor

1. ""If I were a primary-grade teacher, I would devote my time to problems of socialization. The most important thing children learn is not the three r's. It's socialization." Meir 1990"

This is the meat and potatoes of education we never seem to get to. Why not have a skit where one student gets kurt with another? Then allow different students to chime in to do a redo using kinder language or more appropriate ways of understanding. I often feel that adults don't know how to communicate properly. It is a skill we need to teach and don't. Why at no point in our entire lives do we learn how to deal with one and other in a very proactive, productive and real way? Just like we never teach how to nuture, parent or care. We are also never taught actual nutrition. "Eat lots of veggies" but never why. Did you know the beta carotine, which is also called vitamin A, is in carrots. It helps you see at night! I'm not talking a science unit that brushes on nutrition to introduce kids to chemistry. I'm talking about actually teaching the kids something that is highly applicable. Socialization is the same. When we watched the "It's elementary" video we saw that first hand. Give children a context to discuss social issues, give them the vocabulary to do it, trust they can form opinions, and show them how to be open and considerate.

2.) "The affective atmosphere of a participatory classroom also aims for a productive relationship between patience and impatience."

Again, we all know taking care of children creates moments where you just thin "enough already!". I'm happy Shore explains the need for both as a healthy balance between democracy and efficiency. The kids must have time to think through things but an agenda must be followed in order to get somewhere. Again, the actual and functional meta-cognition is wonderful. In 2011 every establishment I know has been well established for hundreds of years. So why is it so seldom do we hear concrete ideas of how to lead a room of small children. Yes, I know I should save the world but at the same time, that is pretty vague. Any good educator is constantly self checking but if there's no rubric than what are you checking against. This way you can say "do I have a balance between patience and impatience" That is a little more concrete than "Am I doing the right thing?"

3.) "In no society is knowledge a neutral terrain."

I like this quote because for me it really sums up what is wonderful about where we live. We are all encouraged to gain knowledge and power. This is not true in many parts of the world. It is a good reminder not to take that for granted. It is also, essentially our jobs. To offer knowledge to small people in accessible forms. Through that knowledge we empower. Through that empowerment we better their lives.

All in all this reading was wonderful. I wish we had read it a bit earlier in the semester to have exhausted it's potential more. It really is a bible to any caring and critical thinker. I felt like every line from it was powerful and could be used a a quote. I think I will go back to this reading more than any of the others.