Can You Teach Chemistry in a Juvenile Detention Center?

June 15, 2008 at 11:59 pm | In Content Area Literacy, Technology, literacy | 3 Comments
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Authored by Rachel Gee
(Each student in GMST 525 has written their own post for our class blog.)

Last year, a weeklong conference on “Teaching Math and Science in an Urban Setting” impressed upon me not only the tremendous need for teachers in city schools, but also the stunning possibility of physical danger. “Why not teach at Industry?” a friend asked me. (Industry is a juvenile detention center located in sourthern Monroe county.) “There are multiple ‘sentries’ in every classroom. You’d be a lot safer.” A seed was planted.

The seed has grown—especially when I read articles like the editorial in last week’s Democrat and Chronicle, “Invisible Learning Disabilities Visibly Scar Youths” that as many as 80 percent of jailed juveniles have learning disabilities. Or another perhaps not-so-suprising statistic, in Marylou Streznewski’s Gifted Grown-Ups that gifted people (i.e. with IQs over 130) form a “disproportionately larger portion of the prison population, perhaps as much as 20%. This is in contrast to the 3-5% of the general public who are gifted” (p. 164).

I have felt a strong pull to help these children, but what teaching strategies could I employ to make a difference?

This semester’s MST Literacy class has gone a long way to answer many of the questions I’ve had about how to raise interest in my content area (chemistry, math) by the extensive toolbox of reading and writing strategies I now have at my use. But lingering questions remain:

  • How can I ‘build community’ in a classroom where more than half the students are members of opposing gangs?
  • How can I make use of the extensive Web 2.0 tools on the internet, when NY State controls/limits Internet access to students and forbids email accounts?
  • How can I teach chemistry when lab exercises seem all but impossible because of prohibited use of chemicals and most supplies?

Literacy Education for Students with Disabilities

June 15, 2008 at 10:14 pm | In Technology, literacy | Leave a Comment

Authored by Aleya Shehata
(Each student in GMST 525 has written their own post for our class blog.)

All types of literacy are crucial for the intellectual development of any student in any classroom. Since all students are different, it is of utmost importance to differentiate what we teach to our students. Technology is a great tool to teach and motivate students, but can the technology serve as a handicap to students who have disabilities? In this article, the author discusses reading for visually impaired students and their use of Braille in the classroom. How can students use the Internet, iPods, phones, etc, if they are visually impaired? As the article asks, do you think a separate curriculum is necessary? How do we modify our lessons and effectively use these tools in order to address each students’ needs?

Never too Late to Learn

June 15, 2008 at 9:59 pm | In uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Authored by Jason Yockel
(Each student in GMST 525 has written their own post for our class blog.)

On Thursday during my free period, I saw a book sitting on the bookshelf (Do you think this is a subtle hint that administration encourages reading amongst us teachers?) in the staff lounge. It was entitled Expecting the Unexpected – Teaching Myself and Others to Read and Write by Donald Murray. It was kind of in rough shape. The cover was torn and there looked to be coffee stains all over it. However, because of this class, the title caught my attention. I flipped open to a page and read this:

It took me a long time to learn how not to teach, how to keep from interfering with their education, to follow instead of lead. I behaved as teachers were supposed to behave, and that made me a good one. When I finally taught myself to relax and learn with the class, to deal in questions rather than answer, listening instead of talking, I confused many of my students. They expected to be taught. I expected them to learn. (p. 128 )

Students expect to be taught. They wait for direction. They are passive. The problem is that we as teachers are no longer the sole authorities on content or of knowledge in the classroom. However, we can be authorities of learning. Learning is seeking, attempting, failing, reflecting, succeeding, practice. It is a constant circle of metacognition. What if we really engaged and taught kids these things in the context of their own interests? And, what if we visibly modeled that process for them? Reflected on our own successes and failures? Shared our own strategies? What if teachers were learners first?

The book goes on to say:

As I learned to teach, they began to unlearn what they had been taught in other classes and began to make use of the room I gave them. I learned how to allow them to learn and they did. (p.129)

This is an important swing in how we see our relationships with our students. Murray figured it out 15 years ago, but I think its all the more significant now.

Technology or Bust

June 15, 2008 at 9:37 pm | In uncategorized | 2 Comments

Post authored by Shaun McBride
(Each student in GMST 525 has written their own post for our class blog.)

One quote that really grabbed my attention was in the article Learning 2.0: Built for the Next Generation where Jim Ericson writes,

Technology has become an integral part of the way our society thinks and functions. In order to succeed in this Web-focused world, students need constant exposure to new technologies.

Ericson bases his quote on the importance of Web 2.0 and its learning tools. However, that got me thinking that if you see it all the time in job descriptions you must be familiar with this and that in order to be even considered for the job. It is obvious that in today’s world, being technology literate is extremely helpful and could put you at a competitive advantage over someone you’re competing with. The job to teach this technology that everyone seems to need to know will be a big question going into the future.

As teachers, our job is preparing students for life and the ability to learn throughout it. How to prepare them the right way is the biggest question. Do you believe that teachers are not doing their jobs correctly if they do not use modern technology in their classrooms like Jim Ericson states? Or do you believe as long as the students learn math in a math class or science in a science class, the teacher has done their job no matter how they taught it?

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