Mike Rose's Curriculum

Rose writes about his high school educational experiences after he is inadvertently placed in vocational education when the results from his placement tests are confused with another student named Rose. Vocational education is a "euphemism for the bottom level." Rose went to school at a time when tracking, or sorting students by the results of placement tests was common in public education. Rose recounts his experiences in vocational education in order to elaborate on the problems of such system. The author calls the vocational track "a place for those who are just not making it, a dumping ground for the disaffected." To further aggravate Rose's situation his parents lack the capacity or understanding of the educational system in order to question his inappropriate placement. "How would someone like Tommy Rose, with his two years of Italian schooling, know what to ask? And what sort of pressure could an exhausted waitress apply? The error went undetected, and I remained in the vocational track for two years." However the most significant issue raised

Jack was always the family football star, but he was also the family member with the most heart issues; as early on as 16. It was rumored that Jack had a heart murmur, which would end his football career. William, knowing the importance of his brother’s favorite sport, agreed to take the physical for Jack when he was 15. No one knew the Moroski boys by face that weren’t on campus staff, and the doctor running the physicals was a traveling physician. Without question, William was written in as “Moroski, Jack” and Jack lead his team to the victory that took the state championship in the name of the Bears. But baseball wasn’t the only thing William dedicated himself to. Not surprisingly, he also took his schoolwork very seriously. Not as seriously, however, as Ms. Cleo Woods, his 11th grade English Teacher. She was the “ My way or the Highway” Type, the highway being staying after school until the work was done as Ms. Wood instructed. Many people have a least favorite subject, whether it be due to confusion or a slew of poor administrator relationships, and thanks to Ms. Wood, English is now defined as Bill’s least favorite subject, even as he rounds his 87th birthday.

Mike Rose has a long list of acclimations and credentials. He is a publisher, a professor, and “has won awards from the National Academy of Education, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.” The fact that he is a successful writer and teacher, and clearly has experience in the education system greatly increases his credibility. From the small background section on Rose in the beginning, the reader knows that the author is qualified to state his claim on this subject, because he is a well educated and well respected man. This is made even more clear through his writing. The premise of Rose’s essay is delivered as a narrative. This is his most fundamental approach in developing his claim. In his essay, he is essentially addressing two audiences; directly addressing those who have experienced the vocational track, and informing those who have not. He is able to relate to both audiences because he was placed into and “remained in the vocational track for two years,” and then was later recommended to “begin his junior year in the College Prep program.” His first hand experience in each educational program

During my observations, it is clear that Ms. Minor prepares well thought out lesson plans for her third grade students. Lesson reflect both the state adopted curriculum and the instructional needs of the students she serves. She prepares lessons that increase student engagement. Ms. Minor’s lesson also incorporates culturally responsive strategies. Her selection of instructional resources demonstrates an understanding of the diverse

Within college classes, the teachers and students have the ability to talk more about controversial topics that are not allowed within the high school classes. Parents understand that when their children go to college, they will be exposed to more topics that they have yet to hear about. Parents do not expect the same from a high school classroom. Lake Braddock English departments officials sent a letter to Murphy stating that “society must address troubles the world faces” (The Washington Post - Shapiro). The letter also mentioned that, “ reading and studying books that expose us, imaginatively and safely, to that trouble steels our souls to pull us through our own hard times and leads us to a greater empathy for the plight of our fellow human beings” (The Washington Post - Shapiro).

At first, the second chapter is definitely more clearly than the previous one. Actually, the author still keep jumping from a person to another, from this situation to other situation, but those are perfectly connected together. For instance, the way Mike Rose describes his home, his life makes me feel like I was in his situation, so I can fully comprehend Mike Rose’s feelings at that time, especially when he lost his dad. However, the things that he meets Mr. MacFarland and opens the new page of his life which is able to keep studying in College is really satisfied myself, Mike Rose totally deserves that, he was a brilliant boy and never gives up to anything. In closing, for me, the two sentences that fully express the whole chapter are “It’s

There were many diverse aspects to this book. Most of this book is a recall from either the main character, or one of his students. This book is intended to open people’s eyes to see that in order to change the world we must first change ourselves. Being able to go through this story and see the mistakes, and the good decisions, teachers in Michie’s life have made, has taught me that the best way to teach is through love, justice, cultural empathy and imagination. Some of the points brought up in this book include the positive and negative sides of physical contact with a student, classification/stereotyping, race, gangs, police brutality/lack of justice, and children not being able to escape peer pressure.

Educational Systems Need Change In the anthology Identity a Reader for Writers by John Scenters- Zapico, Cathy Davidson, in her writing “Project Classroom Makeover”, discusses how the educational system needs a big upgrade. She also talks about how so many people in today’s society seem so disinterested in school. Davidson uses rhetorical devices such as ethos, pathos, and logos to get her message across to the intended audience of teachers, that the way schools are teaching needs to change.

We offer a wide variety of courses constructed within a self-paced curriculum and implemented by a staff highly trained in diverse teaching methods. Bridge Builder Academy students benefit from visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and other teaching methods and curriculum that are often absent in public school settings, as teachers adapt course materials and instructional techniques based on each student’s needs. Courses focus on specific content using a variety of resources: the University of Nebraska High School curriculum for many of the high school students, Real Science 4 Kids and Exploring the Building Blocks of Science by Dr. Rebecca W. Keller, Self Paced History and Story of the World by Susan Wise Bauer (Volumes 1-4), Life of Fred, Saxon, Shiller, Singapore, Touch Math, The Institute for Excellence in Writing, Winston Grammar, Visualizing and Verbalizing by Linda Mood Bell, High Noon Reafers, Zane Bloser Spelling, Zane Bloser Read for Real comprehension series, Touch Phonics, Wordly Wise Vocabulary, Sonlight Curriculum. These are just a few of the resources that the Bridge Builder Academy teachers use to differentiate the curriculum to meet the unique needs of the

I am aware that there are better and worse high schools out there than Fremont High School. And yet, reading Kozol's account of the terrible conditions that are endured by these students made me feel more aware of the severity of improper or inadequate education that poorly funded schools provide. All of these problems, alongside my awareness of my fortunate years of education, make me wonder, just as Mireya did, as to why, "...[students] who need it so much more get so much less?" (Kozol 648). Interestingly, I have little to comment on Kozol's actual writing style, even though he wrote this account of his. I was just so attached to the characters within that school that I wanted to be able to reach out somehow; Kozol definitely achieved something very touching here.

Developing a curriculum is a difficult process, moreso when an educator has to keep in mind the number of students they are trying to reach. At the secondary level, it is not uncommon for a teacher to be responsible for 150 or more students. Each of these students presents a unique and trying task for educators who want to help students learn. Students have different modalities for which they gain knowledge, and it is the teacher’s job to engage those

“I won’t learn from you” is a classic and powerful group of essays written by Herbert Kohl. The first three chapters “I won’t learn from you”, “The tattooed man”, and “Excellence, Equality, and Equity” all explore ideas that students are more in charge of their learning than most individuals believe. With these theories, students and teachers can help improve each other in every way. Kohl writes a variety of humorous stories, lessons on teaching, and inspirations to be a teacher to any child, regardless of their race, gender, religion or abilities. He addresses serious issues in the public school system, such as reforming to the demands of the school district, adapting the curriculum, and the many pressures as an educator. Kohl helps the

Mike Rose is anything but average: he has published poetry, scholarly research, a textbook, and two widely praised books on education in Amer­ica. A professor in the School of Education at UCLA, Rose has won awards from the National Academy of Education, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Below you'll read the story of how this highly successful teacher and writer started high school in the "vocational education" track, learning dead-end skills from teachers who were often underprepared or incompetent. Rose shows that students whom the system has written off can have tremendous unreal­ized potential, and his critique of the school system

Michigan’s students perform near the bottom in national rankings and are on a downward trajectory (Higgins). This is partially a result of curricula throughout the state of Michigan failing to put students in a position to succeed. Many school districts and teachers struggle with developing curricula and lesson plans given time and budget constraints; this is especially prevalent in low-income and minority school districts where teachers are younger and less experienced (French). A prime example of curricula hurting student achievement is a story told at a Michigan ISD assessment and improvement representative meeting of schools “teaching” by having students copy words out of the dictionary as the teacher did not have the skills/capacity/time to create a better lesson. Alarmingly, this type of experience is common as “there’s no support, you’re woefully unprepared, and you’re totally isolated. You’re trying to put these lesson plans together at 10 o’clock at night, and you have to be up at 5 getting prepped. You’re making this curriculum up as you’re going it alone.” (French). All of this in the face of ever changing state standards forcing teachers to constantly change their curricula.

Through the completion of my graduate program in Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment, I have gained an immense amount of knowledge and a plethora of skills which I have used and found valuable in my seventh grade English classroom. My outlook on student learning and my empathy towards students has also been positively affected by the program. These learning opportunities have led me to become a better educator both inside and outside of the classroom.