Smart Kids

Elementary school is a big step, especially getting ready for middle school. For example, if one is bitter towards someone, meaning jealous or angry, then their middle school years won’t go very well. They will go through being angry and it will make them focus on less important things rather than their studies or sports. Similar to the boy in “The Jacket” by “Gary Soto,” he goes through his life being jealous of kids that are happy or have good relationships and new clothes. The boy does not like the jacket his mother got him and, does not appreciate it enough, even though it gets the job done. In other words, one does not get what they always want, one has to appreciate what they get, this supports the overarching theme and is represented by the symbolism, the setting, and the metaphors.

In chapter 19 the author mentions Anne Fox Elementary School, a school in Chicago that goes from having a very poor academic performance in the entire school district of 21 other schools to becoming the second highest academically performing school in just a matter of few years. Anne Fox Elementary School is a great example of the magic that can take place when adults really see the full potential in children and take responsibility in making sure that the children's needs are met in terms of academics. Anne Fox Elementary School shows what can really take place when adults truly believe the idea that every child can succeed. By looking at where they were going wrong and targeting those problem areas Anne Fox Elementary School, created a timely, and organized way to make sure the meet their goals. From changing the false belief of I can’t to I can the elementary school really turned

Additionally, Albert Einstein once said, “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” There are different forms of intelligence that go beyond what our school system measures. Students are not a unit to be measured, and students cannot be assigned a numerical value to identify their intelligence. Students are diverse—they learn at different speeds, and they learn in different ways. Focusing solely on test scores is hurting our students and deviating away from building our society on success and excellence. Critics are slowly realizing the problems associated with standardized tests—they create anxiety, they are extremely biased, and they do not measure the ability to think deeply.

Summary excerpt called “Why School” written by Mike Rose. In this story, Rose explains a specific situation that happens between two friends. School is not for everybody, but it does help even those who have a disability or a hard time comprehending information. In this excerpt, Rose writes about one person’s point of view and their experience in the situation. Anthony, Rose’s friend, has brain damage from a childhood accident that has slowed him down from excelling in his education, but not from wanting to learn. Anthony is enrolled into a community college, and a basic skills program. He can barely read or write, but he is a very smart guy, and not being able to read or right did not stop him form getting an education. A lot of Anthony’s knowledge comes from everyday things, like listening to the radio, and watching television. Here is a rundown on what is going on in the situation. This is a summary of what happens in the story (320).

Most of the teachers in the book don’t care what is going on with Jodee. After she is attacked by a boy a teacher see and she want the boy to get in trouble. The teacher says “If I give him detention, you’re going to be labeled a tattletale. In the real world, we must learn to fight are own battles” (Blanco 70). The bulling got even worse because she could not tell the teacher. When you get bullied you can get sick. “Your daughter is experiencing stress-related symptoms. That is one of the reasons she is so often” (Blanco 82). When you do not speak up it only gets worse. “[The football team] began shoving fistfuls of snow in my mouth. I couldn’t breathe” (Blanco 119). When Jodee goes to high school she learns that not everyone gets to go to prom. “The prom committee has said that special ed seniors could not attend” (Blanco 148). Most teacher do not care for the special ed. “It is next door to the rubber room, you know, where the mentals are” (Blanco 156). This teacher does not care for the special ed, all he cares about is how his students think about him. In Greece, most restaurants are small and do not have menus. “I ask him for a menu. He smiles we do not have menus [you will have to go to the kitchen to see what is being made]” (Blanco 180). Jodee and her family go to the back to see what is being made then they are

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.

Everyone is intelligence, it is just that some people have different strengths when it comes to applying that intelligence whether it be in english, math, or even sports. In the essay “Hidden Intelligence” by Gerald Graff, the author argues that there are different types of intelligences besides what is commonly known as academic intelligence, one of which he calls “street smarts,” and that schools are missing the opportunity to use these types of intelligence and integrate them into academics. While Graff does make some valid points about the types of intelligence and how it can be used to help students become better, there are flaws in his argument.

Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligence’s (MI theory) is a valuable resource for teachers, if they understood how they could apply this in the classroom (Snowman & McCown, 2012). In this class, there are multiple intelligences observed amongst the students; however, there is minimal differentiated instruction to allow the students the best opportunities for success. It is critical that teachers understand that their teaching methods may not be wrong, but they

That is one reason why students who are labeled as “geeks or nerds” do good in school and student who are labeled as “street smarts” do worse in school. The students who are labeled as street smarts struggle in school because what is being taught is not something they can relate to or find interest in. Those students who struggle in school are not “stupid” or “lazy” they have a form of intellectualism that need to be developed.  Students can’t be judged because they are having trouble  succeeding in school when it's the school's fault for not trying to reach the students who are labeled as street smart just the ones who are labeled as “geeks” or “nerd”.

America is a country that currently spends more money on public education per student than any other nation in the world; nevertheless, these good intensions have achieved only slight positive outcomes. For instance, in PISA (Programme for International Student Assessment), an authoritative test used to measure the education levels of students from 53 countries, American students ranked 12th in reading, 17th in science, and 26th in math. No doubt, a question like this one has been argued for decades “ what exactly is happening in foreign countries that allows them to out-pass America in terms of academics?” The Smartest Kids in the World: And How They Got That Way is an illuminating book by Amanda

My final book review discussion was about the book The Smartest Kids in the World and How They Got That Way by Amanda Ripley. I found this book extremely engaging. The author did an amazing job of presenting her information by engrossing the reader into the story. This style gave a clear understanding of the “how” and not just the “why”. During this discussion, we talked about the fundamental differences about how the different countries styles were different than our own, and why they seemed to be more successful. I was enthralled by how prestigious the teaching profession was in Korea and Finland. One teacher in Korea made four million dollars for his services in one year. In Finland, acceptance into teacher programs in colleges is exceptionally

Knowledge isn’t all about what people know or how well they are in school. IQ tests test the intelligence of the person; however they test the pure thinking capacity rather than what people know. This means that intelligence comes from the entire cognitive thinking ability and not what they

The story takes place in the year 632 After Ford, the era that is being used in the book. The era began on the moment that the first Ford Model T was built. In the first chapter the Director of the London Centre for Culture and Conditioning is giving the freshmen a tour around the centre and explains how people are being produced. This is done by removing an egg from a female and fertilizing them in a test tube. By adding certain substances, it is possible to determine to which class the person will belong. This may differ from alpha (smart) to epsilon (stupid). Another element in the process is the conditioning of the children at a young age. They get to hear bands during their sleep which confirms that their class is the best and that their

Lynda Barry's writing demonstrates to the reader that schools are more than just institutions that provide learning spaces. Ideally, every kid in a classroom should be living a happy life outside of school. But in reality, this is seldom the case, and some kids are living a rough time at home. Family values are fundamental to a kids' development, yet every day it seems families get disoriented with disputes life troughs in their paths. Forgetting of what truly is important. The school is like a second home to some kids. Barry's essay demonstrates this by explaining the effect school had on her. As a result, she sees the janitor in which she is delighted to see and quickly sparks a smile on her face. Another example is when she sees her teacher Mrs.LeSane and goes up to her and cries. Finally, the last case is the therapeutic value of art Mrs.Lesane believed on.

Through out the movie you see difficulties that the students are trying to finally fit to be part of the system but they still may not be accepted because of their classes. With low achieving school, have a suspicious amount of high test scores the reliability and dependability are questioned. Conflict theory is used that the struggle in society and schools between the haves and have nots. For example, not funding for computer, not having computers, no air conditioning for summer and less opportunities for students in general. The school is portrayed as a place where students do not want to be or care about being in school. The staff don’t care about the students especially they gave up on them. There is a quote that I got from the movie, that Mr. Escalante was asking the math department for calculus