What have I received from all of this

How do you summarize and very intense class into a blog entry. We learning so much about everything that you can expect to hear about regarding urban education, funding, safety, dropout rates, federal and state policy, presidential actions, history and I know there is so much more that I am not even remembering right at this moment. 

So what have I learned, what do I hope to accomplish....I know I want to work in an urban school am I scared yeah of course. I don't want to burn out or loose hope and I have no idea what to expert because no matter how you prepare with volunteer work, urban education classes, case studies, stories, books, and even student teaching nothing gets you in store expect for when its your time and your classroom. 

I do truly believe that we really do need to look in our own back yard in this country and fix some of the many things that are so wrong. An its unfortunate because the general public has no idea how much of education and its policies fall to the way side so quickly when budgets get screwed. Older generations have no trouble complaining about my generation and the ones after me yet how are we supposed to fix ourselves and our generation if we cant even offer the basic education everyone deserves? And I found similar things in my research...people find it very easy to complain but when it comes to getting things done it hardly happens. Finger pointing is easy, finding the problems is easy, and coming up with hypothetical situations to band aid things - easy, actual reform, policy and implementation - no so friggin easy! We need to help these at risk students now more than ever because the problem isn't getting better its getting worse and I really truly believe it has to do with knowledge. So many people within the system don't even know the resources available to them and the system itself is complety backwards and sends people into a cycle that makes any ones head spin. 

Something has to be done. I don't know how I am going to do it or what I even want to do in terms of the big picture right at this moment I do know that I will start in my classroom which I hope will be in an Abbott/Urban district. It really is all about choice and knowledge and as corny and cliche as this sounds knowledge is power and however I have to reach my kids I will find a way. I am totally terrified and sometimes get scared and wonder if I can do it because I have never done anything so important to myself and to other before now.....thanks for reading

The Green, continued (my new fascination)

So I have become fascinated and obsessed with Cabrini green while reading this book "Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way".

I have been researching anything and everything I can get my hand on, Documentaries on the history channel, book review, pictures, editorials, old news segments, and an amazingly large amount of video on YouTube. I know why am I surprised YouTube has anything and everything on it at all times. I am still succumbing to the fascination regarding that whole YouTube phenomenon. I must say, that the amount of independent video and snip-its of film are on there and I searched and watched for hours and I have to say I felt so many things on the spectrum of feelings I don't even know where to begin. 

I tried to upload a few of the videos on the blog however my attempts were not so successfull so I will provide the URLs at the end of this blog so if you are interested any of you can just click and watch. It is quite interesting.

I am going to see my father in Chicago next weekend and asked him if we could go to Cabrini Green, I don't know how he feels about that but I have shared the book with him and he seems somewhat intrigued. I havent been back there in years so I am curious to see what been done and what is left since demolition began a few years ago. Although they are only tearing down the large high rise buildings and leaving the row houses that were built during WWII (that I don't understand)

URLs:

Wikipedia Entry (some goof info)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabrini_Green,_Chicago

YouTube videos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTgzKqBILpM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir-J-9DIR70

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlTfR74Xk2M

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-r28CzjWwx0&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o80wKKJI6uc&feature=related

Cabrini Green

Above are pictures of the Cabrini Green area of downtown Chicago. Currently I am reading a book called "Spectacular Things Happen Along the Way" that is about students attending the Carr Academy in Cabrini Green. Writen by the teacher of room 405, he helps these students explore what it is they want to fix about their communities and their lives. It was this approach that the students becqame involved in making a change in addition to getting them excited about learning and doing school work. 

The title of the book is truly an indication of the great story within the pages. For a hopeful and inspirational story about the hope of young students and education please take a look at this book. you will love it.

School financing

So where to begin....all of this research I have been doing on school funding in suburban and urban school districts has lead me to think a lot of new things on policy and funding for schools. From what I have come to understand from materials I have read and lectures in class, all school funding that districts receive come from property taxes that are collected annually for properties in the towns both residential and commercial. When a district is poverty stricken many properties are abandoned therefore no taxes are collected on these properties since there are no owners. When businesses leave the people leave the areas they reside in and follow the jobs, therefore areas become slowly run down and one circumstance exacerbates another causing a catch 22. 

When districts in the state of New Jersey are classified as poverty stricken (more than 30 districts out of the 670) they receive more state and federal funding in order to compensate for the lack of revenue that property taxes would create. 

Since the case of Abbott v. Burke was brought before NJ Supreme Court in 1981 it has been appealed by the board of education and the state 18 times, with decisions in favor of Abbott every time, until now.  

So since the state has found a new formula that works to provide the funding needed for all districts what is going to happen when the funding comes up short. 

Is there a way to create a new policy that funds schools taking money from more areas than only property taxes?

A new devlopment in Abbott school districts

I have been out of the loop this last week busy with the usual life responsibilities and in the news last week was something quite big in the education world. Really long story short, the NJ Supreme Court made a new ruling in the precedental case of Abbott v. Burke. It was overturned. For those of you reading this who are not familiar with this court case let me spare you the long story and endless internet research and summarize it for you.

In short the case was originally brought before the NJ Courts in 1981 in response to lack of equal funding distribution between poor school districts and wealthy school districts. In response to the court case (which has had 18 additional proceedings/arguments in front of the state Supreme Court) the NJBOE was found "guilty" of not addressing this issue which goes against the states constitution entitling all children to a thorough and equal education. 

This new decision is not good in the least. The Governor of NJ claims to have been working with the NJBOE (New Jersey Board of Education) and consultants since 2006 to develop a more effective and financially responsible school funding budget formula. This case has caused great movements in the education world for almost 30 years and provided a stepping stone for other states and school districts to fight for the right of their students who have been and are currently still in similar circumstances with their own school districts. This case was used as precedent for other states to make the same arguments in their own cases against boards of education. Basically the funding fomrula has changed dramtically. I have been reading the Formula for Success: All Children All Communities (the title if this new formula budget formula. Apparently new research shows that 49% of all students come from low income families do not live in these designated Abbott districts. So, in response to the ever growing needs of students and updating schools and unpredictable budget objectives for each district,  the state decided to find a more equitable way to distribute the funds evenly among all districts. However, this is still harmful to those 51% living in the Abbott districts. Funding is being cut dramatically and the revenue from city and town property taxes will not cover the gaps.  I haven't read the entire document and maybe things will be worked out. The state is required to provide continuing information to the Courts in order to justify this drastic change in this policy for the next 3 years. But will the damage be so great from the next 3 years that all the progress made with these school districts in the last 10 years could be lost? Maybe that statement is too dramatic, maybe it will work. I hope!

Please visit the links below regarding this new development in Abbott District funding:

http://edlawcenter.org/ELCPublic/elcnews_090608_TractenbergOpEd.htm

Above is the link to editorial response of one of the founders of the Education Law Center, which was one of the pioneers in the case brought against the New Jersey board of Education

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/nyregion/new-jersey/15abbottnj.html?scp=3&sq=Abbott%20New%20Jersey&st=cs

The above link direct you to the NYTimes response to the states revisit to the Abbott court case.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/29/education/29abbott.html?scp=5&sq=Abbott%20New%20Jersey&st=cse

This link is from last weeks paper after the decision in the new court ruling was made. 

Has culture shaped my identity as a teacher

In the Merriam Webster dictionary one of the definitions for culture is:

• The integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations
  
• The customary beliefs , social forms, and material traits of racial, religious, or social group; also: the characteristics features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time i.e. popular culture; southern culture
• The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization
• The set of values, conventions, or social practices associated with a particular field, activity or societal characteristic
  

I want to focus on the second definition given. 

I want to pref ice my blog with saying that this is yet another aspect of life that I never really examined and its relationship to how a teacher conducts him or herself in education students.

As we all know how we are raised helps to build the foundation of our beliefs as we grow up. Eventually, as we all grow older, we build our own beliefs and ideas from life experiences. 

How was I raised? What values were instilled in me? Did my family value education and hard work? Did religion play a factor in my upbringing? School, family gatherings, holidays, friends, where I went to school, the television I watched and the books I read....it all played a part in the formation of who I was and have become in my life. 

I grew up most of my life in northern New Jersey attending private schools in my elementary and junior high years. I remember my school was full of children from affluent families composed primarily of white children. there was only one African American boy in my grade and one Indian girl. I was never exposed to anything non-traditional or outside of the box. My teachers were are older females who remained at this same school for more than a decade and were probably educators longer than that. Their lesson plans and teaching styles were stale and tedious. Few interesting things happened when we were learning in school. The traditional read from your text book & answer the questions at the end of the chapter routine with much busy work during the day, nothing really interesting...maybe that is why my memories of elementary school are few and far between. 

The truth is that I feel like I didn't have much culture at all growing up and that the culture I have now came through the experiences I have had as I have gotten older and made my own explorations and inquiries into anything that strikes my fancy.  I know that I am deciding my own religion as I go along reading about many and keeping my mind open. I know that I am always doing my best to be open to the lives and cultures of others because it can add to our own experiences and thoughts. I do think my culture is still being formed as I grow and move into this next chapter of my life. I believe that I will learn a lot from my students over the next few years and take bits and pieces of their cultures along with me. Maybe the reason I have never defined myself as belonging or participating in a certain culture is due to the fact that all along I have been creating my own. Something to think about.

Standardized Testing and the Bush Family

in class Rebbecca was discussing how the bush family has been on the board of directors from the McHill publishing company which is one of the creators and distributors out of the 4 existing companies to develop standardized tests that are now a requirement of the no child left behind act which was signed into law under the first year of the bush presidency. i am sorry but isn't that coincidental. i am not one for conspiracy theories yet i will be open to listening to the ideas of others as i should be yet it just seems like more and more inept unqualified people step into positions of power and on so many occasions hidden agendas are in their back pockets.