Unjust Generalization of the Urban School System

I’m appalled and irate after reading Mr. Haberman opinions on urban education system in his article “Unemployment Training.” Mr. Haberman makes bold statements about the urban education system without providing any genuine facts or evidence to his theories. Mr. Haberman states that “Schools promulgate the ideology (sliding through the school system) because it is easier to accede to students’ street values than it is to try to change them.” School system doesn’t promulgate the theory of minimal work and nowness but it’s the community, family structure and income, and the government. Through out the article Mr. Haberman fails to include any sense of responsibility from the community or the parents. He doesn’t mention the lack of funding from the government, and the social dynamics of the urban city. Most of the students in the urban society come from a single parents home in which their income will be far less from the average median family household income. In some cases students during their crucial years of learning and growing are malnourished and deprived of family stability. Education system doesn’t run on one wheel but in essence it’s a product of society, family, economy and the government. Mr. Haberman fails to realize the importance of government and community in the school system. He fails to realize that teachers in the urban environment have far less resources and assistance than the suburban environment. Mr. Haberman notices that students aren’t taking the books homes but he doesn’t notice that urban schools don’t have enough funding to provide books for all of the students. Students have to share books and other material in order to get the same education. How can you expect to get equal education and results without having equal amount of resources? How can you just blame the education system without observing all the aspects of the education system? Mr. Haberman talks about teaching mutual cooperation in order to teach students nonviolent options to their problems. Isn’t cooperation necessary from the community, government, and family life important in order to improve the education system? In order to improve the education system the society has whole needs to work together instead of playing the blame game like Mr. Haberman.

Inclusion of Science in the Elementary and Middle Schools

During this week at my internship at Glastonbury High School I discovered the in depth inclusion of science into the course curriculum at the elementary and middle schools level. I want to be a secondary education teacher focusing on biology and general science. Most of my experience has been at the high school level. I haven’t had a chance to observe an elementary teacher carrying out a lesson plan dealing with science. So I was kind of blown back when I saw the state’s science content curriculum for the elementary schools. I had no idea that the elementary teachers covered so many different aspects of science. I’m currently working with the Head of the Science Department to incorporate use of alternative source of energy in the science curriculum. The Glastonbury High School has solar panels in order decrease the energy consumption and the cost of electricity. Mr. Mayer (Head of the Science Department) wants to incorporate the data from the solar panels into the science curriculum. I had a chance to look at the science curriculum for K through 8 grades in detail so that I can make lesson plan that would include the data from the solar panels into the science curriculum. For example there is a unit in the third grade that concentrates on identification of renewable and nonrenewable energy resources. In the fourth grade there is unit that covers the topic that energy can be transferred or transformed. I am just surprised that the elementary teachers have to teach various different aspects of science in just one grade. I am just used to teaching different aspects of biology to the high school students. The elementary school teachers have to teach little bit of physics, biology, earth science and chemistry. I was just surprised that the elementary school teachers had to cover so many different topics of science in their curriculum.

I also discovered that the science curriculum will grow in the upcoming years at the elementary and the middle school levels. The last year was the first year that the State of Connecticut gave out a science CAPT test to the fifth grade students. Most of the students in the Glastonbury District did very well on the test. However, there were some students that were not able to pass the test. Glastonbury district is going to focus more on the science education this year in order the increase their school ranking and student comprehension of the science content in the elementary schools. I feel that because of the CAPT test all of the elementary schools are going to focus more on science education. Science will become a much more important component of elementary school education.