Blog Post Reflection 8

On the organizational website, www.cec.sped.org, there was a blog that discussed International Day of Persons with Disabilities. December 3 is the annual observance of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities that was established by the International Year for Disabled Persons 1981. In recognition of this important day, President Obama issued a proclamation that officially makes December 3 as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities in the United States. The goal and purpose for this day is to promote a better understanding of disability issues, the rights of persons with disabilities, and the advantages of incorporating people with disabilities into the political, economic, social, and cultural life of their community. International Day of Persons with Disabilities also recognized the millions of individuals who work daily with children and youth with disabilities. I am going to continue to visit this website regularly to keep up with the policies that effect children with disabilities.

Blog Post Reflection 7

There was an interesting newspaper article from the NY Times I found on http://www.ncte.org/ that questions the correlation between report cards, semester grades and state subject exams with knowing who the smart students are in school. The superintendent, David Krenz, and the principal, Katie Berglund, at Ellis Middle School in Austin, Minnesota investigated the large discrepancy between semester grades and end-of-the year exam grades. They came to the conclusion that many teachers were grading students for compliance and not only mastery of course material. According to Ms. Burgland, A and B students were not gaining the most knowledge but had learned how to do school the best. Over parent protests, teachers at Ellis, tried out a new standards-based grading system. Reports cards will have a “knowledge grade” for subject mastery and a “life skills” grade for work habits, attitude, and citizenship. Some parents welcomed the new grading system because it discourages and minimizes favoritism. After reading this article, I plan to educate myself more on the debate between grading for being prepared and a good school citizen versus grading exclusively for subject mastery.

Blog Post Reflection 6

At www.fno.org, I found an article in the educational technology journal that discusses why we still need libraries and librarians. According to the article, libraries and librarians are needed now more than ever due to the literacy challenges facing schools today. Many reports have declared a national crisis in reading comprehension. Unfortunately, many schools have diverted from working on comprehension and thinking skills to focus on laptops, whiteboards, and social networking which the article refers to as “edutainment”. Due to the new information landscape and technology, teacher librarians need to embrace these new challenges. Since many schools are pressured to go digital, a librarian can help balance that by collecting and displaying resources that appeal to the students, such as historical artifacts. During this decade of NCLB, librarians can help teachers with student performance on comprehension questions that rely on inference and synthesis. As a result of reading this article, I am interested in investigating the current status of librarians in Valley schools.