Response to “Connected: An Autobiography…”

In what way might the film relate to your content area? Give a concrete example.

The film “Connected: An Autobiography…” relates to my content area in many ways, but there is one connection that stands out in particular. In the film, the narrator speaks about how the Internet gives us the ability to connect with other people and when we do that we get a surge of oxytocin, which makes us feel empathetic, think interdependently, and drives us to connect even more with other humans. This medium for which people connect (the internet) relates exactly to school gardens and other outdoor learning environments because these places provide ways for humans to connect with one another and release the same hormones. School and community gardens are a fabulous way to learn not only about how to dig, eat, and be healthy, but more importantly, a way to connect, build, and maintain positive relationships with humans that share a common interest.

What questions does it raise for you?

After viewing the film, I am interested in how long it will take for the world to come to an overwhelming consensus that we are all part of something greater then ourselves. World priorities need to be rearranged and I wonder when we will have a President who will be respected for this view and elected because of it.

How is your content area interconnected with other content areas?

My content area is interconnected with other content areas because math, science, history, and writing can be adapted to include fruits, vegetables, and plants in general. For example, in Kindergarten, if students wanted to grow a plant, they could measure and chart the length the plant grows each day, measure how much water to give the plant each day, write about their observations, learn about the parts of a plant through song and dance, and then take a field trip to the San Francisco Botanical Gardens to view a real greenhouse. Another way to connect content areas to school gardens is to simply take your class outside to the school garden and teach your lesson there. This outdoor learning environment may inspire learners to think differently and become more interested in the lesson.

How does an interdisciplinary lens deepen understanding for a “well-educated person?”

I think an interdisciplinary lens deepens understanding for any type of person, not only well-educated people. When I think about someone who is smart, I believe that they often have a great memory and that they are able to connect information from one part of their memory to another, thus creating a deep understanding of the information. Making these synapses provides insights, allows for prediction, and critical thinking, which deepens understanding for all learners.

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Blog Session 4

1. Disciplinary Lenses

“Disciplines are not collections of certified facts; rather, they are lenses through which we look at the world and interpret it…they orient our attention to specific questions about the world…and provide us with standards for what counts as viable answers to such questions.” (Boiz Mansilla, Gardner and Miller, On Disciplinary and Interdisciplinary Work)

What is one specific way that your content research thus far has caused you to re-think about an idea, or question, or caused you to challenge assumptions that you had previously not considered—or—even pushed you further in your thinking?

I started of my content questions focusing on garden-based nutrition education, specifically looking at whether or not this type of curriculum influenced students’ knowledge and consumption of fruits and vegetables. Because this is a new line of inquiry for researchers, there is limited information out there. This forced me to expand my content questions and line of inquiry to encompass garden-based learning in general. This was interesting because I am now aware of different non-profit organizations in the bay area that connect students’ learning environments with academic standards, specifically science. So, needless to say, diving deep into my topic and then zooming out has provided me with a deeper understanding of my on findings and a more holistic understanding of garden based learning in general.

2. The Death and Life of the Great American School System, Diane Ravitch

How do you think the Common Core Standards might fit in this narrative of school reform?

Common Core standards fit into the narrative of school reform in that they focus on the process instead of just the end result. I think this is a movement away from only assessing answers as right and wrong; allowing room for performance assessment and process driven, discussion centered, approaches to learning.

In Chapter 9, Ravitch says critics argue that schools would improve if unions ceased to exist.

“Let’s start with the hardest question: should teachers’ unions exist? Do the protections they offer their members depress student achievement? Are they an “adult interest group,” as their critics charge, whose priorities conflict with the needs of their students? Would schools improve if there were no unions to represent the teachers?”

What argument does she present based on available research? What do you think?

I go back and forth between the pros and cons of teachers’ unions. In terms of the pros, I feel like teaching is a vey risky job and at any time you may find yourself in a chancy situation. For example, someone may sue you for saying something inappropriate in class, a child might come into your classroom unannounced during a prep, or a student may reach out to give you an unannounced hug. Any of these situations could result in a negative circumstance; therefore I think it is nice to have a union to help one navigate through these potential sticky situations. As for the cons, I don’t like the fact that you have to give dues to the union, the idea of tenure in general, and the fact that by simply becoming a member—they represent you—yet, you may not agree with their opinion and suggestions. Furthermore, I feel that the unions’ special interests may get in the way of progress and reform. Thus far, I don’t feel like the unions have done enough to fight waste and fraud within the system (i.e. the six figure salaries that are allotted to numerous levels of administration within schools).

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The Raising of America

What strikes you as most important in this discussion of the relationship between social policy, child development and later achievement?

What strikes me as important and interesting is that there have been four longitudinal studies researching the relationship between investing money in early childhood development and the positive results associated with the investment, and yet, as a society we have not acted on these understandings. One of the reasons may be because people are completely unaware of the importance of providing safe and interactive environments for young children so that their parents can contribute to the workforce. Personally, I felt completely unaware and rather astonished as I watched the documentary because I did not know about this relationship. I think it would be beneficial to look at those studies myself and perhaps get a different perspective on the situation.

What do you think this perspective adds to the discussion of school reform?

I think that one of the Economists made a really interesting point when he said, “What do we all want for our children? We want them to be happy and healthy and thriving. We want them to be growing and learning and be all they can be. This is a core value that we all share. The problem is, that we don’t all share a commitment to that for everybody’s kids.” Unfortunately, I think that this quote captures one of the problems when it comes to implementing policies that would invest in early childhood development and other public educational institutions that would benefit society. I think that this perspective is a voice of reality when it comes to school reform and that it is essential to view all different perspectives before coming to any conclusions about school reform and investing in early childhood development.

What is one question that these videos raise for you?

After watching this video I am certainly compelled to learn more about early childhood development and the process to create programs that would serve these youngsters. I wonder how much it would cost to begin a program like this in California and if it would be federally controlled or state controlled? Would we be creating another public education system for prenatal to 5 year old children?

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Mind the Gap

1. Chapter one: In recounting her journey through many educational reforms, Diane Ravitch makes a number of provocative statements. Choose two, quote them, and personally respond.

“Testing, I realized with dismay, had become a central preoccupation in the schools and was not just a measure but an end in itself.”

I understand the importance of accountability and testing, but when it is taken to an extreme like NCLB implemented, unintentional negative consequences have emerged. For example, teachers spend weeks preparing their students for these language arts and math basic skills tests, which do not actually test the students knowledge, but more so their ability to take a test. Then, based on those results, schools are either rewarded or penalized. We need to rethink this system and start from an end result. What type of students do we want our education system to produce? Are math and language arts the most important subjects—the only ones that students should be held accountable for? Testing has taken over our schools and it has left teachers feeling frustrated, unable to attain unrealistic goals, and it is making our students dumber. Let’s figure out another, more inclusive, and less intimidating way to hold our schools accountable.

“We must make sure that our schools have a strong, coherent, explicit curriculum that is grounded in the liberal arts and sciences, with plenty of opportunity for children to engage in activities and projects that make learning lively.”

I completely agree with Ravitch here. I believe that liberal arts and science are just as important as math. I feel that during science class students have the opportunity to interact with hands on materials and make their learning more concrete and thus real. Making learning lively is an incredibly important skill for teachers to learn. As a Kindergarten teacher, it is one of the things that I love most about our curriculum. When I talk about this with my friends, most of them reply, saying that they loved all of the hands on learning that took place in Kindergarten and felt like it was “downhill from there.” As teachers, it is our job to make the curriculum come alive, whether that be through small group discussions, performance assessments, or field trips outside. We have an obligation to engage our learners and connect the material to their personal lives—I believe that in those moments is when students really learn.

2. Chapter two: On page 16, Ravitch gives a brief definition of a well-educated person. How would you characterize a well-educated person? What should any well-educated person know in today’s world?

A well-educated person knows how to positively interact and collaborate with others while respecting and listening to their ideas. A well-educated person knows how to trouble shoot, problem solve, and use resources around them to gain understandings and come to conclusions. A well-educated person is well rounded in their subject knowledge and is a life long learner.

In today’s world a well-educated person should know world history, have an understanding of their own personal history, know the basic elements of science, know how to problem solve using math, be able to read and write and express themselves in a coherent and succinct manner, and appreciate and understand music, art, and philosophy.

3. Thinking about the class discussion on the book, what stands out for you? What would you have liked to say that you did not say?

Regarding the book so far, what stands out to me is how many reforms and attempts to “fix” our education system have taken place and either failed like NCLB, or have not gained enough momentum to be put into place. What I take from these various reforms and ideas are that people deeply care about the education of our children. What I also am starting to believe is that these policymakers are rather disconnected from schools, how they function, and what it means to receive a well-rounded education. The status of our schools, because of NCLB, is appalling and puts such a sour taste in my mouth when it comes to policymaking and accountability. I agree with Ravitch, that what we need to be focusing on is rich curriculum based standards and finding another way to hold our students accountable for information that they have learned in ALL subject areas.

4. Choose one gap you listed from your subject area and identify 3 resources: a website, an article, and a book that can help you fill that gap. List these and discuss what you learned from one of these.

Within my subject area that I am exploring (garden-based nutrition education in elementary schools), one gap that I have discovered in my knowledge base is the current status of nutrition education in elementary schools. I found a statistical analysis report, conducted by the federal government, that details nutrition education in K-5 public elementary school classrooms. This report will help me understand how many teachers have had formal nutrition education training, what resources are available for teachers, how many teachers teach lessons regarding nutrition education, and whether they teach it as a separate subject or weave it into other content areas.

Another gap in my content area is how and where garden based nutrition education fits into current content standards. I found a book, published by the government (again), called A Child’s Garden Standards, which links school gardens to California Education Standards for grades two through six. I have learned that this guide bridges the distance between the garden based experience and the standards by linking specific lessons to specific standards in grades two through six.

Last, another gap in my content knowledge was the actual process of planning, preparing, and caring for a school garden. I found two websites that have assisted me in understanding the process. First, Michelle Obama has a great garden checklist that can help a school get started in finding the right spot. http://www.letsmove.gov/school-garden-checklist Second, the University of Califronia Garden Web provides a more detailed process of planning and preparing your own garden. http://ucanr.edu/sites/gardenweb/Vegetables/

5. Your annotations of resources are meant to be both scholarly and brief. Discuss in detail why/how any two of these articles were useful to your topic/question(s). Consider such things as listing specific information you learned that you didn't know before; how this new learning leads to other questions or sources; why this writer was convincing; whether you would seek this writer out for other articles he/she has written, and anything else you'd like to state in a blog that others can learn from and read.

One article that was useful to my topic investigated whether a garden-enhanced nutrition curriculum improved fourth grade school children’s knowledge of nutrition and preference for some vegetables. Specifically, I learned that the curriculum improved students’ preferences for several vegetables. Students only exposed to the nutrition lessons increased preferences for carrots and broccoli. However, students at the garden site also increased their preferences for snow peas and zucchini. This shows that just being exposed to a nutrition education curriculum can affect students’ preferences for vegetables.

Ann Cooper, head of nutrition for Berkeley Unified School District and an outspoken activist for serving fresh and sustainable foods to students, spoke at TED in December 2007. This primary source is incredibly useful in regards to my topic because she outlines who is responsible for the unhealthy school lunches provided to our students across the country and why it is so important that we fix the problem and get it right. She launched the Great American Salad Project (GRASP), which provides fresh salad bars in over 300 schools and also joined Jamie Oliver’s TheLunchBox.org, which gives school the resources to transform their menus and provide healthy meals. Because Ann lives in Berkeley, Ca, I am hoping to contact and possibly get her opinion on a garden based nutrition curriculum.

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Content Knowledge

1. Describe how outside-school experiences have expanded or deepened your subject area content knowledge, and tell how it enhanced or changed your understanding. Include at least one specific experience.

My last student teaching placement was the first time that I had worked in a public elementary school. Yes, I was familiar with the popular spice and sugar infused snacks that students would bring to school to share with their friends. Red Hot Cheetos, Chocolate Milk, and Capri Sun were abundant at my current student teaching placement and in private schools where I had worked in the past. However, what was not abundant was the poor quality lunch provided by the National School Lunch Program, funded by the Federal Government. Looking at my students’ lunch choices every day I couldn’t help but wonder, “What is this made of?” I was puzzled looking at what my five and six year old students were filling up on to get them through the rest of the day. I was also startled by the lunches that my students brought from home. Most of them included neon colored juice, doughnuts, lunchables, bagel bites, fruit roll ups, fried onion rings, and some snacks that I did not even recognize. This made me wonder if my Kindergartners actually knew about real food and where it comes from. In my last four years working in low socioeconomic private and public elementary schools, I have noticed the unhealthy snacks and lunches that are either provided by parents, the federal government, or shared among friends. This made me think—if these students and/or parents knew the ingredients their children were consuming at lunch, whether provided by the NSLP or their local grocery store, and the consequences it may have on their health, would they choose healthier options? Although this is a rather BIG question to answer, I am approaching the problem from another angle. If students are provided with the information in their classrooms regarding healthy food and have the opportunity to interact and investigate real food and where it comes from, would that information empower them and their parents to make healthier choices?

2. Respond to the class discussion of Ball’s “The Subject Matter Preparation of Teachers.” Have your initial judgments or opinions changed based on the discussion?

My initial judgments have not changed drastically after discussing the article in our content groups. There are certain points where I agree with Ball. For example, I think that it is hard for students to zoom out of their education world and dig deep into the content. It is much easier for them to demonstrate and be tested on rudimentary steps in math and then apply that same type of learning to memorizing facts and dates in History. Where I happened to question Ball was when she pointed out that all teachers should or do take liberal arts classes in college. Unfortunately, we were unable to cover this topic in class, so I look forward to finishing up our discussion on Tuesday.

3. Where are you in developing and pursuing a line of inquiry? What is your question? Are you satisfied with your question? At this point, what do you know about the research available in this area? What ideas do you have for possible experiential learning sources?

I am in the early stages of developing a line of inquiry. As of late I have been researching my content question: What is the status of nutrition education in elementary schools? My pedagogical content question is: Can hands on learning though planting, tending, and interacting with school gardens help elementary school children make healthier food choices? I have been categorizing the results of my content question and sorting the research articles into three topics: education, the national school lunch program, and learning through planting school gardens. There is a ton of research in this field right now because there is a huge food reformation occurring in the country and in public education. Michelle Obama is a big proponent of this movement as her “Let’s Move” campaign is the center of her platform. I am not completely satisfied with either my content or pedagogical question, because I think it is possible to easily narrow down my content question to assist in researching my pedagogical one. In terms of experiential learning sources, my classmates have suggested that I reach out to Saint Perpetua Elementary School because they have a huge school garden. Also, Choice Lunch, is a privately run lunch provider who specializes in healthy options. It would be really great to meet them, see who their clientele is, and hear about feedback and recommendations they receive from their customers. I have a lot to do!

4. Express yourself:

 “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” 

― Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto

“Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food.” 
― Michael Pollan

“The single greatest lesson the garden teaches is that our relationship to the planet need not be zero-sum, and that as long as the sun still shines and people still can plan and plant, think and do, we can, if we bother to try, find ways to provide for ourselves without diminishing the world. ”
― Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals

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