Get political

5/7/08 - Clinton vs. Obama...
"There can only be one"

The title for this blog entry comes from the title, or cover story, of the May 5, 2008 issue of Time magazine. I became a subscriber to Time when I asked for a subscription to it for Christmas. Since then, I've been trying to keep up with the weekly issues that arrive in my mailbox, filled with new information about the U.S., the world, and a variety of topics. More recently, the issues have been offering up views on the current debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton as they vie for the Democratic nomination.

Though I have been very busy this year with my first year of college, I have been interested in the candidates running for the Democratic and Republican nominations. I am especially excited for this November because it will be the first time that I'm able to vote for a president. Last week, I received this issue, and was intrigued by the cover (which I have added to this blog).

Today, I finally read the cover story, which was titled "Shrinking Democrats". The article discusses the different debates about the candidates that have been presented throughout the campaigning. One side of the debates is about the actual issues. The article states, "there is a need for a big election this year", giving big examples that need to be solved, such as the war in Iraq, health-insurance problems, as well as fossil fuel issues. While the campaigning is "big" when discussing the issues of the year, the campaign has also been "big" in terms of personal attacks. Towards Obama, many of the attacks have been a question of his race, his affiliation with Rev. Jeremiah Wright, and whether or not he has enough experience. In Clinton's case, some attacks have been about her husband's over-involvement in the campaign, whether or not she is trustworthy, and the story about her 1996 landing in Bosnia.

The focus of the article appears to be about how Clinton and Obama have evolved throughout the campaigning and how they have handled many different scenarios. There isn't a whole lot of information about their views of the present issues, which I think helps to represent the focus of the campaign at this point. To me, this "race" for the democratic nomination is more about character than the views of the candidates, at least when it comes to Obama and Clinton. In terms of their views, my understanding is that they are relatively similar, but it's how they present their views or plan to work that vary. There was another issue of Time Magazine that I read which asked a popular question, "Why not both?" I've thought about this, and considered their stances, and it seemed like an appropriate idea. It seems that they both have strengths where the other has their weaknesses. It just seems like a possible solution.

However, I don't think it's going to work like that. Perhaps whoever wins will choose the other to run with them as a sideman, or whatever. Overall, I've enjoyed reading about these two candidates and how they have been working over the past year or so. In the long run, I feel that the individual who is most competent will (hopefully) be chosen, and will lead the United States with a steady hand and positive outlook. For now though, we'll just have to wait and see...

5/17/08 -"A Pathway to Policy"

I just finished reading an interview in a journal called Social Policy. The issue I read was a special feature about education reform. There were several articles that covered a variety of topics/controversies/ideas in education all over the United States. This article in particular that I read was an interview with Jeannie Oaks and Marisa Saunders who have both been working with the Institute for Democracy, Education, and Access (IDEA), in an effort to improve the quality of public schools in lower-class neighborhoods.

The first question asked by Social Policy is for some background information about IDEA as well as it's goals. Jeannie Oaks gives a thorough look into the program, explaining its interest in researching schools performance levels and effectiveness in educating the students for a future in college education. A big issue is the topic of college attendance from the low-income group, and IDEA wants to increase the availability of college education for those individuals. Oaks also introduces the program called Multiple Pathways, which is working to spread the awareness that the most effective teaching techniques is a combination of several components: "college preparation, knowledge about careers, and some immersion in the world of work or in the world of life outside of school" (pg. 24).

Following this overview, Oaks and Saunders give in-dept descriptions of two new schools that have taken on this approach. The first is the Health Professions High School in Sacramento, CA, which has only been opened for three years. Here, students in high school are taught the basics (math, English, science, etc.), but they are taught those subjects in a way that helps them understand their future careers in health. In her example, Oaks explains that the big topic the students were focusing on during her visit was disease. In their science class, they worked with different experiments about finding medicines that would treat the disease; in the math class, they worked with equations that would help them understand how to treat a patient when knowing the relationship between the patient's height and weight; in English, they were learning how to present information that they had discovered. So, in this school, they were taught the basics that a high schooler needs to understand, but they were being taught in a way that supported their future work in a health profession.

Next, Saunders talked about the Stanley E. Foster Construction Tech Academy, which is one of four other parts in the Kearny High Educational Complex, located in San Diego, CA (it opened in 2002). This school is similar to the Health Professions High School in that it gives students the basic skills, but helps them prepare for a future in technology or construction of some sort. The other similarity is that these schools prepare students for a continued education after high school, but also gives them enough skills in order to begin work right out of high school, if college, or continued education, is not in their plans. While these two schools are different in their areas of study, they are similar in this new approach to teaching, which seems to give students more understanding about the world in which they will one day work.

With this being such a new approach to education, the important part of organizing these schools is spreading the word, and getting support. Oaks and Saunders also understand the prevalence of skeptics of this approach, as they both were before starting in the IDEA program. However, the word of this does continue to spread. Another issue is that of having many schools change their programs, which cost money. There would have to be approval of community members as well, in order to pass this decision. Although, while it seems that there are some challenges to overcome, both Oaks and Saunders are confident in this approach to education, and feel that with the right information provided to citizens, the importance of this teaching will be seen, and eventually, these kind of schools will become more prevalent around the country.

When reading this article, I was really intrigued by this idea, or approach, to teaching. I see the importance of preparing students to live in the world, and I feel that giving them good support, in a particular area that they find interesting, is a good way to prepare them. Obviously, not all students continue their education after high school, so why not prepare them for work in an area that they enjoy? In my area back home in Vermont, several students from my high school attend a technical center nearby. Here, the students are able to focus their attention on an area that is not offered, in an in-depth way, at our high school. These areas include automobile work, media, childcare, and many others. I like this approach to teaching, and often wish that there were more schools like this, that would focus more on one area.

As I said before, I like this focused approach to education. Students at this age know what they are interested in. Why not give them a way to start focusing in on it at an early age? It also would give those students a reason to attend the math/science/English classes that are required for graduation. It would make those classes more interesting, which seems to be a good way to hold the students' attention in class.

5/19/08 - Powerful organizations

For this blog, I've read about several different organizations that are dedicated to improving some area of education. These include NAME (National Association for Multicultural Education), DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act), and NEA (National Education Association). I was interested in the goals that these organizations have set and steps they have already taken to accomplish those goals.

Out of these organizations, I was most interested in NAME, which works to increase the amount of multicultural education. NAME was founded in 1990 by members of the Association of Teacher Educators' Multicultural Education Special Interest Group. The members of NAME are separated into different committees, including the Executive Committee (in charge of leading meetings), Bylaws Committee (overseeing management of bylaws), Membership Committee (oversee activities to promote membership), Planning and Finance Committee (in charge of financial information and planning activities for funds), and Publications Committee (in charge of keeping up with publications of organizations), to name a few.

NAME works to spread the ideas of cultural diversity and appreciation in schools, as well as eliminating discrimination towards different cultures. They also are working to spread policies and standards for diversity in schools and other areas of education. NAME brings people together from different backgrounds who are working towards worldwide acceptance of all cultures and people. They are a powerful and positive group of individuals who want to help change the world.

Immediately upon looking at their website (which I included below), I was impressed by their goals and future plans, as well as their philosophy about their organizations. I agree with them that the diversity of cultures is so important in our world, and we must do everything we can to spread this acceptance. I looked at their membership page, and found that to enjoy their journal, newsletter, and several other features, you must pay a due. Because of my college status, I am unable to pay the amount of money that they ask, but I hope to one day be involved with their organization. For now, I will work to spread their themes of acceptance to the people around me. I also will be sure to include this aspect in my future classroom.

I hope that I will be the kind of teacher that invites each student to pull their knowledge from their own background. I hope to spread the idea that our cultures are so important as to who we are, and we need to understand the importance of learning about other people's cultures, as well as understanding our own. Perhaps by the time I am a teacher, I will be involved with an organization, such as NAME, and that I will somehow introduce my students to organizations like these that are dedicated to creating a diverse and accepting world. One of my hopes as a future teacher, is that I will influence my future students to grasp the unique features of people, like their culture, because that uniqueness is what makes this world great.

NAME's website: http://www.nameorg.org/index.html