Honoring Independence Day

Can you pass the citizenship test?

As we approach the July Fourth holiday we need to take a step back and reflect on what independence means and why we celebrate out democracy.  Because of what the United States has stood for these 200 plus years, there is an added responsibility that goes with being an American Citizen. Has this country made mistakes? It certainly has.  Ben Franklin noted that the new country, a republic, was ours if we could keep it.

Nowhere is the idea of America and its brand of democracy more in the forefront that in its newly minted citizens. Those who have gone through the long legal process have many obstacles to overcome before they can call themselves American Citizens.  One of the hurdles is a Citizenship test. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) administers a test to all immigrants applying for citizenship in addition to interviews and documentation.

Here are some of the questions from recent tests. Can you pass the test? Can your students?

1)    What do the stars on the flag stand for?

2)    Can the constitution be changed?

3)    How many Amendments are there to the US constitution?

4)    What is the Executive Branch of our government?

5)    Who becomes President of the United States if both the President and Vice President should die?

6)    Why are there 100 Senators in our government?

7)     What are the names of 49^th and 50^th states?

8)    Why did the pilgrims come to America?

9)    What is the national anthem of the United States?

10)  Which President is called “the Father of our country?”

11)  Name one purpose of the United Nations?

12) Who is the Commander in Chief of the US military?

13)  What are the two major political parties in the United States today?

14) What is the date of Independence Day?

15) How many times may a congressman be re-elected?

16) What are the first ten amendments of the Constitution called?

17) Who helped the Pilgrims in America?

18)  Where is White House located?

19) What did the Declaration of Independence do?

20) In what month do we elect a President?

Extra Credit-Name two National Holidays.

Oath for Newly Naturalized Citizens

I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God."

You can obtain more information about the immigration and naturalization process by going to the web site www.uscis.gov.

HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY!!

The Flat World and Education- Book Review

Book Review

The Flat World and Education

Linda Darling- Hammond c.2010 Teachers College Press

Linda Darling Hammond has been and advocate for inner city school children every since she received her Ed.D   in Urban Education from Temple University in 1978. She is cut from the same cloth and-Jonathan Kozol and Diane Ravitch.  In the Flat World and Education, Darling-Hammond sets out provide the reader with statistical data   illustrating what most educators already know.  Public schools in this country are unequal and inner city school children are at a great disadvantage because of their school’ physical plant, the lack of concern from administrators and the poor preparation of the teachers who teach them every day.  There is this long standing inequality in the America’s classrooms that places minority students at a disadvantage from day one.

Darling- Hammond charges the reader with building an infrastructure in our teachers colleges that will produce quality teachers who are capable of being successful with ALL students.  She discusses the importance of school and teacher preparation colleges to work together.  She further believes that No Child Left Behind needs to be revamped and I certainly concur with the analysis.  The way that we assess student learning  needs to be retooled as the way students are assess is a byproduct of how they are taught.

“We believe in the importance of preparing students to live and success in a global economy. We don’t think that the mastery of basic skills is sufficient for this goal. What we need is an education system that teachers deep knowledge, that values creativity and originality and that values thing. This unfortunately is not the path on which we are now embarked.” (Diane Ravitch as quoted in The Flat World and Education p.282)

Darling-Hammond also reviews the topics of teacher pay, tenure laws, and the importance of true professional development. The is book is more of a scholarly work rather than a Jonathan Kozol work like Savage Inequalities  which was written for more mass appeal.  While it would appear that the author here is preaching to the choir and that she has resurrected ideas that have been around for a while, it is critical to keep the concerns of under served student populations on the front burner in any way possible. The author offers a myriad of suggestions of improvement in the classroom and in teacher preparation institutions

Linda Darling Hammond was an education advisor to Barak Obama during his election campaign. She is the author of 12 books and over 300 articles. She is the Charles E. Ducommon Professor of Education at Stanford University College of Education. Dr. Darling- Hammond launched the School Redesign Network and has been involved in the Stanford Educational Leadership Institute and the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education.

Social Studies - an Endangered Species

An article appeared in the Wall Street Journal on June 15, 2001 with the headline “Students Stumble Again on the Basics of History.” Those educators who have been following the trends in standardized testing aligned to No Child Left Behind Act should not be surprised. Classroom teachers are charged to focus on getting the students prepared to take the tests and those tests focus on essentially two subjects – language arts literacy and mathematics.  Thus a subject like social studies gets put on the back burner and is not taught as it should be.  According to the WSJ article, for example, fewer than 25% of US twelfth graders knew that China and North Korea were allies during the Korean War. Students had a difficult time with historical time lines or the US Constitution.

I recently attended a lecture in Washington DC give by noted historian David McCullough. While he was promoting his latest book, The Greater Journey, McCullough lamented during the question and answer session about the decline in the teaching of social studies in America classrooms.  Although the article was recent, the issue of what America school children should know about their country and its history is not new. E.D. Hirsch, a highly regarded professor at the University of Virginia, published quite a controversial book in 1987. Cultural Literacy- What Every American Needs to Know was an attempt to quantify the body of knowledge that Americans needed to understand in order to successfully participate in society. Hirsch developed a “list” of 5000 names, phrases, dates and concepts that transcended many disciplines- art, music, mathematics, civics, and history.  What Hirsch discovered was that social status had a great deal to do with what a student’s general fund of knowledge was.  Children who were exposed to museums, plays, concerts, and books, were better readers and had a higher rate of cultural literacy that more underprivileged (read minorities) students. Hirsch and his colleagues went on to publish the Dictionary of Cultural Literacy and a series of books for each grade level (e.g. What Your First Grader Needs Know). These are part of the Core Knowledge Series that spawned from  an organization that Hirsch helped to establish.

It behooves us as educators to be the guardians of social studies, the arts, and others school subjects that are on the endangered list. We need to make sure that such subjects remain a part of the school curriculum. We need to stress to our students that history and music are important and deserve their attention. Those of us in the profession need to develop materials that are both engaging as well as challenging.  As always your comments and input are welcome.

(Note: The Great Journey and Cultural Literacy are available from Amazon.com and can be ordered from this site.)

Should we Extend the School Year?

Extending the School Year

For most of you school has just ended for the year and summer vacations are about to begin. For others, the end of the school year is only days away (assuming you are not making up “snow days” from this past brutal winter). But after all of the euphoria about “school’s out for summer,” we may need to pause and reflect whether or not we should be doing this. The 180 day school year has become sacrosanct for decades and as a result many of our students are falling behind their peers in other highly industrialized nations. Countries like China, the UK, and India all have longer school years, running from 200-220 days. Their students seem to retain more knowledge and perform better in key academic subjects.

Here in the US we have been content with a 13 week summer vacation which results in a “brain drain” or learning loss of knowledge obtained during the school year. Disadvantaged students suffer more as they need more reinforcement. Add to that the fact that student diets change as there is no school lunch (or breakfast) program for them to participate in.

The founders of the KIPP (Knowledge Is Power) Academy charter school program, Michael Feinberg and Dave Levin, have continually demonstrated that a longer school day and school year lead to positive results in student achievement. For information about the KIPP Academy program go to www.KIPP.org.

As far back as the 1980’s with publication of the “Nation at Risk” report it was noted that American students were not able to compete with many of their international peers who spend more time in school.

In September, 2010 President Obama, alarmed about America’s declining school standards, began advocating for extending the school year by one month. As with any recommendation that would create a paradigm shift in current policy, there has been a great deal of opposition. Many teens rely on summer jobs to pay for college tuition, clothing, or to contribute to family income. In the same vein, merchants in summer resort areas, like the New Jersey seashore and summer camps rely on this pool of students to fill seasonal positions. Teachers complain that they need time to recharge their batteries after an exhausting school year. Many use the time for professional development and take graduate courses that will lead to advanced degrees. Many localities however, are already strapped for cash and the cost of extending the school year could be prohibitive. The school district of Los Angeles has already begun to SHORTEN the school year by a few days in an effort to save money.

Ultimately, things will have to change. In order to do this successfully we need to bring all of the players to the table, local school boards, teachers unions, parent organizations, business leaders and government officials. We must bring education to center stage in the national dialogue.  Our future leaders and thinkers are out there now on a ball field or in fast food restaurant making sandwiches. That will not bring this country back to its education predominance.  We need to take a long hard look at the QUALITY of education and how effective class time is used in addition to the number of days schools are in session. (QUANTITY)

Class Trip- Destination Washington, DC

The school trip – a rite of spring

It is an annual rite of spring, much like the senior prom. I am referring to the phenomenon known as the class trip. Each year, the economy and the local school board permitting, thousands of middle and high school students board charter busses (or planes) and head for variety of destinations. Some end up at Walt Disney World where the focus is on enjoyment and entertainment. Other schools prefer a more historical and educational experience.  A major destination for many seems to be Washington, DC- our nation’s capital. A trip here can be a life changing experience with memories that  can last a lifetime.

Washington is a great field trip destination with dozens sites for students. It is a social studies teacher’s dream trip. Despite the high cost of transportation and hotel rooms, one of the pluses of DC is that all federal sites are free. The Smithsonian, Arlington National Cemetery, the White House, Capitol, the Supreme Court and the Library of Congress, all have no admissions fees.

I was in Washington DC last week visiting some of my favorite sites. I finally got to see the inside of the Supreme Court building as I had always been in DC on a weekend when the Court is closed.

I was gratified to see so many students for all over the country visiting the sites that they had read about for years. Many were decked out in bright colored tee shirts or hats so that teachers and chaperones could keep track. Some students seemed disinterested, spending more time texting or listening to tunes on their IPods rather than taking in the sites. For others there was an air of exhilaration- perhaps they were away from home for the first time. Some had a the “ Aha” moment- so that’s where Barak Obama lives.

Carrying out a successful class trip requires a great deal of planning. Some teachers, with much foresight, had contacted their legislators, months  before the trip, to arrange for special tours of the Capital or White House that are not generally opened to the public. Some of the more convenient or less expensive hotels fill up first , months in advance of a visit. There are also professional tour companies that will plan your entire experience and cater to school groups.

Here are some tips for teachers planning future class trips.

A)      Prepare several pre- trip activities. Have students complete some research of their destination. There are great web sites that will help get students ready. The U.S. Supreme Court’s website is a very helpful prior to visiting the building. Go to www.supremecourt.gov.

B)      Have students keep a journal or diary of their trip. They can add photos from their digital cameras or cell phones to create scrapbook of their experience.

C)      Develop a follow up activity when the students return home. You  might for example have groups of students  prepare a newscast sharing with the class what they saw and experienced.

D)     Teachers should keep a log of the trip and activities making notes about the best sites, what to avoid next year, and where to eat or stay.

Finally I recommend viewing the web site www.historyexplorer.si.edu. This site from the Smithsonian has great ideas for trips with free resources teaching and learning American history.