Argument Exercise

Topic one (pick one from list): Chickens
Audience: Assisted Living Dwellers

What is it you want to prove or cause to happen?
Good for senior citizens. They can help with feeding and caring for the chickens. It would bring enrichment for them and they can also get out to enjoy the outdoors.

Who is the audience (from list above) that you are trying to persuade?
Assisted living dwellers

Why should they care about this? (What are their beliefs/values? What will they gain or lose?)
They should care because it could be enjoyable to help care for the chickens. They also will receive delicious, fresh eggs from the chickens.

Reasons they should agree? These are the "because" statements?
Because they will receive fresh eggs
Because it will be a great way to get out and enjoy the outdoors and bring the dwellers together. They can also help build the chicken coop.
Because it will force the elderly to have a routine/schedule

Reasons they might not agree? Possible objections they might raise?
No, because it will be too much work (cleaning and feeding)
No, because where would money come from to care for them?
No, because they'll be too noisy, too loud and obnoxious. We need our sleep

Answers to their possible objections? "My idea is superior because":
True, however it'll be a group effort to keep the chickens cleaned and fed
Well, yes, but you can sell the fresh eggs to the community to help support the chickens
Not in this case because, the chicken coop doesn't have to be near the facility so noise will be to a minimum.

What support can you give for each of the reasons for your argument? Add facts, stats, examples of similar problems, solutions, or situations for each section above:
Everyone enjoys fresh eggs, eggs can be sold to help with other projects in the assisted living facility.
Getting out and getting fresh air will help the elderly be relaxed, they can get out and enjoy the outdoors instead of staying cooped up in the facility
Routine could help the elderly remember what they need to do, they worry less about other things because they are caring for the chickens

Now go through this process for argument about what you'd change about K-12 curriculum:
What is it that you want to change, add, or cause to happen to the K-12 education?
Education needs to be engaging while being education. Involving students in their own learning.

Who is the audience you are trying to persuade?
Educators, students, and parents

Why should they care about this? (What are their values/beliefs about education?)
The student will have a more meaningful life, instead of conforming to society. They will also be able to have the courage to be different and to take charge of their own education. It will give them responsibility

What will they, their children or "society in general" gain or lose?
Children will gain insight to what interests them and to be involved in their own learning instead of sitting and reciting ideas, facts, things they are suppose to learn, which they will forget in a week or two.

Reasons they should agree with you? These are the "because" statements
Reason #1 because: opens communication between teacher, parents, and student
Reason #2 because: Creativity and learning starts from within the home. Students will be able to critically think
Reason #3 because: Students rise to the challenge of learning

Reasons they might not agree? Possible objection they might raise?
Objecton #1 no, because we (parents) don't have enough time
Objection #2 no, because it is up to teachers to teach the children
Objection #3 no, because we (parents) don't have the resources or know what to do to engage the children

Answers to their possible objections? "My idea is superior because":
True, however, you can always spend an hour a day with your child. Time you invest in your child will benefit them in the long run
Well, yes, but it is also up to parents to help their child. You don't want to see your child struggling and learning starts within the home.
Not in this case, because there are always resources, you just need to look. This also goes back to investing the time to help your child.

What support can you give for each of the reasons for your argument? Add facts, stats, examples of similar problems, solutions, or situations for each section above:

For reason #1: Will add some excerpt from Gatto
Reason #2: Robinson's excerpt
Reason #3: Scene from Stand and Deliver

Rough draft paper #3

Alice Rattananongsy
Dr. Sonia Begert
English 101, Paper #3
March 12, 2013

                Today’s K-12 education system includes an educational curriculum that must meet the state’s learning standards. Each state is different and to ensure that students are meeting these standards, the state has implemented standardized testing for all students. Many doubt that the standardized testing is helpful to students, it does nothing but stress, worry, and horrify students across the United States. The most important change the K-12 education system needs is to have an engaging, captivating, fun, and alluring curriculum to help students learn material better. This would be a lot more effective rather than having students sit, memorize, and regurgitate information on tests.
                In the films we have watched, we encountered different types of teachers handling the situations within their classrooms. Students were misbehaving, being disrespectful and bullying their peers to no avail. In Stand and Deliver, Mr. Escalantes engaged his students and used creative word problems that included gigolos and women; something the students could relate to. Although it may be negative, it helped them to capture the idea because it was something that they personally experienced. They didn’t have to memorize boring equations and Mr. Escalante brought “outside” resources to help guide them along. Stand and Deliver also showed how hard the students worked by going to school six days out of the week and staying after school to work on calculus. The dedication, hard work and perseverance helped these students to become confident individuals and to confirm that they deserved the same opportunities as other students. “Their response to the challenge evokes new challenges, followed by new understandings; and gradually the students come to regard themselves as committed” (Friere, pg. 4), this excerpt from Paolo Friere’s, The Banking Concept of Education, explains that students will rise to the occasion of challenge when necessary. He proposes that teachers no longer “teach” their students but have students enlighten their own ideas. Whether it was being tardy to class or not attending the calculus sessions, Mr. Escalante held students accountable and wanted the students to think responsibly. Mr. Escalante connected with his students and they wanted to impress him because he went out of his way to help them succeed in calculus. Teachers who are willing to go above and beyond and invest in their students can create new found ability students are unaware of.
                The K-12 education system is lacking teachers who are passionate, creative, and willing to get their hands dirty to help their students succeed. Many teachers have resulted to a standard curriculum and teaching their students only the basics of what they “need” to know. They are afraid of stepping outside of the box and appearing atypical to help students creatively venture out of their comfort zones. Teachers are not the only ones who need to be involved in a student’s education, parents should also be accountable. Parents should participate in their child’s education because it will help their child to have a more meaningful life and instead of conforming to the ideas of society, parents can help their children develop their own understanding and views of the world. This is important because it will help children gain insight to what interests them and take charge of their own learning. Parents will most likely come up with an excuse about not having enough time but investing over time in your child will surely benefit them. Some parents might say that it is the teacher’s job to teach their child but it is not. Learning starts at home and shouldn’t be dependent upon teachers. Parents should take the initiative in their child’s development to help them become an intellectual and thoughtful human being.
                Ken Robinson’s, Lecture on Education, discusses how children are getting, “educated out of their creative capacities”. Without creativity, students wouldn’t be compelled to have their own ideas, thoughts, and interpretations.  It is so important that the K-12 education system stop educating students to be conformists. It seems that every student goes through the same routine of six classes a day, five days a week and a majority of students learn the same material, take the same tests. With students grouped together, it is hard for each individual to mentally grow. Students go through the same motions as their peers and if one is out of the ordinary, they are considered “weird”. Robinson also says, “…if you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original…” which also suggests that we are afraid to be wrong and that we might as well conform to the ideas of others just so that we can appear ordinary. The K-12 education system needs to engage their students in things that are out of the ordinary. Robinson said that when he moved to America, “Every education system on earth has the same hierarchy of subjects. Every one. Doesn’t matter where you go….At the top are mathematics and languages, then humanities, and the bottom are the arts.” This goes to show that the K-12 education system has the same curriculum throughout.
                Often, students become bored of the subjects being taught. In Chalk, Mr. Lowrey who is a first year history teacher is intimidated by his students. His students feed off of his apprehensiveness and see that because he is vulnerable, they take advantage of him. Mr. Lowrey finds that reciting things off the chalk board is not effective and decides that he needs help on how to manage his class. As the film progresses, he gradually develops a bond with his students by creatively coming up with the “spelling hornet”, which is a spelling competition of slang words. His students are ecstatic that he is in it and are willing to help him win the contest. This example goes to show that students want to engage in fun learning activities with their teachers. This interaction with students and teachers not only help the students but also the teachers. It helped Mr. Lowrey learn that “teaching is not a gift”, and that if he did decided to come back the following year, he would do things differently. Teachers in the K-12 education system need to explore different ways to captivate their students to be interested in the material. There are many teachers who have been teaching for years but eventually get burnt out from boredom of teaching the same subjects. This goes back to Ken Robinson’s idea that creativity is being educated out from public schools. Teachers no longer have the desire to be creative, therefore, following the standard curriculum that is already set for the school.  
                Boredom was a topic in John Gatto’s, Against School: How Public Education Cripples our Kids, and Why? Boredom was like a disease spreading among teachers and students. The students Gatto worked with were bored with the material they already knew and that the “work was stupid”. Teachers didn’t want to bother learning more and settled with what they knew. The teachers also blamed the students as to reasons why they were bored. Gatto’s grandfather told him that if he was bored, it was his fault and no one else’s and he was held accountable for finding ways to entertain himself. Ultimately, students are responsible for their learning and should start from a young age. Gatto defies the ideas of modern schooling and  urges parents to, “teach your own to be leaders and adventurers….think critically and independently….develop an inner life so that they’ll never be bored”.  Children are so enveloped in modern technology that they are forgetting to “enjoy their own company”. Students will eventually need to learn to develop their thoughts, ideas, and intellect so, why not start when they are young? In Gatto’s article, he says that, “we suppress our genius only because we haven’t yet figured out how to manage a population of educated men and women. The solution, I think is simple and glorious. Let them manage themselves.”
                Students in the K-12 education system should receive an engaging, captivating, fun and alluring curriculum. It will make school enjoyable for students and learning a lot less dreadful and because of this, students will want to come to school but it is up to the teacher to decide what they will be learning. The opportunities that may arise from engaging students are endless. Students will want to rise to the occasion of learning more and to be creative with their thinking. Instead of suppressing students of their ideas, it should be supported because not everything is wrong. Students are afraid to think outside of the box for fear of rejection and are taught in school to, “adapt to the world as it is” (Friere, pg. 2). Teachers should also be seeking new ways to learn everyday so that they don’t bore themselves to death. Passion, creativity, and fun, is what the K-12 education system needs. 

Reaction to John Gatto's "Against School"

After reading “Against School” by John Gatto, when he said, “…if I was bored it was my fault and no one else’s”, that really hit me like a ton of bricks. I could not have agreed more with that and I think that people should take on more responsibility for their learning. Yes, it can be boring but it is up to us (students) to make it fun and engaging. I also have to add that although we should be taking charge of our own learning it would also be great to have teachers pitch in as well. There are always different sides of learning and to have teachers to also be engaged could also very well be a learning experience for them as well. Besides the teachers, I also feel that parents should involve themselves in their child’s learning. Gatto also brings up that we should teach our children, “…to be leaders and adventurers, ...to think critically and independently, …develop an inner life so that they’ll never be bored. Urge them to take on the serious material….”, I think these are great ideas that parents should take note on. Learning truly starts within the home and I think it’s meaningful for a child to have parents be involved in their education. I think that schools try to fit their students into a square and expect them to be a certain way and in the shuffle, each student loses their individuality and their uniqueness.

"What seems to be the biggest challenge facing K-12 students today?"

The films we have watched (Stand and Deliver, Mona Lisa Smile, Waiting for Superman, and Chalk) all revolve around students and education. The films showed many contrasting aspects of students from different cultures, backgrounds, and environments. It seems that in the films it showed many of the students being disobedient and leaving it up to teachers to partake in being the responsible ones and trying to figure out ways to have their students get along with them and their peers. It looked as if the students were being disobedient because the material they were learning was boring. For example, in Chalk, Mr. Lowrey is a first year teacher teaching history and he appeared to be nervous and very unsure of what or how he was going to teach his class. His students built off of his energy and quickly took advantage of him and the situation. I think as a teacher you need to be confident, take charge and know what the plan of action is for your class. Teachers should have an agenda and I think the agenda would help the students be prepared for that day's lesson. I think that students relate more to teachers who are engaging, fun and social. Students challenges in K-12 education today is not being able to relate to their teachers and being able to turn to their teachers for help. Teachers should reach out to their students and let them know that there are resources out there to help them if needed and they shouldn't feel embarrassed about it. Since the U.S. is ranked so high in confidence, students a possibly ashamed to ask for the help they need. Students may also face troubles at home and I feel like this effects their education. Worrying about what is going on at home and then going to school and not understanding the material can be frustrating, especially for a young adult. They are going through changes with their body, changes at home, and on top of that school work. Resources should always be made available to students and I think they are not providing enough of that in schools.

Real time notes: Chalk

-Mockumentary (parody of documentary)

Looking back at the teachers he had, he wouldn’t be who he is today. The impact teachers had were life-changing for him

50% of teachers quit w/in first 3 years of teaching

Mr. Stroope: 3^rd year teaching  history, he is very funny, asks his students about what they did over the summer. Engages his students, tells his students to not know so much and to use words everyone will understand. Keeps students who have issues after school to talk to them about issues that they might outside of school. Voted as one of the teacher of the year. Feels that he is lame for losing teacher of the year.

Coach Webb: 2^nd year gym teacher, depend so much on other people to help with your job, administration is a big part of that. Her best friend is the assistant principal. Might like Mr. Lowrey. Feels that Mrs. Reddell is not cut out to be the assistant teacher. Complains to Mrs. Reddell and she gets really angry about the conversation. Learned that she should be encouraging instead of being harsh on other teachers.

One teacher (Mr. Lowrey, 1^st year history teacher) has his students repeating what is on the board, asks them what history means to them? What is culture mean? Seems very boring. “How long have you been a teacher?” Came from computer engineering, first day of teaching. Struggling teacher, went to the library to get book on classroom management. Using humor to engage his students. Teaching takes up all of his time, no time in his personal life to be dating. Went to student’s house that he kicked out, to talk to his mother. Won the spelling hornet (spelling of slang terms). Made a connection with the kids from having them help him train for the spelling bee. Not sure if he wants to come back for a 2^nd year, hard first year for him. Teaching is a gift, you can learn, but “no one has taught me”.

Mrs. Reddell: 1^st assistant principal. Works very hard, comes home at 10:30 p.m. She deals with teachers complaining about their colleagues. Held accountable #1 is at home.

Mrs. Campbell, comes by to check on Mr. Stroope. He needs to work on organization, less sarcasm, lesson plans due the Friday before the week you teach them.

Tardy policy: One teacher doesn’t follow policy

Teacher of the year debate: Mrs. Townsend and Mr. Stroope. Mr. Stroope did not get teacher of the year award, his mood is affected and does not have same energy he did. He is really angry that he lost.

Seems like teachers who are in their first year of teaching don’t have much support as far as Mr. Lowrey saying at the end of the movie, “teaching is a gift, you can learn but no one has taught me.” I think it is tough for first year teachers and there should be something that they need to go through in order to prepare them to teach their own classroom. This movie reminded me of some of the teachers that I had throughout my K-12 years and it takes a lot to become a teacher that really stands out from the rest. I thought Mr. Stroope was an interesting character and found that it was encouraging (to some degree) that he kept his students after class to talk to them about issues that they might be having that is hindering their performance in class. I didn’t think it was encouraging when he told two of his students to tone down ‘being smart’ and using words that he couldn’t understand. This movie was from the stand point of teachers and it seems true that teachers work long hours. Mrs. Reddell usually did not get home until about 10:30 pm on some days and that was how it worked out. They never have a set schedule and  proved to be true when Mr. Lowrey said, “teaching takes up all of my time”, he doesn’t have time to date and to do other things in his personal life.

"What would Friere add to or change about K-12 education?"

"Education thus becomes an act of depositing, in which the students are the depositories and the teacher is the depositor." I think this excerpt from Paolo Friere's, "The Banking Concept of Education", explains how he feels about education. Friere insists that teachers do not communicate with their students and only offers them information that they should memorize and repeat. The teachers lecture and the students listen and it all becomes a cycle. "Education is suffering from narration sickness", is also another example on Friere's thoughts on education. He offers a solution of "problem-posing", which allows the teachers to not only teach but to also be taught by students. Students are able to communicate, question, and reflect on what they are being taught. It is a two-way street, not just the students receiving information and regurgitating it on a test. Friere believes that problem-posing will allow students to think freely and "are now critical co-investigators in dialogue with the teacher." The banking education becomes ineffective while problem-posing allows students to become conscious individuals. After reading this, I can see a pattern in most of the teachers that I have come across and most follow the curriculum to a 'T' and do not want to go further than what they have to teach. Instead of giving their students 150%, we receive 50%. Friere believes in engaging students in a different way by allowing them to think out loud and to analyze the material given. There is no better way to engage the students by challenging them; "students.....will feel increasingly challenged and obliged to respond to that challenge."

Real time notes: Waiting for Superman

Real time notes: Waiting for Superman. “Superman is not real” no one w/ enough power coming, 1999, documentary about public schools. Idea of public school could work, don’t want to send own children to failing school, send own kids to private school, because he has a choice. For other children, they go through lottery, to decide if they can go to school or not. Boyle Heights: Girl named Daisy knows what she wants to do in life, “find different ways to make learning fun” if someone says this class is boring. Wants to be a nurse, doctor, and veterinarian. Father says she can do what she wants and believes in his daughter. Father struggles and no job, mother is the bread winner of the family. Father dropped out of school, Judith (Daisy’s mom) stopped going to school and is now working in hospital. Geoffrey Canada: Was supposed to go to South Bronx H.S. but if he attended there he would never be where he is today. 1971 education spending has increased, doubled what is spent on each child, reading scores has flat lined, math is no better. Francisco: he likes math but other students do not like math, wants to be a “recorder”. Describe the school: once you walk in, greeted by a security guard and can't go any further. Francisco attends third largest overpopulated school. Bianca (Harlem): Mom walks to pick her child up from school, her mother never envisioned having children, does not matter how many jobs or what she has to do; she wants Bianca to go to college, no question about it. America was finally going to fix education: stand up and demand, no single child left behind. George Bush: “taking tests is no fun, but too bad”. 8^th graders tested for reading proficiency, lowest in Washington D.C.= 12%. 5^th-7^th grade go from B students to D students, kids are either getting stupider every year or something is wrong with education system. Roosevelt high school, one of the worse schools in L.A. 57% of daisy’s classmates will not graduate. Will know which kids will drop out from high school. Failing elementary and middle schools send children to high schools who only last 1-2 years in H.S. Locke high school, one of the worst. Steve Barr says they lose a lot of 9^th-10^th graders every year. Millions of kids walk the street, no diplomas, no skills. Pittsburgh: Bell Strickland went to Oliver High school (drop out factory school), most of his friends are now in prison or dead.Keeping an inmate in prison is $33,000/year. Could have sent that inmate to private school from kindergarten to high school, tuition roughly $8,000/year. Anthony’s grandma takes care of him, says she cries for him and is scared for him because he could be easily influenced. Kimball elementary school go to John Suza where that is a sinking hole. Michelle Rhee, appointed acting director. Central office got pile of money that “screws everything up” This district did not end up like this on accident. No accountability. Mixed agendas, whole collection of people been an impediment to reform. Francisco’s 2^nd year at school and he has not had good luck with teachers, teachers tells his mom that he may need to repeat first grade. Mom gets upset because she wishes she could do better for her kids. Good teacher can cover 150% of curriculum per year, bad teacher 50% of curriculum. Video tapped teacher reading newspaper and putting kids head in toilet. Students with high performing teachers do better. Tenure- guaranteeing jobs for life, protecting teachers from getting fired. Public school teachers have been granted tenure automatically. Teachers had very little protection, had to organize a union. @ national level, democratic party received most money.
Should not make any distinctions b/t teachers. Teacher has to go through observation. Jason: named teacher of the year, “nothing more difficult than the life of a teacher”. 1999 documentary: teachers  devote their life to the children. Cannot pay teacher more based on performance, if they are doing good. “Teachers are great”, “teachers union is a menace”. Howard fuller, former superintendent in Milwaukee. Dance of the lemons: system that is completely dysfunctional, principal has lemons (teachers who are chronically bad and everyone knows it) Can’t fire those bad teachers and at the year they do the lemon dance, different teachers end up at different schools, school hopes to end up with a decent teacher. In New York, tenure teachers get sent to “rubber room” they still get paid to go to these “meetings” Hard to be a good teacher, takes years to become a ‘master’ teacher (Geoffrey Canada) Creating charters, schools that are not bound to any government money. By law, school must hold a lottery if it gets full. Charter school funded by the public. Geoffrey Canada, guarantees that the children attending that school will go on to college. Nakia Whitfield: went to public school, and had a physics teacher who said they would still get paid whether or not the kids learn anything. Pays $500/mo for tuition for private school for her daughter. Michelle Rhee, had to fire three principals and that sparked outrage from parents. Chancellor, D.C schools. Gave teachers 2 options, keep tenure and get moderate pay, or give up tenure and make 6 figures. Mentality that you have a right to teach. Recognize and reward effective teachers. After months of highly charged debates, thought the proposal was so threatening that they did not even allow a vote. She sees now how things are the way they are, all comes down to the adults. Francisco’s mom: takes Francisco to reading class at nearby college. Takes a 45 min subway ride to look at a charter school, Harlem Success school. Students who are behind in reading are assigned an individual tutor until they get it. 40 second graders, 800 families applying @ harlem success school. “Education could be a ticket out” The U.S in math, ranked last. Confidence rated #1. San Francisco, average home price a million dollars. Emily, 8^th grader, wants to be a teacher. Summit prep, entering lottery. 110 spaces, 500 applicants.
Bill Gates, testified before congress. Daisy parents have found one other option: Kipp LA prep, 10 spaces. Bianca couldn’t go to her ceremony at the school across the street due to owed tuition, Nakia is entering her daughter into the lottery for Harlem success school. Kipp academy in Houston, TX, highest performing school. 8,000 students in Geoffrey Canada’s school. “Lie that disadvantaged kids can’t learn”. Seed: boarding school 24 spaces, 61 applicants. Anthony wants an education and wants his kids to have a better life than he had. “Can’t have a great school without great teachers". Bianca, Daisy, Anthony, Francisco did not get accepted into their school. Emily was accepted into summit prep. “if we give up, then what is the result?” Back in the struggle, don’t give up, education is a way out. Anthony got moved up on the waitlist and was able to get enrolled into Seed. Three months later, it’s Anthony’s first day of school. Directed by: Davis Guggenheim

I think the film really opened my eyes and showed how much the U.S., as a whole, was struggling not only in math and science, but also reading. I think the U.S. needs a lot more work in improving the education system, how? I’m not sure but I think they should really look at how other countries are succeeding in areas then we should adapt some of their techniques to help improve the education system in America. So many kids get placed into schools that set them up for failure instead of setting them up for success. Part of it may be due to teachers but it also boils down to the neighborhood you live in, you get sent to the closest school near you and have no choice. I think it was pretty sad to see the kids go through a lottery to determine if they would get accepted into a charter school. It is too bad that the public schools can’t offer the same for students attending charter schools or private schools. I definitely would not want that for my children and if it ever had to come down to a lottery, I feel like I would need to move out of my neighborhood in hopes of finding a great area to raise my children and hope that they get a better education elsewhere.