Lost one of us at Thea Bowman Leadership Academy

This past week was a difficult week for all of us. We lost one of our students, Annette January, to gun violence. I didn't know her personally but from what I heard, she was phenomenal. It was one of those experiences where students just needed an ear in this difficult time. Many of them needed the time to talk but I didn't know how to approach it because I didn't know how to hold myself from crying in front of them.

I tried to focus attention on what matters today and told them that she would want them to do move forward.  We were just in an anti-violence rally two days prior and to be informed of the news on Monday was just heartbreaking.

Providing more grief counseling

Article:
The article written  emphasizes the importance of addressing the needs of our children in times of grief. Noticing the right information to help a student after a loss of a loved one may help prevent tragedies. Not only after a loss do our students need help, but also during a stressful time in theri lives. According to the article, knowing the right signs like when ill appetites are diminished, weight is lost, concentration and short-term memory are diminished, and the bereaved person often becomes irritable and depressed. This eventually gives place to the third phase of grieving, disorganisation and despair and when it is noticed, there are stages to follow to allow room for our students to heal or cope with the negative things around them.  

Reflection:
I noticed that my students are overwhelmed because of what happens around them.  I noticed a few incidents when my students are not as cooperative and when I ask if there is anything wrong, they immediately open up and begin talking. Thea Bowman Leadership Academy often does the best it can to give such services to the students;however, budget cuts often limit or restrict many resources that can actually help reduce tension during difficult times that students experience. 

References:
Clark S. Loss and grief in general practice: a pilot study. National convention of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, 1986.

March Update

Although I was gathering information from the research project was at the end, I enjoyed speaking to them openly about their frustrations. My students felt like the school was overwhelming them with state tests that were hours in length. I enjoyed speaking to them about their struggles because they felt good speaking out loud. 

 

 I figured we can take their minds off of things so we had heart-to-heart conversions about topics of their choosings. We talked about every controversial topic in the book and concluded that we will learn to agree to disagree. It was a heck of a week overall but it was rewarding and different. 

Lack of School Supplies

Article:
The research examines the possible outcomes that are experienced by schools and teachers when there is a lack of supplies or equipment needed for the classroom. According to the article,the shortage was largely due to a constant "tug-of-war" with regular education personnel for the same resources. The purpose of this study was to ascertain if the condition of lack of proper supplies, materials and resources for the special education teacher existed in the Texas public schools of Region II. Further, it was intended that the attitudes of the teachers should be examined in relation to their perceptions of federal financial support. The solution to this is to provide enough funds for teachers to use the appropriate resources needed for their students' success. 

Reflection:
 It has been a struggle this year to ask for specific things like asking for enough copies for my students for specific assignments. Before we can make copies, we need to request it  48 hours in advance which I found so troubling.  I understood very well that if we had our lesson plans on time then we would know in advance to request it;however, sometimes the plan doesn't go as planned. Students need assistance and when that happens, I need more information that could help but I do not have access to a copy machine to make the appropriate amount of copies. 

Also,  I requested Chromebooks in advance liked what was asked of me but because we do not have enough Chromebooks, I was forced to implement a different lesson plan. When our students are testing, we do not have access to all of the Chromebooks which I find so frustrating. Being underfunded is affecting the teachers and our students tremendously. 

Reference:
Project Innovation, Inc. P.O. Box 8508 Spring Hill Station, Mobile, AL 36689-0508. Tel: 251-343-1878; Fax: 251-343-1878; Web site: http://www.projectinnovation.biz/jip.html

How the lack of Paraprofessionals affect schools academically?

Summary:
 The article  written by Susan Etscheidt emphasizes the importance of having paraprofessionals to assist students with special needs. It was stated in the article that the provision of paraprofessional services to students with disabilities has been recognized as an essential component in ensuring a free and appropriate education. Full- and part-time paraprofessionals are used to assist students with disabilities in home- and center-based facilities, special education classrooms, and general education environments.  According to the article, although paraprofessionals provide such care, they should not be the ones to solely design or deliver courses given to students.

Reflection:
In Thea Bowman Leadership Academy, students were left with no aides in the middle of the year because of budget cuts and people that were first to go were the most desired people in the school. I found it to be disappointing. I understood that paraprofessionals only assist but they also provide general care that many students may depend on. As well as provide general emotional support for all the students.



References

Alexander, K., & Alexander, M. D. (2001). American Public School Law (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning

Budget Cuts Affect Engineering Classes

Summary:
The article emphasizes the affect it has on schools that have extreme budget cuts. According to the article,the decline in state funding and the resulting rise in tuition since the start of the recession have accelerated a longer-term cost shift from states to students and families.  This has an affect on how courses are offered and how much money is spent on the cost of the program. When there is a budget cut, many students take the fall because families end up paying for it from their pockets. 

Reflection:
After speaking to my colleague about her engineering course, I noticed frustration. She is unable to teach effectively because she does not have an updated software to teach the engineering course, and as a result, she feels like she needs to subsitute materials for the software to make it an active classrom.  She is forced to write her own grant in hopes of having to teach effective in the next months. I think it is quite frustrating to have to go through that because of the budget cuts. I do not think teachers should be going through such circumstances all year. It is difficult enough to be teaching courses that you have no experience in. 



Reference:
American Institutes for Research, Delta Cost Project, “Spending, Subsidies, and Tuition: Why Are Prices Going Up?  What Are Tuitions Paying For?” September, 2012, p. 5.

What can Tutoring Centers do for Our Schools?

Summary:

  The article examines the private tutoring centers in Turkey and compares student academic success with certain tutoring centers. Students come from all social economic statuses and different racial backgrounds.  According to the article, students who "received private tutoring with the students who did not did not" were likely not to succeed in standardized academically.

As noted in the article, students who did not receive private tutoring had a mean of –0.45, while students who did receive private tutoring had a mean of 0.31. As a result, private tutoring can be quite beneficial to some but it depends on family social and economical status.  The article concludes that there needs to be more research done to fully understand how tutoring centers can close the gap in our schools.

Reflection:
I disagree with the article. I believe that school need tutoring centers to help students pass the standardized tests. Thea Bowman Leadership Academy had another budget cut and as a result, students were left with no tutoring centers that actually helped.  I don't feel agree with the article. Just because the research did not have enough evidence linked to the success of tutoring centers, it does not mean that the tutoring centers are not effective. I noticed that tutoring centers often help students build confidence to learn effectively and rapidly.


Reference:

Abu-Hilal, M. M. (2000). A structural model for predicting mathematics achievement: Its relation with

 anxiety and self-concept in mathematics. Psychological Reports, 86(3), 835–847.
  

More Elective Courses!

Summary:According to the article written by Ernie Rambo, offering more elective courses helps boost students' grades. Usually, it allows students to explore more subjects of their choice. Many of students who struggle  is because they are disengaged and need  other resources to keep them interested outside of their core required classes.According to the research done by Rambo, students, the schedule that they followed to allow more room for elective courses allow for a attend their team’s core classes for four of those periods, and are in electives and physical education classes for two periods each day. The seven-period schedule allows the teachers of core subjects to have a personal preparation period in addition to a grade level or team collaborative period every day. The seventh period is utilized for explorations classes and is also the time when classes made up of mixed grades can meet.Reflection:After speaking to many of my students, I was told that they wished they had more electives so that they do not feel in a prison. I actually find that quite saddening. They were hoping for more electives courses like culinary arts and dance. I think that a school should offer more courses to help them feel less strained and more productive in a school setting. I think that the school budgets in Thea Bowman  have in some way destroyed students' trust in the school because of false promises. 

Reference: National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future (2003, January). No dream denied: A pledge to America’s children. Retrieved February 19, 2010 from http://www.nctaf.org/resources/research_and_reports/nctaf_research_reports/index