LINK: Parents-outraged-after-nearly-75-percent-of-students-fail-writing-portion-of-2012-FCAT-
After reading this article, I figured I should jot down my thoughts on this matter, as it has always been something that I have very strong feelings about, as I am sure most people do. By the way, the result of this mass of failings was that the State Board of Education decided to lower to standards for a passing score on the test, meaning that instead of 75% of students failing the writing portion of the FCAT, 80% of them actually passed! *winkwink!* What a great way to make educating our children a priority. Instead of admitting that something with the test is wrong, and thus needs to be removed, they admit that our students are just too stupid to pass the standards they set (which I am sure weren't too high).
Thing is, this brings up two issues now that we need to address: one, is the FCAT really doing it's job? Should we overhaul it, replace it, or remove it? Are standards really TOO high? Second, are our students really that inept at literacy that they cannot pass a writing test? Are our students really just uneducated? Whose fault is that? Apparently, what got the students was the higher standards placed on grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, and quality of the writing. Now, in my opinion, I believe standards on those particular parts of a students writing ability should always be high. I am a big advocate in high quality writing and seeing how kids and teens write these days really grinds my gears. But the bigger question is, is teaching to the FCAT (which is what many teachers are forced to do in schools in Florida these days) the reason why so many students are so bad at writing, or are there other factors impacting it as well?
Besides teaching to the FCAT, I do believe that a lot of knowledge loss is being done at home, where parents are putting their children in front of TVs, video games, computers, and cellphones, instead of books and extra-curricular activities vital to a child's development. The FCAT is a horrible thing, but parents are not helping either. Text speak and ghetto language seems to be most popular amongst kids these days. The less grammar and punctuation you have, the cooler you are! And don't you dare correct someone for their grammar, oh no. That's not cool. I've seen what kids write on the internet and it is horrible to see that they cannot differentiate between there, their, and they're, nor can they differentiate between then and than. Nor do they know when to use commas or periods (often times they never use them at all). The more they get used to writing this way, the more it sticks and when they get older, they will have a harder time breaking out of it and actually may not at all.
Standardized testing in and of itself is a plague on education. Although I passed my FCAT back in high school, standardized testing did not stop there. Colleges forced students to take tests before entering, and if they failed a certain portion they were forced into taking an extra course related to that portion before being able to take courses required for their degree. On top of that, I was forced to take the CLAST as requirement for graduating, although my adviser later removed this requirement after I told him I did not need it because I already passed all my classes required. It didn't stop there, as I was also forced to take a foreign language test as it was also required for my degree. They really put a lot of burden and worry on my shoulders and on top of that, they weren't cheap. The tests do not actually test anything about what a student knows and doesn't know. It may test how well a student is at short term memory, but like high GPAs, passing a standardized test does not necessarily mean you are knowledgeable in that particular testing area. Because of this, I can't help but wonder why the school board is so certain we need these tests. Is it money? Is it boredom? There is no logical reason to keep the tests, so why?
Our country really needs an education overhaul. Our parents need to enforce it more on their children, our schools need to hire more qualified teachers, and our students need to actually start caring about it. How is that other countries can teach their children to value their education but we can't seem to get them to read one book? I'm not sure what the school boards are thinking or doing, but I think we need to get more qualified people in those positions, like, people with actual degrees in education or actual experience teaching, rather than the old farts who know nothing in there right now. Just my two cents.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Monday, May 14, 2012
Journal Writing for Teachers
I'm reading a book about teaching English as a foreign language (actually, I'm reading many books on this) and I found a part that is interesting and useful. I want to write it down here so I can keep a virtual copy of it with me all the time. The book is 'Teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language' by Jerry G. Gebhard:
Writing about Teaching
...we can explore teaching by writing in a journal or diary. The purpose of writing in a journal is to have a place to record our observations of what goes on in our own and other teachers' classrooms, write about our discussions, consider teaching ideas, and reflect on our teaching. However, journals are a place for us to raise doubts express frustrations, and raise questions. The following is a list of what some teachers include in their journals.
Writing about Teaching
...we can explore teaching by writing in a journal or diary. The purpose of writing in a journal is to have a place to record our observations of what goes on in our own and other teachers' classrooms, write about our discussions, consider teaching ideas, and reflect on our teaching. However, journals are a place for us to raise doubts express frustrations, and raise questions. The following is a list of what some teachers include in their journals.
- Quickly written descriptions of classroom interaction collected in their own and other teachers' classrooms, as well as analysis and interpretations of these descriptions.
- Tally sheets, transcripts, sketches, and coding as a part of their description and analysis
- Photos (snapshots) and descriptions of what goes on in each photo
- Summaries and reflections on discussions with other teachers
- Lists of alternative ways to teach aspects of a lesson (e.g. different ways to give instruction)
- Stream-of-consciousness writing (to let ideas flow)
- Reflections on language learning experiences
- Thoughts on their beliefs about teaching and learning
- Questions about teaching and learning
- Answers to their own questions
- Summaries and critiques of journal articles and books
- Lesson plans and teaching aides
...I encourage you to write entries soon after teaching, while the experiences are fresh. Finally, at the end of a period of time (for instance, two months), I encourage you to take the time to read your entries thoughtfully, look for patterns in your teaching and thinking about teaching, and write an entry on this analysis. Taking time to review past entries is important, as it is through this kind of reflection that we can see ourselves as teachers and view our teaching differently.
Some thoughts on college education...
I think I love college. I really do. The idea of being able to learn a mass amount of knowledge and information, especially stuff I really enjoy, and being able to use that information for my future career, is really a genius idea. Although, despite that, college education isn't perfect, isn't always ideal, and isn't always fair. It's come to the point where a bachelors degree isn't quite as amazing as it is made out to be. Sure, it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to get one, but it certainly doesn't always mean you have the qualifications and knowledge required to work in your field. It's not always the colleges fault, and it's not always the students fault. But it's come to the point where your college degree means little compared to your extra-curricular activities, your internships, and your portfolio. If you can't show it, you ain't got it. Students struggle to attain stellar GPAs, only to realize that their GPA means little in the workforce. A student with a 3.0 can be far more successful than a student with a 3.5 or even a 4.0 GPA in their careers, and I think employers are starting to catch on to that now as they have noticed the incompetence of their high GPA employees.
From an art student point of view, I have actually seen some really... bad... student portfolios and I have seen students graduate with these portfolios only to wonder where in the world they plan to go with it considering the hundreds of thousands of other artists out there whose skill significantly outshines their own. I'm not bragging about my own skills, I don't consider them fully professionally polished, but I know for a fact that I have made significant amount of progress in my skill and work and that I will continue to do so as the years go on. I still have a few years to go before I can feel comfortable being a professional in my field, or even seeking out an illustration gig. I won't deny it if it comes along, but in the mean time, I'm just going to practice until I get there.
The art world is a really strange place. I've learned so much about it during my coursework, so many new things and so many disappointing things. Honestly, at times, I felt strangely uncomfortable to be associating with other artists. It was like... I didn't belong. One of the things about the art world that made me feel a little less comfortable in my own skin every day, was the fact that now a days, "conceptual art" aka work that has little to no skill but a really cool idea (but not really), was becoming increasingly popular, especially at my particular college. I just couldn't stand it. I felt like the outcast, the rebel, when in fact conceptual artists are the ones who were supposed to be the so-called rebels, rebelling against traditional art that requires years of practice, skill and dedication to get right. I saw things such as filthy mattresses with stuffed dead animals shoved in between them or crafty projects made of foam and mirrors to represent a self-portrait of some sort... or something like that. Or even white and black canvases splattered with drips of paint and odd shapes that my 4 year old niece could draw better... It looked like garbage, it really did. I'm not being mean because I don't LIKE conceptual art. I would be alright with art that has meaning AND skill. But this stuff often lacked both. It was just really crappy artists trying to be clever in some way but failing utterly at it and living in some self-delusional world where they think that they are actually doing it right! *breaths* There was no development of skill, there was only... garbage :/ I think their idea was that anyone can and should be able to be an artist. But, I beg to differ. Artists are not made, they are born (and that is coming straight out of artists mouth). You develop something, but if the talent and passion isn't there to begin with, you're not likely to get far in the art world. Honestly, I prefer it is left at the way it was supposed to be. You know you're an artist, you go to school to expand your knowledge and develop your already inborn skills, and you network with others. Now, it's something far more different. Something that can actually be mocked...
I recently watched a movie called 'Art School Confidential'. As an artist, I SHOULD take offense to the movie. The movie IS portraying artists in an unfair light after all, aren't they? Well, as a film, the movie did not play out very well. Perhaps, the sub-plot was too cheesy, but the film failed. But what the movie did not fail to do (and it is not necessarily praise to the director, because this movie was based off a graphic novel) was to portray a realistic (albeit slightly twisted) image of art school life and the art world. The class critique expressed my utter frustration I had every critique, in which I wanted to yell "this is awful!" while students praised and found meaning in something that was obviously lacking any skill or effort. I remember one student who often was blunt and honest during critique, and although I at first found him too harsh and critical, I later realized he was not only right, but that I shared the same thoughts and feelings he did, I was just too afraid to say it. Need less to say, his work was always amazing. He had stable ground to speak from.
I want argue that art should be this way and not that way, but I think I may have to come to terms that two different realms of the art world now exist. The one I experienced at my art school, and the one we see most every day being used in practical means: illustrators, concept artists (for film and video games, they draw the characters and background), and designers. I'm sure I am missing a few, but they pretty much all fall under the same categories. We see illustration and design in our products, in our movies, video games, book covers, animated films, and so on and so forth. This is the kind of work you will most likely NOT see in a prestigious gallery of some sort, such as at Guggenheim or Saatchi. Art in galleries is useless to everyone but the wealthy. Why hang up somewhere for only a few lucky to see when you can print it and publish it for the entire world? Isn't that what art is for? Oh dear, don't get me into the art world now, that is a whole other discussion and this is long enough already...
And that means that I must conclude. So, to put it simply, did I enjoy going to college? Yes, I did. Most certainly. Do I think I made the right choice in my degree? Not really. Although I consider myself a skilled artist, a studio art degree is a far cry from where I want to be. Like I said, I constantly felt out of place and out of touch with my classmates. Although we were all artists, we were operating on completely different realms of art. I learned a lot though. I got to understand a whole lot more about the art world, and I am glad I now know. However, it only means I simply wasted a few useful years that could have gone to development of my skill and the publishing of my work, which will now have to be done on my own time... In the meantime, I'm going to teach, because education and knowledge is another passion of mine. Teaching is an art form in itself. Now, we must find out, can it be taught, or are you born a teacher?
From an art student point of view, I have actually seen some really... bad... student portfolios and I have seen students graduate with these portfolios only to wonder where in the world they plan to go with it considering the hundreds of thousands of other artists out there whose skill significantly outshines their own. I'm not bragging about my own skills, I don't consider them fully professionally polished, but I know for a fact that I have made significant amount of progress in my skill and work and that I will continue to do so as the years go on. I still have a few years to go before I can feel comfortable being a professional in my field, or even seeking out an illustration gig. I won't deny it if it comes along, but in the mean time, I'm just going to practice until I get there.
The art world is a really strange place. I've learned so much about it during my coursework, so many new things and so many disappointing things. Honestly, at times, I felt strangely uncomfortable to be associating with other artists. It was like... I didn't belong. One of the things about the art world that made me feel a little less comfortable in my own skin every day, was the fact that now a days, "conceptual art" aka work that has little to no skill but a really cool idea (but not really), was becoming increasingly popular, especially at my particular college. I just couldn't stand it. I felt like the outcast, the rebel, when in fact conceptual artists are the ones who were supposed to be the so-called rebels, rebelling against traditional art that requires years of practice, skill and dedication to get right. I saw things such as filthy mattresses with stuffed dead animals shoved in between them or crafty projects made of foam and mirrors to represent a self-portrait of some sort... or something like that. Or even white and black canvases splattered with drips of paint and odd shapes that my 4 year old niece could draw better... It looked like garbage, it really did. I'm not being mean because I don't LIKE conceptual art. I would be alright with art that has meaning AND skill. But this stuff often lacked both. It was just really crappy artists trying to be clever in some way but failing utterly at it and living in some self-delusional world where they think that they are actually doing it right! *breaths* There was no development of skill, there was only... garbage :/ I think their idea was that anyone can and should be able to be an artist. But, I beg to differ. Artists are not made, they are born (and that is coming straight out of artists mouth). You develop something, but if the talent and passion isn't there to begin with, you're not likely to get far in the art world. Honestly, I prefer it is left at the way it was supposed to be. You know you're an artist, you go to school to expand your knowledge and develop your already inborn skills, and you network with others. Now, it's something far more different. Something that can actually be mocked...
I recently watched a movie called 'Art School Confidential'. As an artist, I SHOULD take offense to the movie. The movie IS portraying artists in an unfair light after all, aren't they? Well, as a film, the movie did not play out very well. Perhaps, the sub-plot was too cheesy, but the film failed. But what the movie did not fail to do (and it is not necessarily praise to the director, because this movie was based off a graphic novel) was to portray a realistic (albeit slightly twisted) image of art school life and the art world. The class critique expressed my utter frustration I had every critique, in which I wanted to yell "this is awful!" while students praised and found meaning in something that was obviously lacking any skill or effort. I remember one student who often was blunt and honest during critique, and although I at first found him too harsh and critical, I later realized he was not only right, but that I shared the same thoughts and feelings he did, I was just too afraid to say it. Need less to say, his work was always amazing. He had stable ground to speak from.
I want argue that art should be this way and not that way, but I think I may have to come to terms that two different realms of the art world now exist. The one I experienced at my art school, and the one we see most every day being used in practical means: illustrators, concept artists (for film and video games, they draw the characters and background), and designers. I'm sure I am missing a few, but they pretty much all fall under the same categories. We see illustration and design in our products, in our movies, video games, book covers, animated films, and so on and so forth. This is the kind of work you will most likely NOT see in a prestigious gallery of some sort, such as at Guggenheim or Saatchi. Art in galleries is useless to everyone but the wealthy. Why hang up somewhere for only a few lucky to see when you can print it and publish it for the entire world? Isn't that what art is for? Oh dear, don't get me into the art world now, that is a whole other discussion and this is long enough already...
And that means that I must conclude. So, to put it simply, did I enjoy going to college? Yes, I did. Most certainly. Do I think I made the right choice in my degree? Not really. Although I consider myself a skilled artist, a studio art degree is a far cry from where I want to be. Like I said, I constantly felt out of place and out of touch with my classmates. Although we were all artists, we were operating on completely different realms of art. I learned a lot though. I got to understand a whole lot more about the art world, and I am glad I now know. However, it only means I simply wasted a few useful years that could have gone to development of my skill and the publishing of my work, which will now have to be done on my own time... In the meantime, I'm going to teach, because education and knowledge is another passion of mine. Teaching is an art form in itself. Now, we must find out, can it be taught, or are you born a teacher?
Friday, May 11, 2012
What's going on with... ME?!
Teaching is still something I will continue to pursue and I have made efforts to do so. I went through a long and difficult process to apply for an English teaching program in South Korea. English is quite different from visual arts, but not quite different from what I am. I love writing, as one can see, and I love teaching. So it seems just as fitting as art. I have always been told that I am a good writer, although I struggled to get my grammar and punctuation up to speed as High School didn't teach me much. Mostly my fault, but I don't dwell on it. I am just glad I have manged to catch up to where I should be as far as grammar and punctuation goes.
With all the new things occurring in my life, I think it is imperative I keep a written record of it here. I still love reading a lot of my old journals from my past, and I know when I am older, I will love reading this one too :)
College has been difficult for me, and I don't know what to think of my chosen major. Although I don't regret having chosen studio art, as I am incredibly passionate about this field, the degree itself is not worth the thousands of dollars I had to spend on it, from a career standpoint. I would have been much better off getting a degree in education and I think that is what I will do with my masters, if not, I shall see if a second bachelors is a better option. As far as the continuation of my education goes, I am not sure which path to take. Perhaps it will all become much more clear with time.
I am not sure what exactly I will be writing in the next few months, or even years. I guess, it doesn't matter. Just whatever my heart desires. I may also write some posts on art and my experience with being an art student. After watching 'Art School Confidential' last night, I feel inspired to write about my experience. Oddly enough, I do not disagree with a lot of the mockery in the movie. Many artists may find it offensive, but only because they fit in with the categories. The art world is not a fair and kind place and it is why I may not pursue the life of a studio artist. If I do pursue art as a career, it will only be as an illustrator. I just don't fit in with artists.
Until next time...
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