“Kudzu is a climbing, deciduous vine capable of reaching lengths of over 100 ft. Preferred habitat includes open, disturbed areas such as roadsides, right-of-ways, forest edges and old fields. Kudzu often grows over, smothers and kills all other vegetation, including trees. Kudzu is native to Asia and was first introduced into the United States in 1876 at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. It was widely planted throughout the eastern United States in an attempt to control erosion.” (Center for Invasive Species and Ecosystem Health, University of Georgia)
A few weeks ago in an English Department meeting we were examining the results of the first Periodic Assessment. This is an exam the district requires every quarter to track student progress through the district curriculum. We had detailed results broken down by question and by student. We explored the district website that offered a wealth of activities to teach or re-teach each of the concepts and skills on the test. We were encouraged to analyze our students’ results in great detail and to return to those things they didn’t learn, since they would all be on the California Standards Test in the spring.
All of this was very impressive, and before long I found myself thinking that there was such a wealth of available material that I could spend all of my class time preparing for the next test, reviewing the previous test, etc. I could dig into the questions that many students missed and call up some of the remediation activities. I could administer practice tests and review the answers with them and....
WHAT!!?? Am I out of my mind!? Spend all of my time reviewing past tests and previewing future tests!? Devote every class to test preparation!? No! No! A thousand times no!! What about writing? and literature? and class discussions? There are a lot of trees in the forest of education, and I can’t let the kudzu vine of standardized testing destroy them!
In Part Two: How did we get into this predicament? The political and social context for the rise of standardized testing.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Sixth Street bustling
When I finally finished preparing for tomorrow at school I decided to talk a walk west on 6th St. I have been connected with the Wilshire District my whole life. My parents both grew up in this neighborhood in the 1920s and 30s, and my grandparents lived here throughout my childhood in the 50s. We visited them often, and I have many fond memories of family gatherings in their old houses (one gone and one still standing). My mother even brought us in from Van Nuys to see doctors and dentists in the area. I remember going to Ollie Hammond's Steak House at Wilshire and Hobart with my grandfather Ralph Williams, who was active in real estate in mid-city LA. My mother worked at Bullocks Wilshire during the war. My parents were married and I was christened in Wilshire Methodist Church. (That didn't really stick though since I've been an atheist most of my adult life.)
As an adult I have lived in Hollywood and Echo Park and passed through the Wilshire corridor regularly especially when I worked at Crenshaw HS. Then on the school board I represented this area. I fought hard for the Ambassador property (Victory!) and developed close relations with the Korean community. Now I teach in the heart of Wilshire, of Korea town. So I have a lot of affection for the Wilshire District, and I enjoy rediscovering the neighborhood.
Let me tell you that 6th Street is jumping! I was dazzled by the array of small businesses along this street. There are places to eat and socialize--coffee houses, Korean barbecues, sushi bars, Karaoke clubs, seafood grills, bakeries, and many more. There are all kinds of other shops--hair salons, spas, jewelers, dress shops. The venerable and elegant Chapman Market (1928 by Morgan, Walls & Clements) was an instant landmark and signaled the westward march of the city. Today it is filled with chic boutiques and cafes.
There is also a fabulous three level mall called City Center on the block behind the towering Equitable Building (1969 by Welton Beckett). This lavish collection of shops and markets is a bold post-modern deconstructed architectural statement that reminds me of Seoul.
And there were plenty of customers for all these places--almost all of them Korean. This was truly a little slice of Seoul (a vast metropolis that would tower above most of Los Angeles, by the way). I assume many of these folks live in the lovely old residential neighborhoods in the mid-city, while others work in the area and socialize before heading out to the Valley or Fullerton. Others may make the drive just to enjoy authentic Korean food and socializing. I remember that Seoul was an intensely social place and that Koreans there and here love to go out to restaurants and cafes. That was evident along 6th Street.
I was a lovely walk, and I recommend it to all of you whether or not you have a history in this part of town. It's even worth a drive into the city. Annyonghi kaysayo.
As an adult I have lived in Hollywood and Echo Park and passed through the Wilshire corridor regularly especially when I worked at Crenshaw HS. Then on the school board I represented this area. I fought hard for the Ambassador property (Victory!) and developed close relations with the Korean community. Now I teach in the heart of Wilshire, of Korea town. So I have a lot of affection for the Wilshire District, and I enjoy rediscovering the neighborhood.
Let me tell you that 6th Street is jumping! I was dazzled by the array of small businesses along this street. There are places to eat and socialize--coffee houses, Korean barbecues, sushi bars, Karaoke clubs, seafood grills, bakeries, and many more. There are all kinds of other shops--hair salons, spas, jewelers, dress shops. The venerable and elegant Chapman Market (1928 by Morgan, Walls & Clements) was an instant landmark and signaled the westward march of the city. Today it is filled with chic boutiques and cafes.
There is also a fabulous three level mall called City Center on the block behind the towering Equitable Building (1969 by Welton Beckett). This lavish collection of shops and markets is a bold post-modern deconstructed architectural statement that reminds me of Seoul.
And there were plenty of customers for all these places--almost all of them Korean. This was truly a little slice of Seoul (a vast metropolis that would tower above most of Los Angeles, by the way). I assume many of these folks live in the lovely old residential neighborhoods in the mid-city, while others work in the area and socialize before heading out to the Valley or Fullerton. Others may make the drive just to enjoy authentic Korean food and socializing. I remember that Seoul was an intensely social place and that Koreans there and here love to go out to restaurants and cafes. That was evident along 6th Street.
I was a lovely walk, and I recommend it to all of you whether or not you have a history in this part of town. It's even worth a drive into the city. Annyonghi kaysayo.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Vittoria!
Friday, Dec. 3: I have just completed my two best days yet at YOKA. All four of my seventh grade English classes had a narrative writing assignment. We had just finished the story “Amigo Brothers” by Piri Thomas. This short story tells about best friends Felix and Antonio who are paired up in a boxing championship. The story is more about their friendship than about the sport of boxing, and at the end, after a brutal fight, they embrace and leave the ring together. The story does not reveal the winner.
The assignment to my classes was to write “The Next Chapter” for these two friends. First they had to make a storyboard telling what happened in the year after the winner was announced. They did this in pairs, and when they finished their storyboard each pair got a laptop so they could go to the online writing program (MyAccess.com) and write a narrative based on their storyboard.
This was a substantial assignment with two major parts. They had to work with a classmate to get it done. It involved thinking up a story, rendering it into little drawings, logging onto an online program, and writing a narrative of 300 words. I was a little nervous about getting them through all of this, and so I was pleasantly surprised at how well it went.
First of all, the chance to work on the laptops was a great motivation for getting the storyboard done. The attraction of the computers is awesome. Second, they worked well in pairs. Some pairs were lopsided with one student doing most of the work, but even in those pairs both students were engaged in thinking up the story. Third, when they finished the story board and got into the writing program, they were actually enthusiastic about writing down what they had come up with.
I remain very impressed by the effect that computers have on these boys. The computers focus and engage them in a way that teachers and paper books do not. It isn’t just the games, although they love to sneak over to the games, but also the writing itself that they are more engaged in. They are also getting used to all of the corrections that the computer program indicates.
And so this lesson went very well in all of the classes, even my very difficult sixth period. I called the principal up in the middle of sixth period to invite him to come see how it was working. He has invested a lot of school funds in getting this online writing program for all teachers, and I wanted him to see how it could work.
I’ve done a lot of yelling at all these classes, so I took the time at the end of each period on Thursday and Friday to compliment them on how well they worked on this assignment. I was still exhausted, to be sure, but for the first time when Friday, 3:24 pm came around I felt very satisfied at how the week had gone.
The assignment to my classes was to write “The Next Chapter” for these two friends. First they had to make a storyboard telling what happened in the year after the winner was announced. They did this in pairs, and when they finished their storyboard each pair got a laptop so they could go to the online writing program (MyAccess.com) and write a narrative based on their storyboard.
This was a substantial assignment with two major parts. They had to work with a classmate to get it done. It involved thinking up a story, rendering it into little drawings, logging onto an online program, and writing a narrative of 300 words. I was a little nervous about getting them through all of this, and so I was pleasantly surprised at how well it went.
First of all, the chance to work on the laptops was a great motivation for getting the storyboard done. The attraction of the computers is awesome. Second, they worked well in pairs. Some pairs were lopsided with one student doing most of the work, but even in those pairs both students were engaged in thinking up the story. Third, when they finished the story board and got into the writing program, they were actually enthusiastic about writing down what they had come up with.
I remain very impressed by the effect that computers have on these boys. The computers focus and engage them in a way that teachers and paper books do not. It isn’t just the games, although they love to sneak over to the games, but also the writing itself that they are more engaged in. They are also getting used to all of the corrections that the computer program indicates.
And so this lesson went very well in all of the classes, even my very difficult sixth period. I called the principal up in the middle of sixth period to invite him to come see how it was working. He has invested a lot of school funds in getting this online writing program for all teachers, and I wanted him to see how it could work.
I’ve done a lot of yelling at all these classes, so I took the time at the end of each period on Thursday and Friday to compliment them on how well they worked on this assignment. I was still exhausted, to be sure, but for the first time when Friday, 3:24 pm came around I felt very satisfied at how the week had gone.
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