Monday, November 22, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
http://www.ets.org/perfect_storm
This is an essay I wrote about America's Perfect Storm, if you have some time check out the article or at least the video. It's about 10 minutes long and contains some pretty scary facts...
There are some startling trends noted in the ETS publication, America’s Perfect Storm, 3 Forces Changing Our Nations future. I will address all three.
Divergent skill distributions are concerning because they create very large achievement gaps. These are troubling because it can be very difficult for teachers to plan effective lessons that will help everyone. A teacher must struggle with the concept of making a lesson easy enough for the low achievers to be able to handle it, but still challenging to engage higher level thinkers. The racial gap makes things even harder because it fuels stereotypes and hinders productivity.
Not all is lost though as there are many programs in place to address such concerns. One that comes to mind is the Harlem Children’s Zone in Brooklyn NY. This is a womb to high school program that forces parents to get involved. Parent involvement is the key to closing the racial achievement gap in my opinion.
The economy directly effects education because without proper funding, schools can simply not function at their highest. When teachers and programs get cut, classes get over crowded and do not work to potential. Divergent skill distribution forces graduating students to take menial jobs and end up on unemployment or welfare and fuel the negative cycle we are in. Tech innovation and globalization can also fuel this problem. We must embrace and teach technology to our students and encourage them to live to their potential if we want to change the system.
Funds must be put into education in order to fuel the economy. Fueling education will in turn boost the economy. When we educate our students properly they will be better able to function in our society and will give back. The more successful they are, the more money will be pumped into the economy and the cycle can begin to reverse.
Finally, less education and lower skills create sweeping demographic shifts. The study notes that immigration from South and Central America will account for more then HALF of our population. Though our country was built by immigrants this is startling from an educational standpoint. We must stand strong, and adapt our education system around these individuals while not losing our own.
We need to work on stretching out the middle class so that we do not have such a high amount of poverty. This begins and ends with education. We must embrace change as educators in the midst of this radical shift. We need to figure out the challenges we face and confront them head on.
Thanks For Reading,
Mr. Nappen
There are some startling trends noted in the ETS publication, America’s Perfect Storm, 3 Forces Changing Our Nations future. I will address all three.
Divergent skill distributions are concerning because they create very large achievement gaps. These are troubling because it can be very difficult for teachers to plan effective lessons that will help everyone. A teacher must struggle with the concept of making a lesson easy enough for the low achievers to be able to handle it, but still challenging to engage higher level thinkers. The racial gap makes things even harder because it fuels stereotypes and hinders productivity.
Not all is lost though as there are many programs in place to address such concerns. One that comes to mind is the Harlem Children’s Zone in Brooklyn NY. This is a womb to high school program that forces parents to get involved. Parent involvement is the key to closing the racial achievement gap in my opinion.
The economy directly effects education because without proper funding, schools can simply not function at their highest. When teachers and programs get cut, classes get over crowded and do not work to potential. Divergent skill distribution forces graduating students to take menial jobs and end up on unemployment or welfare and fuel the negative cycle we are in. Tech innovation and globalization can also fuel this problem. We must embrace and teach technology to our students and encourage them to live to their potential if we want to change the system.
Funds must be put into education in order to fuel the economy. Fueling education will in turn boost the economy. When we educate our students properly they will be better able to function in our society and will give back. The more successful they are, the more money will be pumped into the economy and the cycle can begin to reverse.
Finally, less education and lower skills create sweeping demographic shifts. The study notes that immigration from South and Central America will account for more then HALF of our population. Though our country was built by immigrants this is startling from an educational standpoint. We must stand strong, and adapt our education system around these individuals while not losing our own.
We need to work on stretching out the middle class so that we do not have such a high amount of poverty. This begins and ends with education. We must embrace change as educators in the midst of this radical shift. We need to figure out the challenges we face and confront them head on.
Thanks For Reading,
Mr. Nappen
I need your help!
Dear Friends,
I am trying to win a scholarship. Please help me out by going to the website below and voting for me... come back everyday if you can!
You can log in with Facebook so there are no annoying forms to fill out.
1. http://footlocker.promo.eprize.com/scholarshipcontest/
2. Click on the search (magnifying glass next to it)
3. Search for me by email: vnappen@gmail.com.. Vote!
Thank you in advance for your support,
Vic AKA Mr. Nappen
I am trying to win a scholarship. Please help me out by going to the website below and voting for me... come back everyday if you can!
You can log in with Facebook so there are no annoying forms to fill out.
1. http://footlocker.promo.eprize.com/scholarshipcontest/
2. Click on the search (magnifying glass next to it)
3. Search for me by email: vnappen@gmail.com.. Vote!
Thank you in advance for your support,
Vic AKA Mr. Nappen
Digital Natives
I have many thoughts after watching this video. I attribute the learning gap of teachers to the tech revolution we are currently in. All teachers will not to be able to keep up, but they should try. The need to attend workshops and reach the realization that there is always something new to learn.
As far as I am concerned, I am glad that I use and could incorporate all of the technology mentioned by the students in my classroom. I have been using e-mail, blogging, and texting and consider myself a tech savvy person. Technology does not scare me nor should it. If embraced, tech can help make our jobs and lives easier and more engaging. The key is the have a back up plan. Tech is great but not always reliable.
Thanks for reading,
Mr. Nappen
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Prezi
Today I created a Prezi for the first time. Prezi is a PowerPoint-esque program but does some really cool 3d type of effects. You can create a storyboard and jump around your presentation in anyway you like. It is sure to dazzle any audience. I used it to teach a lesson on water rights to ninth graders along with a group project. I used Prezi to teach the background information. Follow the link below to get to the site, it is free to use, you just need to make a user name. You can save all your presentations on the site so you can access them from anywhere without having to email to yourself or carrying a flash drive.
http://prezi.com
Good luck and thanks for reading!
-Mr. Nappen
http://prezi.com
Good luck and thanks for reading!
-Mr. Nappen
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