Comments for Daydream Believer . . . http://bisardm.wordpress.com Just another WordPress.com weblog Wed, 18 Apr 2007 15:21:30 +0000 http://wordpress.com/ hourly 1 Comment on The End . . . by waldrup49 http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/04/16/the-end/#comment-27 waldrup49 Wed, 18 Apr 2007 15:21:30 +0000 http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/04/16/the-end/#comment-27 Maybe not the end but a beginning? Thank you for being a part of a class that I really enjoy and has helped me grow through the comments and discussion of you and others. I think your blog was the most unique of all the blogs I have read. I think we take it for granted that everyone deserves to learn and get a good education. I think we also take it for granted that they are afforded the oppurtunity to fufill that need. I think your blog vivdly displayed that it is not always as simple as it seems. Student don't always just get up, eat breakfast go to school, and then come home with results. The dynamics involved for each indivdual differ so much that we as educators need to be flexable and rsponsive to each individuals situation. It doesn't matter if its at the level of elementry, secondary or higher education. It doesn't matter if its in the role of an adminstration or instructor. We all have a responsability to accomadate students need to make sure they can go as far as they desire. You have pointed this out in your excellently written blog. Thank you very much for your comments and research. Great job. Wade Maybe not the end but a beginning? Thank you for being a part of a class that I really enjoy and has helped me grow through the comments and discussion of you and others.

I think your blog was the most unique of all the blogs I have read. I think we take it for granted that everyone deserves to learn and get a good education. I think we also take it for granted that they are afforded the oppurtunity to fufill that need. I think your blog vivdly displayed that it is not always as simple as it seems. Student don’t always just get up, eat breakfast go to school, and then come home with results. The dynamics involved for each indivdual differ so much that we as educators need to be flexable and rsponsive to each individuals situation. It doesn’t matter if its at the level of elementry, secondary or higher education. It doesn’t matter if its in the role of an adminstration or instructor. We all have a responsability to accomadate students need to make sure they can go as far as they desire. You have pointed this out in your excellently written blog. Thank you very much for your comments and research. Great job.

Wade

]]> Comment on Gifted Programs . . . by My little nuggets of wisdom - or insanity « and still you wonder at it all … http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/gifted-programs/#comment-26 My little nuggets of wisdom - or insanity « and still you wonder at it all … Tue, 17 Apr 2007 00:12:31 +0000 http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/gifted-programs/#comment-26 [...] Comment 7 [...] [...] Comment 7 [...]

]]> Comment on Failing Schools See a Solution in Longer Day . . . by That's What Matt Said. . . « What has two thumbs and is ready to blog? This guy! http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/03/28/failing-schools-see-a-solution-in-longer-day/#comment-24 That's What Matt Said. . . « What has two thumbs and is ready to blog? This guy! Wed, 11 Apr 2007 04:43:32 +0000 http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/03/28/failing-schools-see-a-solution-in-longer-day/#comment-24 [...] Failing Schools See a Solution in Longer Day . . . [...] [...] Failing Schools See a Solution in Longer Day . . . [...]

]]> Comment on Failing Schools See a Solution in Longer Day . . . by matt4386 http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/03/28/failing-schools-see-a-solution-in-longer-day/#comment-23 matt4386 Wed, 11 Apr 2007 03:40:02 +0000 http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/03/28/failing-schools-see-a-solution-in-longer-day/#comment-23 As with the other comments, I am somewhat torn. Although I believe that students could use a longer day to help continue the learning process, I don't understand why the teachers just can't make the regular class time more productive. Of course, this is easier said than done and the teachers may be very efficient (I'm not trying to complain about the teachers) but personally, I can see students reacting negatively to longer days and not being able to participate in other activities such as sports or clubs due to time issues. If parents and teachers are concerned about a child's learning progress, I believe there needs to be a good amount of communication between parents and teachers. The teacher can explain to the parents that their particular child should have time set aside each day after school to work on school work and practice the skills they have learned in school. This way, not only is the child practicing and continuing the learning process, but the parent(s)/family is involved in the work the child is doing, creating a better family atmosphere. Of course, some family structures are not perfect and not all parents have time to sit down due to work or multiple children, but communication with their children is essential to the future success of their child, so they should strive to make time. As with the other comments, I am somewhat torn. Although I believe that students could use a longer day to help continue the learning process, I don’t understand why the teachers just can’t make the regular class time more productive. Of course, this is easier said than done and the teachers may be very efficient (I’m not trying to complain about the teachers) but personally, I can see students reacting negatively to longer days and not being able to participate in other activities such as sports or clubs due to time issues. If parents and teachers are concerned about a child’s learning progress, I believe there needs to be a good amount of communication between parents and teachers. The teacher can explain to the parents that their particular child should have time set aside each day after school to work on school work and practice the skills they have learned in school. This way, not only is the child practicing and continuing the learning process, but the parent(s)/family is involved in the work the child is doing, creating a better family atmosphere. Of course, some family structures are not perfect and not all parents have time to sit down due to work or multiple children, but communication with their children is essential to the future success of their child, so they should strive to make time.

]]> Comment on Failing Schools See a Solution in Longer Day . . . by Comments « Stephanie’s Wicked Awesome Words http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/03/28/failing-schools-see-a-solution-in-longer-day/#comment-19 Comments « Stephanie’s Wicked Awesome Words Thu, 05 Apr 2007 20:47:05 +0000 http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/03/28/failing-schools-see-a-solution-in-longer-day/#comment-19 [...] becoming more marketable??? [...] [...] becoming more marketable??? [...]

]]> Comment on Failing Schools See a Solution in Longer Day . . . by myotts http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/03/28/failing-schools-see-a-solution-in-longer-day/#comment-16 myotts Thu, 05 Apr 2007 00:54:37 +0000 http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/03/28/failing-schools-see-a-solution-in-longer-day/#comment-16 When I first read this post on the benefits of lengthening schools days and years, I was torn. I believe that any new, innovative ideas to improve education and the learning process should be tried, if only temporarily. Lengthening the school day would allow more material to be taught and perhaps increase the amount of 'stuff' that children learned. However, in the long run I think that the negative aspects outweigh the positive ones. For starters, students are usually exhausted at the end of the day. I remember how tired I'd be at the end of a day in high school, going from 7:25 in the morning until 2:40 in the afternoon. That is a long day for a teenager, especially if he/she has extracurricular activities or a job after school. If school days get lengthened, students will become cranky and non-responsive two or three days into the week. They need time to rest their brains and their bodies and to do other things. Keep in mind that primary and secondary students are still children. There is only so much sitting in a desk and taking notes that they can handle. In addition, I do not believe that learning more information is the magic solution to passing standardized tests. Teachers need to focus more on their teaching methods and their interactions with students - perhaps this will help students. If students can't retain the information now, adding an hour onto their school day isn't going to help them retain it any better. When I first read this post on the benefits of lengthening schools days and years, I was torn. I believe that any new, innovative ideas to improve education and the learning process should be tried, if only temporarily. Lengthening the school day would allow more material to be taught and perhaps increase the amount of ’stuff’ that children learned. However, in the long run I think that the negative aspects outweigh the positive ones. For starters, students are usually exhausted at the end of the day. I remember how tired I’d be at the end of a day in high school, going from 7:25 in the morning until 2:40 in the afternoon. That is a long day for a teenager, especially if he/she has extracurricular activities or a job after school. If school days get lengthened, students will become cranky and non-responsive two or three days into the week. They need time to rest their brains and their bodies and to do other things. Keep in mind that primary and secondary students are still children. There is only so much sitting in a desk and taking notes that they can handle. In addition, I do not believe that learning more information is the magic solution to passing standardized tests. Teachers need to focus more on their teaching methods and their interactions with students – perhaps this will help students. If students can’t retain the information now, adding an hour onto their school day isn’t going to help them retain it any better.

]]> Comment on Failing Schools See a Solution in Longer Day . . . by canknight http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/03/28/failing-schools-see-a-solution-in-longer-day/#comment-11 canknight Fri, 30 Mar 2007 17:48:45 +0000 http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/03/28/failing-schools-see-a-solution-in-longer-day/#comment-11 Although you make good points that follow the motto "practice makes perfect" or the more you do something the better you get at it, I would have to say that lengthening might not be the solution. I do not have numbers to back up this assumption, but I think that if the school day is lengthened than students will lose out in other important areas of their lives. What about students who have to work to help their family? Will they find time for this anymore? Or what about students that participate in extra-curricular activities? They will have an increasingly difficult time balancing school, sports or band, family, homework, and possibly work. It is important for us to keep in mind that these are not adults, they are stilling learning and developing. They already devote nearly seven hours a day to the school, roughly one third of their day. I know that the "real world", or life after grade school often is more hectic, but that is why it is set up for adults. They have the mentally ability to handle it. There must be other solutions that the educational system and schools can come up with. They need to look at how much work time is actually being used, and how much is being wasted. Let's face it, we all can remember times nearly everyday when educational time was wasted. I think we need to try to eliminate some of this downtime before we add more time to the day. Grade school is not only about the education in the classroom. During this time in students lives it is important that they learn more than just pencil and book work. They need to be able to develop social skills, physical wellness, strong family bonds, and relationships that will carry them through life. Students need time away from the four walls of a classroom and cutting down on that might help benefit standardized test scores, but will it really improve the person? Although you make good points that follow the motto “practice makes perfect” or the more you do something the better you get at it, I would have to say that lengthening might not be the solution. I do not have numbers to back up this assumption, but I think that if the school day is lengthened than students will lose out in other important areas of their lives. What about students who have to work to help their family? Will they find time for this anymore? Or what about students that participate in extra-curricular activities? They will have an increasingly difficult time balancing school, sports or band, family, homework, and possibly work.

It is important for us to keep in mind that these are not adults, they are stilling learning and developing. They already devote nearly seven hours a day to the school, roughly one third of their day. I know that the “real world”, or life after grade school often is more hectic, but that is why it is set up for adults. They have the mentally ability to handle it.

There must be other solutions that the educational system and schools can come up with. They need to look at how much work time is actually being used, and how much is being wasted. Let’s face it, we all can remember times nearly everyday when educational time was wasted. I think we need to try to eliminate some of this downtime before we add more time to the day.

Grade school is not only about the education in the classroom. During this time in students lives it is important that they learn more than just pencil and book work. They need to be able to develop social skills, physical wellness, strong family bonds, and relationships that will carry them through life. Students need time away from the four walls of a classroom and cutting down on that might help benefit standardized test scores, but will it really improve the person?

]]> Comment on Gifted Programs . . . by moonshot http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/gifted-programs/#comment-4 moonshot Thu, 01 Feb 2007 05:54:41 +0000 http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/gifted-programs/#comment-4 When I first began to read your post, I thought I knew my exact opinion on "gifted" schools. Then as I continued reading and continued thinking, I realized I really don't know how I feel about them. It isn't fair that kids be held back from their full potential, but having "gifted" schools also decreases the diversity in schools and makes everyone's learning experiences that much narrower. I agree that ideally everyone should be challenged and given the best education possible, but some kids are more intelligent than others, even in different subjects. How do we best reach everyone in public schools? There are so many different needs. I remember testing into the gifted program at my school district. My parents gave me the choice of whether I would go into the program. I thought about it, but ultimately I did not want to leave my friends (I was in 3rd grade). Was this the best decision? I had a wonderful education. My decision was based on the stigma associated with the gifted program, however. The 'Talented And Gifted' (TAG) students were labeled as superior, and the "regular" students joked about/teased them. That is not right. "Regular" students should not be made to feel inferior. Neither should "gifted" students. I really enjoyed reading your post - it really got me thinking! When I first began to read your post, I thought I knew my exact opinion on “gifted” schools. Then as I continued reading and continued thinking, I realized I really don’t know how I feel about them. It isn’t fair that kids be held back from their full potential, but having “gifted” schools also decreases the diversity in schools and makes everyone’s learning experiences that much narrower. I agree that ideally everyone should be challenged and given the best education possible, but some kids are more intelligent than others, even in different subjects. How do we best reach everyone in public schools? There are so many different needs.
I remember testing into the gifted program at my school district. My parents gave me the choice of whether I would go into the program. I thought about it, but ultimately I did not want to leave my friends (I was in 3rd grade). Was this the best decision? I had a wonderful education. My decision was based on the stigma associated with the gifted program, however. The ‘Talented And Gifted’ (TAG) students were labeled as superior, and the “regular” students joked about/teased them. That is not right. “Regular” students should not be made to feel inferior. Neither should “gifted” students. I really enjoyed reading your post – it really got me thinking!

]]> Comment on Gifted Programs . . . by Kristen http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/gifted-programs/#comment-3 Kristen Thu, 01 Feb 2007 05:39:12 +0000 http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/02/01/gifted-programs/#comment-3 I totally agree that students should be allowed to attend "college prep" schools if they feel that they can receive a better education there. However, if all exceptional students leave the regular classrooms, those regular classrooms are hindered. For example, reading groups full of kids that are not great readers do not have as much success because students are not learning from their peers as well as the teacher. If by exceptional students you mean those students that could graduate high school at 15 years old and be done with college by 18, then by all means they should definitely be attending higher education schools because otherwise their skills may be stifled and they may become a problem in the classroom (acting out because they are bored, etc.). Great post, and I love your background! =) I totally agree that students should be allowed to attend “college prep” schools if they feel that they can receive a better education there. However, if all exceptional students leave the regular classrooms, those regular classrooms are hindered. For example, reading groups full of kids that are not great readers do not have as much success because students are not learning from their peers as well as the teacher. If by exceptional students you mean those students that could graduate high school at 15 years old and be done with college by 18, then by all means they should definitely be attending higher education schools because otherwise their skills may be stifled and they may become a problem in the classroom (acting out because they are bored, etc.). Great post, and I love your background! =)

]]> Comment on I really have no clue what I am doing . . . by RR http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/01/15/i-really-have-no-clue-what-i-am-doing/#comment-2 RR Mon, 22 Jan 2007 00:34:17 +0000 http://bisardm.wordpress.com/2007/01/15/i-really-have-no-clue-what-i-am-doing/#comment-2 Megan, Well, for not knowing what you are doing, you've got a decent start here :). Of course, your opening post should identify the topic of this blog and the feeds you'll use to inform your writing/thinking about that topic. Let me know if you need help generating potential ideas .. . I can help. The technical side of the blog is coming along nicely too. I can see you're adding a class blogroll (still need a few more entries) and you've linked to Google Reader. Well done. Let me know if you need any further help. Megan,

Well, for not knowing what you are doing, you’ve got a decent start here :) . Of course, your opening post should identify the topic of this blog and the feeds you’ll use to inform your writing/thinking about that topic. Let me know if you need help generating potential ideas .. . I can help.

The technical side of the blog is coming along nicely too. I can see you’re adding a class blogroll (still need a few more entries) and you’ve linked to Google Reader. Well done.

Let me know if you need any further help.

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