Chapter 1

Jan. 31st

What did you think?

Cindy......Great quote:...."the power that a school built around a strong sense of purpose has to influence lives for a very long time, the power of relationships across generations to make a huge difference, if schools allow them to develop." (vii)

This quote is the essense, (that I can tell so far)  of the book. Together, the bond the students, teachers, principal had (have) created a great school. The school is in New York City, called Central Park East Elementary. The preface explained alot of this including the remarkable people who accomplished the task. Meier talked of the great relationships they all had:students to students, students to teachers, teachers to parents.  It sounds wonderful and curious and enough to get me to read more! How did they create such a wonderful school?  She explained that she is a writer of various publications and as each chapter unfolds she includes a journal entry, which is a good hook for me, as I like journals and reading them.

Great quote: "Teaching is mostly listening and learning is mostly telling".  I love that!

The first chapter speaks about defending public education. Meier brings up good points about private schools vs. public schools. "what's good for one might be good for all" (10). She suggests that "only out of debating will we build new and better kinds of schools". She says that public school help prepare one to realize that their are differences in our world and it is good to clash with ideas.  We should debate with new ideas, ideas for the 21st century not live in the old days. She suggest we should all work together building great public schools that work for everyone.

I like what she says so far..."Schools embody the dreams we have for our children. All of them. These dreams must remain public property" (11).

Corey's Thoughts:

I am in love with this book after only reading one chapter!  Deborah Meier's thoughts about the capabilities of all children, a commitment to reinventing public education, understanding and discussing differences, and a passion for democracy are profound and inspiring.  What she and her colleagues were able to help create at Central Park East Elementary seems thrilling, and I can't wait to read more about it.  I especially like her idea of the state of public schools in our country being a shared responsibility.  Our public schools are creating our future members of society, whether some of our citizens like it or not.  People cannot continue to act like what goes on in schools and the skills and values that the children who leave them possess does not affect our society. 

Within our schools, especially in elementary, our students are beginning to notice and talk about their differences. This is one thing I love about the public school that I work in!  My students don't seem afraid to recognize and discuss each other's differences.  They are more open and honest than many adults I know.  I want to do all I can to foster this important dialogue that occurs among my students.  As Meier says, these children are training to one day take part in political conversations.  In the future, those conversations might not be as easy as they are now.  "Differences make things complicated.  But dealing with the complicated is what good citizenship is all about." (7-8)

I love this quote, so I'll end with it: (regarding the abandonment of the public school system) "We're a nation that loves a good fight; fighting with ideas rather that fists or guns or nasty sound bites could be a welcome relief."  I think that Deborah Meier should run for office!

Chapter 2

Feb. 4

 Cindy:   Well, if you liked the first chapter and you want Deborah Meier to run for office, wait til you read chapter 2!

As I read more and more of Meier’s, The Power of Their Ideas, I like it more and more.  What a great lady Barbara Meier is; their are so many great things she says in this book.  I love so many of them. She tells the story using her own journal, and newsletter articles from the school and of course writing the book about how the private school grew from maybe having 1 to growing into several, including a middle and high school. They wanted to create a school (in New York City) where they wanted the children to “develop rather than stunt their intellectual potential”.  They wanted to “ at the public expense, provide for the least advantaged what the most advantage bought  privately for their own children”. Wow! How creative and conscientious and very hard working all that were involve.  Chapter 2 describes how they built the school the way they wanted.  What I liked the most about the way Meier’s describes the process is her depiction of the people involved.  They went from being a “little wary” to her “demanding intellectual toughness” from the teachers. But best of all they worked together, had rights, had mutual respect and collaborated together for the end goal of the school which was to create a family oriented school where everyone, teachers, parents, and students worked together.  Meier’s talks about when she reads for pleasure or otherwise how she puts herself into the book as one of the characters.  I do that with books and can imagine myself in this book as a teacher at her school.  But first I imagine my own school in her book and ask myself do our teachers work together?  Do our teachers and parents work together?  On the surface I’d say yes, but entirely, I’d have to say no.  But as I read in this book and the ways she describes how her schools are doing it and doing it well, I still ask, how can any group work entirely together?  Is it possible? Especially when you have teachers and parents in one place and one is a, as I’ve heard the term, “High Maintenance Parent”?   Can they work together for the good of the student?  I hope so and I do for my students.

The school promotes Dewey and Piaget philosophies and personalization and that “diversity among people strengthens the larger community”.

I like the way she describes their classrooms: not stocked with dittos, but “filled with stuff”.  Their students use everyday literature, they have plants, broken things to fix, things to paint, things “that would evoke a sense of wonder”. Again, reading about this I wondered if I do that in my classroom.  Do I evoke a sense of wonder?  At times, maybe but I surely can work on it, as long as it has something to do with my curriculum and gets them ready for CRCT.

I am enjoying reading this book and the thought provoking questions it creates for me.

 Corey, I went ahead and put dates, but they are more or less, give or take a day or two.  Just a light guideline.

Corey's thoughts:

"The genie is out of the bottle and it will be hard to put it back" (18).  The story of how the first and subsequent CPE schools began is amazing.  Although I am truly inspired by the work that Deborah Meier and her colleagues did to get the school off the ground and the obstacles they had to overcome in doing so, it is hard for me to fully grasp what working in and being involved with a school such as this would be like.  I've never even heard of a group of educators being given an opportunity to do something like this.  Maybe I'm showing my age, but I don't know of any schools that are established and don't follow the set guidelines and standards that surrounding schools have to follow.  It's truly hard for me to imagine being involved in a school and having that type of freedom.  I'm not sure that I would even know what to do.

I loved how Meier openly admitted that she and her colleagues did not know it all when they first began this journey.  They made mistakes and learned from them.  They even found it difficult to communicate with eachother at times, but they did not let this difficulty or their fears overcome them.  They were given the opportunity to make adjustments, try them out, evaluate them, and then readjust if necessary.  I wish we were allowed this same freedom in public schools today.  In my school, we try out what's new and popular at the moment, but most things aren't in place long enough for us to find out if they are effective or not.  It's so frustrating because implementing change and gauging its benefits takes time.  By not giving programs time to become effective we waste more time learning about and implementing the next new thing. 

The central theme that kept popping up for me in this chapter was the involvement of the community within this school.  I think that is awesome!  There should be a place for everyone within the community to contribute to the overall benefits within the public school.  I'm quite unfamiliar with the "high maintenance parent" that you mentioned in your last response.  We just don't see much of that in our school.  Although I'm sure it's challenging, I do think that EVERY parent should feel welcomed within his/her child's school.  Children need to see their parents and their teachers working towards a common goal: ensuring the success and development of each child.

 Thanks for putting the dates up here for us!  You're the best!

Cindy:  I just wanted to let you know how happy I was to read that you hadn't heard of the High Maintenance Parent or "HMP" as they are sometimes called.  I agree with you that parents should always feel welcome at school no matter what. They are there to see that their child gets a good education, they care enough to be there and ask questions, so they shouldn't be labeled "HMP".  Thanks.

Chapter 3

Feb. 11

Chapter 3 begins with 5 major “intellectual habits” that the schools wants each student to use. They are good ones: concern for evidence, viewpoint, cause and effect, hypothesizing and what Meier says is the most important habit, who cares?  It is so true that she says, “knowing and learning take on importance only when we are convinced it matters, it makes a difference.” How many times have I said, "why am I learning this. Will I ever use it?" From algebra to history lessons. We need to make our lessons matter to our students. Working as they do, collaborating together to make their school the best, using the school family and students’ families, that’s what makes their school a success. I see a lot of that in our school, people, teachers, families, parents, students all working together for the good of our school. I do realize it doesn’t always work out that way, but they did it in this New York school. Meier suggest that the school know it’s families, it’s community and respect who they are, only then can they all work together for the good of their school. She also suggests one way to build trust is to begin with a small school. I wonder if that could work in other places?  A lot of little schools?

Corey's thoughts:

Meier is in fact a strong advocate for small schools.  It's a challenge for me to fathom what affect a small school would have on students and their learning, due to the fact that I have never been in a school with less than 800 students.  (Right now I'm in a K-3 school with over 800 students.)  I have to believe that it would positively impact the students and their teachers.  I thought about school size a lot as I was reading the parts of this chapter that talked about the secondary school (CPESS).  The fact that the school has a high school enrollment of 450 is baffling to me.  I still don't fully understand how they make it happen.  I was particulary interested in reading about the process that the seniors go through; what CPESS calls their "Senior Institute."  During this time, students work to make connections in all the different facets of their learning and provide evidence of their knowledge and connections made through 7 different portfolios.  The students may also be involved in off-campus classes, internships, work-study programs, etc.  The students can stay in this stage of their education as long as they need to, in order to get their diploma.  The founders of CPE envisioned a secondary school that carried on the traditions of its elementary school.  Meier says she and her colleagues thought, "wouldn't it be wonderful, after all, if high school students were as deeply absorbed in their "work" as five-year-olds are in their "play"?" (Meier, 2002, 47).  

These students are actually given the respect and trust needed to make sense of what they have learned.  They are not simply required to spit out correct answers on a standardized test.  And to top it all off, it is proven that the majority of these students have become successful, contributing members of society and they look back fondly on their education at the CPE schools.  The story of CPE becomes even more inspirational the more I read.

Chapter 4

Feb. 18

Chapter 4

I like the way Meier starts off the chapter with a list of recommendations that schools should have. She said the recommendations come from reports and sound like they were taken from her school.  The list includes cooperative learning, parents being involved, schools should be small, and integration of subjects among others.  All are great points for any school, public or private and should be adhered to wherever they came from. She talks about the myths and lies about the history of education, one being that past public schools taught more effectively. The truth is that if a student stayed in school to earn a diploma it meant they were “dutiful, and did not stand for academic achievement.” I had not heard of this before or thought about the many high school students who did quit to get a job to help their families at home.  We look at today’s drop out rate as something new and terrible, but it’s been going on for along time. She reminded me that it isn’t always the “good ole days” of yesteryear.  We just don’t know or remember that in the 30’s, 40’s, 50’s 60’s and 70’s (and I don’t know why she stopped there) that we had discipline problems, gangs, truancy, low standards, social promotion, and other issues.  People think of how the classrooms were all rosie in the past and that we have so many problems in education today.  The truth is there have always been problems and Meier says we need to realize that history.  One interesting point she makes again that I hadn’t thought about is that “schools are a convenient target for blame during anxious times” but what makes them such a great target is that they often willingly accept the attack in hopes that the attention will lead to more resources” (74). Does our educational system actually look for problems in hopes of receiving help in the way of monetary or otherwise?  I would hope that the education system does everything they can to improve it always on the positive side. We should all stop putting blame for what we think is not a perfect educational system and come up with solutions not blame, to improve it in whatever way we can, big or small.  I continue to like this book for the points to ponder that it gives me.

Corey's thoughts:

As a "younger" teacher, I often ask my older and more experienced colleagues what is so different about the schools today when compared to the way they were years ago?  I have hear many different things.  "Students are not as respectful as they once were."  "Parents aren't as involved as they used to be."  "Kids aren't motivated by success and a sense of accomplishment anymore.  They have to know that they're going to get something in order to do well."  "We used to have more freedom with what we could teach."  I could go on and on with the different reasons I've been given.  To be honest, as a generalization, I don't buy any of them.  The idea that we think about certain things from the past in terms of "nostalgia" instead of realistically is one that we all need to openly acknowledge.  Going back to the way teachers once taught and to what is comfortable and familar because we think that it once worked is a bad move in my opinion.  Deborah Meier talks a lot about the "forgotten" youth that fell by the wayside because of low standards in years past.  She says, "The myth of a golden educational past allows many of us to ignore the reality of inadequate commitment that has crushed expectations--and rekindled racism--for more than three decades" (Meier, 2002, 72).  We cannot allow feelings of "nostalgia" for "the good ol' days" to blind us to the fact that the student populations in our various schools are growing and diversifying by the day.  Perpetuating the sense of separateness that once infused public schools would be a disgrace to our students.  We owe it to them to let go of the past and focus our attention on improving the future.   

Chapter 5

Feb. 25

Chapter 5

At the beginning of each chapter the author includes excerpts from her journal. This particular excerpt talks about a couple students who had a “stupid quarrel”. Meier asks, “Which side are you on?”  It causes the student and herself to really reflect.  She asks, “Whose side am I on? And What am I prepared to do about it? (87). She says she reads things in the newspaper that she doesn’t like, but she doesn’t do anything about it.  But she still knows whose side she’s on.  We, like Meier, side with the wounded (student) but don’t always know what can be done about it. But the important thing is we know whose side we’re on.  We’ve seen things at school whether with kindergarten, first, second on up to fifth and of course the older students in high school, as well as with our own peers. We see someone hurt by a comment. Do we step in? Do we talk it out with students or our peers?  None of us like to see kids being cruel to other kids or adults being cruel to other adults, but do we do anything about it? Thoughts to ponder.

Chapter 5 of The Power of Their Ideas, talks of choice. The author states that “choice is a tool for effecting change” (93).  Having good ideas can help make changes that are needed. But at times, people are resistant to change. I’ve seen it and I’m sure we’ve all seen it.  The author goes on to say that “choice offers an opportunity but doesn’t by itself make schools good” (96).  She says choice can make experiments possible, and choice works because the commitment between teachers and parents works because they had a choice.  What a great quote, “We might thus be able to accumulate wisdom rather than endlessly recycling fads” (101).  That would be great!

Corey's thoughts:

The focus of this chapter is on choice, specifically making the choice as to which school children will attend.  I must admit that before reading this chapter I was of the mindset that having a "choice" in which public school to attend meant that one would opt to segregate themselves from those he or she does not wish to be included with.  I was thinking along the lines of vouchers and leaving the public school system for the somewhat "priviliged" private system.  I have a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to the public vs. private debate.  When I first began my teaching career, my uncle told me that it would be a wiser choice to teach in a private school rather than a public one.  He stated that even with my best intentions I couldn't possibly make a difference in a public school and teaching there would be waste of time.  Although I know he meant well and he was just looking out for my best interest, I made a command decision then and there to prove him wrong.  Since then I've sought out schools that might be considered challenging because of the diverse natures of the student population and areas that are known for having lower socioeconomic status.  I've always wanted to teach somewhere where I felt like I could do some good and actually make a difference.  However, after reading this chapter I now realize that having a choice in public education doesn't necessarily mean that one has to choose to get away from a certain group to join a better one.  It can simply mean that a choice is made for the education and school that best suits you.  It doesn't have to be about rich vs. poor or white vs. black.  Atleast that's what Deborah Meier believes and writes about in this book.  She believes that choice is essential for saving public education.  Instead of focusing on the public vs. private debate, Meier writes that the social and economic status of students is what makes schools different and that the privileges that have been afforded to those students with higher social and economic statuses should be afforded to all students, regardless of status.  She also believes that choice allows families to choose a school that shares similar ideals about educational practices. 

While I think that Meier's views are all well and good, I have never seen anything even remotely similiar to the choices that are given to the students in her area.  Public schools aren't run that way here.  I can't even imagine working in a system that takes a school with a large student population and breaks it up into two separate schools.  Does that really happen?  Although I become more and more intrigued by the CPE way of life, I have to say that it all seems a bit "fairytale-ish" to me.  Maybe I'm more cynical than I think I am.  :)

Chapter 6

Mar 3

 Corey's Thoughts:

     This chapter focused on the benefits of working in a small school.  This concept is a bit foreign to me.  As I stated in my comments on chapter 3, I work in a K-3 school with over 800 students.  There are 10 teachers on my grade level alone!  I can't imagine teaching in a school where every teacher knows every student, but apparently this is the way things work at CPES.  I'm constantly advocating for the importance of creating a community within each classroom, but this chapter talks about the importance of a school community.  (I don't think my school is quite there yet.) 

     Meier states that because the school is so small, change is a bit easier for them.  She states specifically, "In a small school we can dare to experiment without feeling we are treating kids like guinea pigs.  After all, what doesn't work isn't irreversible.  We can reschedule one afternoon and put a new agenda into practice the next morning.  We can undo them just as fast.  Changes don't require Herculean coordination or time consuming bureaucratic arranging.  In short, smallness makes democracy feasible in schools, and without democracy we won't be able to create the kind of profound rethinking the times demand" (Meier, 2002, 110). 

     Since the beginning of this program, we've talked a lot about our schools and how they're always looking to implement "The next big thing."  Wouldn't it be great to teach in a school that collectively decides to try something new, tries it out, and if it doesn't work, gets rid of it?  In Diane's class last week, we talked specifically about my county, Henry, and how we implement new things, they don't work, but we don't get rid of them.  We just keep piling on more.  It's so frustrating, and in my opinion, completely ineffective. 

     However, I know that it is not feasible for my county to think small, the way CPES does.  So I now ask myself the question, "As a large school, what can we do to develop a better sense of schoolwide community?"  I don't think that this book is going to give me the answers to that question.  But it's definitely given me something to think about and possibly begin to research.  (Oh no, more research!!!!)

Cindy ponders:

Chapter 6 had interesting points that really describe the school the author is writing about and for this reader, the chapter I’ve been waiting for! If you get this book, read chapter 6! As in previous chapters, Meier states, “unless the people who live in schools day in and day out, principally the kids and staff, are entrusted to use their intelligence on behalf of the task at hand, we’ll not get change for the better. Anything else is inefficient, a waste of our precious time and resources” (p.116).  Such a statement is I feel, pertinent to any school my school, your school, anywhere people come together for the good of their school.  This chapter describes the good points of a small school and therefore in doing so describes her own school, Central Park East. She says if a school were small and adhered to six essential ideas, then the students would have the same chance as those set aside for a small elite. As I read the chapter I asked, why can't even larger schools do the same?  Know each other, respect each other, get together to discuss issues and decide as a group, why couldn't this work anywhere? And what makes a large school? My school is less that 1000 and I know a lot of the students by name.

After listing several reasons on the plus side why small schools are the best, she finally adds that “small schools are also more vulnerable”(p.117). Not all the people like all the people, all the time, but that could happen anywhere large or small.  She does paint a very nice picture of a school where everyone helps everyone and they work together to make and keep their school running smoothly and as a result everyone is happy.  As Corey mentioned from her last week’s book blog, it’s “very fairy-taleish”.  Even the greatest of teachers aren’t happy all the time, (I try tho), and how do you get that many great teachers in one school?  Meier hasn’t mentioned how she employs her great teachers.  I think they must be from a fairy tale too! Hope that comes soon, I’d love to read how she does that!

Chapter 7

Mar 11

Chapter 7  This chapter is called, “Respect”.  “Schools are the conscious embodiment of the way we want our next generation to understand their world and their place in it” (p.135).  That quote sums up Meier’s school because she describes respect that runs through her school; the respect the staff wants to model with the hopes of students doing the same.   She talks of what makes a good and bad principal; the all business kind and the buddy kind. She describes how at CPE they worked together to find the strategies that best produced results and the ones that didn’t which they would throw out.  Creating their own school, they are able to do that, and we know that at our schools we cannot.  We depend on our principals to lead us with strategies that they tell us about in staff development and meetings.  Coincidently, I was speaking to a teacher friend about principals recently.  She has worked with many in her almost 30 years and after reading this chapter and listening to her speak about the principals she has worked with, what Meiers wrote is true; there are many different kinds of principals!  Again, Meier says it right when she says, “If mutual respect is the bedrock condition necessary for a healthy democracy, then it must be the foundation of schooling” (p.135). I agree, schools need good, dependable leadership. She says that teachers are called to teaching because they “really like people” and her friend Alice Seletsky says that the “uncertainties which are the source of so much concern and frustration, are the very elements that make teaching and learning such a lively business” (p.135).  A beginner teacher I had a conversation with, wondered why a teacher was changing what they were doing with her students saying, “We didn’t do that last year”. Well they have different students this year and we assess and change where needed.  We have to be willing to change our plans from year to year. The teacher, who uses the same plans no matter the students, probably would not make it at CPE. One of the powerful ideas in the book is collaboration. Collaboration is paramount to CPE and should be at any school.  Our school has been using collaboration more this year than any previous year that I’ve been there.  I can see results with the teachers and their relationships and in the classrooms.  Some of the ideas in “The Power of Their Ideas” to me are not new, but ideas that should be used and at times they are not.  Utilizing ideas makes them powerful, not just having them. 

Corey's thoughts:

Love your comments on this chapter Cindy!  You are so very insightful!  I too latched on to that quote from Alice Seletsky, "uncertainties which are the source of so much concern and frustration, are the very elements that make teaching and learning such a lively business" (p.135).  Teaching is full of uncertainties, but that's what makes it so exciting.  I leave school everyday reflecting on the fact that something that happened today surprised me, frustrated me, excited me, saddened me, pushed me to try harder, made me laugh, and made me thankful that I am a teacher.  Not only do I believe, as stated in the book, that teachers are called to teaching because they really like people, but I think that most teachers also really care about people.  This is where the respect factor comes into play.  When you truly care about others, you are more open to respecting their ideas, feelings, and differences.  I admire Deborah Meier for being so honest about her struggle to let go of some of her own ideas about what a principal should be and the way a school should be run.  Meier states, "I had a hard time realizing that if the staff's job was to be not technicians carrying out my ideas but collaborators engaged in a shared challenge, then my dreams could not always take center stage"  (p.129).  It's nice when people in leadership roles are able to be honest about their own shortcomings.  It makes them seem more human and more approachable.  We are currently struggling with this at my school right now.  There is an obvious divide and lack of respect between the administration and the staff.  On the staff side, it seems as though our administrators feel that they know the "one right way" to teach and that is what we should be doing.  Many of us feel as though we're not being respected as professionals.  On the bright side, the divide is causing the staff to pull together, be more supportive of each other, and in many cases, collaborate more than ever before.  However, I find myself thinking a lot about how much better the situation could be if we were all respectful of each other and there was no longer a divide.  I, as well as many others in my school, want to be valued and respected for the knowledge that I bring to the table.  I want to be treated as a professional and I feel very strongly about the fact that I have earned that type of treatment.  I'm going to end this week with my favorite quote from this chapter.  I think that it encompasses the thoughts of many teachers in my school right now.  "Maybe mutual respect is what we're all looking for--which means feeling sure the other person acknowledges us, sees us for who we are--as their equal in value and importance.  When there's enough respect, perhaps we're able to give up tight control over our youngsters, and give them more space to make their own decisions, including their own mistakes.  What strikes me forcefully is how much adults and kids long for the same things"  (p.120)   

Chapter 8

Mar 18

Cindy

Chapter 8-- I liked this chapter because Meier defines CPE more deeply; how the teachers the parents, the students all working together for change, if necessary. And yet learning together, always learning. When we stop learning, we stop growing as teachers, administration, students, and parents…people. I love the comment on page 146, “We cannot pass on to a new generation that which we do not ourselves possess!”  On the same page is also a quote from Eugene V. Debs, “I would not lead you to the promised land, because if I could lead you there so, others could lead you back.” Corey, can you explain that to me? It almost sounds self defeating, like don’t try it because it won’t work anyway.  Why wouldn’t you lead me to the promised land? Wouldn’t I have a good mind to stay there and not want to go back or be easily lead away?  I’m puzzled on that one.

But going back to the beginning of the chapter, she speaks more on the instinctive side of teaching as in parenting.  I so agree with this.  I do believe good teaching can be learned but I think there is a bit of instinct in there too, and I agree that teachers use their instinct (or not if they don’t have it) every day, many times a day.  And Meier is right again when she says  we don’t learn it in Ed. 101. She says we need a “new way of learning about learning” and that our schools should be the lab for that learning. I do have days when I feel like I’ve learned a lot from my class.....my second grade class! And I hope the kids did too. You know, like it was a great day! One statement she made in this chapter I’m not sure I agree with, she says on page 141, “…even if we don’t come into teaching with desire, schools are a good place for reigniting such pleasures….”  I agree with the reigniting part but why would a person be a teacher is she/he didn’t have the desire?  That’s crazy.  I feel like this chapter is loaded with truths tho. She ends the chapter with, If we intend to dramatically improve the education of American kids, teachers must be challenged to invent schools they would like to teach and learn in, organized around the principles of learning that we know matter.  It's always about what matters most!

Corey's Thoughts:

I think I enjoy reading your comments almost as much as I enjoy reading this book Cindy! :~)  I have to be honest with you, I'm not sure about the "promised land" quote that you asked about, but here's what I think.  I don't know that there is such a thing as "the promised land" of education.  I think it's a myth.  We don't need to chase after the idea of a perfect school.  I think that we should take the ideals that we know make up good teaching and put them in place to do the best job we can teaching our children.

This chapter on reinventing teaching is making me reflect quite a bit on my own teaching practices and habits.  In the journal entry at the introduction of the chapter Deborah Meier is commenting on the practices of one of her teachers.  She says this about George; "He doesn't really accept that "telling" isn't teaching.  Who does?  We keep feeling sure that if we could but "tell it right . . ." (The noble fantasy that fuels every curriculum reform.)" (p.138)  I can relate to the way George thinks.  I know that kids need hands on experiences and time to "muddle" through their own thinking, but sometimes I still want to talk them through it.  I know that I have to continuously convince myself to let go of some of my power.  It is a challenge that I face daily.  This doesn't mean that I don't think talk is important in the classroom.  I think it is very important, and so does Deborah Meier.  On page 153 she says, "Talk lies at the heart of both our everyday lives and our intellectual development."  I just need to make sure that I don't control the talk that takes place in the classroom.  The kids need their own voice.    

Chapter 9

Mar 25

Cindy ponders Chapter 9

Wow! Just what we’ve been talking about! Just prior to chapter 9, Meier states that at their school, CPESS, they define well-educated as “getting into the habit of developing theories that can be articulated clearly and then checked out in a thoughtful way.” (p.155) further, “Good theorists are close observers who are always in the process of wondering why, putting things together and taking them apart”. I believe our cohort has become a group of good theorist “wondering why, putting things together and taking them apart”. It’s refreshing to see in print the reality of it all and the value of knowing we’re not alone. Chapter 9 talks about how students feel about their education. They need to feel a part of their education in order to feel its authenticity otherwise it doesn’t mean anything but going through the motions until graduation day. But as Meier asks, “How many students see it that way?” My theory is that students (some) do feel the worth of education, but at different times, some in elementary, maybe, some in middle school, some in high school, and some (most) not until college, or even later after they’ve wasted their parent’s money and realized they really do need and want it. Most just can’t see the worth of academics, not like they can see the possibilities of being good at a sport for instance. This is an interesting chapter in that Meier defines what’s worth knowing to people, students and that the answers can be different. Some feel the worth in art, sports, academics etc. This chapter also includes the answer of something people have asked for years, “What’s the purpose of algebra?”  I’ve never seen or heard an answer like the one she gave on page 165.  And it’s good to have asked that question through the years because as she states on page 170, “If we agree that what we want are citizens with a lively curiosity-who ask, How come? and, Why? and, Is it so? We’ll have the start of a new definition of “well-educated.”  I’m willing to give it a try and I agree that the way to encourage this is not to "speed through the required material".  Again, it matters and students need to see that teachers care about subject matter and very possibly they will feel the worth of academics.

Corey's thoughts:

"the means must be one's own hard work" (p.162), "honor the work ethic" (p.170), "capacity to stick it out" (p.171) - I love this chapter!  Let me tell you why. :~)  I was not one of those kids in school that everything came so easy for.  I didn't feel smart.  I didn't make great grades.  I wasn't in ANY honors classes whatsoever.  I wasn't anywhere near the top of my class.  I constantly doubted my abilities.  But I now know that I did something right.  I worked my butt off & I never gave up!  Needless to say, my hard work paid off.  I want to be the teacher that is the constant cheerleader for the "not so obvious" students.  My parents and a lot of wonderful teachers constantly pushed me and they never gave up on me.  Inate abilities are wonderful and amazing, but hard work is admirable and deserves some credit.  In order for my students to work as hard as they possibly can, I have to prove to them that I believe in what I'm teaching.  And that is hard sometimes.  Especially when I think about the things that Deborah Meier talked about in this chapter that teachers are required to teach their students.  Finally, the truth is out - ADVANCED MATH IS POINTLESS!  Okay, maybe that's not what she said verbatim, but she did say, "Hard-data freaks, measurement folks, arise!  Find us some statistics that show a hard connection between the academic subjects taught in most high schools and successful living by anyone's standard, aside from the arbitrary connection we've created by making the one a prerequisite for the other" (p.166).  Okay, so the curriculum we've been presented with isn't going to change anytime soon.  So what do we do?  We make the teaching and learning applicable.  It has to make sense.  Connections have to be made.  I totally agree with what you said Cindy.  We have to redefine what we call "well-educated."  I think that with the right combination for each individual student, they can and will see the worth of academics.

Chapter 10

Mar 31

 Corey's thoughts:

I absolutely love the ending of this book!  Chapter 10 on Failure, Persistence, and Public Education gives me hope for the future.  I think we all know by now that our work as educators and advocates for education is never done.  Deborah Meier says, "There's never a time when one can say, Well, I've done all that can be done.  There is always something else." (p.180)  This statement might be daunting to some, but not to me.  I realize that my job is big.  It's become more than my job though.  Teaching, learning, building relationships, and being an agent for positive change in education will be my life's work.  It's a commitment that I've made and that I intend to keep.  I doubt I'll ever do anything as big or as meaningful as Deborah Meier and the amazing work she did in Harlem.  But I've made a promise to never give up and to continue to find better ways of doing things in order to help ALL of my students.  Before beginning this program, I didn't recognize the voice that I have in order to create positive change within my school.  I was never the one to speak up at a faculty meeting, take on a position of leadership, or even express my concerns to my administrators.  I didn't think it was my place, so I just went on about my business.  I now realize that my voice is important and I have to use it.  Although it's going to take baby steps, I know that I can do something that will make a difference.  I have realized that I have to challenge myself to get more involved.  I have definitely stepped outside of my comfort zone this year.  And you know what, it's not as uncomfortable as I thought it was going to be.  I think the trick is not to get too complacent as a teacher.  Constantly be mindful of the fact that there is always room for change and growth.  And if it doesn't go as well as you had hoped today, there is always tomorrow. 

Cindy Ponders....

(Hey, you beat me this time!!! And I'm not changing mine.....You wrote about the same quote I did!! Great minds I guess!!)

Well first of all, it’s been a pleasure sharing this book with Corey (and the class).  We’ve both given each other additional insights to it that we may not have caught on our own. I do recommend this book for your pedagogy library because it has so much good in it. I stated way back at the beginning that I like very much how Meier starts off each chapter with her journal entries. Adding thoughts of her own makes the book more personal and authentic. So in the last chapter again I read her journal entries.  She talks of a difficult encounter with a high school student and how she (Meier) morphs from “calm old lady to furious defied authority” (175).  She then takes a minute to compose herself and they work it out. Even in elementary school teachers can have moments like that and to read that this lady who I don’t know but have come to respect, loose her composure, well, we’re all human after all. She states at the end of the chapter that because her school, Central Park East, is small and the students are there until graduation, they get to know each other and the parents.  Any issues that arise are talked about as a family would because they’ve know each other for so long.  I can see how this would be beneficial. Chapter 10 in Teaching to Change the World talks of community and teachers and parents helping together to improve the education of students, as did Paul Gorski.  Maybe we are all saying the same thing, we just have to show it, do it!  Again I love her comments. On page 180 she says, “There’s never a time when one can say, Well, I’ve done all that can be done. There is always something else.” 

She says teachers have lots to deal with, but we need to do what we can to “improve the odds that these phenomena don’t drive out the best educators and undermine the natural drive to do one’s best that lies at the heart of good parenting and good schooling. When we no longer believe such a natural exists, we’ve lost most of the battle (181). One last requirement Meier mentions is keeping a sense of humor.  If we can laugh at what one person I know (college professor years ago) would call the “Mickey Mouse” that we teachers have to put up with then, I believe that’s half the battle as well. So keep that smile!!