Extending School Hours/Days - My Response

After hearing Obama's recommendation to extend the amount of time that children spend in school, I had a few thoughts about a few points that he mentioned.

• Increase the number of and access to after school programs. I think this would be a great idea for coomunities to consider. Too many times students, especially adolescents, spend time finding something else to do after school.  They may not be interested in extra-curricular activities that would require them to stay at school longer, but would be willing to get involved with community-based activities such as the YMCA or Boys and Girls Club. Additionally, these programs should not be the only ones offerred in low-income areas as they currently are.

• Increase the length of the school day.  This sounds like a great idea. I mean, how often do you hear, 'there just aren't enough hours in the day,' or 'if I had just one more hour, I can do so much more.' While this may be true, it is not a successful strategy on its own. In addition to (or maybe even instead of) extending the length of day programs, it's necessary to recognize the importance of adequate and sufficient resources and manpower to attend to the ever-increasing standards and objectives that students are expected to learn and teachers are expected to teach.

As a teacher, I think that adding additional time to the school calendar whether it's in the form of longer school days, longer school weeks, or a longer school year would be a step in the right direction to increasing and improving the learning of students in our country.  However, the demands continue to increase, expectations are on the rise, and resources and manpower are on the decline. For our educational system to be more effective, it is important that it functions as a more streamlined, well-oiled machine.  The current problem is that schools are expected to function and progress full speed ahead but our tank is only half full...or half empty, depending on how you look at it.

•  

Four Ps and Mysterious Mental Happenings

• Rank’s creative type: Jimmy Neutron - well-adjusted, self-actualized, strong, positive personality. Spontaneous expression of creativity. Jimmy is a young scientist that spearheads one of my most favorite shows. He's witty, funny, ingenious, and seems to have this love-hate relationship with his equally smart counterpart, Cindy. 

• Jung’ s psychological type of creative person: Eminem - draw from lessons of life, emotional shocks, and experiences of passion and human crisses.  All you have to do is to listen to one of his songs to know that he speaks from the heart of a person with a difficult past.  His material is understandable and often feels that he needs to explain himself to his beloved daughter, Hailey.

• Jung’s visionary type and primordial archetypes: creators of Saw IV - People often respond astonished, confused, disgusted...horrified! Reminds us of fears, nightmares, and dark thoughts. I've seen 1 (and a half) of the movies in the "Saw" series, and the first thing that came to mind was how scary it is that someone actually thought of this idea! Have you seen any of these movies??? Absolutely SICK! AAAAHHHHHHH!

• Torrance’s creative type: Johhny Test  - each episode is based on  Johnny, a young boy with genius older sisters, parents with superhuman powers, a talking dog named Dukey, and access to a lab, finding solutions that present themselves in each episode.  These problems often involve other people that he is trying to outwit and he usually  enlists the expertise of his older sisters to assist.  His solutions/inventions are often creative and smart but usually backfire.

• The creative press: www.teachertube.com  - original, creative, meets a need, has social value, ingenious. Jason Smith, the creator of teachertube.com, offers an educational alternative to online videos and resources for teachers and students alike. It offers easy access to upload and view educational video from around the world.  

• Mental Happenings
o In Art - Salvador Dali
o In Music - Enya 
o In Science - BreatheRight Strips' creator
o In Literature - Roald Dahl Museum Center and books written by Roald Dahl 

Creativity in Gifted Education

Just a few thoughts that I had about the readings...

           "I'm above average in ability and high in creativity...but motivation was always a problem" (Davis, 277).  Renzulli's three-ring definition of 'giftedness' identifies traits that highly talented people that have made contributions to society possess - high levels of creativity, task commitment, and intelligence. Unfortunately, many educational program designers use these criteria as a formula for identifying students as 'gifted.'  The text states that this was never the intention of this definition. Obviously, this negatively impacts students that are highly intelligent but lack the motivation to take risks and follow through with creative tasks. Think about the number of students that you see that have so much potential that they do nothing with it and are content with blending in or being 'average.' Even more so, think about those students that have so much potential and what they choose to do with their 'gift' has a negative impact on society.  Their lack of motivation could be the result of many things such disappointments, lack of opportunity, lack of awareness of gifts, laziness, etc., and their contributions go undone. It's a shame that many schools districts including Wake County follow this model for identifying 'gifted' students.  They favor high test scores and IQ levels over the creativity that a child shows. Rubrics, ranges, percentile scores, etc. are established as a baseline when creativity can not accurately be assessed numerically or captured in a range or rubric.  Instead, Renzulli recommends a "highly flexible...five step identification process" that holistically evaluates students' giftedness, and the trait of motivation is one that is a part of the cultivation process for students once they have been identified.  

Further recommendations from the text and articles include acceleration and enrichment programs for students.  These ideas seem more prominent in secondary school while at the elementary level classroom teachers are expected to differentiate for a wide range  of students.  In the upper elementary grades, 'gifted' students often receive services outside of the classroom because that is the best way to meet the needs of a majority of students within a grade at one time. These services seem very disjointed from the regular classroom instruction and students feel that what they are learning in their pull out services is not a part of the regular education curriculum.  Thus, this in itself can have a negative impact on motivation.  

So, perhaps loosen the criteria. "When in doubt, admit" (279). It is better to catch a wide range of abilities to be sure that those that are truly talented can receive the services that they need. But does that really work? Are those students really being targeted for receiving instruction at their zone of proximal development if they are being taught at a level that meets the needs of moderately gifted or average students? This wide net of ability in itself is what the regular classroom atmosphere is.

This goes to show us that the identification process in itself is flawed.  It is based on one's definition of what giftedness is.  This definition may come from a variety of experts in the field, but as mentioned with Renzulli's three-ring definition, these 'formulas' could misinterpreted or misused.  The best way to identify giftedness in education is to provide teachers with additional training in gifted education and stress the importance of fostering and facilitating creativity in students.

Creative Personalities on my MP3

"Creative individuals are remarkable for their ability to adapt to almost any situation and to make do with whatever is at hand to reach their goals" (Csikzentmihalyi, 1996). As I began this assignment I thought of a ton of celebrities that could fit the mold for the 10 antithetical traits. So I pulled out my mp3 player and began reading bios of some of the artists in my playlist. Here's what I discovered.

Creative people...

...have a great deal of physical energy, but they are often quiet and at rest. Maroon 5 is a group that I've had the pleasure of experiencing live, and they are a very energetic group of singers that are a part of the neo-soul genre.  Very laid back and humble,there rise to stardom was a slow process but they continued to reinvent themselves into what they are today.

...tend to be smart yet naive at the same time. Britney Spears was the first person that came to mind.  She started on the Mickey Mouse Club but made her solo debut in the late 1990s. Her rise to stardom was fast and steady, and embellished with controversial media coverage including two failed marriages, a chaotic nervous breakdown, and two children all before her 25th birthday.

...combine playfulness and discipline, or responsibility and irresponsibility. They are both rebellious and conservative. The Black Eyed Peas seem like a very unique group that combines hip hop, pop, and rock in an original way.  There lyrics, their performances, and their costumes are borderline eccentric yet classic.

...to an extent, escape rigid gender role stereotyping. Pink is an artist that tests the boundaries by saying what many women are thinking.  Her style is honest (sometimes painfully honest) and flirty, yet she offers a very strong edge through her likes and style of dress. 

...tend to be both introverted and extroverted. They are humble and proud at the same time.  Beyonce is able to hold her own on stage and perform for thousands of people, but she also maintains a private side of her that seems very comfortable to her. Furthermore, she has a very glamorous lifestyle as a celebrity but she is not one to be afraid of being seen with little no makeup.

...are very passionate about their work, yet they can be extremely objective about it as well.  Ne-Yo is an artist that has been hard at work in the music industry since her early teen years.  He spent most of his time writing songs for and collaborating with others, and continues to receive praises. 

...openness and sensitivity often exposes them to suffering and pain, yet also to a great deal of enjoyment.They alternate between imagination and fantasy, rooted in sense of reality.  Michael Jackson's love of music and global issues, especially those that relate to children, earned him quite a bit of publicity, positive and negative.  His music served as a way to communicate these issues as well as a form of entertainment for his beloved fans. 

Sketchword: Professional Learning Teams

Here is my sketchword illustration of Professional Learning Communities (PLTs).