Becoming a Teacher

This week we completed a Webquest using a vareity of excellent classroom and teaching resources. I really liked nearly all of the websites that I visited to complete the assignment and thought i’d mention a few of my favorites. One website I liked was the Newseum’s Today’s Front Page, which features almost 600 newspapers from over 60 countries and numerous from across the US. There are manny ways this can be used in the classroom, but I also found myself interested in just reading the front pages of many different papers. I also liked that the site allowed the user to view the paper as it looks, not just a list of articles. Another website I liked was the EconEd site which featured lots of creative lesson plans for engaging students in the content of economics, a topic that as a future Social Studies teacher don’t even find interesting. The lessons show students economic throughout history and in today’s world, as well as, using website like the federal reserve to get current data and information.

There were aspects of the wequest activity that I liked, as well as some that I didn’t. I really liked that websites chosen to be put on the list, they were actually really useful, and cover a wide range of topics. Even though the websites were good, the activity got a bit repetitive and tedious. For me I would have rather taken a look at one or two sites per week and discussed them in the blogs, rather than having to work with them all at once. It may just be a matter of personal preference, but I think I would have spent more time exploring the sites if I didn’t have to get through so many of them to answer specific questions.

In this week’s reading we returned to the thoughts of Michele Anstey and Geoff Bull concerning the idea of multiliteracies. In chapter 4the authors examine the changing and revived genre of children’s literature. Since I spend most of my time focusing on adolescents, I wasn’t sure how much I was going to find applicable in a chapter about children’s literature. The authors’ begin the chapter by discussing picture books and how they are changing to represent a multitude of literacies. Even though I do not focus on children’s literature, there are many texts and media used in adolescent social studies education that require students to be able to interpret pictures, photos, and other graphics. Anstey and Bull make the important point of emphasizing that in addition to having to read the words of picture books, one must also learn to “read” the pictures and contract meaning. They also point out that the post-modern picture book is no longer for young readers only, since today’s authors and illustrators generally work together to construct multiple and even divergent meanings. This idea made me think about some of the newer cartoon movies, such as the Shrek series, in which that stories and images often have several meanings, depending upon the interpretation of a particular age group, making the movies appeal to a wide range of audiences. Today’s picture books not only illustrate a story, but facilitate the development of multiliteracies, along with critical thinking and analytical skills.  

In chapter 5 Anstey and Bull take a look at the consumption and production of text. One of the first and most important ideas that they stress is that texts are more than just books. In today’s world texts include video, multi-sensory presentations, non-linear, texts from other cultures, and “unfiltered texts”, among others. They state: “…the new text forms may require particular forms of culture-specific language or necessitate socially situated literary practices that are not available to some social groups or cultures”. With this holding true difficulties exist in how texts are able to be used and interpreted by a class of students. Even though it may be difficult for a teacher to convey a single idea using a certain text, this may not be a bad thing, as hearing multiple perspectives and interpretations can lead to a deeper and more well-rounded understanding. I also liked the statement the authors’ made about interpretations; they write: “Any interpretation of the text that the reader makes depends as much on what the reader brings to the text as what the reader takes from the text”. To me this sums up a very important principle for teachers to keep in mind when choosing the appropriate texts. I also thought the questions on page 106 provided a great range of levels of analysis that can be used for a variety of multi-modal texts, particularly when trying to pair them with Bloom’s Taxonomy.   

In the news this week I read an article in the New York Times Online Edition entitled, “Profile Rises at School Where Going Against the Grain Is the Norm”. In her article Winnie Hu discusses
Village School, an alternative school an affluent district on Long Island. She opens the article which a description of a social studies class at the school, in which the teachers is casually dressed and called by their first name, the students sit where they want, and note-taking is optional. This scene is actually exactly what I encountered last year when I observed a social studies class at School Without Walls, here in Rochester. I felt quite out of place sitting upright in my chair, with my legs-crossed, in my professional clothes that I had been told to wear…..and a little envious of those in their pajamas sitting on the floor, though equally as engaged in the discussion that was taking place. Somewhat similarly, the VillageSchool offers a more low-key approach for those not driven by test scores, AP credits, and Ivy League aspirations. I think having the option of attending an alternative school is a great opportunity for many students, especially those who do not seem to fit with traditional high schools. Even though I liked attending a traditional high school, as a person who is motivated by grades, credits, and educational attainment, I know that there are many students, equally or perhaps smarter than me, who do not thrive in such an environment. I think that it is great that there is revived interest in having alternative schools in districts across the country. The school district I attended did not have an option of an alternative school, but I can think of several friends of mine, and even my own brother, who could have had such a better high school experience and learned more if an alternative school (like Village or SWW) was an option, because it would have better fit their needs and personality. Even though alternative schools face a lot of scrutiny for academic standards and rigor, I believe that the students who attend them and thrive are learning so much more, and better preparing themselves for the future, than they would ever do in a traditional setting. For me, it’s all about what is necessary and appropriate for the greatest benefit to each individual student.

For class on October 30, 2007 I attended the lecture by Stephanie Brown Clark, M.D. from the University of Rochester Medical Center, entitled Frankenstein and other Monstrosities: A Medical and Literary History of Congenital Malformations in 19th Century Britain and France. In her presentation, Dr. Brown Clark examined how congenital anomalies were perceived in the 19th century by both the scientific community and the greater society. One of the most important points made by Brown Clark is that persons with congenital malformations were seen as a “source of fascination and repulsion”. She highlighted the famous case of the conjoined twins Chang and Ang Bunker from Siam, which is now known as Thailand. The twins were toured across the globe, along with others with congenital malformations, as part of circuses, for patrons to gaze their fascinated eyes upon. The public’s amazement with persons with congenital anomalies can be derived out of the relative lack of knowledge by the medical field on the topic, according to Dr. Brown Clark. She pointed out that in the 19th century many of today’s most informative scientific fields were just forming and gaining popularity among scientists and physicians; with the filed of genetics in the 1830’s and later biology in the 1850’s. Even our knowledge of congenital malformations, or monstrosities like those depicted in the Frankenstein movies, public intrigue with such human rarities has not declined. People today are still fascinated with stories of conjoined twins and other anomalies, like the story of Ladan and Ladeh Bijani, but I feel are more concerned with the science and lives of the people themselves, rather than as monsters or circus acts. I remember reading lots of new articles on the Bijani case, but more because I was interested in the physiology and other sciences to build my understanding.
Even though the presentation itself could have been better I really liked that this sort of content was being included for the symposium. I enjoyed it because it focused on something different than what I am used to learning about, and a topic that I did not know much about, but was still interested in. After spending most of my time studying education and history, it was somewhat refreshing to listen to a lecture on science and medicine.
This week I also read an interesting news report in the New York Times Online Edition, entitled “50 New York Schools Fail Under Rating System”. In this article Elisa Gootman and Jennifer Medina report on NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s recent designation of 50 NYC public schools as failures under the city’s grading system. Because these schools were marked failures, under NCLB law, over 29,000 students will potentially be eligible for transfer to a better school. Even though 50 schools failed, over 60% received A’s and B’s, under the system. The grading system used on NYC weighs heavily on individual student improvement on state standardized tests, while also factoring overall student state test achievement, and school environment. Bloomberg claims the reports are devised to give parents crucial insight into their schools.
Even though Bloomberg claims the grading system is to inform parents it has produced mixed reactions. One parent wrote: “The way you treat our educators is part and parcel of the way you treat our students – constantly barraging them with narrow, deadening tests, and demoralizing them with meaningless scores. Another criticism of the system is, rightly in my opinion, aimed at its emphasis on student exam score improvement. One school in Staten Island received a failing grade; however, 86.5% of its students were meeting the states standards in reading, above the city’s average – so is this school really failing. One of my main concerns with the grading system used is that there is no plan to allow students at failing schools to transfer, a right they have under NCLB. On this subject Bloomberg states: “…it may very well be that your child happens ro have a good teacher, and this school suits that child to a T”. To me this shows that Bloomberg is willing to grade and criticize; however, still fail to understand the root of the problems put in the money and efforts to develop real solutions for effective long-term change for the future.

This week I read an article entitled; “A Principal Who Cracks Down on Stress”, from the New York Times Online Edition. In her recent article, Sara Rimer discusses the stress-reducing efforts of the principal of Needham High School, Paul Richards. Needham is located in the affluent suburbs of Boston, where he feels the students have become consumed with academic competition and pressures to an unhealthy extreme. Richards has created a stress reducing committee at the school, which meets to devise solutions to alleviate at least some of the stress many of the students at the school face. The school has set requirements for seniors to take yoga classes and worked with teachers to schedule some homework-free weekends and holidays throughout the school year. Richards was much criticized for stopping the publishing of the school’s honor roll in the local newspaper; a choice he describes as “a move aimed at some parents who had turned the lists into a public accounting”. Richards is a participant in a movement of teachers and administrators from across the nation to resist “an ethos of super-achievement at affluent suburban high schools amid the extreme competition over college admissions”. Rimer points out that as part of stress-reduction efforts some schools are experimenting with later start times so that students can get more sleep. I think this idea would be beneficial to almost all students, but especially to those in Richards’ school. I remember as a high school student staying up until sometimes one in the morning working on AP homework, if school didn’t start at 7:30am, it might not have been such a huge deal. I definitely agree with Richards’ perspective that he’s not going to be able to overturn the entire culture of competition for achievement, but that small efforts to help the students out can make a great difference.

In additon to the assigned readings for this week I also read an article from the New York Times Online Edition, entitled “Failing Schools Strain to Meet U.S. Standard”.  In this article Diana Jean Schemo discusses a rising concern in states across America with large percentages of poor urban schools, that too many of their schools are being labeled in need of restructuring under NCLB. In California more than 1,000 of the state’s 9,500 schools have been labeled as chronic failures and the numbers continue to grow. State officials predict that under the current NCLB plans all 6,063 public schools serving poor students in California will be declared in need of restructuring. I found this to be a shocking statistical estimation that could become the reality in many states in the U.S. including New York. The article argues that since so many schools are failing and states are leaving it up to the school districts to find ways to improve themselves, radical change is not taking place. The article includes comments from concerned parents who believe that the schools are simply giving up and just trying to teach the test to students. Many people within the field of urban education believe NCLB “glosses over” the real problems and finding real solutions to the dilemmas stemming for the realities of urban education across America today.

This week’s readings incorporated a multitude of texts across a variety of media, all centered around the concept of equity, or in the case of American education today, a lack there of and significant issue often ignored in regards to creating and enacting effective solutions.   

The literacy activity focused n this week was the vocabulary tree. I had previously never used the idea; however, I most easily associate it with the commonly used strategy of a mind map or concept web. The vocabulary tree has additional qualities that allow it to be more organized relationship-based than a mind map, but I also feel that it does lend itself to be easily adapted to any topic and get the same effect. I had trouble trying to take ideas from the readings and fill out the different part of the tree around the word equity, but perhaps I was trying to go beyond its intended use. More specifically I found that my tree would have been similar to a mind map, as I struggled to decide what concepts are roots and which belong at top. Although I didn’t get much of an additional effect from the tree I produced for equity, I see how it could work very well for other topics. I roughly sketched a tree of my own, based on the topic of WW1. I wrote WW1 toward the bottom of the truck then place the main causes (militarism, nationalism, etc.) and an example of each as the roots. In the middle of the tree I branch of the eastern front and western front, and created limbs off of those. At the top of the tree I had branch with the results and effects of the war. Perhaps because I was more familiar with organizing information on the topic, I found the vocabulary tree as easier to use for in that example than I did for equity, based on this week’s texts.  

The first item I looked at this week was the video entitled “Take a tour of this forgotten state”. The information in the video was obviously a striking representation a grave injustice in our society; however, I noted the effectiveness of the presentation of the information. Using technology as simple as a flash video with narration the authors’ were able to make a much more engaging presentation than an article with the same statistical information.  

The next item I looked at was the poverty quiz, another effective way of transmitting statistically-based information in an engaging manner. I was surprised by the dramatic difference between the government-defined poverty line for a family of four at $19,971 and what the majority of Americans believe is the minimum income needed to adequately provide for a family of four, at $35,000. The later of the two, based on the video I watched beforehand definitely appears more accurate, but I suppose the people who may actually be faced with such financial situations would naturally be better determinants of what is needed, rather than those who make the distinctions from above. However, I was not surprised to read that the U.S. child poverty rate is 2 to 3 times higher than that of many industrialized nations, a sad reality that simply cannot be legitimized by emphasizing high population and a commitment to a free market economy, in relations to our smaller, more economically socialized and predominantly western European counterparts.  

The next reading I examined was an article entitled “Rigor + Support = Success”. The authors of the article use examples from successful schools to argues that students from impoverish backgrounds need structure, routine, rigorous demands, and challenging work to do well. I agree with the authors, that decreasing the curricular demands for disadvantaged students is not helping them. If the school doesn’t demand much from students, it’s not as likely that they will strive to achieve beyond, a concept that can also hold true for many students who are from middle class backgrounds. The article includes a quote from Scott Gross, stating that: “In order to be successful in society, people need to be able to operate in structured environments”. I agree with this idea because to me it doesn’t propose that people need to conform to society the way it is and not actuate change, but that they still need know how it operates and to have organization.  

Unlike the other readings that short story of “I Stand Here Ironing”, offered a more narrative approach to equity; however, I’m not sure if I was able to fully adapt the story to the previous ideas on equity and education. However, this may be just a reflection of my personal preferences in reading. One thing I did note was that the character Emily usually did not have time for her own school work because she had to care for her younger siblings and help her mother, which is a very real situation for many students, especially those from lower socio-economic backgrounds.  

The final selection I examined was the research-based article from Linda Darling-Hammond. First, I really liked the use of the Guide-o-Rama with this article and I was able to see how this can be a very effective literacy strategy. With the complexity of articles such as this, and many of today’s textbooks, it helps to know what to focus on and what is relatively unimportant or redundant. In this article I noted many of the comparisons between schools in high-achieving countries and those in the U.S. including: high-quality universal pre-school and healthcare for children, funding for schools equally and centrally, additional funding for needy schools, competitive salaries for teachers, high quality teacher education, state-funded professional development, curriculum focused on critical thinking and problem-solving in the real world, and little to no high stakes testing.

For this week’s out of class assignment I listened to a podcast of The Diane Rehm Show, a regular radio show on National Public Radio. In the broadcast I listened to, she hosted a conversation on the No Child Left Behind Act, featuring insight from authors Dan Brown and Jonathon Kozol, as well as, politician Doug Mesecar. Mesecar argued in support of the No Child Left behind Act, as acting Assistant Secretary of Education for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development. I found it interesting to hear Mesecar’s perspective because most of what I hear and read is speaking out against the act. Even though I agree with much of what Brown and Kozol have to say, I liked getting to hear the rebuttal of someone in favor of the standards and testing, even if I don’t necessarily agree with it. I was also impressed with the way each of the guest tried to maintain respectful of each other and their differing opinions, though I could tell it was difficult for times, especially between Kozol and Mesecar. The tension between the speakers was enough to keep the listener’s interest in their debate. I found myself listening with anticipation for one of the guests to lose their poise and let their strong opinions overtake their professionalism. Even though this never happened, it made me want to listen to the whole conversation, and look into reading their books. When the speakers engaged me in what they were discussing I had no difficulty maintaining concentration on what they were saying. However, during the introduction of the guests, their works, and the topic, I had to focus and even take a few notes in order to know who each speaker was and what believes they hold important.  I also noted that each speaker at least attempted to support their beliefs with examples, statistical analysis, or at least reasoning, rather than just arguing their opinions. Not soon after listening to this podcast, I turned on my TV and was watching a televised version of a sports talk radio show. I found myself making comparisons with the podcast, as I noticed that I couldn’t even decipher the arguments of any of the three sportswriters because they were all arguing each other at the same time, which made need appreciate the restraint that Mesecar, Kozol, and Brown had, despite the highly controversial topic, and impassioned opinions each hold on it.   

In addition to the podcast, I read an interesting article in The New York Times Online Edition, entitled “For schools, lottery payoffs fall short of premises”. In this article, Ron Stodghill and Ron Nixon argue that in many states lottery profits are not going into education spending appropriately. When the creation of many state lotteries was proposed it was agreed that a certain percentage must go to education: however, in many states the lotteries are not meeting the originally agreed upon terms, or have ad them reduced. Across the nation, according to the article, lotteries usually account for less than 1% to 5% of the totally revenue for K-12 education last year in the states that use this money for schools. Generally I believe that there should be a greater focus on financially supporting education in the lottery system, many people probably don’t even know that the original purpose of the state lottery was to support education. The authors’ point out that in many states, lottery funding is not being made as additional support for schools, but is dollars that go into the amount schools are supposed to receive from the state, or even being used for other programs. Instead of using lottery revenue to give schools more money they are using the funds for the initial amount schools receive, or even using the revenue to fund other programs.

This week’s reading in Subjects Matter, by Harvey Daniels and Steven Zemelman, discussed the role of supplemental reading in the classroom. D&Z include the reasoning behind using supplemental texts, where to look for them, and strategies for using them effectively. The authors point out that even though using supplemental texts, especially those of significant length, is considered useful by most teachers; many believe that the curriculum demands of today’s schools do not allow for enough time to implement their use. However, I agree with D&Z, in that taking the time to bring in good supplemental text is worthwhile for students, as there texts are usually far more engaging than any textbook. Even though using longer supplemental text may involve spending a great deal of time on one topic in the content-area, useful skills in reading, analysis, writing, and critical thinking are still being developed. Allowing students a chance to focus on those skills, may even prove to be more beneficial than the cost of having to skip or abbreviate instruction on a few minor topics.  

Another important point made by D&Z is the prominent impact that allowing students to choose their own supplemental reading has on engagement and interest. In addition to the benefit of having students choose a reading that interests them, it promotes the development of skills in research. In the real world it is doubtful that someone will tell you what to read in order to get information on something that you need to know. For example if you want to know which political candidate you should vote for, it would be advantageous to know how to get reliable information about all the candidates, rather than relying on what is just given to you in TV commercials. Using supplemental reading also teaches students about the importance of examining multiple perspectives in order to fully understand an issue, whether it is accounts from history, or even different ways of solving a math problem.  

The authors’ also made numerous suggestions of where to look for supplemental texts, many of which I had not really ever thought about. Most teachers would think to look on websites or in newspapers, but useful texts can be found in many other places. One suggestion given by D&Z was the Uncle John’s Bathroom Reader series. Even though the name doesn’t make the book appear to be a good source for classroom use, I actually think it could be useful after taking a look at one of the books. After just skimming a few titles from the book, I came across a short reading on the development of the first submarine. I read the story and it turned out be factually similar to what I learned in a history course on naval warfare, but was far more interesting to read.  

In chapter 7 Daniels and Zemelman highlight the importance of building a community of learners in the classroom. From my experiences as a student, the classes that I not only enjoyed the most, but learned the most from were those in which I felt comfortable with both my fellow students and the teacher. Having a community of learners is something that is important in all content areas because in many cases, students can learn more from their peers than from a teacher or textbook, because fellow students in the class are having the same type of experience in the classroom. Students can share their areas of confusion and explain concepts that they may know well with each in a more easily understood way in some cases, then getting an explanation from someone who has studied the subject of years, or from a textbook.  

In addition I also decided to continue reading articles from a special section in the New York Times Online Edition about middle schools. This week I read an article by Elissa Gootman, entitled “For teachers, Middle School Is Test of Wills”. In her article, Gootman discusses some of the difficulties faced by middle school teachers. Most teachers in middle schools are not specifically trained as middle school teachers; they are usually either trained as high school or elementary teachers. Even though in most cases middle school teachers are certified to teacher the classes that they are, there is perhaps a lack of adequate training to specifically teach middle school students, whose needs are not the same as elementary or high school students. I think that it is important for teacher education programs to address the unique nature of the middle school classroom and for middle school teachers to be ready to face the challenges of teaching this age group.  

This week’s reading selections and classroom activities included several discussions of literacy strategies and how to carry them out in the classroom. Several of the authors’ focused on teaching students how to go about reading textbooks and other selections effectively, a topic in which I feel a very disproportionate amount of time is spent on in today’s classrooms. Teachers and experts in content-area fields often forget that their advanced level of skill and experience with certain content is not shared by their students, when it comes to reading. Students must be taught how to get the most from well developed and significant reading assignments.  

This week our class tried out the note-taking strategy of using sticky notes, in place of writing in margins and highlighting. Even though at this level I am allowed to write and highlight in my textbooks, for most students they cannot. Before trying out this strategy I was a bit skeptical, since I had never tried it before and thought it would be very time consuming. However, it didn’t take long for me to realize the advantages of this strategy. Since I couldn’t just highlight a section of text, I was forced to really search out for the most important ideas and summarize them. Unlike making notes on separate paper, which I had to do in high school I could make notes and then place them right next to the text in which they appear, in case I needed to refer back to that section I could use my notes to find it easily. Although I didn’t think I would like this strategy, now I wish I had thought of it or been taught to do this when I was in high school and couldn’t write in the textbooks.  

In chapters three and six in their book Subjects Matter Daniels and Zemelman focus on the topic of textbooks, discussing the topic of how teachers can make the best use of them in the classroom, as well as, how to help students get the best use their content as well. The authors’ (D&Z) point out some of the most significant issues with today’s textbooks and our use of them. One of the most common problems with a textbook is that it simply contains just too much information to cover it all, which would be an unproductive strategy even it were attempted. I have had teachers that tried to cover all the texts. I recall several instances when I was reading text for AP history class, and feeling that I was reading something completely insignificant, but it was assigned so I read it anyways. After having to read everything, including the stuff I later realized was insignificant, that difficulty of the text and assignment often caused me to lose grasp with the key points of the selection. I’m not sure if my teacher’s assumed that as a 10th grader I was capable of navigating a college-level text on my own, or if they simply didn’t want to chance leaving out an obscure detail that could be a question on the AP exam. My experience as a student combined with the though of D&Z make me realize that all students need to be instructed about literacy for the level that they are at, even above average readers can benefit from learning strategies for improvement.  

D&Z also highlight other problems with today’s textbooks and many teachers’ use of them, including, reliance on a single source, too many points of focus, use as a narrative rather than as reference, and inaccuracies in the content. I agree with D&Z in that teacher’s need to selectively chose readings from the textbook, and provide support for their students as they complete them. I feel that student can get so much more from their texts when they know what to look for, they obviously can’t remember everything. I liked the strategies that D&Z proposed for help students use textbooks more effectively (pg. 148) including empathy and understanding, discussing where to begin and reading strategy, using groups, and supplementing the reading. The idea of supplementation is particularly in social studies, my content-area, as the opinion of the textbook’s author isn’t the only one that should be emphasized. I also found the discussion of reading in math interesting. Throughout high school I never remember being asked to read the math textbook; the teacher would show the class how to do the problems their way and then we would model that. However, if I was ever struggling with the homework problems I was found that actually referring to the textbook readings about the section helped a lot, even though I wasn’t actually taught how to read it well.  

This week’s reading also included an interesting selection from Cris Tovani, entitled “Parallel Experiences: Tapping the Mother Lode”, from her book Do I Really Have to Teach Reading. I really liked about how she described her experiences as a literacy instructor/coach and then discussed what can be drawn from them. One of her first examples discussed how most don’t consider reading diagrams and instructional manuals as part of literacy. I definitely agree with Tovani as this type of literacy is something that I definitely struggle with. When thinking about this idea in my own life I thought about some of the people in my family. For me I noticed that same idea as her example brought out. I have an older brother who struggled in high school and despite graduating he’s mention to me on several occasions that he wishes that he knew how to read better and had a higher level of literacy because he struggles to read the newspaper or a book; however, I know that if he needed to read a diagram for installing a household appliance or a building plans for a deck, he could do it with no problem. It seems to me that there are many people who struggle with conventional “reading and writing” literacy, but are very literate in other less considered forms of literacy. Tovani discusses the fact that teachers need to help students take that literacies they have in one area and show them how they can be used in other areas.  

In addition, I also read an article in the New York Times, entitled “Middle School Manages Distractions of Adolescence”. In this article Winnie Hu discusses the successful strategies used by one middle school to focus on teaching middle school students, as many educators are realizing that the teaching of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students has much room for improvement. The article highlights the successes of Briarcliff Middle School, in an affluent district in Westchester County, NY. At Briarcliff, the administration states that it only hires teachers who really want to teacher middle school students and are dedicated to developing skills in specialized instruction for this age group. The school strives to focus on developing their students critical thinking abilities, teach students organizational skills, and instill social and moral values. I think the teaching of organization skills is important, much like literacy, if students are not taught how to keep track of assignments and organize their notes, many of them will not learn how to do so well on their own. Similar to how I’m learning that teacher’s need to teach students how to read for their subject, they also have to teach students how to study for their subjects, a topic included in the curriculum at Briarcliff. I also found it interesting that Briarcliff focuses on teaching social and moral values. When this idea is mentioned many parents and community members become alarmed, fearing that the school may be teaching students values that are contrary to what is taught at home or in their religion. I admit that when reading the statement “instilling social and moral values”, as part of the Briarcliff Middle School mission, myself, I became concerned. However, the values focuses on at Briarcliff are actually not of that sort. The school discuses values like thinking flexibly, taking responsible risks, and managing impulsivity, all of which I think can be beneficial to discuss with any middle school-aged student. When idea of teaching social and moral values is used in public education, many people simply object to the idea. However, I think that if the schools provided a description of the values they want to teach, they would probably be similar to those used in Briarcliff, rather than the moral and religious values that parent fear being taught. In my opinion more parents would be in favor of schools teaching values, if they only knew what kind of values they were.