Film- "Waiting for Superman"

This week I watched the documentary film, "Waiting for Superman." Even though this film does not address the topic of integration in curriculum, it sends a powerful message about the state of public education in the United States. I believe that through learning about the poor education that American students are receiving, us educators north of the border can not only feel good about our teaching, but make sure we continue to strive for the best for our country's youth. Integrating the curriculum is a good way to improve our education, but I think attempting that in America would result in failure as there are so many more basic problems that need to be straightened out first.
   A part of the film that shocked me was when hidden cameras were taken into the schools to document the teacher's performance. They caught teachers on camera sitting at their desk reading a newspaper while students did whatever they wanted. One teacher even told their student that "I get paid whether you learn or not." I hope I never encounter this type of lazy and indifferent attitude when I enter the profession because I don't think I could restrain myself from verbally abusing this "teacher." It is not only the fact that this teacher is abusing the system because they know how hard it is to get fired, but they are preventing an entire group of young people from attaining there true potential. Teaching is a career that comes with a high degree of responsibility and when teachers like the ones in the documentary, totally disregard this, it paints a poor picture of all teachers. Teachers need to be able to be fired for this kind of blatant disregard for the future's knowledge and skills.
   Another scene in the film that really resonated with me was the emotion that went into the lottery for the charter schools. These families were completely heart-broken when they're child's names were not called. It makes the importance of education for society all the more real. This film also made me realize how fragile education is. If we fail to invest in maintaining our education system, there is no reason why families wouldn't desire to go the private route while those who can't afford it are left behind. I know that when I become a teacher I will ensure that parents need not seek out schools in other areas because the students will have an education that they are proud of and I think integration of the curriculum is one way to do this!
  I highly recommend checking this movie out as it provides a valuable insight into education and the immense importance it has currently and will have when these students grow up.  

Monkey Trial Project: 21st Century Skills

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjKpD7qh7Ac&feature=email

This video gives a glimpse into what an integrated unit looks like and and the types of skills that are a part of the process. I remember covering the topic being covered in this video in grade 9, but our class was not granted near the amount of freedom to go through the thought process as this class. The debate between intelligent design and evolution is not as controversial as it was once, but it is still worthwhile to teach this example of knowledge changing society's traditional views. Allowing students to learn about this iconic topic of belief versus scientific evidence through their own research is a great way to facilitate student sharing and demonstrate respectfulness of each others knowledge.

The group element was an aspect of an integrated curriculum that was useful to see. It appeared that the students were genuinely challenging each others conceptions of how to successfully present their argument to the rest of the class and even the school board. Bringing about conflicting ideas about the content and the presentation of that content seemed to cause students to re-evaluate their notions and then reach a general consensus. I feel that creating a learning environment in which students feel comfortable not only sharing their ideas, but also giving constructive criticism to their peers, is vital for learners to transcend from being subjects of knowledge to builders of knowledge. Introducing students to group collaboration and continual re-evaluation of their group's stance on real-world issues is how I think preparing young people for the challenging and troublesome problems of the world will realistically be overcome. Big issues will not be solved by isolating thinking, so education needs to take the benefits of group work seriously and allow for sound ideas to take form through the process of group questioning and valuable arguments.

I am definitely inspired by this video to create a similar student-directed unit for my students. I would definitely consider the monkey trial topic, but if it were a younger grade I would perhaps look at designing a unit like the social movement in the United States as they would more likely be able to grasp the idea of equality more than the incompatibility of evolution with creationism. I am confident that my students someday will be able to take the initiative to dig deeper into a subject out of their own curiosity and desire for a stronger knowledge base like the students in this video appeared to be doing.