Yoga and Critical thinking a K-12 curriculum (final essay)

School has not changed much then they did 20 years ago. The only difference is students have so much distraction now a day.  But what is still true is that students lack attention and concentration. I am not proposing a silver bullet to help education; Mike Rose will be highly upset about that.  But what can we do in school to help our students concentrate and focus. The single most important change to the K-12 program curriculum to better help students and teachers would be adding Yoga to our school system. This could be seen in the movie Chalk, as Ms. Webb the PE  coach was trying to get her students to participate. It’s obvious she wasn’t familiar with any of John Gattos, Paolo Freire or bell hooks work, because it was plain to see she still believes in the dialogued of the teacher of the student. I will explain more in detail how Yoga and Critical thinking go hand in hand.

Yoga helps students with social and emotional skills; it also helps kids with Mindfulness and critical thinking.  The field of prevention, Greenberg says,” not only aims to avert school failure, depression, and extreme aggression, but to promote positive qualities like empathy, citizenship, and strong friendship. Prevention focuses on building resilience and promoting well-being children, by working both with the children themselves and with their environments, the quality of the parenting they receive, the welcoming nature or their classroom, the caring of their teachers.”

The importance of Yoga is having the teachers/student relationship and critical pedagogy run hand to hand, includes the relationship between teaching and learning. This continuous process of unlearning, learning, relearning, reflection and evaluation. Ira shore defines critical pedagogy as, “Habits of thought, reading, and speaking which go beneath the surface meaning, first impressions, dominant myths, official  pronouncement, traditional clichés, received wisdom, and mere opinion, to understand the deep meaning, root causes, social contest, ideology, and personal consequences of any action, event, object, process, organization, experience, text, subject matter, policy, mass media or discourse.”

Finding the root cause, the who, what, when, where of things. These are the early stages of critical thinking; these are the question an inquisitive child would utilize. Bell hooks in Critical Thinking says, “children are organically predisposed to be critical thinkers. Across the boundaries of race, class, gender, and circumstance, children come into the world of wonder and language consumed with a desire for knowledge. Sometimes they are so eager for knowledge that they become relentless interrogators-demanding to know the who, what when, where and why of life. Searching for answer, they learn almost instinctively how to think . Sadly, children passion for thinking often ends when they encounter a world that seeks to educate them for conformity and obedience only. Most children are taught early on that thinking is dangerous. Sadly, these children stop enjoying process of thinking and start fearing the thinking mind.”
To make our kids critical thinking from an early age, we must use Yoga, Greenberg remarks that, “Mindfulness practice s can increase people’s awareness of their own emotions and their ability to regulate them, This can make it possible for them to reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, and since a pretty good percentage of teenagers are at risk of depression. It’s important to have it in the education tool bag. “  If we can help our kids stay focused and help them become emotionally and intelligently, independent, leaders and thinkers, then eventually we will stop seeing our schools as factories and our students as the end product.  John Gatto states, “Our schools are…..factories in which the raw products (children) are to be shaped and fashioned……and it’s the business of the school to build its pupils according to the specifications laid down. Mr. Gatto believes “that we have become a nation of children, happy to surrender our judgments and our will to political exhortations and a commercial blandishment that would insult actual adults. “

Mike Rose also points out, “to convince policy makers and officials to stop using corporate speak, when talking about education. “game changer”,” non-starter”, “leverage”,” incentivize” and so on. We would chastise our student for resorting to such clichéd vocabularies. Education of all places should reflect a fresher language. And while we’re at it how about moratorium on the phrasing, we are doing it for the kids or its good for the kids when referring to just about any initiative or practice. Talk about clichéd language, the phrase is used as substitute for evidence or a reasoned argument.” Schools should not be used for this; schools should help open a young kids mind. Greenberg speaks about mindfulness and how this helps kids focus, “Mindfulness is not just a series of practical techniques. It helps us have ethical character we need to live in the world. It carries with it a world view of not harming other. “He later states also that. “Kindness, caring, empathy, being able to de-center form your own point of view and listen deeply to others these are values that should be cultivated in our classrooms. These are the social and emotional skills that a person who experience optimal nurturing condition, would develop during childhood and adolescent and bring with them into adulthood.”

Yoga can be taught at a young age. They help strengthened motor skills, increases flexibility and it also helps self-regulate. It helps with obesity. Since childhood obesity rates have doubled and so has low-self esteem. Yoga encourages physical fitness activity for kids. Yoga helps you self-regulate, since kids snack out of boredom, sadness, and tiredness. Kids with Yoga are better self-regulator and they make more conscious choices regarding what foods they eat and when.

Kids have so much stressed and distraction and need a way to release the tension. By doing Yoga, it is known to biochemically release a lot of hormones when you exercise that actually allow you to feel better. Harvard medical school recently did a study on High school student and Yoga. They all reported being less stressed, greater control over negative emotion, respect for self image, impaired posture and more relaxed with plenty of energy. Yoga as a learning tool and critical thinking actually goes hand in hand yoga is the seed that gets planted and critical thinking cultivates that seed. In order to get a student to believe in critical thinking, you just can’t give them a book and tell them to read about, hooks, Gatto, Preire, Rose or Giroux. Yoga should be used as a learning tool; you teach kids it’s not about telling-it’s about creating experiences for them. It helps children learn how to control their energy so they can focus and concentrate better and think more clearly. Critical thinking is not hard to teach, bell hooks best states that. “Students do not become critical thinkers overnight first; they must learn to embrace the joy and power of thinking itself.  Engaged pedagogy is a teaching strategy that aims to restore student will to think.”

At this point it, it is critical for a child because as a child’s pedagogy, you can embrace the art of critical thinking and you and the student will be as one or you can damage them by emerging as a teacher-student and student –teacher. “You can also lead the student to memorize mechanical the narrated content. Worse yet, it turn them into containers into receptacle to be filled by the teacher. The more completely he fill the receptacles, the better a teacher he is. The m more meekly the receptacles permit themselves to be filled, the better students they are.” Quotes Mr. Freire.

Thru Yoga remember you will be playing the role of “problem-posing educator , you are always the cognitive, engaging dialogue with the student. The dialogue of teacher of the students cease to exist, this must happen as an educator.

In conclusion, Yoga added as a K-12 curriculum will bring much needed help to teachers. They will see a much more alert student, more focused, resilient, relaxed. They will be more physical and mentally challenge to take on everyday challenges and be able to sort and prioritize various aspect of school. You start at any early age in kindergarten and slowly every year upgrade the different breathing and stretching technique and exercise. You will build an army of self-thinkers, critical thinkers instead of an army of “workforce that will enable the United States to complete in a major global economic and military power”, as stated by Paulo Freire.

Yoga will build so much confidence in our kids that we will be overflowing with confidence, and confidence is something we don’t lack off.  It is best said by our scholar Lewis Black, “We have a silver lining we rank 25 in math, 21 in science, we fail behind just about in all topics in school except in one; CONFIDENCE. Who needs physics and math, geometry; just a little more confidence and he would have cleared the roof.”

Shambhala Sun- A Real Education (The Mindful Society/May 2012) page 75 by Barry Boyce

Bell hooks- Teaching Critical Thinking Practical Wisdom published Jan. 2009

John Gatto- Against School (How public education cripples our kids, and why) Harpers Magazine Sept 2003

Mike Rose- Resolutions someone should make for 2011 , Washingtonpost.com/answesheet

Paolo Freire- The Banking concept of education form pedagogy of the pressed- Chapter 2, (1970)

Paoulo Freire-Lesson to be learned from Paulo Freire as education is being taken over by the Mega rich –Truthout, Nov. 2010

Lewis Black- Back in Black-Education in Crisis.www.thedailyshow.com

A Six pack of qoutes

Mike Rose, “Stop looking for the structural or technological magic bullet- whether its charter schools or value –added analysis-that will improve education. Just when you think the lesson is learned-that the failure of last year’s miracle cure is acknowledge and lamented-our attention is absorbed by a new quick fix.

 

Bell hooks, “In simpler terms, critical thinking involves first discovering the who, what, when and how of things-finding the answers to those eternal question of the inquisitive child-and then utilizing the knowledge in a manner that enables you to determine what matters most.

Paolo Freire, “The capability of banking education to minimize or annul the student’s creative power and to stimulate their credulity serves the interest of the oppressors, who care neither to have the world revealed not to see it transformed. The oppressors use their humanitarians to preserve the profitable situation. Thus they react almost instinctively against any experiment in education which stimulated the critical faculties and is not content with a partial view of reality but always seeks out the ties which link one point to another and one problem to another.

John T. Gatto, “We have been taught that is, schooled in this country to think of success as synonymous with, or at least depended upon, schooling, but historically that isn’t true in either and intellectual or financial sense. And plenty of people throughout the world today find a way to educate themselves without sense. And plenty of people throughout the world today find a way to educate themselves without resorting to system of compulsory secondary schools that all too often resemble prison. Why, then, do Americans confuse education with just such a system? What exactly is the purpose of our public schools?

Lewis Black, “We have a silver lining: we rank 25 math, 21 in science, we fall behind just about in all topics in school except in one; Confidence. Who needs physics and math, geometry, just a little more confidence and he would had clear the roof.

Barry Boyce, “Kindness, caring, empathy, being able to de-center from your own point of view and listen deeply to others-these are the values that should be cultivated in our classrooms. These are the social and emotional skills that a person who experienced optimal nurturing condition would develop during childhood and adolescence and bring with them into adulthood.

A Black Rose for Critical Thinking in school

A black Rose for school

Lewis black and Mike Rose are pretty much alike in how they talk about school system and their sarcasm about school. Lewis is obvious  a comedian and had timing, as Mike Rose wouldn’t do good as a comedian, I believe his timing would be off other than he is making a funny point about school and about how higher up educators have lost the sense of teaching and have become CEO.

Case in point two examples, “to convince policy makers and school officials to stop using corporate speech, when talking about education. “Game changer”, “nonstarter”,” leverage” “incentivize” and so on. We should chastise our students for resorting to such a cliché vocabulary. Education of all places should reflect a fresher language” and t” to make fewer with economist in the education. These practioners of the dismal science have flocked to education reform. Though most know little about teaching and learning. I mean, my lord with a few exception they did such a terrific job analyzing the financial and housing markets, something they do know a lot about”  

As do Lewis black make fun of the newsman anchor for NBC when ask how they can help, “just walk in and ask how can I help? Does your school need a bathroom monitor? What kind of idiot walks in and says I am not qualified but I want to teach…………? Tony Danza…duh “

The differences and its only one while Lewis Black skims the surfaces on these topics, Mike Rose is really digging deeper or has deeper information, and why shouldn’t he. He is qualified to talk about this subject and obviously know more. Just like what does Oprah, Obama and Steve jobs know about education. Yea they studied in school and I’m sure they are critical thinkers but would you take education information from them?

bells hooks and critical thinking

Critical Thinking by bell hooks

 

bell hooks teaching critical thinking should be a standard practice that all teachers should apply to.
Habits of thought, reading, writing, and speaking which go beneath surface meaning, first to understand the deep meaning, root causes, ideology, and personal consequences of any action, event, object, process and  experience. Self process and evaluation are critical process for teachers to understand and apply for themselves and share that with the students so they understand that they are also part of the team
Critical pedagogy includes relationships between teaching and learning. Its proponents claim that it is a continuous process of what they call "unlearning", "learning", and "relearning"

It is sad that most children are taught early on the thinking is dangerous and start fearing that thinking mind. And as they go thru school where independent thinking is not acceptable behavior. By the time they get to college they come to dread thinking. Fortunate some professors are aiming to educate thinking, critical thinking is what matters. Thus embracing joy and power of thinking or engaged pedagogy.. This strategy aims to restore students will to think. Critical thinking is an interactive process that demands participation by teacher and students alike. Critical thinking requires us to use our imagination and seeing things from perspective.  Critical thinking is great but it needs to be taught by all teachers and used and nurture and I don’t see that yet in grade school level yet.

 

top five of the week

A Real Education by Barry Boyce *****

I ranked number five because not only is this helping kids in High school but you can teach this to children in grade school and have children become aware off focus on their emotions and mindfulness skills. The seed of critical thinking can be planted here and let it be nurture  thru yoga. We know kids at a young age run the risk of depression, anxiety and focus due to distraction. Mindfulness practice is a critical element to help effectively increase attention. Attention is one of the greatest challenges for children, and perhaps only more so in a world offering so much distraction so frequently.

Arizona Bans Chicanos studies program by Deb Aronson ****

I am a little bias on this on since it is about Mexican –Americans learning to read and better educating themselves. But its not only the school district in Tucson, it’s the whole state legislature, that believe that Mexicans-Americans are being taught to take over the US. I am for the MAS program but its only one sided.  That same program would not work for the Washington, Oregon, Idaho or Montana. I do believe as the nation evolves more into a Spanish speaking country that a MAS program could work out for your local school.

Critical Thinking by bell hooks ***

It is sad that most children are taught early on the thinking is dangerous and start fearing that thinking mind. And as they go thru school where independent thinking is not acceptable behavior. By the time they get to college they come to dread thinking. Fortunate some professors are aiming to educate thinking, critical thinking is what matters. Thus embracing joy and power of thinking or engaged pedagogy.. This strategy aims to restore students will to think. Critical thinking is an interactive process that demands participation by teacher and students alike. Critical thinking requires us to use our imagination and seeing things from perspective.  Critical thinking is great but it needs to be taught by all teachers and used and nurture and I don’t see that yet in grade school level yet

Gift of Grip by Jerry Large **

Jerry Large story is very simple show your kids love at an early stage. What parent doesn’t love their child. But in reality most parents are working so the child doesn’t get the attention he deserves or a lot of times its overkill where the kid is smothered  with love and the child doesn’t build grit.

Children, arts and Du bois by Keith Gilyard *

I really didn’t like this. To me it feels like they have a good thing going with kids but because of cut backs they decide to drop the program for STEM initiatives. The fact that we are teaching our students to be strong in these areas so they can go out and be strong in global business and commercial functioning so that the nation’s economy grows. So much is relative to , Alexander Inglis, principles of secondary education, where he comes up with six basic function in order to wire children predictable and harness and manipulate a large labor force.

arizona republicans hate mexicans

Arizona bans Studies program by Deb Aronson

Tucson Unified School District has found a way to motivate young Latinos boys and girls to want to learn and read  and help them graduate high school and go to college. 97% of students graduate high school and of that 70%  go to college due to students participating in this program.

So what is this program that TUSD finds disturbing, unethical or a clear and present danger to the state of Arizona and the United Sates? The MAS program which was established in 1998 by TUCD to improve retention and graduation rates among the mexicans-americans. The courses are known as culturally-relevant classes. In other words these kids learn more about Hispanics writers and poets, that they read about. They read books from Pat Mora, Luis Alberto Urrea, Anaya, Rivera Pena and Duarte instead of Williams, Jones, White and James.

So a successful program gets shut down due to the state decides the class promotes racism and classism towards Anglos, and it advocating ethnic solidarity and suggestion to overthrow of the government.

Teachers from the MAS program have been asking what precisely is the curriculum that is objectionable, yet no one ever came forward to say, “ I am uncomfortable with this lesson or what you are teaching.”  There is more behind the scene, for in 2010 was a bad year for Mexicans Americans in Arizona. A law was passed where basically if you looked Hispanic the police have the right to stop you if they have reasonable doubt that you are an illegal immigrant.

I like this program, any program that gets a Chicano to want to read a book from cover to cover and encourages and gives you confidence to go to college and better yourself is good. But the issue is with the state legislature that is being run by republicans and spreading that cancer of hating Mexicans and anything they stand for to self-improve down into our school system.

children art and dubois

It seems now a days whenever a school of after school program is very successful program is very successful in creating creative thinking or cultivating mindfulness skills that these schools are the ones that get cut from funding, why? Maybe the football team needs new helmets, or even better STEM initiatives. Young kids are having the carpet pulled out right from them in poetry, song, story writing, and dance for what? To ensure the US has a competiveness and future economic prosperity. They should start teaching automotive, welding and manufacturing in grade school if they are so concern about labor force in school instead of creating a next Picasso, Lennon or Walker.

We are preparing out students to be strong in these areas, science, technology, engineering and math, to help their chances in global business perhaps ensure our nation commerce function. What is scary is Joseph Stiglitz, believes, “to invest in education, particularly the education of those who are relativity lacking in monetary. He further states “life chances for students in the US are more dependent on the education and income than their parents then in any other developed country that records such data. This is not good news for those in the bottom and middle financial sectors or for their off springs.

This reminds me too much off the banking concept where the oppressor react immediately and instructively against any experiment in education which stimulates the critical thinking and especially john gatto’s “against school” the integrating function.

Get'er done with GRIT

Gift or grit, curiosity help kids succeed

 

If you want success, built character and the rest will follow.” Says Jerry Lange

Building character to help overcome failure. Too much adversity is bad and so is too little. Which does no allow a child to built grit. This was the example of the students @ Welton. The kids had not been overcoming adversity or too little, Mr. Keaton knew and was trying to show this to his kids, to find their GRIT, suck the GRIT out of life, to yelp out grit.

Grit is about self-control, zest, social intelligence, gratitude, optimism, and curiosity. Also if more parents hug and kiss and coo in the first years, we have lot more happy and successful children. But this has to be to a certain age, parents can get out of control and raise a more of a mamas boys that becomes dependent on her new independent.

Grit does help turn boys into young men.  You cannot shield them from grit.

 

Yoga in the sun

Shambhala sun by Barry boyce

Using Yoga to calm yourself and regulate your emotions, to procure other emotions and be able to de center from your own point of view and listen deeply to others is an awesome program for kids.

This program will improve students health, well-being, develop nurturing condition, enriched your mind.

Greeenberg says, “The field of prevention not only aims to avert school failure, depression, and extreme aggression, but to promote positive qualities like empathy, citizenship and strong friendship.”

He also states “prevention focusses on building resilience and promoting well-being in children, by working both with the children themselves and with their environment, the quality of of parenting they receive, the welcoming nature of their classroom, the caring of their teachers.

Boyce trust that federal grant making agencies and foundation are taking notice. Especially since mind full proactive can increase people awareness of their own emotion and their ability to regulate them. This can make it possible for them to reduce feelings of depression and anxiety, and since a good percentage of teenagers are at risk of depression, why wouldn’t you do it.

Mindfulness and related practice for students and teachers is a wonderful practice and tis something all schools should look into. I believe this will help students and start removing labels that we put on our children ADHD, ADD, Bipolar and mental health.

Mr black is back

Lewis black: back in black School system

1.       Its fall and spend a week or two pretending we are gonna do something about the condition of our school.

2.       NBC: One Week for education nation, 51 weeks for incarceration

3.       You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to learn our school s are broken

4.       What are we going to do about it; Robert F. Kennedy schools, modern building, ritzy coffee,

½ billion dollars to build a school, did they built Los Angeles a Wogswart

Kids need a challenging curriculum and more one on one help, more than a coffee and a putting green

5.       Charter school…a better education and accept just few kids, make the selection process as difficult

6.       Public school to fix it, NBC believes walk in and ask how you can help, does your school need a bathroom monitor.

7.       What kind of idiot walks into class and says I am not qualified but I want to help

Tony Danza is teaching and is not qualified; his students feel the same, Teach Tony Danza, 10 grade English class

We have a silver lining; we rank 25 math, 21 science, we fail behind just about in all topics in school except in one; CONFIDENCE. Who needs physics and math, geometry, just a little more confidence and he would had clear the roof.

Lewis black sarcasms whether its politics, or laws , or education is always well spot on and humorous, and for NBC to tell people just go to any random school and help out.  Its crazy

Don't eat the Chalk

Chalk real time notes

It’s about the impact the teachers have on you.

50 percent of teacher quit within the first 3 years

Texas is the setting, mostly Hispanic students

History teacherMr.Lowery

Show up and be prepare

Not much motivation to start the class in history.

Has no control of the class

Kids come and go from class

No respect for him in the faculty staff

Looking for chalk the students have clearly taken control of the class and are showing no respect

Looking for a cheat- cheat guide on how to teach

His class is slowly warming up to him

Doesn’t like cell phone

Is standing up for himself by kicking the student out of class

Somewhat feels left out from the faculty

Talks to his mom about his class behavior to let her know that he cares for the student but he can tell that the mom doesn’t respect the teacher.

Excited about Spelling B student to teacher, it looked fun for the teachers and students

Wins spelling “B”

Students are proud and show Mr. Lowery respect, especially cell phone guy.

Made connection with the kids and is proud of it.

Is indecisive whether to come back next year

Being a teacher is tough but no one has taught him how to be a good teacher

MrStroope

Sarcasm is used by teacher

Lesson plan; teaches by the edge of the seat

Cleanliness

Don’t be their friend have a relationship

I care about you and I have your best interest for you

Talks to his students about they should stop mocking him

Teacher field trip, taken a realm of paper, borrowed petty cash, check E-mail during class….With integrity Now….teachers are role model, Mr. Stroope tells them they need to better role models.

Calls home to tell Wills’ parents he has bad grades, he is messing with him.

Relates teaching to shooting an object 6 out of 10

Is using students to find out information about the other teacher of the year nominee

Is using humor to try to win, some teachers don’t approve of it.

Doesn’t win teacher, looks down and upset, but he looks at the bright spot, is very emotional but still sees the humor. “he lost to a grandma”

Feels bad for losing it in front of class

Assistance principle

Being lazy, doesn’t want to generate paperwork

Ignore the situation and it will go away

Mrs. Riddell

Assistant principle 1sr year

Is having a hard time with home and school no sex in three weeks

Affecting the relationship with CoachWebb

She caught Mr. lowery masturbating

She is trying to set up teachers

Fratnization with the students

She is sexually frustrated from working long hours

Tardiness is a gray area

Teachers complaining about other teachers her biggest

Constant strain with her and coach Webb

Students need to taught at home first

Coach Webb

2nd year PE

She is afraid they think she is gay

Webb is crossing the boundary, with the match teacher

She is trying to motivate the heavy students to lose weight.

Coach Webb has a thing for Mr. lowery

Tardiness keeps being an issue for her black and white issue.

Coach Webb realize that she is coming down on people and needs to change her style

High school

My high school experience happens between 1983 and 1987. I was an average students got “C” average on occasion I would bet an A. Cooking, art, PE, and Shop automotive where the classes I excelled and I really didn’t have to try. About my sophomore & junior , I would met with my guidance counselor and he would go over my score exams and tell me that I was only capable to get a job in these field, automotive, secretarial, janitorial, and cooking. I was never expected to excel, I didn’t know how to. I was a sponge at the time and wanted to know more and learn. I would study astronomy and know the stars in the sky and the planets; I would read books and books about astronomy and black stars, super nova and other celestial objects. I also loved geology, I wanted to know about dinosaurs and evolution, I was very fascinated with Darwin, these are things I would read and teach myself. At the end of my senior year I asked why I never took biology, I always wanted to cut open a frog, and chemistry. I wanted to mix chemicals and learn the periodic table and all its elements. I was told It wasn’t in my profile. I just ignored it because I had been approved to join the navy and serve on a nuclear submarine.

So in gattos,  paper against school. I really feel that I was actually a product of Mr. Inglis school modem. The conformity function as it was called, I was the kid they were trying to make predictable so I can become a great use for this nation and its large labor force that was to become the 1990’s. I was being sorted and trained to a certain destination and told that’s it buddy you hit the glass ceiling of your career at 19. Congratulation tell him what he wins, Bob. You are now assistant manager of a local Del Taco restaurant here in sunny California. What made me not fall in that pitfall, I believed my parents had a huge influence on me to work hard and have pride at what you do, more my Dad than my mom. At a young age 14 I was working in a nursing home and assembly line for early apple iie computers. I had a car and I had liberty to come and go freely. I was responsible.  

Freire and gatto

Banking concept of education, finger man.

1.       The teacher teaches and the students are taught

2.       The teacher knows everything and the students know nothing

3.       The teacher thinks and the students are thought about

4.       The teacher talks and the students listen meekly

5.       The teacher disciplines and the students are disciplined

6.       The teacher chooses and enforces his choice, and the students comply

7.       The teacher chooses the program content, and the students adapt to it

How about all students are equal, but some are more equal than others, or four legs good, two legs bad, and all school is strictly voluntary, but any student who absented himself from it would have his rations reduces by half. Communism or socialist teaching state of education.

The banking system works by teachers dumping excrement’s of data into a Childs head, they file it and store the deposit.  Very little creativity if any is ever deposited and why, who is gonna get a job

 By being so creative. Minimize creativity and follow the carrot. Follow everyone else, be just like everyone else. “the educated man is the adapted man, because he is  better fit for the world. So freire dosn’t like this concept

                                                                                               Freiro wants people to reject the banking concept in its entirety and instead generate a concept of men as conscious beings. “problem-posing” education

Gatto and Freire disagree on the past statements of teachers being superior to their students. They totally disagree on Alexandre Inglis, Modem schooling into six basic function. They hate the banking         system so bad that; they would not bail them out. For gatto he seems to concentrate more on the k-12 education system and Freire, k-12 and college aspect, twice he makes reference to it, “we see that most universities are now dominated by instrumentalist and conservative ideologies, hooked on method, slavishly wedded to the accountability measure and run by administrators who often lack a broader vision of education.”  And “test-driven, privatized and charter school reform movement, but also in the hostile takeover of public education now taking among the ultra-rich and hedge fund zombies”

Freire and Gatto agree off getting rid of the banking system and changing the teacher relationship, to that relationship that Mr. Escalante and Mr. Keating had with their students

Observing education final essay compare/contrast

Observing Education: Mr. Escalante and Mr. Keating

                We have two teaches, one that teaches in the 1950’s and another that teaches in the 1980’s. One teaches literature to well-educated prep students in Vermont, and the other teaches algebra/calculus to illiterate Hispanic students from Garfield high school in East Los Angeles.

Do Mr. Escalante and Mr. Keating have different teaching technique? Is one a better teacher than the other?  Who’s better or worse? No they are both great teachers, what is different are their styles, ideas, reason and value. What they have in common is a sense of purpose, high expectation for their students, enjoy their time and work with their students, interact with their students (one more than the other), the students and teacher adapt and change to the students need, and the students adapt to the teacher quirkiness of teaching. They both push for creative thinking. It’s how they both motivate their students to want to excel and think on their own.

                Both teachers start the class in a very awkward state. Mr. Escalante is giving away parts of apples to his kids and asking them “what you got?”, while Mr. Keating is whistling the 1812 overture and walks in the class room thru and out  into the lobby where the class follows him. Where he tells his class to look at the young men’s picture of Weltons past alumnis who are now pushing up daisies, to listen to them cause they will whisper their legacy…”carpe diem, size the day boys, make your lives extraordinary.” It’s good for the students to see this kind of behavior because it shows the teacher reaching out to them but it also brings them to a student’s level, where they see eye to eye instead of student/teacher relationship. It also shows that both teachers have a good sense of purpose and that they are adaptable and at times will stray from their curriculum.         From the beginning you can tell that both teachers have clear objective and a sense of purpose. Mr. Escalante establishes a framework in which his students will flourish and Mr. Keating who sees the big picture and wants his students to see it also. To see further down the road of life, and to take the path least taken.

                Both teachers have expectations of success for their students. In the case for Mr. Escalante he expects his students to succeed in AP calculus exam but also in life. ”math is the great equalizer”, Mr. Escalante says. Know in math, they will knock over those barrios barriers that have been put up by the culture they live in and stereotype that they are expected to fulfill, a typical Mexican.  Mr. Keating expects his students to succeed in life, his students don’t have to struggle like Escalante’s kids but they do lack guidance and leadership and free thinking. Mr. Keating taps into the mind that all ready is successful and opens it up to them so each one can see the world in a new perspective, “Boys, you must strive to find your own voice. Because the longer you wait to begin, the less likely you are to find it.” The student’s climbs into Mr. Keating desk to see a new perspective, “Now, don’t just walk off the edge like lemmings! Look around You!”  He wants them not only to think outside the box but to look outside the box too.

Both teachers bring fun into the classroom and have a sense of humor. Mr. Escalante has a dry humor with his students, at times he is funny but as a Hispanic we are known for our dry humor and sarcasm. He did in fact kept them entertain in class with his “tic, tac, toe” and “pieces of cake upside down” and calling them “burros”  and “ kangaroos”, it’s a love and affection, Spanish style, tough love. Mr. keating

pretty much ran his class like a comedy club. From reading poetry and kicking soccer balls, form standing on his desk and “I sound my barbaric yawp over the roof top of the world”, to ripping out the introduction page off their text book,  “it’s not the bible, you’re not going to go to hell for this.” As the class hesitates to rip out the introduction page.

Mr. Escalante and Mr. Keating both get their students to be motivated and energized and creative.

Mr. Escalante gets his student to come in early, then to stay later in class. Then they all come to summer school. And if that wasn’t enough he has them all come in on Saturdays, the whole class does it. Its the respects that he gives his students that they are willing to go the extra mile for him. Mr. Keating motivates them and makes his students creative by informing then and in a way guiding what the Dead Poet society is about, basically a bunch of guys reading poetry, Mr. Keating lets them know it’s what you make off it. But his students want to suck the marrow out of life. Mr. Keating quotes, “We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute we read and write poetry because we are members of the human race, and the human race is filled with passion and medicine, law, business, engineering, these are  noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love these are what we stay alive for”. What he is telling them it’s nice that a majority will become, lawyers and engineers and doctors, but learn to live now learn to love now or what the use of living.

Another powerful quote by Mr. Keating, “That you are here, that life, exist and identify; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse, that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse, what will it be?”  Mr. Keating is dropping the seed of critical thinking, creative thinking. The powerful play of life keeps going and I don’t stop for no one, so make sure the verse you are going to contribute in life, make it counts! It’s so powerful; it wants to make you take on the world.

                In conclusion, as stated before both teachers are bonded by their creativity, sense of purpose, clear objectives, positive attitude, humor, student’s emotional support.  Even though both teachers are very different from each other, and I don’t think if we where to reverse role we will have the same outcome both teachers came out swinging for the fences, Mr. Escalante legacy continue to grow in his school and students who went on to USC and UCLA, we will never know what happen to Mr. Keating, but his legacy grows with those boys who went to Harvard, Princeton, Rice or MIT and went on to become Lawyers, Doctors, Senators and Chief Justices. We know that good teaching is a constant process. Both Mr. Escalante and Mr. Keating had that process. These teachers seize more opportunities then they miss. They seize the day, carpe diem, “Oh captain, My caprtain”.

Good teaching over bad teaching for Mr. Escalante

It has come to the my conclusion that Mr. escalante does not involve any bad teaching, this is based on personal perspective, but in every scene where kimo comes across as too harsh, or belittling his students, he manages to always make a strong point of the situation, which is shy he is the way he acts the way he is. He is using his methods to encourage his students to try harder and do better. He challenges them.
Examle:
Pancho is trying to solve a calculus problem , but becomes overwhelmed and as kimo that he is the dumbest person in class and that he would sacrifice himself for the team by basically letting him go, he is weighing down the team. Kimo mocks pancho by telling him how heartbroken he is and a noble sacrifice for the sake of the team. Later that night kimo and pancho are riding in his car and they are coming to a fork on the road when kimo ask pancho turn right or left, in a frantic state pancho yells right. they come to a dead end road and Kimo tells pancho all you see is the turn, you don't see the road ahead. this lesson learn keeps pancho in school and working even harder at calculus.

another example is when kimo exposes claudia about her boyfriends. claudia is upset because he humiliates her in front off class. Claudia runs out of the classroom and tells him she is tired off him using her own personal life to entertain the class. Kimo runs after her and offers comfort and support.

He is showing that he is a good teacher by caring not only in class but also their lives , in and out off the class room,no matter what happens.

Garfield vs. Welton prep school

One school is in sunny laid back southern California while the other one is in snotty rich kids Vermont. Both schools get a new teacher Mr. Escalante, who is schedule to teach computer science but the school wont have computers will the year 2000 maybe? And Mr. Keaton, who is schedule to teach English Poetry.
They both revised their curriculum and teach what they want and what they think is important to them and their kids. One teacher feels that math is the great equalizer and will open up doors and gain self confidence, while the other teaches you to go against years of tradition, find yourself, find your inner voice and express it and it will open up doors and gain self confidence.

Escalante's students are minimal wage, Hispanic or Hispanic descent culture, low or self confidence, middle of the road non challenge students who never really had to fight for anything.
Keaton students come from wealthy families, Anglo-Saxon whose roots can be traced to the mayflower I am sure, who never really had to think for themselves because everything has been set in order since they where kids and do lack self confidence and never really had to fight for anything. What they get from each teacher, ganas, desire, confidence, self pride these are the pillars that they start to learn for life, not Tradition, Honor, Excellence, or Discipline as Welton Prep students are trained.

There background are completely different  in social status but in the end what we have to see is that these are kids ranging between 16 and 18 years old and being a teenager is so much pressure whether it is 1950, 1980 or 2010. Both teachers do a fine good job getting their message out, Oh, Captain, My Captain.

Sucking the marrow out of life.

Dead poet society is set in Welton Prep school. It is the best prep school in the united states, they have a Welton Pillars are tradition, honor , excellence and discipline. 75% of the students will go to Ivy league school. From the beginning Mr. Keaton walks in and out off class whistling the 1812 overture, and the class follow him to the lobby. He mocks the college, and it makes the students think Mr. Keaton is a bit weird. They stare at a trophy stand and pictures of past Welton students, he tells them that they are not different from them, same haircuts, full of hormones and invincible the world is their oyster, they are destined for great stuff. He tells them that these gentlemen where trailblazers in their time and that they tool life by the horn, they are now pushing daisies but they still whisper their legacy to you if you are willing to listen, carpe diem, seize the day, make your live extraordinary.

Understanding Poetry= By J. Evan Pritchard

P x I=G or in accordance with Mr. Keaton "excrement!!" We are talking about poetry not laying pipe
in other words there is no way to graph poetry, poetry is from the heart and soul...then instructs the class to rip the introduction out. Students are hesitant but he informs them its not the bible, and they are not going to hell for this.
At this point eh kids are realizing that Mr. Keaton is not like any instructor they have. and some of these guys are becoming free thinkers, Mr. Neil, Knox and Pitts are slowly becoming the leaders and voice of the group.

A new perspective in life
He gets them to climb the his desk and look around to see life in a different view and to not just walk off the edge like lemmings, to look around, and see life and to suck the marrow out off it

Mr. Kemo Mr. Keaton

Skepticism from other teachers is Kemo biggest challenge unlike Mr. Keating. With "kemo" help his students will find a cause to separate from society's expectation of failure and rise to Mr. Escalante standards and they will realize that the only way to escape their own barrios filled lives is to self-improve themselves intellectually.

Jaime escalante, King of the one liners.

Stand and Deliver part 1 and 2.....(good teacher or bad?)

There are many examples of Mr. Escalante (Kemo) being a good teacher. For example;
"you don't see the turn before the road, Johnnny" His concern for Carlos who wanted to drop class to work and get paid 1.5 times on the weekend and in two years be in the union and make more then him. Kemo tells him wouldn't you rather design these transmission then fixing them. You see what is now but you are not looking beyond.
His teaching are a bit odd but he manages to get his point across and lets his students he cares, for example Claudia, walks out of this class because she is tired of kemo using her life as to entertain the class. he cares for her and goes after her and talks to her.
He uses the word Ganas to his class, he gets them to have ganas to do better in class, and they the class always responds with "Yo tengo ganas"
But my favorite scene is Angel the cholo, horale. He gets him three books so he can study but not seen carrying books and can still look tough, what does kemo get," Production Kemo." he believes in Angel, when I am sure cause the way he dresses vary little people have given him any chances.
But Mr. Escalante has two battles one teaching his "burros" how to do Calculos. and the other to inform his fellow instructor's that the kids can be taught. He tells them that 'math is the great equalizer" and the "students will rise to the level of the expectations. The teachers tell him you cant teach logarithms to illiterates.

Overall Mr. Escalante will turn his Ford pintos students into Ford Mustang GT350. He has a tough road ahead off him not only school, but ethnics, stereotypes and society.

Ken Robinson, Academic Inflation

Why are people scared to hear about your education, but are readily at hand to tell you where they where educated. All kids have creativity and should be handle with such delicacy if not you will squander away great talent. The thing about kids is they are willing to take a chance, improvise, they are not afraid to be wrong.Kids will make mistakes, lets embrace mistakes, mistakes are building blocks for a foundation of your life. All children are born an artist, its a shame because we teach it out off children, we teach creativity out off them. we are so busy trying to figure out linear process of prime numbers, or where does the proposition phrase fits in this sentence,that we are missing kids dancing, or mixing paints.
Public education has been design to produce university professor, public education became a standard once the industrial revolution came around about 150 years ago and in twenty years more people will have a degree than any other time in history. so what does that mean, we have academic inflation in our degrees, a Bachelor is no longer good you need a Masters,and your Master isn't good enough you need a Ph. D. to bag these groceries. Creativity is original ideas with values i was told, and just like the earth our education services are mining the resources out of our mind we are slowly losing it. we must adopt a new conception of education that encourages the arts. Imagine.

good teachers are hard to find

What makes for good teaching: In my experience as teaching in the Navy and being a student also the tree main subjects are, listening, caring and providing feedback.
if you think there is only on way to teach something then you will be left behind. the world is always changing and bringing good change with it.
As a Instructor I would always have a good lesson plan with large side margins because I was always editing and tinkering my lesson plan. I would take students ideas in class and usually try to have an answer back in a week. I always let my students know that their opinion mattered. It made them want to learn what I was teaching. and I enjoyed the feed back that I got when I met them further in their navy careers, and would tell me how I made a change in their life.
I had very few teachers in life give me this chance, maybe two or three best in 12 years in school system in the state of California. but thru the Navy it seems a majority of the instructors I had took time to listen and value your opinion. There is not much creativity that can be made while

 in the Navy since everything is so technical and there is a strict rule to compliance and change is hard to do when it comes to compliance but there we understand
Listening is important because its the communication for dialog between a student and a teacher, you provide input to the teacher weather you understand a subject or you need them to slow down cause they are going to fast.
Caring is a teacher/instructor cares then most likely your students will care about what you are teaching and pay attention and get quality students.
Feedback what goes in has to come out, if a week from now your teacher says that your idea was a good one but the command thinks its no cost effective, but we liked it and maybe on some other day when congress hasn't decided to close up the government we might take it in consideration.
In a submarine you are always in a teaching mode; the above picture has the Diving officer seating and the two planes man sitting below him, the sailor in the back is known as The Chief of the watch. Between these four guys their job is to maintain the submarine at a zero angle and zero trim. its a process that's done top of the hour every hour while at sea. Its a learning experience especially when the Diving officer lets the junior people do it.

Vita Mea (My Life) Final Narration Education; Discussing Learning

As for a significant educational experience that happen to me, after I joined the Navy. I joined the Navy and went to boot camp in Illinois. From there I went to Submarine school where I learned basic submarine technology, including pneumatic, hydraulics, reactor theory, and seawater systems.

I spent my first year qualifying and going to my “A” school for Machinist Mate. There was an opening for “C” school where you excel in troubleshooting and technical repair, normally given to you after four years in the Navy. One of our guys was scheduled to go to class but he ended up going on emergency leave. My Supervisor, who slowly was taking me under his wing and mentoring me, suggested that I go to the school. This is very unusual due to the fact that I was still an E-1, and I was going before other E-3 and E-4. I big discussion came over this and in the end my supervisor took full responsibilities of my actions in school.

                My first month we went over Hydraulic theory and principles, and knowing every mode and valve position and pump variations, casualties procedures and pneumatic principles from 4500 lbs air to 20 lbs air. Compressor rebuilds’, High pressure air dryers, ball valve repair, and Emergency blow system. Everyone in the class had three to five years experience and where considered top Machinist mates on their submarines. I wanted to quit the first two weeks I didn't belong in that class because these guys where all qualified in submarines and I was still trying to qualified. I was consistently being hazed and pranked with. I was told I would not amount to anything and that I was taking a way a good class from someone else more worthy.

I skipped class for three days because I couldn't see myself finishing this course or passing it. I hide in the barracks until my mentor found out and I got a good earful. But he was understanding and asked me what the real problem was. I told him what was going on and he decided to give me advice and consult. We started working on projects together and he didn’t quit until I knew it by the book.  He always quoted Latin phrases for me, “Vir sapit qui pauca loquitur” ( that man is wise who speaks little), “dimidium facti qui coepit habet” (once you've started , you are half ways there) and “carpi diem” (seize the day), it was his thing he did and I enjoyed writing them in my notes. I aced both hydraulic and pneumatic class scoring 4.0 on both exams. I was excited and motivated i wanted more knowledge, i had a hunger for it.

I was cramming so much information I didn’t know I was capable of such a feat; it’s like drinking water out off a fire hydrant. You retain what you can and remember the other stuff later.  I was enjoying the results also and enjoyed the results started setting small goals, Weekly goals and monthly goals for class. I had five core values I had to recite every morning before class from my mentor; Always go the extra mile, always help someone in need, love what you are doing, you don’t know everything find it in the book, quitting is not an option.

The next six months off school went by quickly but not without its troubles from other students accusing me off cheating. They assumed i was cheating because i was getting 4.0 on systems that i didnt work on yet but I worked my butt off twice as much as the other guy. If they left at noon for the day I would stay till four or six at night working in labs or at the tech library. I also took time to help other people with the systems I was just learning, which really helped me out a lot because it helped me retain the knowledge. My two toughest courses where still ahead of me Submarine diesel and Oxygen Generators and Atmosphere control. I never ran a diesel or yet alone an Oxygen Generator, but I would go to lab and study and watch the other classes ahead of me. I would talk to the Diesel Petty officers and also our lead tech that worked on Oxygen generator and equipment.

After almost 16 weeks of school I was averaging a 4.0 and tons of extra credit assignment. The hardest class was coming its 3 days of class lectures and 10 days of lab 10 hours day. I was excited and so where my command. I was achieving something that as a junior sailor was superseding senior sailors, but I also knew my craft, I was a walking Technical manual. Class went well but labs where very hard. I was struggling and I knew I wasn’t going to pass this lab. I never quit I just kept going, on day at work I was whining about the class and he came to me and said, “prefer et obdura; dolor hic tibi proderit olim (be patient and tough:someday this pain will be usefull to you)” I had to look it up cause I had no idea, but I totally agreed and lived on that motto for a few years.
On my last day I was 45 minutes from graduating when I lost differential pressure on the hydrogen valve and 3000 psig oxygen mixed with 3000 psig hydrogen, I tried to control D/P to a plus or minus .5 “ off water and was unsuccessful. I had failed.

I was able to explain what my action was and how to do it I just couldn't do it I didn't have the experience. I ended getting a 2.0 for the last schedule class. My supervisor was happy and took me out for dinner to Elsie’s, in downtown Silverdale, I miss that old place. The following Monday grades were released and I had a class overage of 3.95, originally a 3.8 but due to extra credit was able to bump it up to 3.95.

I was so excited; I had just qualified for my Submarine warfare, and had been promoted to E-3. I was at the top of my games; nothing could stop me except for myself. What I had learned from all this hard work and determination. Humble yourself, you don’t know everything. Seek the expert. Always self improve yourself in knowledge and life.
So like Ferross I learned I wanted to learn and didn't stop till I knew it well and if I couldn't find the answer I surrounded myself with knowledgeable shipmates. I became obsessed with perfection. I started and made sure I finished every product. Like Rose, I had fallen thru the cracks of society and was stereotype due to the class of people I hung out with, until my mentor just like Rose had his.  Challenge him to be his very best. Like Malcolm had to learn to read over again to communicate with the average person, I had to learn Engineering technology, administration and dialogue. I had no idea what these words meant; psig, micron, cathode and anode, electrolysis, catalytic, centrifugal and learn to read and draw US Navy schematics.  I would spend hours understanding theories and ideas from Vernuilli, Tesla, Edison, Worthington, and Fairbanks. If I was going to be in the submarine engineering field, I would have to learn how to talk and walk like a submarine engineer. And just like Romero, who gave up Google, which as I see now is not an easy task, they are everywhere. I laugh in hindsight cause whenever I see a goggle apt. I something wonder if I should just boycott it. I had to give up my past, if I was going to be my best I had to sacrifice something it wasn't easy but I came out ahead. It was the association of other people that didn't have the same vision or goals that I had achieved.

In conclusion, as a child I was always told I would amount to anything, to accept failure, to not rock the boat, don’t bring any attention to yourself. Why is this a significant moment in my life I ask myself now, it was a major life lesson, that ultimately changed me. It is a small story of my life and it was important for me.