Andreya W FNED Blog: Jeannie Oakes

Why Schools Need to Take Another Route
By: Jeannie Oakes

I decided to do extended comments on Tiffany's blog on the quotes that she chose from this weeks reading.

“In low ability classes, for example, teachers seem to be less encouraging and more punitive, placing more emphasis on discipline and behavior and less on academic learning. Compared to teachers in high ability classes, they seem to be more concerned about getting students to follow directions, be on time and sit quietly. Students in low ability classes more often feel excluded from class activities and tend to find their classmates unfriendly. Their classes are more often interrupted by problems and arguing, while students in higher ability classes seem to be much more involved in their classwork.”

- Tiffany stated that this quote is saying that students in low ability classrooms aren’t encouraged the same way students in higher ability classes are encouraged and I agree. The teachers who are teaching the low ability group are focusing less on education and more on discipline and the students aren't learning how and what they supposed to be. There is so much negativity going on in the low ability classes that the students are not focused and are disengaged. She also stated that she thinks it's unfair that some students get better teachers because they're in a higher ability group and I completely agree. I think its extremely unfair to those in the lower ability groups. The teachers should be uplifting and encouraging their students, not bringing them down. I think the students in the lower ability groups should get better teachers so they can improve academically.

“Students in the latter classes learned basic reading skills taught mostly by workbooks, kits, and easy to read stories. Learning tasks consists most often of memorizing and repeating answer back to the teacher. Since so much of importance was omitted from their curriculum, students in the low ability classes were likely to have little contact with the knowledge and skills that would allow them to move into higher classes or success if they got there.”

-Tiffany stated that this quote is saying that students in higher ability groups get taught essential reading and writing skills while students in low ability groups get taught the bare minimum of how to read and write and I agree. Students in high ability groups learn modern literature, reading, and library research as well as vocabulary that will help them on college essays. The main thing they learn is problem-solving skills and how to be critical thinkers. What the students in the high ability groups are learning will benefit them in the future when pursuing higher education. The students in the low ability groups are only the basic reading writing skills. They're learning the bare minimum to get by. The teachers teaching the low ability students are depriving them of a proper education and are not preparing them to be successful in the future. They're setting them up for failure instead of doing their job and helping them improve and succeed.

“Tracking leads to substantial differences in the day to day learning experiences students have at school. Moreover, the nature of these differences suggests that students who are placed in high ability groups have access to far richer schooling experiences than other students. This finding helps explain at least in part why it is that tracking sometimes seems to work for high ability students and not for others.”

-Tiffany stated that this quote is saying that students who are placed in high ability groups have access to better teachers and they receive a better education. While students in low ability groups have access to mediocre teachers and they receive a mediocre education and I agree. The students who are in the high ability groups have better teachers which result in a better education. They have high-quality teachers and learning experiences. They're prepared for a bright and successful future unlike the students in the low ability groups. They have less qualified teachers which results in a mediocre education. They're are unprepared and not was taught how and what they needed to be taught to have a bright and successful future like those students in the high ability groups. It's unfair.