The area of the state standards that concern me the most are the Family and Life Skills.
The students in my class are emotionally disturbed and come from dysfunctional families. Their emotional and educational problems are greatly exacerbated by what is going on at home.
This problem is not new and has been written about extensively over many years. Yet the core curriculum content standards does not really address this problem. We do teach the character pillars and under stand 9.2 the strand B and E stress self - management and character development. All of these statements within the strands only discuss character development as it relates to the work place and academic setting. Nothing is stated about how to act within a family or how to raise children properly. Without this, aren't we perpetuating more of the same type of dysfunctional families.
Even with all the knowledge and articles written about the effects of dysfunctional homes upon education, home economics and family - life skill courses are being cut from school all across the country to make room for the necessary technological courses they have to add. In my opinion they need both.
In an article in Times Asia entitled "Japan's Lost Generation: In a World Filled with Virtual Reality, the Country's Youth Can't Deal With the Real Thing." by Ryu Murakami, it states Japan's kids are becoming socially withdrawn and miss communication prevails throughout society and their families because of technology. This is happening in a society that a few years ago had the closest family ties in Asia.
Teaching the pillars of character is a good start but not enough. In an article by the North Carolina Extension Services entitled "Family & Consummer Science: Building Positive Self - Esteem in Families," the author D.Wayne Mathews states: "The development of self - esteem is rooted first and foremost in the emotional connecctions in the family. Children who are loved and wanted, whose parents are firm and demanding yet warm, supportive, concerned, interested and active in their guidance, tend to have higher levels of self - esteem. As children develop, their social skills, school success and attiudes of society around them become an important part of self - esteem." He futher lists the six vital ingrediants of Self - esteem created by Bettie Youngs and based on Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. I believe these six incredients of self - esteem should be somehow incorporated into the Core Curriculum Content Standards. They are: A sense of physical safety, a sense of emotional security, a sense of identity, a sense of belonging, a sense of competence and a sense of mission.
I believe we should have state and national standards. Our needs for self - esteem education, work and socialization are universal. Therefore everyone needs those standards.
About Me
- phyllis
- I have a A.A from Middlesex County College in Marketing Art and Design. I have a B.S. and M.S from Kean University in Graphic Communications Technology Management. I also have a Post Bac in Teacher of the Handy Caped and a M.A. in Special Education from Kean University. I have been teaching for Middlesex Regional Educational Commission Services, The School is called Nu View Academy for the last 6 years. I am in the Educational Leadership Program to receive my Supervisor and Principal license. I have been accepted to Kean University's Educational Leadership in Urban Education EDD program. I will start when I finish this program. My goal is to become a College Professor someday.
3 comments:
Phyllis,
I agree with many of the points you wrote about. I feel strongly that in educational facilities we often focus on academics and character but have a disconnect between "the outside world" and school. What is learned in schools should not only be contained between the walls of the school but used to help individuals succeed in every day life. I think that there is so much focus on state testing to measure what is learned in a school, that often we forget that our goal is educate students for life. I am a math teacher and I would be lying if I said that I expected my students to remember the majority of the formulas they use even a few months after my class. However, if my students remember the thought process they used to solve a problem and where they can look for the formulas, they will be able to solve math problems in the future. More importantly, they will be able to solve problems in the future. Each day we make decisions based on what we know. When planning to run errands we might go to a certain store first because it closes early, the traffic is bad on the other side of town, or any number of other reasons. As adults we have learned and also been taught how to think/reason. With all of the extra demands on testing, we often lose (or neglect) teachable moments. I think it is very important to integrate that into your class lessons. I am a special education teacher and I know that our students struggle to make connections between material in one class and another. They also struggle to make connections between school and the "real world" as some of them refer to it. The standards tell us what we have to teach, but not how we have to teach them. I can tell by your writing that you are passionate about teaching and take great pride in it. I know that you can integrate social skills, life skills and other important areas into your teaching even if some of those areas are cut from the curriculum. Social skills and life skills are often better learned by the students when they occur in real life situations as opposed to a class that is teaching them. When a student is late and apologies, ask why he/she was late. If the student says they were talking to friend, you can praise him/her for their honesty, but remind them of the importance of being on time. In addition, remind them that the next time they are late,they'll have detention. I've seen that it gives my students a sense of trust and helps them to monitor their actions. In the past I had students who came to class on time, but told me that someone dropped their books in the hallway. I would ask if they helped the student to pick them up and they replied, "I would have, but then I would have been late." I informed the students that they would not have gotten in trouble more helping a peer pick up their books and then being late. However, I also reminded them that in a High School, students don't drop their books that often. So, if someone dropped their books, they should give them a hand. However, remember the importance of our mutual trust and don't abuse it. It takes some time away from the curriculum, but as you've expressed, the importance of teaching life/social skills is so important to our students. Once again, I really enjoyed reading your blog and think you had a lot of good points in your writing.
Thanks for your encouragement. I can see your point ,but when they cut those things they also cut opportunities for the students to learn different ways. Such as a cooking and life skills room. For student to learn how to cook and clean after them self's. Some of my students who are in High School still do not know how to even how to keep them self's clean. My school does not have passing class the regular way no matter were they go even to the bathroom they have to be escorted by a staff member. Every thing is on lock down including things in my class room. I try and do as many teachable moments as I can but I could do more if I had a Life skills room and a real Kitchen. My school is brand new and it cost 10 Million Dollars. They spent 1 Million on a ceiling in the gym but we have a kitchen with sinks, freezer, industrial dish washer, coffee maker , but no stove to cook any thing with. The school food is not made on site but brought in each day in boxes. So you can see my frustration.
I think you should write the new standards! I agree with you, if you don't have the support and help from the child's home our job becomes very difficult, at times maybe impossible. Children need to have a strong nuturing home life. This is essential for their growth and development. It is sad that so many students don't have one. Teaching life skills for your students is an excellent idea. I agreed with a lot of your statements about teaching the type of student that you have. I don't teach special education, but I have a lot of respect for teachers that do. It isn't an easy job at all and I can totally see why you get frustrated. Try not to get discouraged it sounds like you really care about your students and always do what is best for them.
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