This is goodbye for now....

I wanted to take the time to say thank you and goodbye for now!  I hope that you have enjoyed my journey through learning about what literacy is and what it is all about.  In the beginning I had preconceived notions that literacy only involved reading, and writing skills.  Boy was I wrong!  I have taken a journey this summer through two amazing books, many videos, and many other authors who showed me and I hope you too, that literacy is everywhere.  It should be a part of every content area, and in every class that the students come into contact with.

It is our responsibility as educators to take everything that we can and incorporate those things into every lesson that we can.  It is time for people to stop being so protective of their curriculum and get into the mind set that we can share some amazing lessons with people if we could combine more curriculum.  We are very possessive of our desks, rooms, lessons, etc. But why aren't we being possessive of our students' learning?  We need to be aware that we can add in literacy to any subject matter!  We can make students literate in many ways, not just in reading and writing.

It is time that school districts stop looking at the encore/specialty areas as breaks for the regular teachers, and look at that part of the students' schedule as just as important as the contained classroom.  It is time for people to work together.  We need to prepare our students for their future, and this future is by far very different from what we are teaching them.  We need to remember to think outside the box when we plan lessons and units and we need this so that we can get kids to think outside their boxes.  If their future careers aren't even invented yet, then we need to give them the tools to be able to come up with these new jobs and how to handle them when they do get to them.

It has been my pleasure to come down to this last literacy blog for class. However, I will be writing and continuing this blog but based upon what I would like to write. I want to continue coming up with thought provoking items and to be able to speak my mind about them. I even considered changing the name of the blog, but after taking this course, I realize that I can still use the term literacy blogger to apply to anything that I think we need to be literate about.  I look forward to sharing my blogs with you in the future and I hope to that you get to see what my thoughts and feelings are on many topics.  I still have my list to complete about being literate in Family and Consumer Science, so come along with me on the next part of my journey.  I look forward to sharing it with you!

Critical Literacy and it's importance to education.

"Critical literacy is a response to injustice and the production of illiteracy in which students and teachers work together to learn and create an environment of mutual respect. Within that environment the students and teachers learn about each other and can take that knowledge to really learn about the world."

Throughout the blogs this summer, I have been able to understand that we can't take kids at face value. We need to delve into their lives (without being stalkers!) and really get to know our students. When we take the time to get to know our students amazing things can happen. Students want to learn and want to share experiences when they know that they are cared about and that they are safe.  


As teachers we need to take the lead like Lynn Gatto and really search in our curriculum for ways to submerge the kids into areas that are important. By combining as many content areas as possible and giving the students the choice to do what they learn best by.  It takes planning and it takes the teachers/educators time to plan and the resources to do so, but it is worth it in the end!  As Lynn Gatto states, "every week my mailbox is stuffed with sales catalogs for foolproof literacy materials and programs" (p. 73).  We have to understand how to take those programs and add our twists to them. To take those "amazing" programs and know that there are some that are like the old age "snake oil that could heal everything,"We have to be able to look at our own ideas and to be able to realize that we have the resources in our selves to make lifelong lessons come alive in our students.


Gatto gave me the faith to know that it is possible not to lose creativity and to be able to add it in where we can. Though, we also have to have enough faith in our self to stand up to the critics who will try to make us go to the "dark side" and join in with everyone else. Maybe if enough of us join together with the better ways to teach these lessons/units, then maybe they will have to merge with our philosophy and do what really is better for the students.


I don't know how to change people's thought processes, but I know that I can control what I think, what I feel and behave like, in doing so, then I can work to get to know others feelings and thoughts and maybe, just maybe get them to change their behaviors.  (If you get a chance to read about NLP, you would understand that statement. It stands for Neurolinguistic programming.)


I found that Moses article on Algebra and Civil Rights? to be another well made point about the ways in which we need to change our thought process to change the students' thought processes.  If we combine algebra into lessons the way that Gatto combined all content areas into her Butterfly unit, then we could really make some headway into stressing how important and how all subjects link together. After all, Moses stated, "and in culture itself-our culture-illiteracy in math is acceptable the way illiteracy in reading and writing is unacceptable" (p.9). Why does this have to be true? What can't we help change that thought process. Once we change that thought process about math, then we can change how people behave about math. Once we change how they think and use math, then we are finally changing how students are prepared for the future.


According to Friere, "in the banking concept of education, knowledge is a gift bestowed by those who consider themselves knowledgeable upon those whom they consider to know nothing" (p. 53). Who is to say we can't change this philosophy too? Why can't we combine what we know with what the students know and then make a better lesson? Why can't we make a combined deposit into the students knowledge? Why can't we make deposits into this and then some withdrawals and then have the kids make some deposits and withdrawals into the banking concept?  If we both are involved with this knowledge banking system then we both have a stake in it. When we both have a stake in it, then we both care about what happens.  When we get to that point, there is nothing stopping being literate in everything that we do. 


We need to embrace our diversity instead of fight against it. When I first decided to take this course, I thought that literacy only pertained to English-with a concentration in Reading and Writing. I have learned over this course that it is so much more than that. We have to be able to take what kids live with and know and how they best learn, in order to make education make sense to them. If we can't do that, then we are going to be illiterate in so many areas. I just hope that we aren't too late.  I hope that we can take what we have learned in this course and "spread the word" into our classroom, and to our school, and school district. I just hope that the neoliberalists don't break this up and continue with their path of destruction in the educational system. I just hope that we are strong enough to one day say, our kids know more than a test will ever show. Testing isn't the answer, knowledge is. 

Step right up, literacy programs for sale!

As I read the "Success Guaranteed Literacy Programs-I don't buy it!" Chapter by Lynn Astarita Gatto, I wanted to move to her school district and enroll my children in her class and to apply to work with her.  I can not believe the treatment that this teacher has received for such a successful approach to educating students. She ties all of the articles and chapters that we have read this summer into practice. She adds creativity, she adds diversity, students teaching and applying knowledge to each other and to other adults, she adds in community service, community involvement and so many other aspects of what we can only wish to have in our school systems, but is being forced to stop.  I don't get it!
     I do have to play devil's advocate though for one paragraph. I can understand using programs and company sponsored thematic approaches and programs to an extent.  I get that not all teachers are like Gatto and plan out  their lessons and units like she does, so a program that gives you everything to feed to the students helps someone like that.  I get that some people don't want to take the time to add creative ideas to their lessons, (I may not agree with them, but I get why they don't do extra), I get that people like order and to plan, so having a lesson or unit develop at the same time as it is being taught could be a scary thing.
     What I don't get is how someone who has been recognized as doing the right thing and is teaching her approaches, and teaching others to do what she does, has to stop what she is doing.  Her statement, "So you'd like me to go from being an outstanding teacher to a mediocre one?"(Gatto, 2007, p.73). Summed up everything. I can't tell you how many teachers I know who aren't brave enough to keep doing their creative lessons that teach the same prepackage things that the bought programs do. I have watched them stop doing what they used to do so that everyone is on the same page on the same day for all of the same tests given on the same day. It's like they drank the kool-aid and joined into the teach to the test mentality. It's been sad to watch.  I have also fallen victim to this powerful pull to come to the dark side!  I used to do some units or lessons that I would have other faculty members in my department tell me, why are you doing that? It takes so much time and energy, just do this way like us. After you hear it for a few years, you sometimes fall for those lines. I don't have the same advantage as Gatto does to be able to move to another school, and honestly, I don't want to leave the building that I am in. I enjoy the staff, climate and students too much. But I understand why Gatto has transferred to other schools. I am so proud of her for doing so!  She believes in what she does and has test scores to back her up. Her practices in the classroom should be the program that is bottled and served instead of being told to go backwards in time and do this other program.

     Ken Robinson would have a field day with her district!  Why would you stop what she is doing for something that isn't working?  The process that she went through to teach them about Butterflies and the learning that went on in that classroom are things that those students will never forget! I  do bet they get bored and may shut down when they get other teachers though who don't do the amazing things that Gatto does. She is looking at the whole child and incorporating the literacy from all content areas. She even gave the kids the chance to cook!  I fell for the lesson way before that, but you know how I am about teaching kids how to cook, and she even did that in an elementary class. She is my hero!

     I agree with her philosophy about "I cannot bear the thought of sharing only one chapter of a great book with children" (p. 79). I used to get so frustrated when a teacher would only read us one chapter of something. I also understand that they were probably trying to peak our interest and get us to go buy or read the book on our own, but what about the kids without access or resources available to the to get those books. I also think that this is a reason that kids can't read complete books, and give up before they finish the book. They are so used to only having snippets of books that they lose the whole intent of an author. There are peaks and valleys while you read, you have to enjoy all of them to get the true intent of the author.

     The quote from Gee in 2003 "literacy is a practice, something that gets done, not skills to be learned for use at a later date"(p. 80)  made me realize how too many teachers are teaching.  We need to change the students thoughts about literacy so that it is something that comes to them in everything that they do. We should not just teach them words because that is what the books say are important. I do believe that there should be guidelines, and ideas given to help those who are not creative with what they do. I almost think that we need a new course in teaching people how to be educators. What about adding in a creative teaching course? What about showing people how to take these prepackaged programs and tweak them to be what the kids need. Life isn't prepackaged, we can't go to a store and say, hmmm, I'll take that career, that family, that car, and house.  No, you have to go through life and make mistakes and figure things out as they come. If we teach them that everything comes perfect, and everything is done one way, then we are failing those students. I would rather take a chance on a lesson that I think is teaching the NYS standards correctly and have them remember what they learned and how to think and apply that to real life, than to just use a cookie cutter way of teaching.

What makes us better educators? When we are better educators the students are better learners.

      It seems that all of the chapters and articles that we have been reading this summer have come down to this blog post.  In order for our students to become highly literate, we need to foster a better understanding of what we all teach. We need to teach critical thinking in everything that we teach to the kids.   We can’t be afraid to add in lessons or tweak our lessons that are already in place to include a little bit of everything.  This in itself seems like a huge undertaking. However, if you want to be an effective teacher, you need to have empathy towards all content areas.  One needs to take the time to incorporate subjects into their content area so that the students understand that they are learning things for a reason and that all subjects are as important as each other. 

          In Chapter 18, Richard Allington mentions, “these effective teachers were able to foster the sorts of proficiencies that enable students to engage in civil discourse with others who hold a different perspective” (p. 282).  I take this as a chance to model the behaviors that I want my students to be engaged in.  I want them to see that I can talk about Unit Price a certain way and maybe that the way that I teach it, makes them understand it a little better or clearer. Or if the students see me teaching this topic a certain way, I usually get students who will mention, “Hey, in Math she also adds on _________.” I love to see what they go back and tell their teachers after lessons that I have added in other courses/content areas.  I usually get an email or a person stops by and says, “I can’t believe that you do that in here, it really made the kids understand that they will use this in real life.”  When we utilize the other content areas in our classes it helps give validity to what we do.

              

       In Moses’ article about “Algebra and Civil Rights?” he talks about the importance of mathematical literacy, and this made clear sense because, “sixty percent of new jobs will require skills possessed by only 22 percent of the young people entering the job market now” (p.8).  He touched upon the fact that more people will need mathematical literacy due to the fact that technology is everywhere. In order to be technologically proficient, you need to have mathematical skills.  We saw this in the video that was shown about where the college students held up signs stating facts about their lives and computer usage. I had a very wise student in my Affective Ed class tell my group that “technology was created to improve communication, but in a sense it is killing the interpersonal communication that used to exist.”  This proves that it is so important for the students to be subjected to different ways of teaching some of the same skills, this way they do not lose touch with humanity.  To have them only use a computer all day, will make them forget what it is like to be face to face with another human being. They need to have variety in their day with maximizing their interests. 

                In Linda Leif’s “Commonsense Matters”, she brings up how important it is to write, and to practice writing.  I love how she explains that “writing lets us think of things we didn’t know we knew until we began writing” (p. 191).  How can they do this only in Language Arts or in English class?  They need to write in all of their classes so that they can learn from what they are writing. If they never get a chance to go through the writing process in a different content area, then how will they know that they have learned something?  It should not just be about what they get on a test score, or that they passed the test. It should be about that satisfaction of knowing that they had a point of view and used it in Math, or Science, or in Family and Consumer Science.  I think that by using the writing skills they get in English and having to use those skills to think outside the box in other courses, it does exactly what it should, it makes them learn their English skills a little better because they are practicing them more.  They are able to apply them to different situations and they learn from those skills of application.

                In Chapter 15, Wilhelm and Smith allude to the fact that, “many groups and commentators have indicated that student motivation is the primary challenge facing teachers” (p. 233).  Motivation comes in many packages. Through our readings we have learned that we need to take what motivates each student and use that for them to become more literate and this literacy isn’t only in reading and writing. We have to take the time to motivate our students to think. We need to give them opportunities to take their knowledge and apply it to different situations. When they see that their interests are important across the board in all subject matter, then we can foster an environment in which the students feel safe to explore things that they may not already know. We teach them to take a chance, and most importantly we teach them that they are important. 

                A great activity that Wilhelm and Smith talk about it is “inquiry units” (p. 235).  This is a skill that can help utilize their knowledge about many facets of a topic. This is a valuable skill to be used in multiple areas.  We are slowly learning about how to question our students, and to utilize the essential question.  It takes time to get used to using this questioning skill because we as teachers have to let the students answer the question based upon their knowledge, there is no one way to answer something. If a student can pull things from their lives and use that to answer these questions, then we have made them into critical thinkers. We let them put things that they have lived with or learned and make sense of them in their own words. We give validity to their knowledge. This is so important in making them really understand what they are being taught.  This in a sense is what I spoke about in the opening of this blog, that this course has really lead us to this conclusion. That we must draw out what the students can learn and will learn by the ways that we view them and teach them. Until educators understand that no two students think alike or learn alike we will never obtain mastery in any subject matter.  We need to embrace who the students are, and where they are from, in order to teach them lifelong skills and to get them to be critical thinkers

Living in a world that is divided by Male and Female

     For this blog, I am taking a different approach. I might not use quotes and specifics about the readings, but I want to just speak my mind. I originally thought that I would concentrate upon the technology usage in the classroom, but after reading about the gender profiling and specific books being given to boys and girls, I am choosing to speak about that instead. I may go back to the technology piece, but need to vent about the second topic first.  I do believe that this gender typing begins with the very first poems that we are taught.  One, for a girl and one for boys. They go something like like, "little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice, and little boys are made of puppy dog tails, and ...."  If we start these stereotypes from when we are pregnant, then it's no wonder that we have girls reading romances, and boys reading science fiction and other action novels.  

     This week’s readings from Stanley and Williams really brought open the ideas that are stereotypical in schools.  It is inherent that girls read romance and boys read about action stories.  As an avid reader of all genres, I find this appalling.  Do I think it goes on, yes, but I think it is our responsibility as teachers and parents to get children/students interested in good literature, no matter who the main character is.  These students need to know that a “girl” can be a heroine, and a boy can fall in love too!  They need to see that literature can be interesting when combining all of these themes too.  I think this is why the Harry Potter books are so popular. Before these books came out there was nothing like them before. There was a division in the types of books that girls liked, and the types of books that boys liked.  In the Harry Potter series, the main character is a boy, however, his sidekicks include an extremely smart girl, and another boy. Through their stories these characters have romances, solve crimes, and use magic. It appeals to both genders and covers a wide range of interests. These books appeal to children and adults. How amazing is it that there is a series of books that keep the main characters and you grow to care about them whether you are a boy or a girl.  We need more people to come up with books like this that give any reader, no matter if you are a boy or girl, a chance to read, and imagine and to be able to talk about themes, characters, and settings. 

                I have been reading JD Robb for a few years now and I think as an adult, it is also a great series. It is purely for entertainment, and would not be considered literary works of art, but it is engaging and again, it completely breaks down gender typing.  The main character is a woman who has overcome childhood abuse; (mental, physical and sexual) to become a police lieutenant in the homicide division.  The series is set in the future.  There are cars that fly and food machines that make food for you like the Jetsons’ used to, but they don’t get into the way of how good the series is.  Her husband is a wealthy tycoon, who will help her solve crimes, only if she asks for him.  So, you have a female lead, a male sidekick, and then she also has both males and females who help solve the murders with her.  I think this helps break down stereotypical careers, and barriers.  As I look at the readings from this week, I see that these types of books need to be written for younger readers. The lines of careers need to be broken away from male and female, and we need to see that both genders can be successful no matter what career they choose. 

                This week I started a new course, and when we were talking and introducing ourselves to each other, I met another Family and Consumer Science teacher.  I bet in your minds you are saying, I wonder if “she” is nice, etc.  However, notice, I never said that this teacher was female.  In fact, he was very nice and we had an amazing conversation about the fact that he went into this field despite the fact that it was predominantly female oriented.  I asked what made him go into FACS? He said, because he liked to cook, had fun when he took it, and wanted to help teach students life skills.  My response to the same question, was almost identical.  In fact another student in the class mentioned to me the following class session that he wished that he had known that males were in that career, because he would probably have chosen that road. I talked with him and told him, why not put it as an option to pursue if you ever get tired of what you are doing?  It is only a matter of a few classes and a few tests.  When it comes to being happy in his career choice isn’t it more important to choose something that makes you happy?  Shouldn’t we be able to choose what makes us happy?  The slogan we teach our students about in careers is “do what you love, and love what you do.”  We try to tell the kids not to look at careers as gender based, but to look at them as options for what they want to do.  It’s sad when you think about the boys and girls around this country and others, who don’t pick what they want to do, but pick what they think they should do.  With more and more school districts getting rid of Family and Consumer Science, and there being a shortage of FACS teachers across the country, I think it would be a great thing for the students, both male and female to see if there was a male teacher. Maybe more people would go into this field if they understood that it wasn’t a “female” job. 

                I always show the video “Eddie’s Million Dollar Cookoff” to my classes, because this Disney movie shows a boy who loves to cook, and how he hides this from his father, brother, and friends.  It also shows stereotypical views that the Dad has about certain careers, and we discuss these statements made by the father.  He says things like, “stopping running like a girl, or you throw like a girl.” One of the girls on the baseball team even calls him out on this by saying, “why is it that when I throw badly, you say I throw like a girl? I am a girl, so when I throw badly, I’m just throwing badly.”  We have the best discussion about these gender stereotypes from this fun video.  I won’t tell you more about the video in case you haven’t seen it, but it’s a fun way to show students about gender roles.

                On Meet the Teacher Night, it always makes me happy to say, “both boys and girls take this class” as a response to the inevitable question, “When I was younger, only girls learned how to cook.”  I also add in, one day both boys and girls are going to have to eat, and this class makes them both self-sufficient so that they move out of your house one day and can survive on their own.  This usually brings about a smile, and very often a clap and cheer! 

                I know that for this blog I didn’t quote anyone from the readings, but just ranted a bit about gender profiling, but it really bothers me that we don’t help students with this.  I can’t tell you how many boys come into my class, and tell me that they love to cook, but when we talk about careers, they never once say anything that is cooking related!  In fact when I pointed this out one day, a boy told the class that “you know there are more male cooks on Food Network than female cooks” and this sparked an excellent conversation about careers and doing what you love to do regardless of what people think. It also sparked the whole, why are males mainly called chefs and females called cooks conversation, which was another interesting point made by the kids.  I love having conversations like this with the kids, because maybe if more teachers or adults did this with them, then we wouldn’t have to worry about the gender profiling so much.

      Maybe one day there will just be careers, and people will do these careers just based upon what they have an interest in, not because of what society views male and female.  I guess if we each tell someone about this, and they tell one or two people and so on, then it will get spread out there to more people.  Until we do try to break these unwritten codes, more children will run into problems with knowing their identities like the videos we saw this week.  

Fair isn't always equal.

     After I read Dr. Tuck's blog about the Abbott School Debate I couldn't help but think of a quote that my Teaching in the Inclusive Classroom professor said the first day "Fair isn't always equal." The reason that I bring this quote up is because the Abbott School ruling stated that "the state of NJ would provide the $5,000 difference per student to the Abbott School." (Dr. Tuck's Blog, 2011.) This quote means that it might be fair for one side, but at the same time, it might be viewed as unfair to the other side.
      With the Abbott School debate, Gov. Christie has chosen not to follow through with the decision to give the $5,000 per student to make the schools districts' costs per student equal. Gov. Christie says, "school reform goes beyond dollars and cents." (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/11/chris-christie-schools_n_875262.html?ref=fb&src=sp)  I understand that he was speaking in relation to privatizing lower performing schools, however, he is correct in saying that the schools need more reforms than money. The wealthier constituents are going to be upset with the way their money is being spent, and then the poorer constituents are going to be happy that money is being given to provide their children with the same things that the wealthier students are getting.  This is tough for me to take sides on.  I do believe that district's should have money for their improvements. The problem is, I can see why the other districts' constituents are getting upset too.   On one hand we have to ask how anyone can deny all children the same education?  Who has the right to say which students get money spent on them and which ones do not?  If my children were going to the Abbott School, then of course I would want them to have this money spent on them, but only if it was being spent on legitimate reforms and would actually benefit my children.  If I lived outside that area, then I honestly do not know how I would feel.  I do know that my educator side, would not be able to deny children that money.
      When you think of fairness, this situation with Abbott Schools may never have a resolution where people view it as fair to all sides. If we think about this inside a classroom, then this is the same idea that occurs in the inclusive classrooms. We give one student a different amount of testing time, or give another student less questions to answer on a homework, this might seem unfair, but it isn't.  It's  fair that each are taking the assessments that are necessary for their ability, but it might not be equal in the amount of work.
      Education is a tough entity to work with.  The bottom line is that we should be applauding the districts who hire teachers who actually are there for the children, and take time to get to know what works for their students.  Sometimes things aren't going to be fair to all, but they can still be equal.  We need more teachers like Carter who took the time to see what worked with which students.  He used music with one group, but maybe he has to change that up with each group of students who come through his door.  As Gladwell said in the TED talks, "we need to embrace diversity."  We need to embrace the things that make our students who they are, and those other things that will make them who they will be.
      I would like to say that if Gov. Christie says yes to paying the difference to the Abbott School, then what is going to stop him from giving the same amount of money to all of the school districts in the state? He will have a tough time justifying saying yes, or doing what the court wants to only one school.  How can he turn his back on all of the districts in his state? Imagine what kind of debates are going to come out of this when other poor district's hear that there was a court ruling like this. I could only imagine what I would feel if I lived in one of those districts.  I would want to know what the Abbott School did to get this equal amount of money and I would want to go to court for my own children. I don't like how Christie wants the privatization of the schools, however, when you look at Sameness as Fairness, I don't think that I would want to have the job that he does, and I wouldn't want to have to come up with the money in order to make the schools all have the same.

Should assessments be personalized?

     As an interesting way to start this week's blog, I thought that you would enjoy the clip from You Tube that demonstrates how standardized testing is so impersonal.  Enjoy!  It is a fun way to show that we need to know the students that we are teaching!  (or in this case testing!) 
     I can't help but notice that this week's topics fall right as we are all wrapping up the year and this wrap up includes many tests being given.  Regents, and final exam weeks are all that we are doing at the MS and HS level right now.  Dr. Tuck has asked us, "After all these years of common schooling, we still have no real way of knowing if students are learning." (Tuck, 2011, Blog.)  I can't help but think of that statement when I see my son and his friends studying for their regents, and my daughter stressing over her first "real" finals.  I started to wonder,  what if assessments were personalized for all students?  What if they could take what they have learned and were given a guideline to what the assessment must include, but they could decide what way they could show the topics that they have learned?  This would be an interesting concept.
     Lisa Delpit delves into this concept when she states, "if we are to invite children into the language of school, we must make school inviting to them." (Delpit, 2002, p.42.)  Wouldn't personalized assessments fall into this category?  Wouldn't we make more authentic assessments if the students had more ownership in their learning? What if we started to give our lessons and taught what the standards dictate that the students must know, but then we let the students reflect upon their learning and get them to pull what they have learned and make the connections between their school lessons to their life lessons? To make this happen though, educators would have to take the time to learn about their students.  Lisa Delpit stresses this by saying, "Furthermore, by not listening, teachers cannot know what students are concerned about, what interests them, or what is happening in their lives." (Delpit, 2002, p.43.) She continues by saying, "Without that knowledge it is difficult to connect the curriculum to anything students find meaningful." (Delpit, 2002, p.43.) If  we do not take the time to learn about our students, then we won't know how much they learn about anything.
     I enjoyed hearing how Patricia Carini references that "each child who comes through the door brings along his or her individuality and so inevitably makes some contribution, welcome or unwelcome, the the variety and the diversity of the class." (Carini, 2001, p. 169.) This clarified for me that here we have all of these individuals, but yet, we make them fit into one form at the end of every year, chapter, etc. We learn about multiple learning styles, which encourages teachers to teach to the style that fits each child the best, yet at the same time, we take that individual learning style and make them all take the same test.
     What if we could combine their learning style with their assessments?  Ken Robinson's video stated "schools kill creativity."  Isn't that what those standardized tests are doing to all of us?  We give up those "fun" lessons, that taught so many children, because we have a test that must be taken at the end of the year.  What about the student who is musically inclined, taking what they learn in History and composing a song about those lessons? Or the student who has a talent for drawing,  getting a chance to interpret the art of an era or actually being allowed to paint something that translates what they feel history has taught them? It really makes you think about the ways that children could interpret what they have learned if they get a chance to really tie this into their strengths.  The students who can ponder what they are learning, and figure out a way, or think through a way to show what they have learned.  As an educator, we would have to have a way of telling the students, that their interests count.
     Would we have to have basic guidelines? Of course, there might be a set of essential questions that the student must answer, however, they can interpret those questions in a way that makes sense to them.  Some students may even choose to take a "traditional test," but imagine the others who want to take what they have learned and show us instead of just bubble in a scantron.
     Carini quotes Havel in her essay as saying, "In the context of the essay, Havel (1992) means that to do the work of understanding we must as people, as humans, create radically different ways of looking at the world and ourselves." (Carini, 2001, p. 169.) This completely backs up how I have been thinking about assessments needing to be revisited and changed.  I have a deep feeling that we will start to see a better way of assessing coming soon, but these new assessments will come with many arguments, and many educators fighting to go back to the test.  Will these new assessments take time to grade, and take us to places that we haven't been before? Yes, but I believe deep down, we will be doing what is the best for the kids.  Good teachers venture out of their safety box when they are teaching and they try new things or new ways to present their lessons, this keeps interest and honestly, makes things fun, so why aren't we able to go outside the box when it comes to assessing?