WAITING FOR SUPERMAN 2
Kipp Academy, what is it, how did it develop and why is it so important to Urban Education?
In Waiting for Superman, Geoffrey Canada describes his journey as an educator.
Throughout the documentary, different features of the American public education system were examined. Things such as how the educational system attempts to rebuke poorly performing teachers were shown to have an impact on the educational environment. Teaching standards were called into question as there is often conflicting bureaucracy between teaching expectations at the school, state, or federal level. (New York Times, 2010). Comparisons were
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made between the different types of primary or secondary educational institutions available: public school, private school, and charter school. There were also comparisons made between schools in affluent neighborhoods versus schools in poorer ones. According to Canada, up until the 1970's American public schools were great, but by the early 90's the education system was in need of desperate change when it started experiencing global competition. In the early 90's two teachers, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin of Huston realized that in order for urban students to perform the system needs to be changed.
Feinberg and Levin studied a method used by Herriot Ball a teacher of the same school. Herriot's approach to teaching was different from traditional teaching techniques; she used the language the students were familiar with to bring across mathematics content, this language was "rap music". She then turned mathematics concepts into songs, students would quickly grasp the concept then she would move on to the next step. Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin were inspired by Ball's method of teaching, so they went on to study Ball's method along with other teaching methods. After this study Feinberg and Levin opened two new schools called Kipp Academy Huston, one in Huston and the other in the Bronx. These schools are Carter schools, in that they are publicly funded, independently operated schools that are allowed to operate with more autonomy than traditional public schools in exchange for increased accountability. Since charter schools do not operate with the same restrictions as public institutions, they are depicted as having a more experimental approach to educating …show more content…
students. Kipp Academy was developed to close the achievement gap and omit the myth that urban students cannot learn.
Feinberg and Levin passion for making a change to the urban education proved that by applying the right accountability standard educational gap good results will be obtained. Kipp schools are located in low income and underperforming neighborhoods. This was very significant to urban education seeing that it breached the educational gap between public and private schools, providing urban students with the skills and knowledge to enter college which were only a dream for urban parents. Now top Charter schools are sending over 90% of their students to colleges, this great for urban families.
The film's most emotional moments revolve around five children whose futures depend on winning a lottery to a charter school. One of the students featured was Francisco, a first grader from Bronx he attended a public school in his community. Francisco's teachers told his mother that he had problems in reading. This pushed his mother in locating a school that could help Francisco in reaching his full potential. It was important that Francisco experienced an effective educational system, seeing that it was discovered by his class teacher that he had a learning
disability. WAITING FOR SUPERMAN 2 In Waiting for Superman, Geoffrey Canada describes his journey as teacher. Throughout the documentary, different structures of the American public education system were scrutinized. Things such as how the educational system attempts to rebuke poorly performing teachers were shown to have an impact on the educational environment. Teaching standards were called into question as there is often conflicting bureaucracy between teaching expectations at the school, state, or federal level. (New York Times, 2010). Comparisons were made between the different types of primary or secondary educational institutions available: public school, private school, and charter school. There were also comparisons made between schools in affluent neighborhoods versus schools in poorer ones. According to Canada, up until the 1970's American public schools were great, but by the early 90's the education system was in need of desperate change when it started experiencing global competition. In the early 90's two teachers, Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin of Huston realized that in order for urban students to perform the system needs to be changed. Feinberg and Levin studied a method used by Herriot Ball a teacher of the same school. Herriot's approach to teaching was different from traditional teaching techniques; she used the language the students were familiar with to bring across mathematics content, this language was "rap music". She then turned mathematics concepts into songs, students would quickly grasp the concept then she would move on to the next step. Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin were inspired by Ball's method of teaching, so they went on to study Ball's method along with other teaching methods. After this study Feinberg and Levin opened two new schools called Kipp Academy Huston, one in Huston and the other in the Bronx. These schools are Carter schools, in that they are publicly funded, independently operated schools that are allowed to operate with more autonomy than traditional public schools in exchange for increased accountability. Since charter schools do not operate with the same restrictions as public institutions, they are depicted as having a more experimental approach to educating students. Kipp Academy was developed to close the achievement gap and omit the myth that urban students cannot learn. Feinberg and Levin passion for making a change to the urban education proved that by applying the right accountability standard educational gap good results will be obtained. Kipp schools are located in low income and underperforming neighborhoods. This was very significant to urban education seeing that it breached the educational gap between public and private schools, providing urban students with the skills and knowledge to enter college which were once only a dream for urban parents. Now top Charter schools are sending over 90% of their students to colleges, this was great for urban families. The film's most emotional moments revolve around five children whose futures depend on winning a lottery to a charter school. One of the students featured was Francisco, a first grader from Bronx he attended a public school in his community. Francisco's teachers told his mother that he had problems in reading. This pushed his mother in locating a school that could help Francisco in reaching his full potential. Francisco stated that he doesn’t like school; this could be as a result of him struggling in the classroom to keep up with the other students in the reading. It was important that Francisco experienced an effective educational system which will meet his needs, help build his confidence level so as to develop the zeal for attending school. Francisco could benefit from the program Reading First, seeing that he is about to enter the second grade. This programs main focus will ensue Francisco is able to read at grade level or above by the third grade through the implementation of instructional materials which are focus on the five key essential components of reading instruction-phonemic awareness, phonics, vocabulary, fluency, and reading comprehension. Francisco would be with a teacher that is trained in implementing the program; therefore Francisco’s barrier will be identified and overcome within his school district. This documentary was really an eye opener for me seeing that I am an international student. The structure of America’s education system and policies were new, so it was a learning process. After watching the documentary I realized that we have come a far way in improving the educational system but more needs to be done. In order for a change to occur with the educational system the attitude of teachers and administrators need to be address firstly. Teachers and administrators most first see the need for change then implement measures which will cause a change within the educational system. This was done by Mike Feinberg and Dave Levin, they identified a problem, then implemented strategies to fix the problem and at the end their action created a change in the educational system. In fact, all schools can be high performing schools, if all teachers and administrators apply the right accountability standards to get fabulous results. Then a student’s future will never have to depend on winning a lottery to a school.
This is the setting, background, and characters of Mike’s tale of “the struggles and achievements of America’s educationally underprepared”. Through this book Mike constantly emphasizes three main themes. First, the importance of an educational mentor; later in this article we will examine several of Mike’s mentors. Second, social injustices in the American education system; specifically the lack of funding and bureaucracy’s affect on the public educational system. Third and lastly, specific teaching methods that Mike has used to reach out to kids on the boundary.
Sherman Alexie illustrates through the short story, “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me,” how he developed the same reading and writing skills taught in a classroom solely from a Superman comic book. Alexie’s situation was unique from not only non-Indians but Indians as well. Alexie’s family was not privileged, which was the case for most of the people who lived on the Indian reservation. They, Indians, had access to very limited resources which ceased any aspirations they had at being successful. Alexie, as a young Indian boy, was not supposed to be educated by the societal norms expressed of his era. However, Alexie refused to fall victim to a stereotypical uneducated Indian boy. As a product of an Indian reservation, Sherman Alexie informs his audience, mostly dedicated to Indian children that he did not fail simply because of the joy he had for reading and writing.
Guggenheim focuses his documentary on the teachers that make-up a large portion of the system. One of his strongest arguments is that the teachers are the problem, and the inability to rid schools of the incompetent teachers is the primary reason American schools are coming in so low in the international rankings. He also shares many facts and statistics that are staggering by their lonesome, but he presents them in such a way to exaggerate them by use of animation, music, and narration.
In “The Teacher Wars”, by Helen Goldstein, the book focuses on the historical implications of school policy and how it affects teachers. The author goes into depth with everything from the rise of female teachers to the rise of technology in today’s teachers. As Goldstein argues teachers have an incredible ability to be able to widen equality, yet can also narrow the achievement gap that is created from birth. Her showcase of the constant strife against teachers throughout the ages gives way to multiple ways politics and decisions affect the achievement gap.
During this class I have been able to explore more into the world of education and through different videos of how education has changed over time. Today, I will be discussing the video “The Bottom Line in Education 1980-Present” and how education operated during this period. I was given the opportunity to understand how schools in the United States were functioning from 1980 until how schools are functioning now. The documentary talked about different topics concerning the impact of the educational system with how it has to be changed with things such as the curriculum of what the children are learning.
Through the first half of the movie, all the students were prone to dropping out. Where some wanted to inherit their family’s restaurant or auto shop or others just believed they couldn't do it because they were Mexican-American. This belief was drilled into their heads at a young age where once they got out of highschool, they would immediately start working. Mr. Escalante saw potential in his students and worked hard to make them realise they needed to challenge racial stereotypes and do things at their best ability. We learned that we should be able to struggle to achieve more without regards to our ethnicities. This film made us think how people these days are still being held back from their full potential because of race and how there are still people who hold stereotypes in this modern
In his piece titled Idiot Nation, Michael Moore depicts many faults of the American education system. One quote that caught my attention was “teachers are politician’s favorite punching bags” (pg. 160). Teachers in the public school system are grouped together as the number one predicament when it comes to America’s lack of worldly knowledge. He goes on to discuss the much more egregious and omnipresent issues. I enjoyed Moore’s counter arguments, because I have always disagreed with this myth without knowing the actual problems in our schools.
The pressures of society and many factors against us can at times seem impossible to overcome, however, these limitations are only the ones we place on ourselves. Whether it’s during the adolescent years as Sherman Alexie explained in “The Joy of Reading and Writing: Superman and Me”, about the struggles of overcoming the stigma bound by his culture where “A smart Indian is a dangerous person, widely feared and ridiculed by Indians and non-Indians alike”, as well as having the courage to break free for his own benefit. In addition, this theme was also explored in the later years of adulthood as demonstrated in Malcolm X’s essay, “Learning to Read” where he’d become so frustrated while kept in prison, unable to quite express himself as he did
Kaufman, Daniel. "Notes from Hell: The Public Schools Need Discipline and Respect for Learning. That's All." National Review 30 Sept. 1996: 46. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
KIPP’s School District still focuses on enforcing a different teaching concept as compared to public schools. They implement bright colors, singing, and hand motions into everyday learning. This keeps the students attention and helps with their involvement. KIPP’s business level strategy would still be focused differentiation. They focus on kids that live in poverty and are failing in a normal public school. Most of the children that live in these areas are minorities. “There is 58,000 students, more than 88 percent qualify for free or reduced-price meals at school, and 95 percent are black or Latino” (Monahan). With most of the students living in poverty, the teachers need to pay special attention to them and have commitment plan with the student’s parent. This means the teachers need to put in more hours than most teachers in public schools. This has caused a low retention rate for KIPP teachers. There are also major issues with funding and management. These are some of the major issues shown in the 2012/13 case
Geoffrey Canada wanted to make big changes to the school systems of America, however, when he became an adult, he realized it was almost impossible to make drastic changes on a federal level so he created the KIPP charter schools. KIPP is a non-profit network of college-preparatory, public charter schools serving elementary, middle, and high school students (KIPP, n.d.). The KIPP schools are the highest performing middle school in the Bronx and most of the students are from low-income families. The KIPP schools start with children before they start school and helps them until the child graduates from college. The schools refuse to let any students fall behind and makes students who fall behind attend class on the weekends and over the summer. There are 183 KIPP schools across America today, making a big difference for families whose children would have been forced to go to a poor quality public school (KIPP,
This book, Dare The School Build a New Social Order by George Counts, is an examination of teachers, the Progressive Education Movement, democracy and his idea on how to reform the American economy. The book is divided into 5 different sections. The first section is all about the Progressive Education Movement. Through this, George Counts points out many downsides and weaknesses of this ideal. He also talks about how he wants teachers to lead society instead of following it. In the second section, he examines 10 widespread fallacies. These fallacies were that man is born free, that children are born free, they live in a separate world of their own, education remains unchanged, education should have no bias, the object of education is to produce professors, school is an all-powerful educational agency, ignorance rather than knowledge is the way of wisdom, and education is made to prepare an individual for social change.
The first lady I interviewed said that the lack of control over the students and lack of supplies needed to teach was causing major issues in her community. She noted that many of the children are just passed along through the system until they eventually drop out. My second subject said he was happy with the education his children received but noted the classes are much larger for his children than what he had in his rural home town. The final subject I interviewed said that the lack of preparedness the public system has for college caused him to place his children in a private school to receive the education he felt they needed. Urban teachers described their classrooms as overcrowded and noted that in many instances there were not adequate resources available to teach the children (Goldring, 2002). Students in urban schools have a 50% chance of being taught by a certified mathematics or science teacher (Foote, 2005). Some of the teachers were under qualified to teach. Not only are urban teachers less likely to be prepared in their content areas, but these teachers also score lower on literacy skills measures on teacher certification examinations (Goldring, 2002). All of these finding combined lead to the inability to properly teach children and prepare them to pass exams (Ihlanfeldt,
The state’s new evaluation system was in response to administrators who produced, “superficial and capricious teacher evaluation systems that often don't even directly address the quality of instruction, much less measure students' learning” (Toch, 2008). Too often, the “good-ol-boy” attitude would insure mediocre educators would remain employed. Realizing this was often more the rule then the exception, the governor created educational mandates to focus, “on supporting and training effective teachers to drive student achievement” (Marzano Center, 2013). Initially, they expected the school districts and the teachers would have issues and experience growing pains, but in the end the goal was, “to improve teacher performance, year by year, with a corresponding rise in student achievement” (Marzano Center, 2013).
Senge, P., Cambron-McCabe, N., Lucas, T., Smith, B., Dutton, J. & Kleiner, A. (2012). Schools that Learn (pp. 32-69). Boston: Nicholas Brealey Publishing.