Beyond the Classroom

This week's blog post asks us to discuss ways we have tried to bring quality science instruction beyond our classroom.  As working teachers and students in this program, I am sure you all agree that none of us have time to even think about beyond our classroom.  But we may have ideas for things we will do when we are finished with this program and have a little more time available.  I have been doing something, however, to this end.  I am on the science curriculum committee for my district.  After school ends, we join each other with a mentor to revise the curriculum calendar and content for it.  I have done this for 3 years in a row.  Last year we met with science teachers throughout the district and across grade levels.  We examined standard goals across the grade levels to see the commonalities and what we could do at each grade level to build upon the skills and knowledge the students would need as they traveled from 1st to 12th grade.  We linked the standards and added grade objectives to support vocabulary and processing skills to create a spiraling curriculum.  We created curriculum maps indicating the weeks involved with each unit and embedded a resource link into the map so that teachers could access support documents and location of resources to use in their unit.  This year, my prediction would be that we will work on incorporating Common Core Standards.  This group is composed of teachers at each grade level and from different schools throughout my school district.  When school resumes in the fall, we are the representatives to bring the current information and resources to our individual schools.

The 2006 National Geographic-Roper Survey of Geographic Literacy published statistics regarding U.S. citizens ages 18 to 24. According to the report, half of Americans cannot locate New York on a map.

The report also states only 37 percent of Americans could find Iraq on a map, despite American troops having been stationed there since 2003. 

 Out of 34 countries, the U.S. ranked 14th in reading, 17th in science and 25th in math.

Shouldn’t this be enough to scare most Americans?  How many people laugh at Jay Leno when he goes “Jay-walking” and people cannot name the vice-president of the United States or some current event.  When American Idol gets more viewers than some national news priority, what can we expect?  Americans are so used to having that the thought of not having, of not being number one, does not enter their realm of possibilities.  People are complacent – they don’t vote.  Politicians are guided by lobbyists.  Morals don’t count.  The environment is not protected.  Bring up global warming and all you’ll get is an attack on Al Gore and no discussion of the problems.  People won’t wake up and pay attention until they don’t have something they want. 

http://northernstar.info/campus/article_b39dff6c-44c6-582f-bcc3-436c4244f357.html

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-12-07-us-students-international-ranking_N.htm