"Earn an A? Here's $50" (Chicago Tribune)

I do not think that paying students for grades is a smart idea. I agree with one of the opinions in the article that it is for the wrong reasons. Also, those who advocate for the program feel that "it evens the playing field" or that it is a great motivational tool for students (especially low income student). While I can see what they are saying, I feel that there can be other, more beneficial programs established for the students the discussed program is targeting. There are other ways to create incentives for students to do well. For example, more sufficient funding for schools with the majority of their student body coming from low income families/neighborhoods. Such funds could go to implement school day/after school tutoring programs. I also agreed with the statement from the article that paying students can take away from the creativity and process of learning because all the students are going to want is their money. I would have to say that even as my position shifts from teacher, parent, and taxpayer, I would still say that paying students for grades is not the best solution. 

The following are links to other articles that discuss the debate about paying students for academic performance:

1. http://www.thebeanblog.com/2006/04/25/the-great-paying-for-grades-debate/

2.http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-01-27-grades_N.htm

3. http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/09/15/paying.grades/index.html

4. http://www.myfoxtwincities.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7414640&version=2&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.8.1

A Vision of Students Today (YouTube Video Post)

I agree with Dustin's (http://unoriginaloriginality-uiuc.blogspot.com/) comment about how factual information is undervalued in the two videos. Although not all teaching needs to be through the "essentialist" perspective, I do believe that students must have a foundation of content and facts in order to be successful in content analysis. Also, I agree with Chris (http://chrishidakasblog.blogspot.com/) that the first video "Vision of Students Today," presents how technology has advanced society, but how it has also been detrimental to learning. For example, one statistic that came from this video was that a student will read eight books, but 2300 web pages and 1281 facebook profiles a year. Technology is drastically changes how and what students are learning today. As a future teacher, I want to be aware of technological advancements to that I can use them to enhance the learning of my students by using it or by choosing not to if I believe it would be more beneficial to my students.

Blog Activity (Group A)

Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

Sir Ken Robinson's talk presented a unique perspective on the impact that our education system has on creativity. Although I agree with a few of his arguments:  academic inflation and hierarchy, he doesn't offer to present any solutions. Nevertheless, he still present an important issue. In my opinion, I can see perhaps the opportunity to nurture creativity more in students by being aware of the diversity of intelligence. In my future classroom, I think this would be one of the best ways to detect, nurture, and encourage  the creativity of  my students. 

Week 1 Question

1. "Given the realities of our modern age and the demands of our children's future, is it really  ok to allow teachers to choose whether or not they incorporate modern technologies into  their instruction?"

In my opinion, I think that it is ok, but it would be better to incorporate modern technologies. It would be ok to not use really modern technology because students are still able to comprehend the subject matter. I think that using modern technology helps in bridging a connection between subject matter and modern technological advances, which may be of more interests to students today. For example, a teacher can assign students a project in which they can utilize technology such as Powerpoint, Wikipedia, or Youtube. Basically, I think it is important to incorporate some features of technology in instruction, but it isn't absolutely necessary because if students don't pick it up in the classroom, technology is something that really, in my opinion can be grasped, at times, easily on an individual level.

Hi :)

hello.....my name is Marisol. I am from LaGrange, IL (Chicago Suburb). I am a junior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I am in the Teacher Education Program and I created this blog as an assignment for my Curriculum & Instruction 335 Course. I want to teach History at the Secondary level. :)