GROUP+2

- Your article is the fourth in this packet: "Forget the Fads"


 * NOTE TO THIS GROUP: YOU GUYS NEED TO "GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER" -- LITERALLY. GET ALL YOU HAVE HERE AND ORGANIZE IT INTO ONE COHERENT PARAGRAPH, NOT A MISH-MASH OF ENTRIES. As of this time, only Sara will get credit for this summary (she wrote the paragraph) so Ashley and Tyler you need to get rid of the extraneous stuff and work on that paragraph Sara posted ASAP.** ~MS. W

Tyler Kreft My contribution

Outline of the article for A 4 Evan Keliher, Sept. 30, 2002, "Forget the Fads--The Old Way Works Best". I. Keliher explains why his predictions were right. 1. He predicted that the $500 million given by Walter Annenberg in 93’ wouldn’t make a difference. A. Author’s thesis: The only way to fix education in America is to stop all the reforms and new teaching methods and go back to traditional teaching methods (18). 1. By 98’ all efforts had collapsed (18). a. Because of politics and bureaucracy it didn’t make any change (18). b. No effort has helped kids to learn better, faster, or easier than the old ways (18). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">c.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">Theodore Sizer—when asked if he could think of a reform in the last 15 years that worked, he replied no (18). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">d.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">None of the methods he was forced to use in the past made any difference in the student’s performance (18). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">They did everything but change students performance (18). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">II. What is the answer to the issue? <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">e.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">They keep repeating the reforms that have failed—don’t learn from mistakes (18). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">f.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">“…we need to return to the method that’s most effective: a teacher in front of a chalkboard and a roomful of willing students. The old way is the best way.” (18). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">g.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">No shortcuts then and no shortcuts now. (18). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">h.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">The reforms have wasted time, money, and damaged kids (18). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">i.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">They have not given them confidence (18). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">j.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">“The only way to truly foster confidence in our students is to give them real skills in reading, writing, arithmetic—that they can be proud of.” (18). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">k.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">“One model that incorporates this idea is direct instruction, a program that promotes rigorous, highly scripted interaction between teacher and students.” (18). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">l.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">Uses example of time travels inexistence and how we apply logic behind that, and how we should apply that logic to the subject of school reforms that we know they have not worked because we have not seen results (18). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">m.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal"> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"">“We should stop using students as lab rats and return to a more traditional method of teaching.” The old ways worked fine for Euclid, it should work fine for us (18). <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif""> Tyler Kreft My contribution, my summary: Forget the Fads—The Old Ways Works Best What will fix public education? A teacher, a chalkboard and a roomful of willing students. Evan Keliher, Sept. 30, 2002, "Forget The Fads--The Old Way Works Best", The only way to fix education in America is to stop all the reforms and new teaching methods and go back to traditional teaching methods (18). We all realize all of the new ways that educators have been trying to implement over the years like all of the group work and in classroom computer discussions over chartrooms and the PowerPoint presentations that are used, the group presentations that kids have to do and get up in front of the classroom and teach to the rest of the class. These methods and others like them are intended to help students learn faster and help them to retain the knowledge better, and to give them confidence. Keliher believes that these new forms of education have done nothing of the sort, they are a waste of money, time, and are damaging kids. He believes that the old way he had taught in the past worked the best. Keliher proposes that we go back to the old ways of a teaching having the elements of a teacher and his willing students and his method is lecture and his instruments are a chalkboard and chalk. He has given examples of reforms that have failed and uses the support of his colleagues to back up his claims. He believes that group work does not facilitate confidence in students, and he states, <span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif""> “The only way to truly foster confidence in our students is to give them real skills in reading, writing, arithmetic—that they can be proud of. One model that incorporates this idea is direct instruction, a program that promotes rigorous, highly scripted interaction between teacher and students.” (18).He concludes by stating, “We should stop using students as lab rats and return to a more traditional method of teaching.” (18).

SUMMARY: Forget the Fads--The Old Way Works Best

Evan Keliher wrote "Forget the Fads--The Old Way Works Best" on September 22, 2002 so his opinion on educational reforms could be read across the globe; Keliher argues for the traditional teaching style of lecture by direct instruction due to the fact that all of the educational reforms, which add up to billions of dollars, have been unable to come up with positive results. Because of this reoccurring theme Keliher was able to predict that even the massive amounts of money put into the education system by Walter Annenberg would fail to make a difference in education. Keliher goes on to state that no reform, at least since the 20th century has been effective in making any positive change. Our education has fallen through the floor. People have tried to create shortcuts or find ways around lecturing, but none of these methods have been successful in the classroom. No matter what changes educators and administrators have made they have not changed students overall performance. In fact, after all of these different methods have been given a try, the number of students who graduate each year with a diploma has not risen. Within that past 20 years the number of students graduating each year has not risen to more than half of the class. Regardless of whether or not the schools have received tax payers money, our public schools are not reaching students in the way that they should. There are many reasons this could be happening. Teachers cannot teach students who don’t want to learn or teach with a messed up schedule. Schools may have a big selection of classes to pick from—allowing students to take classes that they really don’t need or classes that they just blow off. However, Keliher believes that the the teaching methods being used and the way that schools are presently set up are two of the main reason schools are not succeeding in educating their students.He states that schools are not allowing teachers to really teach the students about writing, reading, and arithmetic. For this reason Keliher believes that all educators should return to the methods of the past--lecturing should be the main form of teaching students again. Education in the United States has fallen and needs major repair. According to Keliher the only way to fix this problem is to stop trying all of these new aged methods and curriculum in the classroom. None of them have been successful and no amount of money will change that. He believes that we should stop trying out these new methods on our students and refers to the treatment of students today as "lab rats."

Examples of poor education and poor scheduling, ect.... 1986 the number of students who gratuated each year sill hadn't risen to more than half the class.

Reform movements like new math and whole language have left millions of damaged kides in their wake. We've wasted billions of taxpayers dollars and forced our teachers to spend countless hours in workshops learning to implement the latest fads.

Middle school in San Diego was looking for a fresh teaching plan for a new charter school and meanwhile, a few mile down the road was in the process of adandoning the smae modle because it hadn't had any effect on students grades.


 * Ashley Arquette's Outline of the Article**

Title: "Forget the Fads--The Old Way Works Best Written by Evan Keliher on September 30, 2002

Introduction: A. Authors ability to predict things and why B. Thesis Statement: The only way to fix education in America is to stop all the reforms and new teaching methods and go back to traditional teaching methods (18). 1. Reforms have collapsed a. 1993- $500 million given to public education by Walter Annenberg failed to make a difference in education. b. No reform has ever brought significant change. c. Nothing has helped "children learn any better, faster or easier" (18). 1. "There was no shortcut to the learning process then and there still isn't" (18) a. Theodore Sizer- No reform in the last 15 years has been successful. b. All of the changes in methods and styles has not changed students performance in the classroom. 2. What should we do? a. Learn from others mistakes- don't do the same reforms over and over again b. We need to go back to the ways of the past in teaching style-traditional lecture, chalkboard, and classroom set up, etc... c. "The old way is the best way" (18) d. We need to stop wasting our time and give our students real skills-traditional skills-such as reading, writing, and math (18). e. Use the method of direct instruction- it works best. 1. "It promotes rigorous, highly scripted interaction between teacher and students" (18). f. Stop using students "like lab rats." 3. How we know these reforms haven't changed a. Example of time travel b. We can know these strategies haven't worked because nothing good has come out of any of them.