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Library Cuts

Reading Journal 8

Budget Cuts in the Classroom: What's on the School Chopping Block?

This article is informational to parents with children in schools that are experiencing budget cuts, which are so many nationwide. I like how the author has a numbered list of things a parent show know. This makes it much easier to read. These are 5 things parents should know:

1. Understand the actual budget situation

2. Know what's getting cut, and why

3. Learn about the options

4. Don't obsess about class size

5. Do obsess about layoffs

Reading Journal 7

The Schools We Need

A freshman college English professor writes the article. She writes about her challenges of being a full-time freshman English professor after being away from it for a few years. Though an assignment she finds out the quality of education high school students are receiving. After some research she finds that teachers don’t seem to know their subjects well and show no passion in teaching it. She also learns that teachers avoid having class discussions about real life controversial issues so they won’t have to deal with chaos and offending students. With that being said she promotes teaching real life issues and debates. I enjoyed reading this article because of the way it is written in her perspective. I enjoyed how she starts the article giving details, “sitting by the fire with a teetering stack of final essays.” I liked how she ended the article, dialogue between her and her student, it made me feel as if I were there with them in Kentucky at the Robinson Rainforest.

The Schools We Need

Proposal for argument

I am planning to write about the bugdet cuts in Westport and the effects of it on the school system. The town had an election to raise the taxes 2.5% each year, but question one did not pass. I have an email from the superintendent of schools and there is an article in the "Shoreline". I am also going to write about how school budget cuts have effected other schools nationwide. The photo essay I could snap a photo of children in school, maybe oversized classrooms. I also have a photo from the town saying yes to question 1.

Reading Journal 6

The Littlest Schoolhouse

This article starts off by talking about the author, a black man. He describes his difficulties he faced in school and his want to drop out of school in fourth grade. His parents told him the only future he has is college or jail. He went to college and eventually dropped out and became a journalist, but never being proud that he never finished his education. Then he talks about a new program they have come up with in New York called School of One. This is a different approach to teaching. In a classroom of 30 students teachers try to teach students a way that the majority of the class will understand, but what happens to the remainder? Joel Rose, a former elementary school teacher came up with a computer program to let students learn at their own pace and in their own way. Some students learn better with a tutor or some need a lecture or some may need a dry erase board. Each child learns differently and this program allows it to find a way that works best. The author ends the article by describing how his life would’ve been different if he had this program growing up. I liked the analogy he used at the end, “I wondered if all I had ever really needed was the equivalent of a warm hug from a cold algorithm.”
The Littlest Schoolhouse