Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route

What this article is about:

• education
• teachers
• experiences
• opportunties
• growing
• curriculum
• alternatives
• students
• competing
• lecturing
• assigments
• learning

As I read the Jennnie Oakes: Why schools need to take another route I believed that the way they talk about the learning system with the students is awkard. I think it's wierd how there are different ways that students are learning or the way they say it. For an example students that are called top students spend more time in class learning activities and less on displine, socializing and class rountines. HIgher-ability students are expected to spend more time doing homework-their teachers tend to be more specfic on instructions. Then you have the low-ability classes that teachers seem to be less encouraging and more strict on discipline. They are more focused on making sure the students are on time and following directions, rather then actually learning what they are supposed to.

There's a quote in the article that says "Students who are placed in high-ability groups have access to far richer schooling experiences then other students." I personally think that the statement is true but at the same time i think its just saying that only smart kids will go further in the education rather then students who are in low standard classes. When i was in high school i was in good classes but i wasnt always smart in math. I actually was horrible but my math class ranged from smart people who was good in math all the way to where kids were lost in the class. I was one oof those students who were lost in the class but i had a teacher that pushed me to try even when i felt liek giving up. I think that there are teachers out there that need to be more encouraging and helpful with students even if they are smart or not.

The section of Evaluation that supports Learning really caught my eye becasue it talks about how teachers garde students and how they grade it. Grades are posted in many different ways for example letters, numbers, starts, smiley faces that are generally good but when if and when a students does poorly the teachers puts sad faces, zeros. I think it's ok for them to put that if a student does bad but i feel like they should write comments on the side or help them with materials they are having trouble with. Reading this artcle makes me think that i had it different in the schools i attended. There are def a number of teaches out there that are encourgaing and heloful with the students but then you have the ones that say i am getting paid to do this if you dont want to learn then it's fine by me...becuase they are already getiing paid for it. It's liek the article we read the one before this. IF a a teaches is not willing to teach in a respectful way then the students will also give up. Students need guidance!!