The Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Writing Scores

A hypothetical study in statistics has led to a desire to dig a little deeper into the impact of socio economic status on writing proficiency scores of fourth graders in Florida.  The table below shows that as the percentage of students receiving free and reduced lunch increases, the FCAT 2.0 writing scores move further away from the proficient level of 3.5.  None of the counties in Florida receiving free and reduced lunch met the set level of proficiency score of 3.5.  In contrast, the mean for the population of students not receiving free and reduced lunch in each county was 3.59, which met, and exceeded the set standard of proficiency of 3.5.  

While this is not my volunteer experience, it is very interesting and relevant given the themes and topics which have emerged throughout this course.  I look forward to continued study of urban settings and the variables that set them apart and those that help them function more effectively.

Figure 1 - Descriptive Statistics
Dependent Variable:   Mean Prompt Score
FRL2	Mean	Std. Deviation	N
less than .25	3.200	.	1
.26 - .50	3.229	.1254	7
.51 - .75	3.189	.1581	46
.76 - 1	3.085	.1463	13
Total	3.173	.1563	67

Statistics
		Mean Prompt Score NFRL	Mean Prompt Score FRL
N	Valid	64	67
	Missing	3	0
Mean		3.597	3.173
Median		3.600	3.200
Mode		3.5a	3.1
Std. Deviation		.1699	.1563
Skewness		-.110	.439
Std. Error of Skewness		.299	.293
Kurtosis		.940	.685
Std. Error of Kurtosis		.590	.578
Percentiles	25	3.500	3.100
	50	3.600	3.200
	75	3.700	3.300
a. Multiple modes exist. The smallest value is shown

A Rewarding Experience

A Rewarding Experience

Reading this week was rewarding as usual.  The students had a guest in their classroom when I arrived and were expecting another guest or two later in the week.  Given the make-up of the students in the classroom the teacher reaches out for interesting ways to motivate her students, keeping an open door policy.  Their teacher possesses the qualities of a STAR teacher and her students are very fond of her.  She has obviously taken time to build relationships with her students as she clearly knows their individual needs and allows me freedom with an attentive ear.  I look forward to continuing the relationship that I am developing with the teacher and with the students as I continue this volunteer experience until the end of the school year.  If the teacher will have me, I would like to start up again for the next school year and find time weekly to continue to give back to the community.  Further, I would like to find some time to sit down with the principal and assistant principal to talk more about Title 1 schools in Cocoa and how they are unique, what programs are working, what the vision is for the school, etc. 

 

Letting Books Teach Through Messages

This week I was reminded that children's literature has valuable lessons to teach students in such fun ways!  The teacher asked me to choose material that taught students the value of taking turns and learning to be patient and gracious while you are waiting.  I read, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse with the students.  This is an excellent book about a little girl who gets a purple purse that plays music and she can't wait for show and tell to share it with everyone but she is busting at the gut to tell everyone about it.  When she does, the consequences are more than she can handle.  The conversation with the class that ensued was rich.  Talking out and waiting their turn in this contained classroom is one of the main difficulties.  It was interesting to see which students made the connection between their behaviour and the moral of the book and those who just legitimately cannot control that outburst in their desire for others to know their thoughts and see their knowledge.  We really had a great time talking about the lessons and finding out what they want to be when they grow up.  One girl wants to be a diva.  If it was only that simple!

The Power of Poetry

If you get the chance to watch this TED talks video I think it is pretty powerful.  I used this as an opening warm up activity and discussion creator for class this week.  I wanted to express the fact that beginning teachers will have the opportunity to teach such a diverse group of students.  That is a priviledge and a challenge as some students are dealing with life and school is just something they have to do to get through life.  That is where the power of poetry comes in!  With its different forms, simplistic to complex, I believe that all students can find some success with this form of writing.  Not only that but writing poetry can be fun, and therapeutic, and inspiring, and motivating.  It would be a shame to leave poetry out of the classroom syllabus because the teacher does not like poetry or is not really that great at it.  There are countless websites to support poetry with great ideas for classroom teachers - finish off with your very own poetry café complete with finger snapping!  Listen to Malcolm London for a little insight to how his life has been shaped by his diversity.

Malcolm London: High School Training Ground
http://www.ted.com//talks/malcolm_london_high_school_training_ground

Rolling Readers of Space Coast #2
Reading this week was so enjoyable.  The students were excited to see me and to draw a character from a story, make connections and learn to add details to their stories.  This contained class is very unique.  The make up is so diverse but I have always known that one of the most important aspect of teaching in any classroom is the development of relationships.  I focussed the first class just on getting to know the students, sharing a bit about myself and where I come from and when I returned the next week I could see the investment of time paying off already.  I can't wait to return.  I had an interesting conversation with the teacher of the class about title 1 schools, funding, the make up of her students, the support she receives, the number of years she has been teaching, etc.  I am learning a great deal and look forward to learning more about the students and the school.

I had the opportunity to begin my volunteer experience today!  I am officially a Rolling Reader of Space Coast.  My experience is at Endeavour Elementary School in Cocoa.  This is a title one school with a population of approx. 850 students.  The class that I volunteer to read to every week is a grade 4-6 varying exceptionalities class with 10 students.  Today we got to know each other a bit which was fun.  I learned a few things last week in my 2 hour training session and a bit today about title 1 schools.

The training session last week taught me that perceptions of poverty are very real and very much alive.  When the trainer talked about what it meant to be a title 1 school - certain percent of students on free and reduced lunch - some of the comments included: "that is so sad" and "those poor kids"!  It was not my place to say anything but it was difficult not to. 

I learned today that funding for title 1 schools allows Endeavour to have 4 full computer labs.  This is much different than home as our title 1 schools had less resources than most other schools and not more.  I was pleasantly surprised by the number of computer labs, especially after our conversations about the reality of less resources in highly diverse, low socioeconomic schools.  I have more learning to do about schools in Florida.  I look forward to going back to Endeavour next week to read to the students.

Adequacy of Funding and Resources

Well I have never done this before so there is some new learning for this week.  I am not sure that I have done this correctly so I hope this reaches everyone!

I have spent the week thinking about narrative story writing and how to use strategies in the classroom to reach ALL learners.  I think of the rich resources that I had at home to do this in the affluent community where I taught.  I remember someone else's post though that talked about a lack of resources in classrooms from differing socioeconomic standing and wonder why the inconsistencies continue to be permitted to exist to the extent that they do.  I know that the Obama Administration is focusing on trying to bring some type of equality of access to resources available to all schools, especially those in higher risk areas.  The guest speaker for the Happy Hour day touched on this topic as does our text.  Adequacy of funding is a topic that I would like to explore in more detail.

A STAR is born

A STAR is born
If you know, or have had the priviledge of seeing, a STAR teacher you know they are just different.  It makes me wonder whether STARs are born or if they can be taught to be STARS.  I am more inclined to believe, in my experience, that STAR teachers are born with qualities that set them apart, as Haberman mentions.  They are self driven, reflective, knowledge seeking, student centered individuals who motivate students to succeed because of them and not in spite of them, which is an unfortunate reality too.
I have had the priviledge of knowing 2 outstanding STAR teachers, the Dr. Shaw that I talked about in my posts, and my husband.  I worked with "my Dr. Shaw" in the affluent white school setting where she was the first black teacher to be hired at that school.  That was really her driving force for applying in the first place because others had told her that this school would never hire a black teacher.  They were wrong.  She possesses all of the qualities of Dr. Shaw, and many times while reading that chapter of our book I could have just slipped her name in there and kept reading it was that similar.  She also meets all the criteria for STAR teacher status - she loved the students and was always in her classroom, rarely mixing with other staff, did not attend meetings, nor take on leadership roles; yet she was a remarkable educators.  Students thrived in her classroom and we would often talk about the success of certain students who managed very nicely in our classrooms but failed miserably in other classrooms in the school.  I learned a great deal from my Dr. Shaw.

While I wait for my volunteer experience to begin this week with Rolling Readers of Space Coast to read to students in a title 1 school in Brevard County I have been back in contact with my colleague.  She is sharing her doctoral thesis with me on the marginalization of African American boys in education.  We have discussed meritocracy, color blindness, hiring practices, life experiences, road blocks, and more.  This week she talked about being a black woman when it comes to Black History Month and the fact that even though she is in a diverse suburban school, she is still called to run Black History month because she is black.  I can hear the frustration in her emails.  She sent me some art work that her students completed that I would like to share with you.  I look forward to continuing my conversations with her and learning first hand through her educational journey.