AnnMarie's English Blog

For my ethnography I am looking at traditional school scheduling vs. block scheduling. The traditional school schedule consists of students attending 6 to 9 subject-specified classes each day which last up to 40 to 55-minutes each. But over the years many schools across the country have strayed away from this type of model and have been adapting their curriculum to the block schedule. The alternate day block schedule which is also known as the A/B block is just one type of block scheduling amongst a few others. With this type of schedule classes meet each day for ninety minutes. Days of the week alternate as A or B, therefore on “A” days students will meet in four of their classes and then on “B” days students will meet in another four classes.

But more specifically for this project, I am researching the different perceptions of students, parents, and teachers on the positive and negative aspects of block scheduling in school compared to a traditional schedule. Looking at these multiple perspectives I hope to further understand how more time in the classroom effects student’s achievement and overall experience at school, as well as how teachers adjust their classroom when teaching for extended periods of time. My driving research questions are:

1. How does education shift for both students and teachers when more time is allotted in the classroom?
2. Can a traditional or block schedule be seen as superior to the other in terms of student’s academic achievement and overall school experience? If so, why?

For my methods of research, I plan on using both interviews and surveys. For the surveys many of the case studies I found as secondary research included the questionnaires they used so I plan on utilizing those. The high school I attended happened to use the A/B block schedule and my cousin is a current student there so I am going to ask her and a group of her friends to complete the forms. To compare the findings, I am then going to ask some of her other friends that attend a high school in the area with a traditional school schedule to fill out a survey which will be tailored to them. I plan to have a protagonist to portray both types of schedules, so most likely my cousin and then another friend that takes part in the traditional school schedule. For the interviews I mainly plan to use for teachers and parents. I am going to reach out to former teachers to get their take on teaching for extended periods of time, how they alter their teaching style/classroom, how they think students do with it, etc. In the research there was a large gap on parent perceptions so I want to get an understanding from them on how if they see block scheduling or traditional scheduling as more beneficial, how it plays in to their child’s extracurricular activities, observations on time spent on homework etc.

Example of survey taken from secondary research:

Works Cited

Joe Wilson, and Laura C. Stokes. “Students’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of Block Versus Traditional Scheduling.” American Secondary Education, no. 3, 2000, p. 3.

Usually when someone says, “That person is intelligent!” we automatically assume it’s because of their grades, where they go to school, level of success, etc. which is usually related to one’s analytical intelligence or book smarts. But in the story Outliers Malcolm Gladwell highlights psychologist Robert Sternberg’s concept of practical intelligence. He defines it as, “Knowing what to say to whom, knowing when to say it, and knowing how to say it for maximum effect.” Practical intelligence is also “knowledge that helps you read situations correctly and get what you want. And, critically, it is a kind of intelligence separate from the sort of analytical ability measured by IQ.” Therefore, a person is not just born with this type of social savvy but it is learned within their families and social environment.

Within the past few years we have seen the rise of technology before our eyes as models of our favorite devices have become smarter, faster, and continually enhanced. But in 2016 technology made a big advancement as Sophia the robot was introduced to the world.

Sophia is modeled after Audrey Hepburn and known for her human like appearance and behavior compared to other robots. Her artificial intelligence (AI) allows her to hold eye contact, recognize faces and understand human speech. In an interview with Forbes she stated, “My AI is designed around human values like wisdom, kindness, and compassion.” Sophia is able to imitate human gestures and facial expressions as well as answer questions and make conversations. Her programming is designed to allow her to become smarter over time and improve these skills. So this begs the questions if robots like Sophia can have the practical intelligence that Gladwell talks about in his book.

The answer to this is extremely tricky. On Sophia’s personal website she shares, “I can animate all kinds of human expressions but I am only starting to learn about the emotions behind those expressions. This is why I would like to live with people and learn from these interactions. Every interaction I have with people has an impact on how I develop and shapes who I eventually become.” With this information it is clear that Sophia is learning these social savvy skills from her environment just as Gladwell posed is the way you gain practical intelligence. During interviews she has even shown her ability to read social cues correctly and crack humor when needed. But the reality is that Sophia is made up codes and analytical data which allows her to perform in this way.

In my opinion artificial intelligence can mimic practical intelligence but will never be the exact same thing. To say that Sophia fully claims human-level intelligence, empathy, or possesses fundamental qualities that make people human is a falsity. Over humanizing technology also seems to create more problems than it can solve. With the way technology is headed it seems that there will be a time where our society is filled with ‘Sophia’s’ walking the streets—hopefully not to the point where they take over our world.

 

References

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zarastone/2017/11/07/everything-you-need-to-know-about-sophia-the-worlds-first-robot-citizen/#2063eeb346fa

http://sophiabot.com/about-me/

 

At my high school when you would pull in to the parking lot you would immediately see Range Rovers, Mercedes Benz, BMW, and other luxury brand cars vacating the rows. Hallways were filled with girls carrying designer backpacks and in every classroom we were challenged to be ‘forward thinking women’ while receiving our single sex education. As a student at my high school there was never a question of whether you were going to college or not, it was just expected. But not only that, a strong work ethic and will to succeed was imbedded in all of the girls there. The teachers pushed you to be your best self and we were equipped with all the tools to achieve our goals: brand new laptops each year, college counselors, small class sizes, engaged parents, and facilities that were constantly being updated. All of this only fifteen minutes from where Orange High School is.

As a resident of Orange comparing and contrasting what my education was and has continued to be compared to students who go through our city’s public school system has always been difficult. Reflecting back on this night and day experience, a piece of me feels extremely guilty yet another part addresses how hard my parents worked to allow me a private education. I think that a lot of the students at OHS have been dealt an unlucky hand when it comes to life but our community has the opportunity to help them change it.

Even in comparison to Villa Park and Elmo which are the other two public high schools in the area, Orange High School is definitely the worst off. As soon as you walk on to the campus or in the library you can clearly see this as the unwelcoming environment reflects through many of the students. But during the past three weeks I was glad I had the opportunity to engage at OHS and work with a student who was excited to change her life’s path.

The student I worked with shared that her class would be taking the SATs soon and she was extremely nervous. Naturally, the first thing I asked was if she had books to study or if she had taken a review class because that is what everyone at my high school did. She immediately responded that she didn’t have the money for any of that. It was a bit of a reality check as I had remembered she had said to me the week before that she was trying to figure out how to pay for college applications. She had to really figure out where she could see herself so that she wouldn’t waste any money on extra apps. In comparison to my high school where girls were applying to 30+ colleges and attending SAT boot camps this was hard to hear.

Going to school in Orange since I was four years old and having the opportunity to watch Chapman grow over the duration of my life, I truly believe that our campus is not doing what they should to embrace the surrounding community. We have so many resources and outreach opportunities that are being wasted. To see this night and day change from the quality of our campus to the conditions that students are dealing with at OHS is truly disappointing. Chapman should not just be focusing on the growth of our campus but embracing those around us as well whether it be the residents, local businesses, or educational systems.

From an educational standpoint as someone who grew up in Orange I know that the public high schools in the area are not known to have the most motivated or engaged students. So when I initially found out that we would be going to Orange High School to help them with their college application essays I was a bit weary towards the idea. Growing up in the area and having an understanding of the majority demographic of students who attend OHS, I have always known that many of them live in environments where education is not necessarily a top priority or parents struggle to support them.

With this information sitting in the back of my mind my expectations for this visit were pretty low as different thoughts ran through my head: Would the students be receptive to our help? Do they even care? Was I the right person to be giving them advice? How could I best help when it’s been years since I’ve gone through this process myself? But along with my doubts also came an excitement to help so I went in to this visit with as much of an open mind as possible.

It has been a few years since I applied to college and I honestly don’t remember every step I went through but I do remember the emotions that I felt during the process. I was nervous, overwhelmed, and excited all at the same time. After reflecting on these emotions I knew that I would not have gotten through the application process without the support of my family and friends to help me brainstorm, write, and revise the numerous essays I had to submit. As stated in Writing and Collaboration, “Reading one another’s work and listening to one another’s work read aloud gives students the confidence in the value of their own words and ideas” (Bruffee, 61).  So when I initially sat down at the table in the library the girl sitting across from me clearly had a timid nature and an overwhelmed look on her face. I knew that I needed to be the person to direct her ideas and enforce confidence in her as we collaborated together.

Getting her to talk at first was like pulling out teeth but when she finally started going she really opened up to me. She shared with me her love for drawing and music, feelings of being overwhelmed with applications, and her fears of her parents not being able to support her collegiate aspirations. I was not expecting to connect with her on this level when we had first met but I’m glad we did. When her teacher came around to check in on her towards the end of our time she asked her if she was still feeling overwhelmed and the student’s response was that she felt more confident about doing her essays now. I felt a sense of accomplishment that I was able to give her the help needed and make it feel less overwhelming. As I looked around the library seeing our class and the OHS students collaborate together I was glad to see all the students excitement towards our help and engaging in conversations which challenged the stigma many locals give them in not caring about their future.

 

 

Anxious:

Whether I be starting a new school year, applying for college, or waiting to receive my final grades at the end of a semester, the feeling of being anxious has always been a part of my relationship with education. Since I was little I have always been the kid who felt the need to overachieve in everything I do. For example, in kindergarten I always had to get the bonus word on my spelling tests right so I could score 101% on tests rather than just 100% or when I was in high school I would stay up all night working on a project when I already knew it was done to the best of my abilities.

Looking back on it, one of the main contributors to feeling as if I always need to overachieve in school was the educational environments that I was put in to from kindergarten throughout high school. From kindergarten through 8^th grade I was being ‘prepared’ at my Catholic school to then be accepted in to one of the best Catholic High School’s in Orange County. And of course my college prep high school was then ‘preparing’ me to get in to not just a mediocre, but great college. The narrative of how my educational journey would play out seemed to have been written for me since the time I was six years old. No wonder I chose the word anxious—for the fear of failure and disappoint always lingers above my head—how could I aim to be anything less than perfect…right?

Hate:

From kindergarten through eighth grade my school made us participate in what was called The Accelerated Reader program. Each week during our class time at the library we would select books designated for our grade, read it independently, and then go to the computers and take an independent comprehension test. Every book was worth a certain number of points based on its length and reading level which helped track our progress over the course of a school year based on how many of the test questions we got right. With every year I got older we were expected to have more points completed than the last and the students with the highest scores were always rewarded.

Having a system like this where I was forced to read books in order to meet a requirement rather than because I was truly interested in them negatively shaped my views towards reading. I know that some kids are natural bookworms or just don’t like reading but I can truly say I hate reading. By the time I reached third grade I remember I dreaded going to the library and taking my AR tests seemed like a chore. It kind of circles around to my first feeling of being anxious. I was always anxious if I had enough points by the end of the year, if I was smart enough, etc. This experience at a young age made me uninterested to pick up a book on my own and is sadly how I continue to feel now as a student in college.

Lost. This is the one word I would use to describe how I felt my first semester of college. As I sat in my car the first day of school a wave of anxiety flowed through my body as I prepared myself to walk to class. My mind told me to get up but my legs said otherwise. But when I finally got my body to move in unison with my mind, that first day of school and the next few weeks seemed to blur together.

It was like I was watching my own life from a TV screen, rather a mere bystander than the star of my own show—and as my ‘show’ continued it became harder to watch.

The time seemed to pass slowly as sweaty summer days of walking across campus turned in to the sound of crunching leaves under my feet accompanied by a brisk fall breeze. As the semester continued that wave of anxiety that flowed through my body continued to linger as well. Any joy I had found in school or learning seemed to be gone as I began to miss classes and care less. But with the change of seasons, I knew I had to make a change in my life. I questioned a lot of things during this time as my mind flooded itself with thoughts. Was school even for me? Or was it just the school that I was at that was making me so unhappy? Maybe I was only in school because that’s what you’re ‘supposed to do’? What did I really want to do with my life? These were all important questions but I couldn’t seem to come up with reasonable answers on my own.

But, like in every good TV show a hero always seems to show up at the perfect time to save the damsel in distress. Mine was Tammy. When she first came in to my life I had no idea what this 5 foot nothing, intelligent, caring, blonde woman would do for me. Tammy became my personal school counselor who had the power to change my entire outlook on school and educational path within a short two years. The more she helped me that feeling of being lost seemed to disappear.

Tammy used her superpowers to help me answer the questions that had been running through my mind. She picked me up and flew me in a new direction, and in this case that direction was towards Chapman. Tammy helped me fall in love with school again, made me realize what I wanted to do with life, and got me not only where I wanted to be but where I needed to be. And like any good superhero she keeps watch from afar making sure that I succeed and stay on the right path.

Rather than being a bystander, Tammy helped me to not only be the star of my own show but the director as well. As a student who had once been lost in the chaos that is college, she found me.