File Attached.

Sources:

1. "The World Factbook -- Brazil." cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 

2. "The World Factbook -- Australia." cia.gov. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web.

Julia Sweeney

Modern Educational Theory- “What is School” Position Paper

            School. A words some kids dread to hear. A word that can mean “prison” to some and “sanctuary” to others. A word commonly referred to in reference to systems and institutions. Analyzing and understanding the complex and different visions ofwhat school can be has helped me decide my vision of school and what it shouldbe.

            School should not feel forced. It should be a place where students feel comfortable to be themselves and can express what they are learning in multiple ways. Itshould be a place where teachers and learners work together to take on bothroles. Its purpose is to inspire and to be an outlet of discovery. It can be aplace where students figure out what their talents and skills are. It is aplace of social, emotional and intellectual growth.

            This school is a place that values respect. Values discovery. Values learning andvalues the learner. It values the teacher as a teacher and as a learner. This school does not base itself on one method or follow any one set of rules. It isa place of understanding and is full of understanding people. It gives equalopportunities to all of the students involved.

            Thisschool benefits society in more ways than one. It manages to teach students the skills they need in the everyday world, the basics that all schools teach, and manages to teach different things that interest different students. They help students become individuals and find their talent, their skill. This school embraces working in and with the community, teaching how different studentswith different skills can help and can create change. These students leave this school and know how they can use their knowledge, their power and their talentsto help themselves and others. These learners know how they learn and what that learning differently than everyone else isn’t a bad thing. This school helps to inspire kids to help and to learn from others.

            This school is good for the individual by supporting the individual. The school as a community helps inspire the individual so they can discover themselves as an individual. It creates a group of individuals who understand how they as an individual relate to others as well as themselves. It supports the individual and encourages the individual to be an individual.

            Overall, this school differs from a “traditional” school, mostly in its strong support system and encouragement for the individual. It values things that a “traditional” school may regard as unimportant or unnecessary. It inspires more than a “traditional” school. It doesn’t have just one idea or one rule. It thrives on many and not on ONE. 

"The Township Chronicle"

American History Q4 Benchmark

http://www.scribd.com/doc/16105414/JSweeney-HistoryQ4BM

Franklin, Barry M. When Children Don’t Learn. New York: Teachers College press 1998.

The book, When Children Don’t Learn, discusses some of the main problems that teachers face today. It explains, in detail, some of the examples as well as the how the problems have a direct effect on teacher’s lives. The lack of students desire to learn are directly related to the lack of teachers desire to teach. The book describes how teachers are failing in many schools today, and how that failure is really out of their control.

Socolar, Paul. "Tight Times...And Classrooms Feel Effects." 2007 15 Jan 2009 <http://www.thenotebook.org/editions/2007/summer/tight.htm >
 
This article, written by Paul Socolar, discusses different things about the current teacher employment rate in the Philadelphia school district along with the current economic state of the school district. It is from “The Notebook”, which is an independent newspaper about education in Philadelphia public schools. This specific article discusses recent changes regarding the budget cuts and the teacher cuts in the public schools.

United States. Bureauof Labor Statistics. Occupational Outlook Handbook,2008-09. April 2007.08 Jan 2009 < http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos069.htm>

This website gives a detailed description of what teachers do. It explores how teachers are important and why they are needed. It explainsin detail how teachers are trained and educated and gives accurate statisticson teacher employment rates.

Julia's Bibliography

Alexa's Bibliography 

Photo Citations:

Slide 6-http://flickr.com/photos/judybaxter/7229079/

Slide 11-http://flickr.com/photos/visualsense/1607389045/

Slide 16-http://flickr.com/photos/publik16/2984418345/

Charcoal, ink and pencil drawings with painted environment. 

5/30/08

    So far, in the progress of this project, my group and I have been doing some good work. We have identified our theme and began searching for lines that illustrate both the theme and the plot. The theme we chose to show is loyalty. It pretty much comes up as an issue for every character in the book and is the prelude to many of the events. We have also narrowed down on how we are going to present our script. We have decided between either a sock puppet show or a paper bag puppet show. So far, I would say my group and I are working well together. Our personalities and work habits mesh pretty well and cause for few conflict.
    One success we have had so far is working with the GoogleDoc. I personally, am in love with how easy it is making it to collaborate with the rest of my group. Also, I’m just a huge geek and I think it’s quite cool. We set it up in a chart, one row being the act/scene, the other being the person responsible for that section and the final row being the lines found that will be put into our script. We have color-coded each of our names, so we know who it is when someone writes in blue, red, ect. We even have a section for questions or conversations to have about different group decisions. Basically, we are talking about what to do over the GoogleDoc and either answering it then or later. Like I said, huge geek about it.
    As of now, the only difficulties I have reached are finding the perfect lines. It is really hard summing up an entire play into seven minutes. It is really teaching me how to sort through the text and find exactly where the most important and needed parts are.

3/25/08

    Today has been very exciting in the world of this project. In class today we did a little questionnaire about our change agents. Up until now, this has been one of my setbacks. The questions basically asked us if we had a change agent and when we were meeting with them. No one had contacted me back at that point in time, so I was left writing “N/A” on my paper. I felt defeated.
    When I got home tonight, I checked my e-mail. Alas! I saw a new e-mail from a name I didn’t recognize. It was from a woman named Melissa Levy, the Director of Development at PAWS (Philadelphia Animal Welfare Society). She had been replying to my original contact for a meeting time so I could present my elevator pitch. The e-mail read, “Thanks so much for your interest in saving Philadelphia's animals! I'd be happy to set up a time to meet with you in early-April.” These were the best words I could read at that moment.
    Now, with a meeting time and the beginnings of an Action Plan outline, I’m back on track. I felt overwhelmed for a little, but this seemed to be what I needed to fix that. Sometimes, things take a while. Sometimes, things go well. This was a sign.

2/22/08

    An interesting article came my way this week while I was looking through my feeds. It was debating the effectiveness of the No Kill shelters at different locations in the country. To start, they pose the very interesting question of, “Have shelters failed these 'NoKill' plans or have the 'NoKill' plans failed the shelters?” That does seem to be the debate. Yes, the killing in these animal shelters needs to stop. But has this No Kill project been too much for the shelters to handle? Is there a better way that people haven’t thought of yet to stop the violence in these shelters?
    The author of the article goes on to say how successful the No Kill shelter program has been working in Philadelphia. As for the rest of the country, not so much. Then states, “Should we just give up trying to become 'NoKill?' Absolutely not! The ten basic 'NoKill' programs are a start but they're just a start…” I think this sums up everyone’s feelings. This is only a start. There needs to be more work done. With that statement though, another question is raised. What else can we do? How can we, as people, come together and have a bigger impact for the animals? What is wrong with the No Kill project right now? Things are getting better from the No Kill Advocacy Center. It is helping.
    My question for you, people of the world, is what is wrong here? What else? What next? I think that there is more. More that can be done. More ways to branch out the No Kill shelters in the country. I’m posing a challenge: What is the next step to take the No Kill shelters to an even more successful level?