Title and Authors Name
Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route by Jeannie Oakes
Authors Argument
Oaks argues that grouping children who are lower ability, and children who are higher ability in school is a bad idea. She thinks that another way of "tracking" needs to be done.
Quotes:
1) "growing numbers of school professionals and parents oppose tracking because they believe it locks most students into classes where they are stereotyped as "less able", and where they have fewer opportunities to learn."
I remember in my high school, they did some sort of tracking. There were fundamental, regular, and enriched classes. According to the specific students ability, they were placed in one of these three choices. I agree that students who are placed in "fundamental" classes are stereotyped as "less able". How do you think the student feels knowing that everyone else in the school knows that they are in a lower class than others?
2) "students in the latter classes learned basic reading skills taught mostly by workbooks, kits, and easy-to-read stories. Learning tasks consist most often of memorizing and repeating answers back to the teacher. Since so much of importance was omitted from their curriculum, students low-ability classes were likely to have little contact with the knowledge of skills that would allow them to move into higher classes or to be successful if they got there."
The thing I don’t understand is that if students are placed in lower ability classrooms why rant they learning the exact same things as everyone else. Just because their in lower ability doesn’t mean that they cant understand certain material. Maybe the teacher just needs to spend more time with the students, explaining problems, helping them with work etc. Because like Oaks said, when they get to the point of applying for college, their going to need to know the information that the other children know. Colleges aren’t going to give students easier tests and assignments just because they were placed in low ability classrooms in high school.
3) " in average classes, many teachers expected relatively little of students. They established set routines of lecturing and doing worksheets, held time and workload demand to a minimum, accepted and sometimes even encouraged distractions, and rarely asked students to think deeply or critically. When classes are conducted in this way, average students, too, are deprived of the best that schools have to offer."
Tracking: Why Schools Need to Take Another Route by Jeannie Oakes
Authors Argument
Oaks argues that grouping children who are lower ability, and children who are higher ability in school is a bad idea. She thinks that another way of "tracking" needs to be done.
Quotes:
1) "growing numbers of school professionals and parents oppose tracking because they believe it locks most students into classes where they are stereotyped as "less able", and where they have fewer opportunities to learn."
I remember in my high school, they did some sort of tracking. There were fundamental, regular, and enriched classes. According to the specific students ability, they were placed in one of these three choices. I agree that students who are placed in "fundamental" classes are stereotyped as "less able". How do you think the student feels knowing that everyone else in the school knows that they are in a lower class than others?
2) "students in the latter classes learned basic reading skills taught mostly by workbooks, kits, and easy-to-read stories. Learning tasks consist most often of memorizing and repeating answers back to the teacher. Since so much of importance was omitted from their curriculum, students low-ability classes were likely to have little contact with the knowledge of skills that would allow them to move into higher classes or to be successful if they got there."
The thing I don’t understand is that if students are placed in lower ability classrooms why rant they learning the exact same things as everyone else. Just because their in lower ability doesn’t mean that they cant understand certain material. Maybe the teacher just needs to spend more time with the students, explaining problems, helping them with work etc. Because like Oaks said, when they get to the point of applying for college, their going to need to know the information that the other children know. Colleges aren’t going to give students easier tests and assignments just because they were placed in low ability classrooms in high school.
3) " in average classes, many teachers expected relatively little of students. They established set routines of lecturing and doing worksheets, held time and workload demand to a minimum, accepted and sometimes even encouraged distractions, and rarely asked students to think deeply or critically. When classes are conducted in this way, average students, too, are deprived of the best that schools have to offer."
Like I said before, students who aren’t in high ability level classes should still be taught the same thing as everyone else. Once they go off to college they're going to need to know certain material and if it is not taught to them in high school because they were "average, or low-ability" students, their not going to be able to do the best that they can.
I liked this article more than others. In my high school there was a type of tracking. There were fundamental, regular, and enriched classes. I think that being put in certain ability types is hurtful. Its telling everyone that this particular student isn’t capable of being in "regular" classes because they don’t have the ability.
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4 comments:
The thing I don’t understand is that if students are placed in lower ability classrooms why rant they learning the exact same things as everyone else. Just because their in lower ability doesn’t mean that they cant understand certain material. Maybe the teacher just needs to spend more time with the students, explaining problems, helping them with work etc. Because like Oaks said, when they get to the point of applying for college, their going to need to know the information that the other children know. Colleges aren’t going to give students easier tests and assignments just because they were placed in low ability classrooms in high school.
I understand what you say about why they can't learn the same as everyone else. However, the reason they can't learn the same as the high ability students is becasue the higher ability students need to continue on with different, challenging skills to keep them learning rather than keeping them behind. For the lower ability students, I agree that they also need to be prepard however at the same time they should be challenged also. Teachers should have expectations and goals for them as well. That way at some point in time the students will all be prepared when they graduate.
Crystal says it's because higher ability students are learning new and challenging things, while lower ability students are not? I think people are forgetting that each student learns at their own pace so there are going to be students who learn things and can quickly move on, while those students who need more time should be able to have more time, So what is so wrong about having different levels of class to keep in what is appropriate to each students level? I think everyone's basic response well is separate but equal really equal? Then the problem with mixing becomes, well what do you do with the kids that are so far ahead, they become bored while waiting for other students to catch up? Like you said nicole, maybe they need more time. So what do we do with those who don't need more time. I have a feeling this issue is going to be around for a very long time, especially as long as we have standardized testing.
do you think there are any other ways of tracking students and where they shuold be put? should students of less ability be put in a classroom with higher ability students?
in school I was placed in medicore classes but i always thought i could do better in a higher level class. I felt like i was segreagated in high school because i knew i could do more, but no one recognized it
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