School Board 10/27

It was nice to hear from a couple of school board members. They have a lot of responsibility in the school. They are in charge of hiring a superintendent when one is needed. That is a big job to handle. They said that when they are considering candidates they get input from staff and the town members. They are also in charge of setting policies and they review them yearly.

When they were asked about No Child Left Behind they agreed with it. That was surprising to me to have the school board and the administration both agree with NCLB. They said that they always knew that Decorah was a good school and now that they have the standardized tests they have proof to back up what they thought. The scores help them to determine what needs to be improved. It tells them what area they need to pay more attention to.

They were asked about teaching a second language earlier. Someone mentioned teaching a language in elementary school. They said that the students could be missing out on an opportunity since it is not taught earlier.

The school board members also mentioned that a lot of students forget information over the summer break. When the students come back from break they have to reteach some of the material. They have thought about making school year round. The students would have a few breaks each year instead of one long summer break.

The school board members did a great job of answering all of the questions that we had for them. It was nice that they took the time to come to the class and talk to us.

Administration 10/13

It was nice to have a couple of administration members come in and talk to us. They were from the Decorah School District. They did a nice job answering the questions that we had. It was nice of them to take time out of there busy schedules to come and talk to us.

When they were asked about No Child Left Behind they simple said that it is a piece of the pie. They have to give the tests each year no matter what. It is just something that is part of teaching. The tests are not the only part of teaching.

They also mentioned that year round schools produce higher test scores. The data shows that students lose information over the summer break. When they come back to school some of the material they learned the year before has to be retaught.

When they were asked about technology and if it is worth the cost, they said that we will always have it. They said that technology will be around and it is always changing. It is part of education and the students need it for class. Some of the students are motivated by technology. They feel that it should be taught. Students should know how to use technology appropriately.

High Stakes Community

I liked the way we had class on Monday night. It was like a real school board meeting. Each group was representing a different view and we got to voice our opinions. It was nice to hear what other groups opinions were about the plan. Everyone looks at the plan from a different view.

We needed more time for the discussion. We had a lot of groups to get through. It seemed like once we got going on a discussion for a group we had to stop to go to another.

It was nice to have the mock trial. I never had been to a school board meeting before. It was nice to see how the meeting goes. It was also nice to see our own classmates be the school board.

Library Resources

Lindy Moeller did a great job of showing us the Luther library web site. The library has made it easier to find information on the internet. It is hard to find information that you can trust. The sources from the library are relevant and trustworthy. I like how they divided up the majors and gave sources that go with those majors. That is a nice feature because now you don't have to sort through sources to try and find one that is right for your major.

One thing that I like about the library resources is that you can use them off campus. All you need to use them is your norse key and password.

I have used the ERIC source before for a few other classes. It is a very helpful place for education students. It gives you a lot of information that you can trust. One of the nice things about ERIC is the citation spot. It gives you multiple forms and you can pick the one that you need.