More on Rubrics

As I was reading some of my classmates' blogs, one caught my eye. In Reading Counts for Everyone, the author, Ms. McClung, provided a few links to a variety of rubric development applications and websites. In addition, the blog included a great article on rubric development, Scoring rubrics: What, When, and How? which explained the difference between analytic and holistic rubrics. I knew rubrics were becoming more popular. I didn't realize how much more popular -- at least based on the literature I've been seeing. This article provides a great explanation on how to write and score a rubric, regardless of the tool you use (or don't use) to develop one.

Resource
Moskal, Barbara M. (2000). Scoring rubrics: what, when and how?. Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 7(3). Retrieved July 2, 2007 from http://PAREonline.net/getvn.asp?v=7&n=3

Three-Quarters Done

That's how much of the semester has flown by -- spring break has come and gone, spring came, winter is back for a last hurrah, and I am cranking out one assignment after another to finish up this semester. Since I finished the student handbook committee assignment (with a whimper, not a bang), I didn't feel there was a whole lot more to add to this little journal.
But, the experience of keeping an on-line journal is good in and of itself as an exercise in using technology in a different way.
The question I raise this week is:
How would you incorporate a blog into the subject you teach?
If you teach English, or another language/composition subject, the answer would be relatively easy. But what about some of the subjects that usually don't require written compositions as part or parcel of the course? That is one of the challenges faced by teachers at my daughters' high school, btw -- every class has to include some kind of writing assignment on a regular basis -- I don't recall the frequency, but it is fairly often. Weekly, perhaps? Think on that for awhile, and see what ideas you come up with for including a blog in your subject. I'd be interested in hearing them!
Meanwhile, my next major project is to rewrite some course content for Advanced 9th grade English classes as part of my curriculum course. As soon as I knock out the rough draft for the presentation on "Oversold and Underused" in my edtech class, that is. I thought I had organized things well enough to have my assignments a little more balanced this semester, but delays from my contacts pushed it to the last quarter of the quarter, shall we say.....
Meanwhile, down at the farm...but that's another blog!

Educating for Freedom?

A headline (Budget Cuts Harm Curriculum) caught my eye as I was about to start this blog. Deeper Holes in Public Education
Another headline earlier in the week noted that the federal government is thinking about cutting the E2T2 budget (the funding for increasing technology in public education) Bush budget again would cut E2T2 .
An article I read this week talked about the philosophical difference between general education and vocational education. General Education v. Vocational Education
So, where am I going with all of this?
How do these ideas and policies affect what we are doing in education? Are we educating to increase the freedoms of our citizens? Are we really providing expanded educational opportunities for everyone, or are we ending up limiting their choices? My daughter pointed out this week that the primary problem with NCLB is the concept of "left behind." At what point is someone left behind? Think about runners in a race. Is the person in second place being left behind, or the person in third place? What about the runners in the middle? How do you encourage someone to achieve at their best if it means someone else can't meet the same standard? Who decides who is being left behind? Do we lower our standards? Do we discourage high-achievers? Where do we draw the line?
I am reminded of something that relates to my religious beliefs -- I believe that prior to this earth life there was a discussion about who would be the Savior. Christ said he would go. Then Satan said he would go, and he would make sure everyone passed the earth-life test, and returned to heaven, but he wanted God's glory if he did. God said he would send Christ. Satan rebelled, and a war in heaven ensued, in which 1/3 followed Satan. The point of this is, the war was fought over the concept of whether it is right to force people to succeed -- our agency as humans was at stake.
Are we fighting this same war with NCLB? I keep asking myself if that is what the bottom line is. Of course, someone who doesn't share my religious beliefs might not have this same perspective....but, do we have the right to force someone to pass school? We have the obligation to provide equivalent opportunities for anyone who wants to succeed to do so -- and I think that is the good intent of NCLB -- but what about the not so good intent that seems to have developed because the government says if you don't do it, we'll punish you? How much control do we really have over learning? We can teach -- but will the learner learn? Isn't that what NCLB is telling us to do: force the learner to learn? Does this provide additional educational opportunities for everyone, or force everyone into a standardized mold where we cut off vital parts if you don't happen to fit the mold? That sounds like slavery to me. A free people should not tolerate it. So, what do you think? Are our educational policies helping or hurting our future freedom?