1. (from "Outliers: Malcolm Gladwell's Success Story." by Lev Grossman, Time Magazine. Thursday, Nov. 13, 2008.) Gladwell's goal is to adjust our understanding of how people like that get to where they are. Instead of the Horatio Alger story of success — a gifted child who through heroic striving within a meritocratic system becomes a successful (rich, famous, fill in your life goal here) adult — Outliers tells a story about the context in which success takes place: family, culture, friendship, childhood, accidents of birth and history and geography. "It's not enough to ask what successful people are like," Gladwell writes. "It is only by asking where they are from that we can unravel the logic behind who succeeds and who doesn't." Outliers is, in its genteel Gladwellian way, a frontal assault on the great American myth of the self-made man."

2. What attracts people to teaching? The top 5: 1.) Making a contribution to society (52%) of teachers cite this as a major reason for entering the profession; 2.) some creative freedom; 3.) working with academic content – continuing to study a subject you love and inspiring others to love the subject as well; 4.) helping students develop as individuals; 5.) being rewarded for good performance

3. Tensions between traditions Exeter/Andover (classics!) vs. middle class merchants (practical lessons!) 1821: The first public high school - useful and practical subjects vs. classics 1874 ( Stuart v. School District No. 1 of the Village of Kalamazoo), which supported the right of state legislatures to levy local taxes to support schools. Rapid expansion of secondary schools results. 1890: Committee of Ten (NEA) advocates a study of the classics (Greek, Latin, Math, rhetoric, etc.) all high school should be devoted to higher education. 1920: Rise of immigration, child labor laws, multi-languages used in classrooms (until WWI). NEA suggests the comprehensive high school: health, social values, home membership, vocations, citizenship, worthy use of leisure time, ethics.

4. Junior High vs. Middle School Junior high (early 1900s, miniature high schools with academic focus) vs. Middle school (1960s, focus on the emotional and developmental needs of students 11 -14).

5. Reform Proposals: Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka 1954 - Sputnik, 1957 and the National Defense Education Act (1958) – discipline centered, emphasis on math and science - A Nation at Risk (1983). “Schools are failing and this threatens the survival of the nation.”

6. No Child Left Behind NCLB (2002): All students will graduate from high school, all will attain proficiency in reading and math, including students with disabilities and ELL, all students will be taught by highly qualified teachers. These goals are measured by rigorous testing of students every year from grades 3 through 8 in reading, math, science. Schools that don’t measure up must inform parents and community, allowing students to transfer schools, add supplemental services such as tutoring and enrichment, replace teachers and staff, employ outside “experts” and/or institute alternative school governance.

7. NCLB How will NCLB influence your teaching life (how you design curriculum and assessment)? How will it influence the school in which you choose to teach?

8. Standards-Based Education “Clear educational standards can help teachers conceptualize the essential elements of a subject that should be taught to students. They can be useful in planning....Standards are viewed as comprehensive, reliable guides” (p. 21). NCLB requires states to set content standards to guide curriculum. “Targets.”

9. High Stakes Testing has serious, important consequences tied to test results for students, teachers, and schools. Tests are designed by national testing companies. Problems with high stakes testing (AERA, 2000): 1. Decisions that have important educational consequences should not be based only on the basis of test scores. 2. The content tested must be incorporated into the curriculum and the materials prior to administering the test to students. 3. High – stakes tests should not be limited to the portion of the curriculum that is easiest to measure. 4. Sound procedures must be followed in establishing proficiency levels and passing scores. 5. The validity of tests needs to be established and reported. 6. Attention needs to be given to language differences and students with disabilities. 7. The reliability or the precision of the test scores must be established. 8. The intended and unintended consequences of high –stakes tests needs to be subjected to ongoing evaluation.

10. Reforms to improve teacher quality, such as the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium. (from the web-site http://www.ccsso.org/content/pdfs/corestrd.pdf) http://www.ccsso.org/content/pdfs/corestrd.pdf “The standards were developed in response to the five major propositions that guide the National Board's standard-setting and assessment work.” 1.) Teachers are committed to students and their learning. 2.) Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to diverse learners. 3.)Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning. 4.) Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience. 5.) Teachers are members of learning communities.

11. Ticket out the door response (formative assessment): After this class, have you clarified or changed your reasons for wanting to be a teacher? Explain. Can you articulate a blueprint principle for yourself? Can you identify a challenge or benefit in the current educational context you will soon enter? Response to proposals to reform secondary ed? Response to to high-stakes testing and teacher accountability based on scores? Elaborate on a strengths or challenges you may possess, based on the INTASC standards.