Isaacson, Lynne A. "Student Dress Codes." Eric Digest 117. Jan 1998. 19 March 2008.
<http://www.ericdigests.org/1998-2/dress.htm>.
This article looks at both sides of school uniforms, the outcomes from some school districts, and the legal issues involved. This was a great article that briefly covered many issues.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Source Annotation 9: Viadero, Debra "Uniforms Effects?"
Viadero, Debra. "Uniform Effects?" Education Week 24.18 (12 Jan. 2005): 27-29.
This article discussed some of the studies that have been done on the effects of school uniforms. According to those studies, uniforms don't help curb violence, and the studies that show that they do are sponsored by major school uniform manufacturers. Despite the studies findings, many schools have noticed a decrease in vioence. This is a great article for me to use because she gives evidence as to why uniforms don't necessarily work for everyone.
This article discussed some of the studies that have been done on the effects of school uniforms. According to those studies, uniforms don't help curb violence, and the studies that show that they do are sponsored by major school uniform manufacturers. Despite the studies findings, many schools have noticed a decrease in vioence. This is a great article for me to use because she gives evidence as to why uniforms don't necessarily work for everyone.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Source Annotation 8: White, Kerry A. “Do School Uniforms Fit?”
White, Kerry A. “Do School Uniforms Fit?” School Administrator. 57.2 (Feb 2000): 36.
This article talked about the reasons for and against uniforms, court cases, and studies that have been done. This was a very complete article and it will help me a lot. Plus, there is a list of on-line resources for further information on school uniforms.
Source Annotation 7: “Uniform Improvements.”
“Uniform Improvements.” Psychology Today. 32.5 (September 1999): 14.
This was another short article about the Long Beach School District. However, this one has crime statistics from 4 years after the uniforms were implemented, and the number are pretty astonishing. Overall crime had dropped by 91%, but I’m interested in seeing some more recent statistics on crime there since those are from 1999. It is good evidence for the use of uniforms however.
Source Annotation 6: Bedard, Paul “All Uniformly in Agreement”
Bedard, Paul. “All Uniformly in Agreement.” Insight on the News. 12.12 (March 25, 1996): 37.
This was a short article about President Clinton’s advocating school uniforms and the first school district that implemented the mandatory wearing of uniforms in school. According to the article, the use of uniforms have reduced crime there. This will be good for me to use if I talk about the Long Beach School District, which I’m sure I will since it was the first school to require uniforms, and is kind of a landmark.
Source Annotation 5: Wilkins, Julia “The Answer to Violence in American Schools or a Cheap Educational Reform?”
Wilkins, Julia. “The Answer to Violence in American Schools or a Cheap Educational Reform?”
The Humanist. 59.2 (March 1999): 19.
This is the best article I have found yet. It was written by a woman who is a special education teacher in New York. She does a great job arguing against the use of school uniforms. She explains that the use of schools uniforms doesn’t decrease violence and theft among students over designer clothing because most schools don’t care where the clothes come from. Therefore, students can still buy the designer labels. I will definitely use this article as part of my research paper even though I did think school uniforms were a good idea, but now I’m not so sure!
The Humanist. 59.2 (March 1999): 19.
This is the best article I have found yet. It was written by a woman who is a special education teacher in New York. She does a great job arguing against the use of school uniforms. She explains that the use of schools uniforms doesn’t decrease violence and theft among students over designer clothing because most schools don’t care where the clothes come from. Therefore, students can still buy the designer labels. I will definitely use this article as part of my research paper even though I did think school uniforms were a good idea, but now I’m not so sure!
Source Annotation 4: Evans, Dennis L. “School Uniforms: An “Unfashionable” Dissent”
Evans, Dennis L. “School Uniforms: An “Unfashionable” Dissent” Phi Delta Kappan. 78.2 (1996): 139.
This is an opinion piece that explains the reasons why school uniforms should not be used. I think this is appropriate for my research because he backs up his opinions with facts. He was a principle for 21 years so I think that he probably knows what he is talking about.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Source Annotation 3: King, Keith A. "Should school uniforms be mandated in elementary schools?"
King, Keith A. "Should school uniforms be mandated in elementary schools?" Journal of School Health. 68.1 (1998): 32-37.
This is a journal article that discusses the connection between school violence and the implementation of school uniforms. There isn't any hard evidence that definitively proves that the wearing of school uniforms reduces gang violence in schools.
This article interested me because some opponents of school uniforms claim that the Long Beach Unified School District (who was the first to implement uniforms) saw reduced violence because they took other steps at the same time, such as more teachers in the hallway during breaks. This will be great information for my research paper because it shows both sides of the issue. I'm assuming that this article is reliable because it was published in The Journal of School Health.
This is a journal article that discusses the connection between school violence and the implementation of school uniforms. There isn't any hard evidence that definitively proves that the wearing of school uniforms reduces gang violence in schools.
This article interested me because some opponents of school uniforms claim that the Long Beach Unified School District (who was the first to implement uniforms) saw reduced violence because they took other steps at the same time, such as more teachers in the hallway during breaks. This will be great information for my research paper because it shows both sides of the issue. I'm assuming that this article is reliable because it was published in The Journal of School Health.
Source Annotation 2: Caruso, Peter. "Individuality vs. Conformity: The Issue Behind School Uniforms"
Caruso, Peter. "Individuality vs. Conformity: The Issue Behind School Uniforms" NASSP Bulletin. 80.581 (1996): 83-88.
This was a pretty short article that discussed some of the reasons for to implement uniforms and some of the reasons against it. Some of the reasons for uniforms are that they increase attendance, increase self-esteem, and remove some of the causes of crime and gang activity. Some of the reasons against uniforms are that they infringe upon 1st Amendment Rights, that they are an economic hardship, and that they DON'T deter gang violence.
Since my research is taking me down the path of school uniforms and gang activity, I thought it was interesting that some people believe that uniforms don't help reduce gang presence. I like this article because it shows both sides of the coin, not just the arguements for school uniforms.
This was a pretty short article that discussed some of the reasons for to implement uniforms and some of the reasons against it. Some of the reasons for uniforms are that they increase attendance, increase self-esteem, and remove some of the causes of crime and gang activity. Some of the reasons against uniforms are that they infringe upon 1st Amendment Rights, that they are an economic hardship, and that they DON'T deter gang violence.
Since my research is taking me down the path of school uniforms and gang activity, I thought it was interesting that some people believe that uniforms don't help reduce gang presence. I like this article because it shows both sides of the coin, not just the arguements for school uniforms.
Source Annotation 1: Wade, Kathleen Kiley and Stafford, Mary E. "Public School Uniforms: Effect on Perceptions of Gang Presence, School Climate, and"
Wade, Kathleen Kiley, and Stafford, Mary E. "Public School Uniforms: Effect on Perceptions of Gang Presence, School Climate, and Student Self-Perceptions." Education And Urban Society. 35.4 (2003): 399-420.
This was a study that the two authors conducted to see if school uniforms have an effect on gang violence, school climate, and self-perceptions. They surveyed 83 teachers and 415 students from six different schools. The results found that the teachers from schools with uniform policies perceived lower levels of gang activity, and students at schools with school uniforms reported lower self-perception scores than students who did not have to wear uniforms.
I found this study very interesting because the teachers were the only ones who thought there were lower levels of gang presence, not the students. I think that this will be a great source from me to use because their research was very thorough and the authors were from Arizona State University, so I'm assuming that it is a reliable piece of information.
This was a study that the two authors conducted to see if school uniforms have an effect on gang violence, school climate, and self-perceptions. They surveyed 83 teachers and 415 students from six different schools. The results found that the teachers from schools with uniform policies perceived lower levels of gang activity, and students at schools with school uniforms reported lower self-perception scores than students who did not have to wear uniforms.
I found this study very interesting because the teachers were the only ones who thought there were lower levels of gang presence, not the students. I think that this will be a great source from me to use because their research was very thorough and the authors were from Arizona State University, so I'm assuming that it is a reliable piece of information.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Reading response to Introduction
The main thing that I got out of this article is that writers are always responding to other writers texts, and trying to take their words and thoughts and rewriting it into something else. I liked Sylvia Scribner’s definition of rewriting. She calls it social practice and it is the use of tools to make a product or achieve an end.
I think that this unit will be much easier for me. I’m much better at looking things up on the internet than trying to figure out a community. I didn’t particularly enjoy the last unit, I got way too overwhelmed.
I think that this unit will be much easier for me. I’m much better at looking things up on the internet than trying to figure out a community. I didn’t particularly enjoy the last unit, I got way too overwhelmed.
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Artifacts
This is my first artifact. It is a pencil with a fake flower taped to it. Ms. Benton has a jar full of pencils with these flowers on it for the children to grab and use if they don't have a pencil. The flowers ensure that her pencils are returned since they are more distinctive than a normal pencil. Pencils are very important in the classroom setting. Children are constantly writing, whether it is during a spelling test, on a work sheet, or drawing a picture.
On my fourth visit, the class had to write a paragraph about their field trip to the Bown House. They were to pick their favorite room, write a topic sentence, and then supporting sentences about that room. One little boy was having trouble, so Ms. Benton sent him over to the table where I was sitting so that I could help him. This was his third attempt at writing the paper, but had to do it again since he was supposed to skip sentences. I chose this as one of my artifacts because children are always having to write papers and practice their writing skills.
I don't have a picture of my third artifact, but I thought that books represent the community of a classroom very well. In every classroom wherever you go, you will find almost an endless amount of books. Whether it is math books, or other text books, or picture books to read for fun.
First two site visits
I choose to observe a place that is very close to my heart, and that is a classroom. I am going to be an elementary school teacher, so I figured that a fourth grade classroom would be the perfect place for me to observe. I observed a class at Jefferson Elementary school, and when I got there, the class wasn’t in the classroom. After some searching around the school, I found the class in the gym. They were having a spelling bee. There were many more kids than would be in a normal classroom, and I found out that it was actually all of the fourth grade, which is actually only two classes since it is a small school. I found it interesting that there was only one teacher in there supervising all of those kids. The kids at the end of the line were getting restless and not standing on the line. I found it interesting that at the end of round one, five girls were out and nine boys were out. But at the end, when there was six students left, only one of those students was a girl. I also noticed that the majority of the students that were restless were boys, one little boy kept playing with a pencil, while another one pulled the string out of his sweatshirt and kept moving around. It made me wonder why the boys were the ones left at the end of the spelling bee, and why the boys were more restless than the girls?
Research Blog Post 4
In "The Interview: Learning to Ask" article, I learned that to be an effective interviewer, you must be structured with questions you want to ask, but flexible in case the informant leads you in another direction.
In the article "The Interview: Learning How to Listen" the most important thing that I learned was to build a relationship with the informant. You must get to know the person because something you learn (like about Jessie's dog Princess in the article) can help lead the informant to open up about their feelings, where they might not have otherwise.
I found the "Interviewing Part 1" module the most helpful. It help me more than the readings did because it was easier to have things explained when you can actually see examples of things to do and things not to do, rather than just reading about them. I learned that it is important to have questions prepared and to take careful notes. I also learned what not to do in an interview. I shouldn't ask yes or no questions because you don't get as much information that way. It is also important to let the informant know what your paper is about and why you choose that particular person.
The five main strategies:
1. Have structured questions
2. Be flexible
3. Take good notes
4. Build a relationship
5. Have good body language
I choose to interview the teacher of the classroom that I have been observing. I think that I will be able to get the most information from her.
In the article "The Interview: Learning How to Listen" the most important thing that I learned was to build a relationship with the informant. You must get to know the person because something you learn (like about Jessie's dog Princess in the article) can help lead the informant to open up about their feelings, where they might not have otherwise.
I found the "Interviewing Part 1" module the most helpful. It help me more than the readings did because it was easier to have things explained when you can actually see examples of things to do and things not to do, rather than just reading about them. I learned that it is important to have questions prepared and to take careful notes. I also learned what not to do in an interview. I shouldn't ask yes or no questions because you don't get as much information that way. It is also important to let the informant know what your paper is about and why you choose that particular person.
The five main strategies:
1. Have structured questions
2. Be flexible
3. Take good notes
4. Build a relationship
5. Have good body language
I choose to interview the teacher of the classroom that I have been observing. I think that I will be able to get the most information from her.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Research Blog Post 3
From the "Research Portfolio" article, the most useful information I learned was to keep everything together. I didn't know that collecting artifacts was such a big deal. I like the idea of keeping the artifacts in the portfolio, because I love scrapbooking. I know it's not the same thing, but it's good enough for me!
The "Considering Fieldnotes" article helped me decide that I don't want to use numbers as a way to identify my informants. The second study in the article by Margery Wolf used numbers, and it did nothing but confuse the heck out of me. I didn't enjoy reading it at all. Therefore, I am going to make up names for my informants.
From "Considering Details" I learned that I really will need to write down EVERY single detail. Some of the things are common-sense like writing down the time and place of the observation though.
The "Considering Fieldnotes" article helped me decide that I don't want to use numbers as a way to identify my informants. The second study in the article by Margery Wolf used numbers, and it did nothing but confuse the heck out of me. I didn't enjoy reading it at all. Therefore, I am going to make up names for my informants.
From "Considering Details" I learned that I really will need to write down EVERY single detail. Some of the things are common-sense like writing down the time and place of the observation though.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Research Blog Post 2
The article “North Elementary School” written by Jenny Irving and Michael Allen shows both the pros and cons of working as a team while doing research. The chose to observe the diverse community of an elementary school where Michael’s mother Mrs. Allen worked as a special education teacher. The main reason why they chose to observe a school was their shared love of children, and the fact that they both had a parent who was a teacher.
The main method of research that they used was through observation. They spent five days observing three different classes which included a second grade class, a split fifth/sixth grade class, and a special education class. They observed the classes both together and apart. The talked to the kids, observed, took notes, and interviewed staff members. They also used Michael’s mother as a principal informant.
Since ethnography takes a great deal of time, working as a pair helped them split up the work. The different perspectives also provided them with differing interpretations which led them to new ideas. One of the disadvantages of using Mrs. Allen as an informant was the possible bias on Michael’s part, but this was avoided by using two ethnographers. Since Jenny didn’t have the same relationship to Mrs. Allen she was able to give an objective analysis.
They weren’t sure how they would be accepted by the teachers, and if their presence there would affect the results. But the children and teachers were both very welcoming and helpful.
This kind of research seems very interesting to me. Instead of looking up things on the internet, you get a more hands-on approach. You get to see things first hand, since you are seeing it right before your eyes.
The main method of research that they used was through observation. They spent five days observing three different classes which included a second grade class, a split fifth/sixth grade class, and a special education class. They observed the classes both together and apart. The talked to the kids, observed, took notes, and interviewed staff members. They also used Michael’s mother as a principal informant.
Since ethnography takes a great deal of time, working as a pair helped them split up the work. The different perspectives also provided them with differing interpretations which led them to new ideas. One of the disadvantages of using Mrs. Allen as an informant was the possible bias on Michael’s part, but this was avoided by using two ethnographers. Since Jenny didn’t have the same relationship to Mrs. Allen she was able to give an objective analysis.
They weren’t sure how they would be accepted by the teachers, and if their presence there would affect the results. But the children and teachers were both very welcoming and helpful.
This kind of research seems very interesting to me. Instead of looking up things on the internet, you get a more hands-on approach. You get to see things first hand, since you are seeing it right before your eyes.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Research Blog Exploration 1
There are a lot of topics that I am interested in writing about. I am an elementary education major, so anything having to do with children or education issues would be interesting. On that same train of thought, I would be interested in learning more about the proposed teaching salary reform programs, like ISTARS, since (eventually) it will affect me.
I have always been really interested in history, especially ancient civilizations like the Mayans, Ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks. I would like to learn more about the Holocaust, and the stories behind the victims.
I have always wanted to travel all around Europe, and I would love to research pretty much any European country, but especially Ireland, England, and Scotland since that is where most of my ancestors are from. Asia also interests me, especially the history of Japan.
As far as people go, I am a big fan of both Marilyn Monroe and Andy Warhol. Marilyn is still an icon, even more than forty years after her death. She was so glamorous and beautiful. Andy Warhol is by far my favorite artist ever. He started the whole “pop art” thing, and I would love to know more about him.
I have always been really interested in history, especially ancient civilizations like the Mayans, Ancient Egyptians, Romans, and Greeks. I would like to learn more about the Holocaust, and the stories behind the victims.
I have always wanted to travel all around Europe, and I would love to research pretty much any European country, but especially Ireland, England, and Scotland since that is where most of my ancestors are from. Asia also interests me, especially the history of Japan.
As far as people go, I am a big fan of both Marilyn Monroe and Andy Warhol. Marilyn is still an icon, even more than forty years after her death. She was so glamorous and beautiful. Andy Warhol is by far my favorite artist ever. He started the whole “pop art” thing, and I would love to know more about him.
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