Comments on: Let me tell you something about decimals…

By: Nextset

Nextset — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 04:40:37 +0000

The high-prole jobs require speaking skills also, and interview skills. I am currently trying to help a 27 year old through a selection process for a high-prole job and it’s not looking good. I believe he can do the job well and would be a good company man, unlike a lot of proles he is free from drug and alcohol problems, has a clear driving record (most prole males don’t). But he’s not interviewing well. He’s been told to return for continuation of the screening interviews with the complete job and address history that was missing on his initial filing. We’re getting him suitable clothes. I’m concerned these deficits & others may have already cost him too many demerits in the process. It seems he just wasn’t raised to be competitive like this. Others are, especially the immigrants. Or anybody from a Catholic Grade School. He’s public schooled, and boy does it show.

Oh Well. Life in the Brave New World goes on.

By: From the East

From the East — Sun, 26 Sep 2010 22:58:02 +0000

It is interesting that someone would find something to say that takes us out of the moment of such a positive glimpse of what is going on in our school systems today. I do not know about CA, but here in VA, on any job listing, the first requirement is to have presentation and speaking skill. Whoever said speaking skills is unimportant is out of touch with reality. The only professionals I have come across that do not need to communicate well are IT people and maybe some engineers. Anyway, great post. Let’s continue to encourage complete sentences and that presenter’s voice!

By: Donna

Donna — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 17:41:26 +0000

Liberal arts colleges are increasingly requiring oral presentations and oral defense of senior capstone projects. And of course, almost all jobs require passing some type of oral interview.

Someone, please tell me: What happens to boys by the time they reach their teenage years? Their speech turns into incomprehensible mumbles! Does all that lip energy go to their thumbs (so they can text and play video games)?

By: Yet Another Oakland Teacher

Yet Another Oakland Teacher — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 14:16:50 +0000

Oakteach – What is shown on that video is what moved Greenleaf from the 500′s to the 800′s. Those scores are four years of extremely hard work using honest best practices in a truly collaborative and demanding environment.

By: oakteach

oakteach — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 04:55:22 +0000

Being able to describe a mathematical process in your own words is one of the pillars of contextual understanding. It signifies that the student has internalized the process and applied it to their own schema. Good math teachers have their students presenting learning every day: either through pair shares, cooperative activities, or written summaries.
So this isn’t a trivial or auxiliary activity, it’s just plain good teaching. And it’s an activity that shouldn’t be limited to a school over 800. Which is the problem with most uninformed critiques of instructional strategies: the schools in the greatest need of the good stuff are told that it should take a back seat to the less effective rote learning.
Ugh.

By: gordon danning

gordon danning — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 22:24:26 +0000

Maestra: I agree that many high paying jobs require oral presentation skills. Nevertheless, relatively few do.

Yet Another Oakland Teacher: I hope what you say about kids with years of coherent instruction is true. But I take issue with this: “From speaking comes the knowledge, then the ability, to write in complete, thoughtful, on topic, academic English.” In my experience, there is little correlation between the two. I have had many students who speak well, but who are utterly unable to construct a logical written argument (let alone, an insightful one). I have had many immigrant students whose oral English was awful, but who wrote tightly reasoned, insightful papers. I’m sure other teachers will back me up.

Katy: I have access to some interesting senior projects from last year, but not from this year, since they have not yet been written. Of course, those students are gone. I have access to interesting research topics from by 10th graders from the last couple of years, but I dont have all the papers. But you can email me if you’d like samples.

By: Yet Another Oakland Teacher

Yet Another Oakland Teacher — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 17:13:16 +0000

Those kids were speaking in complete, thoughtful, on topic, academic English. From speaking comes the knowledge, then the ability, to write in complete, thoughtful, on topic, academic English. So, Mr. Dannning, rest assured that kids who have grown up with the excellent teaching at Greenleaf, will come to middle and high school with writing skills (as well as thinking skills) The wave of children who have had years of coherent, directed, effective instruction (represented by increased test scores) is just starting to hit middle school.

Go Greenleaf – You guys work really hard and it is good to see you get the recognition you deserve.

PS – months back a poster made a snarky comment about the school name – Greenleaf was the middle name of Poet John Whittier (former name of the school). The name was chosen because a green leaf is new and growing, and also as form of continuity with the previous life community and identity.

By: maestra

maestra — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 16:55:44 +0000

Also,

“In contrast, relatively few require oral presentation skills”

What?? Many high-paying jobs absolutely require oral presentation skills!

By: Katy Murphy

Katy Murphy — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 15:41:56 +0000

I wouldn’t use the word “celebrate” to describe what this blog post — or this blog, in general — is about, though it does often highlight the accomplishments of students, teachers and schools. But here’s how this post came about: I visited Greenleaf because I hadn’t been to the school and I heard it was doing good things. While I was there, I took some video. I thought the focus on presentation was interesting. I also thought the clip would give people a glimpse of an ordinary day in a fifth-grade math classroom.

In other words, I didn’t go to the school with the purpose of producing this particular video clip. It was something I happened to observe while I was there. Now that I’m using more video in my reporting, I’m hoping to convey some of the things that are happening in OUSD — the extraordinary and the everyday — in a different medium. Know a student with a fascinating senior project? Tell me about it.

By: MsKat

MsKat — Sun, 19 Sep 2010 04:22:26 +0000

All I have to say is 826 API! It took more than 2 minutes to reach that goal. We set a standard for our students and we help them reach and exceed that standard.
Go Greenleaf Go!
I am proud to be an Oakland public school teacher and I teach at Greenleaf!