Adrienne Michetti

Recent Activity

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  Adrienne commented on the article | about 2 years ago

  Obama's Town Hall Charter School Remarks: Your Take?

  Wow, Lisa. You're commenting on a blog post more than a year old, so you must feel pretty strongly about this. I've already said most of what I have to say about this topic in my comments above (you can read them if you are interested, as I've expressed myself on various topics here). But I felt compelled to reply to your comment because it sounds so intolerant of other nationalities and races. First of all, the vast majority of Turkish people are not even close to being advocates of jihad of any kind. I can say this because I have travelled to Turkey on 3 occasions; additionally I have Turkish-Canadian friends, and one of my friends even married a man from Turkey (who isn't even Muslim).

  
  

  I'm not an American -- I come from Canada. But I feel pretty strongly about people's right to their own cultural identity, and a charter school can preserve that. Where I come from, we respect people's homelands and mother tongues and cultures and help to preserve them, even within Canada. I hope that the USA does the same, as I like to view this fine country as a nation of tolerance and understanding. Here in NYC, where I currently live, nearly every country on the planet is represented, and it is part of what makes the experience rich, gratifying, and special.

  
  

  As I've said earlier, I am not an advocate of charter schools, nor am I opposed to them. Some of them work, some of them don't, for reasons as varied as the cultural makeup of Americans themselves. But I daresay that any diaspora community trying to preserve its culture in a foreign land (that's America, to them) deserves some respect.

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  Adrienne commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Real Stories: Meet Tony

  Meredith's comment is a valid one: What can / should we do? Does giving money directly to Tony help him? or would our dollars have more impact if directed to a homeless shelter or other organization / non-profit with programs dedicated to ending homelessness? I often wonder what happens to the money I give people like Tony. It's not that I don't have sympathy or am ignorant of their situation. But I wonder if my money will help him and the cause long-term. So, some days I give them money, and some days I don't - instead opting to donate to local non-profits and government programs. 
  
  Which is better?

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  Adrienne commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Exclusive Breastfeeding - What I've Learned

  So, particularly in developing countries, then, where women are often the sole breadwinners *and* looking after the family, what are the options, other than education? I've never seen a Vietnamese woman breastfeeding in public, and friends tell me that most Vietnamese women don't breastfeed at all, if possible because it's a status thing: only very poor people can't afford baby formula.  I have many foreign friends here in Vietnam who do exactly what you recommend here: breastfeed exclusively, and on demand. And all the Vietnamese around them think we're crazy. But it's more socially acceptable for "us" to do that, because we're unusuaul to them anyway, being foreigners.
  
  It seems to me that this post could easily be cross-posted on the Women's Rights blog (as could several of yours) because it comes down to an issue of what is best for women and their children -- doesn't it?
  
  
  

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  Adrienne commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Whose Core Knowledge, and What Sort of Citizens?

  Jean, you're not alone - I also have issues with line breaks on this site, but curiously it is only when I'm using Google Chrome as my browser. When I use Firefox, or IE, I don't have those issues. So it may be something about how those browsers (Chrome and Safari, which I presume you're using?) handle the site.

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  Adrienne signed the petition | about 3 years ago

  Help Children Resist Bullying!
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  Adrienne signed the petition | about 3 years ago

  Pledge Kindness!
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  Adrienne commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Whose Core Knowledge, and What Sort of Citizens?

  "I can't see why the same kids nationwide can't be expected to learn math at the same rate - if the plan starts with a single first-grade year, and progresses along with them."
  Wow, really? So then do you have the same expectations of kids learning how to read? It never evens out, nor can it, really, for so many reasons.  Kids enter first grade at different levels already -- some might know their multiplication tables and others might only know how to count to 25.  Some are reading picture books while others don't yet know what letter their name starts with. Then, as they progress -- how can the level stay steady? Every child has different learning needs and different interests -- it's virtually impossible to "even it all out."
  I like what Jean said earlier here: 
  "... the crucial importance of allowing teachers to make critical curriculum decisions based on what her/his students know/can do/have learned.  Decisions that can only be made in real-time once you know the students and have assessed them for yourself.  So if there's slack built into the curriculum, so teachers can pursue topics that spark their students, or re-teach topics when a unit or series of lessons don't work, it might be OK."
  ... and this is why I believe in a community-focused curriculum (meeting the needs of the learners within it) and one that is skills- and concept-heavy, and not so much on the knowledge. And at that, I'd prefer those skills and concepts outcomes to be broad  and inquiry-based rather than narrow and prescriptive, to allow for that slack that Jean mentions, which is so crucial for authentic learning.
  I know I often sound like MYP-fangirl, but I hafta say that this is in my opinion another thing that makes the MYP of the IB so fabulous -- the curriculum is *not* narrow, and it is *not* decided upon by someone at the top -- it is developed in response to the needs and desires of the community, and it is constantly a work in progress; ie., it is never finished.
  Incidentally - that is what drives some teachers nuts about it -- that it is never "done" and that it is dynamic. As you can probably guess, those teachers gravitate away from MYP and move into more traditional schools (AP, British Nat'l Curriculum and the like).

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  Adrienne commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Duncan for Mayoral Control, Against Local School Boards

  Derek, I agree with everything you've said. But does that mean 1 person should be "in charge" of all of the above?

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  Adrienne commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Sudbury: Schools That Work, Part One

  Don,Thanks for all the references and links. Much appreciated. I feel I've learned a lot from you and Bruce in this thread, and definitely feel that "other" schools -- traditional, public, charter, whatever you want to call them -- have a lot to learn from Sudbury-model schools. I'm not at this point completely sold, however, for the primary reasons of the community vs. individual in curriculum decisions, and the equity issue. 
  
  I read your paragraph about governance with much attention and realize now that my example was probably a rather silly one when we are talking about democratically organized schools. Thanks for clarifying. Your example about mathematics and the gaps does bring it back full circle and I have said before that I see the value in those gaps. I'm trying to think of another (better?) example to suggest, but at the moment I can't think of one. Maybe there isn't one? :)
  
  At any rate, I do feel more informed than I was before these threads began and I hope to do more exploring when I'm state-side next year and doing graduate school study. Like I said, I'm not 100% sold, but I'm certainly seeing the benefits of what Sudbury-model schools have to offer. Thanks again to both you and Bruce for your thoughtful and detailed responses to my concerns.

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  Adrienne commented on the article | about 3 years ago

  Duncan for Mayoral Control, Against Local School Boards

  Oy. I really don't like the idea of the mayor being in control. Like others have said, I'm troubled by the idea of having one person in charge -- and not even someone who has an education background, potentially. I like the idea of a representative group of people making decisions for a community. The accountability issue can be addressed in so many other creative, reasonable ways. It sounds like what Kenneth Wong is saying is that he wants the ease of being able to blame one person rather than look at the real causes of problems in a system. 
  
  I do like the idea of having the mayor sit on the board, but be in charge of the whole kit-and-caboodle? That sounds like a Bad Idea.