Debate topic: Public schools are failing American students and therefore should be dismantled.
1. What were some things that you did to create your role through use of language, information in/images used for your bio?
I explained my role (charter school administrator) with brief descriptions about my "experiences" at our school. I drew largely from personal experience with different charter schools, their students, and their administrators
2. What arguments were you making to convince other roles to support your position?
My primary argument was that we should not dismantle the public school system because we do not have a plan to replace it. A secondary argument was that the problems identified in the public schools are exacerbated by societal problems that are beyond what a public school system can remedy.
3. What evidence or reasons were your employing to support your positions? Do you think that this evidence or reasons were effective in convincing others to adopt your positions?
Again, I drew from personal experience. Because the debate stemmed from issues surrounding charter schools as a solution to the problem in public schools, I felt that my professional experience was a huge asset for me (I work for a company that takes over "failing" public schools and manages them using a charter school model). I used actual examples of situations in our schools to support my arguments. I wish I had spent more time planning and sorting my thoughts to create more cohesive, well-supported ideas. The debate over the role of schools, assessments, standards, and standardized tests is something that I internally dialogue daily. Due to a business trip and poor internet connection, I didn't learn about the topic of this debate until 2 days before it happened. If I could do it again, I would spend more time developing my role, arguments, and evidence.
4. Which roles had the most versus least power in this role-play? What are some reasons that these roles did or did not have power? What were some strategies that the roles with power employed?
I'm not sure that any roles stood out to me as having the most power; however, it seemed that the roles played by Rick and Erin had the least power. I think this is because they were so belligerent and one-sided. Roles that were more insightful and interested in multiple perspectives had more credibility.
5. Were there differences between your personal beliefs and those of your role? Did your own personal beliefs on this issue change at all due to the role-play?
Yes and no. I agree that the problem is much bigger than the public schools. I believe that we are crumbling as a society; however, I also believe that we have a responsibility to do the best we can in the situation we are given. I'm not entirely sure whether charter schools hold the answer to "fixing" public schools or not. The topic is so multi-faceted that it is hard for me to break my opinion down into a simple pro or con. Nothing was brought up that I hadn't already considered.
6. How might you use an online role-play in your teacher to address certain issues or teacher about an event or text?
To be honest, I don't think I will. This was a great activity for graduate students, but I still have questions about how beneficial it would be in an elementary, middle, or high school classroom. In addition, I plan to stay at my job for quite some time. Whether I like it or not, our schools are not going to have enough technology to make something like this a realistic possibility anytime soon. Furthermore, our schools operate using a very structured, traditional, teacher-centered teaching method that would not endorse this kind of activity. While I don't always agree with that stance, it is a reality for me, as well as all of the teachers and students at our schools.
1 comment:
Lisa: It's too bad you missed our last class. I wonder if your role would have been different i.e., I wonder if you would have adopted a personality from a different perspective and if that would have given you a different experience in and perspective on the role play debate. I think that taking on the role of the charter school administrator gave you credibility. You continually brought up realistic points and often brought the online debate back into focus. I find it greatly humorous that you describe Rick and Erin as having the least power and as being, was it obstinate or obnoxious? Ironically, in my post reflection, I described them as having the most power in our debate. For one thing, they got us off track. Another reason was because we were forced to acknowledge their voice. I mean I guess we could have ignored them, but it seemed far easier to ignore the logical, thoughtful comments rather than the provocative ones. Just like in the classroom - it's easier to give the disruptive child the attention than the cooperative one. One very legitimate point you kept bringing into the debate was "what we would replace it with" if we did away with public education. Another very important perspective you have is availability of technology and teacher centered, traditional structure - it all flies in the face of constructivist pedagogy. I don't always know what to think - is this cutting edge and will eventually be the way for the masses? Or is this only for self-motivated challenge students? I think it would greatly depend on the topic. I think if it was a topic that mattered to students or they had a vested interest in, it would have more success.
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