I was amazed at the sheer amount of information which this chapter provides to the reader. When I say "seven-figure" I literally mean those full boxes of information containing resources, outlines of outcomes and the like. A chapter entitled, "Choosing a Set of Outcomes" makes me think in a couple of different modes. First, it reminds me that in my own experience of schools, we generally have outcomes in mind, but they might not be clearly articulated enough, and therein lies the room for growth. Second, it does feed my own fear of either choosing the wrong set of outcomes, too many outcomes, or not enough outcomes for the accomplishment of our great task. For example, in my own experience with WASC, when teachers have been asked to articulate how they represent Catholic values within diverse subject areas, they quickly answer that prayer begins their class. If this is the only evidence to which we can point for the Catholicity of the curriculum in a subject other than religion, we might need to reevaluate the outcomes of the current curriculum. Our outcomes need to be drafted and chosen well, and further, they need to be scrutinized for their effectiveness and rigor in achieving the overarching goal of the mission of the institution.
Another important assertion made by Ozar is her mention of Heath's correlational study between "school-related factors" and adulthood (Ozar, p. 65). Extracurricular (or co-curricular) activities truly have great power in forming a student for his or her future life. Whether it be in Campus Ministry where students are involved in the many different aspects of planning a eucharistic liturgy or prayer service, in Athletics where team-work and healthy competition are central, or in Student Leadership where they might be planning a school-wide fundraiser for the tuition assistance of their fellow peers, the experience outside of the classroom has the potential to be more active and engaging than limited classroom instruction. In discussing our own Lasallian tradition, we often point most quickly to the things that we are doing outside of the classroom such as the retreat program or Enrichment Week which foster relationships between teachers and students, a hallmark of Lasallian education's charge to "Touch the hearts of our students". I have been fortunate to become more closely involved within the co-curricular programs of school life, for it has been a source of personal growth for me as a Brother. Yet, to merge the two topics of outcomes and the co-curricular area, how often do we delineate outcomes for our co-curricular programs?
Lastly, I did myself get a small chuckle out of the fact that within the three pages of resources which comprises Figure 5.7, there was not a single website to be found. It shows not how untechnological Ozar is, but how far we have come in providing information.
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Haha thanks for providing me with two chuckles. The first happened when the age of question to "What makes us Catholic?" was answered with the "well, we begin every class with prayer." Like that is enough to make it Catholic (do others not pray too?). The second chuckle was when you actually mentioned that you chuckled too. Too funny but I digress.
ReplyDeleteI too struggle or put too much thought into the questions of do I have the right outcomes, do I have too many outcomes, or not enough outcomes. With this same thinking, I always wonder how the outcomes I develop can be enhanced by outside experiences. As you indicate (and which I concur with), I am a strong proponent of the extra-curricular life of a school. These activities can enhance the learning that is occurring in the classroom in a way that can be fun and "outside the classroom walls." I am constantly reminded what students may hear from what I say. Several times a student may say "thanks, remember when you said..." I usually am honest and say "no I don't" but it sounds like something I may have said as it is part of my vernacular. It is a reminder for me to be mindful of what I say as well as it reinforces that learning/touching the hearts can happen at any time.
The trans-formative role of co-curricular activities lies on the fact that those activities are relevant ("touching the heart" as well) for our studetns. Thereby they experince school as a home or a place to live in. I suppose that a curriculom should creat the same sens not only in the mind of studetns, but also in that of teachers. I believe that in our Christian schools we have the spiritual and intellectual resources for continual renewal.I sens the model suggested by Ozar as a good framwork for neaningful pedagigical inovation.
ReplyDeleteI too loved this quote:
ReplyDelete"For example, in my own experience with WASC, when teachers have been asked to articulate how they represent Catholic values within diverse subject areas, they quickly answer that prayer begins their class. If this is the only evidence to which we can point for the Catholicity of the curriculum in a subject other than religion, we might need to reevaluate the outcomes of the current curriculum."
Since you teach math, I'd love to hear your thoughts about how your math class is Catholic. I find that math/science teachers sometimes struggle with this. It is certainly easier for me as a government teacher to make connections to the mission of the school, but I suspect students may be pleasantly surprised if discussions about mission/moral development/faith came up in a math/science classroom.
The "religion v. science/math" debate is truly misconceptualized.
We had Professor Tom Cavanaugh, from USF, come speak to our faculty on stretching Catholicity across the curriculum. One idea he mentioned regarding Math and Theology is that Euclidian Geometry was created to prove or express Perfection. Perfection, like the 360 degrees of a circle, or the 180 degrees of a straight line only exist in the immaterial world.So Geometry, like Theology, exists to explain things unseen in the material world. Cavanaugh's essential premise was that all subjects and all courses need to see themselves as varied and multiple ways of getting to Truth. He was pretty impressive.
ReplyDelete