First Quarter Wrap-Up

           It seems like we’ve just started our year, and we are already a quarter of the way through! I have learned a lot about writing in my Writ 101 class, from preventing weasel words and comma splices to writing genres and styles. One thing that has helped me along the way is peer editing! With peer editing I can see from a few other student perspectives to see what I need to do to improve the effectiveness of my paper, along with identifying common errors and giving some input of ideas and thoughts that would work well in the paper. One thing that confuses me though is that I struggle with finding a way of organizing my thoughts and also creating the first and last paragraphs. I feel they have to sum up what I have to say or have said and I can’t transition my thoughts very well. Hopefully I become more confident in my writing ability and can overcome this.

            A few things that I have enjoyed about this Writ 101 class is that when I am handed an assignment I have a few days to prepare my thoughts and write it down on paper before we peer edit, I don’t have someone constantly checking my progress throughout a week to get it done during class time. I prefer to work away from school and other distractions, I don’t like the pressure and stress to get things done while at school. Surprisingly this quarter was very easy going. I didn’t feel overwhelmed with essays or due dates which was a nice feeling! When I signed up for this class I thought I was going to be overly stressed and would need to be chained to my computer constantly, but it was nothing like that at all. I was probably less stressed this quarter than I have been my whole high school career! Hopefully this next quarter we learn more about writing genres and techniques to help us all grow to be confident writers.

Waldorf’s Minimalistic Approach

          Over the centuries, technology has been created for human advancement to improve the lives of people. From the invention of the wheel to the creation of computers and other types of modern technology, the need for availability has become more prominent in our society today. As technology has developed, so has the need for learning, many schools have incorporated modern technology, such as computers, into everyday learning, from basic typing to face-to-face interactions with others around the world. Even though schools all over the world have embraced the modern technological era, there are schools that are focused less on the computer screens and more on helping students excel in all aspects of life, without the use of technology.

            The Waldorf Schools are private schools that possess certain characteristics that set them apart from other schools who embrace a minimalistic approach to technology. These characteristics include the ideas of Rudolf Steiner, the unique teacher-made curriculum material, and the spiritual component to their teaching. The ideas of Rudolf Steiner have become the philosophy by which the Waldorf schools live. Rudolf Steiner believed that a well rounded individual must “integrate their capacities for thinking, feeling, and willing” into every day (Ruenzel). This is instilled into children from the start; teachers take the “core curriculum” Steiner created and form it into their own using “visual, musical, and tactile arts” to teach students throughout the years the teacher is with the students (Easton). Students learn information using these techniques without technology, thus creating well rounded individuals who still learn from a set of standards created by Rudolf Steiner. Although Waldorf Schools teach individuals the importance of becoming a well rounded individual, the education of Waldorf Schools lacks in a strong central core curriculum.

Although students who attend Waldorf schools learn the same material as students who attend public schools, the Waldorf students do not learn at the same pace as students in a public school. Public schools must administer standardized tests to students to measure the school’s student success rate. In Waldorf schools, they do not require such tests, so it is not possible to measure the success of the teaching yearly. In fact, Waldorf advocates would have to say that their students in primary Waldorf schools would not do well on standardized tests because they do not focus on a “standardized math and reading curriculum.” One study done for the Association of Waldorf Schools of North America showed that 94% of students who graduated from a Waldorf High School went on to college (Richtel).

            The high graduation rate for Waldorf Schools could be explained by looking at how the curriculum is taught each year. A normal day for a Waldorf student entails a lesson on the “main block” taught to students at that time, each year consists of eight main blocks, a two hour period to study on academic work, storytelling, and many other important teachings. An example of this curriculum is in a 7^th grade class they learn “chemistry, perspective drawing, and history of the Renaissance” as some of their main blocks (Ruenzel). The way these “main blocks” are taught is through the teacher’s perspective and how they feel the class should benefit and learn the information. One teacher’s main block focused on geography he began by creating a story for his class on a flight to Japan, describing in detail their arrival to the Tokyo airport and the day they spent wandering the city. The teacher, Hugh Renwick, explained that, the story telling portion of his lesson was to have the students “grasp things on a phenomenological level first,” before moving “on to analysis,” (Ruenzel). By describing a realistic and phenomenal experience of another culture, Renwick can draw students in to wanting to learn more about the subject, and really viewing the different traditions of other cultures.

The spiritual approach to Waldorf is to have a “respect for all religions.” By not focusing on one set religion, students are able to respect everyone and provide no judgment based on religion playing a key role in their teachings (Ruenzel). The curriculum taught to students is almost completely created by the teacher themselves (Easton). This provides a better tailored learning program for kids as their teacher knows their pace at which they work and can form the lessons around the students. Lessons are chosen by teachers every year and always incorporate the main ideals of Rudolf Steiner, but are taught by teachers in a creative and personalized way to get kids to interact better with the lesson (Easton).

Most people would think the families of the children who attend Waldorf schools do not use technology on a regular basis, but in most cases parents who send their children to Waldorf Schools are well educated and in most cases work with technology every day. One father who sends his children to a Waldorf school in California works at Google. When asked why he sends his children to this school he replied by saying that he “reject(s) the notion you need technology aids in grammar school… The idea that an app on an iPad can better teach my kids to read or do arithmetic, that’s ridiculous” (Richtel).

           Although a core curriculum of math and reading is not implemented into Waldorf classrooms until later on, the importance of a well rounded education is what sets Waldorf Schools apart from the rest. Although many schools have embraced the use of technology in the classrooms the main characteristics of the Rudolf Steiner philosophy and the creative and spiritual curriculum made by teachers is why Waldorf Schools are so unique and provide an enriching, technology free education.

Graduation Today

           As we all know, one of the major problems of today’s society is our ever ominous dropout rate. Over the years we have seen an increase in our national dropout rate in high school students, causing a nationwide concern for our younger generations. Each state has started to devise and implement a plan to combat the dropout rate of our teens with the help of school initiated programs such as afterschool tutoring or even national programs, such as the No Child Left Behind Act. With programs like these, students are able to get a handle on what problems they face in class by receiving help and the school can provide the necessary improvements to increase the overall student success rate. While these programs may not help all states improve their graduate rate, the graduation rate is increasing in others. This political cartoon, found in a 2010 madashelland.com blog, shows the dropout rate of California using symbols to explain the concerns we face with our younger generations.

            California’s graduation rate has increased in recent years from below 70 percent to nearly 80 percent; almost reaching the national average graduation rate of 74.5 percent, calculated in 2010 (Richmond). The cartoon depicts a scene of students who are receiving their diplomas for graduation, with three out of seven of these students outlined with the words “DROP OUT RATE” stamped to the sides of these individuals. This suggests that the dropout rate of California has now decreased to 40 percent, according to when the cartoon was created, which is low compared to the past several years.

            The few symbols found in this piece show what the artist was trying to depict. The cap and gown provide the information of a graduation setting of high school students, which is also explained in the banner across the background of the cartoon that is cut off but still reads “High School Graduation.” Another symbol found in this cartoon is the hand giving the rolled up paper to the students, symbolizing a diploma. This also suggests that the students lined up are going to receive their diplomas for graduation.

           

           The strong use of symbol provides the information needed to make an educated guess on what this cartoon depicts. Even though it is not clearly stated that the dropout rate shown in this cartoon is of California, with some research you can find this picture in several articles online describing the decreasing dropout rate of California’s students. Although states such as California have created a change in their graduation rate, we know that the nation is still working towards decreasing the dropout rate. By studying this cartoon and the information provided in the article found on the madashelland.com blog, we can see that our dropout rate is still an issue within our society today.

Honor in the Name

           Mascots can be found all over the world, adopted by teams and schools to represent the team in a positive and fun way. Native American themed mascots found around the United States of America, such as the Cleveland Indians, the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, and the Arlee High School Warriors and Scarlets. Although these mascots are meant to embody pride and school spirit, there have been claims of Native-American themed mascots being portrayed as offensive toward the tribes they represent. Even though Native-American themed mascots can be considered offensive and dishonorable, in most cases these mascots are a positive representation of the schools, students, and communities they stand for and honor the school and tribes in some way.

            One of the earliest Native American mascots found in the U.S. is the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, named in the early 1900’s giving way to several traditions, pride in the team, and honor in the name. (Univeristy of North Dakota Athletics, 2013) As with anything over time, traditions have faded into competitions of outdoing the last tradition in any possible way. Mascots tend to try to go for bigger and better than the previous year, usually by adding in more extreme factors. An example of this would be the University of Montana mascot Monte, Monte has been the face of U.M. for years until the university added in Mo, Monte’s sidekick who is a smaller version of the original Monte who does most of the same flips and fun stunts as the original. (Moy, 2009) For the U.N.D. Fighting Sioux this competition of outshining the last caused a great controversy over the conduct of the Fighting Sioux mascot and the local Sioux reservation. The Sioux community in North Dakota petitioned for a change in the mascot name because the conduct of the man in the suit was offensive, and the Sioux tribes did not want to be affiliated with the Fighting Sioux if the name was to be portrayed with dishonor and without traditional influences. Although this controversy has died down, claims like this have presented themselves since the beginning of the mascot era.

            Even though throughout history objections have been made to mascots such as the University of Fighting Sioux, Native-American themed mascots can be represented in a positive way. These Native mascots are to present pride and honor not only for the team and school but for the Native-American tribe they are affiliated with. The Native-American tribe should be identified through displays of culture, tradition, and bravery not only in the mascot but in the team and school. The behavior of the mascot is something that should be accepted by all and give pride to the name they stand for. For instance, the Arlee Warriors and Scarlets mascots are accepted and show pride for the school in a positive way; by honoring the mascots through traditional honor songs and involving elders in ceremonies before school related and extracurricular events begin, these mascots display the cultures and traditions of the tribes they represent.

           The mascot is a symbol of pride and enthusiasm for the school and team during athletic and school based events. They are to behave acceptably from the time they put the suit on to the time they take it off. The behavior of the person wearing the costume should always represent the true character of the mascot, especially when the mascot must represent a large local ethnic group. If these actions are inappropriate and offensive toward the true nature of the mascot, then the audience will begin to believe that this is what is supposed to be portrayed and could produce a negative reaction from the ethnic group. This is the reason why the Sioux tribe of North Dakota was petitioning the name change of the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux.

           Native-American themed mascots can be represented in a positive, honorable way as long as they hold true to the culture and traditions of not only the team and school, but in the tribe that is affiliated with the mascot as well. Native based mascots should always be seen as a traditional honorable figure. Reading through the information provided, you find there has been and probably always will be misinterpretations of mascots because of how the person in the outfit behaves. There have also been misunderstandings of how the name portrays the school, community, and tribe affiliated with it. For example, the Hot Springs High School Savages changed their name in 2007 to the Savage Heat because the local Native American tribe did not want to be associated with the word “Savages” for they feared the name would be misinterpreted for their tribe. (Hot Springs High School (Montana), 2013) On the other hand, the Arlee High School’s mascots, the Warriors and Scarlets, represent the community in a positive way because the school and community honor the Warrior and Scarlet name through ceremonies and traditions. But one thing is certain, the school and community should be honored to have a mascot represent their team, and should not be worried or ashamed of the behavior of their mascot or their mascot name falsely portraying their community and associated tribe.