Chalk and Wire: Thumbs up or Thumbs Down?

Chalk and wire is a great tool for college students because it helps build and organize a working professional portfolio. However, I think that there are many downsides that go along with this portfolio as well. One of the most frustrating things about the portfolio is that it is hard to know exactly what articles to put in and under what competences. The professors at Luther seem to know what they each want but I don't know if they all agree. We all have to have the same things up so we can all be graded fairly. It is hard to figure out what needs to be in the portfolio when the professors themselves are still confused. I understand it is a new system, but it would just be nice to know what is expected in each students portfolio. Speaking of it being a new system, I was talking with my dad the other day about my electronic portfolio and asked him whether or not he had ever had to look at one when he was interviewing someone. My dad is a Elementary School principal in the Osseo School District in Minnesota. He said that he has never had looked at a electronic portfolio before. He also said that the thing with portfolios is that there is only so much that one can find out from them. He said that they are nice to find out how a applicant has demonstrated his or her knowledge, but he says that it is really hard to see if they have had actual experience with it. My dad is currently going through training on how to hire teachers so principals can know exactly what the teacher they will hire will be able to accomplish. He told me that he could not share with me any of the "new " questions and techniques of the interviewing process, but he did tell me getting a teaching job is becoming so much more than just having a comprehensive portfolio. Chalk and wire is a very good organizing information, building a profession, and saving paper, but does it really work in the real world?

Doan Van Dieu: Education in Vietnam

I really enjoyed Professor Doan Van Dieu's presentation on Monday. I found a couple things very fascinating. The first was that he was from Vietnam. Vietnam was a very controversial war in which may be still very fresh in many American's minds. I thought it was a sign of courage and humility for Doan to come over to the U.S. and also for the U.S. to have him come over. It made me feel that Americans can move forward and accept new cultures. And this is exactly what Doan did. He talked about three main points in his presentation, parents roles in children's marriage, students viewpoints on the role of the family and of women, and parents expectations of children. I found these topics very interesting. I think that a typical Vietnamese child has very similar beliefs as an American child. Both want to make their own choices that rarely involve parents. They enjoy their freedom. However, Vietnamese seem to value their family life a lot more than American culture. This is because of their culture and how traditions were set up. Sometimes I wish American children were more concerned with family values than we seem to be. I really liked how Doan described marriage as "shared freedom." Another thing that I found interesting was the study about the roles that women play in the Vietnamese society. Doan said that sex equality is very obvious in Vietnam. If this is true why did the study done? This statement kind of made me feel as if the survey showed what youth want in their society and not what is actually present. I also thought that the results of the survey on what parents expect of their children was interesting. I really like how important education and success was to parents, but what about children who have disabilities? What do parents expect of these children? I wish I would have thought of that question during Doans presentation. I found Doan Van Dieu's presentation very interesting and am glad that I was able to hear about his culture so that my eyes could be opened to different education practices throughout the world.