High Stakes Lecture

Not being able to attend class on Friday, I was very confused about what was going to happen at the lecture. Talking to my group members they informed me that there was going to be role playing going on within a fictional school district meeting with a fictional school board. I really liked the idea behind this lecture. I thought it was a different way of learning about NCLB and its aspects. I liked how we had people from each side bringing different ideas to share with the group for each one of us to take into consideration and learn more about NCLB. I also thought the roles were designed well in the sense that many of them could be found in a real life setting.

What I found frustrating with the lecture was the debating itself. I think it was a great way to voice people's opinions about NCLB within their role but it seemed to get a little out of hand at times. Some people would say things which others contradicted. Right away they would blurt out their opinion and while that person was finishing another person would be screaming theirs without listening. Also, if someone would ask a question, some people seemed to get a little snotty about it. I know its a debate and the people were arguing their sides, but can't you argue respectively of other people and keep an open mind? I felt like we would have a good 10 minute discussion and then the next 10 minutes were out of control craziness, which then seemed like a waste of time. We needed a judge in the room keeping order. This part of the lecture was hard because we weren't able to hear everyone's ideas or even listen to all of the roles that should have been presented. In a real life situation, I don't think a lot would have been accomplished in this meeting.