Well, folks, Halloween is past, now, and with it the commercial spookiness. What's coming up is even more money based, but it doesn't have to be. The opinions and ideas that follow are my personal opinion, but, then, we all have our personal opinions and one of the glorious parts of my life are the sharing and discussing of differing points of view.
On Thanksgiving, U.S. Style
For the older kids and adult learners in your classes, my strong recommendation is to first read books about the whole Separatist movement in England, and the motivations for coming to North America. One of the more interesting facts I've run across is that the published destination was Virginia/Jamestown, but the intention was for New England all along, and there was even a mutiny in the plan if the Mayflower crew didn't go for it! Another is the idea that the town site that became Plymouth Colony was none other than Squanto's home village which had been depopulated a few years before by disease. You might want to stress the agrarian lifestyle of the Americans who originally lived there-how else could they have shown the newcomers the best way to do small scale agriculture in that climate? Add to that the commercial aspects of the American lifestyle (trading of materials inland) and the connections they made with the newcomers for mutual defense and prosperity. Did the newcomers bring the Town Meeting concept with them, or was it a modification of the American Council system? These are great discussion questions for your students and should lead to some great independent research projects! Check out your state curriculum for tie-ins and other opportunities to advance progress in state goals. Younger learners may have more challenging needs for this topic. Perhaps stressing the harvest theme might work well, but see if you can get away from the traditional warpaint and venison stuff. Focus on the ethic and practice of communities helping one another in times of need, and the tradition of the harvest feast.
Christmas
The American practices around this, my personal favorite of holidays, truly reflect the old "melting pot" concept of American culture. For older students, there is often little done for this holiday beyond dances and fundraisers, but for the younger ones, it is still Magic Time! Look into the origins of the various practices that contribute to the modern observation, the tree from Germany, various gifting rituals from around Europe, the alignment in the middle ages of Christian observations with Pagan astronomy and festivals, etc. This is bound to stir up controversy, but make it into a conversation and learning opportunity. Organize a food drive, adopt a family or two, stress making rather than buying, giving rather than getting, and get out of the malls. If you really think about it, it's been less than 100 years that Christmas has been a commercial holiday-for centuries before it was a serious, if joyous, occasion. Think outside the box of modernity.
As always, I invite your comments. There has been little of this traffic of late, but even if you just want to say "I like what I'm seeing" (or not) post in the comments section below. If you have a great source to share, post it. If you know of an opportunity, of a great web site, or want to share photos, post. My door is always open.
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Saturday, October 30, 2010
How We Influence Kids' Lives and An Invitation
Well, it's been a busy week here in my hometown. The leaves are mostly gone from the maple trees, and the oaks and beech are following suit. Tomorrow is Halloween, and in the next week we'll be starting to prepare for Thanksgiving, Christmas and winter breaks. Don't forget to remind your students about the critical role played by Native Americans in the survival of the Plymouth Colony and the mutual trade and support deals that allowed both nations to survive. Go beyond the printed history texts for this. I recommend James W. Loewen's books for sources, especially for your older students. His works are worth a read on their own!
This brings to mind our influence on our students. Ours is a profession where sometimes the rewards seem few and far between for the labor we put into our daily work, and sometimes we can start to fall into the trap of thinking about what it's all worth. Then, one day, a person walks up to us in the store or on the street-a person who seems vaguely familiar, but we just can't place the face. That person proceeds to wax rhapsodic on how we helped in a tough situation, or how the lessons we taught influenced their futures. It is just such a story that I wish to tell you now.
About ten years ago, when I was contemplating leaving teaching for other pursuits, I was approached in the grocery store by a tall, slender man in a state university jacket. Without introducing himself, he told me at length about how much he loved his current studies at college (geology, as it turned out), and how well prepared he was to enter those classes since he'd had me (I majored in geology prior to switching to education) for 8th grade Earth/Space Science. He told me about how he and his classmates appreciated my candor and not dumbing down the subject matter, but treating them like they all had the capacity to learn and understand about the forces that shape our planet, and the universe beyond. All this time, I was struggling to recall who this young man was. He finally paused enough to see the puzzlement on my face and, grinning, said "you don't remember my name, do you Mr. B?" Blushing, I had to admit I didn't. He told me and a flood of memories came back. This was the "kid" who'd finished his midterm in a record 40 minutes (2 hours allotted) and didn't miss a single point. He'd been the quiet one in his class, fretted over by all of us on the staff. I grinned back, shook his hand and told him how much I appreciated his kind words and my part in his present and future, and then reminded him that his was a difficult and highly specialized profession; hadn't I warned them of the competitive nature of science as a career? He said that he remembered, and that was the challenge, the prod to keep going. With that, he shook my hand, and excused himself to continue his shopping. I haven't heard from him since, but I hope he's happy doing whatever it is he's doing. It was one of those moments that makes it all worthwhile, and there have been others like it since.
Now for the invitation:
In the comment section, post one of these memorable moments that have occurred for you-a moment when it all came together.
As always, my door is open....
This brings to mind our influence on our students. Ours is a profession where sometimes the rewards seem few and far between for the labor we put into our daily work, and sometimes we can start to fall into the trap of thinking about what it's all worth. Then, one day, a person walks up to us in the store or on the street-a person who seems vaguely familiar, but we just can't place the face. That person proceeds to wax rhapsodic on how we helped in a tough situation, or how the lessons we taught influenced their futures. It is just such a story that I wish to tell you now.
About ten years ago, when I was contemplating leaving teaching for other pursuits, I was approached in the grocery store by a tall, slender man in a state university jacket. Without introducing himself, he told me at length about how much he loved his current studies at college (geology, as it turned out), and how well prepared he was to enter those classes since he'd had me (I majored in geology prior to switching to education) for 8th grade Earth/Space Science. He told me about how he and his classmates appreciated my candor and not dumbing down the subject matter, but treating them like they all had the capacity to learn and understand about the forces that shape our planet, and the universe beyond. All this time, I was struggling to recall who this young man was. He finally paused enough to see the puzzlement on my face and, grinning, said "you don't remember my name, do you Mr. B?" Blushing, I had to admit I didn't. He told me and a flood of memories came back. This was the "kid" who'd finished his midterm in a record 40 minutes (2 hours allotted) and didn't miss a single point. He'd been the quiet one in his class, fretted over by all of us on the staff. I grinned back, shook his hand and told him how much I appreciated his kind words and my part in his present and future, and then reminded him that his was a difficult and highly specialized profession; hadn't I warned them of the competitive nature of science as a career? He said that he remembered, and that was the challenge, the prod to keep going. With that, he shook my hand, and excused himself to continue his shopping. I haven't heard from him since, but I hope he's happy doing whatever it is he's doing. It was one of those moments that makes it all worthwhile, and there have been others like it since.
Now for the invitation:
In the comment section, post one of these memorable moments that have occurred for you-a moment when it all came together.
As always, my door is open....
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Sequencing and PreDestination
Happy Saturday, Group!
This morning, while my oldest (home from college for the weekend) was cooking her soon-to-be-patented breakfast casserole, I took a few minutes to read EdWeek's commentary article on the need for algebra in the math sequence. If you haven't read it yet, check it out. The author, Mr. Myres, argues that we're placing too much emphasis on a subject which doesn't come into play jn a majority of students' lives. He then goes on to briefly speak on not promoting into certain maths until readiness is achieved.You can read my response in the commentary section for that article, but, on more thought, I decided to say a few words here.
First and formost, we must not fall into the age old trap of prejudgement and determinism that has prevailed in the past. While it is true that there are many aspects of daily life in which algebra plays little part, a broader look at what algebra is, rather than what we present it as, shows it's relevance clearly. Historically, algebra was designed as a method of streamlining calculation methods into a more compact and efficient format. The very structure of the equation describes what process are to be done and in which order in a symbolic shorthand that could be understood by anyone with just a little training. Translating problems, or real world/work situations, into this shorthand can benefit the student in the study of foreign languages or even enhance the understanding of our own. Can anyone really doubt that the way we write and speak is a coded shorthand for our thought processes? This concept can be expanded even further at will, from understanding historical trends to the obvious applications to science and technology.
This brings me to the next, related, point: modern economy and business. How many years have we been bemoaning the loss of good jobs to overseas contractors? There is an economic side to this constant loss as businesses would prefer to increase profits by getting a task done as cheaply as possible. But I believe the trend started when it was observed that there was too little quality in too small a quantity for some of these jobs to be done here. One of the comments posted to Mr. Myres' article was that we need to stop focusing on what the college community wants. Why? Where does this individual think the needed training comes from if not college level work? Our solution to this seemingly self perpetuating mess is to make some small, but significant changes in how we teach and our overall approach to promotions.
Mr. Myres makes a short, but appropo argument for readiness. I would expand on that. No student should be promoted until the skills of a particular curriculum set have been mastered-and this is old hat, to be sure. My expansion is from Dr. William Glasser (a brilliant writer and philosopher whose work should be required reading for all education majors), and from Dr. Elliot Eisner who recommends that quality should be placed far ahead of regimented division of subject matter. Keep the course titles, but drop the academic level labels, and advance students only as they are ready to advance. Implement strong peer tutoring programs (for general ed. credit), and teach not isolated factoids and method bits, but a continuous skill building process. This should be done not only for maths, but also sciences and language arts. There need not be anything threatening at all about learning. Challenges, of course, but these can be used as learning opportunities rather than brick walls. The key is us, the teachers. Are we going to continue to do things the way they've always been done, or are we going to be innovators within our classrooms. Are we going to actually teach, or just parrot what the state book says to say on a certain day? It's not only possible, but highly probable, that if we make education a journey rather than a destination, those mandated test scores will increase, student confidence will rise with it, and we'll have the competency that we crave.
As always, I invite your opinions, ideas, and other responses.
Have a fantastic fall weekend-time to get some cider doughnuts and dark roast coffee!
This morning, while my oldest (home from college for the weekend) was cooking her soon-to-be-patented breakfast casserole, I took a few minutes to read EdWeek's commentary article on the need for algebra in the math sequence. If you haven't read it yet, check it out. The author, Mr. Myres, argues that we're placing too much emphasis on a subject which doesn't come into play jn a majority of students' lives. He then goes on to briefly speak on not promoting into certain maths until readiness is achieved.You can read my response in the commentary section for that article, but, on more thought, I decided to say a few words here.
First and formost, we must not fall into the age old trap of prejudgement and determinism that has prevailed in the past. While it is true that there are many aspects of daily life in which algebra plays little part, a broader look at what algebra is, rather than what we present it as, shows it's relevance clearly. Historically, algebra was designed as a method of streamlining calculation methods into a more compact and efficient format. The very structure of the equation describes what process are to be done and in which order in a symbolic shorthand that could be understood by anyone with just a little training. Translating problems, or real world/work situations, into this shorthand can benefit the student in the study of foreign languages or even enhance the understanding of our own. Can anyone really doubt that the way we write and speak is a coded shorthand for our thought processes? This concept can be expanded even further at will, from understanding historical trends to the obvious applications to science and technology.
This brings me to the next, related, point: modern economy and business. How many years have we been bemoaning the loss of good jobs to overseas contractors? There is an economic side to this constant loss as businesses would prefer to increase profits by getting a task done as cheaply as possible. But I believe the trend started when it was observed that there was too little quality in too small a quantity for some of these jobs to be done here. One of the comments posted to Mr. Myres' article was that we need to stop focusing on what the college community wants. Why? Where does this individual think the needed training comes from if not college level work? Our solution to this seemingly self perpetuating mess is to make some small, but significant changes in how we teach and our overall approach to promotions.
Mr. Myres makes a short, but appropo argument for readiness. I would expand on that. No student should be promoted until the skills of a particular curriculum set have been mastered-and this is old hat, to be sure. My expansion is from Dr. William Glasser (a brilliant writer and philosopher whose work should be required reading for all education majors), and from Dr. Elliot Eisner who recommends that quality should be placed far ahead of regimented division of subject matter. Keep the course titles, but drop the academic level labels, and advance students only as they are ready to advance. Implement strong peer tutoring programs (for general ed. credit), and teach not isolated factoids and method bits, but a continuous skill building process. This should be done not only for maths, but also sciences and language arts. There need not be anything threatening at all about learning. Challenges, of course, but these can be used as learning opportunities rather than brick walls. The key is us, the teachers. Are we going to continue to do things the way they've always been done, or are we going to be innovators within our classrooms. Are we going to actually teach, or just parrot what the state book says to say on a certain day? It's not only possible, but highly probable, that if we make education a journey rather than a destination, those mandated test scores will increase, student confidence will rise with it, and we'll have the competency that we crave.
As always, I invite your opinions, ideas, and other responses.
Have a fantastic fall weekend-time to get some cider doughnuts and dark roast coffee!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Good News and Sad News
Greetings, All!
First, a welcome to all who read these words, and a thanks for those who already have and have returned.
I'm afraid I have to start today's post with my views on a rather sad event that happened in the greater Cleveland area a few days ago, and it's still a little tender for me, to the point that I only have the barest of details. Yet another teen has committed suicide, this one only 15. 15! One has to ask: "when will this end?" and the truth of the matter is complex at best. It got me to thinking about the roles I've observed in guidance councilling over my career. It seems to me that in the last decade gc's have gone from being there to being the testing clerk. This may be a wholly inaccurate view, but it's what I've seen. I can't help but wonder if this couldn't have been prevented, some how, with an active intervention from someone in the school, be it a teacher, a gc, or someone on staff who noticed some form of change in long term behavior. I'll get my thoughts more organized and post more on this later.
For the good news, I'm not sure how it is in your part of the country, but Autumn has hit big here in the wilds of NE Ohio. The oaks are starting to turn russet, fruit trees are showing bare, and you can read by the golden glow from sugar maples! Shortly, natural food stocks will start to dwindle for many of our wild neighbors, especially birds. One thing I've always done is feed birds during the winter, and now is a great time to start. For elementary kids, I have a project that teaches recycling, a touch of engineering, and encourages observing-the coffee can birdfeeder.
The feeder is in three parts: a coffee can, 9 inch pie plate, and wire hanger. Punch a series of large holes around the base of the can to let the birdseed flow out, one small one in the middle of the bottom,and two at the top for the wire hanger. Punch a hole in the middle of the pie plate to match the one in the bottom of the can. Use a small nut and bolt to hold the pie plate to the can, and attach the hangar. Presto! one bird feeder! Variations on this theme are limited only by imagination and available supplies. I've used milk jugs, too. Encourage your kids to be inventive as well as creative and see what happens. I would encourage older kids to keep record of the kinds and numbers of visitors to their feeders throughout the winter, including times, days, and weather conditions, as this can be the foundation for a great science fair project.
That's about it for now, and I've another discussion topic to put out there:
how do you tie in fall holiday acitvities (usually fun) with your mandated curriculum?
First, a welcome to all who read these words, and a thanks for those who already have and have returned.
I'm afraid I have to start today's post with my views on a rather sad event that happened in the greater Cleveland area a few days ago, and it's still a little tender for me, to the point that I only have the barest of details. Yet another teen has committed suicide, this one only 15. 15! One has to ask: "when will this end?" and the truth of the matter is complex at best. It got me to thinking about the roles I've observed in guidance councilling over my career. It seems to me that in the last decade gc's have gone from being there to being the testing clerk. This may be a wholly inaccurate view, but it's what I've seen. I can't help but wonder if this couldn't have been prevented, some how, with an active intervention from someone in the school, be it a teacher, a gc, or someone on staff who noticed some form of change in long term behavior. I'll get my thoughts more organized and post more on this later.
For the good news, I'm not sure how it is in your part of the country, but Autumn has hit big here in the wilds of NE Ohio. The oaks are starting to turn russet, fruit trees are showing bare, and you can read by the golden glow from sugar maples! Shortly, natural food stocks will start to dwindle for many of our wild neighbors, especially birds. One thing I've always done is feed birds during the winter, and now is a great time to start. For elementary kids, I have a project that teaches recycling, a touch of engineering, and encourages observing-the coffee can birdfeeder.
The feeder is in three parts: a coffee can, 9 inch pie plate, and wire hanger. Punch a series of large holes around the base of the can to let the birdseed flow out, one small one in the middle of the bottom,and two at the top for the wire hanger. Punch a hole in the middle of the pie plate to match the one in the bottom of the can. Use a small nut and bolt to hold the pie plate to the can, and attach the hangar. Presto! one bird feeder! Variations on this theme are limited only by imagination and available supplies. I've used milk jugs, too. Encourage your kids to be inventive as well as creative and see what happens. I would encourage older kids to keep record of the kinds and numbers of visitors to their feeders throughout the winter, including times, days, and weather conditions, as this can be the foundation for a great science fair project.
That's about it for now, and I've another discussion topic to put out there:
how do you tie in fall holiday acitvities (usually fun) with your mandated curriculum?
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Welcome! What are we about, here?
Greetings and Welcome to our page. Yes, OUR page, because a discussion is only useful if two or more participate, and that means all participants are part of it. The goal is to share news and views about teaching, tutoring, and leading in our classrooms and our communities. I'll be posting my viewpoints and takes on issues, sharing ideas, providing advice (when solicited), and sharing my experiences while I grow with you. Together, we make up a community.
That's the real thing, here, isn't it? We, as educators and administrators, are a community perhaps unique in our society today. We have that rarest of gifts: the ability to communicate with a broad range of people, and instill not only facts, but values, ways of thinking, and plant the seeds for new ways of doing. I remember seeing a bumper sticker that read: "If you can read this, thank a teacher!" and this is the reality of our profession. We are in a profession that demands the analytic and deductive skills of a physician or detective, the marketing skills of the sales professional, the creativity of the most popular artist, the communication skills of the most successful author, and the leadership skills of the most respected of field commanders. We combine these into a cohesive whole with flexibility and seamlessness every minute of every day.
Let's get the ball rolling! For starters, let me know of the best experience you ever had in the classroom-that "ahha!" moment, or the student who, after struggling with one concept, suddenly has that breakthrough, or a fun time with a role-play. Let me tell you of one of mine.
Some years ago I was teaching at a semirural middle school in North Carolina. At the beginning of the year, I asked my classes to write a page on what they expected to learn about science that year, and told them I would publish and post the ones that communicated the prompt best. One girl looked a little gloomy. Her initial paper was less than a page long, with lousy grammar, poor spelling, and little about her hopes for the school year. After looking it over, I gave it back and said "Stace (not her real name) why don't you try again and this time, don't try to tell me what you think I want to hear, but what you really want to say, like you were talking to one of your friends. Make it so that anyone reading it can understand what you mean, and if you need help with spelling or anything, I'm right here. My planning period is third, and if you need a pass to talk this over more, we'll get you one." She didn't come back in, but the revised paper was such a vast improvement on the original that I posted it at the top of the board. After that, she made serious efforts to improve her writing, took a stronger interest in her work, and, even though there were ups and downs in the future, she never gave up.
Now it's your turn. My door is open....
That's the real thing, here, isn't it? We, as educators and administrators, are a community perhaps unique in our society today. We have that rarest of gifts: the ability to communicate with a broad range of people, and instill not only facts, but values, ways of thinking, and plant the seeds for new ways of doing. I remember seeing a bumper sticker that read: "If you can read this, thank a teacher!" and this is the reality of our profession. We are in a profession that demands the analytic and deductive skills of a physician or detective, the marketing skills of the sales professional, the creativity of the most popular artist, the communication skills of the most successful author, and the leadership skills of the most respected of field commanders. We combine these into a cohesive whole with flexibility and seamlessness every minute of every day.
Let's get the ball rolling! For starters, let me know of the best experience you ever had in the classroom-that "ahha!" moment, or the student who, after struggling with one concept, suddenly has that breakthrough, or a fun time with a role-play. Let me tell you of one of mine.
Some years ago I was teaching at a semirural middle school in North Carolina. At the beginning of the year, I asked my classes to write a page on what they expected to learn about science that year, and told them I would publish and post the ones that communicated the prompt best. One girl looked a little gloomy. Her initial paper was less than a page long, with lousy grammar, poor spelling, and little about her hopes for the school year. After looking it over, I gave it back and said "Stace (not her real name) why don't you try again and this time, don't try to tell me what you think I want to hear, but what you really want to say, like you were talking to one of your friends. Make it so that anyone reading it can understand what you mean, and if you need help with spelling or anything, I'm right here. My planning period is third, and if you need a pass to talk this over more, we'll get you one." She didn't come back in, but the revised paper was such a vast improvement on the original that I posted it at the top of the board. After that, she made serious efforts to improve her writing, took a stronger interest in her work, and, even though there were ups and downs in the future, she never gave up.
Now it's your turn. My door is open....
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