In my Accessing Information class, I was thinking of something to keep my students busy on this Thursday, which is the last class of the week for them. I used to try and have them write an actual research paper, but the results last summer were laughable. There simply isn’t enough time in 16 meetings to get them to write a research paper.
So I’ve broke the class down into smaller chunks. But because of technological issues and no help from other outside sources whom I contacted, I decided to break it down into a series of scavenger hunts and source evaluations. It sucks, but that’s survival.
This morning I thought of an internet scavenger hunt where the kids would search, read, and evaluate some sources. I included questions on the Starbucks closings, minimum wage increase, The Dark Knight success, an some local issues – a large dairy farm just outside of town has a mountain of law suits filed against it.
The last search I had them do was to type their own names into google and see what they come up with.
I did this too to make sure it would work. I found that my old website for my freshman comp class at BSU was cited in someone’s thesis or research paper. Interesting.
The kids here, though, are going nuts with this assignment. One girl found that there is a street named after her in Bemidji, well it shares her first name. A boy found that he shares the same name as a member of the HGTV network who rescues homes and repairs them. Another boy, who finished early, came up to me with his laptop and showed me a website where he found all of my relatives and my previous addresses. Sure enough, he had. There was my dad and brother and me on there (though they spelled my first name wrong).
Amazing what you can find!
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Kafir Boy is now no longer part of our curriculum.
Our principal called to tell me the news yesterday. I supported his decision. I don’t agree with it. But it’s complex. He is in a no-win situation. If he bans it, there are several staff members who will be irate. Plus, the students lose out. If he keeps it, there are some powerful parents who will be miffed.
As he joked, that’s what he gets paid the big bucks for – to make the hard decisions.
Of course, if you have read this blog, you know I’ve decried the lack of decisions around here at time. However, we have one and now I stand behind it.
I guess what made me do this is that had we read the book before choosing it, I don’t think it would have been chosen at all.
Had we read it and felt in appropriate and valid, then I’d dig my heels in.
Life goes on.
Kristie had me read this article by Anna Quindlen from Newsweek. It makes for an interesting comparison to our plight.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/145871
At least no one lost their job over this book.
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What’s in a name? It’s too bad some parents are morons.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080724/ap_on_re_au_an/new_zealand_bizarre_names
This morning I was listening to a podcast that was taking a look back at NCLB and a current look at this document urging the federal government to step in and help the state of public education called “A Democracy at Risk.”
http://www.forumforeducation.org/upload_files/files/FED_ReportRevised415.pdf
One ‘expert’ said that a goal of NCLB was to get, as we all know, every kid up to grade level in core subjects. He said that every teacher would have students arrive willing to work and learn.
That’s a joke. Parents like the ones who named the child in the story above have just as much blame leveled at them as do teachers. It’s a partnership. Until parents learn how to raise their kids – or at least give them a fighting chance – then there’s not going to be much change.
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Today a student here wanted some help passing the ASVAP test. She said that there were many words that she didn’t understand on the verbal part of the test. She said something about ‘maimed’ – she had no clue what that meant. She wanted some tips from me on how to improve her vocabulary for the test, which she takes this weekend I believe.
What can you say to that? I told her there really isn’t much use cramming vocab in. She instead should rely on the skills she learned throughout three years of high school.
Of course, she is here because she failed several of her English classes.
Ironic. I tried to explain that all the vocab and reading done in her English classes were designed to help her with these type of tests, as well as other college entrance exams. However, if she didn’t put a great deal of effort into them then she just cheated herself.
She didn’t have much to say to that.
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