Here are the things that I've come across via Twitter that interest me
I'm definitely using this with "The Lottery" in the fall. When we read Jackson's story in College Comp I, I always begin the discussion with one question - "Could this really happen?"
Of course, most say no. And they say it adamantly. Then I show them stories or news clips of actual stonings and barbaric sacrifices. Then we look at murders and brutal acts closer to home (such as the Red Lake school shooting).
I'm not so much concerned about whether there would ever really be an actual lottery. What I'm more interested in getting the students to think about is the nature of violence and how easily humans can be manipulated into violence (think the annual reports of violence on Black Friday or at athletic events). The fact that some of us (maybe all of us) could resort to such brutality under the "right" conditions (think of Heart of Darkness or The Lord of the Flies here too) is more frightening than an actual lottery.
Ironically enough, I just came across this horrible story as well. It illustrates just what I put in the previous paragraph.
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The Beauty of Books. This series is amazing.
The Beauty of Books: Part 4 - Paperback Writer from The BDB on Vimeo.
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Surprise, surprise, surprise, I agree totally with this article: How to Make Better Teachers.
After all, his answer is simple: blogging.
Shocker that I'd agree with that, right?
Blogging is reflection in action. All good teachers reflect on their craft.
Blogging is transparency. Teachers who blog open up a window into their classroom and their practice.
Blogging is community. If you blog and follow other teachers who blog, you are not only pushing your ideas out to the community, but you are also likely reading and experimenting with the ideas of other educators.
I love the author's conclusion (in the actual article he bets his golf clubs that blogging will make you a better teacher) -
So here's my plan. Hire a teacher, give them a blog. Get them to subscribe to at least five other teachers in the district as well as five other great teachers from around the globe. Have their principal and a few central office people to subscribe to the blog and five other teachers as well. Require them to write at least once a week on their practice. Get conversations going right from the get go. Watch teachers get better.
Try that. If it doesn't work after a year, you get my golf clubs.
PS. The only people allowed to criticize or challenge this idea are people who have blogged for at least one year and written at least 50 posts. The rest of you can ask questions but you can't dismiss it.
In addition to blogging though, I'd also add being on Twitter. I don't know if you can find better PD than Twitter and Blogging. But it's putting yourself out that. And that can be scary. But the rewards far outweigh the fears.
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An interesting video. The Seven Skills Students Need for their Future
He echoes the same type of thinking that Tom Brokaw states in his book The Time of our Lives in which he states that there was a time in American history where if you have a strong back and a good set of boots, you could earn a great living. But time have changed. Now you need to use your brain more than ever to earn a living.
Are we preparing our kid with the skill to do this?
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One thing I hope we move toward as a high school is a true finals week at the end of each semester. I hope it mimics college finals. If I have four classes - Western Civ, College Comp, Pre-Calc, and Small Engines, I my final week would look just like a finals week at college. On Monday I might have just one final (Pre-Calc). I may have Tuesday off and then have two finals on Wednesday (College Comp and Small Engines). Then on Friday I might have my final test (Western Civ).
Teachers would only have three classes that week (or four if they have skinnies), but they would need the extra time to prepare and correct the final tests.
While I fully support this, I realize it's not without its drawbacks. Here is a student voicing his concerns. It's worth the read. I really like his idea of "pop" finals.
He argues what purpose traditional finals serve if all you are is demonstrating once again all that you know (what is the point of re-learning all that you already learn or having to prove it twice). I mean you don't take the driver's test twice. I didn't have to take the PPST twice.
One thing I loved about one of my favorite professors, Dr. Diane Drake, was that if you had perfect attendance and an A in the class prior to finals, she exempted you from the finals. Her reason: you have already demonstrated that you have mastered the material, so why waste your time (and hers) re-domonstrating the obvious.
And I quite agree.
I do, though, find the idea of "pop" finals interesting.
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One mantra that I love from our principal is "If you don't like change, you're going to hate extinctions." I think this applies to the major record labels who couldn't (and still haven't really) adapted to digital music. I think this applies to movie studies too (what is the real purpose to releasing films in theatres and then making audiences wait to watch it on iTunes or buy it on DVD)? Why not, as some studies are starting to do, release them both in the theatre and on iTunes. If you want the theatre experience, you can go see it on the big screen. If you want to watch it in your home or on your laptop, you can rent it from iTunes. I guess here you could even hold off a few months before allowing it to be purchased. But is there any real reason we have to go to a theatre to see a film in its first run?
Now the text book companies are being served notice. Adapt or go extinct. And I'm really hoping for the latter!
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What Makes a Great Teacher? Here are ten different takes on it. An excellent read - and I like the video at the end.
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And I'll end with this interest read: How to prevent plagiarism? Make it Google proof.
That is, make it personal. You don't have to tell me that twice!
1. Allow (or require) the student to relate the academic topic to an area of personal interest. If the assignment is to do research on WWII and the student has a personal interest in horses, have the research question be "How were horses used in WWII battles?"
2. Allow (or require) the student to do inquiry that has implications for him/herself or his/her family.Rather than research a topic about an assigned health issue, ask the student to select a health problem that may be experienced in his/her own family or by someone he or she is close to.
3. Allow (or require) the student to give local focus to the research. Rather than simply studying bats, for example, ask that the student focuses on bats that are local and determine the ecological impact of the region.
4. Allow (or require) that the student's final product relate to a current, real-world problem. If the topic is genetics, ask that the result of the paper be a recommendation of how advances in genetic modification might solve a real problem in the news - hunger, disease, over-population, etc.
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