Friday, March 26, 2010
Aardvark
I just asked a question on Aardvark (about the blog indecently) and received 5 great answers in less than 5 minutes.
Technology Concerns
Technology has definitely changed the way the world does things. We have computers, calculators, planes, internet, email, etc. In fact, in my mind nearly everything has been improved upon in the last 100 years except the desks students have to sit in. And it seems that nearly every change has been fought and argued.
Here is a small list of technology that has been fought, as presented by http://teachingwithcontests.com .
“Students today depend too much on hand-held calculators.” (Anonymous, 1985)
“Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away. The American virtues of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Business and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries.” (Federal Teacher, 1950)
“Students today depend upon these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib, (not to mention sharpen their own quills). We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the detriment of learning how to cope in the real business world, which is not so extravagant.” (PTA Gazette, 1941)
“Students today depend upon store bought ink. They don’t know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or ciphers until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education.” (The Rural American Teacher, 1929)
“Students today depend too much upon ink. They don’t know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil.” (National Association of Teachers, 1907)
“Students today depend upon paper too much. They don’t know how to write on slate without chalk dust all over themselves. They can’t clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?” (Principal’s Association, 1815)
“Students today can’t prepare bark to calculate their problems. They depend upon their slates, which are more expensive. What will they do when their slate is dropped and it breaks? They will be unable to write!” (Teachers Conference, 1703)
It made me smile.
Here is a small list of technology that has been fought, as presented by http://teachingwithcontests.com .
“Students today depend too much on hand-held calculators.” (Anonymous, 1985)
“Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away. The American virtues of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Business and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries.” (Federal Teacher, 1950)
“Students today depend upon these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib, (not to mention sharpen their own quills). We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the detriment of learning how to cope in the real business world, which is not so extravagant.” (PTA Gazette, 1941)
“Students today depend upon store bought ink. They don’t know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or ciphers until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education.” (The Rural American Teacher, 1929)
“Students today depend too much upon ink. They don’t know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil.” (National Association of Teachers, 1907)
“Students today depend upon paper too much. They don’t know how to write on slate without chalk dust all over themselves. They can’t clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?” (Principal’s Association, 1815)
“Students today can’t prepare bark to calculate their problems. They depend upon their slates, which are more expensive. What will they do when their slate is dropped and it breaks? They will be unable to write!” (Teachers Conference, 1703)
It made me smile.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Wimpy
You may notice I just wimped myself in my profile picture. (The students who came early to class helped me.) You can wimp yourself at wimpyourself.com . Fun.
AH, The Legislator
This year has been a fascinating year in my state. The Leggies (Legislator) decided to move the persuasive writing test to the from the 9th grade to the 8th grade. They also decided to have the tests graded by computer... on a program the teacher and students couldn't see, use, or try out before the actual day of the test.
That doesn't sound so bad, does it. But hold up! I'm not done yet. The State Core mandates that eighth grade students are to study and write narrative, and then in the ninth grade they have to study and write persuasive. So all of the sudden I am required by law to teach narrative, but the students won't be tested on narrative, they will be tested on persuasive, a curriculum they are supposed to learn the next year. Neato.
I wish I could have a face to face chat with a Leggie about this unique change:
Me (with notepad at the ready, looking for inspiration): So with this change, are you going to change the core to match the test?
Leggie (straightening hair and tie): Possibly in the future.
Me (pretending like I made a note of his previous comment): With this new change, are you telling me as a teacher to step away from core and teach narrative, lightly skim over both, or ignore the test because it ignores the previous and unchanged mandates of the State, and is therefore bogus?
Leggie (checking 142 new messages saved over the last 3 months): Yes
Me (switching to my teacher "Now your in trouble" voice): So after students take this test, are you going to announce to the community that the teacher are failures or the students?
Leggie: Yes.
Me (thinking life as a fugitive might not be so bad): If the students pass the test, are you going to announce to the community that teachers do a good job, or announce that teachers aren't covering the material they are supposed to.
Leggie: Yes.
Perhaps it is best I don't meet with the legislators. I think I'll just stick with letters and voice mails. They'll get to them sometime.
That doesn't sound so bad, does it. But hold up! I'm not done yet. The State Core mandates that eighth grade students are to study and write narrative, and then in the ninth grade they have to study and write persuasive. So all of the sudden I am required by law to teach narrative, but the students won't be tested on narrative, they will be tested on persuasive, a curriculum they are supposed to learn the next year. Neato.
I wish I could have a face to face chat with a Leggie about this unique change:
Me (with notepad at the ready, looking for inspiration): So with this change, are you going to change the core to match the test?
Leggie (straightening hair and tie): Possibly in the future.
Me (pretending like I made a note of his previous comment): With this new change, are you telling me as a teacher to step away from core and teach narrative, lightly skim over both, or ignore the test because it ignores the previous and unchanged mandates of the State, and is therefore bogus?
Leggie (checking 142 new messages saved over the last 3 months): Yes
Me (switching to my teacher "Now your in trouble" voice): So after students take this test, are you going to announce to the community that the teacher are failures or the students?
Leggie: Yes.
Me (thinking life as a fugitive might not be so bad): If the students pass the test, are you going to announce to the community that teachers do a good job, or announce that teachers aren't covering the material they are supposed to.
Leggie: Yes.
Perhaps it is best I don't meet with the legislators. I think I'll just stick with letters and voice mails. They'll get to them sometime.
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
Classroom Website
In my short teaching career I have designed 2 websites and a blog dedicated to my classroom.
I have never launched any of them.
With the blog I felt like I couldn't do enough, it wasn't versatile enough. And the website required too much maintenance.
But, I am going to launch an edmodo account for my classroom. I just wanted to say how excited I am for it.
I have never launched any of them.
With the blog I felt like I couldn't do enough, it wasn't versatile enough. And the website required too much maintenance.
But, I am going to launch an edmodo account for my classroom. I just wanted to say how excited I am for it.
Edmodo
I have lately become very interested in a site called edmodo. It allows teachers to do so many things with classes, and it's actually quite simple to use. I am going to commit to using it next year.
The great thing about it is that it is secure, students sign in with their own passwords (I can look them up or change them anytime), it's very easy to flip back and forth from classes, and most importantly for me, it will allow us to continue our classroom conversations outside of class.
Doing Literature Circles with it will be fantastic. Allowing students to do collaborative projects with it will be fantastic. And the way I see it pushing me toward a paperless curriculum is fantastic.
The great thing about it is that it is secure, students sign in with their own passwords (I can look them up or change them anytime), it's very easy to flip back and forth from classes, and most importantly for me, it will allow us to continue our classroom conversations outside of class.
Doing Literature Circles with it will be fantastic. Allowing students to do collaborative projects with it will be fantastic. And the way I see it pushing me toward a paperless curriculum is fantastic.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Sorry
Sorry I have not been able to post for a while. It turns out that not all real-time counters are not created equal. My blogged was hijacked and people, including myself, were being cut off from it. Irritating. But educational. I actually learned quite a bit.
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