Well, I've been officially told that my class TOK Blog is great, and seems very helpful and educational for the kids involved. The district says that I've presented a good case for having Blogger unblocked for the district. They say that they haven't said "NO" yet, but for now... "NO".
Aware of the fact that I have potential partner schools in Israel, New Jersey, Philly, and Colorado, they are suggesting that I move the conversations into "Blackboard", a closed community software program that the district has paid for (surprise, surprise) and if another school, no matter where they are, wants to join, we can add them through our district and the hundreds of kids can just log onto Blackboard through our district's web site. Seems convenient for all. I'm sure the difficulty of getting kids to access a blog, give their free time, post great questions, thoughtfully respond, and remain engaged will in no way be hampered by the hoops that we would then ask them to jump through, rather than it being a web-based, easily-accessible blog that all can join and participate easily in.
I really appreciate the support in trying to build a national (possibly international) conversation.
Huh...?
Sorry... needed to rant.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Justification in Teaching
While watching all of the political ads, commentary, and debates, it disturbs me how little people actually justify the knowledge they share with the public. I recently asked my TOK students to watch one of their teachers and consider how they justify the knowledge they are attempting to impart. The students then wrote thier own intepretations of what they witnessed (w/out using Teacher's names of course).
It was scary to see how many of them had teachers who seemed to only have Authority behind them as the reason for their students to trust and believe what they were "teaching". It either came from a book, college classes, etc.
This made we wonder why we accept this in education. Why do we teach with so little justification other than "well that's what I was taught"? I would love to say I never fall into this but that would be naive. Especially in teaching science, I have to trust the experts for much of what I "know".
I think this is a poor lesson for kids to learn yet we reinforce it everywhere in society. Why do we accept this as reasonable?
It was scary to see how many of them had teachers who seemed to only have Authority behind them as the reason for their students to trust and believe what they were "teaching". It either came from a book, college classes, etc.
This made we wonder why we accept this in education. Why do we teach with so little justification other than "well that's what I was taught"? I would love to say I never fall into this but that would be naive. Especially in teaching science, I have to trust the experts for much of what I "know".
I think this is a poor lesson for kids to learn yet we reinforce it everywhere in society. Why do we accept this as reasonable?
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Please... Verify Me!!!
I stumbled upon this on a teacher blog I recently have started reading...
TED
"There is a story of the new recruit at an engineering company, fresh out of college, who was given a circuit to analyze on his first day on the job. He worked on it for most of the day and then brought his solution to the manager who had assigned the task that morning. The recruit placed his solution on the desk and waited eagerly for a response. The manager looked at the paper and then filed it. The recruit lingered for awhile and then said, 'Well was I right?'
The manager was shocked. He asked, 'Why would I pay you to find answers that I already know?'”
The question is... Why?
I so often pose questions to my students that either I don't know the answer to or choose not to share. An example of this is "The Mystery Cube", a well-known Nature of Science activity that I've put my own spin on to help teach Atomic Theory. It involves a cube with language and symbols on each side. Their role is to then figure out, based on logic and data collection, what the bottom of the cube says. I never actually tell them if they are correct. Funny thing is... I have kids that will approach me THREE years later and ask me to tell them what was on the bottom of the cube. After a lesson that is based in thinking critically, sharing data, and scientific community, why is that students can not let go of the verfication they so desperately need from their teachers. Frustration is a beautiful tool, especially in a science classroom, primarily because it is so real. But THREE years later??? You'd think they would get over it. They say they believe in their answers, that they even have "faith" in them, an interesting word choice in science (and one I often agree with), yet they still just want to know if they are right, long after my class ends.
Interesting... I guess it is obvious that there are still few of us out there teaching kids in this manner... sad but true. I just hope that kids one day can begin to have the same faith in thier work and themselves that I have in them. And they don't need others to approve of thier work or verify them as people to give their work and life meaning. I realize that this is a much bigger issue than what I it began as but I see it as a much larger problem.
We'll see... I've posted a shorter version of this question to my TOK class on our blog. We'll see what they say...
TED
"There is a story of the new recruit at an engineering company, fresh out of college, who was given a circuit to analyze on his first day on the job. He worked on it for most of the day and then brought his solution to the manager who had assigned the task that morning. The recruit placed his solution on the desk and waited eagerly for a response. The manager looked at the paper and then filed it. The recruit lingered for awhile and then said, 'Well was I right?'
The manager was shocked. He asked, 'Why would I pay you to find answers that I already know?'”
The question is... Why?
I so often pose questions to my students that either I don't know the answer to or choose not to share. An example of this is "The Mystery Cube", a well-known Nature of Science activity that I've put my own spin on to help teach Atomic Theory. It involves a cube with language and symbols on each side. Their role is to then figure out, based on logic and data collection, what the bottom of the cube says. I never actually tell them if they are correct. Funny thing is... I have kids that will approach me THREE years later and ask me to tell them what was on the bottom of the cube. After a lesson that is based in thinking critically, sharing data, and scientific community, why is that students can not let go of the verfication they so desperately need from their teachers. Frustration is a beautiful tool, especially in a science classroom, primarily because it is so real. But THREE years later??? You'd think they would get over it. They say they believe in their answers, that they even have "faith" in them, an interesting word choice in science (and one I often agree with), yet they still just want to know if they are right, long after my class ends.
Interesting... I guess it is obvious that there are still few of us out there teaching kids in this manner... sad but true. I just hope that kids one day can begin to have the same faith in thier work and themselves that I have in them. And they don't need others to approve of thier work or verify them as people to give their work and life meaning. I realize that this is a much bigger issue than what I it began as but I see it as a much larger problem.
We'll see... I've posted a shorter version of this question to my TOK class on our blog. We'll see what they say...
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Bad Day
Teachers are constantly saying how they had a horrible day at school. Angry kids, helicopter parents, unsupportive administration. I've heard it all. But here is something to help you all realize that you've never really had a bad day.
A friend of mine, in her first year of teaching in an average Chicago suburban high school, had the worst day I can imagine. A student, in the middle of her Physical Science class, hopped up on the desk, dropped his pants, and took a s**t on the lab table.
No contest.
I've never had a bad day.
Any other stories worth sharing to make us all feel better?
A friend of mine, in her first year of teaching in an average Chicago suburban high school, had the worst day I can imagine. A student, in the middle of her Physical Science class, hopped up on the desk, dropped his pants, and took a s**t on the lab table.
No contest.
I've never had a bad day.
Any other stories worth sharing to make us all feel better?
Censorship and Education
I found this article on Bud's page (linked from another blog I'm sure) about censorship in cyberspace. I think many of us believe that the internet is one of the last true ways to have your voice heard, truly, but now I'm not so sure. Scary.
Anyways, it reminds of me of my own struggle in the classroom (though on a much lower level). I've created a blog for my Theory of Knowledge course that has really taken off and provided a way for kids in different classrooms to continue critical conversations. I even have classrooms in Philly, New Jersey, Colorado, and even Israel potentially interested in joining the conversation about Knowledge, justification, and truth, all in a variety of contexts that the students are creating. It's been empowering for me and (seemingly) the kids.
One problem...
My district will NOT unblock Blogger.com so that I can access it from school. We, of course are the only district in my area that has made this decision. They've looked at the blog, are impressed by what is going on, and of course are supportive of what I'm doing, but not that supportive. I come to find out that a teacher's failure to monitor a blog on Blogger years ago has led to the district policy. Of course, the appeasement statement is that this is just "for now" but nothing seems to change. My students and I are paying for the mistakes of one person that screwed up and the parents that made it a big deal.
Why is it that, as teachers, we are asked to do the incredible, the sometimes impossible but are often not given the tools we need. Of course, this isn't always true. I happen to work in an incredible building that supports me in a way that I could never imagine before I began working there. But at the district level, I see a difference. I see fear and bureaucracy. I've been given completely unhelpful and unrealistic suggestions as to how to approach my class goals without Blogger. Surprisingly, the suggestions have more to do with $$$ than it does with what is best for the class and students.
Now, I know that this is nothing new. This isn't an issue that is revolutionary nor will it be solved anytime soon. Yet, I can be idealistic. I'll just believe that what is best for kids will prevail. I may have to wait awhile but I believe that at some point, it will just click and make sense to those above me. It'll happen... probably around the same time Standardized Tests take a backseat to teaching the whole child.
Where do we go from here?
Anyways, it reminds of me of my own struggle in the classroom (though on a much lower level). I've created a blog for my Theory of Knowledge course that has really taken off and provided a way for kids in different classrooms to continue critical conversations. I even have classrooms in Philly, New Jersey, Colorado, and even Israel potentially interested in joining the conversation about Knowledge, justification, and truth, all in a variety of contexts that the students are creating. It's been empowering for me and (seemingly) the kids.
One problem...
My district will NOT unblock Blogger.com so that I can access it from school. We, of course are the only district in my area that has made this decision. They've looked at the blog, are impressed by what is going on, and of course are supportive of what I'm doing, but not that supportive. I come to find out that a teacher's failure to monitor a blog on Blogger years ago has led to the district policy. Of course, the appeasement statement is that this is just "for now" but nothing seems to change. My students and I are paying for the mistakes of one person that screwed up and the parents that made it a big deal.
Why is it that, as teachers, we are asked to do the incredible, the sometimes impossible but are often not given the tools we need. Of course, this isn't always true. I happen to work in an incredible building that supports me in a way that I could never imagine before I began working there. But at the district level, I see a difference. I see fear and bureaucracy. I've been given completely unhelpful and unrealistic suggestions as to how to approach my class goals without Blogger. Surprisingly, the suggestions have more to do with $$$ than it does with what is best for the class and students.
Now, I know that this is nothing new. This isn't an issue that is revolutionary nor will it be solved anytime soon. Yet, I can be idealistic. I'll just believe that what is best for kids will prevail. I may have to wait awhile but I believe that at some point, it will just click and make sense to those above me. It'll happen... probably around the same time Standardized Tests take a backseat to teaching the whole child.
Where do we go from here?
Finally Talked Into It...
I know I have ideas, probably too many for me to deal with but my friend Bud finally convinced me to take the dive in... to the blogging world.
Actually that isn't quite true. I've been blogging with my class for awhile now. But now I'll try it from a different perspective, that of a teacher who has something to say. Because I definitely do. I just usually do it quickly.
Actually that isn't quite true. I've been blogging with my class for awhile now. But now I'll try it from a different perspective, that of a teacher who has something to say. Because I definitely do. I just usually do it quickly.
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