Wednesday, July 20, 2016
Friday, July 15, 2016
Iris Dement-Let the mystery be. I see the lush, verdant version of the landscaped SJC Trails from yesterday. Replace the cows with lizards and the green grass with rabbit brush and scrub oaks and...just let the mystery be.
What do we have control of, really? So expect miracles and trust the ambiguous sweet mysteries of life. Living is really a trust walk. My first first trust walk was with some high school students during the summer I came home from college. As I was led done the hall (I cannot remember who it was) by a student, unexpectedly I banged, boomed, bumped the side of my head into a protruding edge of the wall. I ended up with six stitches above my eye at the end of my eyebrow. The scars are gone now.
Thank you, Grace, for this multilayered prompt! We all enjoyed the music and pastoral scenery! You were missed. Michael was talking your language this morning: grammar, syntax, vocabulary. Kept thinking of you and how much you would have enjoyed hearing about his work.
What do we have control of, really? So expect miracles and trust the ambiguous sweet mysteries of life. Living is really a trust walk. My first first trust walk was with some high school students during the summer I came home from college. As I was led done the hall (I cannot remember who it was) by a student, unexpectedly I banged, boomed, bumped the side of my head into a protruding edge of the wall. I ended up with six stitches above my eye at the end of my eyebrow. The scars are gone now.
Thank you, Grace, for this multilayered prompt! We all enjoyed the music and pastoral scenery! You were missed. Michael was talking your language this morning: grammar, syntax, vocabulary. Kept thinking of you and how much you would have enjoyed hearing about his work.
Thursday, July 14, 2016
field trip
Peaches
The Gott Brothers sold fruit by the side of the 550 ten
years ago, and for a few years after.
The road widening project and other legal matters had them selling in a
building in Colorado and it just wasn’t the same. Today they were back, in New
Mexico, by the side of the road. I stopped for peaches and learned so much.
Peaches from the store are picked green, stored for a long
time, and eventually ripen from the outside in.
Peaches picked and sold by the side of the road are picked ripe, stored
for no more than two days, and ripen from the inside out. The store bought peaches are perfect to the
eye, but have no juice or flavor. ( I already knew that) The
side of the road peaches bruise each other in the box, in the bag and all the
way home. But, when you slice into a roadside
peach, it bleeds juice. And when you put
it in your mouth, it says PEACH! PEACH! PEACH!
I keep thinking about how students see me as ancient, and
about how our culture is so afraid of old people they have to make laws against
discrimination – for those over 40! Most
of us over 55 will tell you our 40s were still cake, still easy, still not
old. I feel like a roadside peach – even
bruised I’m juicy and sweet and MYSELF, MYSELF, MYSELF! You can replace me with a perfect looking
peach, big and pink and not bruised at all, well you can try.
In the schools, the old teachers (not the engineers) are your roadside peaches. We stayed in school and wrote real
theses. We didn’t do unsupervised, paid
internships. We taught for a year, for free, under close supervision. We were not picked too
green and refrigerated on the shelf until the market wanted to sell us for
consumption. The profession wanted us just like we were. And those store bought
peaches? It’s not their fault. They are collateral damage in the struggle
for meaningful work and merciful governments.
Eat a peach; listen to the Alman Brothers or Frank Zappa (Peaches and Regalia) while doing
so. If you don’t know what I’m talking
about, you’ve got Google.
Are you free? here's another one for you to sample, if you wish
Ask your students:
Are you free?
Show this clip:
Easy Rider Jack Nicholson Freedom speech
(One minute and a few seconds long)
Now, say this: Please paraphrase, you must deliver the following content, but in your own words.
If you decided to get up and walk out of this classroom, would you be free to do so without repercussion?
If you think you are 100% free, you may stop the exercise and join the other Trump voters in the hell they call society.
If you are starting to question your freedom, then stick with me.
Task:
Analysis of ER clip: students do this, below is mine. (show your work later, as much as possible)
8 Targets for text are:
Citation of Evidence for my claim "These are the 8 Targets":
Wikipedia, targets 1 to 4.
Need transcript of speech to cite evidence correctly for targets 5-8. I have that somewhere. More later. I need to use that notebook software, clearly.
Are you free?
Show this clip:
Easy Rider Jack Nicholson Freedom speech
(One minute and a few seconds long)
Now, say this: Please paraphrase, you must deliver the following content, but in your own words.
If you decided to get up and walk out of this classroom, would you be free to do so without repercussion?
If you think you are 100% free, you may stop the exercise and join the other Trump voters in the hell they call society.
If you are starting to question your freedom, then stick with me.
Task:
Analysis of ER clip: students do this, below is mine. (show your work later, as much as possible)
8 Targets for text are:
Title: Easy Rider
PD: 1969
Genre:
Road movie
Major Claim:
Freedom is not what you think it is
Audience:
Freaks, heads, The Man, Mr. Jones, and the Pajama People.
Tone:
Honest, resigned, cautionary
Purpose:
Self-definition “I’m not just someone who needs a haircut and a job.”
Wikipedia, targets 1 to 4.
Need transcript of speech to cite evidence correctly for targets 5-8. I have that somewhere. More later. I need to use that notebook software, clearly.
Extension
How do you know what you know? Investigate Plato's allegory of the cave and let me know what you think about knowledge. You have the rest of your life to finish this assignment. Message me.
Evaluation
You can collect the targets and evaluate for any CCSS you want. Or you can remember what happened in class and synthesize that information with the students' written work. Then adjust the difficulty, content matter and format to meet their needs, produce a grade or feel good about your work - or all of the above if you want. Are you free?
For Pat: Yes, Virginia, there are bad teachers
This guy's blog is excellent, but only for the stout-hearted. If you have the answers, skip this link.
The Virgnia piece is included here, a total hoot.
From Curmudgucation:
The Virgnia piece is included here, a total hoot.
From Curmudgucation:
Tenure
Apparently tenure is destined to be the next big front in the battle to save public education in this country. From the Vergara trial in California to Campbell Brown serving as a hood ornament for the next lawsuit in New York, we get to hear the same unfounded, unsubstantiated arguments over and over again. So I've collected links all of my various pieces about tenure (and the attack thereon). As always, feel free to share, pass on, and otherwise use these to argue and inform.
Without Tenure... It's not the firing; it's the threatening.
Pushback from the Little People In her appearance on the Colbert Report, Campbell Brown is bothered that people dare to disagree.
Teachers Should Be Paid Less Jason Richwine says now that we have removed the "barrier" of tenure, we can start paying teachers the wages they ought to get-- tiny ones.
How Much Money Is Tenure Worth? An economist argues that tenure is worth cash, and therefor teachers should be willing to trade it for a bonus.
Campbell Brown Can't Connect the Dots Brown tries to straighten out critics of her lawsuit.
Tenure: Private vs. Public Why tenure makes more sense for teachers than private sector employees
To Tim Elmore: Here's What You're Missing Response to another anti-tenure argument
Did NYC Tenure Changes Chase Away Weaker Teachers NYC already changed tenure rules. How'd that turn out?
GOP and Dems United in Disdain for Teachers In which prominent Democrats join Campbell Brwon team for free.
The Hole in the Teacher Bucket Why are we losing teachers? Not because of tenure or FILO.
Talking about Tenure and Trust What conversation about tenure could we actually be having?
TNTP & The Unreal Lessons of Vergara Despite reformster words to contrary, these are not the lessons to learn from Vergara
Yes, Virginia, There Are Bad Teachers A response for the "so you don't think there are any bad teachers" crowd.
How To Get Great Teachers This is what the anti-tenure crowd claims they want to do. Here's the way to make it happen.
What To Do About Bad Teachers Hint: not try to fire them all.
PA Joins Assault on Teachers The Pennsylvania attempt to kill job protections
NC to Teachers: F@#! Off North Carolina takes more steps to kill teaching as a profession
How To Do Real Teacher Evaluation Tenure destruction always rests on the idea that we can do real teacher eval. We can't, but here's my positive proposal for how it could work.
Tenure and Dead Wood If your organization has a bunch of dead wood, how did that happen, exactly?
Parents and Tenure How to talk to parents about tenure.
Five Myths about Tenure and FILO
Why Teacher Merit Pay Is Stupid No, merit pay wouldn't be a good substitute for tenure
That Damn Tenure People in other jobs don't have tenure. Why should teachers?
A Tragedy in Four Acts The studentsfirst ad campaign for trashing tenure in PA
Without Tenure... It's not the firing; it's the threatening.
Pushback from the Little People In her appearance on the Colbert Report, Campbell Brown is bothered that people dare to disagree.
Teachers Should Be Paid Less Jason Richwine says now that we have removed the "barrier" of tenure, we can start paying teachers the wages they ought to get-- tiny ones.
How Much Money Is Tenure Worth? An economist argues that tenure is worth cash, and therefor teachers should be willing to trade it for a bonus.
Campbell Brown Can't Connect the Dots Brown tries to straighten out critics of her lawsuit.
Tenure: Private vs. Public Why tenure makes more sense for teachers than private sector employees
To Tim Elmore: Here's What You're Missing Response to another anti-tenure argument
Did NYC Tenure Changes Chase Away Weaker Teachers NYC already changed tenure rules. How'd that turn out?
GOP and Dems United in Disdain for Teachers In which prominent Democrats join Campbell Brwon team for free.
The Hole in the Teacher Bucket Why are we losing teachers? Not because of tenure or FILO.
Talking about Tenure and Trust What conversation about tenure could we actually be having?
TNTP & The Unreal Lessons of Vergara Despite reformster words to contrary, these are not the lessons to learn from Vergara
Yes, Virginia, There Are Bad Teachers A response for the "so you don't think there are any bad teachers" crowd.
How To Get Great Teachers This is what the anti-tenure crowd claims they want to do. Here's the way to make it happen.
What To Do About Bad Teachers Hint: not try to fire them all.
PA Joins Assault on Teachers The Pennsylvania attempt to kill job protections
NC to Teachers: F@#! Off North Carolina takes more steps to kill teaching as a profession
How To Do Real Teacher Evaluation Tenure destruction always rests on the idea that we can do real teacher eval. We can't, but here's my positive proposal for how it could work.
Tenure and Dead Wood If your organization has a bunch of dead wood, how did that happen, exactly?
Parents and Tenure How to talk to parents about tenure.
Five Myths about Tenure and FILO
Why Teacher Merit Pay Is Stupid No, merit pay wouldn't be a good substitute for tenure
That Damn Tenure People in other jobs don't have tenure. Why should teachers?
A Tragedy in Four Acts The studentsfirst ad campaign for trashing tenure in PA
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