Get a life... and some friends while your at it.

It seems that those two comments come up quite often when discussions about free time are asked. I have always wondered just what it takes to be considered as "having a life." Does it mean involvement with activities, sports, work, and/or family, taking trips with family or friends, or just hanging out with movie nights or parties? Does loving to be home with family and doing nothing count as having a life?
How many friends does one need to have to avoid comments like "get some friends"? is having one good friend , good enough? Or does one need several wishy-washy friends?
What is the "under 20" view of having a life and friendship?

No Coca-cola zone

OK- I have officially been free of Coca-cola for 16 days. It was not easy to go cold turkey from my two-a-day (sometimes three) habit, but I did it. How do I feel? Exactly the same minus some stomach acid issues in the morning. Was it worth it? Yes. I honestly did not think that I could exist without my Coke, but I have learned that I am stronger that I thought. I still crave it, but researchers says that after 21 days, those craving centers in my brain will begin to shut down and I will crave Coke less each day. So what is next? Coffee- especially French Vanilla Cafe, which is a huge part of my daily routine. I have begun to drink herbal tea and hot cocoa, so hopefully the transition will not be too traumatic.

So are any of you ready to give up a vice?

A revisit to an old post

As I grade sophomore research papers, the idea of plagiarism always sits in the back of mind, so I dutifully check for it. I posted this blog last year and find that I did not get the feedback I wanted. So read Kate Kellen's comments on how her students don't understand the concept of plagiarism in writing. Just when do we teach students about this bane of the English teacher's existence? If elementary students are allowed to copy from the encyclopedia for reports and middle school students are allowed to copy from the Internet and other sources with no regard to summarization, paraphrasing, quoting and citing sources, is it then up to high school teachers to correct years of "damage"? I find that almost unbearable and sometimes impossible. The process of incorporating research into writing takes years of practice- not just four years of the sporadic paper in English classes. I wonder what college English teachers have to say on the topic.

Wikipedia- to use or not to use

McLeod's article is interesting. I don't let my students use Wikipedia as a source in their papers. Should I be? What do think about its readability? What is a wiki any way? Suggestions on use in school?

Cheating

This was a post from last year about this time and it did not receive much discussion. I re-posted it to see if I could generate some this time and to see if we could find some answers to this problem.

As a teacher, I see and hear about all forms of cheating, from copying vocabulary work, to copying and pasting a report, to looking at another's answers on a test, to making up book reports about non-existent books or writing a book report based on not actually reading the book, but on what you have read about the book. Nothing really surprises me anymore.
Read the news report of what happened in Hanover High School in Hanover, NH.
What is this telling us about the current generation?
Are they over-booked with too many academic, activity, job-related and personal commitments that they have no time to do their work, complete assignments, or study for tests?
Are parents or the students themselves putting too much pressure on the students to achieve a good grade that learning takes second place?
Are schools and teachers emphasizing the wrong thing- grades instead of actual learning?
No learning can actually be graded- learning is learning- it changes the brain. How can that be graded?
So what do we and teachers, students and administrators do about cheating?
What is the parental role in this issue?

Making school fun

I realized today that the highlight of a lot of my students' days is lunchtime. Today, as the boys were jockeying for position to be first out the door for the one tray of strawberry cheesecake, all I could think about was, "Boy, I wish they could be that excited about school, learning or just being in class."
It seems that elementary school students love school, have fun in school and actually learn in school, but all that changes in high school. How can a teacher who sees 135 students a day, still inject some "fun" into each class. I can see how an elementary teacher who sees 17-22 students all day, everyday for a whole year can do it and see the gains the kids make.
I start the year trying to make class fun, but the wear and tear of grading, creating assignments, attending conferences, meeting and trainings and dealing the co-and extra-curricular mandates suck my ability to create the fun my students seem to need. And don't forget that I have to teach all the standards enough so students have them down and make sure that all the students reach the proficient or advanced level on the state tests.
So how can high school teachers make class or school fun?
It can't all be a good attitude, an occasional laugh or a joke everyday, can it?

Survey- Every kid is a gamer

Survey: Nearly every kid a video gamer
Wed, Sep 17, 2008

Video games are ingrained in youth culture, according to a Pew study.
A new national survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project illustrates just how ingrained video games have become in youth culture--a phenomenon with important implications for 21st-century learning.
The survey found that while young Americans don't necessarily play the same thing, nearly all of them--boys and girls--play video games of one kind or another.
And they don't just play by themselves. Nearly two-thirds play video games to socialize face-to-face with friends and family, while just over a quarter said they play with internet friends.
"It shows that gamers are social people," says Amanda Lenhart, a senior researcher at Pew who led the report on the survey. "They communicate just as much. They spend time face-to-face, just as much as other kids. They eMail and text."
The survey, released Sept. 16, combined the telephone responses from a nationally representative sample of 1,102 young people, ages 12 to 17, and their parents. Performed from November 2007 through February of this year, and partly funded by the MacArthur Foundation, it had a margin of error of three percentage points.
Among other things, the survey found that:
- Ninety-seven percent of young respondents play video games. That's 99 percent of boys and 94 percent of girls, with little difference in the percentages among various racial and ethnic groups and incomes. In fact, 7 percent of those surveyed said they didn't have a computer at home, but they did have a game console--such as Sony Corp.'s PlayStation, Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox, or Nintendo Co.'s Wii.
- They play often. When surveyed, half of the respondents said they had played a video game the previous day.
- Their games of choice are as diverse as their tastes in music or TV. Eighty percent of respondents play five or more different game genres, with racing, puzzles, sports, and action the most common. Favorites were Guitar Hero, Halo 3, Madden NFL, solitaire, and Dance Dance Revolution.
- Young people are routinely able to get their hands on games that are rated "M" (for mature) or "AO" (adults only). Three-quarters of parents who were surveyed said they "always" or "sometimes" check the ratings on their kids' games. And yet, half of boys who were questioned listed a game with an "M" or "AO" rating as one of their favorites, compared with 14 percent of girls.
Regardless, Pew researchers said they want to steer clear of depicting video games as "good" or "bad," says Joseph Kahne, a study co-author and dean of the education school at Mills College in California.
He noted, for instance, that even games with violent content, such as Halo, provided "more than average opportunities for players to help one another."
Kahne also looked at games' effect on civic engagement--anything from political involvement to raising money for charity. He found that those who spent the most time playing video games weren't any less likely to be involved in their communities.
The survey did, however, find that those who played games in face-to-face social settings were more likely to say they were committed to civic participation.
Mimi Ito, an anthropologist who studies the use of new media, said more research is needed to explain this phenomenon. But she speculates the ties that gamers make with "real-life local friends" stimulate civic engagement.
"Gaming is the reason to get together--but they're probably talking about other things," says Ito, who's based at the University of Southern California's Annenberg Center of Communication.
For this and other reasons, Ito cautioned parents against negative stereotypes about video games.
How young people play a game, she says, is as important as what they play.
To that end, Jesse Schell, a professor of entertainment technology at Carnegie Mellon University, hoped the report would encourage parents to learn more about the video games their children play.
"If more parents would take the time to play the same things their children are playing--or even better, play with them--it would benefit both parents and children," says Schell, who teaches video game design.
About a third of parents who were surveyed said they play video games with their children some or all of the time. Most of those parents are younger than 40, part of a generation that grew up playing video games themselves.
Kimberly Coleman, a 35-year-old mom and blogger in New York City, was a fan of Pac-Man and Donkey Kong as a kid. She now plays video games with her 4-year-old son, but only those with physical activity, such as Wii Sports, or an educational component.
"Growing up with video games made me more hesitant to have a gaming system in our home," says Coleman, adding that she doesn't want her kids to become "couch potatoes."
Link:
Pew study: "Teens, Video Games, and Civics"

What do you think? What does this say about how kids learn and how teachers should teach?
What about those who say that students play to many video games, too often?
Is there a bad side to all this gaming?

People, acceptance and differences

I thought that because the election was so near, I would find a WORDLE of the Declaration of Independence just to see what words popped up. I think it nice that "people" is so large. Sometimes people forget that America was created "by the people, for the people" - all people, regardless of race, religion, beliefs or appearance. I find the intolerance of differences in this school to be so overwhelming that I spend much of instructional time stopping the harassment and teasing. Why is it so difficult to accept people who are "different" than we are? And if we can't accept them, why do some have to be cruel to those who are different?

Reading

What is it about reading in this school? A co-teacher who has not been working here long asked me today why the students in this school (7-12) hate reading. Why do they? I notice very few (less than 10%) of the students I have in class carrying a book or actually reading one. Students check out to the library during homeroom or study hall not to read, but to talk, look at a magazine or do homework in a quiet place. Less that half (or dare I say a third) of the students who are given a reading assignment actually do it. Students are even reluctant to read information on a worksheet or to read directions on a test. What is going on? Reading is a life skill that one always has to know how to do. It is a skill that needs to be practiced to retain, just like hitting a volleyball or passing a football.

I am anxious to see how many people show up at the October book club on Tuesday (the 28th at 8:15 P.M. in the library basement) to discuss Into the Wild. It will probably be Judd, Aaron and I because no one else bothered to read the book. What a disappointment!!

Teach_steph

Meez.com

I found a cool website that lets you create an avatar and put it just about anywhere. It is similar to Voki.com, but a bit more fun. Try it at meez.com

Character and the lack of it in High school students

I found this article about the rise in character education in schools. What do you think? Are the students in our school lacking in character?


America's Crisis of Character—And What to Do About It
By Sanford N. McDonnell

Day after day, we are bombarded with stories of greedy corporate leaders, corrupt politicians, and sports stars using drugs. Indeed, every sector of our society is confronted by a crisis of character, most tragically among young people, all too many of whom are plagued with problems of a poor work ethic, drug abuse, sexual activity, violence, lying, cheating, stealing, and bullying.

With all these character-related problems, why aren’t the presidential candidates speaking out on the subject? And why hasn’t it been put on the agenda for their debates? Why aren’t the American people demanding that schools do more to help our young acquire good character—to become people who do their best work and do the right thing in all areas of their lives?

Having spent 40 years in the corporate world, I know that business leaders don’t want young people coming into their companies who are brilliant but dishonest. And yet the vast majority of corporate leaders ignore character problems such as the rising levels of cheating in our high schools and colleges. Instead, they focus on narrow measures of school success such as higher test scores.

Far too many parents also ignore the need for character education in our schools. They, too, concentrate on test scores and grades in the misguided belief that getting their kids into the right college is all that really matters.

No matter how many red flags are raised in the media about the crisis of character in our society, and despite the fact that we all agree that the role of education should be to produce citizens who are both smart and good, we continue by and large to focus on test scores rather than authentic measures of intellectual and moral excellence.

As a school principal, the survivor of a concentration camp once wrote to his teachers at the start of a new school year, “My eyes saw what no person should witness: gas chambers built by learned engineers, children poisoned by educated physicians, infants killed by trained nurses, women and babies shot and burned by high school and college graduates. Your efforts must never produce learned monsters and skilled psychopaths. Reading, writing, and arithmetic are important only if they serve to make our children more humane.”

Fortunately, a high-quality character education program in schools produces young people who are both humane and smart. Just ask Robert Gehringer, the principal of Boys Town High School, which Father Flanagan started 90 years ago in Boys Town, Neb. This school transforms severely at-risk, abused, abandoned, and neglected boys and girls into productive citizens.
A high-quality character education program in schools produces young people who are both humane and smart.

The first step with these students is training in basic social and performance skills, such as following instructions, greeting others, accepting criticism as well as compliments, asking for help, and listening. They slowly but surely begin to accept the fact that everyone at the school, both young and old, sincerely wants to help them become a better, happier, more successful person. They are taught to monitor their feelings, control impulses, empathize with others, set goals, and delay gratification in order to pursue their goals. They learn what it means to be hardworking, trustworthy, respectful, responsible, and caring, and that they are expected to practice those virtues until they become habits, and part of their character. In this environment, they find meaning in their studies, and their academic performance improves dramatically.

Boys Town High School was one of 10 schools and districts recognized in a nationwide competition as a 2007 National School of Character. The other nine winners, chosen by the Character Education Partnership, included both public and private schools from urban, suburban, and rural communities. All 10 winners had different character education programs, but they all employed practices that met the quality standards of the partnership’s “Eleven Principles of Effective Character Education.”

In the early history of our public education, developing good character—qualities such as diligence, perseverance, honesty, and kindness—was considered essential for doing well in school and doing good in life. But in the last part of the 20th century, most public schools drifted away from that traditional emphasis on character.

Fortunately, in the past two decades, the character education movement has revived and is beginning to pick up speed. Thirty-one states now mandate or encourage character education by statute. And all across the country schools are implementing character education programs, but not nearly at the pace, numbers, and quality needed to overcome our national crisis of character.
With character-related fires blazing all around us, Americans need to recognize that we should be emphasizing good character in our young just as emphatically as we have been focusing on higher math and science test scores. Samuel and John Phillips, the founders of Phillips Academy in 1778, said it well: “Goodness without knowledge is weak and feeble, yet knowledge without goodness is dangerous, and both united form the noblest character.”

We need to hear how the future president of the United States is going to help our schools produce young people who have the strengths of character—the determination of a Winston Churchill, for example, and the compassion of a Mother Teresa—to overcome the unprecedented challenges we face at home and abroad.

As President Theodore Roosevelt reminded us, “Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike.”


Sanford N. McDonnell is the chairman emeritus of the McDonnell Douglas Corp., which is now part of Boeing. He is also the chairman emeritus of the Character Education Partnership.
Vol. 28, Issue 07, Page 25
Back to Top
October 3, 2008

Homecoming

Well, we (I) have survived another homecoming week at RHS. There were no injuries (that I know of anyway) and most people had a lot of fun. The week flew by and I really don't know where it went. I spent today working at the library and played tour guide to a group who was having their 50+ class reunion. I was amazed at how many of their memories revolved around the library and the other buildings in Redfield. I guess most of my memories are tied to people and events. It was a nice visit with some alumni who truly appreciated Redfield and what they had here when they lived here. So what are memories made of- people, places, events? Where will this year's homecoming live in those memories?

Teasing

This topic really bothers me. I see students everyday who tease, gossip about and talk back to classmates. This then escalates into a verbal battle that I, often, must stop because it interferes with my ability to teach. Some days, I spend so much time refereeing the comments and comebacks that I get little teaching done. Why are some students so mean to their classmates? School is supposed to be a safe place where learning can happen, but is it really? What can I do as a teacher to end this or is it something that I have put up with?

failure

I read this and thought there was a grain of truth in his comments and examples. I have taken classes that were pass/fail- you did it and did it well or you failed. Any comment.

Credit for sports participation

I read an interesting article today. What do you think?

Six word memoir

This week at our staff meeting, Mr. Lewis gave us an article that describe the book Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure by Smith Magazine. The book is a collection of six word phrases that describe specific peoples' lives, jobs, beliefs, accomplishments, etc. He then asked us to come up with a six-word memoir for ourselves. It was difficult, but I did it, although I have to give some credit to a speaker I heard at a conference. Some of my memoir is his idea.

Laugh. Learn. Leave a Legacy. Teach.

Sound about right for me?? Give it a try and publish it on the blog for others to respond to.

Obama versus McCain

Take a look by clicking on them and then tell me what you think about their speeches.

Cool site- Wordle

Check this out-
I created it at a site called Wordle.
I copied and pasted the whole play- Romeo and Juliet into the box and then the program tabulates which words are the most repeated. The bigger the word the more times it is used in the text. It is really cool. You can change the layout, the color and the shape and save it to a gallery. Try it.

Cheating and how to stop it

Read this and tell me if you think it would work. Is what the article says about why kids cheat accurate? How do we show that learning is more important than grades in this society?

high school sports participation

According to the National Federation of State High School Associations, participation in high school sports is at an all time high. Their survey results are astounding: over 7 million high school students participated in sports last year. Why is participation on the rise? Take a look at the results, which are national and state data, and tell me what you think.

Update on the goals

In my 8/23 post, I discussed goals and thought that I would update what is happening with mine. Here they are:
1. Use kinder words
2. Choose a positive attitude all day, every day.
3. Greet people at school 90% of the time
4. Praise the positive at least 10 times in a day; ignore or quickly deal with the negative
5. Better manage my time to take care of my priorities

Well, the first three are going well. I find that the day flies when I choose to have a good attitude. The students are also better behaved and we get a lot more done. Praise is hard to do without it sounding cheesy (as my students would say). I am reading some Boy'sTown materials that I found in my closet and am trying to incorporate some of those ideas into the praise project. Marzano's ideas also seem to help. Time management is hard. I spend more time with my family and try to get everything done at school, but it is impossible to finish everything here. I have to take some of it home, which cuts into family time. That will be the one to really work on.

This week's goal is to blog more often and clean up my wikispace.

Anyone else wish to share their goals and how they are doing on them?

What punctuation mark are you?

I just found this interesting site; answer five simple questions and then it tells you what punctuation mark you are. I took it and found out that I am a: Colon.

Here are the characteristics of a colon--
You are very orderly and fact driven. You aren't concerned much with theories or dreams... only what's true or untrue. You are brilliant and incredibly learned. Anything you know is well researched. You like to make lists and sort through things step by step. You aren't subject to whim or emotions. Your friends see you as a constant source of knowledge and advice. (But they are a little sick of you being right all of the time!) You excel in: Leadership positions
You get along best with: The Semi-Colon
Sound like me?!

It is a fun site. Try it!! Let me know what punctuation mark you are.

Let's hear it for the colon!! Woot!!Woot!!

The internet and knowledge

While working at the library today, I overheard a man teaching the woman sitting next to him at the computers about how to use the Internet and email. He said something that really struck a chord with me- "Almost all of human knowledge can be found on that Internet."
Wow, how true is that? It is scary and awesome to think that everything we as race know can be found with a few keystrokes and a good browser. I feel privileged to be able use that vast resource, but the key word to that statement is "human." Because humans think and create and then put it on the Internet, what is there can be flawed, mistaken or just plain wrong. Humans make mistakes in thinking, in typing and in believing. Those who use this great thing called the Internet must be discerning consumers who filter and process what is presented to see if what is there can be believed. Be careful- we are only human.

The first week

As of today, we have complete six days of a 178-day school calendar; students have completed four. I am totally exhausted by the end of the day. It has been years since I graduated with my teaching degree, but I cannot remember ever being told how exhausting trying to be a good teacher is; I was told about how difficult and frustrating the job was, but professors did not mention the physical and mental exhaustion. I am drained.
Trying to reach the goals I have set for myself this year will be challenging and add to the drain. I have always heard that setting goals is a practice that all people should make a habit. As a teacher, I have learned to make goals that are positively written, small, specific and time oriented and to congratulation myself when my behavior helps me come closer to achieving my goals. So what are your goals?
Here are mine.

1. Use kinder words (cut the sarcasm) for the first month of school- if I can do that, then I can extend it for the whole year.

2. Choose a positive attitude all day, every day. This makes the day fly by and everybody is much happier.

3. Greet people at school 90% of the time. I am trying to say Hi or Good Morning to everyone.

4. Praise the positive at least 10 times in a day; ignore or quickly deal with the negative. I don't do this enough.

5. Better manage my time to take care of my priorities- me, my family (my husband, my kids, my mother and my grandparents), my job, my students and my co-workers and then everyone else. I have not been doing this for a long time!!

So how have I been doing? The first three were huge successes this week; I just decided on number four and am doing better on number five. I did spend a lot of time with my family and made sure to sleep and eat well, so I am off to great start. I try to leave school at school, but that often doesn't happen. Oh, well, something to improve for next week.

Now that the digital world knows my goals, I will have a real push to successfully meet them.
Are you - the reader- willing to make your goals public?? Give it a try.

Fun with the Olympics

I loved watching the Olympics this August and I am in no way someone who stereotypes others, but when I read this, I just had to laugh. So read it and enjoy it and don't think less of me because of it. It is just clean fun.

10 Things To Look For At The Olympic Closing Ceremony
by Scott Lydon & Jason Toon Friday August 22, 2008 12:45 PM
News

1. 200,000 pizzas sent to “Chinese Taipei”
2. Ceremonial lighting of the Tibetan monk
3. Entire crowd replaced by more photogenic stand-ins
4. New technology allows the "completely live" fireworks display to run backward
5. Everyone looks under their seat to find a gift bag containing a DVD copy of Watchmen, one of 6. those cans of Coke in a different language, and a female child
7. Numerous mistakes by Chinese dancers (but no points deducted by judges)
8. Bela Karolyi given Andy Rooney’s old spot on 60 Minutes
9. One more silver medal awarded to Shawn Johnson, just to rub it in
10. Olympic hostesses return to their docking stations and power down
11. Everyone leaves satisfied but then somehow want another Olympics about fifteen minutes later

Why I teach

I entered a contest for a free computer today. I filled out all the standard information and then was surprised when the form asked me to write an essay on why I teach. I was taken aback and really had to think. I wrote the essay and then copied it to Word before I sent it because I wanted to keep the thoughts and words that went into essay. I probably won't win the computer, but I have already won with the essay. It turned into a poem- It is crazy where the inspiration to write comes from. So what inspires you? I have included the poem- tell me what you think.

I teach not because of the money I earn or because I "get the summers off"
but because I can make a difference in the lives of students.
I teach because I can be the one person a student feels safe in coming to
with problems, concerns, help and advice.
I teach because it is a respected profession
with great people to work with in it.
I teach to see the lights come on in kids' minds
and to see the learning and intelligence that I always knew was there.
I teach to see the kids who thought they could not do anything
do wondrous things with a little push and a lot of help.
I teach because in May when the seniors prepare for graduation,
I am inundated with announcements and pictures
all having special notes of thanks for what I have done for them-
I touch lives.
I teach because my students love me and I love them.
I teach for the students-
They need me.
I teach because it is never boring and keeps me feeling young.
I teach because it frustrates and challenges me;
I am always learning.
I teach because I can
and because I want to.
I teach because I care.

Video Game Withdrawl and Violence

I have just read several interesting articles on the topic. Read them and tell me what you think.

virtual boundaries
Video game withdrawl
Warning signs

Creativity in School

Read this article about creativity in school. What do you think? Are we focusing enough on creativity in our school? Should we be?

Googling yourself

Read the blog and the check out the link to Will Richardson's weblog at the bottom. What are you putting out there for prospective employers to see? What can the school do get more positive information out there for the students we teach?

Read this blog. What does this say about the gap between the digital natives (those 25 and under) and the digital immigrants (those 30 and older)? Do teachers, administrators and staff really understand the importance placed on technology by the students who use it?

Students are not who we think they are

Read this blog and pay special attention to the paragraph with the bold words in it. Any thoughts? Is he right?

Stanford and Dakota Step Testing

Well, next week all the students in our school, except for the seniors, will be taking either the Stanford test or the Dakota Step test. These tests help teachers determine what students have retained and what areas need to be taught in more depth because the students are not remembering those skills.

The tests are also what the government uses to determine if each school has met the AYP (annual yearly progress) level set. If we meet the levels, the the school is safe for one more year, but if we fail to pass the level, then the trouble starts. First we put on alert and must make changes to ensure that we will make it next year. If we continue to fail to meet the levels expected, the consequences get more severe and may result in the removal of the current staff and administration and a take over by others to ensure that the levels will be met. That is very scary.

So how seriously do you take the test and how much effort do you put into doing well on it? Should the government weigh school effectiveness on one test? What are some better ways to measure a school effectiveness?

competitive sports and sportsmanship

Read this blog. Should competitive sports be about competition and winning, about learning and developing new skills or about learning sportsmanship? What combination of these three concepts should exist in school sports? What about in other activities that encourage competition - like band contests, FFA and FCCLA contests and oral interp?

March book review for Honors 11

A character in time and place


Read a book from the list that is not in your usual reading genre or is different from the normal types of books you read. Then research the time period(s) the novel is set in. Find information on the local, national, and world happenings going on at the time(s), the fashion styles, the entertainment and music of the time(s), etc. Then create a newsletter in Publisher of at least four pages that presents one of your character's views of time and setting of the novel. Include how the setting and time, and what went on then affected the character and the plot of the novel. Include relevant pictures and be sure to cite all your information. Be creative and show me that you have read and understood the novel. These are due on March 25th, 2008.

Cell Phones as Learning Tools in the Classroom and Out

Read this blog and tell me what you think.

Web 2.0 and education

Read this blog paying special attention to the list of trends and the list of what teachers can do to join this generation of techies. What do you tink? Is Redfield there yet?

A Comedic View of the News

Check out this blog- it is hilarious. Could any of you do something like this?

Flunking history and literature

Read this NY Times article. Why don't more students know this information? Is it important?

The traits of great teachers

Read the list. Do you have great teachers? Please no names and no bashing others.

Lying- Why Do Kids Do It?

Read this blog entry and the linked article. Why do kids lie? How should parents and teachers handle it? What does it show about high school and the students it creates? Thoughts?

Did I miss anything?

I found this while look at my blogline account and loved it. Read it and tell me what you think.

Skills for the future

Read Will Richardson's blog about what skills today's students will need in the work force tomorrow. Is he right? Are you getting the training and practice in the skills you will need?

You might be too busy if...

Read this blog and then add to the list.

You might be too busy if....

Election 2008 Update

It looks (in my opinion) like we might be choosing out next president between McCain and Clinton. Romney dropped out and Huckabee doesn't seem to be much of a threat. It does seem that Obama and Clinton are equal on the money end of things, but since neither is really clear on what they hope to acheive in education reform and Hillary has taken a stab at making improvements in health care, I am leaning towards her. So who would you vote for and why? (Gender and race are really not important, the issues are.) Watch the news, read the papers and magazines, and do some research and then formulate some opinions about this issue. It will affect you now and over the next 4 - 8 years.

Digital citizenship

Check out this website- especially the link on digital etiquette. What do you think you need to know about the digital world? Do most kids use technology in appropriate ways? What do you lack when it comes to using all the technology available?

Web 2.0, Learning 2.0, School 2.0 and Education 2.0

What does the title mean? Are schools focusing on the correct content for today's students who will live and work in a technology rich world that most currently teaching teachers cannot even begin to imagine? Read the following and tell me what you think schools should focus on in the courses offered and the skills taught in grades K-12.

Web 2.0: Block It or Embrace It?
What is Web 2.0?
Learning 2.0
School 2.0
Introducing Education 2.0

A connection between football, wrestling and fighting??

I just read an interesting research study done by Derek Kreager- prof of sociology at Penn State.
The pertinent part of the study is quoted here.

"The sports-violence relationship is a theoretically rich area with competing hypotheses from prominent perspectives. Contrary to the social control hypothesis,my results suggest that sports fail to protect males from interpersonal violence. Indeed, contact sports (e.g., football and wrestling) are positively associated with male serious fighting. This effect is mediated by peer football participation, such that embeddedness in all-football networks substantially increases the risk for serious fighting. These findings are consistent with hypotheses derived from social learning and masculinity theories and provide important impetus for further research. Although caveats exist, this study offers leverage on a potential paradox of youth sports, and this understanding may help inform schools’ sports policies.

Playing hypermasculine contact sports shapes subsequent violence."

This begs the question- Does participating aggressive sports like football and wrestling correlate with fighting for young men? What an interesting thought.

Skim through the study and weigh in on what you think about this issue.

Do teachers really understand?

I have been reading and hearing a lot lately about how teachers need to get in touch with the culture of the generation that they teach- the millennial generation. This generation is described in the following:
Wally Block's definition as a father
Generation X versus the Millennial Generation
The Progressive view of Millennial

My question is: do your teachers really understand this generation (their needs, their use and need of technology, their need to equate friends and family, their need to multitask and seek the Internet to answer questions, their need to rewrite or break the rules, etc)?

How do we as teachers try to teach this generation successfully?

Just a note for this blog

Four things
1. You are all high school age students and have taken keyboarding and know how to spell or at least how to look words up on the Internet- please do so.
2. Note the title of the blog- English- please use appropriate language and be respectful of others' opinions- we live in America and this country was founded on freedom (of religion and speech).
3. Back up what you say and believe in with proof. Your opinion, no matter how LOUDLY expressed, means little until you find others who support you.
4. No stereotyping- not all women are weak because they cry and not all Muslims are terrorists. Try to view things from multiple perspectives- this will not only make you a better thinker, but it will also make you a better human being.

If you don't follow the rules, I can't give you the credit.

February Book Review

Choose a classic novel of literary merit to read for this month (see the book list) and then create a PowerPoint in which you present a short biography of the author and a discussion of his or her style and how his or her life affected style, topics, themes, etc. and then discuss what literary period the work fits (Puritanism, Age of Reason, Romanticism, , Etc). You will need to do research on the literary periods as there are many that we have not yet discussed. Post your PowerPoint to your blog by Feb 22.

Use the following web sites as resources. If you find more add them in comments.
Literary Periods in American Literature
American Literature Sites
Literary Periods and Their Characteristics

Mandatory drug testing in high school

New Jersey high school athletes participating in post season events are tested for steroid use (since 2006) and Texas will begin testing all student athletes beginning next year for steroid use. What do you think? Find evidence of other schools who are doing the same things or things similar. Are there schools in SD who are testing students for drug use? Why is this a problem or is it?

Students in a technological world

Read this article from the Washington Post about a Virginia high school student who called to complain about an administrator's decision to hold school even after a snow storm which caused many problems. After you read the story, discuss just how digital immigrants (such as the people in my generation and older generations) fail to understand the importance of technology to the digital natives (students in the current generation). What about how technology is changing the rules of behavior and changing the ideas about what is appropriate and allowable and what is not?

What is real blogging?

I read this post and had an "A-HA" moment that I must try to deal with. Evidently I have not mastered the art of real blogging. Anyone care to discuss how, according to Will Richardson, the author of this blog, I can help my students learn to blog for real?

Wow, we have a debate going here. So let's get away from political parties, gender, race and stereotypes. What qualities should a person have in order to become president?

Eduation and Election 2008

Check out this list of the presidential candidates views on education. It is a bit tongue in cheek, but, oh, so true.

What should the next president focus on when it comes to educating America' students?

The Race for the Presidency

With a few primaries down and several months of campaigning to go, the contenders running for president seem to be ready to fight the long battle of words and promises that is necessary to become the president. Yesterday in NH's primary, Hillary Clinton and John McCain took the lead with Obama and Romney right behind. That still leaves Huckabee and Edwards as contenders. So Who would you vote for? Why? Is the United States ready for a female president or an African-American president? What a change that might bring. Be polite and use netiquette while commenting to this post. Who would make the best president?

What can people find out about you on Facebook and MySpace?

I heard in interesting story on the news today about how police in Sioux Falls are using pictures posted in My Space and Facebook as evidence to arrest and try underage alcohol and tobacco and drug users. What do you think?. This is all legal and social networking groups offer no privacy regardless of all the safeguards used to protect users. Will this change the way that you use these networking sites?

Real life and Facebook and My Space

Check out this blog about just what an impact the Facebook and MySpace and other social networking sites can have on you and your future- both positive and negative. I found it fascinating.

January Book Review- character study

For your January book review, please read a book by an American author, paying special attention to the characters in the book. Try to challenge yourself a bit by choosing a book at or above your comfort level. Try a book written in a style you haven't read before or about a topic that you have no experience in. Please blog about one or more characters, include the following information:
1. physical description of the character
2. personality of character
3. motivation of character
4. conflicts the character faces, how that character deals with the conflicts and the outcomes of conflicts
5. changes the character undergoes during the course of the novel.
6. personal connections (or a lack of) you made with the character
7. your opinion of the character and his/her/its effectiveness in the novel.

Be sure to include the title and author of the book you read.