Archive for March, 2007
Test Prep Questions
This week my students and I have been working through practice materials the State provides us for the big tests next week.
I’m thinking about the reasons for jumping through the test prep hoop. Nobody requires it. This is one of those damned if you do, damned if you don’t situations. In doing and reviewing [...]Raven on the Wing
The totem pole in our schoolyard has a story about the panther telling the raven about love, kindness, and respect. According to the story, the raven flies in ever-widening circles from the school, to the town, and beyond, eventually out to the universe. The raven goes around spreading the message about love, kindness, and respect…until [...]
The Might-Work Clearinghouse
Knowing what works in education doesn’t interest me as much as knowing how something works, or what purpose something has. In my experience, the right tool for the job is what matters most, and I’ve noticed that in the last several years we’ve been sold a lot of do-everything programs. They call them comprehensive, which [...]
Scientifically Based Reading Research Wars
A NYT article, In War Over Teaching Reading, a U.S.-Local Clash inspired dozens of blog posts. Many of them challenge the article’s bias and the author’s uncritical acceptance of the school administration’s claims of efficacy for their program.
Richard Allington, past president of the International Reading Association, defended the Madison schools, saying that the National [...]Empty Talk
Bush on immigration reform:
Look, amnesty’s not going to fly. There’s not going to be automatic citizenship. It just won’t work. People in the United States don’t support that, and neither do I.
Nor will kicking people out of the United States work. It’s not practical; it’s not a realistic solution. Some may articulate that, but it’s [...]About those laptops…
Tom and Miguel have been hashing out some of the problems with putting laptops in school.
Since we’ve been getting a supply of laptops together in the building where I work, I’d say that between the sharing between classrooms, and the charging up, and the DON’T DROP THOSE THINGS problems, which is related to the [...]Works in Progress
I’ve noticed that many of my students ignore my considered advice to study and apply themselves to their lessons. What?! This is news?
Why would they do such a foolish thing? After all, I’ve taught hundreds of kids and I’ve lived many years. I know things that they don’t. Maybe they don’t believe me. Or [...]Made It This Far
It’s been a push to get through the last couple of weeks with my wits intact. I walked into the school this morning after dropping my 8th grader off at before-school volleyball practice…by the time I arrived there was a crowd of little kids in the hallway waiting for breakfast. Some of them laying down [...]
Kid Logic
This American Life broadcast a piece last evening called Kid Logic about when kids make careful observations, but come to erroneous conclusions. It reminded me of a couple of moments working with kids in which I’ve caught a little glimpse of this wonderful phenomenon.
Deep water
I worked as a lifeguard at our local pool for [...]e-authoring our eduselves
I’m thinking about how the edublog genre might be like listening to a hatchling through the eggshell, if embryos could talk. It’s a public narration of the emergent self. The current Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy (March, 2007), a themed issue about e-portfolios, got me going on this.
Troy Hicks and a cadre of teachers [...]
