April 16

I think the simulation was a good idea, but it could have been executed better. It is a very large room, so it makes it difficult for everyone to see everything. Maybe if the students who represented West Berlin had stood up it would have been more effective. Also, I accidentally cut the rope that symbolizes the Berlin Airlift too short so that might have made it more difficult to see.

They seemed to really like the story about the Candy Bomber. Concrete stories seem to work really well with them, so I have been reading snippets from speeches and stories. I know that real life stories are easier to relate to but since I do not have the benefit of living through this era I find that it is best to use others’ stories or speeches.

I was surprised at how much the students remembered from Friday’s class.

The way the class is set up (as in the routines) makes it very difficult to get a lot of teaching in. A good twenty minutes or so in the beginning of class is used for a grammar exercise and the accompanying discussion. So when we had the 23 minute video it made my teaching time mush shorter. It is very frustrating.

Dr. Seuss’ Butter Battle Book is a great video to show for this era. I had never seen it before, but it was well placed. It really shows the severity of the arms race, and now the students have a concrete idea to think of when they remember this time in history.

April 10

The social studies department required that all teachers give a 9 week test, but it was the same for all government classes so that they could see how all of the students do as compared to all of the other students who are taking that course. There was quite a bit of the information that we haven’t gone over yet, but I wanted them to take the whole test so that I could see what they already know of the information that we will be learning about in a couple of weeks. No one did spectacular on the test (I made it count for 10 HW points so that the students would take it seriously), but some students definitely surprised me. DR did amazing; I wish she would perform this well all the time. KM did extremely well as well, but she said that she guessed on most of it. This is what I worried about; I took the test before I gave it to them, and there was definitely stuff that I did not know but I could figure out the answers because the test was so poorly written.

Block 3 is getting really into it.

AM is back and she jumped right in; maybe this is something that she excels at more than written notes and quizzes, etc. RM is very vocal and opinionated; I am glad to see that she is so excited about the process. Hopefully this quarter is off to a better start than last semester.

My CT is finally starting to let me take over more which I really appreciate. I am having a lot of fun with this simulation.

I started grading the bills today, and that rubric needs more work than the floor work and bill presentation rubric combined. Everything is so vague and the point system seems completely arbitrary. I think an actual rubric would be best; I would explain it more in depth here, but it is so complicated that it is something that I am going to have to type up. The only way that I can properly explain the changes that need to be made is to redo the rubric and attach it to the old one.

I was really unsure of how to respond to my first bill, but I talked to another veteran teacher and he helped me figure out a response. It turned out that the bill was unconstitutional. JM, the bill’s sponsor, was not happy about my veto, as I knew he would be. He tried to override the veto, but it did not pass as the other students understood my reasoning for the veto and agreed with it.

March 28

I have another issue with the rubric, this time with the rubric for grading students as they present their bill. Standing up straight, eye contact, and a clear voice are all worth two points. I can see why eye contact and clear voice are two points; there are gradations of these things. However, you either stand up straight or you don’t; I think that it should be worth one point. The other two categories are seven points each, solid reasoning in the bill and solid answers to questions. The number seven seems very arbitrary, and maybe it isn’t but I think something like that should have a rubric or a checklist of things that they are doing. I also think that the students should know and understand what they are being graded on. A short discussion about proper presentation behavior may help students, or in the pre-simulation explanation session it can be explained in more detail. Maybe the way this simulation is too informal; I think it needs to be more structured.

March 26

My CT wasn’t there today so Microeconomics was interesting. I found out the night before that he would not be there so I did not have time to learn any of the material so that I could answer their questions. These are good kids though, so it went fine and they explained a lot of stuff to each other.

I am not really happy with the grade sheet that is currently used for this simulation. The categories are very vague and confusing and I think that they need more structure. I have not had a chance to redo it, but I think that I want to use my CT’s grade sheet this time, so as the simulation progresses I can figure out exactly what I don’t like about it. The categories that the students are being graded on for committee work is fine (focus, comments, present). However, the categories for floor work are not so easily understood (talking, focus, comments, placard, and head down). I would assume that talking and comments are the same thing, but apparently talking means that they are not talking out of turn or to their neighbors, and comments means that they are participating in the floor discussion in a positive manner. I think that needs to be clarified more. Also, just stating placards is not very clear; it should state that students get a point if their placard is up. Finally, as I understand the statement head down it seems that students would get a point if their head was down, which seems counter intuitive. It just seems that some of these things could be clarified or combined; my job at the end of this unit will be to figure out how the rubrics should change to assess what I want.

March 23

The first readings went well. I am very impressed with the bills; you can tell students have put a lot of thought into it and they have done a lot of research. A majority of Block 2 had their bills to turn in, so we got did a lot of first readings, and only a little bit of committee work. Block 3, on the other hand, did not turn in a lot of their bills on the first day. We did as many first readings as we could, but a majority of the class was committee work.

It was interesting to see students working in their committees because this class doesn’t have a lot of small group activities. Some groups were very on task, discussing the bills in depth, and other groups were not quite as on task. I think one of the main problems was because all four committees were out in the hall. A lot of people are in the halls on a regular basis, so there were a lot of distractions. I think a better way to do this may be to have the four groups in the four corners of the room, and those students who are in the House Rules Committee or Senate Committee of Rules and Administration can sit in the middle. As it is now, if I am with the students in the hallway, helping them go over the bills, there are 10 students in the room with no supervision. My CT may be comfortable with this but I wasn’t really. It makes me nervous to let students watch themselves; I realize that they are 17 and 18 year olds, but they are still my responsibility, and leaving them alone sounds like a lawsuit waiting to happen.

March 22

Block 2: House of representatives: There is an even number of Republicans and Democrats, but the Democrats had a couple of absences so the Republicans were able to vote in someone from their party as the Speaker of the House. They had a lot of trouble getting committee chairs elected, so they ended up having to go to a joint caucus so they could make a deal to end the stalemate.

Block 3: Senate: I am not sure that the students understood the idea of electing people from your party because while it should have been easy to elect the Democrats to leadership positions (there are 19 Democrats vs. 5 Republicans) it should have been difficult to elect Republicans. Yet, by the end of the elections there were two Republican committee chairs. Perhaps we should have explained this process better, but at least we finished the elections before the ed of the block.

I was pretty confused over the course of both blocks which means that the students must have been doubly confused. Now that I have done this simulation once, I realize that it is important to have at least half of a block devoted to teaching the process, rules, and procedure that students should be using. There should also be a cheat sheet of sorts; students should be given a worksheet or packet that explains what is happening at each step of the way that way they have something they can go back and refer to. By the end of the weekend I will try and have a procedure sheet for the students so they will have a better idea of what is going on. They can not be expected to do well in this simulation if they are not properly prepped.

March 21

It was very hard for me to leave the students alone for 90 minutes. My CT said that it would be okay because they were seniors (you can’t do something like this with freshman), but it still made me very nervous. Even if they are working diligently (which I doubt they were doing the whole time) something could happen and it would be good for the teacher to be close by. They could do their caucus with me sitting in the room. I could sit in the back and grade and that would not bother their meeting, but then I could watch over them and make sure everyone stays safe, and I can answer any questions they may have.

Block 3 had some problems. There were only five Republicans so they were in the conference room of room 214 and the rest of the class, the Democrats, were in the classroom. DT came to get me half way through the block to ask a question, and when I went into the room to answer it I noticed that everyone was in groups and three students were doing all of the work. I made them all come together and sit in a circle and go through the bills so that they could decide which ones they were going to support and which ones they would not support. In this instance it would have been good for me to be in the room, or to stop by earlier so that everyone participated and had a say in committee appointments.

Block 1: I graded their essay outlines, which weren’t very good, but I have a very hard time giving people a poor grade. My CT said that in the long run if they do poorly on one thing their grade won’t suffer too much, but it is important that they know they did not complete an assignment properly. I find that grading is much easier after I look at a couple of the assignments so I can decide how I want to grade it.

Student teacher meeting: had a first year at JHS teacher (15 years) talk to us. Gave some good pointers: be clueless; don’t make friends too quickly; have a classroom management plan for the first day, amend it and re-present it to the class after a month; it will get easier.

March 19

I worked with students one on one again to work out any kinks in their bills. Together we looked at and edited grammar, spelling, and citations. The bills were read for clarity; we wanted to make sure that each section made sense and said what the sponsor wanted to say.

Students were really getting into the research aspect of the bill writing. They didn’t like the actual writing process though.

Some students who had finished their bill were even willing to help others who were struggling a bit more. It was really nice to see that the students were working together.

Overall today, I think that it went really well. I really like working with the students and I think they are starting to respect me. It is still hard to lay down the law though, partly because of the existing classroom climate, but also because the students see me as someone who is not much older and I think that they want to show off. They have their normal conversations around me, which normally have way too much information, but that lets me know that they are comfortable with me. But at the same time, there is always the fear that they are too comfortable and will not take me seriously. Although, when I raise my voice they quiet down and listen up, so that is always a good sign.

March 16

I forgot to mention the day before that we would have a pre-quiz, but they seemed to take it pretty well. There was a lot of complaining about the pre-quiz, but it is just to see what they know; they will be able to retake this quiz at the end of the model congress simulation and take the better of the two grades. More than likely, the second grade will be amazingly better, but we just wanted to do a little pre-assessment to see what the students know.

Students went to the computer lab again today, but again, I think a lap top cart would have been better.

I worked with students a lot during both block 2 and 3 so that their bills were well done. I tried to get them motivated and excited about the simulation. I had to walk some students through the different parts of their bill; we identified points that they wanted to make for both their whereas and therefore sections. I also helped them clarify their thoughts so that their bill made sense and said what they wanted to say.

I really liked working with the students on a more one on one basis. Some students really had it together; they had done a lot of research and had it all typed up (JM). I was very impressed. I really enjoyed being the guide on the side instead of the sage on the stage; it was a nice switch. I feel like this position fits my personality and my content knowledge ability much better. I can help without lecturing and boring them. This revelation has made me realize that I may want to redo my Executive Branch Unit so that it is more student-centered.

I talked to my CT and I think I may try and teach a little Microeconomics next week. I just feel like I am bored when I get home; I am used to having so much stuff to do and the Model Congress requires very little planning because most of it has already been done. This next chapter in microeconomics is pretty easy, so I guess I will just jump into that on Monday. My CT and I talked through the chapter during fourth block so that I would be prepared, but I am definitely going to read the chapter and do some more research before I teach this on Monday. I am definitely worried that I am going to mess up and then the AP students won’t do as well as they could have on their exam, but I figure I always have my CT to bail me out if they don’t understand the concepts.

I spent most of first block finding bills that might be helpful to the students as they are writing their bills. I was hoping that by my putting in the effort to find things to help them out, the students would realize that I am trying very hard, and that I care if they succeed. I had one student (JOQ) make the comment that he didn’t like government and wasn’t very good at it (sad) but it wasn’t because I was a bad teacher (good!). I really hope that my taking a little extra effort will get him more involved and that maybe his grade will improve.

March 15

I think it is great that the students can go to the lab to work on their bills, but I worry that they are not in the lab or that they are goofing off and not doing what they are supposed to. I think next time I do this, the best way to deal with this is by getting the lap top cart. With the lap top cart I can watch over everyone, and my students don’t become someone else’s problem. I can also help them out more; I can point them in the right direction with their research and can help them get started with the typing up of their bill. In addition, I can still help the less motivated students because I will be in the room with both groups.

I feel a little lost at times with this simulation. My CT understands what is happening because he has done it for fourteen years, but I am still very lost. I have watched the simulation two times before, but every time that I watched it over the past two semesters I haven’t been here every single day so I don’t know what each step is. This has been problematic when I have been running the simulation. Also, I think it would be best (next time) to devote at least half of a block to explaining each step of the simulation so that the students know what is expected of them and the procedures that they will follow ahead of time. Then, as the simulation progresses it is more of a review rather than learning all sorts of rules and regulations all at once.

I also realize now that I need to be asking more questions of my CT; if there is something that I don’t understand I need to be more forceful in finding out the answers to my questions. This is not something I am very good at, but I will work on it.

March 14

I told blocks 2 and 3 that they had 90 minutes to complete this test. The test was pretty simple and straightforward so there should be no rush to complete this on time. I did not mention the fact that this was to be a timed test the day before, which may have helped with the unhappiness, but regardless, they knew when the test was going to be, so they should have studied accordingly. If they had done this, then they would have had plenty of time to complete the test; they should not assume or bank on the fact that they will be able to take the test home to finish it. Another problem that I have with this situation (the taking tests home to finish them situation) is that I worry that although the students have pledged that they have neither given nor received help on the test, they may have had some help on the test anyways. I mean, it’s not that I don’t trust the students, but I don’t. At least not yet anyways. It is something that I need to work on.

I think the best way to handle this kind of situation in the future is to set a high expectation that all students can finish the test in ninety minutes. If the expectation is already there, then they may still try and get you to let them take it home to finish it, but they are more likely to realize that finishing the test in ninety minutes is totally doable.

Another thought: should the test be redone so that it is easier to take? This would make sure that students are totally capable of finishing the test in one class block.

March 13

Block 2 is starting to get a little rowdy, and comparatively block 3 is starting to calm down a bit. I think since the weather is getting nicer it is going to be harder and harder to rein them in.

No one seemed to like the vocabulary review sheet. They said, and I agree, that it was too intense; there are 67 matching questions, front and back of one piece of paper. It is just too much; it overloads the system. Also, during block 3 a student expressed an interest in a sheet that had examples of each thing, that way it would be easier to remember. I was going to do it for just one student, but then I figured that more than one student could probably benefit (differentiation!!). During lunch I typed up a little sheet that had more concrete examples for a lot of the vocabulary words, so hopefully that will help some of the students out. I only feel bad that my block 2 class doesn’t get to benefit as well.

March 12

Students did not like having a quiz – they claimed that I had not told them about it on Friday. I know now that they are just testing their boundaries to see what they can get away with and what I will back down on. I am slowly learning to be fair but firm; I realize that if they didn’t do it, they didn’t do it. They made a choice and I am honoring their decision by giving them a poor grade. Although, it is very hard not to give in to their sob stories, but I am learning how to have a back bone when it comes to things like that.

We got through 98% of chapter 7 (which was a shocker since we had to finish section 1 and had a quiz) but we moved quickly and the students seemed to stay with me and understand the content. I noticed though, that they really like when I stay in order based on the worksheet; it helps them fill it out (they will have less homework that way) and it helps them follow the logical progression of the chapter and the information I am presenting.

I got two rap/poems (the extra credit homework) and they were both phenomenal. CS even read his rap out loud. It was so cute though because he was so nervous and sweating profusely by the end of it. I am a little disappointed that I only got two rap/poems turned in, but the ones I got were pretty awesome.

March 9

After first the students thought we were going to watch School of Rock instead of School House Rock. One student even made the comment that he watched this same video when he was in the third grade. I love School House Rock though and I think that may be helpful to some students (differentiation!!).

Block 2: We got through most of the bill to law process; we only have the four options that the President can take left to go over.

Block 3: We found out during the first half of class that Officer Pennycuff was going to come after lunch, so students were excited and did not want to get through the necessary material. But when I asked them to come back and work with me, they did, and we actually got a lot of information covered.

I made this awesome flow chart diagram for the students so that the students could see each step of the bill to law process. I had some cheesy stuff on the worksheet (bunny ears on the box that was supposed to represent the hopper) which the students made comments about. Hopefully it will help them remember the material.

There were a lot driving questions for Officer Pennycuff. Students also got a mini lecture on their fourth amendment rights in schools.

March 8

Block 2: They completed the party affiliation worksheet and came up completely even: 12 Democrats and 12 Republicans. Model Congress should be very interesting! During Model Congress students will more than likely vote their conscience and not necessarily along their supposed party lines, but it will still be interesting to see how it turns out.

I handed out the extra credit (I want students to write a poem or a rap about the powers of Congress as expressed in the US Constitution) and at first they seemed excited, until they found out what the assignment was. I will just have to see what gets turned in, if anything.

Today was a crunch day; we got through most of (if not all of) Chapter 6. The students seemed to work with me to get through the material. I am getting better at writing on the board; my students seem to like a lot of information written on the board that they can copy (this is what my CT does, so they are probably used to this) so I am getting better at writing enough on the board to make them happy. I would prefer do less lecturing but since I am lecturing it is nice to know that I am at least improving.

A couple of students turned in their worksheet at the end of the class period, so I graded it, and I realized that I had forgotten to cover one thing. The plan is to cover it on Friday so everyone understands that one concept.

March 7

My CT allows my students as much time as they need to finish a test, so often times students take their tests home with them and finish them at home and bring them back the next day. My CT has an honor code policy; students are bound by the honor code so they cannot give or receive help on tests when they take them home. They are not allowed to look at the questions and then study, and they are certainly not allowed to work with other students to get the correct answer. We want to see what they know at the end of a chapter so we want them to work by themselves with no extra materials, but at some point I think you need to draw the line. For instance, this was my first test that I administered where I was in charge, and I did not like what I saw. A lot of students sat around, talked, and did other work, instead of working on the test. To me that says that they didn’t study and plan on doing so when they get home before they start the test again. I think ninety minutes is plenty of time to finish any test, especially one where we go over the essay the day before. Students had plenty of time to study the essay plan out what they were going to say so that not only will their essays be amazing, but they will also finish them (and the rest of the test) during the ninety minute block. If the students legitimately did not finish the test in the time given, I would have no problem allowing them to take it home to finish it, but since they are doing everything but the test while in class, I do not think that they should be allowed to take the test home. I discussed my feelings with my CT during our planning block and he said that I feel like many other teachers, and that for the next test I could be in charge. That means if I say the students have ninety minutes to take a test they have ninety minutes with no exceptions. Students know when each test is, so there is no excuse for them to not be prepared.

March 6

Essay review went well. I almost think though that by going over the essay before it becomes a recall question rather than an analytical or synthesis question. I understand that we have to help walk them through the process of writing an essay, but at some point you have to believe that a majority of them know how to do it. Now it is important to work on their comprehension, study skills, writing abilities, and ability to analyze and synthesize information that they have learned throughout the unit and the course.

Students get really into the Jeopardy Review. I have fun with these types of things because the students are into it, so there is more energy in the classroom. Also, I don’t have to do as much work in the front of the classroom by myself; it is more of a class effort to learn/review the material. My only problem with this set up is that it seems that the same students are answering each question. I know that the students who always do well, will do well, I want to help the other students with this review. This is something that I will have to work on throughout the rest of the year. But how do I set it up so that everyone must answer, that way everyone benefits from the activity?

Block 3: They completed the party affiliation worksheet and came up with 17 Democrats vs. 5 Republicans. Five students are absent but even if they are all Republican we have a pretty skewed classroom, with it being overwhelmingly Democratic. I thought that it was very interesting however, that a lot of students were very middle of the road. Oftentimes they were Democrats or Republicans by one point; the majority of their points were in the middle, which is very typical.

March 5

Block 3: a lot of people were absent on Friday, so my CT took them in the hall during the quiz and taught them key concepts

During planning we have started to talk through the chapters so that I know what I am talking about. We go through his outline; I ask any questions that I have and he gives me anecdotes to tell when I am teaching so the information relates better to the students’ lives. (Then I go back and reread the chapter and add any notes I might have taken when rereading the chapter) I think this works really well, because I have found that I am doing so much stuff just to plan the lesson that the content area knowledge is starting to suffer. But now that we talk through the chapter I feel much more prepared when I step in front of the classroom, like I actually have an idea of what I am doing.

My CT liked the idea of the Congressional powers rap or poem. I am trying to prepare one to show the kids before they go and make it this weekend, but I don’t think I will have time or that it will be very good. But I do look forward to seeing what the students come up with.

March 2

Block 3 seemed to like the graphic organizer more than block 2, but they seem like more visual learners than block 2.

I seem to do much better in 3^rd block than I do in 2^nd. I am significantly less nervous, possibly because I understand the content better by 3^rd block. In addition, I have already experienced any kinks the lesson might have had and taken measures to fix those kinks so that they didn’t happen during 3^rd block. Also, the students during 3^rd block are more vocal with demands of things they like and don’t like, so I don’t have to work so hard to figure out what it is that makes them happy.

SS: Did you do this last night? (in reference to the graphic organizers)

Ms. Bodanyi: Yeah

SS: Do you ever sleep?

I wanted to include this little conversation with one of my students in second block because it totally made my day. I think my students realized that I am working very hard to find new ways of presenting the content. I am trying to make the lessons more fun and interesting, and these graphic organizers are just one I am trying to do that going to try that.

March 1

Block 3 doesn’t like cloze notes – I thought that by having a majority of the material already written down it would be easier to learn (and I wouldn’t have to write on the board as much) but they said it was difficult to keep up – maybe next time I will use an overhead so that they can see what should go in each blank. They said that a lot of the times they had to ask their neighbor what goes in each blank instead of listening to the lecture which got them further and further behind with the blanks.

They suggested that I try graphic organizers that way they can follow the power line in the House and the Senate.

I think that they were excited about Officer Pennycuff coming to class to talk, so when he didn’t show up they were really upset about that, which did not motivate them to pay attention to the lesson.

The students expressed some interest in group projects, so I will try and build more group activities into instructional time, but I think that they will like Model Congress.

final blog - spring 2006

so. i guess this is it. one semester in the school of education done. it's crazy how fast time flies.

well, i can safely report that i have completed all of my practicum hours and then some. and i can also say that i had a good time doing it. my teacher is amazing, and he has already said that he will let me steal all of his materials and make copies so that i will have something to start from. so that's pretty exciting. he is a very nice human, and seems like he genuinely cares about everyone.

i got to witness back to school night which was very interesting to see the difference between how mr. ambler interacted with his students and their parents. and it was remarkably similar, but not in a bad way. instead of treating both sets like children, he treated them like the adults that they are. he teachs twelfth grade, so most of his kids are going off to live on their own in college the next year, so if he were to demean them by treating them like children, i think he would have had a much harder time controlling them. as it was, there was a little senioritis in the classroom; the students were always performing for him. which i thought was a very good sign.

he also gave me lots of advice and ideas that i can carry over to my own teaching. needless to say, i am very excited about getting to teach more next semester. i think the worst part will be the getting up at the crack of dawn, and the being on a different time schedule from my friends. but i think i will be more prepared for the real world because i will essentially be doing my future job next year; i will still have a safety net and people helping me along the way while my friends may not have that advantage.

yeah real world. woot. i can't wait. (ew)

summerhill and sudbury

i just wanted to post these two websites because i thought that they were very interesting and revolutionary. before we discusssed these schools in class i was fairly certain that they were god's gift to education, and while i still feel that they are wonderful, it was good to discuss them with other people. (although i did anger some people with my super liberal hippy talk.) i will admit that i never would have realized that these schools had the ability to not properly prepare children for life in the real world. i guess i just thought of it in the way i would respond to an environment like this; i would be studying and going to as many interesting classes that i could.

these schools are really just like college but for younger children, and i think that is a very novel idea. i know i did well in a structured environment, but i am also doing well in a non-structured environment. but at the same time, my brother did awful in high school, so much so that we had to convince a college to take him. but now that he is dictating his own education, he is doing beautifully. so i really think that this kind of school could work for either very structured, mature, responsible students and for students who are crushed by structure. regardless, i was glad that i was introduced to this type of school, and i am still trying to make up my mind about how i feel about it.

a. s. neill's summerhill school

sudbury valley school

this old school

so i went to this edutopia website, and there was a lot of interesting things. i wanted to get an article about history (seeing as how that is my area of concentration) and i think that i found a winner.

this old school talks about a learning project in woodstock, connecticut that allows for third grade children and teachers to go back in time for a week and learn the old fashioned way, all in attempts to teach the students about the local history.

historical accuracy is stressed so the students are required to: dress in old fashioned clothes (long skirts, aprons, and bonnets for the girls; straw hats, knickers, and button down shirts for the boys), write with quill pens, use rotes and chalk boards, learn crafts (they allow for some deviation from historical accuracy by teaching both male and female students the crafts), and learn how to cook with a wood burning stove.

i thought that this was such a unique way of teaching students about history, and it is so effective too. i mean what student is going to forget something that they have to live through for a whole week. and i think it is a very important cultural tool; it helps students learn the history of local traditions and cultures, as well as learning about how most of the country lived in the 1830s.

if you want to reference the article it can be found at: this old school

additionally, edutopia had another article that tried to help out teachers who may have wanted to start something similar in their area. i really think that this idea of putting students into the shoes of people who lived in that time period, or at least simulations of important events (model un, model oas, model congress, act out nuremberg trials, etc) is a very good one. students are more apt to learn the material if they can interact with it and live it. at least that is the impression that i get. (my cooperating teacher is currently doing a model congress, and students who normally don't participate are getting into and really understanding how congress works, and i think that is great. it brings the information alive to students, and that is how they learn.)

the additional article can be found at: how to: breathe life into history

another edutopia website to possibly check out is articles on project-based learning. it just lists different articles that could be helpful with more project-based learning techniques.

jonathan kozol

so we were required to go to the lecture given at kimball theatre tonight by jonathan kozol, and i have to say that i am very glad that we were told to go to this event. he was amazing.

when i decided that i wanted to become a teacher i was fairly certain that i would not be able to handle teaching in the suburbs, with privileged children who are handed everything by their upper middle class parents. the thought of teaching in an inner city setting has always held an allure to me; urban school children need good teachers and need help to get out of the bad situation that society perpetuates for them, and i saw myself as a way to help out. so when jonathan kozol was talking about his work in inner cities all over the nation it spoke to my heart.

i had never heard of kozol before tonight, but after hearing him speak for a little over an hour, i have a desire to read all of his books to understand more about the work he has done to reintegrate schools, and to understand more about the drive to help the underprivileged. i signed up on his sheet so that hopefully he will be in touch with more information, the educator's attempt at networking.

when kozol discussed the fact that within the inner city school systems of most big cities in the united states the schools are essentially as segregated as they were before the civil rights movement it sent chills down my spine. why should the wealthy be the only ones to benefit from a good education? and why is society insisting on keeping the country segregated? and possibly even more importantly, what are we going to do about ending the cycle that people who are born in the inner cities suffer from? (here i refer to the cycle wherein jobs move to the suburbs, and so do all of the people who can afford it; then there are the people who can only afford the housing in the rundown areas of the inner city who can't get to the jobs in the suburbs because they are too far away or transportation is bad. or even, when the jobs move to the suburbs they become skilled labor jobs, so the people who live in the inner city and can't get to the jobs anyways, can also now not work in those jobs because, for the most part, they are part of the unskilled labor workforce, and they can't become skilled laborers because their schools are so run down. really the people who live in the inner city don't have a chance; society keeps perpetuating this, and the situation continually gets worse.)

anyways. kozol got me fired up and excited to teach. and hopefully deborah walker will soon get ahold of the school in hampton so that i can at least observe an urban school, which will be much different from the suburban jamestown high school where i currently observe.

the world is flat

first of all, i would like to thank karen for making me add one more book to my endless list of books to read. i mean, we only had 20 pages to read out of this book, but i found it really interesting and i'm totally hooked. thanks a lot.

the concept of the world being flattened by technology is a very interesting one i think. as i started reading i must say i was rather confused and couldn't really figure out what he meant that the world was flat, and that technology was flattening it even more everyday. but as i continued to read it became clear.

the idea of work flow software, i think, is crazy. the idea that you could work on a project with people from all over the world, and it be fast and seamless, with little mistakes because all of the software overlaps, is mind boggling. i mean i knew something like this was coming, but i had no idea it would come so quickly and be so thorough. and the fact that this work flow phase directly correlates to the next phase of "open source intelligence gathering" (93) is also amazing. i had no idea so many people were working on free software around the world, or that the system they have in place is a big step in taking down the man. (i am a firm believer in taking down the man whenever it is humanly possible. and i've got to say that i would love to see people stop using microsoft because there is all of this free software out there that may be even better than it. that would be a beautiful thing i think.)

i also found the parts about wikipedia and mozilla firefox really interesting. i have to say i don't know that much, if anything, about computers and software, so i didn't know that wikipedia was an "intellectual commons collaboration" (94) or that it worked by consensus. over the past year or so wikipedia has grown in usage, particularly for me. i love wikipedia. it seems to have everything you could ever need to know, so it is nice to know that what you are reading is, for the most part, factual information that is monitored so that it remains factual and useful to the community at large. mozilla's firefox is another new thing that i have been using just recently. it's brilliant, with it's tabs and search bar, which i now have set to not only google, but to wikipedia too; i don't even have to go the wikipedia home page anymore, all i have to do is type it into my toolbar and i'm off. with firefox again i enjoy the fact that internet explorer is going down in shares, because it is affiliated with microsoft, and it is about time someone messed with that monopoly. (although, i do have to say that i enjoy my microsoft outlook more than mozilla thunderbird, even if the only reason is that it doesn't do the automatic spell check and correct thing.)

finally, the issue that microsoft is worried about, if no one is getting compensated for their work where is the drive to make the free software better, and more importantly (for greedy microsoft) is how do we keep track of who owns what software if some is made for free and some for profit. both of these it would seem would be troubling. (i should put in some sort of disclaimer: i am a fairly avid socialist, so the idea of all benefiting from free things is a good idea to me. i think it will help to even the wealth gap, and keep the playing field even) the idea that there would be no drive to produce better software merely because one isn't compensated for it is preposterous. first of all, is it so insane that people would want to help others out with their gift of software programming, or that they may find it fun and enjoy it, or even more basic than that, that the mere competition of making a better program would spur people to achieve bigger and better things. bill gates asserts that we "need capitalism [to drive innovation.]" (101) however, the economist states that perhaps "the open-source approach represnts a new, post-capitalist model of production" (103). and i can only hope that they are right; it would be a step in the socialist direction i think, and i think that would be beautiful.

random...

how difficult is it to get more than one license? i just ask because it seems that it might be necessary if i want to teach in the inner city. i only say this because with the lack of teachers these days, especially in the inner city, i could see a very real possibility of my having to teach other subjects besides social studies. and according to NCLB, it is also necessary that i am "highly qualified" and this may not necessarily be the case if i am teaching other subjects besides history and government.

fyi: early childhood is best for learning a second language, preferably around age 4.
fyi: doing tasks for learners delays development (61)