Making the Mundane Interesting

I tell my students:

I’m going to read a story to you, but there’s a warning: it’s a disturbing story. It’s not suitable for all audiences, and I’ll understand if anyone wants to leave before I begin. Seriously.

Anyone want to leave? No? I don’t want to get any angry emails from your parents about this, ok? Ok.

Everything in this story is based on true events. This is real, it’s horrifying, and it happens every day. I’m going to relate the tale from the perspective of one who experienced it first-hand. Here it is:

Drawing Lines: The Notebook Lesson

I’ve always liked using writers’ notebooks in my class. They’re great for journaling, drafting, general brainstorming…even doodling. In the past, however, I never really associated any pomp and circumstance with these writers’ journals at the beginning of the year. The exchange was more of a “Hey guys, can you all bring a spiral-bound notebook for a writing journal? Cool.” That was it. The magic was in the process of USING the journal over the course of the school year.

I wanted to try something different this year. I’m sure I’m not the first teacher to do something like this, but I went out and purchased spiral notebooks for EVERY ONE of my 6th grade students this year (they were 17 cents at Wal-Mart and Big Lots, so the investment was worth it). I feel like the act of giving every student a notebook makes it more personal.

On the second day of school, I gave my students these notebooks, but before I presented them to the kids, I provided a bit of ceremony, and in my long-winded fashion, I said:

Debunking Viral Facebook Posts: Part 1

I use Facebook. I’m not ashamed of that. I think it’s a great way to keep in touch with old friends and keep far-away family updated on everything happening in my life (baby girl is turning 1 next month! Expect an onslaught of photos, everyone).

Every now and then, however, one of my friends shares one of those viral news stories/images/articles that just reek of a hoax – you know the ones I mean…those posts that fill your news feed with vague statements and amazing “facts” that have no sources or legitimate citations? I love stumbling on those posts because they give my brain a little workout. It’s like a challenge to see just how many logical flaws I can find in debunking them. The only problem is that most people don’t like being told that they’ve been taken in by faulty logic, so rather than call those people out on Facebook, I’ve decided to post my findings here instead.

I figure that this is relevant to my classroom because teaching critical thought and evaluating resources are two of my primary goals in my lessons, so let’s see if you saw what I saw…

Synergy *almost* works!

Edupoint has made a lot of updates to its Synergy software that (almost) make it functional! Here is a quick tribute to their “improvements” with some visuals to show how they *almost* worked.

Committed to Education

I follow Arne Duncan, the US Secretary of Education, on Twitter. Since he’s a politician, Mr. Duncan’s tweets usually have the rose-colored “candor” you’d expect from a public figure earnestly trying to avoid controversy. Needless to say, I roll my eyes a lot when I read his tweets.

Secretary Duncan is in Haiti for two days, and he made this poignant observation while visiting a school there:

I agree with Mr. Duncan in his praise. That is an amazing commitment to education, and I wish more American students were so dedicated to learning; however, I have to pause for a moment and wonder…what would happen if these 16-year-olds, living in one of the poorest nations in the world, suddenly got the opportunity to come to America?

Would they flourish under the guidance of well-trained American teachers? Would they be able to excel, given the opportunity to learn in classrooms equipped with Promethean Boards, iPads, and document cameras? Would they be able to use their drive and dedication to become successful individuals and make themselves into confident, intelligent human beings?

No.

In America, based on their age, they’d be thrown into high school with no preparation, forced to learn English in 12 months, given a standardized test over curriculum they don’t understand in a language they can barely comprehend, and told they’re failures when they don’t meet the standard. And we’d blame their teachers.

They’re in second grade because that’s the level of educational attainment they have. When they’ve mastered second, they’ll move to third, and so on. That’s logical. That’s how education should work, regardless of age. That’s not how we do things in America because one size fits all, right Mr. Secretary?

Maybe we should reevaluate our own commitment to education, Arne. Dare I say, maybe we should be more like Haiti??

An Open Letter to Edupoint

Let’s get something straight right off the bat: I’m a teacher.

I’m not a web designer. I’m not a programmer. I’m not a tech guru.

I do, however, think I’m pretty tech savvy. Like most guys, I refuse to use the owner’s manual when I get a new phone or computer. I just boot the thing up and start clicking stuff until it does what I want. Most professional programs are intuitive enough that, with a little time and energy, I can figure them out. That’s how professionally made programs should work. Manuals are good for reference, but if the GUI is well-designed and the code is good, the program should be easy enough to figure out.

With all of this in mind, Edupoint’s Synergy application is, for lack of a more professional term, crap.

For those of you who (thankfully) don’t know what Synergy is, it’s a web-based application that schools use for attendance and grading. My county has decided that this should be our new platform this year (as soon as everyone got comfortable using the old, efficient platform). Let’s take a look at some of my issues with this application, shall we?

Spambot Poetry

I frequently get spam comments that pass through my WordPress filter, but this one made me stop, read, and think. It’s almost poetic. The spam bot even included dramatic line breaks:

The sound of music should be pleasing to the ears and
only then will it be appreciated by people hearing it.
This method is similar to the first one as far as method; however,
it is more elaborate because it involves multiple drains connected
to several mulch basins. However, a UV filter runs around $25 and that
is well worth the investment to protect more expensive parts.

This is deep. I think I need to go reevaluate my life…and buy a new UV filter. They’re a steal at $25, and I hear they’re well worth the investment to protect more expensive parts.