New technology can turn humans into raccoons in a hurry. I remember being at my grandparents’ house in Indiana when I was young. The family was gathered around the television, and my grandpa was really enthused about his new remote control. No longer would he have to get up to change the channel. He and my dad were enthralled by a basic bit of technology that we now take completely for granted.
When starting this blog, I was enthused by all of the possibilities. As some of the novelty wore off, my enthusiasm dimmed. One of the keys to using a blog effectively in a class setting is making sure that there is an inherent usefulness to it, that it isn’t just using technology for the sake of using technology. My remote control is (embarrassingly enough) one of the most important appliances in my house. I use it every day, because it is inherently helpful. How will I make my blog a vital component of teaching my students?
The key to success will be having new content on a regular basis. The students must know that when they log on the blog will have new content. An eager student who checks back for new content becomes a little less eager each time he see the same old thing. The novelty of seeing one’s own writing wears off quickly; seeing responses to one’s writing and being able to continue the thread will bring students back.
I envision using my blog as a launching point for lesson introductions, lesson extensions, and differentiation for higher level students. For a unit on mythology, we talk about the virtues they society tries to encourage in its young citizens. To show that this is still done, I will post a comment mentioning how we extol and criticize athletes. Over the weekend, the students should watch at least part of a televised sporting event, and respond to the post with a specific example of praise or criticism for a specific trait or act. Similarly, the lesson could be extended by a challenge to come up with the most extreme example of praise or criticism over the course of a few weeks; extensions into other areas of public domain (politics, celebrity) would also work well. In short, posts to the blog can vary by student ability but can be used to introduce, continue, extend, and provide some closure to lessons. Since there is so much content behind the exciting new technology, I hope it will become as important to me as my treasured remote.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
A Worthwhile Site
Wading through the plethora of educational sites available on the web can be a daunting task. Will the time spent looking for a valuable resource be rewarded by a trove of great ideas, literature, and activities? Or, will the end result be hours of frustration, and a reluctance to look online again? A quick search with Google Scholar linked me to ERIC.ed.gov, the acronym for which represents Education Resources Information Center.
What a find ERIC turned out to be! There are myriad searchable categories, as well as a search engine for the site. I tried “building vocabulary” and was rewarded with results for 60 scholarly articles and papers, for many of which ERIC has free full text availability. “Analytical thinking” yielded 558 results, 181 of which could be seen in full text for free. Obviously, analytical thinking is a very broad category. The search can be easily narrowed to focus on year, year range, type of publication, and extra keywords. This is a nice tool for the searcher who realizes that he doesn’t have time to wade through 181 articles, especially if some of them will touch his area of interest only tangentially.
The main benefit the site offers is an easy search for specific questions. The results that come back are from credible sources. Academic research findings and theory are quickly located for queries, and the ability to modify by time frame and article type steers searches to keep them closer to the originally intended target. The downside to ERIC is that it covers more of the theoretical than the practical realm. For a new teacher looking for lesson plans or even ideas for a given subject, it is absolutely not a valuable site. However, to find the basis and roots for certain practices it is quite valuable. The information available is credible, current, and precise; as such, ERIC is quite the valuable educational website.
What a find ERIC turned out to be! There are myriad searchable categories, as well as a search engine for the site. I tried “building vocabulary” and was rewarded with results for 60 scholarly articles and papers, for many of which ERIC has free full text availability. “Analytical thinking” yielded 558 results, 181 of which could be seen in full text for free. Obviously, analytical thinking is a very broad category. The search can be easily narrowed to focus on year, year range, type of publication, and extra keywords. This is a nice tool for the searcher who realizes that he doesn’t have time to wade through 181 articles, especially if some of them will touch his area of interest only tangentially.
The main benefit the site offers is an easy search for specific questions. The results that come back are from credible sources. Academic research findings and theory are quickly located for queries, and the ability to modify by time frame and article type steers searches to keep them closer to the originally intended target. The downside to ERIC is that it covers more of the theoretical than the practical realm. For a new teacher looking for lesson plans or even ideas for a given subject, it is absolutely not a valuable site. However, to find the basis and roots for certain practices it is quite valuable. The information available is credible, current, and precise; as such, ERIC is quite the valuable educational website.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Incentives for good teachers make sense
Stock brokers work long, hard hours. They are at times married to their jobs. Sometimes they perform poorly, and they don’t make much money. Other times they do well, and they are outrageously well compensated. Those who are the most driven can make a career out of what they do. They are good at what they do, and feel appropriately rewarded. Those not cut out for the job find something else to do, and that is fine. Not everybody has the requisite ability and desire to do well.
Some teachers work long, hard hours. They are at times married to their jobs. Sometimes they perform poorly, and they make just about the same as everybody else. Other times they do well, and they make just about the same as everybody else. If Tom will get paid the same to excel as he will to coast, what is his motivation to excel? Honawar and Keller report that a program in Texas to reward teachers whose students excel is having some very positive results (Honawar, 2008). Teachers are working better together, motivating their students better, and feeling better as well. You could make a strong argument that in almost any occupation, the happier worker is the better worker. Is it any wonder that happy teachers reach the students more effectively than grumpy ones?
Certainly for any good educator there is the intrinsic reward of seeing a child make intellectual strides. Depending on the grade level of the teacher, however, these strides may not be apparent for years. Additionally, the warm fuzzy feeling doesn’t pay the mortgage, the bills, fill the gas tank, or add to available classroom expenditure funds. While there are certainly some wrinkles to figuring out the optimal bonus schedule, it makes an awful lot of sense to provide a carrot that can be consumed in the short term.
“Performance-Pay Setup in Texas Shows Promise”. Honawar, Vaishali and Keller, Bess. Edweek.org. Published online March 7, 2008.
Some teachers work long, hard hours. They are at times married to their jobs. Sometimes they perform poorly, and they make just about the same as everybody else. Other times they do well, and they make just about the same as everybody else. If Tom will get paid the same to excel as he will to coast, what is his motivation to excel? Honawar and Keller report that a program in Texas to reward teachers whose students excel is having some very positive results (Honawar, 2008). Teachers are working better together, motivating their students better, and feeling better as well. You could make a strong argument that in almost any occupation, the happier worker is the better worker. Is it any wonder that happy teachers reach the students more effectively than grumpy ones?
Certainly for any good educator there is the intrinsic reward of seeing a child make intellectual strides. Depending on the grade level of the teacher, however, these strides may not be apparent for years. Additionally, the warm fuzzy feeling doesn’t pay the mortgage, the bills, fill the gas tank, or add to available classroom expenditure funds. While there are certainly some wrinkles to figuring out the optimal bonus schedule, it makes an awful lot of sense to provide a carrot that can be consumed in the short term.
“Performance-Pay Setup in Texas Shows Promise”. Honawar, Vaishali and Keller, Bess. Edweek.org. Published online March 7, 2008.
Whom do we want to teach our children?
To what lengths should we as a society go to protect our teachers and their responsibility to educate our children? The Center for Union Facts’s recent push to buy the resignation of the nation’s 10 worst teachers (AP, March 10, 2008) is a thinly veiled attempt to break unions, but it begs a very interesting question: Should we work so hard to protect teachers who are not doing their jobs? As we work to create the best possible education system for all, we may have to ask some uncomfortable questions. Without taking an honest, unflinching look at the problems of our current system, we can guarantee that we will fail to address some crucial issues. Shutting our eyes to ugliness won’t make it go away.
As with any other job, there are educators who do the bare minimum, and it is possible there are some who do even less. Ignoring malfeasance, let’s take a look at nonfeasance. What is the avenue for recourse against teachers who simply do not pass on the necessary skill sets and knowledge base to the children in their care? With or without unions it is difficult to remove the veteran teacher who is punching in and out every day, just getting one day closer to his pension. The school systems have standards that have to be met, but how are we holding teachers accountable? Whether because of lacking competence, motivation, communicative skills, or myriad other reasons, some teachers are failing their students. What justice can we give to these students? At the very least, we should make sure future generations don’t suffer the same fate.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/03/10/62980mteacherunionstargeted_ap.html
As with any other job, there are educators who do the bare minimum, and it is possible there are some who do even less. Ignoring malfeasance, let’s take a look at nonfeasance. What is the avenue for recourse against teachers who simply do not pass on the necessary skill sets and knowledge base to the children in their care? With or without unions it is difficult to remove the veteran teacher who is punching in and out every day, just getting one day closer to his pension. The school systems have standards that have to be met, but how are we holding teachers accountable? Whether because of lacking competence, motivation, communicative skills, or myriad other reasons, some teachers are failing their students. What justice can we give to these students? At the very least, we should make sure future generations don’t suffer the same fate.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/03/10/62980mteacherunionstargeted_ap.html
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Philosophy of Education
Give a man a fish, and he’ll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and he’ll eat for a lifetime. Best of all, go fishing with the man from the time he is young. Talk to him about the rivers, streams and lakes, the forest, and life away from fishing. He will not only eat his fill for a lifetime: he will enjoy fishing, appreciate his surroundings, and be eager to pass his knowledge on to the next generation.
The most important part of education is the person to person contact. Teaching provides an opportunity to pass on the important aspects of the culture that must be maintained over generations. Parents are often too busy to model being a good human to their children. Television, movies, and the rest of pop culture are more than willing to fill the void, but they don’t do a good job of providing decent role models. Attempting to give a student all of the information she will need in life is as futile as giving her a really big fish in the hopes that it will be enough food for her. The ability to learn is infinitely more useful in her life than an encyclopedia of knowledge. Grade by grade, subject by subject, it is imperative to model the learning process. Finally, it is important to give students the knowledge. They must be taught in varied, richly textured ways, so that they truly learn. Facts that are memorized and regurgitated are as useless the next day to the mind as fish going through that process would be to the body.
No matter what future a student pursues he will be a member of the human race, he will need to learn, and he may have some use for the subject matter. As such, it is imperative that he be taught to be a good person, respectful of his environment and those in it. Secondarily, he needs to know how to learn; how to discover the good fishing holes, how to study patterns. Finally, he needs to learn the facts specific to the various curricula; he must be able to bait a hook, reel in the fish, and gut it. If taught well in these areas, he himself will want to teach. Part of the thrill is the tug on the line, but what really keeps them coming back is the company.
The most important part of education is the person to person contact. Teaching provides an opportunity to pass on the important aspects of the culture that must be maintained over generations. Parents are often too busy to model being a good human to their children. Television, movies, and the rest of pop culture are more than willing to fill the void, but they don’t do a good job of providing decent role models. Attempting to give a student all of the information she will need in life is as futile as giving her a really big fish in the hopes that it will be enough food for her. The ability to learn is infinitely more useful in her life than an encyclopedia of knowledge. Grade by grade, subject by subject, it is imperative to model the learning process. Finally, it is important to give students the knowledge. They must be taught in varied, richly textured ways, so that they truly learn. Facts that are memorized and regurgitated are as useless the next day to the mind as fish going through that process would be to the body.
No matter what future a student pursues he will be a member of the human race, he will need to learn, and he may have some use for the subject matter. As such, it is imperative that he be taught to be a good person, respectful of his environment and those in it. Secondarily, he needs to know how to learn; how to discover the good fishing holes, how to study patterns. Finally, he needs to learn the facts specific to the various curricula; he must be able to bait a hook, reel in the fish, and gut it. If taught well in these areas, he himself will want to teach. Part of the thrill is the tug on the line, but what really keeps them coming back is the company.
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
Should we pay for scores?
“When you live in an affluent neighborhood, you see automatically that education pays off. When you live in [a low-income community], it’s harder to understand.” - Roland G. Fryer
As good capitalists, we should realize that money should be the carrot used to tempt us towards work. How many American factory workers would show up to work as regularly as they do if they were not financially rewarded for doing so? How about the waiters and waitresses? Dentists? Some of us are fortunate enough to receive compensation for doing something we enjoy and find satisfying. However, most people work with an ulterior motive of providing for themselves and their loved ones. Given this, should we expect students to be any different? The most driven students are not likely to be all that fanatical about molecular biology per se; getting good grades in challenging classes provides them a better shot at getting into the higher education institution of their choice, and maybe with a scholarship.
The incentive programs that Ash describes in Baltimore, New York, and Atlanta are a great idea. Some critics may decry the minimization of students’ intrinsic motivation, which sounds like Marx decrying the lack of intrinsic motivation for the laborer without connection to a finished product. To believe that even half of the student body (never mind the bottom half academically) is motivated from within by a sincere desire to learn is naïve. Whether it’s a grade, a transcript, parental approval, peer recognition, or any other factor, many students are motivated by something other than the class material (no matter how intensely stimulating the teacher finds it to be).
Even professional athletes, who are seen by many as having an enjoyable vocation, are frequently given incentive clauses in their contracts. Two years ago, Frank Thomas got half million dollar payouts in his contract every time the fifteenth of the month rolled around and he was healthy and able to play. Did this reduce his intrinsic love for the game, or incent him to take extra care of his health? Would this clause have been in his contract if he had a history of good health? It follows the same logic that struggling students could be led to more care for their academics without reducing their intrinsic love of learning. Compensation, whether monetary or non-monetary, is still compensation. The programs in Baltimore, New York, and Atlanta merely even the playing field, giving financial compensation to students who might not be striving for the non-monetary compensation of “good college” or “good job”.
Ash, Katie. Promises of Money Meant to Heighten Student Motivation. Edweek.org. Retrieved 2/13/08 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/13/23cash_ep.h27.html?tmp=575759920
As good capitalists, we should realize that money should be the carrot used to tempt us towards work. How many American factory workers would show up to work as regularly as they do if they were not financially rewarded for doing so? How about the waiters and waitresses? Dentists? Some of us are fortunate enough to receive compensation for doing something we enjoy and find satisfying. However, most people work with an ulterior motive of providing for themselves and their loved ones. Given this, should we expect students to be any different? The most driven students are not likely to be all that fanatical about molecular biology per se; getting good grades in challenging classes provides them a better shot at getting into the higher education institution of their choice, and maybe with a scholarship.
The incentive programs that Ash describes in Baltimore, New York, and Atlanta are a great idea. Some critics may decry the minimization of students’ intrinsic motivation, which sounds like Marx decrying the lack of intrinsic motivation for the laborer without connection to a finished product. To believe that even half of the student body (never mind the bottom half academically) is motivated from within by a sincere desire to learn is naïve. Whether it’s a grade, a transcript, parental approval, peer recognition, or any other factor, many students are motivated by something other than the class material (no matter how intensely stimulating the teacher finds it to be).
Even professional athletes, who are seen by many as having an enjoyable vocation, are frequently given incentive clauses in their contracts. Two years ago, Frank Thomas got half million dollar payouts in his contract every time the fifteenth of the month rolled around and he was healthy and able to play. Did this reduce his intrinsic love for the game, or incent him to take extra care of his health? Would this clause have been in his contract if he had a history of good health? It follows the same logic that struggling students could be led to more care for their academics without reducing their intrinsic love of learning. Compensation, whether monetary or non-monetary, is still compensation. The programs in Baltimore, New York, and Atlanta merely even the playing field, giving financial compensation to students who might not be striving for the non-monetary compensation of “good college” or “good job”.
Ash, Katie. Promises of Money Meant to Heighten Student Motivation. Edweek.org. Retrieved 2/13/08 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2008/02/13/23cash_ep.h27.html?tmp=575759920
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Go Saints!
One of the teams I help coach, the St. Christopher's School wrestling team, won its seventh consecutive Prep League championship this Saturday. This is pretty cool on a couple of fronts. As I told my 8th grade Latin students, the last time the Saints didn't win the league, they were in 1st grade. Some of those 8th graders will have a chance to help the drive for eight in a row next year; 6th graders who end up wrestling may have a chance to be the first class to go all the way through their K - 12 career having each year be a Saints Prep League wrestling title year.
It's also neat to think back to guys like Jeb Pinkerton, Brian McGurk, Ryan Robertson, Kirk Adamson, Hunter Carpenter, Ian McDonald, Brian Herrod, Hunter McDonald and so many others who were in on the ground floor. Pete Shaifer, now at St. Paul's School in Baltimore, was the architect for the whole thing. An excellent mentor, he was foundational in my development as a coach. In only his third season with the team, he was able to build the framework for years of success to come. Congrats to the boys, Pete, and everybody involved with the streak.
It's also neat to think back to guys like Jeb Pinkerton, Brian McGurk, Ryan Robertson, Kirk Adamson, Hunter Carpenter, Ian McDonald, Brian Herrod, Hunter McDonald and so many others who were in on the ground floor. Pete Shaifer, now at St. Paul's School in Baltimore, was the architect for the whole thing. An excellent mentor, he was foundational in my development as a coach. In only his third season with the team, he was able to build the framework for years of success to come. Congrats to the boys, Pete, and everybody involved with the streak.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Welcome to my blog
Sixth grade English and Eighth grade Latin are what I currently teach at St. Christopher's Middle School in Richmond, VA. I coach middle school level wrestling and lacrosse, as well as high school football and wrestling. As a teacher and coach, I believe strongly in trying to raise good people who work hard and know how to solve problems. I think raised expectations will be more fruitful than minimum standards, and I try to bring out the best in the students and athletes with whom I work.
Thanks for visiting,
Micaiah
Thanks for visiting,
Micaiah
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