Does Africa need God?

Does Africa need Christianity?

I've had this thought many times when faced with amoral students. Some of us need the threat of punishment! All in all, it offers good moral lessons so I'm in favor of religious education. Thinking along the lines of Spore, it's just a step we have to make!

Will Wright's view of education

Thanks to Will Wright and his awesome game "Sim City", I know more about city planning than most people :)

Here's what he thinks about our educational system:


I've always been somewhat disillusioned with the educational system. Some people have said it was originally based on the idea that we're training factory workers, so it was very important to teach them to do some repetitive task for eight hours a day. What's going to be really exciting is when this Nintendo generation gets a little bit older and starts becoming teachers in schools. I think that's going to make a bigger difference than any kind of educational reform ever will. In the future a lot more learning will happen in the home.^[5]

Here I am as a "Nintendo generation" teacher and I'm still trying the same ol' open up your book nonsense! I'm learning more from Spore than from any book! The Sims! It's all about exploring!

Should we pay students to learn?

My first instinct is NO!

But...I was raised in a middle class home with many books and two college educated parents. Taking AP courses was no big deal and I had a desire to learn.

According to this research, it seems that paying students WORKS. What is the cut-off? When should we start paying students to learn?

Also, how can we be sure that teachers aren't fudging data to help themselves or their students? We might end up with another layer of bureaucracy?

Vocabulary Quiz!

In order to help students of all ages with their academic success, I have designed a vocabulary quiz with thousands of words (4,996 in total!). Anyone can gain something from a vocabulary refresher!

http://modernpedagogy.org/SATGame1.zip

It's made with Java so you'll need it installed to run. Don't worry, most computers already have it.

Here are the steps to run the vocabulary game:

1. Download the link above.
2. Unzip it.
3. Click on the 'Shortcut to SATGame' icon.
4. Enter your first name.
5. Test your vocabulary knowledge with any of the given categories.

Give me feedback at david.freer@gmail.com after trying it out!

Vocabulary project is coming along....

I've got organization now ! :)

The project is great. I'm happy. Can't wait to release it.

Learning at home

Bill Gates says he likes a geology course from The Teaching Company.

How can we increase curiosity in students? I'd love to see a standardized test do that.

Is there a correlation between curiosity and performance?

Americans trampling each other for Chinese-made goods

Educators, we have a Herculean task in front of us. We have to contend with a culture that glorifies consumption to the point where we will trample our fellow man to get a discount on a DVD or flat-screen television.

I am truley sorry for your lots.

New seats for a new outlook...

Fun memories looking back on Dutton's memories.

"If you don't want to learn about Rome, you can go to hell!"

Throwing batteries! Yelling! Screaming!

At least now my run-ins with disrespect are less intense. Now it's mostly laughing and yelling.

But the new seats are quite positive so far.

Tests went well in the Office class. Attendance in the Java class has been really pathetic though! Don't know why... Most students are learning I think.

---

My SAT program is coming along. I'm getting in the habit of working on the categories :)

So life is good.

The end of adolescence?

When does childhood end and adulthood begin?

Honestly, I felt like a child until my second year of teaching. It wasn't until I had my own classroom that I felt like an adult. When I was the beginning teacher, I felt powerless.

Newt Gingrich thinks adolescence is overrated:

http://www.businessweek.com/print/magazine/content/08_45/b4107085289974.htm

The costs of this social experiment have been horrendous. For the poor who most need to make money, learn seriously, and accumulate resources, adolescence has helped crush their future. By trapping poor people in bad schools, with no work opportunities and no culture of responsibility, we have left them in poverty, in gangs, in drugs, and in irresponsible sexual activity. As a result, we have ruined several generations of poor people who might have made it if we had provided a different model of being young.

Two Americas

"We live in two Americas. One America, now the minority, functions in a print-based, literate world. It can cope with complexity and has the intellectual tools to separate illusion from truth. The other America, which constitutes the majority, exists in a non-reality-based belief system. This America, dependent on skillfully manipulated images for information, has severed itself from the literate, print-based culture. It cannot differentiate between lies and truth. It is informed by simplistic, childish narratives and clichés. It is thrown into confusion by ambiguity, nuance and self-reflection. This divide, more than race, class or gender, more than rural or urban, believer or nonbeliever, red state or blue state, has split the country into radically distinct, unbridgeable and antagonistic entities. "

---

http://www.truthdig.com/report/print/20081110_america_the_illiterate/

I don't believe this is a new problem. This is more serious now than ever.

But we keep ignoring the role of innate intelligence. Can the lowest 20% read well enough to follow complicated issues?

10,000 hours....

One hundred and eighty questions tomorrow. Students will answer as if their future depended on it.

There's a certain wildness and laziness in my last period. Oh well, they won't pass.

Education

I knew Obama was going to win when nearly every car that passed by was honking for him!

It felt great to help out the campaign with phone calls or canvassing. I didn't do all that much, but I did what I could.

We all did what we could. Let's keep up the momentum in our classrooms, in the community, and in the country!

You can learn so much about a student by how they write...

Flamboyant boys often write like girls.

Disturbed students often have strange drawings.

Good students often have neat handwriting.

I'm just offering my generalizations for the future. Nothing scientific, just a teacher noting some things about handwriting.

Picking out the information we all want...

This podcast with Lewis Lapham has a great line from the guest, Tony Judt. Paraphrased:

• With the age of infinite information, we all can pick and choose our points. We don't have a basic "common knowledge" anymore.

How can we get the public to consider alternate points of view? How can we stop all the "preaching to the choir"?

• Without a common culture, we have no chance of understanding one another.

This leads to less control over politics.

Turn off the talking points. At least let's consider the sources:

This comes from one of the biggest brains behind "The Daily Show":

• Chodikoff doesn’t use Google to turn up inconsistencies, preferring news stories on LexisNexis, and he ignores Wikipedia. Explaining why he prefers print over the Web, he cites a scene from the movie “Back to School,” when Rodney Dangerfield asks his son why he’s buying used books. “And he says, ‘Because they’re already underlined, see?’ And Rodney says, ‘But that guy could have been a maniac.’ And that’s the problem with the Internet.”

Yet every maniac now has a voice. Kinda scary. That's why I was a newspaper subscriber.

Why is intelligence such a touchy subject?

When people begin to discuss height, they have no trouble imagining it has a genetic component. When people mention intelligence, they get very nervous.

What I learned while canvassing...

I spent some of the afternoon today canvassing for Barack Obama. From the individuals I talked to, people are sick of the direction this country is going. I mean absolutely SICK of it. They are so disillusioned, they don't even see the possibility of a Barack Obama presidency changing anything.

I tried my best to give them some hope. It's hard when you hear the despair.

It was eye-opening though and I'd like to continue to canvass. It's exciting!

---
Closer to home I made this website to help shore up support for less development in South Florida:

http://www.notoparkland.blogspot.com

---

Even though I disagree with much of the "right wing", I respect the thoughtful and involved. No one benefits when they feel they have a monopoly on truth. No one benefits from spending all day attacking people over the Internet.

Human contact is effective. Some people really seemed relieved to have someone to talk to on a Sunday afternoon. Besides, the exercise is good for you. I really encourage everyone to get out and canvass.

http://my.barackobama.com/

it's not hard to get started and it's fun!

I'm not going to even attempt bipartisanship here. If you still support McCain after this erratic campaign, eight years of Bush, and disasterous pick Palin...you've got some splainin to do in the comments.

But seriously, chances are if you are reading this that you spent too much time online today preaching to the converted. There are people who have no idea what a blog is or what RSS does. Some have never used YouTube.

So here's my online plea to get you to join me offline before this election is over. See you at the local campaign hq or on the street!

Why Educators Should Vote for Obama

Some of my students are fearful of the standardized test that's looming large in their future. They hold out some naive hope that Obama will remove this obstacle. I explain about "No Child Left Behind" and how education is a combination of local, state, and federal laws.

Still, I think Obama is a better choice for educators. Here's why.

First of all, Obama was a professor at one of the best law schools in the country, the University of Chicago. He appreciates the doors education can open for people. Meanwhile, John McCain graduated at the bottom of his class at the Naval Academy. He used his father and grandfather's influence to get by.

Obama seems to be a deep thinker. He writes his own speeches. He picked a vice presidential candidate who is rational and intelligent. He was a community organizer when he could've been making a fortune on Wall Street. Some things are more important than money.

America needs a new start after the last misreable eight years.

I'd think many scientists would agree.

Efficiency in education

I was discussing motivation with my uncle and he was making the point that sometimes it doesn't matter WHO the teacher is because the student is going to fail. In specific instances, he's probably correct. For the most part, however, there are teachers who are more effective than other teachers.

What's the best way to showcase successful work?

I think by putting more work online would help. My fear is the loud and angry mob would jump on controversial teachers.

---

I asked the union steward at my school what the union was doing these days.

"Helping to elect Obama."

I was proud to be in the teacher's union :)

Stay in the lines...

...the lines are your friend.

The truth is that childhood is getting more constrained. As this blogger says, Legos aren't buckets of blocks anymore, they are sets to put together. Programmers use pre-defined code instead of just playing.

Children are watched in school. Watched by NetNanny at home. When they get high school jobs, they are watched with cameras. Just follow the script, Johnny.

We should encourage personal growth, not just conformity. Greatness comes from breaking out of the middle-manager mindset!

Filters in the schools

I created a website for my class using Google Pages. To my surprise, it was being blocked by the district filters! It took many days and emails to get my academic page unblocked. Such a waste of time.

But, in the end, filters in schools are needed I think. I remember in University when students would be looking at pornography in the computer labs. I was an adult so I didn't really care, but children still have some innocence. The media may try to spin it otherwise, but I see it on a daily basis. Kids are still kids. My 14 year old students talk about Spongebob quite a bit.

Students will try to use proxies and sometimes they'll succeed. The filters will adjust accordingly and it's an ongoing battle. But at least a positive side-effect of filters is that it encourages young hackers to get around filters.

Here's another point of view: http://weblogg-ed.com/2008/filter-fun/

Should filters be less restrictive? Yes. Should they be there? Yes.

20 Minute Limit to Lecture?

If you don't know what TED is, you need to immediately click this link:

http://blog.ted.com/2008/09/teaching_on_the.php

Then go to ted.com. You can read what I have to say later.

----

I think what works best for me is a mixture of lecture and discussion. In my history class I am always asking students what they think of historical events or trying to draw out connections. With 25-30 students it's easy to draw out a discussion. The twenty minutes idea is a great selection.

----

I teach both history to teenagers and computers to adults. Am I a better history teacher or computer teacher?

To be honest, my verbal skills have always exceeded my math skills but I do have a passion for technology. I work better with adults but I have a great rapport with teenagers as well.

Overall, it's too hard to say. I have an interest in both and I wouldn't want to choose today.

Smash the digital divide

"How do people speak Spanish?"

The room got silent. The fifteen year old student wasn't joking.

I responded, "How do you speak English? You learned words and how to create sentences. It's no different with other languages."

He was confused by how our brains make words. But language can seem mysterious!

It was last year that I was especially saddened when a student was shocked that a regular person could make a web site. I told him it was really simple and he could do it.

Think of the potential out there if more students were inspired to learn! Smash the digital divide.

Will students benefit from many eye balls on their work?

I received a comment on my last post that brought up the possibility of 4chan users ruining the student's experience when professionals offer advice and even grading. My first thought was that people said the same thing about Wikipedia (and still do!) but I don't see too many pages on Wikipedia vandalized. Lots of users will help end vandalism.

Perhaps the solution would be for prospective editors to give an online interview as to their intentions? Users would have to apply for a position as a grader. As stupid as it sounds, I'm proud of my contributions to reddit and my karma. People would be proud of their contributions to this site (let's call it "Modern Pedagogy") and any trolls would be deleted.

I suppose the more eye-balls that would see the comments the less chance that any truly damaging comments could get through.

Parents may be wary of any mean comments though and I can't imagine any school system getting behind any "open source" education ideas.

30 seats, 30 desks. Take out your notebook and shut up.

Teaching and grading online

My idea is simple: why not have a Wikipedia style web site where students will upload their work and qualified professionals in various industries will give marks.

Two pros will grade each assignment. Students can be identified by id numbers to preserve anonymity.

What do you think? People can get "karma" for helping with the grading and everyone can be assured of higher standards in the schools.

Alaska is a refuge state

The idiots on Facebook with the endless high school, endless football, endless stupidity are picking McCain/Palin!

You see, Palin's state Alaska will be a refuge state. Also our leaders are "sending them out on a task from God." God's plan for Iraq...God also prefers a pipeline through Alaska.

Wordle of my blog

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Decision 2008

Please try to read this letter. When our country first invaded Iraq I spent many late nights writing letters to friends and newspapers. We see how well that turned out for me and we can see how well it has turned out for humanity. The war was WRONG.

This debacle was building up throughout 2002. By my last semester of college, it was clear to me that the invasion would be a disaster. America would be essentially ignoring the world community and helping to weaken the United Nations. I thought about Vietnam and the soldiers who came back broken, mentally and physically. I thought about bombs falling and dead civilians. At first it revolted me. Imagine invading a nation on such flimsy grounds! What a coincidence that the country is in such a volatile region with the third largest oil reserve in the world, right? The reasons for the war kept shifting. They aren't even worth discussing.

We'd see looting and dead civilians, but only briefly...Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" and America's attention did shift from the war. We got our celebrities back! Michael Jackson had a big trial while Brittany Spears and the others entertained us. Even though I'm incredibly skeptical of Bush's religiosity, I'll take him at his word. He claimed to invade Iraq after consulting a "higher power" than his own father. He uses his gut and doesn't trust intellect.

Bush invaded Iraq without thinking about the lives that would be lost. He invaded Iraq without the support of the world. But WE invaded Iraq. My meager taxes have paid to kill Iraqis. That's the problem with thinking too much. It hurts and it's hard. Writing these words are hard because of think of my complicity in the atrocities. When I imagine how bad it would hurt to lose my brother to an American bomb. How could I get over such pain? America has essentially created the current resistance in Iraq. You never get over how you feel when you lose a mom or a dad. They were killed by an American occupation.

Consider the staggering monetary costs of the war in Iraq! What else could America have done with that money? Think about our reputation around the world. When I traveled in 2004, people asked me ALL over Europe if I was voting for Bush in the next election. Guess which candidate votes with Bush 90% of the time? Bush has ruined our reputation.

How could a thinking, caring individual rationalize the current war? Iraq has lost their middle class. Any Iraqi with means has abandoned Iraq. That's four million people. Doctors, scientists, engineers, and other professionals fled. Before the surge put a lid on the sectarian violence in Iraq, the country was on the verge of civil war. Will the Sunnis and Shi'ites forget their differences in a few more months? Years? Decades? What happens with the Kurds when we leave?

So how does dropping napalm on women and children in Vietnam give one the experience to fix such problems? Vietnam and Iraq DO have similarities on second thought. They are both illegal and unjust wars. How does being captured while attempting to murder make one a hero? A true hero would've DECLINED any such missions over Vietnam. But what's a few million gooks, as McCain puts it? Has science even proven if they feel pain like us?

Science. Now there's an interesting subject! It's useful for developing more lethal weapons but somehow it isn't so good when it's used to enlighten people about our true origins. It isn't good when it gets the masses questioning religion, is it? Machiavelli understood a leader must APPEAR religious and one political party understands that better than the other. Creationism is a much safer alternative.

So it's bad enough we have murdered over a hundred thousand civilians in Iraq and destroyed their economy. It's bad enough we have lost thousands of American troops. It's bad enough we've mortgaged our future and lost opportunities to fund research with that money. Even after all this, we have a presidential candidate who sings "Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran". Guess which candidate sings that tune?

While watching the Republican National Convention I realized what got the biggest cheers: Tax cuts! Any mention of tax cuts sent the crowd into a frenzy! Fuck the debt! Fuck the GI Bill, I want more MONEY! It was pure greed.

McCain was brilliant in bringing in a good looking, Bible-thumper with 100 kids to read from a teleprompter. Amazing how she isn't available to speak after that speech was handed to her, isn't it? But the Palin choice is another red herring put forth by the masterminds. Instead of focusing on the mess in Iraq or the two million Americans in prison (very Christian of us, right?) or the rich getting richer and the poor without health care, we are now debating whether women who are raped should be able to get an abortion. We are talking about hockey moms. Somehow eight different individuals were holding the baby with Downs Syndrome during the Convention. And now we are discussing a 17 year old girl about to have a baby. Actually, it's a great strategy because it's predicated on the idea that Americans would prefer to avoid policy debates.

America tortures? Eh. We've killed how many in Iraq? Boo-hoo, I've got gay marriages to stop! Such nonsense is distracting us! Don't let that happen!

Palin's obviously excited the Christian Right. McCain gave them what they wanted: GUNS, GAYS, AND GOD.

That's the image I want for America around the world. A woman who's comfortable slaughtering animals. A woman who tells her church to pray for an oil pipeline through Alaska. A woman who doesn't support a woman's right to choose.

Intelligence is fungible. A Harvard Economics graduate would be able to run a Dairy Queen without much training. Could Bush run a Dairy Queen? His lack of intelligence would cause a number of disasters. Ice cream would run out. He'd fail even with his eight years of experience as POTUS.

I suppose I may have toyed with the idea that Bush and Gore were more similar than different. How naive of me. 9/11 would've been handled completely differently by Gore. We wouldn't have invaded Iraq (a war of choice). We might've started helping the environment. NOW McCain has shown his complete disdain for modern science by SELECTING PALIN who DOESN'T BELIEVE IN GLOBAL WARMING, wants MORE DRILLING instead of conservation, and TO TOP IT OFF...SHE WANTS CREATIONISM TAUGHT IN THE SCHOOLS!!!!!!!

Thinking about these positions is so absurd, I almost feel as if this is some sort of Hollywood production. Let's pick a candidate whose claim to fame is that he crashed his plane while trying to kill Vietnamese women and children (for no real reason) and spent five years locked in a box. Then he gets out and his wife is in a horrible car accident. To show his good character, he leaves his wife for a young blonde woman worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Go for the gusto, McCain! You're really showing me the meaning of Christian, family VALUEs.

Hmm...I seem to remember an argument about fathers needing to be with their young children. How about new-borns with DOWNS SYNDROME? What about four other children? Admittedly one is going to Iraq to kill Muslims, so there are 3 other children. Should mothers be with their young children? Perhaps teach them how to cross their legs?

So many family values. The hypocrisy is stifling.

The big complaints against the Democratic candidate? Didn't wear a nationalistic American flag on his jacket? Is this Germany in 1933? He went to a preacher who dared place blame on America for 9-11? Hmmm... could it upset Americans BECAUSE THEY KNOW IT'S TRUE?

Oh but Reverend Wright sounded so scary and angry. Hmm...in the 1960s segregation was still allowed. All through the twentieth century America has propped up dictators when it's useful for business. The wealthiest Americans use the government to keep their entrenched position. I've listened to Reverend Wright. America's chickens DID come home to roost. He shouldn't be allowed to criticize Israel? The Palestinians are living in filth and squalor! THEY ARE BEHIND barbed wire. By speaking for the voiceless, Wright has upset the leaders who would rather we cheerfully cheer for America. Always. Oh he said "God Damn"! Oh no!

But that's not patriotism. America was founded by THOUGHTFUL MEN. My favorite founding father is Thomas Jefferson. He could do it all. He was a writer, an architect, a philsopher. He wrote a version of the New Testament that removed all the miracles. Jefferson, DNA has conclusively proved, fathered children with Sally Hemmings. He had a mulatto child. Jefferson was an academic. Jefferson knew a free press was essential to our country. Imagine a vice presidential candidate HIDING from the press. Shameful. He'd be fascinated by Darwin's theory and demand students learn it. He'd consider Palin what she is: a huckster and a fraud or a mental midget. A man of science like Jefferson would have NO TIME FOR THE RIGHT-WING RELIGIOUS AGENDA.

If I was a misanthrope, I'd have no problem with this election. If I was a racist, it would be a no-brainer. If I believed in the inerrant word of the Bible, I'd have my choice already. If I was making five million a year from investments and I was selfish? I'd know who to pick. Sadly, many Americans fit into all four categories. This is a choice of hope versus fear. Creationism versus science. I know which usually wins out but I also have to have hope for the future. What good does "experience" do when the world is changing so fast? McCain has said he doesn't write email or know how to use the Internet. How embarrassing!

If someone was happy with the way the world has gone over the last eight years, I'd also say they should probably vote for McCain. He has voted with the president so often. It's funny how some former Hillary fans will bring up the long, difficult campaign and the mean things that were said. They need to look at what happened between George W. Bush and McCain in 2000! The Bush team used surrogates to accuse McCain of fathering a child with a black woman. (It's a disgusting smear for many Americans, especially in South Carolina where it took place.) But there they are, Bush and McCain locked in an awkward embrace:

A vote for McCain/Palin is a vote for more of the same. It's a vote for a country with haves and have nots. It's a vote for a country where medical care is only available for the wealthiest. It's a vote for creationism in schools. It's for banning books. It's a tacit acceptance of the policies of the past eight years INCLUDING THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ.

I haven't given up on humanity yet. I haven't given up on science or the future.

I'll end with a few quotes from Thomas Jefferson:

Bodily decay is gloomy in prospect, but of all human contemplations the most abhorrent is body without mind.
Thomas Jefferson

I am mortified to be told that, in the United States of America, the sale of a book can become a subject of inquiry, and of criminal inquiry too.
Thomas Jefferson

I do not find in orthodox Christianity one redeeming feature.
Thomas Jefferson

Conquest is not in our principles. It is inconsistent with our government.
Thomas Jefferson

Sarah Palin speaks.

"There's only one man in this election who ever really fought for you."

"We don't need a community organizer."

I knew they'd be trotting out the P.O.W. again and again.

What really pissed me off were the shots of the baby with Downs Syndrome. They could've had a sitter but they used the baby for political points.

Learning Plants Online

I've been working on a Java program to teach people what the different plants of the South Florida region look like. I'll give them a quiz based on the pictures and then they'll get a "Certification" based on how well they do!

They can print the certification.

Effective Teachers...

Important notes from "The First Days of School" by Wong.

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• Focus on research.
• HIGH Expectations for your students!
• Discussions during films add to comprehension.
• Frequent exchanges between teacher and student have increased learning!
• Students need large blocks of time to spend reading. While reading they need to be writing down questions!
• Increase the time given to students to answer questions. One second should not suffice.
• Teachers direct the attitude of the class!
• "I am a good teacher, and I am proud that I am a professional educator."
• Say, "This will be an exciting class, and you are going to have the most memorable year you have ever had; as a result, you will do very well!"
• I do agree with p. 48, school is NOT a place to do "worksheets." Rather it's better to imagine it as a place to learn and enhance their lives.
• "YOU ARE TREATED AS YOU ARE DRESSED!"
• "Would you want to be in your class?"...walk with confidence!
  
• "It is MY personal approach that creates the climate."
• "If only the finest birds in the forest dared sing, how quiet the forest would be...."
• We need an invitational attitude toward learning!
• "Love what you teach, love whom you teach."
• "Love is the reason for teaching."
• "Manage a classroom"
• Students want security: NO yelling, NO surprises.
• Students need to know assignments are based on OBJECTIVES!
• Teacher has assignments posted.
• Effective teachers know how to get student attention.
• A well-managed classroom is a TASK-oriented environment.
• "Power comes when you make life predictable for people."
• Not being ready -> Confusion -> Problems -> Misbehavior -> Fighting.
• The first week of school should stress student procedures.
• Don't bother with a "Learning Center" until student procedures are in effect.
• Classroom behavioral problems will occur but THEY WILL BE DEALT WITH.
• Students who misbehave need to sit elsewhere...this is a last resort.
• YOUR REPUTATION PRECEDES YOU!
• Seven things a student wants to know:
  
  1. Am I in the right room?
  2. Where am I supposed to sit?
  3. What are the rules in the classroom?
  4. What will I be doing this year?
  5. How will I be graded?
  6. Who is the teacher as a person?
  7. Will the teacher treat me as a human being?
• Stand at the door with a handshake. That is how you would meet someone at a car dealership.
• If students walk in INAPPROPRIATELY firmly ask them to return to the door and enter properly.
• The more students know about you, the more likely they are to respect you. You are someone to be respected!
• There will be an assignment at the very beginning. Hand each student paper and have them complete an assignment!
• "My name is Mr. Freer. It is spelled F-R-E-E-R. I would like to be addressed as Mr. Freer please. This is my sixth year as a teacher.
  
  Outside of class, I go to workshops. I teach at Miami Dade College. I love to teach! You are in good hands with me this year!
  
  You are going to have one of the greatest educational experiences of your life. We will not only learn history but we will learn 'life-skills' that will help you your entire life."
  
• Begin your sentences with "YOU WILL..." during the first week. "YOU WILL", "YOU WILL".
• Entering the room according to a PROCEDURE is important. There is no alternative.
• Personally, assigned seating will begin on the second or maybe third day.
• "You will find an assignment on the board. Begin immediately. Take a sheet of paper and begin."
• The board will always have assignments and OBJECTIVES written down. "You will copy them down in your notebook."
• The teacher is the only responsible person in an INEFFECTIVE classroom.
• Effective teachers HAVE THE ASSIGNMENT POSTED DAILY!!!!!!!!
• Take roll AFTER the class has started their assignments.
• RULES ARE EXPECTATIONS! POST THEM ON THE FIRST DAY!
• "Review the rules on the first day!"
• Possible rules:
  
  1. Follow directions the first time they are given.
  2. Raise your hand and wait for permission to speak.
  3. Stay in your seat unless you have permission to do otherwise.
  4. Keep hands, feet, and objects to yourself.
  5. No cursing or teasing.
  6. No cell phones, iPods or electronics.
     
• Discipline has consequences. Come tardy the second time and you get detention!!! This is the key!
• The best consequences are logical and reasonable.
• Use chalkboard for students who are misbehaving....Don't stop instruction or lesson to give out penalties.
  
• Have rule NUMBERS. Refer to rule #1 or rule #2, etc.
  
• Procedures are how you want something to be done. Make a journal entry in your notebook, get an international article from the computer...
• Students want to know WHAT to do when the bell rings, if you finish work early, what to do when you need to go to the restroom.
• Procedures must become routine. Spend the first weeks of school introducing, teaching, modeling, and rehearsing procedures.
  
• When I need your attention, I will ask for it. I expect you to give it to me.
• All procedures need to be rehearsed.
• Praise the deed!!!!
• Students will start the day with a journal entry and copying down the objectives. There will be required reading as well.
  
• Consider how many times a student interrupts the students when they are working.
• Students should pass their papers across the rows, not up the rows. THIS IS IMPORTANT. Students will then pass the papers up the row once they reach the side. The student in the front will bring it up to my desk.
• I will have a box where students will put their papers.
• The class must be able to run itself without YOU. The procedures are what's important.
• Rehearse the following behaviors with students

1. Entering the classroom.
2. Getting to work immediately.
3. When you are tardy.
4. End - of -period dismissal.
5. Coming to attention.
6. When you are absent. GET INFO FROM WEB OR FROM FELLOW STUDENT.
7. Keeping your notebook.
8. Going to the office.
9. Finding assignments.
10. Passing in papers.
11. Exchanging papers.
12. Returning student work.
13. Moving about the room.
14. Getting materials out without distracting others.
15. Using the restroom.
16. Going to the library.
17. Asking a question.
18. Responding to a fire drill.
19. If I'm out of the classroom.
20. Saying "thank you."

Ideas.

I am in the process of writing a guide to Java for beginners with an emphasis being on getting the reader to DO programming. Perhaps there can be a way for people to comment on coding projects? Places for them to upload their code and discuss?

That might be a job for moodle...

http://programmingwithjava.googlepages.com/

There's the URL.

I was pretty thrilled with my Miami Dade classes. I loved the majority of Java students. One was incredibly ignorant and whiny. BUT you gotta roll with the punches.

===

I'm looking forward to teaching at Killian. It's going to be a great year :)

Last year I wanted to focus on philosophy. Did I? No more than any other year.

What I need is dedication to organization. Get those papers back quickly as possible! Get those kids writing as much as possible.

It's discipline plain and simple. When you are teaching World History, fun is important, but discipline is important as well. That goes for me as well.

I'm going to look my best and have their papers ready. THAT'S THE KEY!

Of course, I'd love to throw in current events, philosophy, economics, science...but to get there I need discipline and order. It's only reality.

On the Dade front, I'll be teaching 'Introduction to Office' and 'Introduction to Java' once again.

Seeing my favorite student at the Falls

I was reminded how enjoyable teaching can be today when I ran into my favorite student from sixth period 2003-2004 today. It seems like so long ago, but I remember the feelings so clearly. I really had little control, yet looking back it wasn't so bad.

Some kids brought their books each day. Some participated! Lots of questions were asked some days.

But other days were just chaotic and typical crap.

It was great to see my favorite student though. He works at a local shopping center as a security guard.

College vs. high school

It's a beautiful thing to watch students go from insecure high schoolers to confident college students. I've been blessed to have this job.

What's wrong with the school system?

We need to get the kids INVOLVED with the material. But with many kids that's very difficult. Fighting, drugs, gangs are much more exciting to them.

I think a more disciplined teacher would be more successful because of greater organization. Although I don't lose many papers, lately I've been having some missing grade issues. Not good.

The kids deserve a good education. Would I want my child in my class? In some periods...in some not.

Prep kids endlessly!

The vice president of the chess club accidentally set up an appointment for a bus company to come out.

I didn't call her and cancel. We fucked up big time.

I knew I'd fuck up something. Hopefully this is it.

Computer science

Although I have a difficult time with programming at times, I've been feeling more like a programmer lately.

Let's see if I can make anything happen with the feeling...

JobConnect...

My personality type

INFJ

1 per cent of the population.

Miami Dade College

Teaching at the community college level has been very rewarding. There's no question that discipline has been much easier and the students have been quite responsive.

I wonder if it might help me to get a PHD in computer science???

I'm so all over the place... I Love It.

Hypocrisy

After a teacher vehemently decried the fact that she had to do something for a workshop, she claimed students were lazy for not turning in their work.

Human nature is human nature.

FCAT Miami.com

I'm making a message board / CMS for students and teachers who wish to discuss the FCAT.

Of course, I'd need to encourage people to use it! Marketing is harder than making a mysql database....