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I gave students the task of designing a boat for a purpose. We weren't going for speed. We were simply trying to float a boat that would carry as many dinosaurs as possible. Boats needed to hold a large volume. The best design for this is a rectangular prism with high walls. That flat bottom helps the boat float high in the water. Our best performing vessel held 176 dinosaurs before meeting it demise on the ocean floor (Don't worry: all passengers were rescued.).
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 I have just read a section of Tony Wagner's and Ted Dintersmith's book Most Likely to Succeed: Preparing Our Kids for the Innovation Era. In this short section of a discussion of K-12 schools, after their outline of elementary and secondary subjects and the changes they propose in our methods of operation and focus, the authors wonder if a new kind of course might be more effective. Rather than breaking down each subject into its own 20- or 40-minute time block, they propose blending subjects the way we confront them in "real" life. I concur. In fact, when I submitted my application for the Missouri Teacher of the Year in 2004, I stated as much. Recently, in my application for a four-day residency scholarship to George Washington's Mount Vernon, I reworded my statement. When my teacher-peers curiously peek through the window or observe my class at work, they realize life is not divided into isolated topics, changing every 20 minutes and breaking on a regular schedule. Life is multi-dimensional and transcendent. When we surround ourselves with exciting, real-life situations, we shatter the traditional mold of school. We time travel! That may sound good, but in all honesty, it's more of a goal than the way we actually conduct ourselves in Room 404. I will never feel as if I have arrived, as if I have become the teacher I truly wish I could be. But that's the hazard of viewing education through an artist's lens. Wagner and Dintersmith say this: Our choice is stark. We can continue training kids to be proficient at low-level routine tasks and to memorize content they won't remember on topics they'll never use. Or we can embrace the reality that much of what school is about today can be "outsourced" to a smartphone, freeing up time for kids to improve in challenges... That, too, sounds good, but it will never be good if we can't right the educational ship. Too much of what we teach has been for the test or for a series of tests that only evaluate basic facts and not actual thinking. So here's the beautiful list. It's not Common Core; it's more along the lines of common sense.
Each of these could be its own chapter in another book. Suffice it to say that for years many of these concepts have been, in the authors' words, "schooled out" of graduates. Yet these are the exact concepts we should nurture! Failing such will do this instead: [Y]ou produce disengaged kids doing the most mind-numbing of tasks, rather than developing the skills they'll need to take on life's biggest challenges. If that's not sobering to stakeholders, I don't know what is.
Read the sentence below. Do you see any problems? never gives up Do not rewrite the sentence. In fact, don't even fix the sentence. Instead, on your paper, tell the writer three things that need to be corrected.
Decisions, decisions. When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. Here's your chance to do a bit of shopping yourself. Let's see what kind of lists you might make based on the following two products. List the positive and negative features for each on an organized chart, then justify a decision for buying one or the other. Now, can you be the salesman and convince customers that your chosen product is the better choice for them as well?
From the Walmart website: Fisher-Price Rainforest JumperooThere are so many sights and activities to discover on this brightly colored jumperoo—music, lights and exciting sounds reward baby with every jump! Everywhere baby looks, (in the spinning seat, baby can see all around), there's something fun to do. Busy toys, including a bobble elephant and swinging monkey, captivate baby's attention and keep him entertained. Folds for easy storage and portability.
From the Walmart website: Bounce to the moon and back, all in a day's worth of playtime. There's so much for baby to discover with rainforest pals on this Jumperoo – music, lights and exciting sounds reward baby with every jump! A rotating seat gives baby 360° access to toys, activities and friends all around, including soft monkeys overhead, spinners, clickers, a bead bar, mirror and so much more, all within baby's reach. Baby can reach, grasp, move, groove, and jump so high – all things that give developing motor skills a helpful boost. And it's easy-peasy to fold for storage and portability. Does your selection depend on:
Here's the scoop on a great November holiday:   We hear, all the time, about how we should not stuff ourselves with food, whether junk food or just too much food in general. It is often on Thanksgiving that we begin thinking about our New Year's resolutions. We push ourselves away from the dinner table, and we stare at the empty dishes - coagulated bits of cranberry salad, sticky and charred marshmallow from the yams, turkey gristle - and we wonder if we could possibly be responsible for such carnage. We ponder our places in the world, in the grand scheme, and we wonder if there is something we might do, something we might say or do - or be - that will make the world a better place. Are we better people because we eat? Are we better when we diet? Are we healthier? Do we pass plates of positive possibilities to our children? If you really are what you eat, might I recommend a menu for this, and every, day?
In this restaurant, you aren't limited to one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert!
Take liberally from every column, and leave feeling better than when you came in. In fact, eat everything in sight. You'll thank me for it. Your bill will reflect payment in full, because the only things you are required to pay are those parts of yourself that oppose what's on your plate. From the Hoggatteer family to yours, happy Thanksgiving! Read the sentence below. Do you see any problems? wasnt you scared to stand up to that bully Do not rewrite the sentence. In fact, don't even fix the sentence. Instead, on your paper, tell the writer three things that need to be corrected.
Decisions, decisions. When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. Here's your chance to do a bit of shopping yourself. Let's see what kind of lists you might make based on the following two products. List the positive and negative features for each on an organized chart, then justify a decision for buying one or the other. Now, can you be the salesman and convince customers that your chosen product is the better choice for them as well?
From the Walmart website: This La Crosse Technology Color Alarm Clock combines style and functionality. It features a bright LCD display with large digits and is suitable for your bedside table or dresser. This La Crosse alarm clock is made with an indoor temperature setting that can read Fahrenheit or Celcius. It shows the moon phase along with the current date and has a nine-minute snooze button. This USB alarm clock has a charging port for your mobile device, such as a tablet or smartphone. It also comes with adjustable brightness settings and includes an AC adapter.
From the Walmart website: The Memorex Time Line Alarm Clock Radio with Dual USB Port features sleek design and dual USB charging ports to power up one or two portable devices. Wake up to FM radio, line-in audio from smartphone, tablet or MP3 player or buzzer. A jumbo 1.2-inch White LED display is easy to read and snooze and sleep functions ease you into each morning or evening. Battery back up ensures reliability even during a power outage.
November 21, 1920, is the anniversary of the birth of the late, great Stan (the Man) Musial. Cardinals baseball record-breaker Stan Musial definitely made his mark on the sport.
 While We're on the Topic We had one last activity before closing Hoggatt Cave for the year. In this one, students had to use the reflective surfaces of compact disks to translate a message that was printed backwards onto a paper. It was just enough of a change in the normal assignment that it captured their waning attention for a while. They made bulleted lists to answer What Good Are Caves? and What Threatens Caves?
These last days before the Cecil Floyd Craft Show, our class has been inundated with tourists. They are all interested in gaining admission to Hoggatt Cave, the cave I discovered in 1996.  Students worked hard, this year, constructing the cave, collecting the bats, and growing crystals. They painted stories on one of the walls and put together crickets and fish for the waterfall. More importantly, they read their parts and memorized a portion of the tour. This week, we presented the cave tour to seven classes of students, as well as to our administrators, Mr. Bozarth and Ms. McCombs.  The cave offers us the opportunity to practice public speaking skills in a unique setting - darkness, with only a flashlight to focus attention in the right direction.
Today it all comes down to make room for tomorrow's big craft event and the thousands of eyes that peer into our classroom in hopes of finding a homemade item they can't live without. We will miss our CHLOE, who is relocating to a neighboring town.
We don't want to see CHLOE leave, but she she will forever be a part of our family. OAHAAH! We also welcome our newest Hoggatteer family member - SIREN. Most students know SIREN since she was in our school last year. She will begin transitioning into our class, next week, and we all want to welcome her into our Hoggatteer family. |
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