Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 10: Why teach narrative writing?

Reflections on Teaching » Blog Archive » Week 10: Why teach narrative writing?:

Week 10: Why teach narrative writing?

from Reflections on Teaching by alicemercer

So, I did last week’s post late, and it was more about the beginning of this week (which didn’t get much better by the way) than week 9. Rather than focus on the FUBAR that week felt like (it wasn’t that bad, just felt that way),a post by Dina Strasser seemed relevant to a discussion about writing that the kids did in Week 9, so I’m sorry if it’s confusing, I’m going back in time. Warning, there is minor profanity in the post, but asterisks.

It’s all about the new Common Core writing standards, and the case one of the main authors of the writing standards is making for expository rather than narrative writing, and most especially, expository writing that is devoid of personal opinion, or “flavor” because kids need to learn that we adults think what they think is, well worthless. We’ve already tried to remove a lot of the joy from reading, but pushing towards more short passage

Bob seger - Old Time Rock And Roll (LYRICS)

Just take those old records off the shelf
Ill sit and listen to em by myself
Todays music aln t got the same soul
I like that old time rock n roll
Dont try to take me to a disco
Youll never even get me out on the
In ten minutes Ill be late for the door
I like that old time rockn roll

Still like that old time rockn roll
That kind of music just soothes the soul
I reminisce about the days of old
With that old time rock n roll
Wont go to hear them play a tango
Id rather hear some blues or funky old soul
Theres only sure way to get me to go
Start playing old time rock n roll
Call me a relic, call me what you will
Say Im old-fashioned, say Im over the hill
Today music aint got the same soul
I like that old time rock n roll

Still like that old time rockn roll
That kind of music just soothes the soul
I reminisce about the days of old
With that old time rock n roll

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Global Ed Conference Nov 14-18 #globaled11

Cool Cat Teacher Blog: Global Ed Conference Nov 14-18 #globaled11:

Global Ed Conference Nov 14-18 #globaled11

Posted by Vicki Davis

Global Ed Conference is this week! Online! Free! Helpful. In this post, I'm going to give you a few things: the overall calendar, my personal calendar, and the calendar for our entire Flat Classroom community (coming soon.) My friend Julie Lindsay has done a lot of work on the student summit end as part of our Flat Classroom supporting the efforts of the conference. But Lucy Gray and Steve Hargadon have done a tremendous job getting this organized.

Hope you join in, learn, and enjoy. Every time I "attend" these online conferences, I meet new people who coming into my circle of professional practice and learning. Hope you join in and enjoy. Come be a part of things and learn.

My Calendar

Overall Calendar

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Shorter School Year Coming?

Save Seattle Schools Community Blog: Shorter School Year Coming?:

Shorter School Year Coming?

by Melissa Westbrook

From the Everett Herald comes a story about superintendents around the state coming together in agreement about having fewer school days for all districts rather than the Governor's idea of getting rid of levy equalization which favors districts able to pass levies versus those that can't.

The superintendents are saying that while it may end up being detrimental to students in the long run, they want the cuts to be equal across the state and feel this may stop the steady downward trend of school budgets.

Washington is not the first to consider this path. California, for example, dropped from 180 days to 175 days in 2009, then decided earlier this year to let financially challenged districts teach as few as 168 days. Other states, such as Oregon, allowed districts to go to a four-day school week. Students wind up with the same number of

Today's Big Education Ape - PostRank Top Late Nite Posts #ows #edreform

What The Founding Fathers Thought About Corporations | Addicting Info

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

What The Founding Fathers Thought About Corporations | Addicting Info:What The Founding Fathers Thought About CorporationsNovember 13, 2011By Stephen D. Foster Jr.Citizens United. This is the 2010 Supreme Court case that shocked America, influenced an election, and reversed over 100 years of campaign finance laws. In this case, corporations were declared as people and as such declared to have the same rights as people do. It also opened the doors for corporations to pour unprecedented amounts of campaign donations into ... more »

CEO Andrés Alonso Promotes the Push for School Choice in Baltimore City | Re:education in Baltimore

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

CEO Andrés Alonso Promotes the Push for School Choice in Baltimore City | Re:education in Baltimore:CEO Andrés Alonso Promotes the Push for School Choice in Baltimore CityCEO Andrés A. Alonso, Ed.D., sent out an email on November 9 with the subject line “Great Event: Please Join Me on Saturday November 19!” It’s the School Choice Fair. And it’s his favorite.This is my favorite City Schools event because it offers a glimpse—like no other occasion or news release can—into the incredible ... more »

Thousands Rally to Resist Occupy Portland Evictions | OccupyWallSt.org #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

Thousands Rally to Resist Occupy Portland Evictions | OccupyWallSt.org:Thousands Rally to Resist Occupy Portland Evictionsby OccupyWallStPopout10,000 filled the areas around the Occupy Portland encampments last night as the deadline approached for eviction. 12:01 am came and went but the cops could do nothing: too many supporters blocked their path. It was peaceful.The cops waited it out and are clearing out the Chapman and Lownsdale Park camps this morning, tearing down the remaining tents. There is a General Assembly meeting at ... more »

Seize the Ponies « occupy california #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

Seize the Ponies « occupy california:Seize the Poniesby *The actions this Wednesday on the UC Berkeley campus under the banner “Occupy Cal” were the largest political manifestation there since September 24, 2009. On that occasion, a faculty-initiated walkout in concert with two union strikes, shortly joined by a mass of students, mobilized protesters across the UC system against the privatization of public education — 5,000 alone at Berkeley. Amidst broad and spectacular national attention and predictable comparisons to the spirit ... more »

Are You Sick Of ‘Highly Paid’ Teachers? | Addicting Info

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

Are You Sick Of ‘Highly Paid’ Teachers? | Addicting Info:Are You Sick Of ‘Highly Paid’ Teachers?November 13, 2011By Guest WriterBy Author Unknown (if you know who wrote it, PLEASE let me know)Teachers’ hefty salaries are driving up taxes, and they only work 9 or10 months a year! It’s time we put things in perspective and pay them for what they do – babysit!We can get that for less than minimum wage.That’s right. Let’s give them $3.00 an hour and only ... more »

Occcupy with Aloha. « Fred Klonsky #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

Occcupy with Aloha. « Fred Klonsky:Occcupy with Aloha.by Fred KlonskyWhen Asia Pacific world leaders gathered in Hawaii these past couple of days, the meeting, hosted by Obama, included dinners and entertainment.Makana, a popular Hawaiian singer and guitarist was invited to perform.As he began to sing his recent song in support of the Occupy Movement called We Are Many, he opened his jacket to reveal a t-shirt that said, Occupy with Aloha.Here’s the video story. Very moving.

Monty Neill responded to Parsing the Nation's Report Card

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

National Journal Online -- Education Experts -- Parsing the Nation's Report Card:NAEP gaps; 2003; what is to be done?Monty NeillDeputy Director, FairTestThree quick points:First: Aaron Pallas looked at NAEP results from 2003 to 2011 (the NCLB years) for all 50 states and DC to identify instances in which whites gained while lower-scoring other groups gained even more, hence closing the gap in a positive way. For the 4 tests (reading and math at grades 4 and 8) there were very ...more »

A Sociological Eye on Education | The Nation’s Report Card and NCLB: Friends or Foes?

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

A Sociological Eye on Education | The Nation’s Report Card and NCLB: Friends or Foes?:The Nation’s Report Card and NCLB: Friends or Foes?The 2011 results are out on the Nation’s Report Card—also known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—and the headlines emphasize the stability in student performance over the past few years in reading and math across the 50 states and Washington, D.C.To be sure, more states posted gains than losses, and a few showed gains in both ... more »

November 15 Strike Endorsements « occupy california #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

November 15 Strike Endorsements « occupy california:November 15 Strike Endorsementsby *from reclaimUC:The following groups have endorsed the November 15th higher education strike:UC Berkeley Faculty AssociationUCSF Faculty AssociationUC Davis Faculty AssociationUC San Diego Faculty AssociationThe UC Council of Faculty AssociationsAFSCME 3299 – UC patient care and service employeesAlliance of Californians for Community EmpowermentCalifornia Nurses AssociationCommunities for a New CaliforniaUAW 2865 – UC student employeesUAW 4123 – CSU student employeesUC-AFT – UC lecturers and librar... more »

Parents organize to push for better California schools - latimes.com

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 17 minutes ago

Parents organize to push for better California schools - latimes.com:Parents organize to push for better California schoolsSome 100 parent leaders with the Educate Our State network gather to train on how to better campaign for more school funding, top-notch teachers and a high-quality education for all students.Comments27Share207At their training Saturday at Stephen S. Wise Temple in Los Angeles, parents learned how to effectively tell their stories, organize a signature-gathering campaign and brainstorm festive campaign kickoff events. (Michael Robinson Chavez, Los ... more »

Joan Baez sings Joe Hill at Occupy Wall Street. « Fred Klonsky #ows

Big Education Ape - PostRank (PostRank: All) - 7 hours ago

Joan Baez sings Joe Hill at Occupy Wall Street. « Fred Klonsky:Joan Baez sings Joe Hill at Occupy Wall Street.by Fred KlonskyPopout

Occupy Wall Street’s commitment to nonviolence | OWSnews.org

Occupy Wall Street’s commitment to nonviolence | OWSnews.org:

Occupy Wall Street’s commitment to nonviolence

by Waging Nonviolence

At various times in the past, Occupy Wall Street has had trouble coming to consensus on a statement of nonviolence (as opposed to, say, the October 2011 movement in DC, whichpublicized one at the outset). This was an issue both in the planning process and in the early days of the occupation. In my essay on the notion of “diversity of tactics” for Occupy Wall Street, I wrote:

Since the early stages of the movement, it is true, those taking part have been in a deadlock on the question of making a commitment to nonviolence. At a planning meeting in Tompkins Square Park prior to September 17, I recall one young man in dark sunglasses saying, knowingly, “There is a danger of fetishizing nonviolence to the point that it

Simon and Garfunkel The Boxer (Original)

Simon And Garfunkel The Boxer Lyrics

I am just a poor boy 
Though my story's seldom told 
I have squandered my resistance 
For a pocket full of mumbles such are promises 
All lies and jests 
Still a man hears what he wants to hear 
And disregards the rest 

When I left my home and my family 
I was no more than a boy 
In the company of strangers 
In the quiet of the railway station running scared 
Laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters 
Where the ragged people go 
Looking for the places only they would know 

Lie la lie ... 
[ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/simon+and+garfunkel/the+boxer_20124664.html ] 
Asking only workman's wages 
I come looking for a job 
But I get no offers, 
Just a come-on from the whores on Seventh Avenue 
I do declare, there were times when I was so lonesome 
I took some comfort there 

Lie la lie ... 

Then I'm laying out my winter clothes 
And wishing I was gone 
Going home 
Where the New York City winters aren't bleeding me 
Bleeding me, going home 

In the clearing stands a boxer 
And a fighter by his trade 
And he carries the reminders 
Of ev'ry glove that layed him down 
Or cut him till he cried out 
In his anger and his shame 
"I am leaving, I am leaving" 
But the fighter still remains 

Lie la lie ...

Jersey Jazzman: The Two Worlds of Ed Reform

Jersey Jazzman: The Two Worlds of Ed Reform:

The Two Worlds of Ed Reform

by Duke

I want to recommend this great piece teacher/blogger Katie O about this weekend's conferences in Chicago. Read the whole thing (us teacher/bloggers need that click-through love), but here's the takeaway:

To me, the moral of this tale of one city’s schizophrenic day of education is this: Sure, we love progressive education practices, but only for the rich white private schools. When it comes to the vast majority of our children in public schools, we want to standardize and sterilize learning into easy-to-compare test prep factories. We want to sort and control public school teachers, just the way we sort and control their students. While the rich children explore, learn, question, dream, try, experience, fail, and enjoy the process of expanding their minds in beautiful schools and small classes with no pressure of grades or homework, all the other people’s children

Above and Beyond | The Jose Vilson

Above and Beyond | The Jose Vilson:

Above and Beyond

by Jose

Often, people make me question what the words “above and beyond” mean in an age when we’re obsessed with overworking and overstating. When Carmen told me that she will not go above and beyond in her activism, I started to think about what that meant based on what I knew about her. When someone approaches her about her hair, her dress, or her passions, she’s not likely to say, “Because I feel like it.” She’s more likely to give the questioner a set of bullet points deeply rooted in her research, her passion, and her experience. She doesn’t have to, and one might argue that the questioner might tune her out too (though that’s probably not going to happen based on Carmen’s tenor). But, because she does extend herself far enough to explain the reasons why her person is, she’s doing more than just being.

Above and beyond.

I don’t know what that looks like for the rest of us case-by-case. Sometimes, it’s a matter of how much we vocalize. Other times, it’s whether we actually make our presence felt. However it looks like, it’s usually a break

Daily Kos: Music

Daily Kos: Music:

Music

from Daily Kos by rss@dailykos.com (teacherken)

Consider this an addendum to what I posted this morning. Today was a full day. We spent three hours at a gathering of Old Members of Univ - University College Oxford, where my beloved spouse got an M. Litt while on a Marshall. From there we went to a concert at the Kennedy Center.

It was the initial concert of what will be Norman Scribner's final year of directing the Choral Arts Society, a large orchestral chorus here in DC. This concert was dedicated to 4 works by 20th Century Masters.

The four works were

Stravinsky - Symphony of Psalms
Lauridsen - Lux Aeterna
Bernstein - Chichester Psalms
Prokofiev - the Cantata from Alexander Nevsky (minus the Battle on the Ice, which is purely orchestral).

All four are works I know.

It has been a

Hey, Researchers and Policymakers: Pay Attention to the Questions Teachers Ask | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice

Hey, Researchers and Policymakers: Pay Attention to the Questions Teachers Ask | Larry Cuban on School Reform and Classroom Practice:

Hey, Researchers and Policymakers: Pay Attention to the Questions Teachers Ask

by larrycuban

Mike Goldstein recently asked the simple question: “Why aren’t teachers clamoring for published research?”

His answer was hardly simple.

“One reason is that researchers generally examine the wrong dependent variable. Researchers care about next August (when test scores come in, because they can show achievement gains). Teachers care about that, too, but they care more about solving today’s problems….

A second issue is that researchers don’t worry about teacher time. Education researchers often put forward