The Real Learning is in the Chat Box | Teacher in a strange land

The Real Learning is in the Chat Box | Teacher in a strange land

The Real Learning is in the Chat Box

My friend Mitchell Robinson, of Michigan State University asks: Am I the only teacher who finishes a Zoom class, during which I’m sharing a slide show, moderating class discussions, posing questions on assigned readings, and trying to respond to students’ questions in a thoughtful way, only to find out after ending the Zoom session that there was a whole other class happening in the chat window that I couldn’t see because my cursor had disappeared under the 25 windows and tabs I had open, juggling apps and programs?

Ah, yes. The chat box. My theory is that the chat box, used by adults and college students, contains what people want others to believe they’re thinking (cute jokes, pithy observations, deep questions) but don’t want to say out loud. What they’ve always been thinking, in fact, as a ‘presentation’ was occurring, in real time and real life, as well as online: a mishmash of random thoughts, tentative assertions and show-off remarks. Perhaps, in some contexts, a little flirting.

You might even say the chat box contents, especially in a well-run virtual classroom, is what participants will be taking away from this class—not the official material, as displayed, but their reactions to those ideas. Content on the slides will always be there for you, to refer to, like facts in a book. The chat box, and ongoing dialogue following are where the learning juice is found.

Brilliant lectures or important speeches are much better when there is a backchannel CONTINUE READING: The Real Learning is in the Chat Box | Teacher in a strange land

ANDRE PERRY: The first presidential debate showed our leaders are not acting that way

The first presidential debate showed our leaders are not acting that way

‘Stand by.’ ‘Shut up.’ Is this really what we want to teach our children?

Our leaders must also be teachers, but they’re not acting that way

Frustrated by interruptions from President Donald Trump at the first presidential debate, an exasperated former Vice President Joe Biden blurted, “Would you shut up, man?” Biden sounded like a bad substitute teacher who was being overrun by a belligerent child.

During that exchange, I turned to my 9-year-old son, who was sitting next to me, and asked him to leave the room. I’d hoped by watching the candidates discuss government, leadership and the most important issues facing our world, he would learn something positive. But it was no teaching moment. Instead, bad teaching was on full display.

Our elected officials may not see themselves as teaching professionals, but that is exactly what they are. They model behavior with their words, deeds and policies. When they promote laws and regulations based on science, whether it’s following public health recommendations about masks or pushing for legislation that would take climate change seriously and shrink our carbon footprint, children memorizing their periodic tables understand that what they’re learning matters. When our officials promote free and fair elections and demonstrate how power is passed on peacefully in a democracy, children witness the pages of their social studies textbooks come to life. And when they act out our country’s core values of equality and unity by ensuring every American is treated with fairness and justice, CONTINUE READING: The first presidential debate showed our leaders are not acting that way

CURMUDGUCATION: Not Politics In The Classroom

CURMUDGUCATION: Not Politics In The Classroom

Not Politics In The Classroom

 Distance learning seems to have pumped new life into the debate about politics in the classroom. From parents freaking out over a Black Lives Matter poster, to simple declarations that teachers should never, ever talk politics, to the Pesident's adoption of the call for more patriotic education, we're back to arguing about how much political content should make it into a classroom.

I actually agree that a teacher's politics don't belong in the classroom. But there' a reason that maintaining the wall has become more difficult, and I'm pretty sure I don't mean the same thing that some critics mean.  But I have another way to sort this out--I'll get there eventually. 

The problem is bigger because of the politization of everything

One of the extremes represented by the current administration is the extension of a personal political brand. This kind of bundling is not new--if you were a Prohibitionist, there was a whole batch of political positions having nothing to do with alcohol that you were expected to support. But Trump has taken this over the top, from the very beginning of his term when he established that counting people in a photograph was a political statement. 

That has simply accelerated. If you say that climate science is real, that Black lives matter, that California is a lovely state, that Mexicans are not all racists, that racism is part of US history, that mocking disabled people is wrong, that Nazis are always bad, and any number of other comments, you have taken a partisan political stand. Trump has staked his claim to so many positions that it's hard to have a position on anything at all and not be taking a side for or against the President. Again, this is not new--once upon a time, it was partisan politics to say that ketchup is not a vegetable. But it's as bad now as it has ever been, and needlessly extended to a number of piddly issues.

For some subjects, this is an extension of an old minefield. I taught US literature for decades, which meant that I had to discuss race, religion and gender issues every week. All of those are more politically fraught now than they were thirty years ago. My position was always, explicitly, "I am not here to tell you whether these folks were right or wrong, but to show you as clearly as I can how they saw the world and their place in it." But the very notion that somebody can hold a particular point of view for reasons CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Not Politics In The Classroom

Teacher Tom: The Goal Ought to Be to Stop Patronizing the Children

Teacher Tom: The Goal Ought to Be to Stop Patronizing the Children

The Goal Ought to Be to Stop Patronizing the Children

When Jos de Blok, founder and CEO of the successful Dutch home healthcare company Buurtzorg was asked, "How do you motivate your (10,000) employees," he replied, "I don't. Seems patronizing."

This is the "leader" of an organization that has been voted Employer of the Year in the Netherlands five times. In contrast to the leading management theories that almost always come down to some combination of carrots and sticks, de Blok's company has no management, no bureaucracy, no HR department, and runs on the principles of "trust and self-organization." What de Blok has discovered is that "By doing nothing and doing less, you get better results."  

The other day, a colleague who teaches in a public school confessed that she had accidentally purchased "incentive snacks" and other prizes for her students, forgetting for a moment that they were still engaged in online learning due to the pandemic. Then she wondered how she was going to motivate the kids in this new era of remote education when she was not there to physically hand them their rewards. She's not alone in this. Our educational system has long been fueled by the notion that one of a teacher's main jobs is to CONTINUE READING: Teacher Tom: The Goal Ought to Be to Stop Patronizing the Children

The Network for Public Education Action Endorses Senate Candidates! | Diane Ravitch's blog

The Network for Public Education Action Endorses Senate Candidates! | Diane Ravitch's blog

The Network for Public Education Action Endorses Senate Candidates!

The Network for Public Education Action is delighted to endorse the following candidates for election to the United States Senate:

Mark Kelly-Arizona

Jon Ossoff-Georgia

Theresa Greenfield-Iowa

Barbara Bollier-Kansas

Amy McGrath-Kentucky

Sara Gideon-Maine

Steve Bullock-Montana

Cal Cunningham-North Carolina

Jaime Harrison-South Carolina

NPE Action Endorses 8 Candidates for the U.S. Senate

We endorse these nine candidates as friends of public education. We are not able to send them money, but we urge friends of public education in their states to donate to their campaigns and vote for them.

The Network for Public Education Action Endorses Senate Candidates! | Diane Ravitch's blog

The Limits of School Choice | Diane Ravitch's blog

The Limits of School Choice | Diane Ravitch's blog

The Limits of School Choice

There are many reasons to be concerned about the spread of school choice via charters and vouchers. One is that it reduces the funding available for the public schools that enroll the vast majority of students. Most states are barely willing to finance their public schools, so now they divvy up the funds to support choice schools. Makes no sense. Another is that proponents of choice claim that their schools “will save poor kids from failing public schools,” but we now know that this is a false promise. Neither charters nor vouchers get better test scores than public schools, except for the charters that have selective admission and high attrition. Choice schools are free to choose their students and to push out the ones they don’t want, sending them back to public schools, which now have even less funding. Voucher schools.

Stephen Ruis writes a summary of the problems with choice on his blog, “Class Warfare.”

Here is a sample:

I cannot fathom a scenario in which school competition benefits the students most. We have seen charter school after charter school close business, some do this before they have officially opened. In business this is CONTINUE READING: The Limits of School Choice | Diane Ravitch's blog

Commutative? Who Studies “Commutative”? | JD2718

Commutative? Who Studies “Commutative”? | JD2718

Commutative? Who Studies “Commutative”?

It could come in any grade. It could come up in almost any mathematics course in the United States today. But why? What is “the Commutative Property” and why do we study it? Has everyone always studied it?

I may need some help from the mathematicians who read this blog. Which probably means Joel. Maybe Owen. Back in this blog’s  heyday I had literally hordes – maybe 8 or 9 – who peaked in. How far I’ve slipped.

A Little Math (skip ahead)

The real numbers (or, for most of us, “numbers”) are commutative under addition. That means that a + b and b + a have the same value, (assuming a and b are numbers, or, in more technical language, “real numbers”). When people say “The Commutative Property” – and by people I mean People who are not Mathematicians – they mean this fact, which educators label “The Commutative Property of Addition.” They label a similar fact “The Commutative Property of Multiplication,” ie ab = ba. Some teachers also teach students that division and subtraction are not commutative, which is usually fine, but sometimes puzzles children who are still wondering why “five minus seven” is different from “take five from seven.”

There are other properties, and they matter just as much. And they all have longer names, or descriptions, than we remember, or than we usually use. We use shorthand. There’s the Associative Property of Addition for Real Numbers, and the Associative Property of Multiplication for Real Numbers. There’s the Distributive Property of Multiplication over Addition or a(b+c) = ab + ac. There’s a special number called the Additive Identity (that’s just zero) and another called the Multiplicative Identity (that’s just one). And there’s a few more fancy sounding properties for pretty simple ideas like CONTINUE READING: Commutative? Who Studies “Commutative”? | JD2718

Do Not Commit the 8th Deadly Sin of Indifference | The Merrow Report

Do Not Commit the 8th Deadly Sin of Indifference | The Merrow Report

Do Not Commit the 8th Deadly Sin of Indifference

I imagine that almost everyone has at least a passing acquaintance with the Seven Deadly Sins, even if their names don’t roll easily off your tongue. For the record and to jog your memory, the Seven Deadly Sins are pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth.

If you’re like me, you have known most (maybe all) of them intimately, although hopefully only occasionally.

But my point is not to confess my own transgressions or to list how the current occupant of the White House seems to embody all Seven Sins.

Instead, I hope to convince you that, in this Elections Season, an 8th Deadly Sin is the greatest and most offensive of all. Let’s call this sin ‘Indifference,’ although it is often expressed in other terms, like ‘I’m So Tired of Politics,’ ‘Pandemic Fatigue,’ ‘I’m Sitting Out The Election,’ or even the absurd ‘Trump and Biden are Two Peas in a Pod so I say “A Plague on Both Their Houses.“‘

Indifference is a Cardinal Sin because this November the future of America is at CONTINUE READING: Do Not Commit the 8th Deadly Sin of Indifference | The Merrow Report

Celebrate George Floyd’s Birthday!–Join BLM at School educators, students and parents around the country on Wed, Oct. 14th in a national webinar & an eight minuet & 46 second free write/draw to “reimagine everything” – I AM AN EDUCATOR

Celebrate George Floyd’s Birthday!–Join BLM at School educators, students and parents around the country on Wed, Oct. 14th in a national webinar & an eight minuet & 46 second free write/draw to “reimagine everything” – I AM AN EDUCATOR

Celebrate George Floyd’s Birthday!

Join BLM at School educators, students and parents around the country on Wed, Oct. 14th in a national webinar & an eight minuet & 46 second free write/draw to “reimagine everything”

Register for this national event today! https://bit.ly/2GTQSw8

Celebrate George Floyd’s Birthday on Wednesday, Oct. 14th!

Join BLM at School educators, students and parents around the country in a national webinar and an eight minuet and 46 second free write/draw to “reimagine everything.”

Please read the blow information about how you can participate!

Dear Educators and Supporters,

On Wednesday, October 14th at 5 pm PDT/8 pm EDT,  Black Lives Matter at School, WA State NAACP Youth Council, and National Educators United (NEU) are hosting an event in honor of Justice for George Day and the BLM at School Year of Purpose.

Please RSVP for the webinar here: https://bit.ly/2GTQSw8

Learn more about the event below and on Facebook here: https://bit.ly/2GZpuMY

In addition, Black Lives Matter at School is calling on educators and families to facilitate a eight minuet and 46 second (the amount of time that officer Derek Chauvin keeled on George Floyd’s neck) timed activity with youth asking them to write or draw about the future they want to live in. Please see this graphic for more information.

Event Details:

Join Black Lives Matter at School, the WA State NAACP Youth Council, and National Educators United on October 14th at 5 pm PDT/8 pm EDT for a town hall to celebrate George Floyd’s birthday. We’ll have educators, students, and activists speaking from Minneapolis, Louisville, Seattle and around the country.

The Uprising for Black lives has prompted the Black Lives Matter at School movement to expand its annual Week of Action the first week of February to a “Year of Purpose”. We ask educators to participate in intentional days of action throughout the school year uplifting different intersectional themes vital to making Black lives matter in schools, communities, and our world.

“Justice for George” is a day to remember him and call for the defunding of the police and the redirecting of those funds towards social programs and education. In addition, we ask educators to reflect on their own work in relationship to antiracist pedagogy and abolitionist practice, persistently challenging themselves to center Black lives in their classrooms.

When you register for the webinar, you will receive an email with the zoom link immediately. If you don’t see it, check promotions or spam. If you still can’t find it, email: nationaleducatorsunited@gmail.com.

To learn more about the Black Lives Matter at School movement check out: www.blacklivesmatteratschool.com

Sign the BLM at School year of purpose pledge here: https://www.change.org/p/educators-pledge-to-participate-in-the-black-lives-matter-at-school-year-of-purpose?recruiter=7770166&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition

Celebrate George Floyd’s Birthday!–Join BLM at School educators, students and parents around the country on Wed, Oct. 14th in a national webinar & an eight minuet & 46 second free write/draw to “reimagine everything” – I AM AN EDUCATOR

Education Matters: DCPS's be lucky rather than good strategy is reckless.

Education Matters: DCPS's be lucky rather than good strategy is reckless.

DCPS's be lucky rather than good strategy is reckless

It pains me to put these words on paper but the undeniable truth is DCPS is not doing all it can to keep its staff and students safe and has gone with an “it’s better to be lucky than good” strategy.  

Let me tell you about my personal experience with their contract tracing. 

Last week a colleague went out on a Monday not feeling well thinking it was probably allergies. They went to the doctor who also thought it was probably something fairly benign but since they did have some COVID symptoms, there is a lot of overlap with colds, flu, and allergies, they should have a test just to be safe.   

Three days later when the results came back, unfortunately, it turned out they were infected. What did we do in the meantime? Absolutely nothing. Everyone who had been around them carried on as if it was business as usual. As infuriating as that was, what we did next was even worse. 

The staff has to cover classes like never before. When the superintendent over the summer said we had 2000 ready to go, she was at best wildly inaccurate. So schools have either been splitting classes up or creating sub-teams. My now sick colleague was part of a sub-team that went to a resource one day to help cover.   

So when the district did its contract tracing they checked the room that she was usually in all day every day and the room she was just in part of one day. Mind you now this person has been out four days and the district only found traces of COVID in the resource room.  

So instead of quarantining the staffs of both rooms they just quarantined the staff of the resource room, but none of the kids that go into that room every other day, which would have been at least four different classes CONTINUE READING: Education Matters: DCPS's be lucky rather than good strategy is reckless.

HMMMM…THAT’S A COINCIDENCE – Dad Gone Wild

HMMMM…THAT’S A COINCIDENCE – Dad Gone Wild

HMMMM…THAT’S A COINCIDENCE

“grammar in learning is like tyranny in government – confound the bitch I’ll never be her slave.”― John Clare

I’ve been doing advocacy work for a minute or two now. Unfortunately, it’s made me a little jaded.

When I first started this work, it was imparted to me to always follow the money.

Want to understand the reasoning behind a politician’s actions? Follow the money.

Want to know why a seeming ineffectual policy is being implemented? Follow the money.

Want to understand why an unproven curriculum is experiencing widespread adoption? Follow the money.

By most accounts, House Education Committee Chairman Representative Mark White is a fine gentleman. Talk to people on both sides of the aisle and they’ll tell you tales of his decency. These tales are so widespread, that it makes it very difficult for an outside observer to align his reputation with his actions as chair over the last year.

If tales are to be believed, you have an ethical, caring, intellectual who has no qualms carrying water for a governor and his education commissioner who personally, and whose policies, possess none of the aforementioned traits. At every turn over the past 6 months, White has given cover and CONTINUE READING: HMMMM…THAT’S A COINCIDENCE – Dad Gone Wild

15 Strange and Scary Goings-On Surrounding Covid-19, Schools, and Teaching

15 Strange and Scary Goings-On Surrounding Covid-19, Schools, and Teaching

15 Strange and Scary Goings-On Surrounding Covid-19, Schools, and Teaching

How to handle a pandemic is a new territory for school officials and educators. Here are some observations of odd and downright scary practices surrounding the disease and school attendance.

1. Adults online. Students are in-person. School board members meet online to discuss business. They’re worried about catching the virus, but they determine it’s best to send students and teachers back to in-person school. If board members are concerned about Covid-19, children and teachers are too.
2. Watch those teachers. There’s no school attendance for students, but teachers must still report to school to provide online instruction. They’re not trusted to teach safely from home. Trust teachers and treat them like professionals.
3. Covid-19 musical chairs. Children in school exposed to the coronavirus are moved around every 15 minutes called “musical chairs” to change the air. This keeps the school from having to quarantine students who are exposed or asymptomatic. It’s disruptive, dangerous, and a sign that students and teachers shouldn’t be in class.
4. Standardized tests go on. In-person schooling is deemed unsafe, but administrators insist that students and teachers come together for standardized testing. Parents despised these tests before the pandemic. The disease hasn’t made them more endearing. Is a test worth catching Covid-19? Aren’t they collecting enough data about children online? Isn’t that scary enough?
5. Calling teachers essential workers. Teachers are important, and it’s too bad it CONTINUE READING: 15 Strange and Scary Goings-On Surrounding Covid-19, Schools, and Teaching

A VERY BUSY DAY Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007

A VERY BUSY DAY

Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day...

The latest news and resources in education since 2007

 

 

Big Education Ape: THIS WEEK IN EDUCATION Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... The latest news and resources in education since 2007 - http://bigeducationape.blogspot.com/2020/10/this-week-in-education-larry-ferlazzos_10.html

Tuesday’s Must-Read Articles On School Reopening

by Larry Ferlazzo / 13h

Awaix_Mughal / Pixabay Here are new additions to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL : The Digital Divide Starts With a Laptop Shortage is from The NY Times. Sure, send our kids back to unsafe schools, even though it isn’t ‘in the best interest of anyone’ is from The Washington Post. In-person classes, Internet snafus, melancholy hallways: This is what teaching in a

Video: “How US schools punish Black kids”

by Larry Ferlazzo / 13h

waldryano / Pixabay I’m adding this new video from Vox to Shocking – NOT! New Study Finds Educators Tend To Discipline Black Students More Harshly Than White Students . You might also be interested in THE BEST RESOURCES FOR LEARNING HOW BLACK GIRLS ARE TREATED UNFAIRLY & WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT .

The Best Fun Videos For English Language Learners In 2020 – Part Two

by Larry Ferlazzo / 13h

My end-of-the-year “Best” list posts continue… I use short, funny video clips a lot when I’m teaching ELLs, and you can read in detail about how I use them in The Best Popular Movies/TV Shows For ESL/EFL (& How To Use Them) . In short, there are many ways to use them that promote speaking, listening, writing and reading (including having students describe – in writing and verbally – a chronologic

‘Classrooms Are Political’

by Larry Ferlazzo / 13h

is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Four educators push back against the admonition to “keep politics out of the classroom” by, among other things, explaining that schools are part of a broader political system. Here are some excerpts:

Everything You Wanted To Learn About Holidays, Anniversaries & Special Days But Were Afraid To Ask

by Larry Ferlazzo / 13h

Clker-Free-Vector-Images / Pixabay I have over 2,100 frequently revised and updated “Best” lists on just about every subject imaginable, and you can find them listed three different ways in three different places (see Three Accessible Ways To Search For & Find My “Best” Lists ). I’m starting to publish a series where each day I will highlight the “Best” lists in a separate category. Today, it’s o

I’m Not Sure When They Started This, But Zoom Now Provides Automatic Subtitles In English

by Larry Ferlazzo / 17h

I’m not quite sure when Zoom added this feature, but you can now enable automatic subtitling in English when you’re in a video conference using the tool. Avriel Ogawa, a very talented colleague, shared these instructions today: Go to settings on the navigation bar on the left of the screen. Scroll down to In Meeting Advanced Then, scroll down to Closed Captioning and toggle it on Be sure to check

Three Useful Resources For Teaching About Monuments

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

I’m adding these new resources to The Best Resources For Teaching About Confederate Monuments : Confronting History, Transforming Monuments is from Facing History. As challenges to Confederate monuments and other controversial memorials gain momentum, the Mellon Foundation will spend $250 million to support the creation of new American monuments and consider relocating or reimagining existing one

Everything You Wanted To Know About Teaching Health Issues But Were Afraid To Ask

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

stevepb / Pixabay I have over 2,100 frequently revised and updated “Best” lists on just about every subject imaginable, and you can find them listed three different ways in three different places (see Three Accessible Ways To Search For & Find My “Best” Lists ). I’m starting to publish a series where each day I will highlight the “Best” lists in a separate category. Today, it’s on Health Issues:

Monday’s Must-Read Articles About School Reopening

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

geralt / Pixabay Here are new additions to THE BEST POSTS PREDICTING WHAT SCHOOLS WILL LOOK LIKE IN THE FALL : A shortage of teachers and Covid-19 create a perfect storm for the education system is from CNBC. CDC: Almost all of the US kids and teens who’ve died from COVID-19 were Hispanic or Black is from Business Insider. Parents Hustling To Adapt After New York City Closes Schools In Some Areas

The VERY BEST Resources To Support Teachers Dealing With School Closures In 2020 – Part Two

by Larry Ferlazzo / 1d

I’m continuing with my end-of-year “Best” list posts… You might also be interested in The VERY BEST Resources To Support Teachers Dealing With School Closures In 2020 – Part One , along with all my closure-related “Best” lists here . Here they are: Here’s Our Chapter On Distance Learning With ELLs & It’s Free To Download (No Registration Required!) HERE ARE DETAILED – & TENTATIVE – DISTANCE LEARN

It’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day – Here Are All My Related Teaching & Learning Resources

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d

It’s Indigenous Peoples’ Day in the United States today, also known as Columbus Day. I have over 2,100 frequently revised and updated “Best” lists on just about every subject imaginable, and you can find them listed three different ways in three different places (see Three Accessible Ways To Search For & Find My “Best” Lists ). Here are the ones I have related to Indigenous Peoples: The Best Onli

Classroom Instruction Resources Of The Week

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d

Each week, I publish a post or two containing three or four particularly useful resources on classroom instruction, and you can see them all here. Of course, this is a crazy time for “classroom” instruction…. You might also be interested in THE BEST RESOURCES ON INSTRUCTION IN 2020 – PART ONE. Here are this week’s picks: IB has created something called a Webliography, which are basically lessons

Ed Tech Digest

by Larry Ferlazzo / 2d

Nine years ago, in another somewhat futile attempt to reduce the backlog of resources I want to share, I began this occasional “” post where I share three or four links I think are particularly useful and related to…ed tech, including 

 Larry Ferlazzo's Websites of the Day... | The latest news and resources in education since 2007