tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1562434481622970063.post4766071709722477072..comments2014-09-20T20:29:52.697-04:00Comments on Notes on the whiteboard: What drives what we teach?JohnCosbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08757966427479390484noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1562434481622970063.post-36345922057618898462008-10-04T17:42:00.000-04:002008-10-04T17:42:00.000-04:00I think we have to move schools more in that direc...I think we have to move schools more in that direction, but like in all things, there are a number of interests pulling in multiple directions. I'm torn by the need for truly relevant in-class activities--otherwise, why bother coming to class at all?--and the need for portability--how do I recreate a kinesthetic instructional activity, or a partnered speaking activity, for that matter, for an absent student? In-class instruction wins every time, but catching absent students up is really hard for me. I have the nagging feeling that textbook, worksheet-based models of teaching are a lot easier to catch up on. "Go to the folder, Suzie, and grab the assignment we did yesterday."<BR/><BR/>It's sad to hear about the student's loss of love for school. I remember that in high school, one of the reasons Spanish was my favorite class was because of the nature of the activities we did. We moved in time with music, we sang, we illustrated stories, we watched cartoons. I was kind of a geek about it, so I translated song lyrics and wrote comic strips, but even students who didn't really like school really liked Spanish. I used to think it was something inherent about language class, but I think it was the way they were taught. I hope I live up to my memories of class, and someday, I hope to feel like I've surpassed it, that I've made another student's class better than mine was.JohnCosbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08757966427479390484noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1562434481622970063.post-42066129932743062762008-10-03T07:41:00.000-04:002008-10-03T07:41:00.000-04:00I was reading a student's CA60 this morning, w...I was reading a student's CA60 this morning, which we all want to be doing at 6:15 AM, and in a letter from the parent to the teacher she stated, “So & So used to love school and thought it was so much fun and now she hates it because she doesn’t have any fun”. I often see students starting to dread school about the middle of third grade. This is when the honeymoon is over for the year and the content learning begins. We learn our fundamentals in the early grades and then we start to increase the content knowledge, which seems to be more textbook driven. Learning from the textbook or the “grunt work” just isn’t fun. How do we keep it fun but ensure learning is taking place? Can learning content be fun? In the early elementary we hear singing and laughter. We see movement from students we see teachers prancing around from student to student with a smile. As the classes grow in level, 3rd to 4th to 5th, etc. we see less and less of these things. <BR/><BR/>Is it okay to laugh and dance in high school classes? Can we move and sing? Go watch an elementary classroom and they have multiple stations at work. You will see a reading group in one place, a couple of students working on computers, others building things with blocks, and another group being helped by the teacher, who is constantly surveying the class and moving to assist those in need. It is an interesting change from elementary to secondary education. Think how 21st century companies are conducting their workplaces. Totally different from the conventional hit the time clock do the work and hit the time clock on the way out. The 21st century business is a more “snappy’ place, almost free-for-all think outside the box don’t stress me place. Do we move schools in this direction?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com