Short

Today we are finishing up comparisons between the office of Pharaoh in Egypt and Hobbes' Leviathan. Students are looking for the shared characteristics of the two as political offices. Today we will briefly *discuss* the role of a citizen in these two systems and will then move on to Locke, Jefferson, the Declaration and Mandate of Heaven; students will once again search for common themes.


* I feel compelled to asterisk the discuss because I find it to be an overused word. Often teachers say we will discuss ________. In reality, is it a discussion or a lecture? Discussion means conversation and conversation means give and take. In order for students to discuss they have to come up with ideas and they will be wrong. Being wrong isnt a bad thing as it leaves grounds for comparison and growth. The only error is if you leave without recognizing the difference between wrong information and right information. Is it WRONG of me to think that i would rather see a student create wrong information than LEARN right information? At least using the former we get to build the connections to strengthen their logic and make them right more often.

Handshake

I shook the hand of a holocaust survivor today, it was a moment in my life that I will never forget.

Posting

I dont know an appropriate post for today... I am just going to put this and leave it--

It isnt time yet but when it is we need to be stronger together, we need to be better for each other and we need to come together. The greatest struggles are the biggest opportunities, we cant replace what we lost and we cant make the hole go away. What we can do is heap in love for each other and bond as a community. Staff, students, faculty, community members, religious affiliations, I dont care who... we need to make this community one and be there for the people who need us when they need us. I can think of one family that should be the center of our community right now, not that we should be in their faces or in their lives but we should be there for them every instant they need us when they are ready for us. Most of that piece of advice came from a 7th grader today...

6 Goals

We came up with 6 big goals during the last two inservice days and i must say... I LOVE them! Furthermore we have discussed converting our grade 7-8 history courses into a broad based exploration in the social studies and making it about skills as opposed to purely content. Students would do a survey of things like how to units on critical thinking and studying history, anthropology, economics, political science and geography. Building these skills would make them more successful in later years and would facilitate growth in the big 6 we came up with.

If you are wondering the 6 skills are listed below. This is the way they are written for seniors leaving KHS. We tiered them back through kindergarten and are hoping to improve and adapt them throughout the rest of our training. I think these are a great start. Of course this list must be infinitely adaptable and remain a living document.

A Senior leaving KHS WILL be able to...

- Make logical decisions based on individual research.
- Evaluate the purpose of bias.
- Judge the causes and impact of personal and group decisions on worldwide issues and events.
- Evaluate the cause and effect of changes in society based on historical events.
- Make logical decisions based on primary source documents.
- Evaluate the impact of worldwide cooperation and conflict on historical and current events.

Learning... With a purpose

I was glancing at a colleagues blog regarding relevance and thought, since I do not blog regularly enough anymore... why cant I steal his topic?

In the social studies I feel that we are often thought of as a content course. The concern is generally centered around whether or not students know the material as opposed to the skills they use in order to analyze, interpret, apply and connect it... even more infrequently do I hear discussion about students ability to CREATE or EVALUATE using it. What do I mean?

Students in my classes often inform me that when we study material they shouldn't form opinions on it-- they seem to feel that information needs to be studied entirely objectively. As our own history, I am of the belief that we MUST have a deep emotional as well as logical connection to material in order to truly consider it. Is it wrong to judge a people or an action and feel it is wrong? No, as long as you support it with material and show your opinions make sense. In the end, isnt that a big part of why we are here? Think of the real world implications of social studies in a democratic system-- Voting thats the big one. Your vote is a means of voicing your opinion... we need to be sure students know how to develop opinions that can combine their emotional feelings and apply logical thought. Combine the reptilian and the mammalian, use more of the full capacity of the brain, develop meaningful personal connections with a basis in deep understandings; if we can do this in class and in life i think we are doing something valid.

How? Well, make students develop connections, rather than a 1 day lesson in which they are presented the 7 similarities of river valley civilizations, spend weeks covering them and allow students to create... less knowledge? Quite the opposite (the knowledge is deeper) -- More creating? Absolutely.

The traditional answer?
History repeats itself-- I know a lot of history and yet I am hardly Nostradamus... For some reason that answer just isnt good enough any more...

Im Baaaa-aaaack!

Hello World!

Well, yes, I have slacked terribly on the blogging; its been a tremendously busy past few weeks. The team taught unit with Mrs. Coursen went tremendously well. Students made connections between the material in both our classes and spent several days discussing how to solve poverty in our community. Not only did this benefit them in terms of higher order thinking skills, it also opened students eyes to the fact that poverty is a large problem in our area. Students tend not to recognize that we HAVE homeless students, we HAVE students whose families aren't able to put food on the table, we NEED to recognize the diversity in our school and work to make sure everyone succeeds.

They say every journey begins with a single step. When people talk about this cliche they tend to focus on taking on challenges a piece at a time. While this is a worthwhile statement, I think its imperative that we note that no journey(barring the shortest journey ever) has been completed in a single step. Classes in the first quarter went well but we have a LONG way to go together. The first quarter is just that, a quarter. No sport has ever been won in the first quarter and no challenge has over been overcome just by starting a solution. We need to keep it up. As the year goes on the level of difficulty will increase, the skills we have worked on will be applied to more complex solutions and the knowledge we have gained will be applied to everything else we study. It is necessary that we approach these coming challenge with the same vigor we have shown thus far. I believe we can and will do it.

Doing "Hard" Things

Do hard things is a book. I know this to be true. I haven't read it yet, but I absolutely cant wait to. --Dear Amazon, please hurry my kindle here-- I know this isnt normally how I start a blog but I feel it will make a point later.

I had a fabulous discussion with a colleague at the end of the day today about what students consider "hard" work in a class. She told me about a students comments regarding what he thought was a difficult class and his views that all classes should be hard like the class he mentioned. Now, I say this not to offend anyone, and i feel safe discussing it as I can say the course was not taught by a teacher at our school, but what the students considered hard was having to make work "perfect" in terms of grammar and spelling, having to "know so many things" and the importance of remembering "details" from readings. As we discussed this we talked about how easy students tend to think our classes are.

According to the student's definition value, I could make class harder and better if I simply made them know more. In other words If i adjust ID paragraphs to require 18-20 pieces of information instead of 16-18 I am now a better teacher. In that case... 24-26! More students would fail, exceptional students would continue to succeed. This may seem hard and would make the extremely successful feel better than in a class where many students achieve highly buy let me be honest... It wouldn't be better. I am a believer that difficulty is not equal to value. Rigor isnt achieved by adding more. Knowing isnt the same as thinking... I can know what a book is about, know events from history, know definitions but it isnt the same as thinking about them. I guess the point I am making is don't necessarily do hard things, do valuable things. Grow.

What I would ask of students is, demand to think. If there is ever a day at which I haven't forced you to consider things, make connections, assess value, create, pick apart, problem solve or answer why then I haven't gotten my job done. Now, I don't think I "know it all" and I most certainly don't look at myself as a good teacher; I think I am a work in progress but I certainly want to get there. I see myself as a learner and a thinker, at least thats what I want to be and its all I ask of students.

Today was one of, what I would consider, the best days of my young career because I saw top to bottom, left to right critical, detailed, creative, connective thinking. Got to see discussion and writing that gave me evidence of the high level of thought, AND got data that students had analyzed a primary source in 2 different class periods yesterday and today. Four periods on one paragraph? GREAT!

So students, do things that matter, make yourself think, assess value on what really matters. Don't be a quantitative being, be qualitative.

Team Teach

What a fantastic day! I really think the lesson Mrs. Coursen and I have put together, really the unit as a whole, will be the best of my career. Today students read a primary source by William Bradford. Following their analysis and the completion of a graphic organizer detailing what they know as concrete fact, what they think they know through reasoning and any conclusions they feel they can draw. Students also are listing any data they lack that prevents them from making conclusions they want to make. They are now comparing social changes made by puritans in a time of distress with Marxist ideals. Tomorrow they will discuss and write as they analyze a new source they will receive. The ultimate goal of the unit is that Mrs. Coursen and I make ourselves unnecessary in students analysis of primary sources. In other words, students ought to be capable of analysis of sources without our guidance. I cannot elaborate more as students following the blog need to make discoveries themselves. Needless to say I am quite excited about the direction we are going.

Review

Free Writing, Examination Station and Kashmir

Decent free writing- Students, higher order thinking is ultimately the one trait that will make or break you as a student.  If you develop it, everything is do-able.  How????? Where do i get this?????  Reading, responding, THINKING!  So far I am seeing it, i really am; at the same time I have to say the extended free-writes so far have been average-ish, not the quality I am hoping to see in your writing this year.  I mean they are good... just not great!  REDO!!!! We wont have class time for it but please-please-please take advantage of ABC Not Yet! Im collecting them today, should grade them within 2 days and have them back to you.

Tomorrow is the exam, I expect 100% across the board.

Kashmir - We begin discussion of Kashmir, we will research, write and get deep... I cant wait to see how they do.

Questions???

World History-- Any questions comments or concerns regarding your essays?  Post them here for responses.  They seem to be getting started very well and i am extremely excited to read them!

Writing Day

Well, writing is commencing and I cant wait to read it!  I really hope you all find yourself in possession of a good plan for how to answer your question. Remember juniors this is a brief essay, just a few pages! Dont worry about being incredibly formal, just be strong in terms of style, focus, content, organization and conventions.  Have a good philosophical voice and be comfortable spewing out quality deep thought with support.  Dont feel bad taking the ideas of great thinkers.  Great thinkers "stand on the shoulders of giants"they only get where they are because of those who came before.  Think about your math class, do you think those polished formulas chalked up on the board have always looked like that?  How much trial, error, effort, collaboration(talk to each other), life, death, tears and blood(maybe not so much in math) went into those numbers.

Stress, relief, preparation

Well, I have to admit, I woke up stressed and nervous... Missing Thursday meant I had not been to the school in four days.  I had been made aware things didn't go swimmingly on thursday in my absence and new we needed to gain ground and get the course righted.  I was relieved to find that by and large reports of the lack of work on Thursday were largely exaggerated and students seemed quite prepared.  I am pumped for the test next tuesday, I think we will do swimmingly.  Geography went okay 10th period, I was much better 11th.  In both classes we got results but formatively, I think they were better eleventh.

I was reading some other teacher and administrator blogs today and started to think about myself as an educator and what I really bring to the table along with what has got me to where I am today.  As I reflected I began to think about what is different today from 2 years ago, the year i would consider my worst as a professional. At the end of that year I reflected and thought that my biggest failure was a lack in my ability to motivate those juniors to fulfill their potential in any way shape or form.  Since then I have set my teaching personality, my pedagogy and my class design to keep that going.  Today I feel that passion and motivation have become my biggest strengths; I hope students agree.  I want to know what weaknesses I possess and address them as long as they do not take away from my strengths. My challenge to students and peers is the same, be critical of yourself; locate your flaws and address them as best you can.  You are a human being and, as such, can change everything about yourself on a whim.

Discussion, Mullets and adjustment

Today, the 7th graders did a fantastic job in discussion of free speech, they formulated opinions and discussed whether or not there should be limits on what a person can say.  The discussion centered around a video we watched yesterday of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent speech at the UN in which he accused the United States of responsibility for the terrorist attacks of 9/11.  We discussed the importance of free speech and whether or not he should have had the right to make the unfounded accusations he did in the venue of the UN.  We discussed the numerous speeches Mr. Ahmadinejad has given in the past based on unfounded statements and why it is still necessary that he be allowed to speak freely.  Students handled it with great maturity and high level discussion.

11 - Well I wasn't a huge fan of the Mullet arrangement in the classroom, business in the front -- party in the back, we implemented today.  Students worked on history in the front of the room in a more traditional classroom style, exploring essential questions and developing a deeper understanding of historical information.  It was okay -- Students seemed to enjoy it but it was very difficult to formatively assess student understanding as I bounced back and forth between groups.

 I am still struggling to assess students' ID paragraphs due to the fact that students are going so far above and beyond what i have asked for that I am not sure how much bonus to give out.  The work I am receiving is exceptional across the board; I couldn't be happier.

Monday!!!!

I love Mondays!

What a great day! Students did a decent job with the article we worked with that was chalk full of contradictions to what they knew to be correct.  By and large students got it with some prodding although only 50% picked it out right away.  The point of this was authentic literacy!  We spent a little time on mill and the importance of free speech.  We will be dividing the week between history and philosophy as we lay the foundations of the first civilizations.

7th Grade- We watched Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech at the UN and discussed what the purpose of the UN is and whether or not a person should be able to make the statements he made.  As we look at the UN and begin our study of Geography through it, I am hoping students begin to explore basic human rights and form opinions as to how they should be upheld.

Great day!

Adding the Neo

We will soon be adding the Neolithic to our knowledge base and moving into early cities, foundations of civilization and political philosophy behind the rise of government.  I am excited to see how students handle working on multiple areas of content at the same time.  This will be a true test of their 21st century learning skills... can they multitask at a high level? I am excited to find out.

7th grade... great job! We are becoming comfortable having discussions and reflecting on the quality.  I really see some foundations for success in high school being developed.

Still, I am looking for students to offer the pledge to make this the best year of education they have ever had.  So far, I think students are making progress but we need to keep the desire to improve going.

Nacirema

Wow! Great job today 10th period class!  The students in my pd 10 class did a discussion of Horace Miner's Body Ritual Among the Nacirema... We did a socratic circle discussion in which they vented about how appalled they were by Nacireman culture.  When students from both groups got done discussing how they felt i told them that this was us.  Wow! What reflection!

World Hist- Things are going well, I was disappointed about what got done while we were away but things are good.  Students will be ready to add new topics to their historical knowledge.  I am happy with the classes and their willingness to take on graduate(as in college graduate student) level research articles.  Students try to plod their way through rather than give up when the readings are exceedingly complex.  I am so happy with their effort.

Training Day

Went to a training today for a few students and myself.  GREAT!  I got to listen to a person who was passionate about his job talk.  It was fantastic!  I really believe i learned some things that can help me be better at my job.

What did i learn?  Information regarding the UN... I know it sounds like a stretch but I really picked up some great ideas and will be sharing them with students particularly the 7th grade geography classes.

Stay Classy Monday!

What a neat day... students are coming along based on all evidence i have.  They have a deep understanding of concepts and are reaching a point at which they can apply creativity to classroom content.  Students are currently writing letters to Hunter Gatherers informing them of what is going to happen in the Neolithic.  Students will discuss the outcomes and pass judgement informing the H/Gs of whether they think the upcoming changes are positive or negative toward human existence.  

7th Grade classes began discussing the idea of insurance, the rampant assigning of monetary value in our culture and why money seems to drive us.  They are meant to look as outsiders and pass judgement of the meaning of the way we use $$ in our system.  

Good monday all around, I am excited to see where the week takes us!

What a week!

Wow... I truly believe that this turned out to be the best week of my young career.  We got the 7th grade pd 10 class going in the right direction.  We are productive and getting results. Furthermore my 11th grade classes are doing the best work I have seen; not only is the quality outstanding, the quantity of writing we have done is fairly outstanding as well.  I am very happy with the way things have gone up to this point.  My job: GET BETTER! I plan to have a better week next week and each week after that!

Bragging

Just ran into a teacher from another school... bragged about my students... I love being at the best school out there...

Growth

I pulled a few of my 7th graders to the back of my jr high study hall and discussed school with them; I think it will permanently generate change in the 10th period class.  They seemed to feel class was going well... I informed them i thought it was going poorly.  We made a deal to try and change it into something better and discussed what that could be.  It was only about 1/3 of my class but when they got to 10th period, I noticed a complete shift in the behavior of my students.  They were more focused on channeling their energies toward academics and not towards paying attention to the few that dont wish to be there.  Furthermore, I intend to go eat lunch with the students i have-- particularly the ones with behavioral issues. I have to admit I became angry and combative at times with that class and lost my light hearted nature which i feel is one of my biggest strengths.  All in all both Geography classes went very well.


WHist- FANTASTIC! I am currently grading ID Paragraphs in Michelle's cafe over a steamed chai and some toasted bagel chips w/ hummus... It is going great!  I see the occasional omission of content but the overall quality is truly top notch! At the same time there is a ton of room for growth; If they commit to getting better every time they write and making this the best year of growth they had, we will be amazing!  I love asking so much of students because they are capable of more than ill ever know.

9/15

Class went well, the world history classes really impressed me!  I think I should have given pd 7-8 more time on the IDs they did great but I think they can be better.  They are 100s for the most part but could be better.  I want the bar to constantly raise in class.

I am very happy but I think I ought to see if i can get older positive role models in my 7th grade classes... could they help get kids on the right track and setting higher goals?

Best!

Best. Day. Ever! Punctuation issue?

Well, the ID paragraphs i got were the best i have ever had at the beginning of the year.  I am giving students heck but in all honestly i think we will get to 100% having 100% faster than at any point.  Must be great things being done in the years before they get here.  First drafts were rough in many cases, as to be expected, but students picked up on it instantly and are now performing swimmingly.  If they keep up at this rate, we are going to be amazing at the end of the year.  In other words... We are going to keep this up and be great!

Geo- 10th period is catching on and did the best they have done yet.  100% got 100% on the map skills portion of class.  They are now starting to move on to the good stuff. Still there are students who have behavioral issues which is a big disappointment.

Pd 11 - fantastic period.  Students are working on an aspect of culture project we are using in class and are doing quite well.

Evening

I just got back from special olympics volleyball, it was really a good time... BUT ... ugh ... Still obsessing over how to get things going in 10th period.   I may take some time to just develop relationships in that class so that i can reach the students who seem most apathetic; perhaps a project in which i can meet one on one with students and get to know them individually would facilitate a change in the way they approach school.

Well...ish

Great classes and great outcomes so far from the 11th grade class!  Students really seem to be thinking in depth and all my assessments indicate that students are getting what they need to understand.  I am quite impressed and cant wait to see ID paragraphs tomorrow.

Geo

Positive - Pd11 moved on to studying place, they are going to investigate the culture of the Knox area.  Following the study, we will discuss a number of other cultures along with methods for studying cultural geography.  Following this period of time we will reinvestigate the culture of our own community.

Pd 10- I am extremely unhappy with outcomes in this class, I have covered map basics in a variety of ways and still only about 2/3 of students are displaying a 100% grasp of the skills involved. The others are close but the mistakes seem to be related to lack of effort.  I need to find a way to get more students motivated to give effort when working.  If the mistakes are not due to a lack of effort it means some students just arent getting it even when having multiple attempts, aid and even study guides in hand.  Sadly i think it is the former and need, need, NEED to find a way to get them to be a bit less apathetic.  I am hesitant to use this term but, body language, commentary and effort seem to indicate it.  We need to get this turned around.

Good Morning Monday

Today we will be writing our first ID Paragraph in World History.  I am excited to see how students perform.  I am also going to get them writing in the EQ Notebooks if time permits-- which, it ought to barring me messing it up.

World Geo will be continuing some work with basic map skills.  We will have an exam on these skills later this week.  I am excited to see how they do; I expect everyone to get a 100%.

Going Well

Today we are continuing in our analysis of the article by Dr. Massey.  Students are getting it based on formative assessment.  Tomorrow and monday we will summatively assess students understanding of the content we have added and will then move on to the Neolithic once everyone is at 100% for their level of understanding. For the first month I will not move on until we are all there.  After that some responsibility for getting to 100% understanding will be transfered to the student but I will remain the key component for them getting there.  I believe in student centered classrooms but when i say that I mean student performance centered classrooms.  The number one critical need for student achievement is quality instruction.

I am certain i will get great results this year!

GREAT!!!

I really think my classes in WH are going well today! I would like to see more students taking on increasingly difficult academic challenges... on the bright side I think its starting to come together, people seem to be reading and understanding a college level academic journal article.  They are applying reading strategies and putting together content from multiple sources. They are being provided the most complex sources I have ever had to offer and are doing he work quite well.  By the end of the week they should be in really great shape!

Geo- Well, pd 10 and 11 are very different classes.  10 seems to have, on the whole, a great deal less background knowledge regarding social studies.  Thats fine, we can start in different places but will end up fulfilling our standards nonetheless.

Blah!

First World history was not as good as I hoped it would be... We are starting to introduce history into the mix and it just doesn't seem like we are getting as much done as I would like. We are covering some quotes on teaching from Berkeley, just to reinforce how we do things; following that exercise, students will begin research into hunter-gatherers. First class was just an average performance on my part, frankly, I just went too slowly and we ran out of time to get everything done I hoped for. We got what I wanted but not as much as I would have imagined we could. Pd 2 was a wash. I need to get more inspiration into the students. We had differentiated readings based on their view of their reading level. Zero students selected the challenge readings; instead, they went for drab textbook style garbage. The next 2 periods will be better. I know it!

WG- I will let you know when i get there, the goal is to have ownership of our first big idea as of the end of class today.

Challenge

Today I challenged students to accomplish 3 things by October 4th:

1) Do 1 thing that shows they are a better person than they are right now.

2) Do 1 thing that shows they are a better student than they are right now.

3) Take 1 step toward self-actualizing, becoming the man or woman they want to be.

These fit in our essential questions and will help us determine what our version of the American Dream is along with helping to create transition to our ethics unit which will be coming up in a couple months.

This process will be repeated each month this school year.  It should help us expand our answers to the essential questions for world history, address 2 big ideas in Geography and help us to maintain our commitment to having the best year of growth so far in our academic careers.

9/3/10

Pumped 4 tomorrow, continued familiarizing with EQs in World history, more journaling too!  I am just going to let discussion continue and see where it goes.  Tomorrow should be the end of pure EQ discussion and the beginning of the insertion of WH content.

World Geo - we will finally be ready to own our first big idea and put it on the wall! I am hoping for one ever 1-2 days so that we are ready with our groundwork& pre-assessment within 2 weeks.  Pd 10 remains a class with some people with work to do in terms of maturing and being prepared for HS.  I really am sure we will get there.  They did great today and will continue to improve greatly this year.  PD 11 is advancing rapidly and I am proud of the way they have adapted to HS.  They need to stop being afraid to be wrong! Taking risks is a huge piece of academic and life growth. I am very proud of my 7th graders, they are doing big things!  If we keep focusing on constant improvement at such a young age, there is nothing that can stop us from achieving even the loftiest of goals.  Remember grade 7, what is stopping you from the Ivy League? Keystone is the best school in PA, you make it that way; lets expect greatness from ourselves.

Comments on the day will come tomorrow!

WOW!

Classes have been great, I wasted a little bit of the first classes time talking, i need to stop doing that.  This is going to be an amazing year and I really hope the students feel that way to.  I believe they do.  I am getting a lot of changes ready for 7th grade in the afternoon, I think it will go better the rest of the year.  I need to change my attitude toward the end and have the same vigor I have during the morning... MORE COFFEE AT LUNCH???? Not a real solution, I just need to refocus over lunch and get amped for great stuff.

Today the Superintendent stopped by my room to say hi.  For the first time a professional, an administrator gave me a challenge to be better openly and directly.  I don't think anyone has ever said to me "Go do ______. Ill be back to check on how you're doing, it will make you a better teacher."  Early in my career, Bill, a teacher who used to be next door to me served that role.  He is now a principal in a nearby school.

The challenge was to look at the pygmalion effect, self fulfilling prophecies.  I don't know that he meant me entirely.  I mean, at first i thought, i expect success... now ive realized i need my expectation concretely posted for my students.  CHECK! Also I am going to try to get them to have expectations.... class now comments later

Classes

 Day 3 of school...

Todays classes went well as far as i am concerned. I am thinking i will struggle more with the geo-7 class as it is at the end of the day and my room is a bit warm! Im just not getting it done 10th period the way i need to.  I need to find a way to get the students to respond the way i want.  Of course my problem is my activity and the focal pt of my lesson, familiarizing the class with the big ideas of geography(from SAS) was a bust.  It was meant to help them get from knowledge to comprehension and allow them to apply their blooms knowledge(day1, first half of 2) to their thought process regarding the big idea... IT WAS GARBAGE! I had pd 11 start it then tear it up and throw it away because the level isnt high enough for real creative thought.

Biggest problem in my World hist might be me.  I think im talking too much, i prefer to have them journaling.  We have notebooks that are being used in eng11 and wh11 to elaborate on essential questions.  We are hypothesizing as to why civs fall.  They are doing well, tomorrow i will TRY to journal after each discussion while they do.  Tough to manage class and do it but it ought to keep my mouth shut and will allow them to journal more!  I just feel like i have to keep them laughing jovial and motivated while they operate @ the top of blooms.