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.