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August 2007 - Posts

the solution for tagging

Posted Friday, August 31, 2007 4:45 AM by jtspencer
I ride past a freshly plowed empty field and see a large corrugated fence that advertises the latest neophyte tagging crew in sloppy, choppy letters. I don’t know what is the worst of these aesthetic crimes – the graffiti on the walls or the fact that Read More...
3 Comments

Is teaching an art or a science?

Posted Tuesday, August 28, 2007 9:02 PM by jtspencer
I sit in the college campus, surrounded by eager students who furiously write notes. Some search for tidbits of practical advice, morsels that will use to compose their masterpiece ideal classroom. For others, it’s simply an extension of their long-standing Read More...
5 Comments

after reading a Time Magazine article

Posted Sunday, August 26, 2007 9:03 PM by jtspencer
Every so often, Time Magazine runs a crisis issue about how horrible education is. Often, I find myself agreeing with them. It's easy to shout "Amen" to a criticism of No Child Left Behind. Today, I feel that way right now after reading an article about Read More...
3 Comments

time-saving ideas

Posted Saturday, August 25, 2007 4:52 PM by jtspencer
I'm not naturally excited about practical aspects of teaching. Yet, I believe that little things can often make a difference. True, they may be a Band-Aid solution, but when we think about bandages, they are really effective. Such a small thing can help Read More...
4 Comments

five words that shook the world

Posted Friday, August 24, 2007 5:20 AM by jtspencer
It was a simple concept, really, the notion that how something is done might be as important as what was done. After all, people knew it intuitvely in everyday speech. The tone of voice, the body language, the spatial proximity all contributed toward Read More...
1 Comments

paradigm shifts

Posted Wednesday, August 22, 2007 4:11 AM by jtspencer
For the next few weeks, this blog will focus on technology-related issues. Technology integration sounds so easy. It seems to be a simple matter of training teachers and providing equipment and a school begins to flourish. Yet, there are countless schools Read More...
1 Comments

5 movies teachers should watch

Posted Tuesday, August 21, 2007 6:18 AM by jtspencer
I am a big fan of movies. Though I don't watch many, I think they are the legends, the myths and the folktales that we pass on from generation to generation. Often the scripts contain profound insights about life. So, I am listing movies that have had Read More...
4 Comments

adventures in going digital

Posted Monday, August 20, 2007 4:51 AM by jtspencer
Last year, I worked hard to obtain a pile of old iMac G3's. It's hard to imagine them being useful in the classroom, given the fact that they have less memory than an up-to-date iPod. Yet, it was the best I could muster up. I've learned that if I want Read More...
1 Comments

why I don't do rewards

Posted Sunday, August 19, 2007 7:05 AM by jtspencer
Birthdays are important to me. Unlike other American holidays, they do not require reciprocity. There is no give-and-take, no social contract; nothing that says, "our gifts better be equal, because if they don't, I'll either feel gyped or guilty." Unlike Read More...
4 Comments

administrative b.s.

Posted Friday, August 17, 2007 8:33 PM by jtspencer
I love teaching. I really enjoy the five hours spent teaching and the time I spend with the students and staff during prep periods, lunches and after school. I have structured my day so that I spend as little time on administrative work as I possibly Read More...
7 Comments

showing favoritism

Posted Thursday, August 16, 2007 5:19 AM by jtspencer
A new scientific study suggests that Major League umpires show favoritism toward their own race. Regardless of the umpire, it appears that their strike zone favors both hitters and pitchers of their own racial background. The unnerving aspect is that Read More...
3 Comments

the real reason I teach middle school

Posted Wednesday, August 15, 2007 4:33 AM by jtspencer
She wasn’t the closest friend, just a girl that would sit and talk cartoons with us when we all knew we were too old to be watching cartoons. It was the last great chance to be a kid before high school. Our crowds were too far apart. She was popular and Read More...
3 Comments

Why"Aha!" Moments Are Overrated

Posted Tuesday, August 14, 2007 4:04 AM by jtspencer
When I first learned to type, I never had any "aha!" moments. There were no brilliant epiphanies with a choir of angels and bells and whistles. Slowly, begrudgingly, I tapped away using the proper format. Finally, it was a part of my motor memory and Read More...
1 Comments

I am not a Robot

Posted Monday, August 13, 2007 6:22 AM by jtspencer
For the last two hours, I have been converting my format for lesson plans (which include the standard, the essential question, the objectives, a few inclusion pieces and a very structured outline) into the school-mandated, heavy-handed SIOP format. I'm Read More...
6 Comments

Can anybody be a teacher?

Posted Sunday, August 12, 2007 5:17 AM by jtspencer
I have read the grim statistics on teacher burn-out. Experts attempt to suggest the catalyst - bad parents, disrespectful students, a poor school culture, a lack of support systems and a host of other educational systemic ailments. Yet, I have yet to Read More...
9 Comments

the good life

Posted Saturday, August 11, 2007 6:46 AM by jtspencer
I'm breaking the rules of blogging ettique, by creating a long post. Yet, I don't think I can explain the story in a shorter format. Maybe it's just not meant for a blog. It's the first week of school and I have a class of forty-one students for a scripted, Read More...
2 Comments

well-intentioned low standards

Posted Friday, August 10, 2007 4:32 AM by jtspencer
The first few weeks for me are always the hardest. After a rather sedentary summer, I find myself swept into motion. Energetically, I run from place to play, smile, give compliments, offer instruction. I fail to learn all the names and I know even fewer Read More...
0 Comments

School is ____________

Posted Wednesday, August 08, 2007 6:06 AM by jtspencer
On the first day of school, students completed a metaphor of school. School is a _______ and I am a _________. Many students chose prison, because, like prison, the school tells them what to wear, when to speak, when to pee, what to eat, what to study Read More...
3 Comments

Environmental Hypocrisy

Posted Sunday, August 05, 2007 3:47 PM from John Spencer's Blog
There is a picture of Al Gore, sitting in front of multiple computer screens, next to stacks of books, studying intently. The caption reads, "Gore spends time studying global warming for a conference in Japan." I find it interesting that he sits in front Read More...
0 Comments

getting organized

Posted Sunday, August 05, 2007 5:58 AM by jtspencer
The phone rings as I'm sifting through papers. I catch a glimpse of a post-it note reminding me of a meeting that was apparently scheduled in the morning. I pick up the phone and listen to a lecture from the school counselor about why it's important for Read More...
12 Comments

Will we lose our ability to red, I mean reed, I mean read

Posted Sunday, August 05, 2007 7:54 AM from John Spencer's Blog
Technology has a profound impact upon societies in ways that are often unforseen unintended. Despite the goal of technocrats to integrate technology, there are always social and political consequences that few can predict. For example, it is no accident Read More...
0 Comments

should education go digital?

Posted Saturday, August 04, 2007 4:46 AM by jtspencer
Will we lose our ability to red, I mean reed, I mean read Technology has a profound impact upon societies in ways that are often unforseen unintended. Despite the goal of technocrats to integrate technology, there are always social and political consequences Read More...
6 Comments

Learning Is Messy

Posted Thursday, August 02, 2007 7:54 PM by jtspencer
As I approach the driveway, Joel stands there with a hose, spraying the grass. I expect him to drop everything and run to his daddy. Instead, he waves and smiles, then returns to his duty of running up the water bill and increase the Phoenix drought. Read More...
0 Comments