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March 2008 - Posts

exploring metaphors

Posted Saturday, March 29, 2008 5:37 AM by jtspencer
"It's a sun," a girl explains without offering even a concise explanation for her metaphor of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. "I'm not sure I'm seeing the connection," I prod carefully, placing the blame on myself rather than suggesting that she might Read More...
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making meatloaf of a golden calf - part one

Posted Tuesday, March 25, 2008 6:24 PM by jtspencer
I walk down the hall with a large stack of test booklets and mentally rehearse the rules. I am an alter boy - a mere pawn who, if all goes well, can fly under the radar. Here in Arizona, AIMS testing is the Holy Week of Arizona’s education, where students Read More...
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why I am okay with the Easter Bunny

Posted Sunday, March 23, 2008 6:29 AM from John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude
People are quick to point out the secular beginnings of our holiday traditions. The Easter Bunny began as a spring time celebration of fertility rites. I guess in a post-industrial culture where birth control is the norm, we've chosen to honor what we Read More...
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why I don't care about Obama's former pastor

Posted Thursday, March 20, 2008 9:41 PM from John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude
I'm glad that no one has ever suggested that I can't be a good teacher based upon the statements that my former pastors have made. After all, it was Dr. Mark who said, "any good Christian who believes in marriage needs to sign this law preventing same Read More...
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Socrates in McDonalds

Posted Thursday, March 20, 2008 7:13 AM by jtspencer
She greets the students with a faux smile and haggard eyes, offering the same rehearsed line, "pick up your bell work," and like androids, they wander to their assigned seats. Though she resembles a Wal-Mart greeter, the classroom most closely resembles Read More...
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I ride past a sign

Posted Monday, March 17, 2008 11:08 PM from John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude
While on my bike, I ride past a tagged-up sign. In the foreground is the latest freshest graffiti, supplanting the corporate letters advertising for an incumbent politician. (I can't think of the last time we had an election) It seems a poignant message Read More...
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why boomers don't like Obama

Posted Thursday, March 13, 2008 9:11 AM from John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude
Obama is popular with my generation. We are the hopeful, the idealistic, the ones who believe social change is possible (perhaps even easy). We never witnessed a civil rights leader being shot. Instead, we have vague memories of the Berlin Wall falling Read More...
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cutting edge technology

Posted Tuesday, March 11, 2008 5:48 PM from John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude
Teachers say they want "cutting edge technology" in their classrooms. They view the latest technology tools as a great cure that will finally transform their mundane teaching experience into a twenty-first century, state-of-the-art facility. Words are Read More...
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what sufjan taught me about teaching

Posted Friday, March 07, 2008 12:14 PM from John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude
Some indie music is indie because it's just not that good. There's a sense that the band wants to "make it big," but they sound just like all the other bands that want to "make it big," so they rationalize it by claiming that they won't sell out. What Read More...
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12 things that need to change

Posted Thursday, March 06, 2008 7:32 PM by jtspencer
Sometimes I feel as if I don't fit into the system of education. I wonder if I am just crazy or if I am part of a silent minority (perhaps even majority) who feel the same way. So, I am making a list of paradigm shifts that I think many teachers, administrators Read More...
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my ghetto home

Posted Monday, March 03, 2008 5:26 AM from John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude
When we first arrive, no one stands at the door to greet us - at least not officially. The resident homeless man, however, offers his loud (perhaps socially unnacceptable) greeting. With his typical bluntness, he says, "I haven't seen you around here Read More...
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