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July 2008 - Posts

something I've noticed about most teachers

I remember having a few bad teachers. Actually, I really just remember having about three. Three out of forty is a pretty low number when I think about it. Maybe I grew up in a "good school" or maybe I was a teacher's pet. Yet, when I think about it, Read More...
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2008 07 31

John Spencer

7 Comments

Rebellious Robot

Our district has thrusted upon us yet another heavy-handed, micromanaged solution. It is a specific, prescribed lesson plan format that every teacher must use. It's yet another move toward the standardization of education. I feel that slowly they are Read More...
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2008 07 31

John Spencer

32 Comments

after doing research

I have come to a conclusion (albeit totally unsubstantiated): Poetry seeks to convey the complex using simple language Social science seeks to convey the simple using complex language Poetry forces me to slow down and savor words - to delve into the messy Read More...
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2008 07 28

John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude

2 Comments

pulling out of burn-out

I don't like "Freedom Writers." It might sound like sacrilige to mention it around teachers, but I think the movie sends the wrong message about teaching. It's a quiet, implicit message - so subtle people miss it in the midst of the melodrama and inspiring Read More...
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2008 07 27

John Spencer

12 Comments

officially old

I'm strolling through the supermarket making animal noises for Micah. A boy glides through on a skateboard and I get angry; but I quickly decide that the manager can deal with that issue. Micah begins to dance to a song he recognizes from Shrek. I stop Read More...
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2008 07 26

John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude

5 Comments

the decline of civic virtue

For decades, social critics have lamented at the loss of civic virtue among American citizens. Theories abound regarding the impetus for this shift toward apathy. Some blame urbanization and the loss of the local, grassroots communities. In a transient Read More...

2008 07 23

John Spencer

0 Comments

unsolicited advice for first-year teachers

When I began as a new teacher, I hated the constant barrage of advice. Most of it didn't help. "Make sure you have the students keep binders." Actually, I avoid binders as much as possible. "Make sure you have a solid seating chart." Truthfully, it's Read More...

2008 07 21

John Spencer

3 Comments

reinventing the pretzel

My friend Dan points out that there are over thirteen varieties of the same pretzel. This doesn't even include stadium soft pretzels. Rather, he is referring to the ways that manufactures create pretzels - mini twists, large (thin) twists, fat twists Read More...
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2008 07 20

John Spencer

0 Comments

should teachers be more confusing?

I love how Socrates always ends his dialogues unanswered. The end seems to be a multifacted mystery rather than a three-point outline. Similarly, throughout the gospels, Jesus tells parables that confound and confuse his audience. It seems counterintuitive Read More...
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2008 07 17

John Spencer

7 Comments

aren't kids too young for that?

In our country, we have to be twenty-one to consume alcoholic beverages and eighteen to do pretty much everything else. The rationale is that there are some things children should be able to do and some things children should not be allowed to do. It Read More...

2008 07 15

John Spencer

16 Comments

why I'd rather go to "little church"

This last week, I enjoyed the service at our church. The music sounded great. The sermon was a bit scattered, but it was peppered with humor and had some interesting concepts. There was the awkward, "walk around and greet people you don't know so that Read More...
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2008 07 15

John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude

4 Comments

Does this happen to you?

Every year, at this point in the summer, I get nightmares about the next school year. My first year of teaching, I had nightmares that Al-Qaeda took over our school when we didn't make AYP. Kids enrolled in classes like "suicide bombing" and "sniper 101." Read More...

2008 07 14

John Spencer

10 Comments

Title Options

Here are my name options. I've placed the titles on the side in a poll. #1 - One Fit Sizes All The idea here is that not only do we have a standardized, one-size-fits-all model, but we go so far as to "fit" students into the model and then "size up" those Read More...
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2008 07 14

John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude

6 Comments

do you want to read my book?

So, I'm mostly done with the first draft. I'm pretty excited about it, but I would love some honest feedback from people. Here's what I'm thinking: I'd like to e-mail one chapter per week and get people's feedback. Here's where I really need help: A Grammar Read More...
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2008 07 14

John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude

4 Comments

what we can learn from Camden Yards

When I was a kid, I went through a phase of designing baseball stadiums. It was at the time that they built the new Comiskey Park and I felt like it was an injustice to the old. When other kids had idealistic dreams of playing first base for the Giants, Read More...
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2008 07 13

John Spencer

3 Comments

why I'd like to make the next Camden Yards

When I was a kid, I went through a phase of designing baseball stadiums. It was at the time that they built the new Comiskey Park and I felt like it was an injustice to the old. When other kids had idealistic dreams of playing first base for the Giants, Read More...
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2008 07 13

John Spencer

4 Comments

Whose history should I teach?

I'm reading two books right now. The first, A Patriots History of the United States is a conservative revisionist history, composed as a counter to Howard Zinn's popular, A People's History of the United States. Here the author attempts to regain the Read More...
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2008 07 11

John Spencer

3 Comments

murals and tattoos

Murals are a lot like tattoos. Once you have one, you want to canvas the entire school with them. Here's the mural we just finished, as a thank you to all the people who make education happen. This one is in our class right now. We'll finish it when we Read More...

2008 07 8

John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude

6 Comments

why myspace is fading

The media have begun to realize what I have noticed for the last few years: that myspace seems to be fading as a trendy site. Media critics are quick to point out that Facebook is a classier, trendier social networking site. However, I don't believe that Read More...
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2008 07 7

John Spencer

1 Comments

should we teach kids to be patriotic?

Sometime after 9-11, I lost all sense of patriotism. It might have been the way people used the American flag to sell beer (not unlike Jesus Breathmints and granola bars). Perhaps it was when I first heard a country singer telling me we should stick a Read More...
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2008 07 4

John Spencer

9 Comments