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July 2008 - Posts

something I've noticed about most teachers


31 July 08 08:27 PM | jtspencer | 7 Comments   
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...

Rebellious Robot


31 July 08 06:56 AM | jtspencer | 6 Comments   
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...

after doing research


28 July 08 10:18 PM | John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude | 2 Comments   
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...

pulling out of burn-out


27 July 08 12:04 PM | jtspencer | 10 Comments   
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...

officially old


26 July 08 06:07 PM | John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude | 5 Comments   
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...

the decline of civic virtue


23 July 08 12:53 PM | jtspencer | 0 Comments   
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...

unsolicited advice for first-year teachers


21 July 08 01:30 PM | jtspencer | 3 Comments   
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...

reinventing the pretzel


20 July 08 12:37 PM | jtspencer | 0 Comments   
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...

should teachers be more confusing?


17 July 08 09:16 PM | jtspencer | 0 Comments   
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...

aren't kids too young for that?


15 July 08 08:47 PM | jtspencer | 8 Comments   
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...

why I'd rather go to "little church"


15 July 08 08:13 AM | John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude | 4 Comments   
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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Does this happen to you?


14 July 08 08:37 AM | jtspencer | 7 Comments   
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...

Title Options


14 July 08 10:01 AM | John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude | 6 Comments   
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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do you want to read my book?


14 July 08 09:50 AM | John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude | 4 Comments   
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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what we can learn from Camden Yards


13 July 08 06:48 AM | jtspencer | 0 Comments   
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...

why I'd like to make the next Camden Yards


13 July 08 08:11 AM | John Spencer | 4 Comments   
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...

Whose history should I teach?


11 July 08 06:21 AM | jtspencer | 3 Comments   
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...

murals and tattoos


08 July 08 05:29 PM | John Spencer's Blog - A Billion Blogs of Solitude | 6 Comments   
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...

why myspace is fading


07 July 08 04:00 PM | jtspencer | 1 Comments   
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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should we teach kids to be patriotic?


04 July 08 09:05 AM | jtspencer | 2 Comments   
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...