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November 2009 - Posts

a Micah story

I'm posting a comment I left on one of my favorite blogs: We made everything into a commodity. Time, space, air, light - all quantified for consumption. Two nights ago it rained in Phoenix. It's rare to get a rainfall here. Micah opened the door right Read More...
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2009 11 30

John Spencer

3 Comments

the hammer

Sometimes I get into these passionate places where I want people to grab a hammer. This morning, I felt this way when I drove past five spaces in the mural across from Trevor Brown High School, where they decided to censor it with a dull brown. I felt Read More...
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2009 11 30

John Spencer

3 Comments

my customized linux

It's no secret that I'm a fan of Ubuntu. For die-hard Linux fans, Ubuntu seems to be Linux-light. Mac enthusiasts will talk my ear off about how much they like the iCandy. The problem is that my computer is a $300 PC and I need something to work for me. Read More...
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2009 11 28

John Spencer

3 Comments

another new blog

I created another new blog called Blog in the Suburbs . It's basically a really cynical survival guide to living in the 'burbs. Please don't take it too seriously. It's as much self-deprecating as anything else. So, anyway, come check it out. It means Read More...

2009 11 27

John Spencer

0 Comments

five conspiracy theories I made up this morning

I don't believe that Obama is the anti-Christ. I don't believe that Bush ordered the 9-11 attacks. However, I do think conspiracy theories are fun (if comical). So, I decided to make up five of my own: 1. Pacifiers were created during the Cold War by Read More...
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2009 11 26

John Spencer

4 Comments

thankful for teaching

Happy Thanksgiving I love being a teacher. The following are things I am thankful for: I am infinitely cooler than everyone else in the room because I can drive, shave and live on my own. I get the summers off -- yes, I know that I work often and that Read More...
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2009 11 26

John Spencer

3 Comments

for what it's worth

For what it's worth, we shouldn't be rebuilding other nations when we are struggling to keep ours intact. This isn't isolationism, it's just the reality we face. For what it's worth, changing the name from No Child Left Behind to Race to the Top is like Read More...
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2009 11 25

John Spencer

2 Comments

a cause without a rebel

No spray paint. No folk songs. No strikes or marches or iconoclastic test booklet burning. Just wearing black in solidarity with all the rest of us who lament the death of teacher autonomy, authentic learning and funding of public education. We have a Read More...
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2009 11 24

John Spencer

9 Comments

more evidence that I shouldn't be teaching science

In a professional development last Thursday, they asked us to create a visual for a concept as a starting point for vocabulary. The group chose the rock cycle (I was with the science teachers) and this was mine: Incidentally, you can apply this to father-daughter Read More...
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2009 11 24

John Spencer

5 Comments

my edublog nominations

Here are my 2009 Edublog Award Nominations Best individual blog This Brazen Teacher Best individual tweeter Joel Z Best new blog Look At My Happy Rainbow Best resource sharing blog Cornerstone for Teachers Best teacher blog Science Teacher Best educational Read More...

2009 11 23

John Spencer

13 Comments

random Joel quotes from this weekend

"Dragons became extinct when people stopped living in castles." "Well, actually Joel, dragons are just make believe." "Maybe people saw pterodactyls and thought they were dragons." *** "A diamond is just a square that can't stand up straight." *** "Joel, Read More...
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2009 11 22

John Spencer

1 Comments

the most neglected subject

In teaching about the functions of government, a boy raises his hand and asks me about the political parties. "I just want to make sure I have this straight. Republicans are the ones who believe that climate change is make believe and Democrats are the Read More...
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2009 11 21

John Spencer

8 Comments

Featured Blog: quoteflections

I stumbled across quoteflections after the author left a few comments on this blog. I quickly felt a conflicting sense of intrigue in what he wrote and remorse in the fact that I hadn't discovered the blog sooner. The tagline for quoteflections is "a Read More...
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2009 11 20

John Spencer

3 Comments

five random thoughts

My friend Dan used to do this - bullet point updates. So here are some random thoughts: When I asked Joel what he wanted for breakfast, he said, "Candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup." I have a student named Brandy in first hour and Mandy in second Read More...
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2009 11 19

John Spencer

5 Comments

a short rant about what districts block

Newsflash: YouTube can be used for education. So can Blogger and GoogleDocs and e-mail. Blocking a site for classroom management reasons is essentially like taking away pencils because kids snap them in half and throw them or banning paper, because kids Read More...
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2009 11 18

John Spencer

1 Comments

the power of dance

I don't dance. I'm not comfortable with anything publicly expressive that goes below the neckline. I get the power of dance on a very cerebral level. I can talk about dance from an anthropological perspective. I've seen some ballets and interpretive dance Read More...
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2009 11 18

John Spencer

2 Comments

iCrack

Intoxicated drivers are eleven times as likely to cause a car accident as sober drivers. People who text while driving are twenty three times as likely as those who aren't texting. I'm not surprised. I've had awkward conversations with people who bust Read More...
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2009 11 17

John Spencer

0 Comments

staff as a family

We gather around the firewood in the midst of an urban enclave, pretending subconciously that we are cave dwellers or mountain people or anything other than inhabitants of cookie-cutter housing. It's an awkward assembly of couples. We range in age, from Read More...
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2009 11 16

John Spencer

4 Comments

what should be free?

Why do we have places where any resident can access print information for free and even sit down and browse the internet and check-out CDs, yet we still charge people if they want to see art? Read More...
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2009 11 14

John Spencer

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it's not about saving the world

I once made a "movie" with my students about a superhero who tries to save the world and ends up realizing that it's about loving people, not saving the world; that the biggest mask was his alter-ego; that working alone leads to burn-out. I didn't realize Read More...
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2009 11 13

John Spencer

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Friday Featured Blogger: Science Teacher

Teacher's aren't supposed to have favorites. Bloggers shouldn't do that, either. It's why I have never been into the whole blogging awards deal. To me, the benefit of a blog is the democratic sharing of information. It's the notion of public space, of Read More...
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2009 11 12

John Spencer

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idiot at the top

The State Department has announced that teacher contracts will not be due by May 15th any longer. In addition, districts no longer need to consider seniority, but will focus on "achievement" (read test scores). I respect Tom Horne. After all, the guy Read More...
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2009 11 12

John Spencer

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what if we changed the language?

I would love to see schools change their approach to language, not in the way it is taught, but in the way it is modeled. I see teachers freak out about the f-word, when there are other areas of language within the school that can be more damaging. The Read More...
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2009 11 11

John Spencer

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an unexplored area of bias

Recently I wanted students to examine if they could identify a fictional story on a website. I used one "neutral" website with true information. I then created two articles, one that was true and one that was false. In the first website, I created a very Read More...
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2009 11 10

John Spencer

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postmodern McDonald's

About six months ago, they razed an older McDonald's near our neighborhood. In Phoenix, the term "old" can be applied to any building over twenty years. My guess is they had built the plastic wonderland in the early eighties. A few weeks later, they posted Read More...
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2009 11 9

John Spencer

0 Comments

postmodern McDonalds

About six months ago, they razed an older McDonalds near our neighborhood. In Phoenix, the term "old" can be applied to any building over twenty years. My guess is they had built the plastic wonderland in the early eighties. A few weeks later, they posted Read More...
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2009 11 9

John Spencer

0 Comments

searching for what was lost

I'm a history geek. I admit it. Call me a member of AHEM (Arts, History, English, Music). Our initial public educational system was an extension of a civic institution where we would develop literate, educated, democratic citizens. True, there were awful Read More...
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2009 11 8

John Spencer

0 Comments

the power of education

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2009 11 7

John Spencer

0 Comments

saving me from trendy hipsterhood

I recently ran into a trendy hipster the other day when I was at the hospital cafeteria. He asked me about teaching and I shared a few stories. When I mentioned the murals being painted over, we talked about Banksy and the concept of creative destruction Read More...
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2009 11 6

John Spencer

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Friday Featured Blogger: Matthew Koslowski (Literature and Legacy)

Sometimes a blog can look pretentious when in fact a blogger is simply being transparent. In a culture of anti-intellectualism, we sort-of expect smart bloggers to use folksy language and quote pop culture references. Matthew Koslowski has no desire to Read More...
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2009 11 6

John Spencer

0 Comments

video: marathons and sprints

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2009 11 5

John Spencer

0 Comments

the dangers of Etch-A-Sketch

don't look too hard, it's not meant to be the least bit serious Read More...
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2009 11 4

John Spencer

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what if we're afraid of the wrong things?

I take my boys to the socialized park. Everything is free there. Even the kids share with one another and get this, the parents actually chastise children who assert their individual property rights. I live in a diverse neighborhood. People see this and Read More...
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2009 11 4

John Spencer

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what if we're all afraid of the wrong things?

I take my boys to the socialized park. Everything is free there. Even the kids share with one another and get this, the parents actually chastise children who assert their individual property rights. I live in a diverse neighborhood. People see this and Read More...
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2009 11 4

John Spencer

0 Comments

milestone: 1,000 posts . . . yeah, I'm really that long-winded

I recently moved past the 1,000 post mark. There were no balloons or confetti or cyber high fives, which confirms the sense that it's more about the journey than the destination. Still, I see some value in reflecting on the journey when I reach various Read More...
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2009 11 3

John Spencer

0 Comments

democracy inaction

I get it. The ballot contained only one measure. I understand that people are busy. There's a world series and a reality television show and club soccer games and Happy Hour. People are tired. Companies are squeezing the productivity out of the workforce Read More...
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2009 11 3

John Spencer

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why I like TeacherLingo

Often, when we think of "tools" and "tips" the idea is more resources and ideas connected to teaching strategies. Yet, today's teaching tool has to do with a site that has helped save me from burning out. The teacherlingo site is a bit unassuming. It's Read More...
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2009 11 3

John Spencer

0 Comments

Bloom's Taxonomy / Critical Thinking

Description of the Theory Description of Theorist Affective Domain Cognitive Domain Psychomotor Domain Bloom's Taxonomy: Criticisms Read More...

2009 11 2

John Spencer

0 Comments

in response to a skeptic

Jesus stands before Pilate and gives a brief explanation of his identity. Blind by hubris, still a bit drunk with power, a hungover Roman governor speaks for humanity. "What is truth?" he says or asks or perhaps even exclaims. Silence. There would be Read More...
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2009 11 2

John Spencer

0 Comments

subversive elevator music

All Things Alliterated is back. Here's a Metaphor Monday Arne Duncan sets up an elevator for me. We cram as many students into our mechanical box in a systematic Race to the Top. I'm relegated to a button pusher. At one time an elevator man had a place. Read More...
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2009 11 2

John Spencer

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reluctantly posting resources

At one time, I had an entire "resource blog" and then I deleted it. Recently, someone asked if I would post my resources and maybe start posting some lesson plans. I'm all about collaboration, but there is a part of me that chooses this reluctantly. Here Read More...

2009 11 1

John Spencer

0 Comments

Greed

Does capitalism increase greed or does it create a method of controlling greed? photo credit flickr creative commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/publicdomainphotos/3126618425/ Read More...
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2009 11 1

John Spencer

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