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January 2010 - Posts

a tiny reform

Students in my second hour are working a documentary project about rethinking schools. I begin with the assumption that the research portion will be rocky, but instead I find that students are enagaged. Many of the lower readers (and the class has a high Read More...
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2010 01 31

John Spencer

12 Comments

do we need educational pencil degrees?

Sometimes I wish that I could hang a "Do Not Disturb" sign around my neck and wear it at places where it is socially acceptable to be intrusive. I'd wear it at church, during the "shake hands with each other," time. I'm not so great at sharing the peace. Read More...

2010 01 29

John Spencer

0 Comments

a make-believe conversation about parenting

"Hey John, can you describe your approach to parenting?" "I guess I would say that I want to have a few firm boundaries, a considerable amount of freedom and unconditional love." "Oh, that's not at all how I run a family," my friend explains. The term Read More...
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2010 01 29

John Spencer

23 Comments

Salinger is Dead

I rarely get choked up when a celebrity dies and yet I felt something deep within at the death of Salinger. I know he was a recluse and anti-social and all of that, yet I wonder if that's a part of why I liked him. He was human and he had no desire to Read More...
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2010 01 28

John Spencer

5 Comments

from acceptable to ethical

Paul the Pre-Industrial Poet and his wife Gloria invite us over for dinner. I take a copy of the Acceptable Use Agreement with me so that I can grill Paul on his approach. "Paul, do your students sign a Acceptable Use Agreement?" "They do. I pass it out Read More...

2010 01 28

John Spencer

0 Comments

fair use revisited

Paul the Pre-Industrial Poet and his wife Gloria invite us over for dinner. I take a copy of the Fair Use Agreement with me so that I can grill Paul on his approach. "Paul, do your students sign a Fair Use Agreement?" "They do. I pass it out on the first Read More...

2010 01 28

John Spencer

1 Comments

book possibilities

I'll be releasing a free eBook called Remotely Controlled Chaos: A TV's Guide to Teaching Middle School. It's an expansion on my summer blog series looking at the practical side of teaching through the small screen lens. Essentially, the book will be Read More...
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2010 01 27

John Spencer

11 Comments

combating the myths of online reading

I'm reading a great book called Readicide, but he has a very anti-computer bias. I get it. I can be a bit of a Luddite myself. However, my concerns have more to do with the entertainment of the medium, the loss of community in online communication and Read More...
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2010 01 27

John Spencer

0 Comments

the wrong war

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2010 01 27

John Spencer

3 Comments

paradigm shifts on assessment

I used to spend hours hunched over a computer grading papers. I'd pass them back only to have students ignore the final grade. I would print a progress report out each week only to realize that the hard workers who were doing well were the only ones who Read More...
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2010 01 26

John Spencer

3 Comments

why I don't care about the tablet

"Hey, Techno-Tommy, are you going to buy a tablet?" asks Mr. Brown. "No. Not anytime soon," I respond. "It's supposed to revolutionize the paper world. I thought you were a paper-geek." "It just seems like hype. They might as well say, 'This is hand-crafted Read More...

2010 01 26

John Spencer

0 Comments

broken mug

My thoughts on a coffee mug, my district and my own identity. You can also visit it at Internet Archive Read More...
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2010 01 25

John Spencer

9 Comments

a rebel without a clue

Our plog hosting site is across the street. It's a bit like a library, but a little different. People can peruse the plogs, but also subscribe to them and have it sent directly to their home. Some plogs require registration to view or comment and others Read More...

2010 01 25

John Spencer

0 Comments

mascot names

Our school mascot is the Cougar. While it's a decent animal, the students love making jokes about a mascot that relates to attractive older ladies. It got me thinking about sports teams, both professional and collegiate, and their respective mascots. Read More...
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2010 01 24

John Spencer

11 Comments

I'm a teacher. I teach.

This is from my Sketchy Premise blog, where I do one drawing per day. I love to draw. I love stick figures and "real" pictures and the way you can stir up trouble with a bit more of a wink when it's a sketch. I posted the following comment on another Read More...
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2010 01 23

John Spencer

5 Comments

the effects of a rainy day

Students walk into class edgy and hyper. A few shove one another in the halls or deliberately squeak their shoes. Rain is a sedative to adults and an upper for most children. So, while I yearn for a cup of coffee and a book, my students can't sit still. Read More...
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2010 01 23

John Spencer

4 Comments

seven opposite trends I see in education

Okay, so the last post was a bit gloomy. But here are a few opposite trends that I can easily see happening within that framework: Districts becoming better at communicating with the public and therefore regaining public trust. With this there is great Read More...
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2010 01 22

John Spencer

13 Comments

seven trends I see in the future of the teaching profession

For over a decade now people have told me that computers will replace teachers. The idea is that online learning will become so popular that schools will have to change paradigms. We'll also have flying cars and hover crafts and computers will mean that Read More...
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2010 01 22

John Spencer

4 Comments

should plogs be public?

Six graders snicker at the word plog. It sounds dirty, not in our Victorian sense, but in that innocent sense that you expect twelve year olds to have. Kids like turning it into phrases like "Don't plog the toilet," or into a makeshift cursed word like Read More...

2010 01 21

John Spencer

9 Comments

developing an escape world

I'm talking to a friend and I share some ideas of what I want to do next year. After awhile, I cut myself off and say, "I feel like I'm starting to slip into that dangerous place where I say 'It will be better when . . .' and then I miss out on what's Read More...
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2010 01 21

John Spencer

5 Comments

In Response to a Ted Talk

Every so often this guy named Ted likes to gather around the world's movers and shakers to offer short lectures on the future of the twentieth century. I know it sounds a little cultish, but these aren't magical mind readers. Most of them are geeks like Read More...

2010 01 20

John Spencer

4 Comments

a happier blog post

Okay, so my last post was a bit dark. I admit that I can get that way sometimes about issues of poverty and imperialism and media. I seriously considered un-posting it. Tonight Joel asked if we could do an experiment. His latest favorite phrase is "let's Read More...

2010 01 19

John Spencer

5 Comments

it's not looting -- it's survival

This is the kind of post that very well might mean I lose subscribers. It's an angry rant: Someone sent me a link to this article about how Anderson Cooper saved a kid . The imagery is powerful and I don't deny the heroism of Cooper. I'm supposed to feel Read More...
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2010 01 19

John Spencer

9 Comments

Utopia Shattered

After visiting the second school, I told other teachers about the amazing Utopia I had seen. My glossy-eyed edu-crush was shattered when I met with the principal the next day after school. "I'm amazed with what you have here. How did you pull it off?" Read More...

2010 01 19

John Spencer

4 Comments

a contrast of two schools

I visited two schools in our district that had a different approach to their philosophy of pencil integration. The first was touted as a state-of-the-art facility (it's more state-of-the-science, with hardly anything artistic about it) based upon a new Read More...

2010 01 19

John Spencer

0 Comments

a few crude metaphors

Our school is state-of-the art. Okay, it's more state-of-the-science in its layout and design. In order to run effeciently, the architects included a series of automated eco-friendly devices. While I am sure each device has helped reduce carbon emmisions, Read More...
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2010 01 18

John Spencer

10 Comments

what they never warn you about

Before beginning our second week of a one-to-one pencil to student unit, I explain to them that they will need to create some documents. I assume the skills will transfer over from the students' use of Pen Pal networks and plogs. "Here's how it works. Read More...

2010 01 18

John Spencer

1 Comments

field trip update

The principal pulls me aside and says, "So, your request to go to the university has been approved. It looks like you'll be able to go on a field trip after all, Techno-Tommy." "What happened?" "Well, the district decided that the solution is not so much Read More...

2010 01 17

John Spencer

1 Comments

thoughts on parental involvement

A lame request: If you read this blog often, could you click on "Follow" at the side? It's not simply for vanity (though that might play a role) but also because I like to know who reads these musings. It makes it a little less anonymous. I start to type Read More...
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2010 01 17

John Spencer

9 Comments

when hardware fails

Mr. Brown walks into the supply room with a candle in his hand,"How does a school expect its teachers to use the Edison Projectors if the electricity keeps going out?" "I know. I not only don't have electricity, they forgot the paper shipment system updates, Read More...

2010 01 16

John Spencer

2 Comments

football names

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2010 01 15

John Spencer

4 Comments

a wolf in professional clothing

A note ahead of time: I'm not against data. It can be qualitative and quantitative. It can be a great way to analyze skills and concepts. What I'm against is those who twist it to fit their own financial goals -- people who refuse to check it out from Read More...
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2010 01 14

John Spencer

5 Comments

not laughing at The Office this season

The Office didn't jump the shark -- it brought us too close to the shark-infested waters of Wall Street. The Office has been my favorite show on television for quite some time (since the first season, probably) but this season, it has failed miserably. Read More...
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2010 01 14

John Spencer

1 Comments

from pencil citizenship to citizenship

I meet with Paul the Pre-industrial Poet after my fourth day of our one-to-one unit. I always feel conspicuously white when we hang out at this diner. I believe in Progress and so I imagine that, a century from now, we won't have a China Town or a Little Read More...

2010 01 14

John Spencer

0 Comments

your SmartChart won't make my students any smarter

They send me to my annual PIS meeting. (Originally, the district representative called us the Pencil People, but when an edu-crat told him that PP could be offensive to some, he changed our names to Pencil Integration Specialists, which is just close Read More...

2010 01 13

John Spencer

4 Comments

podcast: what we can learn from an ice cream chain

You can check it out on Internet Archive . Read More...
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2010 01 13

John Spencer

2 Comments

what if we do need to make some education cuts?

A short explanation of my thoughts on education cuts . This was supposed to post tomorrow for a "What-if Wednesday." Oh well. Read More...
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2010 01 12

John Spencer

4 Comments

shaking the dust off a vapor existence

A man with an unrefined voice and a slightly hick accent stands before the crowd and offers his thoughts on the universe. How did this ever go viral? How did he ever attract these outcasts? Where are the three points? Where are the fill-in-the-blank answers. Read More...
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2010 01 12

John Spencer

5 Comments

10 hijacked words

What if our vocabulary is all skewed? What if the words were hijacked, marketed and politicized so that they are left empty as simple buzzwords? hijacked word #1 - Don't mistake "common" for "standardized." Common is always horizontal. Standardized is Read More...
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2010 01 12

John Spencer

3 Comments

phonograph man and the geeky gurus

A man rides his carriage up to the playground and stops the horses. He pulls out a hand-cranked, ultra-portable, larger-than-the-cosmos phonograph. It's not a pretty piece by any means. Far from Mozart, it is a repetitive drum beat and a song with some Read More...

2010 01 11

John Spencer

1 Comments

highlight films

I am not above using sports metaphors "Mr. Spencer, you're not talking much today," a student points out. "I'm losing my voice," I explain. "Just because you can't speak doesn't mean you lost your voice. There are lots of people out there who have a voice, Read More...
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2010 01 11

John Spencer

4 Comments

another Sunday Sketch

Perhaps the geekiest thing I've ever drawn Read More...
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2010 01 10

John Spencer

2 Comments

cloud cartoon

I often feel like I have to choose between an ultra-rigid Course Mgmt System or "The Cloud" (which often has age limits). This cartoon is about the reality of that. Read More...
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2010 01 10

John Spencer

2 Comments

should kids play games in class?

So, it's the second day of our one-to-one pencil to student unit. I'm teaching a financial planning / economics unit and incorporating all of the subjects into it. I expected the "honeymoon" period to last longer, but pencils have no become normal. On Read More...

2010 01 10

John Spencer

0 Comments

coffee, cars and conversation

Micah: Are you drinking coffee? Me: Yes, Micah-roni. (It's our nickname for him) Joel: Coffee's for grown-ups. Micah: Can I have some? Me: You wouldn't like it. It tastes yucky. Micah: Is that why you put sugar in it? Me: Yep. Joel: Why don't you just Read More...

2010 01 9

John Spencer

1 Comments

social address booking

Mr. Brown (who is rarely much of a technocrat) tells me that I need to start keeping track of all the places to take paper and pencil. "It's like leaving a bookmark when you read. You keep it all in an address book and you can say to yourself, 'I'd really Read More...

2010 01 9

John Spencer

1 Comments

Seven Ways to Create A Super-Ultimate-Best-Ever Popular Plog

Okay, so I've been reading various 20th Century Plogs (short for pencil logs which sounds much more fun and futuristic than say, "journal") and I'm beginning to get the hang of it. So, here is what I've figured out: Use the colors associated with a pencil. Read More...

2010 01 9

John Spencer

2 Comments

faith of a child

My wife sent this to me a few minutes ago (please don't try to look too far into it and criticize his theology): During lunchtime today I gave Brenna a kiss. Joel looks at me and asks, “Mom, do you know who gets the most kisses?” “Brenna?” I answer. “No, Read More...
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2010 01 8

John Spencer

8 Comments

should teachers take tools away?

We piloted our first day with one-to-one student to pencil learning. I offered a quick explanation of the unit and reminded students that these were learning tools. "I know many of you will want to play Hang Man." Parents hate that game. They say that Read More...

2010 01 8

John Spencer

2 Comments

Friday Featured Blog: Russ Goerend (Learning Is Life)

Russ Goerend was a blogger I discovered a month or two ago. Honestly, he discovered my blog first. It's no surprise to me that his blog was nominated for an Edublog Award or that he has almost 1,000 followers on Twitter (if you don't follow his tweets, Read More...
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2010 01 8

John Spencer

0 Comments

decorating your class

Gertrude the Slate-Enhanced Learning Integrationist Coordinating Specialist asks if she can see the room where I will pilot a three-week unit using a one-to-one pencil to student ratio. "What is this?" she asks. "It's a poem." "I know what a poem is. Read More...

2010 01 8

John Spencer

3 Comments

lamenting the loss of nouns

People. Place. Things. Dirt on a bad day. Soil on a good day. I used to play in the mud and dig in the cold, hard clay. It was red and wild and on the eve of winter, when death began to creep into our small southwestern town, the sky would turn crimson Read More...

2010 01 7

John Spencer

1 Comments

I Hate Garfield Teacher Posters

enough to start a Facebook Group in honor of that. That lazy cat with his smug grin imploring me to work hard. What a hypocrite! What has he ever accomplished in life? I know I am being unfair here. There are great teachers out there who love Garfield. Read More...

2010 01 7

John Spencer

13 Comments

Why Nong Went Wrong

The parent from the Temperance Society walks up to me and explains, "We're not keeping this under wraps. I called a socially conservative newspaper and they're running a story on this. It should hit the evening papers in a few hours." "Okay, well I'm Read More...

2010 01 7

John Spencer

2 Comments

The Nong Network

Nong essentially networks together various social tools all within the confines of my classroom. I saw it at last years PIE Conference and decided to order it for the Pencil Lab. Our Pencil Teacher was angry at first, worried that I would load Nong onto Read More...

2010 01 7

John Spencer

0 Comments

Abuelas and the Banana Republic

I originally wrote this for Nerdfighteria Misfits and so I'm publishing here now. An abuela with wrinkly skin stands in the steam, hair pulled tight with pins. She's scooping out Spanish rice for the guests, separated not merely by a sheet of dry wall, Read More...
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2010 01 6

John Spencer

0 Comments

blocking sites

I know this has nothing to do with pencil integration, but there's something else I wanted to share: Mr. Brown pulled me aside to discuss our field trip plans. "They cancelled both of our field trips, Tom. Can you believe it? We planned out our lessons Read More...

2010 01 6

John Spencer

4 Comments

Pencil Island - Part Two

My principal pulls me aside on Tuesday afternoon. "Techno-Tommy, we need to talk." I appreciate the subtle warning. Any time the word "need" is used, it means I'm in trouble. Oddly enough, on really difficult days, when I feel the crushing blow of a broken Read More...

2010 01 6

John Spencer

0 Comments

spelling checker

A parent sends me a telegram yesterday. Nothing like an angry-letter telegram on the first day back from the break. Deer Mr. Thompson, I am worried about this whole "spelling checker program" you are using with my son. I fear that it will make him lazy. Read More...

2010 01 5

John Spencer

2 Comments

the five phases of pencil integration

I was meeting with Paul the Pre-industrial Poet. He's a thinking man, the type who can be patient with the moralistic ramblings of Ralph Waldo Emerson and then discover himself in the pastel explosion of wildflowers. For my part, I'll never really get Read More...

2010 01 5

John Spencer

1 Comments

reflections on being Techno-Tommy

I didn't coin the nickname. My principal gave it to me in my first year of teaching. "Thomas, you are the only one on staff who can switch the circuit breaker. You seem to get the grid. You are a techno genius. I listen to you talk about the how the phonograph Read More...

2010 01 5

John Spencer

1 Comments

why penmanship class is failing our students

The Pencil Teacher pulls me aside for a moment in the staff lounge and says, "Mr. Johnson, nice shirt." "Thanks, my wife says mauve is the new wave of the next century." "Yep, it's the *** Nineties after all." "Are you accusing me of frivolity?" I ask. Read More...

2010 01 5

John Spencer

8 Comments

congratulations, it's a blog!

I'm a big fan of NPR and their project "This I Believe." So, I thought I would explain a blog with a few belief statements: I believe that fiction can be as true as fact and that satire can be as honest as a critical analysis. Thus, I go back to A Brave Read More...
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2010 01 5

John Spencer

8 Comments

why gardening taught me structure

When I began gardening, I assumed that I would become acquainted with the messy, organic reality of life. On some level, that's exactly what happened. I saw the mystery, the paradox and the confusion of growing life in an arid land. It humbled me. Yet, Read More...
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2010 01 4

John Spencer

5 Comments

banning binders in professional development

Our new principal decided to institute a "norm" (just call it a rule, please) regarding the use of paper and pencil in professional development meetings. "I'm not angry with anyone, but I did notice some grids of Buzzword Bingo and several people who Read More...

2010 01 4

John Spencer

5 Comments

pencil paradigm shift

games are great, I'm sure, but I want students to use pencils for things like budgets I'm going to be honest here. When I first began integrating pencils into the curriculum, I assumed it would automatically increase motivation. After all, students constantly Read More...

2010 01 4

John Spencer

0 Comments

our latest snag

I heard the key to a quality journal is to use good stock photography lacking much creativity It's no secret that the Panic of 1896 has really taken a toll on tax revenues. While robber barons created a Wall Street oligopoly leading to our economic collapse, Read More...

2010 01 3

John Spencer

2 Comments

course management system

So, last year, we're at the Pencil Integrated Education (PIE) Conference. Educators are quit fond of acronyms, but this year it was a little awkward. Apparently, a whole sleuth of culinary enthusiasts arrived on a train only to realize that our conference Read More...

2010 01 3

John Spencer

2 Comments

is shorthand ruining the English language?

A Language Arts teacher pulls me aside, "Mr. Johnson, I'm concerned about your former sixth graders. Did you teach them how to write properly?" "Yes sir, I did. Are they having a hard time?" "Well, I'm concerned that some of them have been using shorthand Read More...

2010 01 3

John Spencer

0 Comments

Pencil Island

indeed, island is a perfect metaphor to describe the isolation and loneliness of worksheet learning My principal walks into my classroom and says, "Tom, we have a consultant here who works for Pencil Island." "Is he really a consultant or a salesman?" Read More...

2010 01 3

John Spencer

1 Comments

yeah, you would think

Some phrases are explicitly powerful on a universal scale. "I love you" comes to mind, despite its constant overuse by glossy-eyed teens infatuated by the first strike of eros . Still, after a car accident or a business trip or on a cold night when the Read More...
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2010 01 3

John Spencer

6 Comments

what paper do we use?

We had an interesting discussion about paper with the representative from district office today. "I need to know what type of paper we should use," the edu-crat explained. "I think we can go with lined paper for us and let kids decide if they need any Read More...

2010 01 2

John Spencer

3 Comments

should students bring their own pencils?

not my style, but if it works . . . Apparently, there are new, ultra-portable mechanical pencils that do not even require a sharpener. I've never heard of that, but my God, the ingenious methods of industrialization? Will the progress ever stop? We very Read More...

2010 01 2

John Spencer

6 Comments

my playlist

What do you listen to when you work? I try and use my prep period for true grading instead of chatting in the staff lounge. Every year, I create a play list for grading papers. (Sometimes I ditch this playlist and listen to Rachmaninoff) It changes from Read More...
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2010 01 2

John Spencer

15 Comments

will we fall behind?

Mr. Jackson pulls me aside to share his thoughts on the new proposal, "Could I see you, Tom? I want to talk about your one pencil for every student ratio." "Pretty exciting, huh?" I say, stroking the wax on my handlebar mustache. "Well, that's the issue. Read More...

2010 01 1

John Spencer

10 Comments

issues with "the cloud"

kids lack access to the cloud and are forced into a course management box When speaking about technology integration, the first option people suggest is the notion of course management system. Just create one online hub where all things are accomplished. Read More...
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2010 01 1

John Spencer

4 Comments