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Can learning be measured?

Posted Thursday, September 06, 2007 4:49 PM by jtspencer
Sitting in a staff meeting, I pull out the agenda and begin drawing cartoons. Instead of reading PowerPoint presentations, we work collaboratively (read "group think") on a school wide mission statement. "Make sure it is attainable, measurable and . . Read More...
4 Comments

well-intentioned low standards

Posted Friday, August 10, 2007 4:32 AM by jtspencer
The first few weeks for me are always the hardest. After a rather sedentary summer, I find myself swept into motion. Energetically, I run from place to play, smile, give compliments, offer instruction. I fail to learn all the names and I know even fewer Read More...
0 Comments

Learning Is Messy

Posted Thursday, August 02, 2007 7:54 PM by jtspencer
As I approach the driveway, Joel stands there with a hose, spraying the grass. I expect him to drop everything and run to his daddy. Instead, he waves and smiles, then returns to his duty of running up the water bill and increase the Phoenix drought. Read More...
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Is the U.S. Losing Ground in Education?

Posted Monday, July 23, 2007 6:02 AM by jtspencer
I flip through the newspaper and notice an article about a meeting between the CEOs and founders of huge technology firms and governors of various states. The goal was for these corporate leaders to instruct the politicians about how schools need to change. Read More...
1 Comments

Why I Won't Shut Up and Teach

Posted Thursday, July 19, 2007 4:12 PM by jtspencer
After reading a recent blog, suggesting that teachers should self-censor and stay politically inactive, I feel compelled to write this blog. Telling teachers to shut up and focus on their classrooms is like telling Martin Luther King Jr to shut up and Read More...
5 Comments

recovering what we lost in standardized education

Posted Sunday, July 15, 2007 12:15 PM by jtspencer
After taking so many theory classes this summer, I am left with a mental overload. I enjoy the dialogue and debates, yet I can't help but feel that none of the "isms" really worked for me. Constructivism was great, but often unrealistic. Behaviorism seemed Read More...
0 Comments

the death of why

Posted Friday, July 13, 2007 8:44 PM by jtspencer
When I ask students at summer school what topic they want, I present three choices. The class overwhelmingly chooses "financial planning," which, for me, is a fun unit to teach. When I ask a student why he chose financial planning over the Holocaust, Read More...
3 Comments

growing up with The Simpsons

Posted Friday, March 30, 2007 2:14 PM by jtspencer
Growing up, the show was controversial. Parents hated it. Groups boycotted it. Kids reveled in it, because it was real. Unlike the plastic, pollyana Cosby show or the TGIF line-up, The Simpsons spoke to a generation of youth who loved the satire on childhood. Read More...
1 Comments

catch-22 and a staff development meeting

Posted Thursday, March 29, 2007 2:55 PM by jtspencer
I first read Catch 22 as a cynical high school student. Something about the wry humor, the absurdity of the system and the feeling that I was surrounded by insanity resonated well with Mountain Ridge High. I enjoyed the lively characters, though I never Read More...
2 Comments

are Americans smarter than the average fifth grader?

Posted Wednesday, March 28, 2007 10:28 AM by jtspencer
I rarely watch television, not so much out of moral obligation, but out of a lack of time. I find most shows to be trite and annoying. Yet, the other day, I saw a show called "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" It's an innovative idea, pitting adults Read More...
1 Comments