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12 things that need to change

Posted Thursday, March 06, 2008 7:32 PM by jtspencer
Sometimes I feel as if I don't fit into the system of education. I wonder if I am just crazy or if I am part of a silent minority (perhaps even majority) who feel the same way. So, I am making a list of paradigm shifts that I think many teachers, administrators Read More...
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when is it okay to be confusing?

Posted Thursday, October 11, 2007 6:32 AM by jtspencer
After reading the answers from Bell Work, I feel confident that my students know the causes of World War II. We engage in a dodge ball type game that enables them to see imperialism and colonialism. I allow them to break into alliances to teach the alliance Read More...
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letting students make decisions

Posted Saturday, September 15, 2007 5:58 AM by jtspencer
Twenty students claim their favorite seats within minutes of the lunch bell ringing. The skeptic in me initially assumes that it is a first week rush, a desire to get out of the one-hundred and ten degree heat. The students will find out that our Student Read More...
1 Comments

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

the solution for tagging

Posted Friday, August 31, 2007 4:45 AM by jtspencer
I ride past a freshly plowed empty field and see a large corrugated fence that advertises the latest neophyte tagging crew in sloppy, choppy letters. I don’t know what is the worst of these aesthetic crimes – the graffiti on the walls or the fact that Read More...
3 Comments

why I don't do rewards

Posted Sunday, August 19, 2007 7:05 AM by jtspencer
Birthdays are important to me. Unlike other American holidays, they do not require reciprocity. There is no give-and-take, no social contract; nothing that says, "our gifts better be equal, because if they don't, I'll either feel gyped or guilty." Unlike Read More...
4 Comments

the good life

Posted Saturday, August 11, 2007 6:46 AM by jtspencer
I'm breaking the rules of blogging ettique, by creating a long post. Yet, I don't think I can explain the story in a shorter format. Maybe it's just not meant for a blog. It's the first week of school and I have a class of forty-one students for a scripted, Read More...
2 Comments

School is ____________

Posted Wednesday, August 08, 2007 6:06 AM by jtspencer
On the first day of school, students completed a metaphor of school. School is a _______ and I am a _________. Many students chose prison, because, like prison, the school tells them what to wear, when to speak, when to pee, what to eat, what to study Read More...
3 Comments

should education go digital?

Posted Saturday, August 04, 2007 4:46 AM by jtspencer
Will we lose our ability to red, I mean reed, I mean read Technology has a profound impact upon societies in ways that are often unforseen unintended. Despite the goal of technocrats to integrate technology, there are always social and political consequences Read More...
6 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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What makes learning meaningful?

Posted Sunday, July 29, 2007 8:17 PM by jtspencer
After watching the latest Harry Potter movie, I was struck accuracy of what happened at Hogwarts. In a motive of fear, the school shifted from meaningful learning to standardized curriculum. A beauracrat from the State Department of Magic began instituting Read More...
1 Comments

Why I Love Teaching

Posted Friday, July 27, 2007 1:48 PM by jtspencer
I met with a group of young teachers. They remind me of people who are newly married, in the way they exude a certain idealism and passion. I love being around new teachers, because that energy is contagious. I know that the daily grind of paper work, Read More...
6 Comments

an aspect of teaching that I never learned in college

Posted Tuesday, July 24, 2007 7:26 PM by jtspencer
When Socrates visited the oracle of Delphi, he admitted that he knew nothing. I think there is something to be said about that. In fact, when I think of the world's greatest teachers, the all seem to have a common trait of humility. Even those who do Read More...
1 Comments

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

the classroom as a record album

Posted Sunday, July 22, 2007 5:49 AM by jtspencer
I sit at my desk with a fat stack of papers. The solitary electric guitar quietly introduces notes to the song "Round Here" by Counting Crows– a lonely track that never should have been a hit, because it really wasn't all that radio-friendly anyway. After Read More...
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