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I changed my mind

Posted Friday, June 06, 2008 6:47 AM by jtspencer
There's a secret game we play in the staff lounge called, "see how badass I really am." It's a place of machismo, where teachers boast about holding kids accountable and *** about angry parents. What happens is this: I say something like, "I can't believe Read More...
4 Comments

thoughts on problem-based learning

Posted Friday, April 04, 2008 10:27 PM by jtspencer
For the last two weeks, students in my class have explored multiple facets of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. They have analyzed sources for bias, posed intelligent questions, created metaphors for the conflict and developed solutions. I admit that Read More...
6 Comments

exploring metaphors

Posted Saturday, March 29, 2008 5:37 AM by jtspencer
"It's a sun," a girl explains without offering even a concise explanation for her metaphor of the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict. "I'm not sure I'm seeing the connection," I prod carefully, placing the blame on myself rather than suggesting that she might Read More...
1 Comments

why I like movie nights

Posted Saturday, January 26, 2008 5:22 AM by jtspencer
A small crowd of ten students gather in my classroom for our monthly movie night. The name is a bit of a misnomer. The movie actually runs from 4:45-5:15, but "Monthly Movie Late-Afternoon/Early Evening" sounds convoluted. I guess most lies are borne Read More...
1 Comments

what Charlie Brown taught me about teaching

Posted Wednesday, November 28, 2007 7:31 PM by jtspencer
Sometimes on a rough day, when I'm feeling more insecure than usual, I play a little game. It's so subtly manipulative that it seems benevolent. Unlike the more obvious put-downs or the fishing for compliments, I almost subconciously try and build a mini-monument Read More...
3 Comments

changing priorities

Posted Thursday, November 15, 2007 5:14 AM by jtspencer
Last night, we showed a video of the IMPACT program to our school board. To my surprise, allowing the children to tell their viewpoint on the program was the most powerful feature of the presentation. One of the board members was in tears and the audience's Read More...
2 Comments

the "F-word" that really does have power

Posted Tuesday, November 13, 2007 10:01 AM by jtspencer
Our school is like a prison. From the uniforms to the bland walls to the security cameras and the cafeteria food. The average student is told what to do at all times - when to eat, when to pee, when to play (but not too rough), what to say, when to speak, Read More...
5 Comments

should kids have to memorize the fifty states?

Posted Tuesday, October 30, 2007 6:01 AM by jtspencer
Sometime around fifth grade, the teacher energetically rolled out a huge map of the United States. "By the end of this unit," he began (I didn't even know what a unit was) "you will know the capital of every one of these states." Students gasped in shock. Read More...
4 Comments

a lie that teachers tell

Posted Monday, September 24, 2007 7:37 PM by jtspencer
When I was a child, our school would parade around the hometown heroes to give their well-rehearsed "stay in school" speeches, rife with truisms and cliches, like "go out and give a hundred ten percent" and "you can be anything you want to be." I never Read More...
3 Comments

a place to ask questions

Posted Sunday, September 23, 2007 5:27 PM by jtspencer
My son is recovering well from his surgery. I'm not recovering as well. I didn't expect that going to a children's hospital would move me so much emotionally. I keep thinking of a four year old boy who was wearing a helmet, pushing a walker and falling Read More...
0 Comments

planning to plan for planning - or why the system is OCD

Posted Wednesday, September 19, 2007 4:53 AM by jtspencer
I sit in the library at 7:30. School does not start for another hour, but those in "leadership" must attend this biweekly meeting. I use quotation marks because, if you could see me right now, I actually stopped talking for a moment to use the hand signal Read More...
3 Comments

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

I'm okay with being unprofessional

Posted Wednesday, September 05, 2007 4:36 AM by jtspencer
"Be professional" seems to be the mantra of nearly every administrator, educational professor and seminar speaker addressing the issue of school culture and climate. An entire industry exists to help schools transition into a Professional Learning Community. Read More...
6 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
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