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what Shakira taught me about education

Posted Friday, October 26, 2007 8:59 PM by jtspencer
I am embaressed to admit it, but I like Shakira - and not in the way that most men usually think about Shakira. No, it's not the rock hard abs and belly dancing that impresses me. Instead, I actually like her music. (For the record, I also like chick Read More...
3 Comments

America's War on Fat Kids

Posted Tuesday, October 16, 2007 7:21 PM by jtspencer
A few years ago here in Arizona, they passed a law outlawing all junk food. Gone are the bake sales, the candy bar fundraisers and the school pizza party. On one level, I laugh about it. As long as students have pockets and back packs, they will manage Read More...
3 Comments

what teachers REALLY want

Posted Saturday, October 13, 2007 5:42 AM by jtspencer
I am not an administrator, so it's easy for me to criticize administration on all levels. The truth is that I like our school principals but I hate the system that governs education. When I ask teachers what they want in education, I usually hear something Read More...
1 Comments

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...
1 Comments

forging our space in a myspace world

Posted Tuesday, October 09, 2007 4:21 AM by jtspencer
Someone once told me that the way to find out what a society worships is by searching for the highest building and to find out where people dress the fanciest. In the classical Greece, it was in their temples and their gymnasiums. In Rome, it was the Read More...
2 Comments

Is blogging just another fad?

Posted Tuesday, September 11, 2007 9:12 PM by jtspencer
Every few years, the educational community chooses a catchy new trend and markets it as the greatest method students will ever experience. When I was a child, the trend was writing in journals. As I grew older, it was graphic organizers. Later, Word Walls Read More...
2 Comments

online community(?)

Posted Tuesday, September 04, 2007 5:34 AM by jtspencer
Yesterday I wrote a blog where I vented. To my surprise, fellow teachers offered positive feedback and encouraging words. I think that's a sign that it is slowly emerging as an online community for teachers. I'm not sure what to think of this. I feel Read More...
3 Comments

after reading a Time Magazine article

Posted Sunday, August 26, 2007 9:03 PM by jtspencer
Every so often, Time Magazine runs a crisis issue about how horrible education is. Often, I find myself agreeing with them. It's easy to shout "Amen" to a criticism of No Child Left Behind. Today, I feel that way right now after reading an article about Read More...
3 Comments

5 movies teachers should watch

Posted Tuesday, August 21, 2007 6:18 AM by jtspencer
I am a big fan of movies. Though I don't watch many, I think they are the legends, the myths and the folktales that we pass on from generation to generation. Often the scripts contain profound insights about life. So, I am listing movies that have had Read More...
4 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

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

Hollywood Teachers

Posted Tuesday, July 17, 2007 4:56 AM by jtspencer
In watching movies, it is interesting to see how teachers are portrayed. Movies such as Ferris Bueller's Day Off or a more recent A Cinderella Story apply the stereotypes of a bland, dull, geeky teacher. The classic role of Ben Stein fits this notion Read More...
3 Comments

Should kids have cell phones?

Posted Saturday, July 14, 2007 8:43 PM by jtspencer
I am a middle school teacher in a low-income district, yet the vast majority of my students carry cell phones. It can be a battle to fight off the text messaging, but it's no worse than passing notes. What concerns me are the deeper sociological issues Read More...
5 Comments

giving gadgets to underdeveloped countries

Posted Friday, July 06, 2007 3:29 PM by jtspencer
Lately, the One Laptop Per Child group has recieved a good deal of attention for their plan to give away two hundred dollar laptops to children in developing and underdeveloped countries. Proponents laude the MIT group who pioneered this, claiming that Read More...
2 Comments

what teachers could learn from a west coast hamburgar joint

Posted Friday, June 08, 2007 8:34 PM by jtspencer
I often rail against standardized education, holding a fist out at the McGraw Hill Company, speaking out against No Child Left Behind and publicly blasting the AIMS test. For me, the best metaphor for standardized education is McDonalds. Students shuffle Read More...
1 Comments
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