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should we teach kids to be patriotic?

Sometime after 9-11, I lost all sense of patriotism. It might have been the way people used the American flag to sell beer (not unlike Jesus Breathmints and granola bars). Perhaps it was when I first heard a country singer telling me we should stick a Read More...
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2008 07 4

John Spencer

9 Comments

what Shakira taught me about education

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...
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2007 10 26

John Spencer

12 Comments

America's War on Fat Kids

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...
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2007 10 16

John Spencer

3 Comments

what teachers REALLY want

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...
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2007 10 13

John Spencer

1 Comments

forging our space in a myspace world

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...
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2007 10 9

John Spencer

1 Comments

Is blogging just another fad?

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...
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2007 09 11

John Spencer

20 Comments

online community(?)

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...
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2007 09 4

John Spencer

3 Comments

after reading a Time Magazine article

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...
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2007 08 26

John Spencer

15 Comments

5 movies teachers should watch

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...
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2007 08 21

John Spencer

11 Comments

should education go digital?

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...
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2007 08 4

John Spencer

17 Comments

Is the U.S. Losing Ground in Education?

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...
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2007 07 23

John Spencer

24 Comments

Hollywood Teachers

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...
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2007 07 17

John Spencer

8 Comments

Should kids have cell phones?

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...
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2007 07 14

John Spencer

5 Comments

giving gadgets to underdeveloped countries

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...
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2007 07 6

John Spencer

2 Comments

what teachers could learn from a west coast hamburgar joint

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...
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2007 06 8

John Spencer

4 Comments

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