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why the district is nearly always ineffective

Posted Monday, April 14, 2008 8:37 PM by jtspencer
I don't believe in the notion that the district is run by a bunch of pricks. I don't think that they are part of a vast conspiracy to make sure that we fail. I don't even believe in the lie that they are cruel, heartless vindictive people. However, I Read More...
2 Comments

making meatloaf of a golden calf - part one

Posted Tuesday, March 25, 2008 6:24 PM by jtspencer
I walk down the hall with a large stack of test booklets and mentally rehearse the rules. I am an alter boy - a mere pawn who, if all goes well, can fly under the radar. Here in Arizona, AIMS testing is the Holy Week of Arizona’s education, where students Read More...
0 Comments

Socrates in McDonalds

Posted Thursday, March 20, 2008 7:13 AM by jtspencer
She greets the students with a faux smile and haggard eyes, offering the same rehearsed line, "pick up your bell work," and like androids, they wander to their assigned seats. Though she resembles a Wal-Mart greeter, the classroom most closely resembles Read More...
5 Comments

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...
3 Comments

why I want to quit

Posted Saturday, February 02, 2008 7:34 AM by jtspencer
I recieved an e-mail this morning telling me that I need to send a list of "bubble kids." (not in the John Travolta, Boy in the Bubble way, but rather the ones who are close to reaching a higher level on the standardized tests.) I don't mind offering Read More...
10 Comments

learning is unpredictable

Posted Thursday, December 20, 2007 6:28 AM by jtspencer
My students are designing their own Civil Rights / Human Rights museum and memorial. For those who do not draw well, I offered the opportunity to create a collage instead. There is a writing component, a poster board and a website that they design. Before Read More...
0 Comments

an unintended present

Posted Friday, December 07, 2007 4:28 AM by jtspencer
Yesterday, staff development was actually very relevant. However, it was painful. The question at hand was, "Why did our school fail to make AYP?" Looking back, I failed to differentiate between AYP and "Why is our school a failing school?" They used Read More...
1 Comments

I guess politics do matter

Posted Wednesday, December 05, 2007 5:54 AM by jtspencer
Every time I teach about government, students instantly ask, "Why does this matter?" I used to offer a pat answer about civic duty. "If your school lunch is free, you at least owe it to your country to go to the polls when you're older." Yet, there was Read More...
2 Comments

framing or the real reason minorities aren't passing standardized tests

Posted Sunday, December 02, 2007 4:37 AM by jtspencer
Words are powerful. Sticks and stones might lead to a scuffle, but a few words have launched wars. A simple semantic shift from "Jew" to "dirty Jew" to "rat" can justify a Holocaust. Likewise, the creation of the nuclear bomb can be named something as Read More...
12 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...
6 Comments

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

one hundred blogs of solitude

Posted Monday, October 15, 2007 6:31 PM by jtspencer
Solitude is missing from current educational system. Students, while they are at school, must plough through book work, handouts and lectures in a ridiculous pace. Everything is disjointed and disconnected, often taught in subjects that are irrelevant Read More...
2 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
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