Quantcast
Welcome to Teacher Lingo Sign in | Join | Help

Browse by Tags

All Tags » standardized ed... » philosophy of education   (RSS)

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...
1 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

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

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

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

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

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...
0 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

Why I Won't Shut Up and Teach

Posted Thursday, July 19, 2007 4:12 PM by jtspencer
After reading a recent blog, suggesting that teachers should self-censor and stay politically inactive, I feel compelled to write this blog. Telling teachers to shut up and focus on their classrooms is like telling Martin Luther King Jr to shut up and Read More...
5 Comments

recovering what we lost in standardized education

Posted Sunday, July 15, 2007 12:15 PM by jtspencer
After taking so many theory classes this summer, I am left with a mental overload. I enjoy the dialogue and debates, yet I can't help but feel that none of the "isms" really worked for me. Constructivism was great, but often unrealistic. Behaviorism seemed Read More...
0 Comments

the death of why

Posted Friday, July 13, 2007 8:44 PM by jtspencer
When I ask students at summer school what topic they want, I present three choices. The class overwhelmingly chooses "financial planning," which, for me, is a fun unit to teach. When I ask a student why he chose financial planning over the Holocaust, Read More...
3 Comments

Six Things Schools Focus on That Don't Matter

Posted Monday, June 18, 2007 10:01 AM by jtspencer
#1 - Student Dress Code People say that it makes school safer, but I highly doubt it. If a kid is going to bring a weapon to school, they'll find a way. (Even in prison, people find ways to get weapons through.) Whether they store it in a car, in a shoe, Read More...
6 Comments
More Posts Next page »