Browse by Tags

• assessment
• motivation
• personal stories
• standardized education

the solution for tagging

31 August 07 04:45 AM | jtspencer | 3 Comments   

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...

Filed under:

authentic learning

,

personal stories

,

philosophy of education

,

standardized education

,

urban / low-SES

Why I Won't Shut Up and Teach

19 July 07 04:12 PM | jtspencer | 5 Comments   

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...

Filed under:

authentic learning

,

personal stories

,

philosophy of education

,

motivation

,

assessment

,

standardized education

,

urban / low-SES

my mixed feelings about the ghetto

22 April 07 07:39 AM | jtspencer | 2 Comments   

Over the last few weeks, we began drawing a mural that will span an entire building. Students stay after school, recieving no money, no extra credit; just the satisfaction of excercising their creativity. It's hard, at times, for me to step back and let Read More...

Filed under:

authentic learning

,

philosophy of education

,

motivation

,

urban / low-SES

catch-22 and a staff development meeting

29 March 07 02:55 PM | jtspencer | 2 Comments   

I first read Catch 22 as a cynical high school student. Something about the wry humor, the absurdity of the system and the feeling that I was surrounded by insanity resonated well with Mountain Ridge High. I enjoyed the lively characters, though I never Read More...

Filed under:

authentic learning

,

philosophy of education

,

assessment

,

standardized education

,

urban / low-SES