November 2011 - Posts

On misconceptions


27 November 11 06:55 AM
The deeper I dig into how much a child understands a particular idea, the more I realize persistent misconceptions can be. We have plenty of places for magical thinking in our culture: horoscopes, good luck charms, religious incantations, and the stock Read More...
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Last Saturday of November


26 November 11 05:45 PM
Raked some leaves, then some clams, then some charcoals to cook the clams. New moon tide in late November on a spectacular day makes for good living, at least for me. Can't say the same for the clams now in my belly. In between the leaves and the clams, Read More...
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Ditching digital time


25 November 11 10:10 AM
We're in the last few weeks of the dying sun, our days defined by our shadows. I know the sun will return, but I don't believe it. The digital clock on my classroom wall leaves no shadows. It defines little. It just assigns a number to now . 9:27 , 9:27 Read More...
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Thanksgiving redux


24 November 11 07:05 AM
I liked this 3 years ago. I still like it....Happy Thanksgiving! This week's The New Yorker magazine cover highlights a turkey sitting on a ledge with a few pigeons. It's the classic turkey any schoolkid would draw--blue head, red wattle, and a lovely Read More...
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Little Scientists, Inc.


20 November 11 04:40 PM
fet·ish /ˈfetiSH/ Noun: An inanimate object worshiped for its supposed magical powers or because it is considered to be inhabited by a spirit. A course of action to which one has an excessive and irrational commitment. Guess the goggles aren't needed Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 3 Comments    
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A November Treet


16 November 11 08:37 PM
I rambled on about cell communication to my AP Biology class--they're bright, they're young, but they're not clamoring to know about G-protein-linked receptors, despite my cartwheels (good for kinesthetic learners, no?) Even the College Board recognizes Read More...
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Another year goes by, and the apple trees are bare again


12 November 11 11:47 AM
Today marks the anniversary of my sister's death, when a self-described Christian missionary ran her off the road, left the scene, then wrote to me (after being apprehended by the police a day later), that this was God's will. Apparently some modern day Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 7 Comments    
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"We Can Do Better" propaganda than you


12 November 11 08:19 AM
Update: turns one co-founder is Christine Healey DeVaull; her Dad, Bob Healey, made a fortune selling luxury boats , and now shares some of it through the Healey Philanthropic Group, whose Executive Director is ~ta da~ Christine. She also was the ED International Read More...
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Clamming in November


11 November 11 06:51 PM
The shadows are long, now, even at noon. We know why, of course, and pretend otherwise, living under electric lights, listening to electric voices, staring at electric screens. The wind is blowing over 20 knots from the northwest, in November, and the Read More...
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Science for non-science majors


07 November 11 08:44 PM
If a child has an insatiable appetite to learn about the world, to pursue patterns and rhythms in the swirl of sensations slipping into her consciousness each day, then it makes sense to teach her the vocabulary of the trade. If a child chases the rational Read More...
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What hour?


06 November 11 06:37 AM
Yesterday the sun hung in the sky for 10 hours and 24 minutes in these parts. Today the sun cheats us out of two minutes, only hanging around for 10 hours and 22 minutes. Way I figure it, I lost two minutes of Ra time as he travels on his night-barque. Read More...
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We had it right over a century ago....


05 November 11 05:10 PM
"Not geography, nor nature-study, nor history, but the child; not the adult, nor adult theories, nor Froebel himself, but the child, is the center and source of the kindergarten. To see children as they really are and not according to our preconceptions; Read More...
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Life on a limb


05 November 11 09:56 AM
We got smacked last week--I still step over a downed line when walking to school, and the curbs are lined with life-like tree limbs. Just seeing all these leafy zombie branches edging the asphalt gives me an odd joy. I wonder if other biology teachers Read More...
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"Show me the money!"


02 November 11 05:40 AM
Quote from today's Star-Ledger . "There are schools all over the country, hundreds of schools where 90 percent of students receive free or reduced-price lunch, and 90 percent are going math and reading at proficiency.There are core things they do very Read More...
Postedfrom doyle | 2 Comments    

Life in a drop of water


01 November 11 10:38 AM
I wandered into school despite our Hallowe'en snow day, to prep for lab. I brought in some pond water I foolishly (and joyously) collected in the middle of the storm. I took a drop, put it on a slide. I never know what I expect to see, and I'm never disappointed. Read More...
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