Curation: Teaching Economics in Elementary School

 A Few Resources That I Have Found

(Number 4 is particularly fun)

1.      http://econkids.rutgers.edu/top-5-books-by-concept-econmenu-155

a.       This site made by Rutgers university has a list of picture books that can be used to teach economic concepts like markets, competition, scarcity, and opportunity cost, some of the books seem pretty interesting.

2.      http://www.kidseconposters.com/literature-connection/

a.       This site has some lessons for a few of the books listed in the last link as well as some resources that can go with them.

3.      http://www.kidseconposters.com/landing-page/posters/

a.       This website has fun posters on economic concepts for sale or for copying the image into a document and printing it on the sly. For example, there is the “interest can work for you” poster with a happy girl climbing a mountain, and “interest can work against you” with a despondent boy climbing out of a hole.

4.      http://www.kidseconposters.com/activites-and-games/sing-a-longs/

a.       This site has some songs about economic consequences sung to classic tunes. For example, one of my favorites is, “consumers and producers” to the tune of the more we get together.

5.      http://econkids.rutgers.edu/images/pdf/final_draft_reading_teacher.pdf

a.       This is an interesting study done by Rutgers university on teaching economics through literacy, and how to develop this project.

6.      https://www.federalreserveeducation.org/

a.       This is the education wing of the Federal Reserve, it has lessons and publications that teachers can look at for their classroom sorted by grade.

7.      http://www.edutopia.org/stw-financial-literacy-resources-lesson-plans

a.       Edutopia has some nifty resources on teaching students about finances.

8.      http://www.councilforeconed.org/

a.       This nifty site has curriculum on it, some you need to pay for. The nicest part is that it is all aligned with common core standards.

9.      http://www.socialstudies.org/economics

a.       The national council for the social studies provides some interesting links to further resources and research.

10.  http://www.wscss.org/lesson-plans/

a.       The Washington state council for the social studies does not at this time have many resources for economics, but it does have a place for members to share resources and a category for economics that they have expressed they are trying to fill, so this may become a more useful resource.

Scratch Project

I gone made this!

Vignette

Here is my vignette. I hope it is adequate for your viewing.

Speedgeeking!

Here is my Speedgeeking! Delivered to you through the magic of the internet.

Growth as a blogger

I have grown as a blogger mainly in that I have blogged more, so the body of my blog labor has grown as a result. I don't know if I am any better at blogging now than I was at the beginning of the quarter. I suppose my recent entries have been a bit more to the point and in terms of narrow topics, but whether that is better depends on what one's goals are and by what criteria one is evaluated as a blogger. I have some thoughts on whether my writing is interesting. The blog posts that are interesting for me and that I enjoyed writing like the one about the declaration of independence and the one about assessing virtue had no comments on them, while some others that I cared very little about garnered more comments. Perhaps I need to learn to pander to my audience better, but I care more for writing something that I care about, I cannot control what other people think. My comments are not very good, and on no occasion have I seen them create greater discussion, whether they cause thought in another person I do not know as I have been given no evidence one way or the other,

Thinking back on my metaphor, and forward to my teaching

My simile was: teaching is like new underwear. It is a reference to the 1992 comedy classic Wayne's World starring Mike Myers and Dana Carvey. When asked about a recent change in his environment, Dana Carvey said, "it's like a new pair of underwear, at first it's restrictive, but pretty soon it becomes a part of you." I feel that teaching is the same way. Our classes and the government make teaching sound really restrictive, and that there are so many rules to follow that there is no point in having a thinking human do it, especially when we are told just to do exactly what we are told, and to teach exactly what the administration wants us to teach and how they want us to teach it. However,  as I have been in schools, I have found that it's not as bad as all that, and not as scary as some of our classes make it out to be (seriously, I feel like the whole of Spring Quarter existed just to scare us). I am really beginning to get the hang of it, and I am seeing at my dyad that there are multiple ways to teach well. I am thus confident that I can myself find a way to teach that isn't too forced, and maybe even works well.

This leads well into the next question, who will I be as a teacher and a colleague. I don't know. I want to be a good teacher, and a good colleague, and I think I have the capacity and the tools to be as such. However, I also know that I have the capacity to royally screw it up, I hope not to, but I know that I can. All I can say is that in the present I want to work hard in order to be a good teacher and a polite colleague. I believe that I have guidance and will continue to receive guidance from the Holy Spirit to do so. I have some confidence and assurance that there will always be those present to help me improve as a teacher, and I will have innumerable opportunities to do so. Man is free however, and with that freedom comes the potential for evil and failure, and uncertainty in my own ability to follow guidance both human and divine. In the specific outcomes of my practice, I must then defer to Wittgenstein and say, "whereof one cannot say, thereof one must be silent."

Chipotle

I have come across an interesting way to build relationships with students. It has come through a fictional obsession with the popular chain of Mexican eateries Chipotle. The facts are these. In my first period seventh grade Language Arts class on October the 29th, I was reading a list of vocabulary words to the class and for each word I thought of a sample sentence that uses the word. With no prior planning on my plot, two of my sample sentences were about my enjoying Chipotle. For example, using the word "roused" I said, "I could be roused out of bed if I heard the town crier announcing a sale at my local Chipotle." Or something similar to that. For whatever reason, in the mind of a few boys this really stuck in their head, one of them still just calls me Chipotle, which I should probably attend to (unless he only wants my attention, however I don't feel annoyed so I'm not sure if that's it.) First of all, this has helped me build relationships with a few students so that is nice. Second of all, some students I have seen getting more excited about learning vocabulary words, since they want to think of sentences about Chipotle that accurately use the word. I am very interested and am thinking hard as to how I can use this to further educational goals. For now though, it is really funny to me at the very least.

The Importance of Proper Planning and Meter Sticks

This past thursday I was given a chance to co-teach a lesson at our dyad with my Dyad partner Caitlin, and being in middle school we had the chance to do it twice. This is a fact I am very glad for, because after the first go, I was not satisfied with my own performance, but after the second time I felt that I had been adequate. This change was brought about in two main ways I think.

1. For the first time we did not plan as much as we maybe should have planned. We relied very much on the pre-existing power point and we essentially read alternating slides to students and ended up having a very unequal distribution of work. In addition the general confusion lead to us stepping on each others toes a couple of times. However, before the second time we taught the lesson, we took some time to really talk through what we were doing, get on the same page as each other and break down the lesson into manageable bits and plan for some assessment. This worked marvelously, from my perspective it freed up my mind to relax a little bit and focus on delivering the bits of the lesson that were my responsibility. This was a valuable lesson for me as I am frequently tempted to take the, "just wing it," approach. I have found though that with careful planning, my mind is much more free to be interactive with students and to be in pleasant spirits.

2. The second time I was holding a meter stick.

I'm really glad I had this learning experience, and it really reinforces my belief that the placements have been far and away the most useful thing we have done in the whole program.

How to Assess Values

I was planning a series of Sunday School lessons recently and I tried to apply backward design to it. At first it was easy, there were a few Essential Understandings that I wanted to communicate, and a few Essential Questions for the children (3rd through 5th grade) to ask themselves. But when I got to the bit for assessment I was really stumped. Part of it was because I was working within an existing framework with a very limited amount of time and a whole lot of content and with a few other people, but the other part is that what I really want to teach are virtues and a way of life, which are hard to assess. To be sure, the only true assessment of whether one learns a value or a virtue is to look at how they behave in their day to day life, and in the constant and minute decisions that life offers, especially in times of hardship. However, the times of hardship where lessons of morals and values are most valuable cannot be artificially constructed by a classroom teacher, they happen in unpredictable moments of crisis or sorrow. The case of teaching christian virtues is not directly applicable to public schools, although we do often teach similar morals. It did however remind me of our social studies textbook and how it talks about teaching democratic virtues and it made me wonder, how can we construct assessments for these? We can of course have them write about making good decisions, or have them behave virtuously in a simulation, but it is a sight easier to act like you possess a virtue in a classroom environment than to actually live by it as a lasting part of on'es being. Can one ultimately assess a child's true character? This itself may only happen on an informal level in our observations of the child's interaction with each other, are they kind? are they just? do they live their neighbor? do they do as they have been done by? In this way, knowing the student takes on an even greater role, that of assessing the content of a child's character. And a good character is perhaps the most important part of the child a teacher can tend to and help grow.

Thoughts about the Pledge of Allegiance

I have some thoughts on our discussion of the pledge of allegiance from Monday. I wanted to sit and let them stew for a while so they can be well developed, but now I have some responses to the two questions that Dr. Banks posed to us.

1. Would you have your class say the pledge of allegiance?

Yes, I would. I think it is a valuable opportunity for teaching American values. These are my main points. Firstly, I would teach around it, it is at best useless if it is not explained and at worst it encourages students not to think about their nation. I would explain where it came from, what all the words mean, why we say it, and what we can learn from it. I would do this as part of the beginning of the year classroom routine setting so that they begin saying it while knowing it's meaning. I also think that the fact that our nation does not have liberty and justice for all, and it certainly doesn't, is a good reason to not say it, on the contrary, it turns the pledge to a call to action. I see the pledge as an oath of service to a symbol that stands for certain ideals. I believe these ideals to be good ones. A Republican form of government (in the classical sense of the word deriving from the Latin Res Publica meaning "the thing of the people", not the political party) with popular sovereignty, clear limits on the power of the government, checks and balances between different branches of government, and a written set of laws. One indivisible union of states who maintain their differences but work together towards a common good. Justice and liberty for all people before the law and among the citizenry. I think these ideals are good ones, and I also know that I do not live up to them, and that our nation and government do not always live up to them and have often flatly contradicted them. I see the space between ideals and reality to be the place where citizens can work to affect change, and by reminding ourselves and our students of these ideals, and making our oaths not to any person but to a set of principles, we become agents in the good work of bringing these ideals closer to reality.

2. Would you change any part of the pledge of allegiance?

No, it is beyond my power to do so. The pledge as it is has been appointed to be that way by the rightful authorities in government, and whether their decisions are good or ill, as an agent of the government it is my duty to represent it truthfully. If I were the person in power I would make one small tweak, and I think it is a good idea to ask students if they would change anything if they were the ones in power. Now, if the pledge I think perpetrated some great evil or lie, or put forth ideals that I believed to be harmful, for example if it promoted some sort of fascist or communist regime, I would not say it. However, I believe that the pledge is for the most part good for the reasons enumerated above. Secondly, I would not change it to a pledge to earth or humanity because we are not part of the government of earth or humanity, we are citizens of this nation, and it is our responsibility to do the good work in our own home. That is not to say that one should not advocate for people abroad, in fact it is good to do so, and I even think the government can be just in affecting change abroad. I think though that while one can have allegiance to all mankind, there is a special category of allegiance to one's own nation and this is called citizenship, and an oath like the pledge belongs within that context, there are other oaths that apply to our global neighbors. While the ideals may be for everyone, the responsibility for Americans is realizing them in America.

That was awfully long winded. The short version is this, The pledge is valuable for Americans as a way of improving America with ideals that are for everyone.

Revisiting Ayers

I've almost completely forgot about Ayer's book this quarter to be honest. The reason being is that what I am learning now is far more practicable than anything Ayers ever wrote. I actually get to see a teacher working in a classroom with realistic constraints around him with advice that makes sense and is grounded in specific case by case approaches to working with students. I see teachers that make learning fun, which according to ayers learning should not be. I see teachers who teach useful knowledge in a way that not only lives up to the constraints of the standards and the given curriculum but sees them fully realized in a way that reminds us that the standards are a good thing at their core.  I remember some of Ayers talk about how race and diversity play education, and I am learning more about that with Dr.Banks now, and in a way that every time we meet seems to become more concrete. Ayers talks about seeing the student, and now I can see that being done in a wise way. So I have not much memory or care for Ayers now, I have more immediate and tangible role models for my teaching.

WSCSS Conference thoughts

            I really very much enjoyed the Washington State Council of Social Studies conference we attended on Saturday. I was glad to see so many teachers there who were willing to share their thought on social studies and I really do think I learned quite a bit. Also there was a bountiful supply of free stuff which I was sure to exploit, honestly I think that conference came close to paying for itself, I even got a whole unit of Japanese American soldiers in WWII for free, and it was well thought out and everything, a real score.

            I think the conference had more material benefits than most of what we do in class. Apart from the material things I received, the knowledge that I received from the booths was of a very concrete sort, which is good since that will end up being more imminently useful than all the theory we have been doing in class. I especially enjoyed my lunch period wherein I chose to eat with a few teachers who had absolutely no authority over me. They were acquaintances in the profession I have gathered over the years, and unlike my time spent in the presentations, there was no overarching goal to our conversation and we approached each other more like equals, although they were certainly the senior and more honored party in the conversation.

            I think that this is the real power of free collaboration and perhaps the highest end of the conference. While the speaker may have had some good stories and interesting ideas, there was little practical in her speech for me, although that is not to say I did not value it. Two of my presentations left me with useful resources and techniques, one of them less so and did not do what was advertised, which I will admit left me a bit cross. I would certainly go again if given the chance for the measurable material and practical benefits rendered unto me mainly by the booths at the conference and normal conversation with common people. 

The magic rectangle

To be honest, I don't really trust consumer technology. I think it's ease and novelty often do more harm then good. That's why initially, I thought our new magic rectangle was mainly useful as a paperweight and a backup flashlight. I have however re-evaluated my thoughts on it for a couple of reasons.

1. I got a pocket constitution app so I don't need to carry my paper copy around with me and I can appreciate our republic any time I want. Also it has the federalist papers. This is of great educational value, I can put the greatest ever set of earthly laws on a screen for children, and it even has little explanations for the kiddos.

2. I can get many public domain books for free. I will use this as an opportunity for self improvement. The classics have survived all these years because they are good and have words of truth in them, and now I have whole libraries of truth at my fingertips for free!

While I would still never spend my own money on one of these magi rectangles (I could save towards buying a long term US treasury bond with that money), I have found some uses for mine. I will not wait with bated breath for the next great achievement in consumer technology though, there is always some new thing to spend money one. After all, there is nothing new under the sun.

Food Journal Reflection

                I had an interesting experience keeping my food journal this last two weeks. This was not really a very long time to be working on this, but I do think I learned a few things in the process as I have never done any sort of recording my food and activity level. I learned that health is not really my first concern in my eating habits unfortunately, I think more about convenience and what is readily available at the time or based on habit, I should probably work to change my habits so that they are natural for me. This is similar for my activity level, I do not set time aside to exercise, and I just take activity as part of my normal day. For example, I am a custodian and am on my feet during my whole shift doing heavy lifting, I also make it a habit to walk from place to place when I can, but this is more to save gas than to be healthy. I reckon I ought to try to actually make a point of having a healthy lifestyle for the purpose of health rather than economic purposes; I can’t very well get kids in my class to be healthy so that they can save gas or through heavy grunt labor, both would be illegal. I therefore must model health for its own sake for my students.

                My goal was not to drink as much soda, as soda is not very good for me. I managed to drink no soda during the second week of the class so that was good. I think this goal was a reasonable one as it did not really involve many significant changes in my diet, it just meant taking the one thing out, and I was also motivated by the prospect of saving money. This motivated me more than health did, and I saved ten dollars over that week which was nice. However, like my previous point it would have been better to be motivated by health because that’s what I want to model. Being able to set goals and achieve them is an important skill to teach children, and this is extra important when it is a relevant subject like their own bodies. Having reasonable goals spread across a long period of time so that they can have a good ability to achieve their goals in a way that challenges them but does not discourage them.

                I reckon that this sort of activity can be incorporated into a reading or writing activity so they can reflect and write about their experience in keeping their journal. I could also use this as an assessment method to make sure that the children are learning their lesson about healthy living. I suppose that a calorie counting element can be incorporated into the lesson which could be used to add an element of practically usable mathematics into the math and the health curriculum. While it may take some creative thinking to teach health within the busy schedule of  the typical elementary school class, but it is certainly a worthwhile endeavor.

Post for 7-24-14

[This is Late]

I thought that the groups that went on this day presented some interesting lessons on compliments and self-esteem. I did not really consider these a part of health, and have not really thought much about receiving compliments. I think it is good to receive compliments, but not as good as giving compliments, because that benefits not only the other person but yourself since it makes you more virtuous, and that is always a good thing to do. I think this lesson was good, but it could be very painful and awkward for a child who very much does not like sharing compliments about oneself, I think putting them on the spot to share a compliment could really easily spook them.

Reflection 7/30/14

Today had some interesting discussion around the book, some of which I do not know how I feel about, bu was still nice to hear. My own group put the big sentence "reality is relative" on the top of our paper, and to be honest I don't know what is meant by that. Does this mean that everyone perceives an objectively existent reality differently? Or does it mean that objective reality does not exist and nothing is really true for everyone? If the second is meant I must say that this is false. For example, we know as a scientific fact that the human body can replenish its blood, while the Hmong believe that there is limited blood in the body. They are welcome to believe this, and the fact that they do does not make them less intelligent or less worthy of dignity and respect, to the contrary their steadfastness in their beliefs I believe is an admirable quality. They are wrong however, in an objective way they are incorrect. That was a point of some confusion in class, and I do not think that it disturbs the main point of the book, but it is good to consider in class that for the most part western medicine is correct, as well as the fact that, "western medicine saves lives."

Reflection on Health Class 7/29/14

This may have been the single best class period I have experienced this whole quarter. It was engaging and our activities were concrete and it really modelled how we can teach science in our class, through asking questions and promoting discovery. I also liked the bit about thanking the animals for their body parts being used for science, I have run into the problem of students becoming upset at body parts before, and I think this would be a good way to diffuse it. Great class, I hope we have more like it when we have our science methods class.

Reflection for Monday 7/28/14

I feel like our microteaching was not very good. It was overly complicated and reflected a lack of practice and coordination in planning, because there was a lack of practice and coordination in our planning. This criticism was good to learn from and most of it was good. Of special note was the lack of ethnic food on our chart, which we should have paid attention to more, although it would be impossible to put every food under the sun down, we should have been more holistic. I hope to be able to do better next time I present something to the class.

Health Class #2 reflection

[This is Late]

I thought the class on tuesday was great, it was an interesting exercise on how to make our lesson plans incorporate physical activity. I also thought the part on the form about academic language was interesting, it reminded me of an experience I had. In the spring I worked at a school with a large number of spanish speaking immigrants. I was in an 8th grade science class, and they were talking about properties of matter. The teacher mentioned that matter has mass and some ELL students were very confused, I talked to them about them later and they asked me, "how does the scale measure how much church is in an object?" That was a really interesting experience and goes to show the importance of thinking about academic language in the planning of lessons.

Health reflection class #1

Well, today was an interesting day in health class, I'm glad that I'm done with the book so that I can focus on everything else I have to do for the class. I think the log of food and activity is an interesting assignment, it will be hard for me to pay attention to it as I usually do not, but that will be good for me.I hope to learn lots these two weeks and look forward to hearing everyone elses thoughts on the book, which I thought was very interesting.

Moving Classroom Spaces

I thought the discussion we had in class on how to best arrange classrooms was a very interesting one. I got to thinking that one need not necessarily have a singular arrangement for the classroom. With proper training, one could get the children to be able to move the tables or desks around for different situations.

I saw this fifth grade teacher in Bellingham do this once, she was in this tiny little portable of a tiny little school and she had 36 5th grade students (23 of them boys) and she had to be very creative with space. She had this set up though where students would move the desks around for different situations, the system was a little rough but it was near the beginning of the school year so I'm sure with some training they could do it really efficiently.

It reminded me of 18th and 19th century wooden naval vessels like in the movie Master and Commander with Russell Crowe. The sailors would sleep in hammocks on the gun deck, and when an enemy ship came into sight the officers would shout the command "Beat to quarters" and the crew would convert the whole area into a space of battle.

While students should not be asked to combat French privateers, I think the general idea is a sound one that can be applied in the classroom. One can have different table arrangements the children know, like one that's in a horseshoe shape, one that's in a circle, one that's in different table groups so small groups can collaborate, or stack the tables around the edge if the entire floor space is needed.

It would require some refinement but it could create opportunities that a traditional static classroom may not.

Lecture, WEST-E, and Knowledge Oh My!

I've been giving some thought to some of the themes in this class, and I'm beginning to feel a little pushback to some of them. Namely in how we discuss schooling and how it needs to be changed. I think though that maybe not everything should be changed, just because something is old or traditional does not mean that it is bad. So here are some ponderings I have. My main note is to say that this is not meant to be excessively critical, I just think these should be adressed and I prefer to listen when I'm in class.

1. One of the themes of the last class period seemed to be that lecture should be avoided when at all possible. I don't think this is true. There is a place for lecture in delivering content knowledge when the teacher has more expertise than the students. That is not to say that lecture should be the only way that knowledge is communicated, only that it should be be valued and used. Indeed, some people actually do learn best through lecturing, and some people really do enjoy a well done lecture, I would say therefore that including lecturing is a matter of teaching every student. One must also keep in mind that lecturing should only be implemented when the teacher has rich and extensive content knowledge of the subject on which he or she is lecturing, and can do a good job of delivering the lecture in a way that conveys the knowledge, is rhetorically pleasing, and frames the knowledge in a way that the students to turn it into a deeper truth with additional study. But content knowledge is key in all of this, which leads me to my next point.

2. At the last class period it was said that the WEST-Es were of limited value, but I am not so sure about that. I think that some apparatus needs to exist to measure content knowledge, because I think that that is very important. While I agree that teachers should not have to know absolutely everything about what they teach, that would require more than a handful of advanced degrees, I think it is important to have a rich knowledge on what one teaches, and this requires some extra work outside the class. If one does not take the time to learn content knowledge, one runs the risk of being wrong and spreading false information. One example of this is an incident I have seen more than a few times: the teacher is talking about Columbus with the a class and says something to the effect that Christopher Columbus was the only man in Europe who knew the earth was round. This is patently false and gives the wrong impression of the middle ages and the Renaissance. Any educated person of the day knew the earth was round, and therefore every clergyman knew it. It is alongside the term "dark ages" in making the middle ages seem like a time only of ignorance and stagnation, a "world lit only by fire." This is false however, the middle ages were actually a period of great innovation, art, and growth in Europe.

3. Finally, I understand that schooling has a multitude of purposes, and diffusion of knowledge is not the only one, but I certainly think that it is one. It is my belief that deep knowledge is good in and of itself. The intrinsic value of knowledge is devalued when completely outsourced to the internet. Google is a great tool, and it can lead to  great deal of knowledge, but I do not want to completely outsource my ability to know facts to a computer. There is value in developing deep knowledge of a subject  without the aid of a computer.  It builds perseverance and depth of knowledge. Maybe that makes me a luddite, but if it does then I'm a luddite, and proudly so. I'm not saying that we should resort to rote memorization of the capitals and such. And I do believe that teaching skills to get knowledge on the internet is important. What I am saying is that there is a place for diffusing knowledge in the classroom. This is the type of deep knowledge that can be so ingrained that the child can turn it into a truth that is meaningful to them, and thus let the knowledge turn to wisdom and shape them as they grow.

I hope that didn't sound like a tirade, at least not an angry one. I acknowledge that my comments are diffuse and need to be further developed before they are of any use. They are some old fashioned notions I think. But that doesn't make them bad.

Flavius Arrianus

Thoughts on our Religion in Schools discussion

I think our class discussion on Religion in the Public Schools yesterday was really quite interesting, and I've been thinking about this and have a couple of questions/comments on religion in school and classroom community.

1. The scenario with the child who upon being asked what they did over the weekend says, "I was saved by Jesus." This is a delicate situation that requires a delicate touch by the teacher, but I think one thing that should be avoided is what I think of as the "kids say the darndest things approach." This is a really easy approach, and totally understandable, especially for those teachers that themselves are not religious. However, I think that it's important to acknowledge that this it is very likely that this is an important part of this child's life. If a teacher, someone whose opinion the child probably values hugely, does not seem to take the child seriously, is this building bridges to the child? Would instead a comment like, "I'm very happy for you, that must have been an important moment for you, I'm glad you felt you could share that with me," be legal/appropriate?

2. The scenario that was brought up where one child, I'll call him Johnny, offends another child's, I'll call him Paul, takes exception to this due to religious beliefs. While I understand, and support, the fact that I can't tell Johnny to put his feet down because Paul's or my own religions have some compunction against it, can I turn this into a lesson on classroom community? Could I for example explain to Johnny that when he puts his feet up it makes Paul feel like he is not welcome in our class, and while he may not himself see anything wrong with putting his feet on the furniture, everyone is different, and it helps our class when everybody loves and respects each other.Does this constitute state advancement of a religion, or does it constitute promoting a tolerant and welcoming classroom community? Or maybe both?  I hope that made sense, on a grammatical level.

I thought it was a really interesting discussion we had yesterday and I value the cohorts opinions on these matters. Whether we as individuals are religious or not, religion is in our classrooms, in incredible diversity, and this is a great opportunity! Religious freedom is an intrinsic part of the American Republic, and I am so glad we live in a nation where a students religion is not repressed. Many countries even in the developed world, I'm looking at you France, do not give this liberty. Considering that this is how America is, what do we as teachers do about it?

Flavius Arrianus

Education, Community, and Atticus Finch (Journal #3)

This week's readings on building safe and multicultural community have really got me thinking. They have me thinking about what it means to build a safe community. They have me thinking about how the school that I work at is not really a safe community, at least not entirely. And they have me thinking about my favorite book, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. If you have not read this masterpiece of American literature, then some of this post may not make sense. I also recommend you read it, or at the very least see the movie, it has Gregory Peck and is a very good and faithful adaptation of the great American novel.

The Greene Article discusses the need for imagination in order to build a safe community, imagination to think as others and to be outside of ourselves. This reminds me of when Atticus tells his daughter, that you never really know a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you step into his skin and walk around it. The thing is, this is not always easy, and is often very difficult, which is why many people do not do it, the benefits do not outweigh the costs for them. But teachers cannot afford to make it a choice, it is a matter of duty for those in the profession. Trying to understand a person does not always lead to agreeing with them, but what is not needed is a universal consensus, what is needed is a universal respect, and this is what builds a safe community.

The article by Sapon-Shevin discusses building a safe community for learning by embracing both student's differences and similarities alike with clear rules and structures in place. I really liked the idea of the teacher facilitating safe community building through rules and activities created by the teacher, as well the establishment of clear rules and expectations. This really spoke to me, since that's what America is all about. Our similarities and differences are both celebrated through a strong Republican government. America is not a democracy, which rules by the omnipotent will of the majority, there are clear rules in place that prevent that from being the case, and that allow real freedom and diversity to thrive.  In To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus Finch fights for these ideals in the court, which he claims are "the nations great leveler." He charges the men on the jury to do their duty to what's right, to make the town of Maycomb a safe place for all people to not only celebrate their differences, but to celebrate being American together. American schools likewise can also function as a great leveler, if teachers will do their duty to make them a safe place for everyone. The very ethos of American civilization is expressed by Thomas Jefferson who claimed that, "all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." If it is God that made all students equal in dignity, and equal in worth, who am I to put my prejudices above the almighty?

A scene from the greatest movie

A response to my letter

I recently got a response to the letter I sent to the Publisher by William Goldman, and the good news is that I got a response within two weeks of sending the letter. The bad news is that it was not the extra scene, instead it was a letter by William Goldman that detailed that since the early seventies he has been having legal troubles with the estate of S. Morgenstern, the fictional author of the Princess Bride. It was a very funny letter in keeping with the general tone of the novel, and my satisfaction was made only greater by waiting for it, a sensation that is universal in its trueness. I consider this a victory for letter writing.

On the Virtues of Letter Writing

I reckon I oughta start blogging now as I need one every two weeks, I sure hope that this works.

Recently for my Middle Level Learners class (BEDUC 480) I was informed that I was required to read a young adult novel and do an assignment related to said novel. After consulting one of the lists provided for choosing the novel, I decided upon The Princess Bride by William Goldman. There is a movie, you may be familiar. The book is really quite good, Goldman has an engaging writing style and the whole novel has an interesting framing device. Long story short, Goldman presents the book as his abridged, as he calls it the "good parts version," of a longer novel by S. Morgenstern, a fictional author from the fictional country of Florin. In one particular section, Goldman writes, as himself commenting on the "original" Morgenstern text, that at one point he wishes that Morgenstern had written more on a particular scene, namely the re-unification of Wesley and Princess Buttercup. Rather than change the original text by inserting the scene, he instead tells the reader that if they want to read the scene they can write in to his publisher who will send a copy of the text.

The address listed is:

Jelenka Harvey
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
222 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116

I wrote in to see if this would still work, the novel was originally published in 1973, and there is a website listed in the newer edition that I have but I have two education related reasons for writing in instead.

1. It is important to always be curious, and this means nothing if that curiosity is never followed through with. I was curious if this would actually work, the address is 40 years and I don't even know if it ever worked. I want to find out though, and I think that it's worth a stamp and an envelop to find out. If I think that it's important for children to remain curious, who would I be if I did not follow through on my own curiosity. It may get me nothing, but that's not the point.

2. Despite the fact that it is being used less and less these days, I think that there is still value in letter writing, and it's a skill that I like to keep fresh, and think is important to cultivate in our children. Some would say that this skill is irrelevant what with all the modern technology that there is today. But I disagree whole-heartedly, for a few reasons. While not as many letters are written in these days, the skills needed to write letters well will always be relevant. Firstly, is the ability to politely and clearly communicate ideas with someone who will not respond immediately. Even with instant messaging, texting, and the other available resources available, clear communication is key, and a letter trains this skill, and without the ability to instantly clarify, a letter requires one to communicate clearly the first time. Secondly, letters require one to learn how a bureaucratic system like the post office works and gives a view into the workings of the government. The fact that this system is not always efficient, and often requires some problem solving on the part of the citizen helps teach problem solving skills. Thirdly, it teaches patience, which is a virtue regardless of time and place, and the feeling of surprise and delight when one receives a nice letter is much greater than from any form of instant communication.

So there you have it, I'll be sure to put on my blog when I get a response, if I ever get a response. Please find attached a scanned copy of the letter I sent.

This is a test, I hope this works.