learning the hard way

"In page after chilling page, I saw that my book had been hacked apart, autopsied, and permanently..."

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 08:00:05 +0000

“In page after chilling page, I saw that my book had been hacked apart, autopsied, and permanently embalmed into chapter-by-chapter blow-by-blows: plot summaries, genealogy charts, and — ai-ya! — even Chinese horoscopes. Further in, I was impressed to learn of all the clever nuances I’d apparently embedded into the phrase “invisibile strength” … The truth is, I borrowed that phrase from my mother, who used to say something like it to me whenever I was whining out loud.”

- Amys. Tan’s reaction to the CliffNotes for her book, The Joy Luck Club. (via englishteacheronline)

I always hated exam questions that asked ‘what was the author thinking?’ It seemed so implausible that an author would cram that much nuance and metaphor into every single line!

Illness, deadlines and terrible stress have categorised the last two weeks :( But now that’s...

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 22:17:00 +0000

Illness, deadlines and terrible stress have categorised the last two weeks :( But now that’s over with I’ve got the Train to Teach conference tomorrow in the ThinkTank in Birmingham. I’m really looking forward to this :D

As learning goes mobile (slides and video) | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 22:12:11 +0000

As learning goes mobile (slides and video) | Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project:

Fascinating presentation about the use of mobile media devices and what this may mean for learning. It’s a long video but it’s well worth watching!

I’m pretty sceptical about anything I read/see/hear in the media; there’s always at...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:07:00 +0000

I’m pretty sceptical about anything I read/see/hear in the media; there’s always at least a grain of salt hidden in there. But reading this article, even if it is in any way slightly accurate, there is a severe case of failure happening in our homes and schools. Now as this is The Daily Mail there’s probably an awful lot of exaggeration, a good dose of hand-wringing, and way more salt than is healthy for you. But it’s that kernel or truth that worries me.

I’ve seen some of the things this article talks about, specifically children being sent to school in nappies and unable to use cutlery. The difference is most of my experience of these things was in a special needs school. My youngest brother is autistic and dyspraxic and at 16 can’t tie his shoes or use cutlery and that’s fine, everyone has different abilities and limitations for all sorts of reasons. But even in this special needs school there were parents who were interested and encouraged their child’s development and parents who really didn’t care. That’s what really affects a child’s development and that’s what’s appalling!

I’ve seen teachers covered in all manner of bodily fluids (and been covered in fair few of them myself) while in the classroom. Why is this seen as acceptable by some parents? I’ve seen teachers and pupils hurt by a child in the classroom. Why is this acceptable? If this were any other profession and you were having to deal with this sort of situation it would be unacceptable but for some reason it’s ok for teachers to put up with this? I don’t think so.

I know there can be a variety of reasons behind why a child misbehaves and that children develop at different rates. But there are many situations which are exacerbated by parents who are uninterested or overprotective of their children. And it is these situations which are unacceptable and need to be challenged. Because it’s not the parents who suffer in the end and it’s not even the teachers, it’s the children who have been brought up in these situations who suffer the most.

And that’s why teachers do put up with this and accept it as part of the job. Sometimes they’re the only ones who seem to care. And that’s truly heartbreaking.

theteachersdesk: Angry Verbs! Teach elementary students about...

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 13:09:20 +0000

theteachersdesk:

Angry Verbs!

Teach elementary students about verbs using angry birds!

Create your angry verbs by writing verbs on angry bird cut outs (leave room for students to later write a sentence).

Put tape on the back of the angry verbs.

Write sentences with missing verbs on the board.

Ask students to the front of the room to place the appropriate angry verbs in the sentences.

Hand out angry verbs to each student.

Ask students to write a sentence on their bird using the verb.

Allow students to colour in their angry verb and place them on the class bulletin board.

You can find the Angry Birds colouring pages here

Source: Pinterest

"“What happens when we remove the idea that education is done to us and instead look at..."

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 22:00:00 +0000

“

“What happens when we remove the idea that education is done to us and instead look at education as a state of being, how does that change the make up of our practice of teaching. Test scores and seating arrangement become less important if we see education as sharing of the “daily progress of our lives as we move through the adventure of experience, selecting, rejecting, shaping the moments into some workable meaning” (Roszak pg. 192).

Education and schools are not just for “the special population of learners called ‘the young’,” (pg. 192). We can’t just talk about education happening in schools and to children. We need to change the discussion to education and living as a whole because “education is for everybody, anywhere, and for a lifetime.””

”

- Education as a Essential Gesture of Human Existence « Cooperative Catalyst (via adventuresinlearning)

WHERE WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO VISIT ON YOUR PLANET?

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 22:26:17 +0000

There’s so many places I’d love to visit, time and money notwithstanding. Top of the list is Japan, Iceland and New Zealand. Please don’t make me choose just one!