Hard Teacher

The following is a funny and slightly disturbing fictionalized story of a teacher who has no other choice but to fail his student.
Hard Teacher
The rest of the blog is funny for its randomness. It reminds me of the stuff I wrote in high school, like the essay about what Jesus was like in high school or the inner thoughts of a tree on a street corner.

Calvin and Hobbes and Ritalin

This makes me cry too, Dan.

http://doodlepipski.com/post/75013016/this-makes-me-cry

"America's Worst Mom"

Boing Boing recommended a blog the other day called Free Range Kids written by New York Sun op-ed writer and mother of two Lenore Skenazy. The main idea behind the blog is that kids today are not given enough freedom. Helicopter parents and statistics prevents kids from going outside, making up their own games, or riding the subway by themselves, as the most recent post accounts. Two other articles I enjoyed are the ones on Obama's childhood and "stunting our kids with safety." We all have to worry about kids' safety in some form, but at what point do we draw the line and say this is infringing on our kids' developments?

Selling Ad Space on HS Exams

I found this article via The Consumerist about a teacher selling ad space on her exams in order to cover the out-of-pocket costs of teaching. The article briefly argues the pros and cons of such a practice. I've got to admit, it's a really good idea that I may consider should the circumstances persuade me. Do you think this is brilliant economics or a slippery slope?


This blog post sponsored locally by Cartridge World, the world leader in printer cartridge refilling!

Throwing Velcro Balls on a Stucco Wall

Have you ever tried throwing a Velcro ball onto one of those sticky walls? Most of the time it sticks. Every once in a while you throw it too hard or not hard enough and it falls off, but most of the time if stays on the wall. That is how school usually is for me. Whatever the class is, the information is thrown at my head at varying speeds and it usually sticks. This semester I’m taking a Medieval Literature course with a wonderful professor. She’s energetic, she knows more about the Middle Ages than a mere mortal should, and she’s a lovely person. Right now we’re reading The Showings of Julian of Norwich, and the balls are no longer sticking.

I’m having a difficult time digesting and relating to some of the readings from class, and I realized that this is because I have such a small knowledge base from which to draw. Sitting in class feels like I’m in the six foot end of the swimming pool trying to catch frisbees. I’m so glad I took this class. I was lucky/unlucky enough to coast my way through most of high school, and this class is giving me a glimpse into what some of my students will go through daily in my classroom. I can have “link to prior knowledge” pounded into my head several times a week, but it never made more sense than trying to catch those frisbees in College Hall today.

Blackboard in Your Classroom

How do you use Blackboard software in your classroom?

Some schools are encouraging (or enforcing) the use of Blackboard software. I know teachers here at Duquesne University and several surrounding high schools get training on it. some use it well; some don't. I've been given the assignment of "webmaster" of my senior secondary English education methods class. I have to figure out how we can utilize Blackboard for this class. I've toyed around with ideas and come up with a few. I'm interested in how you all use it. Just a digital home for your syllabus? An effective out-of-class communication tool? A collaborative learning community? A necessary evil to get through your mandatory to-do list?

How do YOU use Blackboard software in your classroom?

Ophelia on Facebook

Drpezz's recent post reminded me of another way my classmates and I were able to use social networking to create a learning activity that promotes character analysis and creativity. We created a Facebook page for Ophelia.

First of all, this was attractive to the classmates we instructed because the novelty of giving a character of Elizabethan literature a new millennium identity struck them as a cool idea. It has even reached several people we don't know, as strangers have friended Ophelia. If you have a Facebook account or can use a friend's, search for Ophelia TheDane.

More importantly, this really forces the students to think about Ophelia's character. Think about music. Would she like Amy Winehouse or Jewel? No Doubt or The Carpenters? Why? This also allows an opportunity for humor. We decided that Ophelia's hobbies included gardening and swimming. I did this for another lesson plan for The Scarlet Letter and my roommate and I came up with a dozen ideas or jokes without much effort. (Hawthorne Heights, Bad Religion, "Lady in Red," "Son of a Preacher Man," "Tempted by the Fruit of Another," Sherlock Holmes, Raising Ophelia...) Try it out as a warm-up or review activity and see what you get.

P.S. Why does Ophelia love Scooby-Doo?

Because he's a Great Dane!