School's Out Forever

What a fun article in the Wall Street Journal.  I hope this is not true.  "...you're trapped inside all day reading books you don't want to be reading and learning things you don't want to be learning from teachers who often don't want to be teaching."

I know that school is not the best place for some students.  But it should be fun to learn.  I still like learning every day and if I could afford it, I might still be taking classes. (time and money)

But I am probably a school freak.  I first got a BS in Engineering from Vanderbilt.  Then I finished by MBA from Xavier University after taking a few classes at UVM.  After moving from Vermont to California I found the best job as an AA for the Liberal Studies program,  the environmental studies program, and to be part of the Eastside Union High School recuriting program to find minioririty students who want to be teachers.  It was so fun and the University allowed me to take free classes after working there one year.  It also allowed for free tution for my children to attend if they could get in.

I suppose I pushed them a bit in High School to make sure there grades were up so they could get in.  I bribed my son with a $1 a point to improve his SAT scores.  Don't believe this does not work as he increase over 100  points.  But that may have been the best money I spent as he was able to have a free college education from Santa Clara University.  

So I started taking all the classes I never had before and ended up with a Liberal Studies degree and graduated with my daughter.  She became a teacher and used a grant to have free tuition for her teaching credential.  After stating I would never be a special education teacher, I ended up pursing a Masters degree in Special Education.  And I just love it.

I had a great job at Price Middle School and had to give it up to move to San Diego.  I couldn't find work for three years and subbed on and off.  Finally I was called to HR for San Diego Unified and  after a 15 min interview I was offered a job.  And I just love it.  I work at Scripps Elementary with K - 5 students.  

I have to say, I think my students and their parents like my teaching.  Again, I love to make it fun becasue I enjoy fun things.  We have written about apples compaing two kinds.  We eat them and describe the crunch,, we loook at them and describe the differnt colors.  We write in a blog to review educational games on the iPad.  I post them on my web page.

I think student  choice is important.  I ask my students wha tthey want to learn.  I then work on games, find videos that relate, and 'voila' a fun lesson.  But then maybe I am a freak.  I still love learning and I am a grandmother.

"Schools for Wisdom" San Diego High Tech High

Interesting article from the New York times by David Brooks 10/16/15.  Basically he talks about High Tech High that uses the old idea of project based learning and 'updates it with tech clothing.'
The documentary "Most Likely to Succeed" has the premise that today all we need are relational skills to be great future workers in the world.  We need to be able to "motivate, collaborate, persevere and navigate..."

The problem with a 'tech' school that does not teach basic factual acquisition is at what point can you contribute if you don't really know anything about it.

Brooks states you must 1. know some basic facts 2. be able to see a pattern formation or be able to link facts together to make them more meaningful 3. mental reformation ie the information becomes alive for you to manipulate it.

Basically to be a new worker in the future you needs to know facts and how to work with a group.  So knowledge is still power.  Today we no longer work in a vacuum we need to have people skills as well.

So do you know what  a neutron is?  Do you know if the Progressive Era came before or after the Civil War?  Do you know what countries the refugees are coming from and going to?

Now I See The Moon

This school year 2014-15 I have been working with students with Autism.  I was given this book by an educational aide.  Now I See The Moon is written by Elaine Hall with Elizabeth Kaye.  On page 60, I found some very interesting information.  "The anxiety of children with autism is more than the typical anxiety that you or I might feel.  Their anxiety comes from their inability to predict or control what might irritate or overwhelm their nervous system...

Minecraft

Teaching full time for the San Diego Unified District plus tutoring a few students, I have found many addicted to playing Minecraft.  So I decided to take a course to learn more about it.  First I want to learn which version would be the best for me.  My fourth grade student loves to watch Minecraft videos on You Tube.  I felt needed something more that just watching.

I don't have a Play Station so I don't think I will go with that version.  To of my students do have that version. One boy only has one controller so it can only be played alone.  The other boy splits the screen so he and his brother can play side by side.  I think having a controller may make things easier or more intuitive when playing.

Building my own computer is not a real interest of mine, so I will pass on the RaspberyPI version.  If I had a class of students who wanted to build their own computer this would be a plus.  I understand this version have the connection between curriculum and Minecraft.  If my boys were young I think I would use this version so they could expand their knowledge of computers, gaming and how things work.

I thought I would check out about the PC version at work while eating lunch.  But I found all the pages blocked.  It appears that all the features are available on the PC version.  I use PC's for work but I have Macs at home.  With everything blocked here at work it eliminated this option.  I understand the PC version allows people to connect to servers for miltiplayer games but I want to use mine mainly one on one.

So I have decided to go with the Pocket Edition or Minecraft PE.  I think I will purchase it on my iPad.  I brought one of my personal iPads to work and use it as a reward after students work for me.  I can use it at home when I tutor individual students as well.  I also like that the recipes for various combinations are make visible in the PE version.  This makes it sound a bit easier to use, at least for me. I understand that it comes at a cost because it cannot make as many different items like the PC version.  This weekend I plan to download the version for my iPad.  I will contact my fourth grade friend to assist me.

Tough Teachers Get Results

This article was found in The Wall Street Journal Sept 28, 2013 and is written by Joanne Lipman.

This quote summarizes the article very well. "The latest research shows the wisdom of old-fashioned methods: Rote learning, plenty of failure and stingy praise encourage students to work harderand achieve  more."  It seems the teacher that pushed us the most, and was strict really helped us learn the most.

Here are her eight points.

1.  A little pain is good for you.  Practice makes perfect.  Sometimes you have to do things out of your comfort zone to learn and grow as a person.

2. Drill, baby, drill.  Now we have the common core where sometimes only one problem is discussed in a 45 minute math class.  But doing many problems over and over helps keep them in our memory.

3. Failure is an option.  Sometimes the problems need to be tough.  Showing that failure just means trying again.  It means working harder.  It means re writing the paper.

4. Strict is better than nice.  Joanne brings up a fourth-grader's quote to explain this. "When I was in first grade, and second grade and third grade, when I cried my teachers coddled me.  When I got to Mrs. T's room, she told me to suck it up and get to wrok.  I think she's right. I need to work harder."

5. Creativity can be learned. You really need to learn the material before you can be creative with it.

6. Grit trumps talent.  Grit is defined as passion and perseverance for long-term goals.  Grit is what can determine success.  They also noted that students who had teachers who were optimist had made great academic gains.

7. Praise makes you weak... If you tell a student, 'not bad, or 'you are a good worker' encourages a student to keep working hard.

8. ...while stress makes you strong.  Good teachers have at their core the belief, the faith really intheir student's   ability to do better.

Students reflected that great teachers taught them:

     discipline

     self-motivation

     resilience

     how to fail and how to pick yourself up again 

Clicks, Not Gold Stars

An article was published Monday, November 17, 2914 in the New York TImes, written by Natasha Singer.   Have you heard of ClassDojo?  This is a behavior-tracking app that lets teachers award points or subtract them based on a student's conduct.  I work in a school where a first grade teacher is using this system.  When a teacher awards or deducts points the program makes a sound.  The deductions make a sad sound that the entire class hears.  In addition to this, the parents can see their child's behavior in real time.

I was shocked to find according to this article that one out of three schools in the United States are using this application. Teachers say they like this software because it allows them to quickly record individual class behavior, whole class behavior, and communicate to the parents on how 'their student' is doing.

Teachers can use this two ways.  They can display all student's points or use the system in a private mode.  One teacher said he uses multiple points for good behavior and subtracts very few points for off task behavior.

Problems with this app is having all parents agree in writing to the use of it in the classroom.  One school is concerned about a student feeling publicly shamed.  Some principals do not want the data displayed publicly.

Overall from the use I have seen in the classroom, it is a positive 'sound' that makes the class strive to improve their behavior.  They clap to encourage a classmate.  They fix their behavior when off task and the sad sound is heard.

Please send your feedback if you have seen its use in class or monitor your child's progress in the classroom.

Developing brains switch maths strategies

I found this article on line:  http://www.nature.com/news/developing-brains-switch-maths wtirren by Helen Shen August 17, 2014.

I have been working with a sixth grader who has to process numbers that add to ten.  I have been wondering what could cause this?   This articles states 'that changes in the hippocampus-a brain area associated with memory formation-could help explain how children eventually pick up efficient startegies for mathematics."

Usually adults use memory based stratgies for finding sums and children use counting methods.

What they found using MRI to scan children's brains is that the coordination of signals in the hippocampus with the rest of the brain are the most importnat.  "Children with stronger connections between the hippocampus and neocortex were more likely than others to answer problems with memorized math facts."

So with my student, I plan to work on numbers at the first grade level wuing the common core.  I hope I can do enough work that it can be permaently in her memory and her brain can process sums to 10 in a faster way.

let me know if you have any ideas on this?  I would love to learn.