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January 2008 - Posts

do you really want community?

Our district is spending millions of dollars on PLC. It might sound like a drug (which might be nice, because we could turn it into a quick profit and actually spend more on things like books and technology) but it actually means Professional Learning Read More...
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2008 01 31

John Spencer

4 Comments

tips on using the internet for research

The internet is a virtual anarchy of information. There is no sense of peer review, which means anyone can publish anything. Critics, seeing that students often plagiarize or accept any information as valid, simply dismiss the internet as a bad idea for Read More...
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2008 01 27

John Spencer

8 Comments

why I like movie nights

A small crowd of ten students gather in my classroom for our monthly movie night. The name is a bit of a misnomer. The movie actually runs from 4:45-5:15, but "Monthly Movie Late-Afternoon/Early Evening" sounds convoluted. I guess most lies are borne Read More...
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2008 01 26

John Spencer

1 Comments

gender-based education

Gender-based education, once relegated to parochial schools and stodgy prep academies, is now becoming a popular trend in education. Parents swear by the need to separate adolescents to help ease concentration. (Some would argue in favor of sending all Read More...
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2008 01 24

John Spencer

15 Comments

feeling like the Wizard of Oz

In the last year and a half, administration has been offering me new opportunities to develop programs that change how our school operates. At first this seems exciting. I worked with some students and teachers to create the IMPACT program. Then, this Read More...
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2008 01 19

John Spencer

1 Comments

an art project

Disclaimer: Sorry if this blog keeps filling up with classroom stories. We're sitting at lunch, discussing what we just read in the book Night. A kid named Joseph mentions, "We should create a memorial for the Holocaust. I heard this story about a school Read More...

2008 01 18

John Spencer's Blog

0 Comments

changing professional development

For me, the term "professional development" conjures up images of sitting in a stale library, watching PowerPoint slides as I perfect the art of cartoon-making. I hate spending an hour and a half every week listening to things that feel irrelevant to Read More...
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2008 01 18

John Spencer

22 Comments

should I be concerned?

The following link is an article one of my student's wrote: http://socialvoice.blogspot.com/2008/01/american-idol-primaries.html When I read this, I hear so much of my own voice. It's written by a student who often hangs out in my classroom at lunch or Read More...

2008 01 15

John Spencer's Blog

0 Comments

don't tell me how to teach

"Teachers are usually just lazy. They get tons of vacation and don't even have to put in a full work day," remarks my brother's friend. He's an arrogant fire-fighter; the type of lazy jock who never had to do work in school because he had a hell of an Read More...
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2008 01 10

John Spencer

33 Comments

why I eat lunch in my room

I'm reading this book Another Planet, about a reporter who visits a suburban high school and offers her insights about the students and staff. I expected something cheezy, "inspirational" and full of misguided stereotyping. Instead, I am enjoying the Read More...

2008 01 8

John Spencer's Blog

12 Comments

Are we dumbing down education?

"Kids these days just aren't being challenged enough," a veteran teacher laments to me. "It used to be that they had hard work. You could expect them to rise to high expectations. Now I have to water down everything." Are we really dumbing down our education? Read More...
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2008 01 4

John Spencer

4 Comments