Archives March 2008: Musings from a Not-So-Master Teacher -

31 Comments

making meatloaf of a golden calf - part one

I walk down the hall with a large stack of test booklets and mentally rehearse the rules. I am an alter boy - a mere pawn who, if all goes well, can fly under the radar. Here in Arizona, AIMS testing is the Holy Week of Arizona’s education, where students Read More...

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personal stories

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standardized education

2008 03 25

why I am okay with the Easter Bunny

People are quick to point out the secular beginnings of our holiday traditions. The Easter Bunny began as a spring time celebration of fertility rites. I guess in a post-industrial culture where birth control is the norm, we've chosen to honor what we Read More...

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family

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Easter

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holidays

2008 03 23

why I don't care about Obama's former pastor

I'm glad that no one has ever suggested that I can't be a good teacher based upon the statements that my former pastors have made. After all, it was Dr. Mark who said, "any good Christian who believes in marriage needs to sign this law preventing same Read More...

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politics

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current events

2008 03 20

Socrates in McDonalds

She greets the students with a faux smile and haggard eyes, offering the same rehearsed line, "pick up your bell work," and like androids, they wander to their assigned seats. Though she resembles a Wal-Mart greeter, the classroom most closely resembles Read More...

Filed under:

philosophy of education

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standardized education

2008 03 20

8 Comments

I ride past a sign

While on my bike, I ride past a tagged-up sign. In the foreground is the latest freshest graffiti, supplanting the corporate letters advertising for an incumbent politician. (I can't think of the last time we had an election) It seems a poignant message Read More...

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education

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story

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social issues

2008 03 17

why boomers don't like Obama

Obama is popular with my generation. We are the hopeful, the idealistic, the ones who believe social change is possible (perhaps even easy). We never witnessed a civil rights leader being shot. Instead, we have vague memories of the Berlin Wall falling Read More...

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politics

2008 03 13

cutting edge technology

Teachers say they want "cutting edge technology" in their classrooms. They view the latest technology tools as a great cure that will finally transform their mundane teaching experience into a twenty-first century, state-of-the-art facility. Words are Read More...

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teaching

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social issues

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technology

2008 03 11

what sufjan taught me about teaching

Some indie music is indie because it's just not that good. There's a sense that the band wants to "make it big," but they sound just like all the other bands that want to "make it big," so they rationalize it by claiming that they won't sell out. What Read More...

2008 03 7

12 things that need to change

Sometimes I feel as if I don't fit into the system of education. I wonder if I am just crazy or if I am part of a silent minority (perhaps even majority) who feel the same way. So, I am making a list of paradigm shifts that I think many teachers, administrators Read More...

Filed under:

authentic learning

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philosophy of education

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standardized education

2008 03 6

4 Comments

my ghetto home

When we first arrive, no one stands at the door to greet us - at least not officially. The resident homeless man, however, offers his loud (perhaps socially unnacceptable) greeting. With his typical bluntness, he says, "I haven't seen you around here Read More...

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2008 03 3