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June 2009 - Posts

Would Jesus Twitter?

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2009 06 30

John Spencer

1 Comments

Book Review: Leo Tolstoy - How Much Land Does a Man Need? and Other Stories

It's hard not to see Tolstoy through the lens of hypocrisy of his own life. The man was almost abusive toward his wife (who was no jewel herself) and he wrote about social justice while never freeing his own serfs. He spoke loudly and boldly, but ran Read More...
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2009 06 29

John Spencer

0 Comments

naming rights

I find it disturbing how often the U.S. names weapons of mass destruction on conquered indigineous people groups. Photo Credit Flickr Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/destinysagent/2576915531/ Read More...
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2009 06 29

John Spencer

1 Comments

The Vinyl Paradox

The most relevant trends right now seem to be those that are least relevant. I can't count the number of women (okay, and men) I know who have taken up knitting and crocheting. Most of my friends who own homes also have gardens. I can count about ten Read More...
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2009 06 29

John Spencer

4 Comments

Should schools pay students for good grades?

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2009 06 26

John Spencer

2 Comments

Book Review: Walking Since Daybreak

Ekstein offers four distinct narratives that seem entirely unrelated: the ancient history of Latvia, his family history, the present-day story or the former Soviet Union and post-war Eastern Europe. In doing so, he offers compelling, well-written prose Read More...
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2009 06 26

John Spencer

0 Comments

Do schools do a good job preparing students for the real world?

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2009 06 25

John Spencer

0 Comments

Is technology making us dumber or smarter?

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2009 06 25

John Spencer

0 Comments

What can children teach us?

What can children teach us? What can adolescents and adults learn from them? Photo Credit Flickr Creative Commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/un_photo/3312300364/ Read More...

2009 06 25

John Spencer

0 Comments

Book Review: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

I first read One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in high school. At the time, I viewed it through the lens of a student. It sparked in me a sense of ideological rebellion. I wouldn't let the system indoctrinate me. I wouldn't allow myself to be doomed to Read More...
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2009 06 25

John Spencer

0 Comments

thoughts on Iran

Each day as I go to the gym, I see images of the protests in Iran. No context. No history. No explanation. So, I try to shelter myself by watching highlights on ESPN. Still, I hear about it on NPR and I read about it in Time and I can't help thinking Read More...
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2009 06 25

John Spencer

0 Comments

my first glimpse at a windowless classroom

This is an expansion on a comment I wrote on Science Teacher's Blog. I checked out my new class as a computer teacher. It's sterile and empty and quiet, save a few buzzing computers. Don't get me wrong, it's nice, much nicer than I am used to. The computers Read More...
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2009 06 25

John Spencer

1 Comments

Wisdom of Crowds

I used to mock the Data Divas. I called them Data Whores, because it seemed that they sold a sacred profession for a numerical quantity and to me they were the equivalent of zombies using dead ideas to feast on brains of the living or vampires sucking Read More...
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2009 06 24

John Spencer

0 Comments

Are we becoming cyborgs?

In Farenheit 451, there is a scene with the Mechanical Hound, where the machine seems to become more "human" and the humans are being so programmed by technology that they seem to become more mechanical. What do you think of this? Read More...

2009 06 23

John Spencer

0 Comments

Book Review: Stumbling on Happiness, Blink, Predictably Irrational

For this next review, I'm lumping together a few books that I'll label as "social behaviorist" in nature. While each book has a different aim, they each quote most of the same experiments and reach many of the same conclusions. The first, Predictably Read More...
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2009 06 23

John Spencer

0 Comments

How could schools do a better job preparing students to be lifelong learners?

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2009 06 22

John Spencer

0 Comments

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2009 06 22

John Spencer

0 Comments

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2009 06 22

John Spencer

4 Comments

give new teachers a break

Ahead of time, a few completely unrelated announcements: 1. My wife and I will be having our third child in November (I think) People have known this for awhile, but I'm not sure I announced it on this blog. 2. I'm writing book reviews about books that Read More...
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2009 06 21

John Spencer

4 Comments

Book Review: Fastfood Nation

I'm not the hippie, anti-fastfood, granola guy. True, we have a garden and I'm annoyed by marketing to children. However, we have days where my wife and I need a cool place to get away and so we relish the McDonald's PlayPlace and the dirt cheap fake Read More...
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2009 06 21

John Spencer

3 Comments

we were designed for work

I used to think of work as a byproduct of the Curse. Somehow, every time I cleaned a bathroom toilet or trimmed hedges, I was working off some penance that would allow me, in return, to enjoy a Venti brew. I still have chores that are precisely that: Read More...
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2009 06 20

John Spencer

3 Comments

Book Review: Lies My Teacher Told Me

Growing up, I believed that the Native Americans were a small, peaceful and yet savage group who lived in North and South America. They had travelled a few hundred years back on the Beiring Straight and, lacking the cultural Renaissance of Europe, they Read More...
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2009 06 20

John Spencer

1 Comments

honest opinion

I changed the top logo on my blog and I would like an honest opinion about how it looks. Do you like the old one better (similar to what you would see on my Learning with Impact Blog ) or does this one look better? Read More...

2009 06 19

John Spencer

0 Comments

Book Review: Brave New World / Brave New World Revisited

From Soma to our entertainment addiction, Huxley had a prophetic sense of the direction of humanity. While the rest of the world worried about freedom and control, he offered a social criticism of technology before McLuhan could ever write, "The medium Read More...
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2009 06 19

John Spencer

1 Comments

Book Review: Please Understand Me

One of the most liberating books for me was the Please Understand Me , about the Myers-Briggs temperament sorter. Although I am not a fan of "personality tests" (the type where I am a blue-green or a dancing dolphin or a wood gnome) the concept of the Read More...
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2009 06 18

John Spencer

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Book Review: Orphans of the Sky

I've been taking time off the traditional weekly schedule of this blog. I'm still writing blogs at Musings from a Not-So-Master Teacher as well as co-writing a new blog (geared toward new teachers) called TV and Teaching . However, this blog felt real Read More...
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2009 06 18

John Spencer

22 Comments

envious of artisans

Most of the time, I love being an idealist (the Myer's-Briggs term for my temperament of intuitive feeler). I love a life drenched in metaphor, filled with emotion and meaning. I love the intersection of personal and philosophical. I dig deep conversation Read More...
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2009 06 16

John Spencer

3 Comments

the root of the edu-factions

For the use of this blog, I will apply two arbitrary colours and ignore the deeper nuances of debate and conflict that apply to educational theory. Instead of blue and red, I'll use grey and green. (Yes, I know I'm using British spelling. I've been re-reading Read More...
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2009 06 16

John Spencer

4 Comments

my own political contradictions

It's easy for me to criticize Republicans for inconsitency. The same people who, two years ago, told me to show some respect for the Commander in Chief now rail against him and claim him as the anti-Christ. The same pundits who say the government is trying Read More...
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2009 06 14

John Spencer

5 Comments

A Few More Blogs

If you aren't reading this in a feeder, you might notice that I have linked a few other blogs to this blog. I'm trying to give it a website/blog feel. There are three main blogs that link to these and I thought I'd let you know about them: Learning with Read More...
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2009 06 12

John Spencer

0 Comments

re-write

Awhile back, I mentioned that I had written a book called Sages and Lunatics. I'm re-reading it now and I'm struck by two contradictory thoughts. First, it's better than I had thought. This sounds arrogant, but I sometimes assume that what I am thinking Read More...
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2009 06 11

John Spencer

2 Comments

grace and gardening and smashing oranges with metal bats

My sons and I just made home-made spaghetti sauce. The carrots were from one of our friends, the tomatoes from another. We had the thyme, oregano, basil and sage in our front yard. We added squash and onion from a garden as well. When we were done, Joel Read More...
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2009 06 10

John Spencer

4 Comments

one of the smartest things I've read lately

The following is an excerpt from an interview with Sufjan Stevens. Sufjan is one of my favorite artists in terms of music and lyrics (though not necessarily great vocals - a bit breathy) Part of what stuck out to me was his differentiation of the instution, Read More...
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2009 06 9

John Spencer

0 Comments

first time co-writing a blog

I'm currently co-writing a blog with my good friend Javi. It's geared toward first year teachers, but it's available to anyone. The title is Television and Teaching , but I'm considering changing it to A TV's Guide to the First Year of Teaching (I'm just Read More...
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2009 06 8

John Spencer

1 Comments

what David's teaching me about teaching

Our church has been doing a series on the life of David. Initially, the story made me feel weak and tired. It's so epic and adventurous and my life is so ordinary and plain. It's not that I dislike my life. I don't buy into the Thereau's notion that most Read More...
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2009 06 7

John Spencer

3 Comments

why I hate swimming

I don't mind the heat. I like to run when it's ninety. I enjoy doing yard work when it's triple digits. I love the way, in Arizona, the sweat dries off of me before it's hit my shirt. I love how relaxed I feel when it's hot out. For that reason, I have Read More...
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2009 06 7

John Spencer

5 Comments

my post-teaching routine

After charting out a way-to-planned-out concept of a summer to do list, I let it all go for a few days. I breath. I blog. It's usually during this part that I bust out the Damien Rice O album, even if it's a little too dramatic and the songs are a little Read More...
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2009 06 6

John Spencer

1 Comments

my worst self-contradictory statements of the year

I used to mock politicians who said stupid things in public . . . okay, I still do that. However, I'm guilty of the same thing as I teach. The following are some of the worst self-contradictory statements (or incredibly trite) I've made toward students Read More...
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2009 06 6

John Spencer

4 Comments

bread and circus and teamwork

Twenty years ago, I sat on the couch and watched tanks fire into a crowd of college students. Peter Jennings remained calm as he offered a play-by-play of the Tiananmen Square protests. As I grew older, I wondered whether that generation would rise up Read More...
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2009 06 5

John Spencer

7 Comments

if I saw you in Heaven

Before promotion, our resident burn-out pulled me aside and asked, "If there's no shame in Heaven, will we still need privacy?" I couldn't answer him, but it got me thinking about Heaven. A few years back, my mentor pointed out to me, "You act like God Read More...
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2009 06 4

John Spencer

7 Comments

innocence - another Joel dialogue

Joel pulls me aside with a serious demeanor. "Daddy, this is a toy gun. We can shoot it, but we never shoot a real gun, okay?" "Good point, Joel," I respond. "Why do people have real guns?" he asks. "To protect their home. They have a gun just in case Read More...
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2009 06 3

John Spencer

4 Comments

attention new teachers

I'm giving this blog a short, two-month sabbatical for two reasons. First, I am running out of relevant ideas and I want to rethink some metaphors, technology and paradigm shifts. I want to figure out what Philisophical Friday should be and how it can Read More...
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2009 06 2

John Spencer

3 Comments