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December 2009 - Posts

the impact paradox - why less is more

I work hard as a teacher and I believe in the notion that "there are no shortcuts." Yet, I have also found that often "less is more." Trite, perhaps, but true nonetheless. I call it the Impact Paradox. It's the idea that I have more of an impact as a Read More...
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2009 12 31

John Spencer

4 Comments

why I don't have "real" resolutions anymore

happy arbitrary beginning based upon a eurocentric model -- for me the true new year is the start of a school year I used to spend all day working out a system of goals. It looked impressive on paper, if bordering on OCD. I set up mini-compartments: spiritual, Read More...
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2009 12 31

John Spencer

2 Comments

feeling like a reject

I cringe every time I watch Planes, Trains and Automobiles , because on some level I feel like I'm way too much like the John Candy character. I talk too much. (Once this year a teacher told me at lunch time that I "never shut up" and I think she meant Read More...
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2009 12 31

John Spencer

12 Comments

Ten Greek Myths That Shaped My Teaching

What if the Greeks have something relevant to say and we miss them because we assume that old means archaic? I don't pretend to know the difference between mythology and legend and simple story-telling. I know that the Greeks considered it all part of Read More...
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2009 12 30

John Spencer

10 Comments

Happy Belated Boxing Day

Does the world's greatest superhero celebrate Boxing Day? No, but Captain Canuck does! According to Feedburner, I consistently have about twenty Canadian readers. To whoever is up in the beautiful icy wasteland, thanks for reading. (It's about eighteen Read More...
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2009 12 29

John Spencer

0 Comments

hour-glasses and e-readers

It's easy to confuse accuracy for truth, efficiency for effectiveness and novelty for innovation. Case in point: an hour glass is less effective than an atomic clock, but more effective than a sun dial. Yet, the medium itself manipulates people either Read More...
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2009 12 29

John Spencer

5 Comments

the truth is . . .

Sometimes I become stereotypical in trying not to be stereotypical. I relish in the notion that my Legion of *** Poor Scholars can often out-think the honor's crowd. But then, I'll get a kid (sometimes gregarious, sometimes shy, sometimes camoflauged Read More...
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2009 12 28

John Spencer

10 Comments

more thoughts on a book

One of the hardest parts of writing a blog is knowing that even though it is "permanent," each blog post has a shelf life of roughly two weeks. It doesn't bother me most of the time. However, I'd sometimes like my ideas to be a little more enduring. I'm Read More...

2009 12 28

John Spencer

6 Comments

no one pays me to teach

I remember seeing this comic strip and thinking that "educational theory" had to be on the further left. It seems that the more "applied" or "human" a scientific endeavor is, the closer one gets to social engineering. (Social Darwinism, Scientific Racism). Read More...
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2009 12 26

John Spencer

10 Comments

advent

Today isn't the birthday of Jesus. Any historian with open eyes can tell you that. It's the winter solstice; a time when the tilt seems to wane so much that we believe, on a very visceral level, that all is broken and dying. Even here in the desert, I Read More...
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2009 12 25

John Spencer

1 Comments

a few conversations with a four year old

Joel: I'm going to throw it higher so that I can win. Me: Throw it as high as you can. Joel: Do you know why people want to win? Me: Why's that, Joel? Joel: So they can feel better than everyone else. Minutes later we're playing baseball. Joel: Daddy, Read More...
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2009 12 24

John Spencer

8 Comments

conspicuously unrefined

so the wrapper around the cheese was actually part of the cheese - who knew? I'm a populist of sorts, a "small d" democrat who believes that knowledge and wisdom and art and culture should be accessible to all. I don't believing in talking down to people Read More...
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2009 12 23

John Spencer

12 Comments

adventures in pencil integration

It's 1907 and everyone is raving about the importance of twentieth century learning. A new pedagogy. A new approach. This is the story of a man on an adventure to liberate his school from chalk and slate and to begin the process of pencil integration Read More...
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2009 12 22

John Spencer

3 Comments

musings on Christmas

This morning I re-read the Gospels. The first chapter of John brings me into that poetic, metaphorical understanding of the story. But I am jarred by the other three gospels. I'm trying to place myself within the story, trying to imagine where I'd be Read More...
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2009 12 21

John Spencer

5 Comments

musings in dialogue

Someone once warned me about the need to protect and preserve intellectual property, especially in a "new economy" where it's all about the rise of a Creative Class (Richard Florida). I agree with this concept in theory, but in practice it is almost impossible. Read More...

2009 12 20

John Spencer

1 Comments

working on writing a book

I blog often, probably too often. It was easier when I had a book I was writing. Currently I'm in the planning phase of a book that I'll be co-writing with someone. I had a blast writing my last book and I would like to write a new one. So, here are a Read More...
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2009 12 20

John Spencer

16 Comments

it's not about sugar cube missions

People use the term "art inclusion," with a pejorative connotation, the same way that they use special ed inclusion. It's as if art is a complimentary extra, a whip cream on a latte or sprinkles on the cup cake. It's easy to view art as decorative or Read More...
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2009 12 19

John Spencer

3 Comments

useless advice people give new teachers

1. Avoid the staff lounge. After all, they are the "lounge lizards" who will steal your soul faster than a Death Eater, right? Not exactly. Maybe I'm just an awful teacher or perhaps inherently codependent, but fellow teachers have saved my career, given Read More...
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2009 12 18

John Spencer

22 Comments

don't lecture me on "hard times"

This post was inspired by another post from The Doc Is In I'm tired of the moralizing, condescending tone of the financial gurus who make claims like, "We all got ourselves into this mess. Now we all have the face the consequences." Or even the Pollyanna Read More...
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2009 12 18

John Spencer

2 Comments

redefining digital citizenship

Recently, I described in a blog post the "Android Effect" of Google and how it played out in a bizarre dream of mine. I get edgy sometimes when I think of the technocratic idealism I see in the blogosphere. It's not an accident that Google uses a sketchy Read More...
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2009 12 17

John Spencer

9 Comments

why the test makes me so angry

A kid raises his hand during the drill-and-kill test. "I'm supposed to find the main idea of a book that is about the desert, but the options are Cactus Heat, By the Ocean and Mountain Drought and Shrinking Ice Caps. All of these will work. Chile has Read More...
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2009 12 17

John Spencer

7 Comments

why it's fun to have science geeks as friends

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2009 12 17

John Spencer

1 Comments

meet android

A few days back, I had a dream about Google. I've always had vivid dreams about current events (one involved me being invited to a literal global pissing contest sponsored by No Child Left Behind and another involved Al-Qaeda buying our school and turning Read More...
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2009 12 16

John Spencer

4 Comments

ban homework and lengthen school days

So, today is the last day of Edublog voting. I was a bit surprised to have been nominated and I'm hoping they won't show the results. I have a really small following compared to the others. I have a few that I am secretly rooting for (Science Teacher Read More...
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2009 12 16

John Spencer

17 Comments

bread

techno tuesday thought the most subtle danger of a digital age is the notion that what can be seen is what is real and what is real can be seen and that which is shrink-wrapped and tossed into a colored box comes from us Read More...
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2009 12 15

John Spencer

0 Comments

Things People Say They Like (But Probably Don't)

Sometimes people say they like things because that's what they are supposed to say. The following is a list of things that people say they like, but deep within, really aren't too fond of: Red Wine - I'm not convinced that people can get over the bitterness Read More...
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2009 12 14

John Spencer

10 Comments

my day in black and white

When I was in high school, I tried to argue my way out of an F on a test. It was a real lame attempt, based mostly on the fact that a failing test would mean I'd miss a cross-country meet (to most kids, running was a punishment). Me: Does math have to Read More...
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2009 12 13

John Spencer

4 Comments

why merit pay is the wrong way

I don't want these guys to be paid based upon how many people they shoot You can download it at Internet Archives or listen below photo credit Read More...
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2009 12 13

John Spencer

12 Comments

passing this along

I don't usually do the whole resource-sharing deal on this blog, because I have a slight anti-corporate education philosophy. Shocking, I know. However, I have actually been pretty impressed with a few sites and one of them is TeachHUB. They've interviewed Read More...
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2009 12 13

John Spencer

1 Comments

when worldview meets world view

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2009 12 12

John Spencer

4 Comments

how you sell

empty pockets Dr. Dobson, please don't use Jesus to sell the Republican Party. Christian bookstore, please don't use breath mints to sell Jesus. State Farm, please don't use soldier's lives to sell insurance. Politicians, please don't use patriotism to Read More...
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2009 12 11

John Spencer

6 Comments

Friday Featured Blog: Sheldon and Leonard Trying to Co-exist with the World

I've looked at a few of the Edublog Nominations and I noticed a general trend that most nominations went to "21st Cenutury Thinkers" (can we please retire that term?) who wax eloquently about the day when the computer will replace the teacher as the chief Read More...
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2009 12 11

John Spencer

6 Comments

a pie chart about edu-pie-charts

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2009 12 10

John Spencer

6 Comments

if I give 110%, won't that mean I'm in debt?

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2009 12 10

John Spencer

1 Comments

the Linux option

What if we considered the Linux option? A few years back, I found forty old computers with semi-faulty hard drives gathering dust on the library floor. After asking around, I finally had the permission to take first-year iMacs and refashion them as Linux Read More...
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2009 12 9

John Spencer

4 Comments

the myth of digital natives

It's a sloppy podcast. I'm tired and felt like speaking off the cuff. It's why I don't do a ton of podcasts, because I sound so slow and awkward. Anyway, you can view it at Internet Archives or you can listen below. Read More...
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2009 12 8

John Spencer

1 Comments

in memory of my grandpa

The clouds were ominous this morning, a foreshadowing forecast. It's hard not to read meaning into geography when I know that Grandpa is dying. Every glistening puddle takes on a new meaning. I am not thinking of him. I'm thinking of mom and her daddy. Read More...
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2009 12 7

John Spencer

10 Comments

story

you can't teach me if you don't know me I have my students for nine weeks at a time. It takes two weeks to learn the names. I speed-read each story and throw myself in for a moment. I'm a minor character, playing the role of the firm but fair often casual, Read More...
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2009 12 7

John Spencer

6 Comments

a quick example of why politicians don't get it

A few points: 1. I don't deny that schools can be wasteful in the administrative level. However, the waste comes from the micromanaging at the state and federal levels. I'd love to get rid of achievement specialists and curriculum specialists and any Read More...
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2009 12 5

John Spencer

5 Comments

predictions from twelve years ago

Back in high school, I had a friend who claimed that the following would happen (this was about twelve years ago): 1. Cell phones would replace computers - or at least would blend in with computers to much that "small laptops" and cell phones would be Read More...
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2009 12 5

John Spencer

0 Comments

I wish I Could Enjoy the Following (Part Two)

I did this awhile back and I have more: Red Wine and Jazz Music: Sometimes I wonder if "acquired taste" simply means you eventually put up with what's bad so much you think it's good. It's like the person who dates a jerk and never knows what's better. Read More...
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2009 12 4

John Spencer

4 Comments

Friday Featured Blog: Mrs. Love's Blog-O-Rama

Mrs. Love's Blog-O-Rama has become one of my favorites, because it is witty, honest and quirky. Her posts might include a reference to obscure pop culture or a highlight of a book she read or a classroom story or simply a metaphor. Yet, each of them relates Read More...
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2009 12 4

John Spencer

2 Comments

we want heroes without alter-egos

My friend Sam thinks that colleges should have an "Alumni We Aren't Proud of" section on their websites. As he puts it, "Rod Blagojevich went to Pepperdine. Think they're proud?" I'd love to see Ivy League colleges with the names of the men (yes, they Read More...
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2009 12 3

John Spencer

9 Comments

Frequently Asked Questions

I still don't consider my blog to be a popular blog. It's sort-of on the fringe. However, I have gotten more e-mail lately and it makes me think I should create a Frequently Asked Question s post. Why isn't your blog more practical? I have a few resources Read More...

2009 12 3

John Spencer

1 Comments

if I were a number

I'd be real but irrational and sometimes I'd be imaginary. I drew this on my board after getting angry that they keep using my board after school and then not erasing it. Then I realized that I was being irrational in my anger but that I was being real Read More...
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2009 12 2

John Spencer

6 Comments

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2009 12 2

John Spencer

2 Comments

what if it was a conversation?

Yesterday I commented, "The Race to the Top was actually coined by the Germans, except by race they meant Aryan and by 'the top' they meant global domination." They stare at me awkwardly. It was supposed to be funny, but I guess Nazi Germany probably Read More...
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2009 12 2

John Spencer

13 Comments

snarky mini-musings

For those of you who don't follow me on Twitter or Facebook, I'm reposting some of the snarky mini-musings here: Race to the Top Alternate Theory on How It was Named: Oddly enough Race to the Top was actually coined by *** - though by race, they meant Read More...
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2009 12 1

John Spencer

0 Comments