An archived stack of papers: January 2006

Textbook Publishers, Take Note

In a stack of papers called Reading.

  • Jan
  • 31
  • 2006

Remove most literature deemed “classic” from our textbooks, replace those pages with quality, contemporary nonfiction and I venture to guess we’ll have students who are better prepared to succeed in college and in life. And we may create students who actually like to read in the process.

Consider the ... read more

Something Simple?

In a stack of papers called Reform.

  • Jan
  • 30
  • 2006

When I visited the KIPP school in San Francisco, something about their application of the KIPP strategies stuck out in my mind. They boast about high academic achievement and creating a culture where success if expected and failure is addressed; they have lots of systems to encourage this outlook on academics; the different small schools they have (for lack of... read more

Veiled Attempts

In a stack of papers called Reform.

  • Jan
  • 29
  • 2006

Quite some time ago, someone sent me a copy of “Education and Moral Values: Seeking a New Bottom Line“, an article from a magazine titled Tikkun. Their Web site will tell you that tikkun means “to heal, repair, and transform the world.” However, while I appreciate their use of the serial comma,... read more

Addition By Subtraction

In a stack of papers called Reform.

  • Jan
  • 28
  • 2006

Walking back from the soccer game yesterday, a hand on my car keys and attention on my conversation with my friend, I started thinking about taking a few things away, wondered if high school is too late, and considered the possibility of addition by subtraction.

What If We Got Rid Of Junior High Schools?

Are jr. highs a place where we allow students to fall into certain traps? Chris... read more

The Freedom To Fire

In a stack of papers called Reform.

  • Jan
  • 27
  • 2006

Principals at public schools should have the freedom to hire and fire as they see fit, based on some objective criteria to avoid any power plays. Currently, they do not. Some folk will say this is a good idea and propose that, if principals could hire and fire, teachers would have to suck up to the principal and not challenge decisions made by administration for fear of losing their job.

I think... read more

A del.icio.us Use Of The Web

In a stack of papers called Connections.

  • Jan
  • 26
  • 2006

Treating the class more like a journalism exercise means that I need to gather writings about a lot of different topics, many of which textbooks do not address or are terribly outdated on. Instead of making copies of things, I’ve decided that most articles and research that we’ll read about these topics, those things that we will... read more

Failing Freshmen Can’t Go To University Right Away

In a stack of papers called Legislation.

  • Jan
  • 25
  • 2006

I hate to categorize, but I’m going to.

Many different segments of a high school population fail classes and fail to graduate. Those segments that fail fall into one of three categories:

those who have low skills; those who have no interest in school; those who have too many other things going on in their lives to ever possibly prioritize school in order to... read more

Good Writing In The Wild

In a stack of papers called Writing.

  • Jan
  • 24
  • 2006

My girlfriend, also an English teacher at my high school, read a passage the other night that did exactly what she’s been trying to get her kids to do; it made good use of vocabulary to express a point. She printed the passage up on an overhead and presented it to her class:

Among the many traits that made Charles Darwin one of the greatest minds in science was his pertinacious... read more

And So It Begins

In a stack of papers called Writing.

  • Jan
  • 23
  • 2006

This should end up being a good thing. I told all classes today about the new plan: class anthology, everyone submits 4 pieces total (2 written, 2 audio), reading as launch pad for writing, no more writing-assignment handouts, deadlines/assignments on the board, working on writing during class. I didn’t get even a single “Hooray,” but to expect that would be too much. Even if this does... read more

Into [Not So] Thin Air

In a stack of papers called Unorganized.

  • Jan
  • 22
  • 2006

Glancing through my teaching materials, one thought on the way my classes run currently and another on the way I want to run things, I cleared the way for a new method, hunched my shoulder against the inevitable problems coming this week, and stared absently at the vastness of my Writers INC (pages 160-65) and Timeless Voices, Timeless Themes: The American Experience (pages 994-95 and... read more