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Why education needs to change
Mar. 3rd, 2008 06:58 pm"...[I]f you're not prepared to be wrong, you will never come up with anything original. And, by the time they get to be adults, most kids have lost that capacity. They have become frightened of being wrong. And we run our companies this way; we stigmatize mistakes. [my notes: Not just mistakes, but results the ceo didn't like, no matter whether the decision was correct or not and we just got a bad break!!] And we're now running national education systems where mistakes are the worst thing you can make. And the result is that we are educating people out of their creative capacities."
( Video of the talk behind the cut. )
( Video of the talk behind the cut. )
Why We Banned Legos, an account from a daycare/before- and after-school-care facility in an affluent Seattle neighborhood about an interesting conundrum of limited resources that arose from their school-age children building a 'Legotown.'
Totally fascinating. If you like or care for kids in any way, I strongly encourage you read it!
ETA: and here's a follow-up article: 'Lego Fascists' (that's us) vs. Fox News
Totally fascinating. If you like or care for kids in any way, I strongly encourage you read it!
ETA: and here's a follow-up article: 'Lego Fascists' (that's us) vs. Fox News
Making the Mind Stay
Dec. 14th, 2007 08:22 amFor some, [the] task of coming back a thousand or ten thousand times in meditation may seem boring or even of questionable importance. But how many times have we gone away from the reality of our life?perhaps a million or ten million times! If we wish to awaken, we have to find our way back here with our full being, our full attention.In this way, meditation is very much like training a puppy. You put the puppy down and say, Stay. Does the puppy listen? It gets up and runs away. You sit the puppy back down again. Stay. And the puppy runs away over and over again. Sometimes the puppy jumps up, runs over ad pees in the corner or makes some other mess. Our minds are much the same as the puppy, only they create even bigger messes. In training the mind, or the puppy, we have to start over and over again
- Jack Kornfield, "A Path with Heart" from Everyday Mind, a Tricycle book edited by Jean Smith
- Jack Kornfield, "A Path with Heart" from Everyday Mind, a Tricycle book edited by Jean Smith
Random teachable moment
Jun. 16th, 2007 09:16 amYesterday, older daughter S and I went to the library to sign up for the summer reading program. As usual, the call of the vending area hit her and she asked for her allowance to get some snacks. After she got hers, I got some chips as well. She said, "You got the same snack as me." I corrected her, "You have the same snack as I." Then we talked about why the correct form was "I," about subject and object and parallel clauses, why you didn't need to include the verb, and so on. I complimented her, saying I was proud of her for paying attention to the issue, and that this is the kind of grammar taught to middle and high schoolers in plenty of places. Then she ran off to ask the librarian where the graphic novels were so she could look for more Tintins.
Why I want to teach
Jun. 10th, 2007 10:05 amAn understanding heart is everything in a teacher, and cannot be esteemed highly enough. One looks back with appreciation to the brilliant teachers, but with gratitude to those who touched our human feeling. The curriculum is so much necessary raw material, but warmth is the vital element for the growing plant and for the soul of the child. - Carl Jung
Certified...
May. 13th, 2006 04:25 pmI finally did something I have been meaning to do for the last 8 or 10 years, basically since starting a family. I am now certified in Adult, Child AND Infant CPR, First Aid, and use of an AED. That last is pretty easy...anybody with 10 minutes of instruction and two brain cells to rub together could use an AED properly. I have little cards in my wallet listing my four new certifications, too. It took all day yesterday (9-6 with 45 minutes for lunch break), but the day went by pretty fast.
CPR and rescue breathing are hard work, let me tell you!
CPR and rescue breathing are hard work, let me tell you!
Lots to say, lots to catch up on...
Feb. 27th, 2006 03:20 pmI have a ton of stuff to journal about from this past week and weekend. I participated in a 3-day intensive/teacher training with Twee, senior assistant to Shiva Rea, at my yoga studio. It was hard, it was great, it was awful, it was amazing. I am sore but not as sore as I thought I would be. I had a very interesting dream this morning. I went to a group advising session at EMU for their post-baccalaureate teacher certification program last thursday. That will all have to wait for further time, while I slog through the 150 email messages and LJ friends page and administrative stuff that needs attention and so on.
On a shorter note, I had my second OEDILF limerick approved over the weekend:
Searching archives, the bibliotist
Read papers perhaps best dismissed.
Bibliotics decoded;
His theory exploded.
"Brahms' Lullaby" wasn't by Liszt.
I just love that LJ's spell check is suggesting bloodiest, bubbliest, boldest, baldest, blitzed for bibliotist and Bobolinks, Bobolink's, Bulldogs, Bulldog's for Bibliotics. "Bobolink's"??? ::eyebrows raised:: LOL
On a shorter note, I had my second OEDILF limerick approved over the weekend:
Searching archives, the bibliotist
Read papers perhaps best dismissed.
Bibliotics decoded;
His theory exploded.
"Brahms' Lullaby" wasn't by Liszt.
I just love that LJ's spell check is suggesting bloodiest, bubbliest, boldest, baldest, blitzed for bibliotist and Bobolinks, Bobolink's, Bulldogs, Bulldog's for Bibliotics. "Bobolink's"??? ::eyebrows raised:: LOL
Hard-working teachers
Jan. 31st, 2006 07:04 pmI've been doing some substituting at my older daughter's school lately. A few weeks ago I spent the majority of three days with my daughter's class when their teacher came down with the flu suddenly. Last week I subbed for the other 1/2 class for one afternoon.
Yesterday I got a call just as I was heading in to my Baby Signs class that they needed a sub ASAP because the 5/6 teacher thought she had broken a rib and needed to go to the ER. I ended up getting there about 2 hours later, after teaching my baby class and grabbing lunch. I was amazed that the teacher in question was still there. They had spanish for the first part of the afternoon (and thus I sat and read a book for the first 40 minutes I was there), but boy were those kids a handful for the remaining time I had with them.
( More adventures in school )
Yesterday I got a call just as I was heading in to my Baby Signs class that they needed a sub ASAP because the 5/6 teacher thought she had broken a rib and needed to go to the ER. I ended up getting there about 2 hours later, after teaching my baby class and grabbing lunch. I was amazed that the teacher in question was still there. They had spanish for the first part of the afternoon (and thus I sat and read a book for the first 40 minutes I was there), but boy were those kids a handful for the remaining time I had with them.
( More adventures in school )
I have a job. A teeny tiny job.
Nov. 10th, 2005 07:25 pmWell I have a part time job. Unfortunately it's REALLY part time. Two hours per week, teaching Baby Signs level II at First Steps Ann Arbor. I will teach toddlers and their parents/caregivers how to sign the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, numbers up to 30, animals, colors, and other miscellaneous concepts starting in January. I am excited about it, actually. And I will get to sub for the level I teacher as needed, or perhaps take that over at some future point. Who knows?
I'm also looking for more ways to teach or otherwise work with kids, perhaps after school extracurriculars at S's school. The after school program coordinator wants me to tackle Magic: The Gathering. I don't want to do that, as I nearly had two students come to blows when I taught it at summer camp. We'll see if she goes for my other ideas, such as RoboRally (a summer camp success) or a trick card games class (Euchre & Hearts; maybe Wizard or Pinochle or Spades if I need to keep introducing new games).
I'm also looking for more ways to teach or otherwise work with kids, perhaps after school extracurriculars at S's school. The after school program coordinator wants me to tackle Magic: The Gathering. I don't want to do that, as I nearly had two students come to blows when I taught it at summer camp. We'll see if she goes for my other ideas, such as RoboRally (a summer camp success) or a trick card games class (Euchre & Hearts; maybe Wizard or Pinochle or Spades if I need to keep introducing new games).
insomnia again, but a better attitude
Jul. 8th, 2005 03:07 amWell, M started all-day preschool today (thursday...I guess that's technically yesterday). We signed S up for full-day day camp for next week and the week after, at her request. It's going to be practically a vacation! No kids for 7-8 hours per day all week! Job hunting and prep for summer camp are the things at the top of my agenda.
( camp details, job searching, & Howard Jones!!! )
I'm going to see if I can grab a few hours' sleep here. Third try...
( camp details, job searching, & Howard Jones!!! )
I'm going to see if I can grab a few hours' sleep here. Third try...
