mathdittos2.com
...dedicated to...hmmm, we're still figuring that one out... |
|
Ten Common Myths About Teaching Ten common myths about teaching on eSchool News carries the responses of teachers to the publication's question, "If you could clear up one misconception about teachers and/or teaching, what would it be?" You can probably guess most of them, but it is still an interesting read. John Spencer's 10 Myths About Public Education is also a good read and carries an interesting embedded YouTube video of interviews of people attending the recent Save Our Schools rally and march. An Interesting Resource
The Jottit site suggests that "Jottit makes getting a website as easy as filling out a textbox." Adding images and formatting text do take a couple of minutes of reading (Jottit FAQ), but certainly aren't rocket science. I created the page at left in just a few minutes (images hosted from my Senior Gardening site).
Also see: • Mashable: Jottit's (Too) Simple Website Creation Tool by Kristen Nicole I really don't know where my head has been, as Jottit has been around since 2007! Odds 'n' Ends There are some interesting articles and postings that showed up towards the end of last week and over the weekend, especially if you're one of the 450 in Los Angeles.
Send Feedback to |
|
Mr. Teachbad Fired It probably had to happen, but I still hate it that Peter Gwynn, author of the hilarious, biting, profane, and scarily accurate blog, Mr. Teachbad: Where Teachers Laugh and Complain (formerly titled Mr. Teachbad's Blog of Teacher Disgruntlement) was fired by the DCPS. Gwynn repeatedly ridiculed the District of Columbia Schools on stupid rules and practices. He often wrote things that run through every teacher's mind from time to time. He frequently showed his administrators and evaluators as the the emperor with no clothes. And he was accurate...and hilariously funny at times for those of us who have been in the classroom for any serious amount of time.
NCLB Secretary of Education Arne Duncan is attempting to put pressure on Congress to get reauthorization done on the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), by offering states waivers on reaching NCLB's 100% proficiency standard. Two blog postings by Duncan, Providing Our Schools Relief from No Child Left Behind and Top 5 Questions About NCLB Flexibility, outline the rough plan to let states slide on the proficiency mark in return for accepting Department of Education "reform" initiatives similar to those in the Race to the Top program.
Wisconsin Recall Election At this writing late Tuesday evening, it appears that two Democrats have unseated Wisconsin Republican Senate incumbents, three Republicans have retained their seats, and one race is still undecided. The Associated Press notes in Two Republicans lose seats in recalls, "Control of the Wisconsin state Senate rested with one Milwaukee-area race that was too close to call Tuesday, as Republicans tried to beat back Democrats stoking a backlash against Republicans and Gov. Scott Walker for their efforts to strip public employees of most union rights." Update: Democrats fall short in Wisconsin recall elections and GOP holds on to Senate, but Walker recall hopes still strong, opponents say relate that Republicans have held on to control of the Wisconsin senate, winning four of six recall elections yesterday. Odds 'n' Ends
Yesterday, I picked four gorgeous, open pollinated Earliest Red Sweet peppers. ERS is a variety no longer commercially available that I help preserve and distribute through the Seed Savers Exchange. I then picked several dozen open pollinated Moira tomatoes, another variety preserved and distributed via the SSE. While in our large East Garden, I also brought in a couple of watermelons. One was a 32 pound Ali Baba melon, a variety with a pale outer skin and a rich red interior. I wound up my outdoor gardening for the day by picking a couple of gallons of grape tomatoes. Once grape tomato plants start producing, they overwhelm you with small, delicious fruit. I always put our grape tomato plants at the end(s) of our row of caged, main crop tomatoes, to make them accessible to grandchildren.
When I'm not out gardening or writing Educators' News, I'm often writing our other publication, Senior Gardening, where you can read about our gardening adventures and misadventures several times a week. Our Boys Need Sox Stephen Wesson's Wartime Clothing Drives: Hosiery and the Homefront on the Teaching with the Library of Congress site includes the World War I poster image at right. Wesson writes, "Even as early as the American Revolutionary War, those left at home thought of ways to support those fighting to preserve our freedoms...The Library's collections contain broadsides, photos, letters, and posters documenting drives to produce goods ranging from socks to slippers to sweaters." If I were teaching a chapter on WWI, I think I'd use the posters and such from the Library for a great "teaching" bulletin board. It's time for the Perseids Again Tonight and tomorrow night, the Perseid meteor shower will peak. As the Terre Haute Tribune-Star's Mark Bennett writes in This is the perfect time to lie on your back staring at the sky:
Dr. Phillips adds for those with a better forecast than ours, "The best time to look is during the hours before dawn especially on Saturday morning, August 13th. The full Moon will be relatively low, and the meteor rate should be peaking at that time." The image at right shows (courtesy of the Stellarium open source application) where we'd be looking early Saturday morning if we had clear skies (and I could stay up or get out of bed that early). Scientists @ the Smithsonian
The Smithsonian has added a new area to the web site, Scientists @ the Smithsonian. eSchool News tells of the attempt "to make science come alive for students" in Smithsonian website puts a human face on science. The site includes videos of 20 Smithsonian scientists and a few related materials. Some of the videos, such as the one embedded at right, are quite engaging and should catch students' interest. The site guide implies there are videos, profiles, and extras of the folks highlighted, but only the first four scientists listed have those features. The rest are just videos, sometimes simply dreadful minutes of "talking heads." I found some interesting stuff in the videos I watched, but as is, the site is incomplete. Someone at the Smithsonian needs to get on the stick and get the job done. They made a good start, but... Odds 'n' Ends Among the good blog postings I read yesterday were Jenny Orr's 10 Picture Books I Can't Live Without and "Mrs. Lipstick's" Ouch. James Boutin's Dear President Obama and Secretary Duncan speaks for a lot of us, I think. Our Odds 'n' Ends listing for today degenerates a bit towards the end.
Have a great weekend!
Ads shown on this site do not represent an endorsement or warranty of any kind of products or companies shown. Ads shown on archive pages may not represent the ads displayed in the original posting on Educators' News. |
Dr. Tony Phillips adds in 
| Previous Week |
©2011 Steven L. Wood