Facebook: The Evil Empire?

Parents, please tell me Why in the holy name of Steve Jobs when I asked my classroom of 10 and 11 year old 5th graders how many were on Facebook 20 little hands shot up?!? Accompanied by big grins and shouts of "and Youtube!" or "Tumblr too!" -- I'm all in favor of the iGeneration being digital from the womb, but aren't there age milestones they're supposed to hit before being immersed in the potentially confusing, sometimes sordid world of social media?

"Do we ban pencils because one wrote on a restroom wall? Why do we do that with Social Media in the classroom?"  --   @JulieDRamsey   juliedramsay.blogspot.com

So now the District wants to ban all teacher/student connections on Facebook. Which I agree with on the underage side, there's no reason Elementary students need to have to have anything to do with FB. But if my students' parents were big FB users I definitely would set up a class site in order to pass along info and connect all the parents.  For my middle school students and my sports teams, I think FB is an instant and effective tool when used to connect teachers/coaches and students.  I know they all have phones these days, but am I really supposed to sit down and call them all when one post keeps everybody up to date?

Yes, there are creeps in the world. Horribly bad people. If I caught any of these rat bastards preying on my students there would be a very public demonstration of my fury. Do I trust my sons' teachers and coaches? Absolutely: I've met them, talked to them, watched them. I have also discussed the real world with my children.  Do I trust every coach, teacher, scout leader? Hell no, and neither should you. I joked about not meeting a single parent for the first seven weeks of being a brand new, mid-year teacher, and I still have met less than half my students' parents, but it wouldn't be funny if I was a lousy teacher, or worse. Stop by, peek in, look around! I was visited often by fellow teachers and the Principal dropped in randomly, and although I was nervous and self-conscious, I support and encourage the practice.

Back to Facebook.  I have seen the crap teenagers post.  I have two teenagers at home that have posted crap and been called on the carpet for it, not only be me but by aunts and an uncle and friends that knew better and were able to give him a virtual "love tap" and remind him of the rules for proper behavior. But c'mon, they are teenagers and they are going to be rude, obnoxious, inappropriate, and laugh at stuff we do not find funny. They are going to be mean and hurt others. They do not share our values and our interests because we are adults and they are still children. ("Children" by the way, that know so much more about the world than you did at the same age. They've known stuff for years you just found out about last month. They know stuff that would curl your parents' toes and put your grandmother 6 feet under.)


Which is why we need to help them, to watch them, to protect them. We need to save them from themselves, from the other children who also need saving, and from the life-damaging pain of the predators. We need to read their posts and texts just like we read their diary and the notes found in their pockets on laundry day.  We need to view their pictures and videos just like we view the movies, tv shows, and video games.  We must watch what goes into their eyes and ears exactly like we watch what goes into their mouths and bellies.  And most importantly we need to teach them discernment, wisdom, good judgement, ideally through the greatest teaching method ever invented: setting an example.

But that's a rant for another day.

Education needs a soundtrack

Books with soundtracks -- love this idea. Historical novels with period music, character/mood/motivation expressed and enhanced with appropriate background music? Think of the possibilities for informational text: new terms and concepts can be introduced with a video, historical events accompanied by primary source images, etc, etc.

This is exactly what I think of when I envision not only text books in the future, but My Classroom tomorrow!  At the very least I want Google search constantly hooked up so no student ever has to say "what is that?" and not get immediate visual and/or aural support to the text explanation. And my ipod will be constantly present -- Civil War studies needs fifes and drums, Civil Rights Era needs Sam Cooke, Earth Science neeeeeds cool video of oozing lava and exploding volcanoes!

My Theme Song

...or Fight Song? Rallying Cry?

I know this has been around before and in many different versions, but I'm man enough  teacher enough to admit it still chokes me up, convicts* me, and INSPIRES me!  Especially since one of the jokes running around my family and friends lately (and I confess I started it) is a variation of the old "Those who can, do..." ending with "...can't teach, coach P.E.!" har, har, har...

*future post on my failure as a teacher/coach/man on only the second day of the job... :(

with no further ado, Taylor Mali:

Ask These Questions!

Saw this blog post this morning, thought these points/questions were very insightful -- Haiku Education/L.A. Times articles -- why are teachers afraid (or is that the wrong word?) of accountability, of evaluation? I don't want to debate the questions themselves, I want to see answers.

Now I'd better go read the Times...

When does he have time to comb his hair, much less let it catch fire?!?!?

This has got to be fiction, one of those James Frey "true as I remember it" tales?  Or it's a combination of several decades of teaching, all this -- plays, concerts, travel, baseball, manners -- could not possibly all occur in the same school year... with 5th graders?!?!?

They need hidden cameras in this classroom so mere mortals can see just how he does it.

I admire him, am intimidated by him, and will strive to have one tenth of the impact he has on his students.  I don't think we'll ever do Shakespeare, but I think the time he makes himself (and the classroom) available is a huge difference maker. I'm an early to work guy anyway, so as long as my students learn to use the coffee maker I'd love to have them in bright and early to get some work done, and designate days after school to focus on additional learning. 

The Hobart Shakespeareans website

Learn Me Good, Gooder, Best!

Another great list of resources from Learn Me Good , free educational games from Elementary up to HS, and they're usable with the interactive whiteboards -- I haven't checked them all out, 'cause I got sidetracked for several hours on the Professor Garfield site, playing games and listening to Mrs. P read to me...



 Speaking of reading, that is definitely one of the things I look forward to  if when I have my own class: reading a book to them, a long book that takes several weeks, a book with several voices and maybe a slightly scary and/or dangerous scene.  No matter what grade I get, they're getting story time!

Mrs. P's Magic Library

Classic stories, Masterpiece Theater style? Right now she's reading me Alice in Wonderland -- the intro was a little long, and I wish it showed more text and less actor, but otherwise a very interesting read-along option.

Anyone know of something like this in Spanish?

Mrs. P's The Magic Library

I found this link, believe it or not, on "Professor Garfield" -- as in the fat orange cat -- and initially thought it would be the usual silly games and cartoons that kids love to play on but don't really do anything educational. From scooting around a few activities though, I'd say they got this one right.  Great graphics, clear instructions, standards-based activities... the lasagna's on me, Professor Garfield, great job! 

Technology Should Make Ya Move!

As I sit here on my ever-widening rear end night after night, searching and reading and collecting Education issues, I am serving as a reminder of how I do not want my children or students to use the computer and internet: It, the computer-centered world, cannot be the be-all, end-all solution to anything, especially not Education.  A computer cannot be the means for engaging, teaching, researching, producing, and assessing (not to mention entertaining) students.  Yet I see in a lot of the work and ideas that herald computer technology as the only future for Education, and concurrently the only way to communicate with any person under 16 years old, the common thread of isolation, of a student linked electronically and wirelessly to teachers, classmates, and the means to receive, practice, and demonstrate understanding of knowledge.

I'm not merely railing against the video game generation that never sees a ball or bike touch real dirt, that's an old argument, nor am I hating on the texting/FB-ing addicts whose thumbs and phones are never separated.  But what I see online and out on the campuses seems to fall into two schools of thought regarding technology:

1. "We're a Technology school, we let 'em use computers!"  These schools/teachers are so hip and with it their students can use Word, then Google up some pictures to really snazz up the book report!  The advanced students that finish class work first, or the RSP students that "don't do" a certain subject, can play cool math games... What's the difference between my son sitting for 2 hours in front of the screen playing Zoo Tycoon and sitting for 2 hours playing Shoot the Geometric Shape?*
2. "We need to relate/connect/catch up -- we Twitter and Facebook and Text our students!"  The emphasis here is playing their game, communicating on the students' terms.  Assignments are available online, questions and answers relayed wirelessly,  entire semesters of work produced electronically.  Is my son demonstrating a mastery of the subject matter or of his ability to collect and merge the correct pieces? 

No Luddites here, I am all for the 21st century and beyond -- I just want there to be balance, a synchronicity between Wikipedia and the dog-eared paperback Thesaurus, between the video camera and real live actors.  Technology assignments should always try to incorporate movement, should have elements of other media involved.  For example: video science reports with real world demonstrations and on location interviews; text message or twitter scavenger hunts that involve reading maps, interviewing classmates, collecting measurable data; history research reports that result in physical demonstrations of knowledge, such as speeches, songs, or re-enactments. Many of these and other ideas can be found at Edutopia's Digital Science and Math Lessons .


* no, I do not let my sons sit for 2 hours playing anything.

Animated by Purpose

Came across this randomly (or was it... "inspired"???) while playing with an iPad at the Apple store.  Through my drool came this rapid animation and words such as motivation and incentive -- words I happen to be turning over repeatedly in my brain pan as I get ready to take on a 3rd grade class for the next week.  Anyway, got home, looked it up again, this time with audio, and there must be something here we can use in Education.


Now I don't know anything about this RSA group, I'll look 'em up in a minute*, but the video is well done if a bit on the fast side... I want to run it back in slow motion just to make sure I caught everything.  Coming from the business world, I've experienced the "just because you give them more money, or offer the opportunity to earn more money, doesn't mean they'll work harder/faster/better/not be rude to customers" phenomenon. It seems the people that are going to work hard and get things done, and done right, are the people that will do it that way regardless of monetary or advancement incentives.  I'm sure the same is true of students -- the ones that will work hard and complete assignments will be those students whether they get a bouncy ball or Starburst or not.

How should we inspire/encourage/motivate our students?





I do like the Free Time idea -- let them work on whatever they want, but (the manager in me can't let go) I want to see results, I want to see contribution from all team members, I want to see your product shared (taught to) the rest of the class.

* update: okay, I've found RSA.org, as in The Renaissance Society, but that wasn't it.  Here is the RSA YouTube page and the official "21st Century Enlightenment" RSA site, and here is the video/art site for Cognitive Media  ...

...and here's another video -- he starts discussing education and "kids these days" at about 5:30

Inspired to Teach

I feel fractured sometimes, or at least multiple-personalitied: 5 blogs, 4 Facebook pages, LibraryThing, Twitter (which I rarely post or check anymore)... half the time I find myself deleting posts or links because I put a book review or football drills on The Wife's hairdresser page.  I'm sooooo confuuuuused...

Anyway, I'm trying to create a FB page and have all my Teacher/Education/Children's Book* stuff, such as blog posts and cool stuff I find on other blogs and sites, go to one central hub.  Don't know if I'm doing it right, is there a way to quickly/automatically link/share eveything to a FB page? Hmmm...

Introducing  Inspired to Teach  the facebook page, aka "The Hub" ???  Ideas and suggestions always appreciated...