In case of midlife crisis, break glass.
Archive for the ‘magicmacguffin’ Category
In case of midlife crisis, break glass.
Saturday, May 26th, 2012Retention Pains
Saturday, May 26th, 2012One of the pluses of teaching in the upper grades, as I did for ten years, is that retention is not an issue you face. The only time I ever considered retaining a student was a sweet boy who had not had glasses for many years and, we realized in fifth grade, had hearing issues so he had not been able to access most of his schooling. We didn’t end up retaining him but did require summer school. (Not a perfect solution but retention would not have been either.)
As a first grade teacher the possibility of retention is something I face more often. This year, however, was the first time I’ve seriously considered it for a student. He is young, a June birthday, and struggling academically. He is also very mature for his age, a factor that ultimately made me argue against retention and he will be going on to second grade. I hope that is the right decision for him.
At the end of that day, my brilliant colleague wrote about our retention committee. Her thoughts are, as always, well worth reading but this question struck me hard:
Would it give a student confidence and build them up or would it send the message that her hard work was being rewarded by being held back?
A couple of days later I read a piece by Diane Ravitch on this same topic. Her post is titled, Is School Retention Child Abuse? so you can see her thoughts. Again it is worth reading. She writes about the school psychologists’ perspective on retention and it isn’t pretty.
My colleague’s question and Ravitch’s thoughts are driving my stand on retention. I have been against it (not across the board but in general) for years and now I feel more strongly.
Taken with Instagram at Super Target
Friday, May 25th, 2012
Taken with Instagram at Super Target
I feel bad for having to leave camp the first week, but theā¦
Friday, May 25th, 2012
I feel bad for having to leave camp the first week, but the holding company that manages Camp Magic Macguffin insisted I come west for an orientation session. I did bring the clip board list of issues that need addressing (e.g. that back road entrance, the disturbed soil and strange sounds heard from the lake, a few bunk house without proper air conditioning units, and that weird shed #4 that is locked up.
I am looking forward to meeting the CVI managers, but also want to get back to camp ASAP and not leave Martha stranded.
"The value of knowing history is very clearly seen during election times when politicians reinterpretā¦"
Friday, May 25th, 2012āāThe value of knowing history is very clearly seen during election times when politicians reinterpret and redefine it to suit their needs.āā
– @shauser on Twitter
http://twitter.com/shauser
First DS106 Post
Friday, May 25th, 2012I decided to join DS106, first and foremost, because I want to learn more about using the web productively and digital storytelling.
I have been thinking about DS106 for some time, but I was reminded on Monday that I should jump in. I was doing an oral history interview on Rosie the Riveter / World War II Home Front for the Regional Oral History Office (ROHO) and the Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park. The narrator discussed her experiences in Nursing School at the University of Michigan during the war. She saved enough money to attend nursing school after she worked for a year at a Westinghouse plant in Ohio, which made a part for B-24 bombers being built at Willow Run in Michigan. Similar to institutions nationwide the U of M nursing expanded quickly and students learned on the fly. She summed up learning in nursing school as, “See one, do one, teach one.”
I have seen many websites and I incorporate digital and web-based resources into my classes, but I need to do more. In order to learn more, I have to do more. I have to be uncomfortable and not skip the step of doing. In addition, I am fascinated to see how this experience of digital storytelling intersects with my knowledge on oral history and the narration of the past. I am used to recording stories and asking people to re-think and reflect on historical knowledge and narratives. I am not as comfortable, however, creating stories in digital formats and this should be a challenging and rewarding experience.
I have decided to focus on telling stories about my dog, Mazik. Mazik is Yiddish for a clever and mischievous child. The name was fitting and Mazik was a wonderful companion. After a bout with cancer, which afflicts many Boxers, Mazik died in September 2008. I am hoping what I produce in this class can re-frame Mazik’s story. In my head, the story is too often frozen in the veterinarian’s office when he was euthanized. That was one moment (which of course was inevitable) in what was a fantastic 10 years with Mazik. Memory is an active process and he does not have to be frozen (perhaps a poor word choice–no he was not cryogenically frozen) there. I am intrigued see how digital storytelling can affect the construction of memory.
Part of my thinking on this project was inspired by this short film, Last Minutes with ODEN. It won a Vimeo award 2010. It is a beautiful and heart wrenching film. I think it is an incredible documentary. One of the wonderful things about the web is that it allows a film like this to be distributed around the world.
Front of Trinkle Hall: An Image Daily Create
Friday, May 25th, 2012Today’s Daily Create 138
Daily Create #138 ā Make a photo of the front of a buildingā¦.
Friday, May 25th, 2012
Daily Create #138 – Make a photo of the front of a building. (Taken with Instagram at Salem Fields Community)
Three Chinese Officials in front of duPont Hall
Friday, May 25th, 2012
For today’s Daily Create I photoshopped in the Three Chinese Officals meme which actually doubles as a design assignmentĀ (3 stars—which is far too many for this!). I love the idea of three hovering Chinese government officials congregating in front of duPont wondering what’s going to come out of the epicenter of Teaching and Learning technologies next.
a devilish blog 2012-05-25 12:27:36
Friday, May 25th, 2012Heading down to Fredericksburg today to do more packing. Hopefully I’ll get home in time to do a little work for my blog & DS106.
