The above video is a fantastic, straightforward way to start a discussion on how to prevent bullying. I particularly recommend it for students in 4th-8th grades.
Category Archives: Middle School
An Education Blog Carnival
For those of you unfamiliar with the term, a blog “carnival” is a regularly-scheduled collection of blog posts on a certain topic. One such blog carnival in the area of education runs weekly, and this week’s version can be found here. If you enjoy seeing what’s new in the educational blogosphere, that link is for you.
If you’ve got a blog and wish to participate, submit an article to the next carnival. Entires are due Tuesday, February 5th, no later than 9:00 PM Eastern time.
Teaching With Technology
A fun debate is brewing on several other education blogs, as Scott McLeod posted that teachers should be required to teach using up-to-date technology. Pete Reilly continued the discussion, and the comments that have been left in response to his post have been very thought-provoking. Just when it might have seemed that there was some consensus that, yes, teaching technology should be mandatory, in came this post entitled “Classroom Technology as an Expensive Distraction,” which argues that the basics are far more important that trendy tech teaching. A quote that best summarizes that article states:
“Technology isn’t essential for teaching. Connecting to one’s students is what’s important. Making them care, and teaching them how to find it is important. The tools we use don’t change substantially what they learn.”
It’s a great discussion, and the key question in my mind is this: Is technology a tool that can be used to teach other, more “real” stuff, or does technology merit being part of the curriculum all on its own? I personally remember spending lots of time learning how to program in BASIC and Pascal, learning Boolean Algebra, and figuring out software programs that have long since been abandoned. So was that all a waste, or did I learn tech principles that enable me to adapt to new technologies better than I otherwise would have? And what did I NOT have the opportunity to learn as a result of all the time I spent working with those now-obsolete technologies?
Ten years from now, will our current students be saying the same thing about HTML, Microsoft Office, and wikis? If so, are they still viable tools in the meantime?
Short-Term Blogging Projects
Each year, my school puts on a “Heart-to-Heart” charity fundraiser where students are asked to earn money (by doing chores, shoveling snow, donating part of an allowance, etc.) which is then donated to several different charities that are chosen by our school’s Student Council. I’ve noticed that in past years, however, the students who aren’t involved in the Student Council sometimes have a bit of a disconnect as to what exactly this charity drive is all about.
Enter blogging. In the past couple of days, I created this blog that is meant to help the students (and their families) stay informed with what’s happening in this contest. That blog will have a short shelf-life, as the contest ends in about a month. But by then, it will have served its purpose.
Which brings me to this question: What events in your school would benefit from being promoted by a short-term blog? Something for Black History Month? A reading promotion scheduled for this coming March? Information about a new Chess Club?
The possibilities for short-term blogs are virtually unlimited.
A Geographically Illiterate Generation
Last May, I wrote about how students need to have a frame of reference when attempting to understand new material. Today I just happened to spot a year-old article about how American students, in general, have a glaring lack of geography knowledge.
For example (and the final point is the clincher):
The thing is, these students who don’t understand basic geography have no frame of reference with which to process not only more difficult geographical information, but also historical information which relies on a basic understanding of geography. We’re wasting our time teaching high school students about Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan if they can’t immediately picture the area we are referring to. Similarly, we are wasting our breath discussing World War I or II if students can’t picture the locations of countries like France, Germany, Great Britain, Austria, or Russia.
Just some food for thought: If you want to teach history successfully, you’d better plan on becoming a remedial geography teacher as well.
Hey, Kids: Guess What I’m Thinking!
There are two basic types of questions we should be asking in our classrooms:
1. Questions where a clear right answer is needed (“What is 8 x 7?” or “In what year did Thomas Jefferson’s presidency begin?”)
2. Questions where there are many possible correct responses (“What are some characteristics of fairy tales?” or “What should the United States do to respond to the situation in Iran?”
Some teachers almost exclusively ask questions that demand one single right answer; in response, some people have begun to vilify those types of questions. Neither extreme is helpful here; questions with specific right answers do need to be asked, as do more open-ended questions.
The real dilemma is that too many teachers ask what appear to be open-ended questions, when in reality they have a pre-set answer in mind. This type of “Guess-what-I’m-thinking” line of questioning usually goes something like this:
Teacher: “What do all fables have in common? Amy?”
Amy: “They all seem to have animals for main characters.”
Teacher: “Hmmm… well, maybe a lot of them do, but that’s not what I was thinking of. What else? Mitch?”
Mitch: “They are all pretty short?” (notice that Mitch asks this like a question because he now knows we’re playing a divination game here)
Teacher: “Well, OK, fables usually are pretty short, but I’m thinking of something that comes at the end of the fable. What do all fables have at the end? Sam?”
Sam: “A happy ending?”
Teacher (now visibly frustrated): “Close. Lance?”
Lance: “A lesson?”
Teacher (relieved): “Good!! Now, what do we call that lesson?”
Lance: “Ummm… a moral?”
Teacher (thrilled): “YES! Every fable has to have a moral.”
If you EVER find yourself saying something like, “Good idea, but I’m thinking of something else,” you need to immediately stop that line of questioning. Instead, just tell the students whatever you wanted them to guess. If you feel a need to spark student conversation about it, ask a genuine question afterwards. The dialogue could then go like this:
Teacher: “One thing all fables have in common is that they have a moral, or lesson, at the end. What might be a good moral that a fable could teach?”
Amy: “Never give up.”
Teacher: “Good idea — let’s keep thinking of more!”
(Students’ interest builds as they realize they are answering a genuine question.)
Mitch: “Pride comes before a fall!”
Sam: “Treat others how you want to be treated!”
Lance: “You should share with other people!”
…and so on. That’s much more invigorating for everyone involved, and it no longer feels like some sort of a game show or mind-reading session.
No Hugging In School!
Last June, I blogged about Kilmer Middle School’s zero tolerance rule regarding student contact. Students in that school who high-fived or hugged each other were in danger of being punished for what might seem to the rest of us to be innocent — or even kind — behavior.
The lunacy continues. This time, in Mascoutah, Illinois, 13-year-old Megan Coulter was given two days of detention for hugging two of her friends as they said goodbye for the weekend.
The district’s official policy states that “Displays of affection should not occur on the school campus at any time. It is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and brings discredit to the school and to the persons involved.”
Now an article about this incident has become a major headline on Yahoo! news. The URL for that article ends with the tag, “odd_detention_for_hugging.”
So you tell me: Is it the display of affection or the rule itself that is in poor taste, reflects poor judgment, and discredits the school involved?
I vote for the latter.
