I just finished watching the movie Lean on Me, starring Morgan Freeman. The movie is about an inner-city high school plagued with gangs, drugs, and violence. Their test scores are dreadfully low, and the school faces being shutdown by the state. Morgan Freeman's character is recruited by the superintendent to come in as principal and turn things around. The movie was made in 1989, but I think the challenges Freeman's character faces, while far more extreme, are very similar to the ones we face today.
It was interesting for me to watch in light of all the discussions I have been having lately with Mr. Meister and other teachers in the building about how to improve our school. Some of the biggest things that we have talked about is community involvement, parental support, and student buy-in. In the movie, those are exactly the areas that Freeman's character focuses on, as well. He goes to extraordinary lengths to show the students that he cares about their future. He visits the home of a student whose mother says she can't take care of her anymore and offers to help the mother find a better job and a better place to live so that she could provide a better life for her daughter. He is a tough, demanding, unwavering disciplinarian, and at one point, almost his entire staff is on the verge of walking out on him because of his harsh approach towards motivating them to do better for their students, but he gets results.
I guess the biggest thing I got from the movie was a sense of motivation to try harder to reach my students, to impress upon them the importance of education, to continue to hold them to a higher standard, and to continue to push them until they meet that standard. Everyone in the movie thought he was the meanest, most selfish scoundrel imagineable to begin with, but when the school went from being a battlefield where no learning took place to one where students were excited to learn, it was all worth it.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Your Ideas
Usually, my posts on here are my own thoughts and observations about life, love, and the plight of the duck-billed platapus, but today I want to ask you about a topic that has been at the center of some great conversations among members of the faculty here at PCHS recently. We have been spending a lot of time discussing the ways in which the current way of delivering instruction to students may or may not be the best, most effective, way of doing it. I'm not talking about, "Oh man, my English teacher is sooooo booooooring! All he does is talk about pronouns." I am talking about the kinds of classes we offer and the context in which those pesky pronouns are presented to you. Now, we have had one student join our discussion (this all takes place on Mr. Meister's blog, which you can link to through the high school's website), and I would encourage more of you to join in if you would like, but it occured to me that since I offer extra credit for responses on my blog, I might get a little more feedback. So, this is your opportunity to sound off and let us know what kinds of learning opportunities you would like to see in a perfect world.
I would remind you that chances to voice your opinions should be treated with ultimate responsibility. I often hear students complain about one thing or another in regards to how the school operates, but I must remind you that if you really do want your voice to be heard, you need to make sure you are speaking out as a young adult if you want to be taken seriously.
I would remind you that chances to voice your opinions should be treated with ultimate responsibility. I often hear students complain about one thing or another in regards to how the school operates, but I must remind you that if you really do want your voice to be heard, you need to make sure you are speaking out as a young adult if you want to be taken seriously.
Punctuating Dialogue
Creative Writing- Here is the link for the easy guide to punctuating dialogue that I talked about in class. I hope it helps with your revisions.
http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/writingexercises/qt/punctuation.htm
http://fictionwriting.about.com/od/writingexercises/qt/punctuation.htm
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Buzzer Beaters
"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."
-Albert Einstein
I know Einstein was a genius and everything, but I think he missed on this one. It is a fact that time exists, but this year it feels like everything is happening at once. I feel like we just went over syllabi yesterday, yet here we are in the closing seconds of the first quarter. It seems like I am assigning work and then collecting it three weeks later with the feeling that no time had even passed since I assigned it. If that is how I feel, I can only imagine how you all must feel.
I see the look on students' faces when they realize that the mad dash we have all just survived has left them with grades they simply don't want to take home to mom and dad. For these students, I have a couple of pieces of advice.
The first is to let this be a lesson. In the fast-paced world of high school, and even moreso in the faster-paced world of the workplace, allowing yourself to get off-track or behind by losing track of your goals and priorities can have far-reaching effects. Sure, we all want to take time now and again to just relax and not worry about the things in our life that bring us stress, but the difference between those who succeed and those who just show up is that successful people put that relaxation time after their work. They realize that doing what you want to do is far more enjoyable and, frankly, possible once you have done what you need to do.
I hear a lot of people say, "You are only young once, so you might as well enjoy it." They use this as an excuse to blow off school work and other responsibilities, choosing instead to spend time pursuing unproductive leisure activities. These people rarely become successful because their way of prioritizing and viewing the world doesn't match up with what it takes to be successful. I think a better motto would be, "You are only young once, so make the most of it." Whether people realize it or not, what we do and who we decide to be when we are young sets the tone for our entire life. Sure, there are people who make big changes and turn their lives around, but many times those changes are cosmetic. Who they really are, the things that drive them, change very little. I'm not saying that you shouldn't have any fun while you are young, but if you have too much fun when you are young, you might squander away your chance at a fun and fulfilling adult life, which is a much larger portion of your life.
The other advice I would give to those who find themselves with grades below what they would want: Fight like heck until the final buzzer. You still have a couple of days before grades are final. Make sure you earn every point possible. Your teachers don't accept late work? Fine. You can't change the past, so just make sure tomorrow's assignment is done, and done right. If teachers offer extra credit, make sure you get it. Disclaimer: Most teachers hate it when students who have slacked all quarter come to them in the last few days begging for extra credit, so this only works when teachers (like me) have already stated that extra credit is available. If there is nothing you can do to salvage this grade, start concentrating on second quarter. Remember, semester grades are a combination of your quarter grades and your exam grade, so if you can excel over the next couple of months, this quarter's letter grade will never really matter.
The clock is running out. How bad do you want it?
-Albert Einstein
I know Einstein was a genius and everything, but I think he missed on this one. It is a fact that time exists, but this year it feels like everything is happening at once. I feel like we just went over syllabi yesterday, yet here we are in the closing seconds of the first quarter. It seems like I am assigning work and then collecting it three weeks later with the feeling that no time had even passed since I assigned it. If that is how I feel, I can only imagine how you all must feel.
I see the look on students' faces when they realize that the mad dash we have all just survived has left them with grades they simply don't want to take home to mom and dad. For these students, I have a couple of pieces of advice.
The first is to let this be a lesson. In the fast-paced world of high school, and even moreso in the faster-paced world of the workplace, allowing yourself to get off-track or behind by losing track of your goals and priorities can have far-reaching effects. Sure, we all want to take time now and again to just relax and not worry about the things in our life that bring us stress, but the difference between those who succeed and those who just show up is that successful people put that relaxation time after their work. They realize that doing what you want to do is far more enjoyable and, frankly, possible once you have done what you need to do.
I hear a lot of people say, "You are only young once, so you might as well enjoy it." They use this as an excuse to blow off school work and other responsibilities, choosing instead to spend time pursuing unproductive leisure activities. These people rarely become successful because their way of prioritizing and viewing the world doesn't match up with what it takes to be successful. I think a better motto would be, "You are only young once, so make the most of it." Whether people realize it or not, what we do and who we decide to be when we are young sets the tone for our entire life. Sure, there are people who make big changes and turn their lives around, but many times those changes are cosmetic. Who they really are, the things that drive them, change very little. I'm not saying that you shouldn't have any fun while you are young, but if you have too much fun when you are young, you might squander away your chance at a fun and fulfilling adult life, which is a much larger portion of your life.
The other advice I would give to those who find themselves with grades below what they would want: Fight like heck until the final buzzer. You still have a couple of days before grades are final. Make sure you earn every point possible. Your teachers don't accept late work? Fine. You can't change the past, so just make sure tomorrow's assignment is done, and done right. If teachers offer extra credit, make sure you get it. Disclaimer: Most teachers hate it when students who have slacked all quarter come to them in the last few days begging for extra credit, so this only works when teachers (like me) have already stated that extra credit is available. If there is nothing you can do to salvage this grade, start concentrating on second quarter. Remember, semester grades are a combination of your quarter grades and your exam grade, so if you can excel over the next couple of months, this quarter's letter grade will never really matter.
The clock is running out. How bad do you want it?
Friday, September 25, 2009
Homecoming
I know who I am and who I may be, if I choose.
~Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Homecoming week is always a fun time. I remember looking forward to it when I was in school, and even now, as a teacher, I look forward to a week with a little different atmosphere. We are not that far into the year (well, actually, I guess we are over 1/8th of the way to the end already), but it is already refreshing to have something just a little different to look foward to.
What many of us don't take the time to reflect on is the reason for Homecoming. The tradition was started as a way of welcoming alumni back to visit their school and promote a sense of tradition. This Homecoming, I would challenge you all to spend a few minutes to think about what PHS alumni think when they come back to visit. Are they proud of what they see? What traditions do we emphasize? Are they as important as we make them out to be? Are there traditions we could start while we are here that might be more worthwhile?
I am not asking these questions because I think I know all of the answers. These are not questions for me to answer. These are questions that we must ALL answer, and I think that now is a great time to do it. This is the first Homecoming for PCHS. This is a chance for a new start if we want it. The important thing to remember, though, is that it can't just be the responsibility of a select few. We can't always say "Well, that's the way it has always been, so what can I do about it?" We must ALL continually look at who we are and who we want to be. We are ALL PCHS.
~Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra
Homecoming week is always a fun time. I remember looking forward to it when I was in school, and even now, as a teacher, I look forward to a week with a little different atmosphere. We are not that far into the year (well, actually, I guess we are over 1/8th of the way to the end already), but it is already refreshing to have something just a little different to look foward to.
What many of us don't take the time to reflect on is the reason for Homecoming. The tradition was started as a way of welcoming alumni back to visit their school and promote a sense of tradition. This Homecoming, I would challenge you all to spend a few minutes to think about what PHS alumni think when they come back to visit. Are they proud of what they see? What traditions do we emphasize? Are they as important as we make them out to be? Are there traditions we could start while we are here that might be more worthwhile?
I am not asking these questions because I think I know all of the answers. These are not questions for me to answer. These are questions that we must ALL answer, and I think that now is a great time to do it. This is the first Homecoming for PCHS. This is a chance for a new start if we want it. The important thing to remember, though, is that it can't just be the responsibility of a select few. We can't always say "Well, that's the way it has always been, so what can I do about it?" We must ALL continually look at who we are and who we want to be. We are ALL PCHS.
My Rewarding Weekend
There never shall be one lost good. All we have willed or hoped or dreamed of good shall exist.
~Robert Browning
Sometimes I find myself becoming very cynical about the world we are living in. I watch the news and see story after story about things that make me wonder if we are slowly losing our ability to do good for each other. I hear people talking about this generation of students we are educating right now, and they point out what seems to be a decreased level of motivation, empathy, and just about every other positive character trait I can think of. I hear about how their exposure to technology from such a young age has left them unable to make meaningful personal connections, that they would rather text or IM than have a face-to-face conversation. They seem to be short-sighted and in constant search of the instant gratification they have come to expect from a web 2.0 world. I hear all of these things, and I worry. What will my children's generation be if this is the direction we are going?
Here is the "but": But then I have an experience like I did on Saturday. For the second year in a row, I have been asked to provide a security team for the Special Olympics Family Festival at Lake Land College in Mattoon. The event is sponsored and planned by Consolidate Communicatons, which is where I worked while going to college, so I had volunteered before, but I had always just signed up for a job that would allow me to be done within an hour of two of the event starting. For this reason, I never really had a chance to see what a remarkable thing it really is. The last two years, however, have been completely different. I have had the opportunity to be there from the time the first participants show up until the last one leaves, and it completely changes my perspective.
My role as head of security allows me to roam throughout the event and really take in all that is going on. I get to watch as total strangers become "Friends-for-a-Day". I see nursing students spending their Saturday assisting those who need help using the restroom. I see literally thousands of volunteers blocking traffic on Route 45, waiting to find parking on campus so that they can come pitch in doing something, anything. This sight, in and of itself, is impressive, but when I take the time to really pay attention to who these volunteers are, I realize that a vast majority of them, especially the "Friend-for-a-Day" volunteers, are from the generation I was speaking of earlier. I see college students showing up in such amazing numbers that many participants have two "Friends-for-a-Day". I see high school kids showing up wanting to volunteer and being disappointed when they are told they must be eighteen to do so. I see all of this, and I realize that we are going to be okay. The things people worry about in regards to this generation may be true, but somewhere underneath all of those problems, they are still capable and willing to do good. Every new generation has to deal with criticism from those that came before them. We are constantly changing, so each generation is obviously going to be different from the one before. What we have to do is realize that different does not always mean worse.
~Robert Browning
Sometimes I find myself becoming very cynical about the world we are living in. I watch the news and see story after story about things that make me wonder if we are slowly losing our ability to do good for each other. I hear people talking about this generation of students we are educating right now, and they point out what seems to be a decreased level of motivation, empathy, and just about every other positive character trait I can think of. I hear about how their exposure to technology from such a young age has left them unable to make meaningful personal connections, that they would rather text or IM than have a face-to-face conversation. They seem to be short-sighted and in constant search of the instant gratification they have come to expect from a web 2.0 world. I hear all of these things, and I worry. What will my children's generation be if this is the direction we are going?
Here is the "but": But then I have an experience like I did on Saturday. For the second year in a row, I have been asked to provide a security team for the Special Olympics Family Festival at Lake Land College in Mattoon. The event is sponsored and planned by Consolidate Communicatons, which is where I worked while going to college, so I had volunteered before, but I had always just signed up for a job that would allow me to be done within an hour of two of the event starting. For this reason, I never really had a chance to see what a remarkable thing it really is. The last two years, however, have been completely different. I have had the opportunity to be there from the time the first participants show up until the last one leaves, and it completely changes my perspective.
My role as head of security allows me to roam throughout the event and really take in all that is going on. I get to watch as total strangers become "Friends-for-a-Day". I see nursing students spending their Saturday assisting those who need help using the restroom. I see literally thousands of volunteers blocking traffic on Route 45, waiting to find parking on campus so that they can come pitch in doing something, anything. This sight, in and of itself, is impressive, but when I take the time to really pay attention to who these volunteers are, I realize that a vast majority of them, especially the "Friend-for-a-Day" volunteers, are from the generation I was speaking of earlier. I see college students showing up in such amazing numbers that many participants have two "Friends-for-a-Day". I see high school kids showing up wanting to volunteer and being disappointed when they are told they must be eighteen to do so. I see all of this, and I realize that we are going to be okay. The things people worry about in regards to this generation may be true, but somewhere underneath all of those problems, they are still capable and willing to do good. Every new generation has to deal with criticism from those that came before them. We are constantly changing, so each generation is obviously going to be different from the one before. What we have to do is realize that different does not always mean worse.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
First Weeks
This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. ~Winston Churchill
Play is the beginning of knowledge. ~George Dorsey
Normally, I like to begin these things with a quote, but today I found two quotes which address what is on my mind. The first, I think, is a pretty good summation of where we are right now. The first six days of school went by pretty quick. We talked about rules, schedules, more rules, goals, some rules, and just for fun, a couple of rules. Textbooks were distributed; seating charts arranged, but, alas, the beginning of school is over.
This, much like the end of school, can be a tough time to wrap one's head around. We are still learning each other's names, developing routines, and trying to find the proverbial "groove" while at the same time pressing forward as though we have done it all before. It is always tricky figuring out how to go from the mentality of the first day into the reality of the first assignment, but that is where the second quote comes in.
Tuesday afternoon, the faculty took a personality test, which identified each of us by one of four colors depending upon our responses to pictures, descriptions, and questions. In the end, I discovered what many people probably already knew about me: I am very, very orange. In fact, with a possible high score of forty-eight, I scored a forty-six for orange. What does this mean besides the fact that I have incredible school spirit? Well, according to the people who created the test, it means I like to have fun with just about everything I do. We were given some handouts that describe how people of our "colors" might behave as educators, students, parents, and children. I will give you look at what kind of a teacher someone as orange as I am tends to be:
-enjoys an acive classroom -seeks to energize students
-makes learning fun -expects student involvement and compliance
-uses competitive games and activities -unstructured discipline
-spontaneous, flexible presentations -hands-on, immediate applications
-uses a variety of action activities -strong use of innovative approaches
-learning linked to "here and now" -emphasis on immediate relevancy
-uses media
Now, I don't know how much some of these apply to me, but I do know that I want some of them to be true. I can tell you that I certainly enjoy an active classroom as long as the activity has purpose. I would love to think that I energize my students; I know they energize me. I hope to make learning fun. I have found that anything I have really been able to retain over the years was initially presented to me in a way that made me want to learn it, so I want to deliver that kind of instruction to my students.
I don't know how well I will achieve these things on a daily basis, but I feel like we are off to a fantastic start. I hope we can keep charging forward, together.
Play is the beginning of knowledge. ~George Dorsey
Normally, I like to begin these things with a quote, but today I found two quotes which address what is on my mind. The first, I think, is a pretty good summation of where we are right now. The first six days of school went by pretty quick. We talked about rules, schedules, more rules, goals, some rules, and just for fun, a couple of rules. Textbooks were distributed; seating charts arranged, but, alas, the beginning of school is over.
This, much like the end of school, can be a tough time to wrap one's head around. We are still learning each other's names, developing routines, and trying to find the proverbial "groove" while at the same time pressing forward as though we have done it all before. It is always tricky figuring out how to go from the mentality of the first day into the reality of the first assignment, but that is where the second quote comes in.
Tuesday afternoon, the faculty took a personality test, which identified each of us by one of four colors depending upon our responses to pictures, descriptions, and questions. In the end, I discovered what many people probably already knew about me: I am very, very orange. In fact, with a possible high score of forty-eight, I scored a forty-six for orange. What does this mean besides the fact that I have incredible school spirit? Well, according to the people who created the test, it means I like to have fun with just about everything I do. We were given some handouts that describe how people of our "colors" might behave as educators, students, parents, and children. I will give you look at what kind of a teacher someone as orange as I am tends to be:
-enjoys an acive classroom -seeks to energize students
-makes learning fun -expects student involvement and compliance
-uses competitive games and activities -unstructured discipline
-spontaneous, flexible presentations -hands-on, immediate applications
-uses a variety of action activities -strong use of innovative approaches
-learning linked to "here and now" -emphasis on immediate relevancy
-uses media
Now, I don't know how much some of these apply to me, but I do know that I want some of them to be true. I can tell you that I certainly enjoy an active classroom as long as the activity has purpose. I would love to think that I energize my students; I know they energize me. I hope to make learning fun. I have found that anything I have really been able to retain over the years was initially presented to me in a way that made me want to learn it, so I want to deliver that kind of instruction to my students.
I don't know how well I will achieve these things on a daily basis, but I feel like we are off to a fantastic start. I hope we can keep charging forward, together.
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