Teacher education

lazarusdodge
September 21, 2009 at 3:22 pm

My wife works for Dover as an editor…forwarded on your entry…

Was just talking to her this morning about Google’s new venture in on-demand publishing with public domain type books for $8 a pop. Dover is far less expensive as you found out…

- J.

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3 Comments.
nhfalcon
September 17, 2009 at 7:47 pm

Nice! A pleasant surprise, indeed.

The one time I thought I was going to have to deal with a dad, it was because I had given his daughter nightmares by showing her (and the rest of the class she was in) the Zapruder film…

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5 Comments.
Chatty
September 16, 2009 at 4:09 pm

I can’t make this stuff up, but I can sure find it! LOL

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1 Comment.
magicalmysticalteacher
September 2, 2009 at 6:16 am

You’re back where you belong! I’m rejoicing with you!

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3 Comments.
magicalmysticalteacher
May 14, 2009 at 8:00 am

Those “won tongs” sound rather deadly to me. Best not to eat them, lest they wrap themselves around your tonsils!

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17 Comments.
Mrs. Chili
April 21, 2009 at 7:32 am

Lily, it’s almost – but not quite – unbelievable.

Carson, I am a WICKED PTI person. I ADORE that show, even if I don’t give a damn about what they’re talking about (hockey? Really?). Kornheiser is a riot, and I think that Wilbon is brilliant; I even use one of his columns in my classes (I wish I could figure out how to subscribe to the thing…).

On the other hand, I think I only saw about six complete episodes of Seinfeld, but I get your point. Public displays of ignorance just make my teeth ache, and it rarely gets more public than in major league baseball fields, you know?

Oh, and I love you, too.

Kelly, what’ll REALLY be amazing is if they keep the uniforms.

Kizz, one of the things that teaching has taught ME is that there really is no limit to the scope of possible dumbassery, public or otherwise.

Seester, I was going to try to give this a political spin, but I didn’t really think it needed much help; the symbolism is profound, no?

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Leah
May 25, 2007 at 9:17 am

I couldn’t even stand gen ed courses that were in my major. I was surrounded by people who did not get the material, and worse, didn’t care.

One was a Survey of American Lit I course (early American Lit), which actually covered two gen ed requirements, and was one of my English requirements. I was one of three English majors in the class, and.it.sucked. Add to that a continuing ed student who “doesn’t read to look for meanings or themes, but reads for enjoyment.” Then why are you taking a college English class?

At any rate, Early American Lit being my least favorite writing period (except for Ben Franklin), added to the crap heads in the class, I had a very tough time looking engaged. However, my class work was always above par, and my professor already loved me from other classes, so she knew I was bored with my classmates, and not her. She got me.

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12 Comments.
mrschili
May 22, 2007 at 5:56 am

I tend to not drop the “f-bomb” – at least, not the kind that’s been discussed in this context – in class at all, and for just the reasons you mentioned, Bowyer. These kids aren’t energetic about much, but they would certainly band together and rally behind the “see?! We can’t ALL be failing – it MUST be her fault” flag. I don’t need that.
I am SO fortunate to work for a supervisor who is 100% supportive of his faculty. He KNOWS what some of these students are like and, to this point, he’s never for a second given me the impression that he thinks they haven’t managed to fail despite my best efforts. It would be in a very different situation for me if I didn’t have that; I am not worried for my job when the students fail because I know my boss knows it’s not me. I think the prevailing wind in education (that the students have to succeed or the teacher is to blame) is dangerous and entirely unethical, but that’s another post.
CTG, yeah – it IS frustrating. What’s worse, though, is that, because this class is a hybrid (which means that it only meets one day a week; Mondays, in this case) and because next Monday is a holiday, I won’t see them again until June. I know for sure that at least half of them aren’t even going to open the emails with their work for these two weeks. They’ve passed the point of redemption as it is, they figure; why bother to start trying now?

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sphyrnatude
July 24, 2007 at 7:52 am

OOOOH! I like this!.

Coupa questions though:
this months book looks good. I’ll be picking it up in the next coupla days, but you don’t have target dates for the podcast or the start of the discussion on the blog page….. Would it be possible to add those so that I have an idea as to the timeframe for the discussion?
thanks a ton!

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8 Comments.
mrschili
July 15, 2007 at 12:26 pm

Kizz, I don’t know if I COULD take the class. I think I may be at the limit for adjuncts; anything more on my schedule would necessitate my being hired as “full time,” I think, and they’re not in a position to do that just now.

Bugs, I, too, love these classes. The topic is SO bendy-twisty; no one has the “right” answers and I love playing devil’s advocate for the students who think that abusive speech should be regulated. Maybe I’ll start up a “class discussion” here next week…

Seester, thanks! I’m not behaving this way in the hopes of getting good karma back – though that WOULD be nice. Nope, I’m trying to set a good example and live by the golden rule; I would want someone to be kind and helpful to me. If I can put a little good energy into the universe – just a little – I don’t feel quite so small and helpless .

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6 Comments.
Butterfly Angel
July 10, 2007 at 8:34 am

Good Morning, Mrs Chili!

I agree with you on number 10 ~ building relationships is the key. Our campus is switching to a 7 period class day instead of 6, so I know that I will be quite relieved at the end of our first day.

Number 9 is always fun and my students appreciate the effort. They complain that other teachers don’t remember their name until halfway through the quarter.

I hope to hear the “ding” on August 27th!

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After watching the above Youtube video, I decided to follow up on a blog entry below, “ Soybeans: part of solution to make Philippine education reforms work? “ I came to the conclusion that the action that has the best chance of providing an almost immediate impact in the fight against malnutrition in the Philippines, first to give the young a chance at a meaningful life in this world and second, to give our education reforms a chance to work on the young, would be to create a Philippine Soybean Authority . The Philippine Soybean Authority will be empowered to mobilize the cultivation of soybeans among farmers–big and small–to produce the high-protein food products such as soy milk and others to fight malnutrition.An Executive Order from the President or An Act of Congress will be needed to create The Philippine Soybean Authority . The first is the easier process of the two while the latter is usually a long, tedious process.Under normal circumstances, the Philippine Soybean Authority should be under the Department of Agriculture. But to stay away from the usual bureaucracy and inefficiency of big government, I recommend placing The Philippine Soybean Authority under the University of the Philippines Los Ba nos, specifically under its Research & Extension Office for obvious reasons:to utilize the research personnel and facilities there,
to take advantage of existing (and soon to be created as needed) extension facilities and personnel who shall be duly trained to promote, administer and manage The Philippine Soybean Authority in coordination with other government agencies, domestic and international interests, especially those in soybean research and research funding,
to speed up research in, and delivery of, soybean technology to soybean farmers,
to promote awareness and the integration of soybean food products in the Filipino diet to the extent that soybean becomes a Filipino staple food,
to direct research in, and development of, other non-food soybean products, and
to minimize the stifling effects of government corruption on existing and would-be soybean farmers by emplacing a system of built-in checks that puts a premium on stamping out graft and corruption in its ranks by involving senior and graduate students (trained in the soybean initiative) in the decision-making processes in the field, as well as, central levels. The students’ stint with the Philippine Soybean Authority over a predetermined period will either fulfill a part of or be their sole individual practicum course.An alternative would be to explore the possibility of establishing a Philippine Soybean Authority similar to the International Rice Research Institute by forming some alliances with other international entities willing to support the soybean initiative. An International Soybean Research Institute could, for instance, expand its role to include research on many known and potential medicinal uses of soybeans.At any rate, the Philippine Soybean Authority if created as a government unit should cater firstly to the small soybean farmer, and secondly to the industrial or commercial soybean farmer. Working together with existing financing, especially microfinancing institutions, and other agencies, the Philippine Soybean Authority should help the small farmer improve his family’s overall health and socio-economic well-being. In other words, the Philippine Soybean Authority shall primarily be in charge for the promotion and development of soybean as a cheap solution to improve the nutritional status of the undernourished and explore opportunities for poverty alleviation for our resource-poor people.Let’s start with some pilot soybean farming and some soybean research (different soybean food products, varieties for various uses and growing conditions, etc.) at the University of the Philippines Los Ba nos , followed by regional pilots, and then unto a full-scale soybean farming and soybean product research and development program. Let’s incentivize the cultivation and production of soybeans by those who have huge agricultural landholdings which are not not even used for anything except for speculative purposes. Looks like the odds of succeeding and benefiting the country, especially the poor farmers, are excellent.When the catastrophic effects of malnutrition among our poor, especially our childbearing women and our young children will have been ameliorated, then we could talk business about making educational reforms work. Otherwise, how can you even consider education reforms on a large segment of the population who are so ravaged by the dehumanizing effects of malnutrition and whose more immediate concern is trying to extract one more gulp of breath with decrepit lungs, perhaps too unfeeling to wonder how the next one–if there is–is going to be?Posted in Philippine Soybean Authority , balanced diet , malnutrition | Tags: batang kalansay , Breakfast Feeding Program , malnutrition , School Milk Project , soybean food

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