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Integration Presentations for April 16th
- 1. Barbara
- 2. Darlene
- 3. Sandy
- 4. Merry
- 5. Sara
- 6. Sue L.
- 7. Kathy D.
Integration Presentations for May 14th
- 1. Laura
- 2. Cory
- 3. Christine
- 4. Jennifer
- 5. Mike
- 6. Lisa
- 7. Laurie
- 8. Deb
More Quotes from Wondrous Words
- Page 214- “…a child who write every day can’t help but develop some sense of himself as a writer. If he is allowed to talk to others about his writing or their writing, he will develop more of his sense of self and also develop as a member of a responsive, literate community. If that student gets to read aloud something he has written, he comes to understand something of audience.”
- Page 242 "One thing that I often do in ways-with-words lessons which I don't usually do in structure lessons is that I use actual texts to show how a crafting technique would look if we tried it."
- Pg. 208 " 'He's messing with what I thought I knew.' Really good learning does that for us-it messes with what we think we know, creating a tension in our lives that can be uncomfortable. When we begin to feel this discomfort our only choice seems to be to quit learning and wait for the "pain" to go away, or to rethink what we know and muck around a bit in stuff that's really hard for us. I'm partial to mucking around a bit myself, and I have in fact made peace with the idea that there will always be some new hard thing for me to think about in my teaching. There will always be some part of my teaching that, when I think about it, causes me discomfort because I don't feel as sure about it."
- Page 248 “Writing conferences are the backbone of the writing workshop. Good conferences move the teaching of writing from the whole-class carpet gathering to the individual writer’s desk. And what a big move it is. Conferencing is probably the hardest part of the workshop teaching. We have all spent years learning to do it better and in more and more theoretical ways, and adding this new knowledge base about the craft of writing into teaching; has only made it more challenging.”
- "students are doing as writers, what they know about what they are doing, and what they need to know to do it even better" (p. 250)
- p.243 "You'll want your students to have drafts and dreams of drafts floating around in their consciousness all the time, and their ability to envision craft in texts is what will make writing these drafts more and more automatic for them as they write throughout their lives."
- Page 229, "Teach your students to learn to write from writers."
- Pg. 235 “Formula writing has gotten a new head of steam because of testing, as many students are forced to write again and again in an artificial formula designed to help them do well on the “The Test.”
- ..."I thought immediately of a good writing technique I could teach him because I had that technique in my repertoire." (p. 248)
Some Favorite Quotes from Wondrous Words
- Pg. 95. "Experienced writers begin moving toward writing projects not because they have great ideas, but because they have good reasons to write. With good reasons to write behind them, experienced writers know that any idea can become a good idea. It is the good reason to write that will propel the experienced writer forward through all the processes necessary to move an idea to publication."
- (p.80) that, "I'm not reading to them because it's good for them; I'm reading to them because it's good for me."
- page 103 and continues onto 104. She writes "When our students envision writers at work, then need to be able to see them doing lots more than just sitting at desks. Active development possibilities like those in the lists above need to be a big part of what our students can envision themselves doing as writers."
- page 126 "It is important to me that students are able to envision using various crafting techniques in their own writing. If they can envision them, then they can have more power as writers because they have more choices about how they will write something."
- page 106 "One of the simplest guiding questions for hypothetical inquiry is, I wonder where the author got the idea for this piece of writing?"
Integration Experimentations
- Debbie...Antiquing
- Mike...Sacraments and their history
- Jen...Dancing
- Kathy...Joshua Tree National Park
- Cory...photography and meditation
- Sue...Digital Movie
- Laura...photography
- Lisa...exploring Mother's Family Tree
- Sara...cooking...Tuscan?...Children's Book
- Merry...Ireland's Mystery
- Christine...History of Beadwork and Seed Beads
- Barb...Red Sox and the Curse of the Bambino
- Laurie...Children's Books
- Sandy...Hawaii...language
- Darlene...Gardening...movie maker
- Tomasen...Blogging
15 comments:
I've watched this clip two times in the last week and both times have come away from viewing it with so many feelings and profound thoughts. Darlene, Lisa and I were talking about it the other day at school and we all said how difficult it was to respond to the video since much of what he said was so powerful and thought provoking. We'd love the opportunity to discuss this in class. Viewing it the second time I took lots of notes...each could lend itself to a different discussion. One such quote was simply "If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original or creative."
Hey...no wonder no one answered the blog this week. Who am I to follow such a powerful video clip???? EEEE-gads!
Someone else have a "go of it", pleeeeeeeze?
Well Cory here goes. He was a marvelous speaker. I was excited to here that he felt creativity is as important as literacy. Wow! I sure have to sit and think of that one. I have always felt that children have so many different gifts and that the thrill for me was to try and discover their talents throughout their 3rd grade year with me. I took a master's course in the multiple intelligences and agree that that there are so many exciting ways to approach things like literacy and math and so on....
I have to admit that thinking of kids beginning school today and knowing that they will be living and working in the year 2065 is mind boggling. I have to prepare them for the changing world and know that tapping into their talents rather than squelching their artistic side would be far more enjoyable. Hey has President Bush taken time to listen to this innovative thinking. Of course i know the answer to that!
I loved his talk and enjoyed his accent, too. I hope to help my children explore the artist within as I too discover my own talents.
As Corey stated, we did discuss the video with great enthusiasm. Not only did I enjoy his accent, it was wonderful to sit and laugh out loud at the end of a school day. I also took lots of thought provoking notes. The one that struck me most was that "creativity is educated out of children". I try to make a daily effort to avoid this when I can. I know that we do the best we can each day, so I let Sir Robinson's words inspire me rather that discourage me.
Who was that man? I know I have seen him somewhere else before.
I too have always felt that children are born with unlimited capacities. Unlimited capacities for what seems to be the question? We all seem to want the children to learn the same things, use them the same way and perform when we ask them too. Yes, I know that is our job, but underneath I think we all feel that they are capable of doing so many things that we know nothing about. If we only had the luxury of time, that would allow them to explore what they wanted to for as long as they wanted to. Isn't it great on field trips when children get really excited about what they are learning (and they don't even realize they are learning). When my kids were young they used to use chalk on the driveway for hours. It was a huge part of our summer. They thought they were masterpieces. In elementary school they made great pictures and we always hung them on the wall. What happened between that time and now when inhibitions set in and they think that their artwork is awful. Creativity is somehow stifled and we do need to promote it more. What is a free thinker other than a really creative person who thinks outside of the norm?
I agree with the speaker that academic inflation is continueing to increase and that we do feel like we are teaching for university entrance exams. With No Child Left Behind how else can we feel that way. I also know that I work with a mulitude of very talented teachers who may feel that way but would never teach that way. Creativity is alive and well at Center School and I am very glad that I have the pool of teachers that I do to work with on a daily basis.
Now I don't feel so bad. I too started taking notes. There seemed to be so much to take in. It was nice to laugh for 20 minutes. I loved the part about Professors living in their heads and only using their bodies for transportation. Not too profound, but very funny.
I loved the story about the dancer. Today we WOULD recommend medication and tell them to calm down. What a perceptive person to embrace her motion. We all need to be reminded that children come as a whole, not just from "the waist up".
I loved this!!!!! It was so entertaining and comical, and I so agree with everything that he said. "Creativity is as important as literacy". So true- we, as educators, can't stifle creativity. It's what makes us as humans. Without creativity we're dead. We do grow out of creativity. Education the way it is now does not foster creativity, but kills it! We're creating technological robots. Education is the whole being - not only academics and teaching to tests, but the arts - music, dance, etc. Teach to both sides of the brain when we do our daily instruction. That's creativity. "Great ideas need to be cherished."
Thank goodness that ever-present pendulum keeps swinging its weight around! Just when you think a certain method of teaching or testing is here to stay, whether you like it or not, just hang in there and make the best of it. Before long, another panel of "experts" will develop something new, and the pendulum's path will change. Well, we New Englanders should be used to change! Just look at our weather. Change is tough, but it can sometimes be worthwhile. It forces us to constantly prioritize what is important to us. It encourages us to identify what works well with our students, and what does not. It causes us to look at ourselves and recognize who we are as teachers...what strengths we have, which areas we need to strengthen or change, and
how the interactions in our classroom can have a lasting and positive influence on our students.
For old foggies, like myself, we have always known that there is a delicate balance between academics and creativity that is necessary and wonderfully effective. All of our students will not become college professors. We can not teach only to the academic side of our students. Many will follow the stronger creative side of their brain to become designers, artists, writers, inventors, dancers, and chefs. We must teach the full student - the academic, social, emotional, and creative.
Our students are marvelously diverse and the methods we use to teach them must be equally as diverse.
WOW! What passion! Sue, I was very impressed with your views and agree with you whole heartedly. Laura your insight about change was right on target, but how long will it take to change the minds of policy makers? I can only hope for the future that creativity is NOT educated out of children.
Sox still winning!!!!
What a dynamic speaker. I love the interjection of humor throughout. He is very good at timing, and one line zingers!
I had to laugh with his story of the Christmas play and the 3 wise men, one who replied "Frank sent this"
It reminds me of my first principal, a woman who so valued educating the child and nutured and encouraged many of us young inexperienced, but full of ideals, teachers to stay in the field.IT
Well, anyhow, a favorite story she told was simply about the boy Richard, who stands in the Pledge of Allegiance... you know,
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which RICHARD STANDS one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
But this is not new. Plato spoke of the slave as "one who in his actions does not express his own ideas, but those of some other man...."
Just who exactly is the slave? Are we not just slaves to the system, a government that is so out of touch with reality. And by teaching to the test, are we not also creating "slaves" of our own young?
Yet another dynamic person speaks the truth. Thank you for sharing this with us, Tomasen.
"Creativity is as important as literacy"- this comment especially hit home due to a recent project I did with my kids. It made me feel relieved and justified in taking the time in class to let kids write plays, make sets, and perform their shows. I have to tell you that the whole time I was doing this I felt incredibly guilty. I drew the shades, kept the door closed, and kept a student guard at the door (only kidding about the student guard part:-)
I think back to the many teachers I had that helped me discover my own talents. They are the ones I remember with fondess- the ones I remember at all. I hope I am reaching at least some of my students in that way!
Laurie, could we make the pendulum swing any faster?
When I went for my Masters Degree, the program focused on teaching to all of the Multiple Intelligences. We had classes that dealt with poetry, movement, art, music, etc. As we took each course we would use methods and activities that we learned about in class wit our students. During this time, my students absolutely loved coming into class. It was fantastic! But in a very sad way, I feel that my education was wasted. As soon as I graduated, the push to improve test scores became a priority in our school. Slowly but surely, there was less time to use these skills I just learned and more time spent on testing and improving test scores. I wanted to use the skills I gained from Lesley University, but I have goals to improve test scores, and the NWEA tests to show me how I can improve the scores even higher. Students become better learners when they are taught utilizing lessons that are designed to reach the Multiple Intelligences. They also see that each child learns differently. Students who do not do well (in the structure we have set up now) tend to blossom when they are taught something the way they learn best. I love it when students notice that one student who hates school because it is too hard, is successful at a task. It is time to push that pendulum a little faster!
Laurie, could we make the pendulum swing any faster?
I agree with everything that Sir Ken Robinson said.
When I went for my Masters Degree, the program focused on teaching to all of the Multiple Intelligences. We had classes that dealt with poetry, movement, art, music, etc. As we took each course we would use methods and activities that we learned about in class wit our students. During this time, my students absolutely loved coming into class. It was fantastic! But in a very sad way, I feel that my education was wasted. As soon as I graduated, the push to improve test scores became a priority in our school. Slowly but surely, there was less time to use these skills I just learned and more time spent on testing and improving test scores. I wanted to use the skills I gained from Lesley University, but I have goals to improve test scores, and the NWEA tests to show me how I can improve the scores even higher. Students become better learners when they are taught utilizing lessons that are designed to reach the Multiple Intelligences. They also see that each child learns differently. Students who do not do well (in the structure we have set up now) tend to blossom when they are taught something the way they learn best. I love it when students notice that one student who hates school because it is too hard, is successful at a task. It is time to push that pendulum a little faster!
So many of the lines that caught others grabbed my attention, too.(i.e. creativity is as important as literacy, we are educated out of creativity, all kids have talents and we squander them, etc.) but as the mother of a voice major, chef, and professional dancer, of course the story about Jillian the future choreographer of CATS, absolutely knocked me off the chair. How many times did I wish for Colleen (my dancer) that tests, especially SAT type exams, could be choreographed and taken in a dance format? (WHY is the verbal/linguistic format considered THE way to test ALL students?) I loved the doctor's line to Jillian's mother:"Jillian isn't sick, she's a dancer." How precious that he recognized this and the mother valued this. That he, unlike so many others, did not "put her on meds and tell her to calm down." As Meghan went off to Holy Cross to major in Music (who majors in music at Holy Cross?), many people advised against letting her take that major. Thank God I did and in doing so gave her four years to pursue the one thing that gave her a sense of self. But how unfortunate that, as the speaker said, "many highly talented and valuable people believe they are not because they have been told that what they love and do well at is not important." Of course, American society being what it is, my creative children who have followed their dreams, are also broke!!! So how do we reconcile following our dreams (particularly in the arts) and putting food on the table! Any answers?????
Hip, Hip Hooray! This video is so right on. I loved the humor he used to deliver a message that is extremely thought provoking and necessary. WE, as teachers, must continue to believe that it is through the creative process our students will retain the skills and concepts they need to keep our society thriving.
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