Thoughts on Education

A few weeks, I didn’t have much to discuss…today, it is the exact opposite. First, I wanted to pass along a couple interesting articles that talk about the importance of technology in K-12 curriculum. I know it is easy for the computer teacher to notice the “importance” of his subject, but even if I was not responsible for the technological education of Murray students, I would still be screaming from the rooftops that computer literacy needs to be part of any good curriculum. Anyway, here is a link to an blog post about the urgency for computer literacy for teachers. And, here is a link supporting the learning of computer programming in a technology program.

Also, I wanted to mention that we are in the middle of updating the Spanish Flash Cards on the Murray web site. A student from the University of Chicago has been putting in a lot of effort to not only update the Murray site, but to make the Spanish Flash Cards a great addition to the site. Please, check them out! Thanks Chelsea!

Now…on to fine arts. The 3rd graders are preparing for their first trip to the Smart Museum as part of the Art in Focus program. One of the main goals of this program is to increase the student’s use of visual language. In other words, we want the students to learn how to correctly talk about art. Above, Mr. Brown and I worked on an activity with the students utilizing two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes. I have a couple examples above. We want the students to learn that different types of artwork have different names. I’m often surprised how students refer to sculptures as “paintings”. This activity was used to help students understand the difference between two-dimensional and three-dimensional artwork. We also filled out surveys that will be given to the folks at the Smart Museum before our first trip.

The 4th graders worked on a short activity this week. Mr. Brown and I are hosting a student teacher in the fall, so she has been getting her feet wet at Murray recently. She taught a short two day lesson this week to 203 that I duplicated with 207. We read the book The Adventures of a Nose to the students. It is a story about a nose that feels out of place, but all of the illustrations in the book use the background to create a face so the nose looks like it really does fit in. The students had to choose a place that they felt comfortable in, and then, they needed to create a face using the things they would find in that place. For instance, a lot of students use their home and used the windows and doors as the eyes, nose, and mouth. They created these pictures using oil pastels.

The 5th graders began preparing for their first trip to the Smart Museum this week as past of the Smart Explorers program. This program also focuses on visual language, but it is more advanced. Everything we do will be directed toward a final presentation the students will do at the Smart Museum. They will all have to describe a piece of artwork to an audience of their friends and family. They will be doing a lot of the preparation for this with Mr. Rowell. In art, we will focusing more on learning the terminology. Our first activity will be centered learning what a curator is and what they do. All of the students are making an artwork of their choosing that we will be using to “curate” different types of exhibitions.

The 6th graders…are busy. First, I am looking forward to videotaping Motown Madness tonight. I will be putting pictures up here on Monday.  the students have started working on their class mosaic this week. I have pulled some students out of class this week, and will continue to pull kids out over the next month. Above, you will see the students already putting it together. This project is VERY cool…I can not stress that enough. When this gets installed over the summer, it is going to be a great piece of artwork the students can always look back on…because it will be permanent! I’m very excited for them. While we are doing this, the students are working on another project. We are creating monochromatic portraits. This is one of my favorite projects all year long because it involves so many different artistic processes. One of the classes has begun to paint them, while the other class is just about ready to trace the areas of their face. I’m looking forward to putting these up in the hallway.

One last thing…we just got some new computers in the language lab, so it will hopefully be FULLY operational next week…whew…that’s enough for now…until next week…

First, I wanted to pass along a story that should make teachers (and parents) cringe. From the New York Times:

New York City has embarked on an ambitious experiment, yet to be announced, in which some 2,500 teachers are being measured on how much their students improve on annual standardized tests.

The move is so contentious that principals in some of the 140 schools participating have not told their teachers that they are being scrutinized based on student performance and improvement.

I think this really is a travesty. In this data driven world, I guess this was the logical next step. I know that we have to be assessed on our performance somehow, but this is not going to work. As it has been said before, scores on standardized tests will NEVER accurately measure how intelligent a child is. It is only one tool amongst many tools available to teachers. So, to hold teachers jobs in the balance over standardized testing is plain wrong…there is no other way to look at it…

On to fine arts, the 3rd graders are almost done with their puppets and getting prepared to work on their short plays. They are already starting to interact with each other using their puppets, so it is easy to see that the ideas are flowing.

The 4th graders are almost at the point where they are ready to make their videos. This week, we talked about the different ways we can reduce, reuse, and recycle the things we use. A lot of the ideas they came up with will hopefully be translated into their videos. As we have told the children, while a lot of things we have been talking about sound very “doom and gloom”, we want them to know that they have the power to change their behavior. We, as Americans, can be very wasteful, but that is changeable.

The 5th graders are either done or about to finish their foamcore houses. We are also starting to look at hip hop music in preparation for the African American History Fair. Hip hop is my favorite type of music, so I’m very excited to talk to the students about the origins of the music since it is very different from where it is today. In Mr. Bynum’s class, we have already discussed the differences and similarities with hip hop then and now after watching a clip from a classic hip hop film, Wild Style. Next week, we will be looking at the origin of the breakbeat, the essence of any hip hop song.

The 6th graders are also in different stages of completion for their stop animation videos. I look forward to putting these up on the blog since they are turning out beautifully. Group work can be a struggle for the teacher, but some times the results can be amazing.

Well, it doesn’t seem possible, but the end of the school year is right around the corner. I guess it might sound strange for a teacher to already anticipate the end of the year with five weeks left, but there is a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. I had a professor tell me once that this was the fastest part of the year. At the time, I couldn’t imagine why…now, I know.

First, Ms. Lager spent her last day at Murray on Tuesday. She gives her thesis presentation this weekend, and will be moving back to Alaska at the end of the month. She will be back briefly on Tuesday, but she is has for the most part ended her student teaching. She is going to send out all of the postcards the 4th, 5th, and 6th graders made very soon. We wish her good luck looking for a job for the fall!

In fine arts, the 3rd graders continued working on small paintings they started with Ms. Lager earlier in the week. They are still in the middle of the Art in Focus program with the Smart Museum. Both classes will be visiting the museum next week.

The 4th graders have a few different projects they will be finishing up over the next couple weeks. First, Ms. Gorman’s room have to organize their printmaking projects they completed with Ms. Lager. Both classes are reading the stories people wrote for them on the Murray Language Academy Blog. To review, people wrote stories based on the pictures they took earlier this year. The students are responding to the pictures by answering a few questions on the computer. The reason we are doing this is so the students can reflect on their own writing by reading how other people interpreted their pictures. We have a small celebration for both classes in recognition of their work on this project before finishing up the surrealism collages they started before spring break.

The 5th graders finished up their printmaking this week, and are starting a sculpture project this week. They are going to use clay to create mythical creatures. This week, the students sketched out what they wanted to create. Next week, an artist from the Hyde Park Art Center, Ms. Tepper, will be working with the students to make their sculptures.

The 6th graders are almost done with their relief prints. This week, some students were finishing up their cuts, but many students were printing their designs. We will spend one more class period on this next week before moving on to a project involving graffiti art.

Also, the 5th graders will be finishing up their public service announcements this week, and I plan on putting some up on the Murray web site next week. I think we have uncovered some hidden talents with our Murray students. They have been fun to work with and the students are really enjoying this project. The 4th graders have also gathering images and music for their poem videos. They will be working on these more next week.

Finally, I had an article I wanted to pass along about the kind of learning that should be going on in schools. It talks about letting up control in the classroom and trying to empower students. It references the amount of paper and worksheets used by some teachers as a way to show that filling all of those out does not necessarily show “learning”. It talks about empowering children, and when you do that, you have to relinquish some control. Not an easy thing for a teacher to do…

Just passing along an interesting article I found from Wired about a social networking program used in an educational setting called Elgg. I’m always very interested in ways to integrate these types of programs into the technology curriculum because I think they are important in helping our students learn how to navigate the Internet and appropriately connect with other people. We can not always live in a vacuum when it comes to technology and learning. I think is important to learn the best way to branch out…

I know this quote is not old, but I think it is important to think about when teaching our students. And, it comes from the former juvenile delinquent who is always regarded as one of the smartest people to ever live…

Imagination is more important than knowledge…

We spend a lot of time feeding our students knowledge, but we need to give them time to use their imagination and be creative. It might not be something you can measure on a standardized test, but imagination needs to be put on a pedestal in our country before we all lose it.

On Monday and Tuesday, I was at the Midwest Education Technology Conference (METC) in St. Louis. Not all of the conferences I go to are interesting, but this one was worth the trip. I especially excited about digital storytelling. Bernajean Porter of DigiTales gave a day long seminar on this writing and technology-based process. I was not immediately hooked, but the more we talked about it, the more I got excited about incorporating it into my classroom. And, as we talked, the more brain (and Palm Pilot) got filled up with ideas. To say the least, I think there are a lot of applications for digital storytelling in our school from kindergarten to 6th grade. Look out for it in the next few months…

The 3rd grade classes are making their landscapes with Windows Paint. Since this is the first year I’m doing this project with the 3rd grade, I’ve been excited for the willingness to learn and explore this idea of digital artwork. When we are all done, I’ll be sure to post some on my blog.

The 4th grade are now working on their stories based on the pictures they took for our CAPE project with Ms. Walsh. Each student should be bringing home their journal this weekend to work on their rough and final draft. It is due on March 7th. Here is what they need to have:

1. Journal with rough draft written inside.
2. Rubric with name.
3. Final draft written on separate piece of paper. It should be at least two pages.

The 5th graders are almost done with painting their grids. We have been piecing together the “final” piece on a grid near the fine arts room. Next week, we will be discussing how it turned out, and what they thought about the project. I’ll be interested to hear what they have to say.

The 6th graders will be finishing up their math games next week. We will be laminating their games after they are done so it can be used for the younger classrooms. I really think creating games is one of the best ways to integrate multiple disciplines and use a lot of higher order thinking. The students really need to synthesize a lot of information and problem solve with one another to come up with a successful game. If that happens, then they will have a successful outcome.

And, one last thing on the technology front. The 3rd graders have been using Microsoft Excel to create graphs. They asked a question of their classmates like, “What is your favorite season?” and then marked down how people responded for each answer. Then, they used their information to create a graph in Excel. I will have their results up on the blog soon.

Enjoy the long weekend!

First, I wanted to share an article that, once again, supports using the Internet and teaching your child to use it responsibly. Even though we are afraid of Internet predators and the use of MySpace, why not show your child how to use it responsibly instead of immediately disallowing it in your house. I’m a big proponent of not being afraid of this new technology and finding ways to embrace rather than to push it away.

This week, almost all of the classes started new projects. The 6th graders are still working on the embroidered pillows they began before the break. Many of them look excellent. I bought a sewing machine over the break, and a few got to sew their pillow together. It was really exciting to watch them use the machine since many are using it for the first time. Once again, these pillows are due before the quarter ends in two weeks.

The 5th graders began a weaving project. We talked about the meaning of loom, warp, and weft. They are making a very basic weaving, but as I told the students, if they do not pay attention to what they are doing, they will make mistakes. It is alright if they do make a mistake, but I want them to learn how to correct it. This project takes a good amount of patience.

The 4th graders began creating logos using the Windows paint program. We started the project by looking at some famous logos and why they were designed the way they were designed. We talked about how graphic designers are paid to create these logos. They are making a logo that represents themselves using either their initials or their first name. The paint program is not the most powerful drawing program, but it is simple enough that the kids can make some fantastic designs. This is one of my favorite projects all year.

The 3rd graders began a project on movement. I don’t normally do this project with the 3rd grade, but I wanted to see how they could handle it. We learned how you can show movement in a drawing by changing the color, size, and line of your drawing. We just began with sketches this week, but will move on to a larger sheet of paper next week.

Also, check out the new web site I added to my list of links. You can design a person with a simple drawing program and then the site automatically animates it to dance. Very cool!

Enjoy the long weekend, and check out the student artwork on the blog. (Hint: You can get to it from the bar beneath my name.)

Cell phones are often seen as bad or students in schools. At Murray, we have a policy that they are not allowed to be in classes. I agree with that policy. They are too much of distraction, and students are too often using them just to communicate. Imagine, though, that they could be used for something else. Considering all the mobile web gadgets that are available now, could cell phones be used for educational purposes? I saw an interesting article on this today that speak to this phenomenon. Will Richardson mentioned this today because New York is thinking about instituting a policy where students have to leave their cell phones in a locker before they enter school. He states:

It’s becoming clearer and clearer to me that the convergence of all of this will fit in our pockets. It has to. The culture is demanding mobile computing, and it’s being driven by our kids. And I think we need to start looking at ways to leverage that ability.

Social networking sites are becoming more and more commercialized. MySpace is already becoming inundated with advertisers, so kids are looking for other places to communicate. I bet YouTube might see the same thing happen to them this year. A mobile web cell phone might be the one way kids communicate with each other. It might be interesting to find out how that could be used in schools.

When using technology with students, you are obviously dealing with a lot of risks. We do our very best to protect our children and teach them how to use it responsibly, but it is not a 100% safe. And while that might be scary at times, if you think about it, nothing is 100% safe. Anyway, I ran across an article from a high school teacher that talks about this. Here is just part of it:

One of the things I always try to keep in mind when I think about school planning and design, and something I said a lot to the faculty as we planned, was “There is no panacea in education and every great idea has a dark side, so what are the worst consequences of your best ideas?” It’s important to do for two reasons — one because I think that many educational institutions become reactionary too often, throwing the baby out with the bathwater when an unforeseen consequence of a really good idea comes along. I’d rather think about every potential dark side so that when they happen, I’m not surprised, I’ve thought about them first, and I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s a consequence I can live with. And two, because you can look to mitigate them and plan for them, and speak about them before hand.

I’d like to think that using the Internet in schools is a “really good idea” so it is important to recognize when it can cause problems, talk about them, and decide how to avoid those problems.

On to fine arts, students in all grades are finishing up projects right now. I’ll be trying to get many on Art Sonia and hanging before the holiday. Although I rarely give out homework, it is important that students finish projects in fine arts completely in order to pass fine arts. While I do my very best to give enough time in class for students to finish, it doesn’t always happen that way. They need to use their time wisely in class and finish their projects completely and with complete effort.

The 6th graders are actually starting a project this week. They are going to be embroidering pillows. These will be due at the end of the quarter. Please read the letter I have posted in reference to this project.

I look forward to seeing parents at the science fair on Wednesday and the holiday assembly on Friday.

Once in a while, I read a blog by Wil Richardson. Recently, he had a great post that got me thinking. The post was about his frustration with how the speedy evolution of the Internet has not led to much change in pedagogy for teachers. A stubbornness amongst teachers has led to this great informational tool being underutilized. We have the opportunity as educators to show our students how to use this tool, and we are not taking advantage of it. This is mostly happening because we as teachers are not taking the time to LEARN about this “new” technology and model for our students how to use responsibly. It is still seen as something extra to do and not an integrated part of the curriculum. Richardson goes on to say:

Many of our kids are already doing this without us. Many of them have much more of a clue of what it means to learn using these tools than we do. Imagine if we could teach them to leverage their connections even more powerfully, if we could show them how powerful they are in our own learning. That we are not just engaged teachers but engaged learners. That we’re not afraid of what’s ahead because we know how to learn.

I think that is just plain common sense, but in these days of high stakes testing, it is almost like we don’t have the time to show them. When will we have the time? When will we all learn how to use the Internet for more than the occasional email or buying something off Amazon? When will it get used? In some ways, it seems like teaching has gotten in the way of learning. Things are moving very fast these days, and our teachers are not keeping up with the times. Does teaching really have to die in order for learning to take place?

This time of year is always a great time of year. The air gets a little crisper, the leaves begin to fall, and the holidays are fast approaching. I’m happy to see all of my classes doing well as we end the first quarter. The 3rd graders finished up their symmetrical aliens. They are hanging near the fine arts room, and they are on Art Sonia. They began a project this week that involves drawing a community.

The 4th graders have finished up their watercolor still-life. They are hanging near the cafeteria and they are on Art Sonia. They started a project this week dealing with contrast. We discussed how putting two dissimilar things together like camouflage pants and a rainbow sweater makes something look very shocking and strange. In other words, they are in high contrast. We talked how the colors black and white can create a picture that is in high contrast. A picture was taken of each child and changed so it only had black and white in it, so the picture was in high contrast.

The 5th graders finished up Joan Miro inspired animals and abstract collages that are on Art Sonia now. They just began creating a six panel story or cartoon that can not use speech bubbles or captions. They have to tell their story without using words. We often look for stories in paintings we see, so this helps them see how a picture can tell a story. The final event for Smart Explorers is fast approaching. I’m hoping that everyone can attend. The 6th graders finished up their Frank Lloyd Light panels. They are on the ceiling near their classroom and on Art Sonia. They started creating logos this week using Inkscape. They are finding the program a little difficult, but the programis very powerful and I’d like to see them work with it more to feel comfortable. Plus, it is free!

I wanted to pass along two other things I saw this week. I saw a great site called Paper Back Swap where you can list the old books you want to get rid of and essentially trade for ones you want to read. It does not cost a thing except for postage. I haven’t set it up myself, but I’m hoping to do so soon. Also, I was saddened to see this article about cheating in college. I know our children are still young, but I would hate to see this trend of cheating to get ahead continue. It is not a good lesson…for all of us…

It is hard to believe that we are at the midterm already. It all happens so fast…

The third grade are continuing to work on their symmetrical aliens. They have been using scraps of construction paper to add some details. The kids have a lot of fun with this project and I’m excited to see the results.

The fourth grade are going to paint a watercolor still-life. They learned about what a still-life is this week, and then setup a still-life on their table so they could draw it. Next week, the fun begins with watercolor.

The fifth grade began the SmartExplorers project this week. Except for some problems with the buses, everything went smoothly. Thye met their docents and will be with the same docents throughout the project. It is pretty daunting to have to eventually speak in front of your family and friends about a piece of artwork at a museum, but they will be more than prepared. In fine arts, we are doing projects that go along with what they are doing in the museum and in the classroom. We are studying line, color, shape, and space. We really want them to know how to use all of these terms correctly.

The sixth grade students began working on tiles inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright stained glass window designs at the Avery Coonley Playhouse. They sketched some ideas first before starting the process of creating their final piece.

Blogging is also heading in the right direction. I’ve been real proud of the students who have taken it upon themselves to make the blog their own. I knew when I began using the blog with the students, I didn’t know where it would lead. So far, they are really creating a space that defines themselves and their classroom.

Also, here is an article from the USA Today about the importance of technology in college students.

Until next time…

I am in the middle of reading a book called A Whole New Mind. It talks about how we are moving from a left-brained work force to a right-brained work force. As I explained to all of my classes this week, your left brain controls your speech, sequences and things in order. Left-brained people are most likely to be computer programmers, accountants, etc. Your right brain controls your “art side” and is much more visual. A Whole New Mind discusses how computers are making a lot of left-brained jobs obsolete. Since computers can do so many of these left-brained tasks like programming and accounting, it is more important that our schools produce students who have a sensitivity to the arts. Creative people are needed in our society, so having the skills to be a visual artist, dancer, musician, or comedian can be just as important as being able to figure out a math problem quickly. Just something to think about.

A professor at Yale University, Robert Sternberg, is even creating a test to measure these types of skills. It is called the Rainbow Project. Here is an explanation of the test:

The test, dubbed “The Rainbow Project,” evaluates creativity and problem-solving rather than analytical skills. Instead of multiple choice questions, it asks students to write captions for cartoons, outline how they would solve a problem, or write stories with unusual titles like “The Octopus’s Sneakers” or “35,381.”What most interests many experts about Sternberg’s early experiments is that they appear to predict students’ freshman GPA in college more accurately than SAT scores, and with a narrower gap between ethnic and socio-economic groups…

I think this is a step forward for the education of all of our students.