TWIRP me Scotty!

December24

C3K to Go – Channel3000.com Video  Okay, this is from long ago, but it is impressive. Kids build a covered bridge for a high school project. I think it came from John Pederson on Twitter.

Mark Pullen had two posts I commented and thought about this week…“It Just Didn’t Work Out For Me” « The Elementary Educator  about the excuses kids make when they misbehave for the sub while you are gone. I thought about this because I had a much different kind of student in my class the last two days of school. He is the sort of student that goes from zero to fighting in a nano second. He can usually explain later how he ends up there, but he’s one of those kids where it’s real hard to intervene before fists start flying. He worked out fine in the lab with me, thankfully.

Next from Mr. Pullen was The “2 Days Left” Mentality « The Elementary Educator about how sloppy we can get in the run up to vacation. He talks about how this prevents you from being a great teacher. My take on this is that the last week before vacation cannot be run on a business as usual basis, but if you make it videos and parties and abandon any structure, you will pay the price with the chaos that ensues. I found last week that I had to always be on top of things, and it was a lot of work. On the other hand, it paid off because I had very few behavior issues. This is understanding that I have a much different gig in the computer lab, but my recollections (not that distant) in my own class are that you have to have a nice mix of structure, and special activities (with lots of planning, supervision, etc.) to make it work.

dy/dan » Blog Archive » Perils of Podcasting who always has something to say, bemoans the shift from writing to podcasting (in response to Scott McLeod’s suggestion towards audio blogs). He feels there is more quality in writing because it gets planned, drafted, corrected, etc.  I pointed out that there are varieties of podcasts, some like interviews and book discussions, can be planned and outlined, but cannot be scripted.

Someone on Dan’s blog complained about not being able to “scroll” through, but listen to the audio version of a blog which is rather amusing:  NPR : ‘Web Log’ Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Yeah, love the new style at: Newer and Less Complex Style | 2¢ Worth but, can I remind folks that if you are in my reader, I can’t “see” a new theme/skin? Make sure to share that in a post.

Doug and I discuss the absurdities of grant funding for programs in Borderland » Blog Archive » Sustainability and Science Education  where  startup money is given, but there is no mechanism for ongoing funding and everyone (states, locals, feds) point somewhere else when the money runs out. If these programs are so good, why aren’t they funded? Instead we start them out on a piecemeal basis (going to the few teachers/schools that hear about it), then the funding runs out and most of the program participants drop out.

dy/dan » Blog Archive » How I Work: Sub Plans has a piece on how he created a sub plan that was basically a DVD the sub popped in and showed the class. I’m in the opposite situation in that when I have a sub they have to teach P.E., which I don’t normally teach. The principal doesn’t want subs in the lab, and the last sub I had has insisted loudly in the staff lounge that she will never use a computer (she seemed okay doing P.E., so I’m not complaining). I need P.E. plans for elementary, or some activity suggestions. Leave ’em here folks.

by posted under Uncategorized | 2 Comments »    
2 Comments to

“TWIRP me Scotty!”

  1. December 25th, 2007 at 9:20 am      Reply mrsdurff Says:

    When you have a sub who teaches your classes? Doesn’t seem fair anywho. I would play indoor dodgeball and call it a day. I subbed in PE and we had 1 hour blocks – I had 3 activities – dodgeball where I kept throwing in balls to make it interesting, ye ol duck duck goose to cool down, and a rousing game of the week’s flavor like basketball a la durff (grade level rules) or kickball or indoor soccer or something. Outdoor anything was asking for runaways at that school, so i only did with classes that earned it. Have fun!


  2. December 26th, 2007 at 2:18 am      Reply Kobus van Wyk Says:

    Thank you so much for all these wonderful references. I do not always have the time to keep up with all of these blogs, but I read yours! In a way it acts as a filter to me to catch all the nuggets of gold; I am also enlightened by your own personal classroom experiences and observations. And I must confess, from time to time I recast some of your wisdom into postings on my own blog, adapted to our local circumstances.

    I trust that your brief vacation period will be refreshing to you.


Email will not be published

Website example

Your Comment:

rssrss
rssrss

Links of Interest


License

Creative Commons License
All of Ms. Mercer's work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.


Skip to toolbar