Writing Resources

    This summer our faculty and staff are reading William Zinsser's book On Writing Well.  It's one of those books that helps you learn that maybe there's more you need to learn about writing before you write your next piece.  To supplement Zinsser's good advice, I am clicking on The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) and "Grammar Girl" podcasts.  Check them out.

Curriculum + Wiki = Curriki

     Reading "$200 Text Vs. Free. You Do the Math." in the "Bright Ideas" of the Business Section of the Sunday Times, I discovered Curriki. Here is their mission:

     "Curriki is more than your average website; we're a community of educators, learners and committed education experts who are working together to create quality materials that will benefit teachers and students around the world.

     Curriki is an online environment created to support the development and free distribution of world-class educational materials to anyone who needs them. Our name is a play on the combination of 'curriculum' and 'wiki' which is the technology we're using to make education universally accessible."
     Check it out.

Cash You . . . Spend or Save?

With school ended for the year and the summer solstice only days away, things begin to calm down for teachers.  For a brief moment, there’s not so much going on, with more time for relaxation and thoughtful reflection.  When that happens, I think one’s easy-going demeanor passes on to the people around and enables them to profit from one’s disposition.  Such was the case one recent Saturday while I was “relaxed,” taking my mother grocery shopping—a one-hour, weekly event that she loves and holds dearly . . . click here for more

Rob Evans' Latest Book

     The following is quoted from Rob's website page that describes his latest book, Seven Secrets of The Savvy School Leader.

"School leaders today are working harder than ever, longer than ever, dealing with ever greater complexity, and sacrificing ever more of their personal and family time to their work. How can we make school leadership more doable and offer hope to both experienced and beginning leaders? Offering solid advice for overcoming even the most daunting of leadership challenges, this book is both a survival guide and a road map for excellence."

     If you are a head of school or principal get a copy.

An Inspiration to All Parents

     While in the middle of reading the NYTimes bestseller War by Sebastian Junger, I was totally consumed by "Spirit Intact, a Soldier Reclaims His Life" a NYTimes article about Brendan Marrocco, Iraq veteran.  It is important to click through the audio and picture links contained in the story.
     This is a story that will give perspective to you as parents and as human beings.  Inspiration at its best.

Inner Net

     I have always realized that there is a bit of a gap between generations of parents and teachers and the kids we care for particularly when it comes to understanding the power of the Internet.  After reading the recent NYTimes Magazine article "When Funny Goes Viral" by Rob Walker, I learned of an inner subculture humor that is bigger than one can image.
     One of the leaders of this highly viewed, viral culture is 22-year old Christopher "moot" Poole.  Here he is in a TED Talk explaining the history of his 4Chan website (Warning: 4Chan has R-rated stuff).



    BTW, the NYTimes article explains one viral, humorous prank known as Rickrolling.  By way of explanation, click here to get an inner net subculture experience and add your view to the 25 million other views!

Brooks v. E-books

     I was amused by the progress of e-books a year ago when I posted Green Apple Books - Kindle v. Book.  I continue to monitor the war between books and e-books, bouncing back and forth:  book . . . e-book . . . book . . . e-book . . . book.
     David Brooks's excellent op-ed piece in the July 8 NYTimes was sobering and brought some research to the table.  Take a few minutes to read his piece "The Medium is the Medium."
    
     Blogger's Note: No subliminal intent to direct you to an electronic copy of the article :)

A Look at Population by Generation

     It is interesting to look at changes in population by generation.  Here is one view:

Lost Generation - revisited	Today -
Generation Y (aka Millennial or Echo Boomer)	1975 to early-2000
Generation X	1962-82
Baby Boomer Generation	Post-WW II-1962
Greatest Generation	WW II and before
Silent Generation	1930s
Lost Generation	WW I and before

   
     Click on this powerful YouTube video entitled "Lost Generation" - the one revisited.  See if you agree with it's powerful message.

World Population

     Here is an interesting excerpt from Sir Ken Robinson's book The Element that talks about world population. See what you think.


     "At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, there was hardly anybody around.  In 1750, there were one billion people living on the planet.  It took the whole of human existence for the world population to reach one billion.  I know that sounds a lot, and we've agreed that the planet is relatively small.  But it's still big enough for a billion people to spread out in reasonable comfort.
     In 1930, there were two billion people.  It took just one hundred and eighty years for the population to double.  But there was still plenty of room for people to lie down.  It took only forty more years for us to get to three billion.  We crossed that threshold in 1970, just after the Summer of Love, which I'm sure was a coincidence.  After that came spectacular increase.  On New Year's Eve 1999, you were sharing the planet with six billion other people.  The human population had doubled in thirty years.  some estimates suggest that we'll hit nine billion by the middle of the twenty-first century."

More on Six-Word Memoirs

     Something like 140-character tweets, a great exercise for students and teachers is to write using only six words.  The NPR article and podcast  "Six-Word Memoirs: Life Stories Distilled" are a great intro to writing 6-word memoirs.  It all began with the book Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs. 
     Give it a try;  In six words describe your education.


     I originally wrote about this idea on May 1, 2008.

Think Tank Talk

      Looking at professional development with 25 other educators was stimulating, fun, and rewarding and at the same time challenging and like being on a journey where you weren't sure where it was going to end.  During the closing, though, we were able to reflect on what we did accomplish over our 48 hours together.
     After dissecting all of the professional development services NYSAIS offered, we put together those that we felt still work and added activities that were missing, e.g. support for aspiring leaders and an annual gathering for heads of school new to New York.
     With so many energetic, bright people in the same room, you could not help but be professionally developed within the Tank itself.  I know I learned so much.  I will leave you with these excellent, short Derek Sivers TED Talks that were introduced during the session:
     Derek Sivers: How to Start a Movement
     Derek Sivers: Weird, or just different?

Professional Development ---> Think Tank

     I am writing to you from upstate New York where I am ensconced in a beautiful retreat setting with 25 other educators.  Our think tank is looking at professional development services offered by the New York State Association of Independent Schools (NYSAIS); these services include diversity, technology, conferences, and workshops presented to teachers, administrators, staff, heads, and trustees.

     Keeping in mind the Association’s accreditation criteria and process, the group is analyzing professional development, keeping in mind the following: delivery system, leadership, content, and accountability across all constituencies served.

     A Flow of books is helping us Drive towards a possible Switch.

     More to come.

Switch to Change

     Following up on their first bestseller, Made to Stick, brothers Chip and Dan Heath have written a book that must be read by all, particularly if you are trying to understand the dynamics of change.  You can click over to the website to learn more about the book.
     The authors' use of the metaphor of an elephant and rider throughout the book, helps the reader quickly understand that the rational side of us is the rider and the emotional side of us is the elephant.  Often when the rider knows that a new path must be chosen, it isn't always easy to move the elephant in that direction.
     One of the mentioned ideas that caught my eye was where the brothers cite a grading system used by Jefferson County High School. Students can receive an A, B, C, or NY.  NY standing for "Not Yet."  Pretty clever.

"Loving Lampposts" - A Movie About Autism

     Take a minute to view the trailer to the recently released movie Loving Lampposts.  Here is an excerpt from an introduction posted below the trailer on IMDb: 


     "As autism has exploded into the public consciousness over the last 20 years, two opposing questions have been asked about the condition: is it a devastating sickness to be cured? Or is it a variation of the human brain -- just a different way to be human? After his son's diagnosis, filmmaker Todd Drezner visits the front lines of the autism wars. . . And we meet a too often ignored group: autistic adults. It's these adults who show just how tricky it is to judge an autistic person's life. . ."


     The trailer alone will cause you to want to see the movie.

Forever Young

     At this year's graduation, the Class of 2010 presented a slideshow to those assembled parents, teachers, and friends.  One of the background songs was "Young Forever" by the rap artist Jay-Z.  I loved listening to the tune as I watched the slides, but while I watched the video and listened to the lyrics, I realized how meaningfully the music presented the pictures.  See what you think.  
     As an aside, the lyrics reminded me of the classic young adult book Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbott.  If you have not read the book, it is a great summer read.

You Gotta Watch This & Then Try It

     A colleague sent me an email declaring that I HAD to see this video and try the website.  She said that the power of it is amazing.  Watch the video, then try WolframAlpha.


   It is amazing.  I can only imagine what this means for students and teachers.

Empathy Helps

     "Empathy Can Ease the Pressure" a one-act play I wrote appears in the Summer 2010 issue of Independent School magazine.  It looks into the relationship among parents, students, and teachers.  Take five minutes to read the entire play by clicking here . . . 
     Think about sharing it with parents, teachers, and administrators.

Understanding Epilepsy

Epilepsy, a seizure disorder, can be devastating to individuals and families. Here are three exceptional resources on this neurological condition.

Mommy, I Feel Funny! A Child's Experience With Epilepsy a book by Danielle M. Rocheford and Chris Herrick takes the reader into the world of Nel.

"Based on a true story, Mommy, I Feel Funny! introduces the reader to Nel, a little girl who is diagnosed with epilepsy. The story takes you through the days following Nel's first seizure. Suddenly, Nel and her family are faced with thoughts, fears and emotions that come with the discovery, understanding and acceptance of epilepsy."

On October 25, 2009 the weekly television news magazine, "60 Minutes," aired "Fight For a Cure," a story about Lauren Axelrod, the daughter of President Obama's Senior Advisor, David Axelrod. The oldest daughter of David and Susan was diagnosed with epilepsy 28 years ago as an infant. Susan is the President of CURE (Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy).

Bathroom Talk Redux

       How often have you heard the expression “You had to be there to appreciate it?”  Such was the case when I was with a group of fifth grade students on a field trip.

     The chaperones—myself included—were staying in a house and sharing the bathrooms; there were a girls’, a boys’, and an off-the-common-room-unisex bathrooms. 

     In the middle of the day, rain forced us all to be in the house.  At one point, I opened the door to the bathroom off of the common room.  To my surprise, the student sitting and facing me instantly locked eyes with me.  Without hesitation he, rather than being embarrassed, crinkled his eyebrows in indignation and with an even tone said, “Duude.”  I immediately lowered my eyes, humbly saying, “Oops.  Sorry.”  I quickly exited backwards and closed the door.  The faculty member sitting and typing on her computer at the nearby table said, "Oh, sorry.  Fred doesn’t like to lock doors, and I was supposed to be standing watch for him."

Editor’s note: To get a better sense of what it was like being there and the beauty of Fred's clever communication, click on this Bud Light clip to see the different meanings of dude intonations for different situations.  Very funny.

A Real Rube Goldberg

David Macaulay's book The Way Things Work gave many young readers and inventor enthusiasts the inspiration to look beyond the outside cover.  It was Ruben Lucius Goldberg who inspired many gadgeteers to come up with unbelievable contraptions.  Check out this one.

The Element - Sir Ken Robinson

     As you may have gathered, I am a big fan of Sir Ken Robinson.  It all began when I first saw him at Radio City Music Hall when he spoke before 6,500 at the 2008 NAIS Annual Conference.  Then again, it was his TED Talk that was inspirational.  Now, after reading his recent book, The Element, I continue to be convinced that he understands human nature and the precious qualities of the imagination and creativity in children and adults.
    The best part of The Element for me is reading story after story of people who have come into their element — some in their early years but many in their later years.  Gillian Lynne, James Earl Jones, Ewa Laurance, Mick Fleetwood, Richard Branson, and many others.  Listen to this seven minute clip of Robinson talking about the book.

Wordle

Check out this website: Wordle.  You can type in a bunch of words or the URL of a website.  For the image above, I typed in the URL of this blog.  Give it a try.

Did Jaime Escalante Stand and Deliver?

     I loved the 1988 movie Stand and Deliver. You remember, it's the one that chronicled Jaime Escalante, the Garfield High School AP Calculus teacher's work with Los Angeles low income students.  Here are an excellent Education Week article and a NPR piece that helped me sift through fiction to find fact:

“What Jaime Escalante Taught Us That Hollywood Left Out: Remembering America’s Favorite Math Teacher” by Heather Kirn Lanier in Education Week, April 21, 2010.


Read "Jaime Escalante, Math Teacher Behind 'Stand and Deliver', Dies" by Frank James and listen to an excellent interview by Claudio Sanchez.


     Escalante passed away at the age of 79.

Bathroom Talk

The other day as I walked through the school lobby, I noticed a lone father seated working at his iPhone. We smiled at each other, and I proceeded to the bathroom. Opening the door, I noticed the stall door ajar, and the rustling I heard inside clued me into the fact that someone was inside. Before I took another step, the 4-year old voice from inside clearly said, "Dane, tell my Dad I did a poo." My mind instantly connected the child's voice with the father in the lobby. I said, "Will do, Charlie."

As I walked back to the lobby I realized that my little friend recognized me by seeing my image in the mirror through the opened stall door. I'm never surprised at how smart kids are and how resourceful they are when it comes to directing adults.

Not Sure I am There Yet . . . but

Gever Tulley, founder of the Tinkering School presented this funny but interesting TED Talk, "5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do." View this 8-minute video for yourself and decide if you buy into what Tulley is saying.

Getting to Know Jacqueline Woodson

    Yesterday our Lower Elementary and Upper Elementary students got to listen to Jacqueline Woodson in our library.  Author of over 30 books, Woodson enchanted and inspired students about writing. I could see in the faces of those assembled that students were taking in all that she had to offer.  A multiple Newbery Honor and Caldecott Honor winner, Woodson recited chapters from memory from her books.  The students and I loved it when she read from her picture book, Show Way holding the book for all to view while she recited word-for-word the rich history of her family.
    My own read of her books Maizon at Blue Hill and If You Come Softly confirmed for me her gift as a writer and an author who understands the world of young adult readers.

The Bear That Wasn't

     On May 22, 1980 I was leading a group of ninth grade students through Quincy Market in Boston, and I sauntered into a bookstore.  As I was pawing through books in the children's section, I came across The Bear Who Wanted to Be a Bear, fell in love with it, and purchased it for my sons.  This past holiday season my younger son asked me if I remembered the book and had the copy I bought all those years ago.  In fact, I did; I vividly remembered the copy; it had illustrations that reminded me of the 1962 Stanley Kubrick movie A Clockwork Orange.  The original story, written by Frank Tashlin, has a bit of a Simpsonesque feel to it — it's eloquently written for both children and adults. I bought my son his own copy.
     Listening to Weekend Edition (scroll down a bit to get to the reading) recently, I heard Scott Simon and Daniel Pinkwater read Tashlin's original book, The Bear That Wasn't on the occasion of its re-issuance by the New York Review of Books Children's Collection.  In case you missed reading the book in your parenting or teaching work, here it is in full color.

Controlling Laptop Use in Class

     "Put Away That Laptop: Professors Pull the Plug" a four-minute report on Weekend Edition caught my ear Saturday morning.  
     From requiring students to have laptops in class to banning laptops from class, teachers are upset with the way students are using their laptops in class.  Ebay, shopping, email, and browsing instead of taking notes are getting in the way.  Yet students complain that teachers need to move beyond "Death by Power Point" classes.  As mentioned in this Weekend Edition piece, here is what one professor did to make his point.

Shakespeare's 446th Birthday Celebration

     This past week our elementary and middle school students and teachers donned their best face-painted Shakespearean moustache to make ready for an assembly that included a prelude to The Tempest (this year's middle school production), a scene from The Tempest acted by the eighth grade leads, a happy birthday sing, and a large cake with the bard's portrait iced on top.
     An unforgettable part of the assembly was when teachers were pitted one-on-one, using Shakespeare insult language.  It was hard to contain the laughter from students AND teachers.

The Genius in All of Us

     I loved Carol Dweck's book Mindset, especially when she writes about "growth mindset" trumping "fixed mindset" and how intelligence can be nurtured over years rather than thinking you get what you get when you are born.  
     Here is a new book about intelligence, The Genius in All of Us: Why Everything You've Been Told About, Genetics, Talent, and IQ is Wrong by David Shenk.  While you are at amazon, use the "Click to LOOK INSIDE" feature and be sure to read the first chapter; it's right there, free.  If you do read the first chapter and you are a baseball fan, you'll love what Shenk says about Boston Red Sox superstar Ted Williams.  
     Also, you can read this NYTimes review by Annie Murphy Paul.