TEACHERS AS TARGETS

There is an International Herald Tribune article that is chilling - teachers are now being targeted in Iraq. Why teachers? Why not! Teachers are dangerous... remember the poignant poem Pat Stall read to us last summer?

The poem is by Sigmund A. Boloz and is called "Be Dangerous" ; near the end it reads:

"...but because this is America, you must continue to be a teacher

You, the teacher, are freedom's greatest hope... be dangerous."

BORDER PEDAGOCY - PEDAGOGIA FRONTERIZA

We were priviledged to attend the "Crossing Borders: Education for a New World", in Spanish, "Cruzando Fronteras: Educación para un mundo nuevo" on Saturday September 24th. It was a great experience to meet the teachers from Tijuana and San Diego under one roof. The event was punctuated with a great mexican breakfas, and a nice lunch - including "flan!" for those of us with a sweet tooth - and of course music!

The brass was in town that morning - got to see the president of the University Karen Haynes along with the head of the College of Education Mark Baldwin plus all the key figures of the COE that are involved in languages, Juan, Zee, John, Maria de la luz, Elizabeth, and others.

These are a few of the pictures:

Check out some more pictures posted at FLICKR:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/37257426@N00/

If you have any questions please drop me a note...

TECHNOLOGY

Computer-Using Educators - are you a member? If you have taken Educ 422 you probably are a member of CUE. This is just to let you know that there is a local conference coming up in October...

Check it out:

Things you will learn: Digital Imaging with Ease - curriculum integration, Virtual Gaming, Podcasting 101, Wikis for Wackos: Cross-curriculum & Differentiated instruction...and much much more...

BILINGUAL - EDUCATION - MULTICULTURALISM

As a teacher-in-training you will be exposed to dogmas and philosophical beliefs and many hot-button societal issues. Familiarize yourself in a rounded fashion on things like: Bilingual Education, Multiculturalism, Race, Fairness, etc. Be prepared to think things through - as an individual, as an American citizen, and as a teacher. As a teacher you have the responsibility to strengthen the fabric of our nation As MLK so elegantly said:

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed, 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.' I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood...I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. Speech at the Lincoln Memorial, 1963.

WHY?

I have been asked so many times... why do you want to become a High School teacher and leave a very nicely paid career? Well my answer has always been - while I still have the energy - I would like to share my knowledge, experience and help builld up young people... honeslty to try to make a difference that is more lasting than the Corporate world - so on I pursue my credentials. Dreamer? Perhaps - but I have to be true to myself... we shall see.

In any case, there is a great write up at Star Tribune by Katherin Kersten - check it out. She concludes with:

"If you want to influence our nation for the good, the most important thing you can do is become a high school teacher."

FOLKSONOMY

Have you ever used "Favorites" in your web browser? It helps you organize your PC links nicely and to your liking. There is also in Yahoo something called Yahoo Bookmarks which allows you to do the same thing except your favorites become available on ANY computer.

Well, there is another iteration that is even more powerfull called: del.icio.us this tool actually allows you to bookmark any page without any hassles and it allows you to extend the name and add tags! This very cool feature is called Folksonomy - similar to taxonomy. Pay attention you English majors lest your students zip right by you! The Wikipedia defines folksonomy as: a neologism for a practice of collaborative categorization using freely chosen keywords.

Got that? It is a community way or organizing links! It means that the group has already vetted and categorized much more information that you alone could ever do! Egalitarianism at its best!

Here is the link if you dare:

¿TOMAS CAFÉ, NO?

You know how I love words…. I encountered a letter to W. F. Buckley in the August 29th edition of National Review that I thought was a keeper. The letter said:

…I don’t remember ever encountering a grammatical construction such as, “Your imagination should be able to handle that, no?”
Why not end with “yes”? And what response indicates agreement or disagreement when ending the query in “yes” or “no”?

WFB answers:

….Very interesting, As in other matters in language, doing what comes naturally tends to be the thing to do. The negative is obviously called for in French (“Tu désires du café, non?”) and Spanish (“¿Tomas café, no?). If one were to expand the negative locution here, we’d have “You’re going to have coffee, aren’t you?” And there is the negative, poking its head. Aren’t you? – Are you not? The sentence you quote is constructed to suggest that the addressee’s imagination is (presumably) sufficient to cope with the problem; so that the indicated answer – if the imagination were insufficient – would be: No. A “yes” could be accomplished by a nod of the head, or – silence…

Wow – talk about brilliance in handling the language!

Check out NRO at:

BLACK BOARD JUNGLE

Well, well, well – one week behind us! The first week in class was interesting, provocative – and as usual confusing.

Monday went to class to find out that the class was not being held that day! Oy Bey! Three of us stood in class looking at each other wondering – ok… where is the rest of the class? Lack of communication was the explanation – oh well. Class does not start until September 12th.

Tuesday was a-ok but boy you better keep up with the multitude of assignment/locations/explanations/suggestions in a conundrum of icons on the web… take out a wet suit and your scuba gear!

Wednesday – the syllabus said that class was held last week already! So some of us ended up going in as if we had missed a class already! It was a relief to find out it was a professor error! Now this class is very interesting – found another Bolivian in the class!! LOL J

Thursday – another miscommunication – could not find the classroom – we finally figured it out!

I tell you, the COE is a constant basic training boot camp. It makes you wonder if this is all part of teacher training… is this preparing us to face the blackboard jungle? Remember that movie? "The Blackboard Jungle" or am I dating myself because most kids would not know what a blackboard is... anyway, risking dating myself; the movie was about an idealistic teacher on his first job!!!!!! Honestly, check it out:

EDSS 521 - Michelle

Hi - just wanted to give you a head's up to the the latest from Michelle on WebCT. There are instructions to be done before class. This is part of her announcement:



Her class meets on Tuesdays 5:30-8:30 Academic Hall 407

If you are in her class - see you later!

Hat tip Paige:

"Attached is a transcript from a live chat on advice for first-year teachers. It's kind of long, but there are some good pieces of advice throughout."

MICROSOFT STUDENT 2006

Well Microsoft is at it again - this time with a new package: MS Student 2006. It is an interesting concept - I have not evaluated it yet, but it is released. Here is the link:

Again this is shared so you are aware of the tools out there - the calculator stuff looks powerful, but the rest I don't now - I like to say, "I'm from Missouri - show me!" This might be just a lot of hype.

VISUAL THESAURUS

There are some programs that improve with age - like a good vintage wine. Visual Thesaurus is one of these jewels. Innovative in its design they have now added other languages, but not only other languages, it is how they implemented it! Very cool! This ought to prove a jewel for those in BCLAD classes, and actually English and language arts classes.

Here is an example - I looked at the word: "wonder" which is difficult to translate if you use it in the sentence: "I wonder...." The Spanish concepts of that sentence is tricky to translate but it is easier to do it with this picture:

Is that cool or what?

But not only that, you also get to hear the word pronounced (Listen you teachers that are teaching second language learners!) You can also e-mail this graphic to others if you wish, Then they have a "Teacher's Corner" to help teachers use the tool in their classrooms.

You can subscribe to the service or else buy the desktop version of the program - the cost is nominal really - two Frapuccinos' worth!

Here is the link:
Have a great time!

WHAT DO STUDENTS THINK?

Check this out:

"A surprisingly high number of teenagers fear for their safety at school, believe teachers don't care about them and feel their classes lack demanding challenges, according to an Indiana University study to be released today"

Find the full article at: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050817/NEWS01/508170483/1006/NEWS01

CSET III - PASSED!

One month later I got my notice via e-mail:

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Examination: 116 CSET Social Science Subtest III
Status: Pass
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Nice, very nice, all my testing is now complete: CBEST, CSET I, II, and III, BCLAD Oral & Written.

Today is also my wedding anniversary to boot! Time to celebrate - dinner at the Del is in order for my beautiful bride - don't you think?

KEVIN IGASAKI

Wow! What a shock to receive the e-mail from school about Kevin. He passed away last week.

It was incredible sad news. Dr. Kevin Igasaki was in charge of the Language Learning Center... it was but July 28th when he administered my BCLAD exam. He was a kind individual always supportive of the students - he will be missed I am sure.

We are lifting his family in prayer.

EDUCATION OUTSOURCING

I am not sure if you are aware of the trending within industry to outsource professional jobs out of the country - India in particular. They have a very well educated population with an powerful and extensive High School and University program that has created a tremendous workforce of engineers, system analysis, mathematicians, etc. That talent pool is hired by many companies because 1) it is cheaper and of higher quality, or 2) the talent is not available in the U. S. or is in short supply.

Well guess what? They are beginning to outsouce teaching jobs bacause of the shortage of math an science teachers.

"Close on the heels of their successful handling of Business Process Outsourcing and call centres, Indian firms will now provide private tuition facilities to British school children in mathematics and science over the internet. "

Check it out at the following link:

Times of India

What do you think?

PURCHASING BOOKS

Well due to the great connections of a mathematician friend in the education business - he got my attention to the following site:

Best prices on books...! Check it out.

Words

I heard about a study conducted by Yale University where researchers found that of all the words in the dictionary, there are 12 with the power to positively impact people’s actions. These aren’t simply words; they are highly-persuasive tools that can be used to achieve beneficial results:

new

discover
save

guarantee
safety

results
proven

you
love

health
money

easy

I always believed that words have power - as new teachers perhaps we all can be cognizant of their value and most important of their influence! Interesting, don't you think?

CSET SECTION III

Well… I just completed Section III of the CSET History exam! This section of the exam supposedly covered California history but … no, of course it didn’t; it was all over the map! The 40 multiple choice questions and three essays covered a range of topics most of which were general historical topics – few related to California – oh well!

Now let me think, in addition to your subject matter Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree you must take: EDUC 350 (3 units), EDUC 364 (3 units), EDUC 422 (3 units) in addition, you must provide a minimum of two letters of personal recommendation by a public school teacher to be accepted into the program, you also must pass: the CBEST test, the CSET Section I, Section II, and Section III tests for history, BCLAD Language Oral test, BCLAD Written test, the College Of Education Interview, the Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) given by an authorized Red Cross provider , the FBI and Security Clearance as authorized by the State, a TB test, and finally you must submit your Records of Immunizations from the time you were born (no kidding!). Now you can continue your credentialing classes! Most of my cohort group is drooping like I am!

This whole affair feels like gigantic pasquinade being played on myself and my cohort group!

Help!

I am going out to dinner with my family to one of my favorite restaurants which I playfully call the “Road-kill” café........ I am gently chided by my wife and family NO! It is called the Roadhouse Grill as we rush out of the house because I envision a cold tall one waiting for me to go along with the a great steak - and peanuts on the floor! Salud!

VAIL HIGH SCHOOL - ALL ELECTRONIC

This very interesting article in says that Arizona’s Vail High School will not use textbooks – they will go completely to a wireless, laptop, network and NO textbooks… This is an interesting concept. Check out Vail High’s web site: