Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Try to Stay in a Group

In my Curriculum Development class tonight I learned that Aristotle and Plato and Socrates taught their students by walking along while lecturing and the students followed along behind them. In the midst of learning about this I couldn't help but break into a giggle. I imagine that if I were to walk along lecturing about how to find the area of parallelograms to my happy 7th graders that a couple things might happen: Some kids would wander off in groups and get distracted by things like icicles or mud puddles or any kind of wild critter. One boy would push another boy and eventually all the boys except for the obnoxiously gifted boy would be entwined together in punching wrestling arms and legs. Or, the students (especially if the boys were not intent on strangling each other just because it's cool) would be running around wildly. I think the theme music to a 7th grade math class taught this way would have to either be The Flight of the Bumblebees or perhaps the 1812 Overture.

Because I am truly a dork, I would probably have a hard time learning this way as I would either trip and need yet another knee surgery, or I'd be completely stressed out that my notes are incomplete. Yet another reason why incorporating technology in the classroom is a good idea. There could be no strolling with laptops...

And why is it so hard for little boys to keep their hands to themselves? I suppose I should be grateful they aren't seething masses of hormones yet and they're only touching other boys and not the little girls.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

School Starts Again!

The new semester of school has started and I'm finding myself traveling back and forth to go to school, and also teaching a bunch of rambunctious and hillarious 7th graders. For my new semester of going to school I am seriously hoping I enjoy it as much as I did last semester. But we'll see. So far I've been late to one class and another was cancelled because of snow. go figure.

One of my new courses is an instructional technology course and one of the assignments is that I maintain several blog postings. At first I thought, AHA! this will be easy, I'll just post on Shazam in the Kitchen the mandatory three times and be done with it. But then I thought about things and decided that people who are oohing and ahhing over fancy bread with salami and cheese embedded in it aren't terribly interested in what I have to say the challenges of creating a desktop movie will be. Well, maybe one brussel sprout loving person or two, but for the most part, probably not other than an occasional amusing anecdote.

So I created a new blog. It will be linked to the other and more delicious blog, but this one will contain my reflections that are assigned for the course as well as what I find to be interesting tidbits about my experiences with teaching. And like my other blog, I will continue to maintain anonymity for my husband and my small town and probably those students that I might mention. SO hang on. This could be an interesting (and I meant that in a good way) ride.