Cartoon of the Day

Ever since PL94-142 was passed back in the '70's children have been left behind.  I spent 8 years teaching medically fragile, multiple handicapped children ages 6-14.  They were accountable to the state standards but could have a portfolio rather then take the tests.  We were writing objectives such as : Albert will be able to show recognition of the state by glance at the picture 3 our of 5 times.  We ended up spending most of their time "in school" testing their objectives rather then allowing them the pleasures of explore the sites, sounds, textures, motion around them.  They had so little time.

Those that don't get left behind get run over for being ahead of the bus.

Cartoon for the Day

Recently I was reviewing a lesson plan to see if it was worth developing.  The lesson was teaching number families.  The teacher wrote that she get the children to see the relationship between addition and subtraction.  (I'm also thinking multiplication and division!)

Cartoon for the Day

Why write a book when a picture can say the same thing?

Cartoon of the Day

Being a very visual person, I decided to see what public opinions were being shared regarding our current flailing education system and the adoption of the Common Core Standards.  I had had enough of the TV and radio reports.  Most of it I don't agree with anyway.
So I have decided that I am going to let a cartoon do the speaking for me.  A few times a week I will post a cartoon along with a comment.  I hope you will respond with you thoughts as well.

Cartoon for today:

Is our educational system supporting independent thinking and creativity or creating robots to do their bidding?

Images From My Past

"Report cards were sent out recently and their issuance always serve as a reminder of the following situation from a couple of years ago and how destructive grades can be to a kid's motivation. "
This article took me back to my first year of teaching, 1979, and with it all the pain, anger and frustrations I felt then blistered up once more.
The title of the blog is, "Why Are You Crying? Your Grades?"
Reflection:
My first year of teaching.  I had a multi-grade 1-3.  A wonderful group that came together more as a family then a class.
Two boys in the grade that found reading very, very HARD!  Just after Christmas break, the light bulbs went on and they began to put things together.  At "level"? No.  But excited and happy about what they were doing. No doubt they would be on or above "level" next year.
April hits - the Iowa Basic Skills test time (Yup, that's what they were back then.)
Directions are read to the students: "It should take about 20–30 minutes to read the passages in this book and answer the 6 questions in the Answer Section. "  You may begin.
Story 1:

"Saturday is our day to clean, but Grandpa turns work into fun. We like to sing when we dust. We like to dance when we mop. We clean the car together. We do the wash together. We both wear our caps. When we are done, we hurry to the store. We shop for food. Grandpa lets me pick the fruits that I like best. We carry the food home. Grandpa tells stories while we walk. At night, our work is done. Friends come over. We cook dinner. We sing and dance. Saturday is our day to clean, but Grandpa turns work into fun!"

Now this may look like a simple passage to you but to those boys, motivated and excited, it was "the kiss of death".  They sat there for 20 long minutes silently crying (so as not to disturb the others).  All efforts to help them regain confidence that year failed.

I cry with them as I continue to cry for our children.  Whether it's grades or standard tests, we drain the excitement and motivation out of our children.  We have to stop putting them up to a systems yard stick.  Let them draw their own lines on the wall.

You can help put an end to it.  What to learn how? Become a member of NGGE or email me and I will show you.  Your students, your children and you will be much happier.

What do contemporary American Parents Want?

According to a post in the New York Times by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, they tend to want" their boys smart and their girls skinny".  Not happy?  Excited about learning?  Is it because parents tend to compare their child(ren) to their neighbors, friends, co-workers...?  Why must we burden children with our out-dated measuring stick.
At NGGE we want to allow each individual learner to have choices and take charge of who they hope to be.

Search Engines for Kids

When you ask kids, "What do you like to do most?" many will tell you about their latest learning portable learning device.

Our children begin to use these devices at a very early age.   It is important to  teach them safe and responsible. 

EmergingEdTech recently posted a story, "8 Safe Search Engines and Tools for Kid"

• KidzSearch  Powered by Google -Searched "How to use Pythagorean Theorem" (About 106,000 results (0.27 seconds)")  Good variety of materials to explore.
• Searchy Pants   Must register with name and email. Categorizes search by type of materials. (About 105,000 results (0.40 seconds)
• KidRex  Also Google powered.  Much like first site.  (About 105,000 results (0.29 seconds))
• KidsClick  Offers many good sites.  No results returned on the above search.
• Yahoo Kids    Did not find this kid safe as I could search for subjects not appropriate for young learners.
• Aga-Kids   Search by text or visual icons.  One result returned on above search.
• Mymunka  By subject or tag.  (About 276,000 results (2.87 seconds))

As I visited each I could see a difference in the sophistication of each search engine.  Check them out and comment back on which engine you like most and why.

Guiding and coaching our children as learners starts at "birth".