[Vision2020] Survivor: The Classroom Version
Art Deco
deco at moscow.com
Mon Apr 4 13:04:53 PDT 2011
Sue,
There is another aspect to consider:
If you give 500 students laptops, how many will be lost, stolen, or damaged during the time (now 4 years) the student is assigned to be using them? How does the present legislation deal with this problem?
If you Google laptop vs. tablet, it is clear that laptops are on their way out, and tablets are on the way in. What educational software will work on both tablets and laptops? One current problem is that most tablets do not have enough disc storage which means that students' work will be stored in the cloud with the attendant problems therein; most laptops lack the sexy interface of tablets.
Many students will want the sexiness and ease-of-use of a tablet, not a clunky laptop which will be considered unacceptably nerdish.
Technology moves fast. To give someone a technical device today and to expect it to be usable and liked for 4 years is asking a lot, especially from young people who are attracted by the newest technology and gadgetry, but turned off by the passé.
I am not against the use of computers as an aid to education. I think there is huge potential here. But the Luna plan fails to understand the user reality of young people; and it also fails to recognize different learning styles which for some will make learning by computer a difficult task. But this is Idaho where ignorance and arrogance define many politicians.
Wayne A. Fox
1009 Karen Lane
PO Box 9421
Moscow, ID 83843
waf at moscow.com
208 882-7975
----- Original Message -----
From: Sue Hovey
To: Tom Hansen ; Moscow Vision 2020
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2011 12:40 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Survivor: The Classroom Version
There is significant art to teaching, but there is much science, as well.
Were that not true, teachers really wouldn't need all the education our
profession insists we have: knowledge of how children learn, content
knowledge in the subjects we teach, new research in adolescent brain
development (at some point their ability to reason really does overtake
their hormone level--sometimes it can be as late as age 50, but it usually
happens,) strategies for working with new English learners, all those pieces
of knowledge and much, much more. The art is knowing when to use them.
Just a foretaste of what is to come: I have already written 5 letters of
recommendation for outstanding teachers in Idaho who see the writing on the
wall and are seeking jobs out of state, another has been notified she has
been hired in Alaska, two more have lost their jobs for next year because of
loss of state funding. And the Legislature, the governor, and Tom Luna are
still plotting. Just imagine how happy next year's teachers will be with
their snazzy new state-provided computer they don't need or want--I don't
know a teacher who doesn't already have a personal computer; and the
classroom next door empty because the teacher has been replaced with that
new piece of junk that doesn't do what it should because the Internet hookup
hasn't been installed. Oh happy day!!!
Sue H
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom Hansen
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2011 8:52 AM
To: Moscow Vision 2020
Subject: [Vision2020] Survivor: The Classroom Version
I would like to preface this posting with a reference to a comment made by
one our state legislators, whose name escapes me, at last Friday's House
debate on Senate Bill 1184 (The "Luna Plan, Part 3") . . .
"Teaching is not a science. It is an art."
-------------------------------------------------------
Survivor: The Classroom Version
Have you heard about the next planned "Survivor" show? Three businessmen
and three businesswomen will be dropped in an elementary school classroom
for one school year. Each business person will be provided with a copy of
his/her school district's curriculum and a class of 20-25 students.
Each class will have a minimum of five learning-disabled children, three
with A.D.H.D., one gifted child, and two who speak limited English. Two
students will be labeled with severe behavior problems.
Each business person must complete lesson plans at least three days in
advance, with annotations for curriculum objectives, and modify, organize,
or create their materials accordingly. They will be required to teach
students, handle misconduct, implement technology, document attendance,
write referrals, correct homework, make bulletin boards, compute grades,
complete report cards, document benchmarks, communicate with parents, and
arrange parent conferences. They must also stand in their doorway between
class changes to monitor the hallways.
In addition, they will complete fire drills, tornado drills, and "Code
Red" drills for shooting attacks each month.
They must attend workshops, faculty meetings, and attend curriculum
development meetings. They must also tutor students who are behind and
strive to get their two non-English speaking children proficient enough to
take the SOLS tests. If they are sick or having a bad day, they must not
let it show.
Each day they must incorporate reading, language arts, math, science, and
social studies into the program, plus teach their own required physical
education, music, and art. They must maintain discipline and provide an
educationally stimulating environment to motivate students at all times.
If all students do not wish to cooperate, work, or learn, or if they do
poorly on numerous standardized tests (on which their "merit pay" salary
will be determined), the teacher will be held responsible.
The business people will only have access to the public golf course on the
weekends, but with their new salary, they will not be able to afford it.
There will be no access to vendors who want to take them out to lunch, and
lunch will be limited to thirty minutes, which is not counted as part of
their work day and may include playground responsibilities. The business
people will be permitted to use a student restroom, as long as another
survival candidate can supervise their class.
If the copier is operable, they may make copies of necessary materials
before or after school, only. However, they cannot surpass their monthly
limit of copies. The business people must continually advance their
education, working toward an advanced degree, at their expense and on
their own time.
The winner of this season of this "Survivor" will be allowed to return to
his/her cushy business world job.
Pass this to your friends who think teaching is easy and to the ones that
know it is hard.
-------------------------------------------------------
Seeya round town, Moscow.
Tom Hansen
Moscow, Idaho
“The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior
teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires.”
- William Arthur Ward, American Scholar
“Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll
understand.”
- Chinese Proverb
“More important than the curriculum is the question of the methods of
teaching and the spirit in which the teaching is given”
- Bertrand Russell
“The test of a good teacher is not how many questions he can ask his
pupils that they will answer readily, but how many questions he inspires
them to ask him which he finds it hard to answer”
- Alice Wellington Rawlings
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serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994.
http://www.fsr.net
mailto:Vision2020 at moscow.com
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