Ten obvious truths about educating kids that keep getting ignored - The Washington Post

Ten obvious truths about educating kids that keep getting ignored - The Washington Post



A reminder to myself - do what is good, not always what is expected.


I've been feeling in a rut about my teaching. Frustrated, overwhelmed, exhausted; all my creativity is being used on getting children at home to sleep and feel secure. I'm stuck in a pattern of Lecture, Reading, Quiz, Video, Repeat. Not my best work, but simple.



I'm about to embark with my sophomores on a month long research project, and I'm kind of dreading it. It's a wonderful project, full of deep learning, research, and self-directed investigation, but it's also messy, confusing, and consuming. And since I won't be teaching sophomores next year, it's hard to approach the project with the same sense of refinement and reflection that I have in the past.


But it's worth it. I'm happier with myself when I do good work, and that colors the rest of my world. So I'm hopeful that I will remember the information here:



-Memorization is pointless; students quickly forget

-Students learn better when they're interested in the topic

-If they know I care, they're more likely to do better.



I will not let myself be dragged down by the temptations of easy work, of low expectations from society, or the pressures from "reformers" to deliver reductive, linear education.

From the Mouths of Babes

Two gems from Ethefirst today.

First thing in the morning: "Ma! My head is a gas giant, like Jupiter!"

Just before bed, as Ross is sciencesplaining how eyes work to him: "No, daddy, those aren't tear ducts! They're cry drips!"

I hope with all my heart that he stays this insightful, cause this stuff is too funny!

Blasphemy

I'm starting to think that either God never intended for religion to exist, or he made a huge mistake when he started it.

So sad for Copenhagen today.

Women's Work, at Work

This article is fascinating, and really rings true for me in a lot of ways. 

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Women at Work: We're Doing All the 'Office Housework,' Too
// Jezebel

Question: Who brings the cupcakes at your office, is more likely to toss the moldy leftovers from the communal fridge, or gets stuck organizing the office b-day shindig? Answer: Hey guys, I can make reservations at the bar for today's post-work drinks. It's no problem, really!

Read more...

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Here Are the 36 Questions That Will Allegedly Make You Fall in Love [feedly]

I think I may try this with Ross. Not because we need to fall in love (got there!) but because we used to love asking each other questions from the book "If" when our relationship was long distance. 

I think the "staring into each other's eyes" part might be a little odd, though. We'll see!

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Here Are the 36 Questions That Will Allegedly Make You Fall in Love
http://jezebel.com/here-are-the-36-questions-that-will-allegedly-make-you-1679062869
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Sent from my iPhone

Verbal Vomit

There's a fine line between not being ashamed of things that happened in my past and telling everybody about it. I have a really hard time not divulging everything about myself when I'm meeting someone who seems cool. It's like, logically I know the grocery store is not the place to talk about my recovery from my eating disorder. Or pregnancy details. Or my weird enjoyment of terrible politics. But…sometimes only my brain knows that. My mouth just goes. And how do you stop talking in the middle of that? Once verbal vomit gets going, you just have to get to a stopping point. My brain is going WrapItUpWrapItUpWrapItUp and my mouth is going BlahBlahBlahBlah and my body is going *cringe.*

And then I just stand there awkwardly, like, dammit. Hope that person is cool enough to not think I'm a total freak now.

So here's hoping I don't replay that in my head for the next week, thinking of all the smart cool things I could have said, rather than what I did say.

#fingerscrossedemoji

Conversations with E the First

E1: Mama, where do firefighters come from?
Me: Sometimes little boys and girls who want to help people grow up and decide to become firefighters.
E1: Oh I know, jus' like the firefighters at the firestation
Me: Yeah! What do you want to be when you grow up, Em?
E1: A good monster.