been following this dude
https://twitter.com/Beaker_Ben
who is a regular from one of those college instructor griping blogs
and he has made a habit of retweeting students tweeting about their teachers
good GOD are they vituperative and abusive about the most innocuous things when they're doing it in a public backchannel
― j., Friday, 25 April 2014 02:00 (ten years ago) link
best to avoid shit like thatyou can't even start to think about it
also are you an old ilxor with a new name?
― Mayor Manuel (La Lechera), Friday, 25 April 2014 03:50 (ten years ago) link
nope, same one my mother gave me
― j., Friday, 25 April 2014 04:29 (ten years ago) link
This story is really bizarre. Teacher jail!
http://www.thenation.com/article/179605/where-shame-policy-inside-las-teacher-jail
― polyphonic, Monday, 12 May 2014 20:24 (nine years ago) link
http://inthesetimes.com/article/16691/a_boycott_today_keeps_the_testing_at_bay
― j., Saturday, 17 May 2014 15:40 (nine years ago) link
http://www.geoffshullenberger.com/archives/269
against 'adaptive learning' platforms
― j., Wednesday, 21 May 2014 18:38 (nine years ago) link
That Nation story is both crazy and sad: “They want to dehumanize the profession as a whole, because if you can bring this profession down, if you can make people lose trust in this profession, then you can do anything.”
― Peter Scholtes, Thursday, 22 May 2014 17:22 (nine years ago) link
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2014/10/does-england-have-the-solution-to-the-grade-inflation-problem/381571/
The U.K. is not immune to disputes about grade inflation. But it’s telling that the most common grade by far is still a second, not a first. When employers all accept that a second-class degree already provides a stamp of quality, it removes the narcissism inherent in minor differences. There are also fewer incentives for professors to assign higher grades if students recognize that the majority of them will receive the same mark. And sticking to four grades hasn’t harmed the UK’s stellar standings in global university league tables.This approach might be called the Goldilocks principle of grading. It suggests that students, teachers, and employers can all find their way in a system where grades are not too high and not too low, but just right. And that might mean the majority of students get exactly the same grade.
This approach might be called the Goldilocks principle of grading. It suggests that students, teachers, and employers can all find their way in a system where grades are not too high and not too low, but just right. And that might mean the majority of students get exactly the same grade.
it's called a C, people
― j., Tuesday, 21 October 2014 00:54 (nine years ago) link
Ban grading aside from pass fail
― owe me the shmoney (m bison), Tuesday, 21 October 2014 01:09 (nine years ago) link
http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2014/12/pearsons-renaissance-1-history-and.html
this crank's anti-corporate-reform-gobbledygook blog makes me happy
― j., Tuesday, 16 December 2014 20:50 (nine years ago) link
Odd German film from a few years ago--looks and feels more like a television show than a movie--but very good in terms of what it's like to face the reality of class control when you're starting out (not that that issue ever really goes away):
http://www.filmmovement.com/downloads/photos/Forestfortrees_hi.jpg
The teacher's personal life belongs in a Fassbinder film.
― clemenza, Sunday, 4 January 2015 17:18 (nine years ago) link
The black hole/Bermuda Triangle of elementary teaching: marking a class set of stories. Some never make it back.
I'm halfway through one about a new gaming console that does everything from waking you up in the morning to getting you something to drink:
"Ahh now that is one tasty glass of lemonade" said Jake relaxed.
Pulp Fiction reference, I'm pretty sure.
― clemenza, Sunday, 8 March 2015 20:49 (nine years ago) link
I like marking math.I don't mind marking art.As noted above, I hate marking anything with words.
― clemenza, Monday, 8 June 2015 17:29 (eight years ago) link
the wordst
― j., Monday, 8 June 2015 17:30 (eight years ago) link
I love this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0fn_vAhu_Lw
― clemenza, Monday, 8 June 2015 17:34 (eight years ago) link
http://wishtv.com/2015/07/12/indiana-schools-report-shortage-of-teacher-applications/
School districts across Indiana are having trouble finding people to fill open teaching positions amid a nearly 90 percent drop in the number of teacher licenses issued by the state.The Indiana Department of Education says the state issued about 7,500 teaching licenses for the 2007-2008 school year. WTHI reports that number fell to 934 for the 2013-14 school year.Licenses for teachers with at least 10 years of experience fell from 333 to 4 in the same period.
The Indiana Department of Education says the state issued about 7,500 teaching licenses for the 2007-2008 school year. WTHI reports that number fell to 934 for the 2013-14 school year.
Licenses for teachers with at least 10 years of experience fell from 333 to 4 in the same period.
yeesh
― j., Sunday, 12 July 2015 14:13 (eight years ago) link
Wow--I'll know where to direct all the underemployed supply/graduating teachers here. It's really hard just to get on my board's supply list (i.e., substitute, if you're American--I remember an American friend once thinking we hired teachers to man the supply cupboards).
― clemenza, Sunday, 12 July 2015 19:43 (eight years ago) link
that's a key position tho
― j., Sunday, 12 July 2015 22:39 (eight years ago) link
If you don't have the key, you'll never be able to open the cupboard, so yes.
― clemenza, Sunday, 12 July 2015 23:33 (eight years ago) link
the hell's going on in indiana?
― not a garbageman, i am garbage, man (m bison), Monday, 13 July 2015 02:42 (eight years ago) link
http://www.salon.com/2015/07/18/charter_schools_worst_nightmare_a_pro_union_movement_may_change_charters_forever/
ha ha god bless unions
― j., Tuesday, 21 July 2015 19:17 (eight years ago) link
Let’s say, hypothetically, that the charter-union movement starts picking up steam. Is there any chance that Wall Street, which has been a massive supporter of charters, will abandon it because of their views on unions?Yes, I think that’s definitely a possibility. That’s something that various union people said to me. Jesse Sharky, from the Chicago Teacher’s Union, said that right, there’s a lot of businesspeople and entrepreneurs who are very interested in the charter school sector, and if that sector became more heavily unionized, it’s not so clear that suddenly it would be such an interesting or intriguing investment for them to make.
Yes, I think that’s definitely a possibility. That’s something that various union people said to me. Jesse Sharky, from the Chicago Teacher’s Union, said that right, there’s a lot of businesspeople and entrepreneurs who are very interested in the charter school sector, and if that sector became more heavily unionized, it’s not so clear that suddenly it would be such an interesting or intriguing investment for them to make.
― Orson Wellies (in orbit), Tuesday, 21 July 2015 19:33 (eight years ago) link
at a top-tier university, how many pages can you expect undergraduates (these days) to be able to read per week? i am composing a syllabus from scratch for the first time in a very long time and im realizing i have no idea what's a reasonable expectation on my part.
― ryan, Saturday, 25 July 2015 04:33 (eight years ago) link
1000
― j., Saturday, 25 July 2015 04:35 (eight years ago) link
ha there's an undergraduate class at my institution that's gonna be reading the entirety of A Remembrance of Things Past. i wonder how that's gonna go.
― ryan, Saturday, 25 July 2015 04:39 (eight years ago) link
^i did that as an undergrad (though can't remember if it was grad course) & it was one of my fave courses ever
― drash, Saturday, 25 July 2015 04:56 (eight years ago) link
can't remember if it was 2 semesters or one (prob 2)
― drash, Saturday, 25 July 2015 04:59 (eight years ago) link
god years of grad school is like river of lethe
― drash, Saturday, 25 July 2015 05:33 (eight years ago) link
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/634624c6-312b-11e5-91ac-a5e17d9b4cff.html#slide0
Student monitoring service Skyfactor, which is sold in the US and used by 130 universities there, advertises itself as a risk management service, promising to help academics “quickly see which students need attention and resources now — before it’s too late”. Course tutors are given access to a dashboard that documents each student’s class attendances, assessment grades, participation in sports practices, and visits to the campus financial aid officer. A door icon placed next to each name, either closed or open, signals the program’s prediction of how likely the student is to leave the institution early. If their high grades drop, or their passion for basketball begins to wane, Skyfactor will flag these individuals in red.David McNally, chief technology officer at Macmillan Science and Education, which owns Skyfactor, says the early warning mechanism is beneficial for all involved. “In the US more than the UK . . . losing a student is a very expensive loss to an institution because they pay high annual fees,” he says. “If you can get to a student before they drop out, you can keep them in the institution.”When asked about privacy implications, McNally says his company — a competitor to Pearson, current owner of the Financial Times — is “extremely serious” about abiding by both US and UK data security laws. He adds that the information is “being used for the greater good, which is better education for everybody”. He insists it is not only students being tracked: the same programs that measure their performance are being used to compare how effective their tutors are and how well one school is teaching its pupils compared with another. In the future, it will be possible to compare entire local education authorities.
David McNally, chief technology officer at Macmillan Science and Education, which owns Skyfactor, says the early warning mechanism is beneficial for all involved. “In the US more than the UK . . . losing a student is a very expensive loss to an institution because they pay high annual fees,” he says. “If you can get to a student before they drop out, you can keep them in the institution.”
When asked about privacy implications, McNally says his company — a competitor to Pearson, current owner of the Financial Times — is “extremely serious” about abiding by both US and UK data security laws. He adds that the information is “being used for the greater good, which is better education for everybody”. He insists it is not only students being tracked: the same programs that measure their performance are being used to compare how effective their tutors are and how well one school is teaching its pupils compared with another. In the future, it will be possible to compare entire local education authorities.
― j., Saturday, 25 July 2015 15:35 (eight years ago) link
That's pretty creepy. We do data analysis with stuff like Revel - interactive digital textbooks that allow tutors to monitor reading and have micro-assessments that enable changes in performance to be tracked over time, and it's pretty common to have centralised systems for attendance / grades, but i don't think we would ever want to monitor extracurricular activities or "visits to the campus financial aid office".
― I wear my Redditor loathing with pride (ShariVari), Saturday, 25 July 2015 15:43 (eight years ago) link
it has 'sky—' right in the name
i mean cmon
― j., Saturday, 25 July 2015 16:00 (eight years ago) link
units of alcohol served on student card, nights spent not in own bed, pages read per week
― gawker's psychotic monkeys (imago), Saturday, 25 July 2015 16:03 (eight years ago) link
good lord
http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2015/08/the-human-proof-classroom.html
http://edushyster.com/i-am-not-tom-brady/
is this even like
real? how could ppl???
― j., Thursday, 6 August 2015 13:53 (eight years ago) link
One of my best and weirdest moments ever as a teacher at dismissal today. A former grade 6 student of mine, now in 8, came up and asked me what my five favourite films are. Interesting student, related to a Nobel Prize winner in literature--he seems to be just getting into movies, and he'll occasionally drop around to tell me about something he's just seen. Anyway, I rattled off a quick list of the usual suspects, then asked him what his were. His list: 1. Pulp Fiction, 2. Zodiac, 3. The Shining, 4. There Will Be Blood, 5. Taxi Driver. Remember, this a kid who's 13 or 14. Allowing that there was probably a small element of him wanting to impress me, it was extremely gratifying, even though I had to go through the motions of doing the teacher thing: "M_______! What are you doing watching these films--these are not for someone your age. You've got to stop watching stuff like this immediately...warning, warning...blah blah blah...isn't Zodiac amazing?" I'm taking 15% of the credit/blame here.
― clemenza, Thursday, 14 January 2016 22:10 (eight years ago) link
Going back to grade 3 next year after 15+ years of 6/7. (I asked for 4--pretty close.) No more "Smells Like Teen Spirit," Warhol, Godard, Kent State, or Republican debate clips. Well, I can probably keep going with the latter--they'll understand.
― clemenza, Friday, 26 February 2016 12:44 (eight years ago) link
i teach 6th grade, i'd love to hear what from godard you were showing to students!
― intheblanks, Friday, 26 February 2016 19:27 (eight years ago) link
Every year on his birthday, I'd show a clip--usually the five minutes from 2 or 3 things with the coffee cup, some years the dance from Band of Outsiders.
― clemenza, Friday, 26 February 2016 23:34 (eight years ago) link
Cool, thanks
― intheblanks, Sunday, 28 February 2016 17:38 (eight years ago) link
I mentioned an ex-student of mine a few posts back, how excited I was that he coming up to me all the time to talk about the Scorsese, Kubrick, and similar films he’d been watching. He joined the film club we run, worked away on something at home for the past couple of months, and we watched his finished film today (hadn’t seen any of it before today). Fantastic! It’s called A Trek Through the Cold Wilderness, and he’s going to enter it in the experimental category for our board competition. The film’s exactly as advertised, about five minutes’ worth (he told me how much he’d liked The Revenant, and I’m guessing that’s the guiding influence), with an operatic score and lots of great Cinemascope-like shots of snow and fields and trees. You can take it straight-up, and just watch it as a really impressive piece of work for a kid his age; it’s also a pretty good comp for an SCTV parody of a Bergman or (if they were around today) a Béla Tarr film. We were just killing ourselves watching it.
― clemenza, Thursday, 7 April 2016 21:39 (eight years ago) link
We fought the law, we won.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-teachers-ruling-1.3545989
― clemenza, Saturday, 23 April 2016 04:38 (eight years ago) link
Took 30 students to my board's film festival today. Exciting seeing two of our films on a big Cineplex screen. The funniest thing was one that started like a horror film, leading to a character getting a phone call from her future self: "Donald Trump is president," followed by 10 seconds of first-rate screaming.
Found this very encouraging: out of the 30 films we saw (ranging from grade 3 to grade 8), two of them--one very specifically, one more symbolically--amounted to "Put the fucking device away and open your eyes."
― clemenza, Thursday, 19 May 2016 00:27 (seven years ago) link
(Probably filmed with iPhones, but it's a start.)
― clemenza, Thursday, 19 May 2016 00:31 (seven years ago) link
chicago teacher among the 1000 fired recently:
http://www.progressive.org/pss/official-phone-call-don%E2%80%99t-tell-me-it%E2%80%99ll-be-fine#st_refDomain=www.facebook.com&st_refQuery=
― j., Wednesday, 10 August 2016 02:50 (seven years ago) link
xian is one of my teacher heroes. he's v active on twitter and with the educolor group.
― 6 god none the richer (m bison), Wednesday, 10 August 2016 02:58 (seven years ago) link
I call parents so infrequently--usually only when some piece of work is egregiously overdue--that when I do, like right now, the conversation generally begins, "Hi, it's Mr. D_______...Johnny's teacher...Right, right--we met last October."
― clemenza, Monday, 5 June 2017 23:25 (six years ago) link
ha, i teach mostly seniors and i think i made one phone call home this year, it was bad
― nice cage (m bison), Monday, 5 June 2017 23:48 (six years ago) link
should say ENTIRELY seniors now
I assume you're speaking to the seniors themselves, not their parents...
― clemenza, Monday, 5 June 2017 23:50 (six years ago) link
He means 17 year olds
― El Tomboto, Tuesday, 6 June 2017 00:00 (six years ago) link
Yeah yeah, I talk to them all the time. I am VERY popular *pops gum*
― nice cage (m bison), Tuesday, 6 June 2017 00:24 (six years ago) link