Thinking about the simple things

I wanted to teach my class of 7th graders the very simple and basic difference between a common and proper noun.  They should already know this, so I considered the lesson largely to be review. I drew a line down the middle of the board and asked the students to name nouns while I directed [...]

The Round Pen

Yesterday morning I exchanged replies with a parent who was concerned that my assignment translated into a form of punishment.  The assignment required the students to correct a wrong answer by rewriting it 10 times.  In the next week or so I will ask the questions again to repeat the assessment.  Is this appropriate, and [...]

Inside, Outside, Upside Down

You can live from the inside, or you can live from the outside. You can think from the inside, or you can think from the outside. You can read from the inside, or you can read from the outside. You can teach from the inside – but only if you live, think, and read from [...]

Teaching the Transcendent

If you go to the comments from my post What is Writing you’ll see a reply from Chris in which she asks: “Can we teach the transcendent part, the soul part, or only model it.” Chris, I think you know you were throwing sardines to a seal, don’t you? This is like when you are teaching [...]

The symphony of learning

We are not here studying the philosophy, we see it, as part of the ordered world. The aim of the poet is to state a vision, and no vision of life can be complete which does not include the articulate formulation of life which human minds make. So TS Eliot on Dante This is why [...]

Why History Class Must Die!

Currently, the Peanuts comic strip by the late Charles Shulz stands out as a source of great wisdom and insight in our culture. I say this with partial sarcasm, only partial. One particular strip showed Sally in Sunday School class, her teacher before her. He began, “Today we are going to discuss Church history. What do [...]

A Call for Learning Teachers

  In the world of higher academia, the old adage “publish or perish” is a guiding principle (even if somewhat stereotypical and exaggerated).  Why the emphasis on publishing?  One could argue, quite easily, that it is the inevitable result of a pragmatic view of education – if the faculty of the university is not “producing,” [...]

Playing with Dirt: Productive Seeds for Teachers

Continuing my fall garden prep, I was out this morning on one of those Sweater Wearing Days that remind you of childwood walks in the woods and play in the dirt. I felt that energy of childhood surge in me – you know, that desire to be covered from head to toe in dirt! You don’t [...]

Large Small Schools

The growing realization of the importance of relationships has led to a movement for smaller schools within large schools in the state school systems. Here’s an intriguing dialogue with a lot of useful ideas for schools with more than a couple hundred students – even if they’re private schools. Recommended reading.