January 29

We began today with a writing into the day in response to a Calvin and Hobbes comic about academic writing.  Then, Megan read all of the persuasive appeal paragraphs from last class and we voted on which appeals were most convincing.

After that, we got into groups and answered questions (found on the PowerPoint) about "In the Basement of the Ivory Tower."  Each group was then assigned a section of "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work."  These group read and answered questions (also found on the PowerPoint) about that section.  Finally, we divided up the groups so that each of the new groups had at least one person representing each section.  These new groups shared what they had read.  In essence, after this group work, each person knew what the whole article said even though he/she hadn't read the whole thing.

Homework:
Ignore all the homework in the homework column for today.
Instead, post on your blog what you are thinking after today's discussion.  What are the two readings making you think about?

January 24

Today, we did a writing into the day about the Cizek quote.  After that, we talked about the expectations and purposes of the blog.  First, we read and analyzed examples of readings responses and blog comments.  Then we talked about what makes a "good" response and comment.

What makes a "good" reading response:

• Not superficial, goes in depth
• Thoroughly discusses each of the four bullet points on the "Responding to Readings on Your Blog" handout
• Stays on topic

What makes a "good" comment:

• Points out the good or bad things in the post
• Keeps the writer thinking
• Shows the writer a different point of view
• Asks questions
• Gives opinions
• Organized thoughts

After this discussion, we talked about the persuasive appeals: ethos, logos and pathos.  After looking at and discussing an example of each, we broke into 6 groups.  Each group was assigned to write a paragraph either in favor of or against standardized testing in one of the three appeals.  We will be reading these next class to see which ones are most persuasive.

Homework:

Read "In the Basement of the Ivory Tower" and post a reading response to your blog.

January 22

Today, we talked about standardized testing, and each person needed to keep a pro/con list of standardized testing in his/her daybook.  We began with a writing into the day about what the benefits of NCBL were supposed to be.  Then, we watched "Why Standardized Testing Fails" - a TedTalks video (minutes: 0:00-7:22; 9:30-11:30) and answered the questions on the handout about this video.  When discussing this video, people said the following:

• Physical skills should be added to the list of skills needed for the 21st century.
• Memory skills can be taken off because memorizing does not equal understanding.
• What about those who cannot  remember things?  Where does that leave them with testing?
• Tests should be adapted based on a person's intended job.
• Does that take away from the "standardized" part?
• Most jobs want an individual (rather than a "standard") person.
• We would have a hard time testing the "creative" skills in a standard way.
• Tests should have more open ended questions because they allow for more personalized answers.
• The grading of these tests would be very subjective.
• However, creativity is always about opinions.
• Teachers could evaluate each student individually.  Then the student wouldn't have so much pressure.
• Tests should put students in real life situations.
• We should go back to vocational schools.  It would save time because a student would find out immediately if he/she likes a job.
• Would we still be diverse and have diverse interactions if we had vocational schools?
• We could go to aptitude tests.  The tests could provide suggestions for what a person might be good at or be interested in, but not tell that person where he/she has to work.
• Schools should offer a wider variety of classes like home ec, government and tech classes.
• Today, schools are more like junior college (AP, Honors, etc.) rather than an opportunity for a student to figure out what he/she wants to do.
• Communication and social skills should be added to the list.
• The list from the video isn't complete because there are so many skills that people use very day.

After this discussion, we talked about highlighting and used the highlighting suggestions on page 40 of Practical Argument to begin highlighting "My 54 Year Love Affair with the SAT".

Homework:

Read "My 54 Year Love Affair with the SAT" and post a reading response on your blog.  Make sure to add any pros from the reading to your pro/con list.

January 17

For the Writing into the Day, we responded to a quote by Paulo Freire and discussed his concept of the "banking" model of education.  We defined this model in the following ways:

• Put stuff (educational information) in and spit it back out
• Students become like computers.  They do not apply, think about or understand the information; they just regurgitate it.
• Students are not learning; they are just memorizing.
• Freire uses the word "filed," suggesting that school is taking part of its students away.  There is no newness, creativity or individuality.  Students are being "filed" into a particular curriculum.
• School is boring. The way students are taught lacks creativity.
• A student is less likely to create new ideas or do something individual because he/she is simply following what he/she is told to do.
• Because students aren't taught how to apply the knowledge, it is difficult to know how to be creative once students have left school.

Then, we discussed the expectations and due dates for the Exploratory Proposal (first draft due February 7 for workshop; second draft due on February 14).  Next, we watched "Is Education Killing Creativity?" - a TedTalks video (minutes: 9:00-20:00).  We discussed the video in partners, concentrating on questions about whether school is really killing creativity and the kinds of people that school produces.  Finally, we used the "Dialogic Journal" handout to annotate the article, "Keeping Creativity in Schools."

Homework: 

• Finish the dialogic journal for "Keeping Creativity in Schools."  You do not need to post it on your blog.
• Read "No Child Left Behind Act 2001" and post a reading response on your blog.  Use the "Responding to Readings on Your Blog" handout that we discussed last class. You need to bring the article to class, but not the reading response.

January 15

Today, we did a Writing into the Day with a quote about positive thinking.  In response to this quote, we had a debate about whether positive thinking leads to success.  Some people said that positive thinking  will make a person happier, which will lead to higher motivation and a better attitude, which will make failing more difficult.  These people also said that having high anxiety will make a person less efficient and that a person will fail by default if he/she does not believe in him/herself.  Other people argued that positive thinking alone is not enough.  Instead, a person also needs to have an imagination, motivation and hard work to succeed.

After our discussion, we talked how to post and comment on the blog as well as the expectations for reading responses and research process posts.  Then, we did a mind-body exercise to help us remember each other's names.   

For the last 20 minutes of class, we read "Seven Ways High School Prepares You for Failure" and completed a triple entry journal about this article.

Homework:

• Before class on Thursday, post your triple entry journal (either by taking a picture or just writing out what your journal says) to your blog.
• Before class next Tuesday, respond to at least two of your blog group members' posts.

January 10

Today, we covered the course objectives and policies as well as the sequence of assignments.  We also talked about how to read the daily calendar as follows:

• The "In Class" column explains what will be covered in class that day.
• The "Homework for Tonight" column explains the homework that will be due the next class.  For example, the homework in the row of January 10 (today) will be due on Tuesday.
• Anything in italics signifies things what needs to be brought to class that have not been upload to Blackboard
• Anything in small caps signifies something that is due on Blackboard.

We also talked about important things of which to be aware on Blackboard.

• In the "Course Info" tab, you will find the syllabus and the daily calendar.
• In the "Discussion" tab, you will find forums to which you will post your blog link and drafts of papers that will receive commentary from Megan.
• In the "Course Work" tab, you will find all the readings and handouts you will need to bring to class and/or complete for homework.  This tab is organized by folders labeled for each day we meet.  
• Any title in blue means you need to print it out and bring it to class on the day listed on the folder.  For example, the folder labeled "January 15" has two blue titles, which means you need to bring those two documents on January 15.
• Any title in red signifies the homework for the day listed on the folder.  The homework will be do the following class period.  For example, if you have a red title in "January 10," it will be due on January 15.

We also responded to quotes about school.  We talked about how students are more excited about school when they are younger because they have more imagination, more excitement about things and are more likely to live in the moment.  However, as students get older,  they start to think about school as "academia," get wrapped up in their responsibilities and focus more on their end goals rather than the moment they are currently living.  They also look at school as a way to gain information and start to experience more difficult subjects, which may make them less interested in school.  We also talked about how knowledge is gained both in and out of school.  Often, what one learns outside of school can weigh more on one's life because one is able to learn street smarts and gain social skills outside of school.  

Homework: Create a blogger account and post the hyperlink to Blackboard.  The subject should be your name.  In the message, you only need to include your link.