Teaching Vol. I, Chapters 4 ,5, and 6

Are you looking for more summaries of the chapters of this book, Teaching: Education and Academics at the Turn of the Century?

Yesterday's blog previewed the first three. They were written during a difficult time in our lives ... all of our living parents were ill and needed our daily assistance. In 1999 my mother died, and in 2001 my dad died. Teaching full time was still challenging, though the all-nighters I spent with my parents that first year did allow me some quiet quality correcting papers time in the wee hours of the mornings.

When did I write the columns,  you ask? I wrote them in odd moments at home, on weekends between laundry and grading chores, and sometimes in bits and pieces of paper napkins in the teachers' room at school.

"Pendulum" was the second column written, and the only one that I needed outside research to support. I had always admired the Foucault pendulum at the Museum of Science in Boston. It made me stop and think: we are actually moving through space at an alarming pace; yet, that pace establishes the gravity that holds us on this planet. I wanted to represent the symbol of the pendulum accurately, so I emailed the museum's library staff, and asked whether they had something in writing about the pendulum. They did, and sent a large quantity of information, which I then shared with my science/math partner. When I went into the library to give them a copy of the magazine, I introduced myself to the librarian. She looked startled, and exclaimed "You are a woman!"  I agreed with her, and we shook hands. I gave her the magazine, open to the page that bore my article, and turned to leave. She thanked me for the magazine, apologized for her reaction, and we laughed together.

But you wanted a summary of this column, "Pendulum," and I shall oblige you. A teacher who has taught for more than fifteen years has witnessed the swing of the educational pendulum. Unlike the sundial which registers only the passing of hours, and seasons, the pendulum moves through time and space with a force of gravity. It's swing length is predictable, as it depends on the length of its tether. I comment on the extreme ends of the pendulum's swing as being the most difficult part of its passage. The education reform movement which stutters back to life every ten years or so has, at times, caused an abrupt about face in educational policy. An example of that would be the factory-like behavioral beginnings of education, shifting suddenly to the whole language whole child developmental approach, and then moving slowly along that centered path, building momentum again to suddenly reverse direction and head back with common core standards and mandatory one size fits all assessments. But, to make the analogy more complex, I had to factor in the earth's own rotation, and our ride through space.

"Learning in Circles" is the next article in the book. That gave me an opportunity to compare the depth of discussions resulting in Literature Circles, Paideia Seminars, and Socratic Circles. Each has its own origin, and each has its followers. I explain these differences by having teachers exchange questions and comments during a lunch period at school ... and I had fun writing the conversations and character descriptions. I enjoy using dialog to set scenes that feel familiar to the reader.

"The Rank Book" is another piece where I considered using dialogue, but instead I posed hypothetical questions to a hypothetical audience. If I could share just one sentence from this article with you, with the expectation that it would summarize the general tone and scope of the article, I would share this one: "...It would be easy to fall into the 'assign and assess' model, with the key elements, teaching and learning, minimized by the focus on designing elaborate rubrics for scoring and grading."  Well, it comes close, but reading the full article will give a much deeper understanding.

I will come back again tomorrow to summarize two more sections of this little book. It really is a piece of my teaching history, and it does capture all of the varying degrees of the pendulum's swing. If I've succeeded in whetting your appetite for this book, remember to go to the sidebar to click on the CreateSpace link and enter the numerical password.  The discount code will only work this week. Next week, we'll be on to another of my books (and with another discount code!)

And - here's a musical gift for you! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWB1Sqsx1jo

Related articles

• Foucault's Penulum, 1851 (longstreet.typepad.com)

Teaching Vol. I: Chapters 1, 2, 3

Hi everyone! Are any of you looking for good summer reading for yourself, or for someone who turns to you for book recommendations?

This week I'm featuring my first self-published book, Teaching: Education and Academics at the Turn of the Century. I'll give a brief discussion of the first three chapters.

"Classroom Shadows" was the first published column that I wrote for Phi Kappa Phi's National Forum. In this article, I try to encourage teachers returning to their classroom after a summer vacation to be 'present' in the space, and to be aware of all the others who will be present with their students. I give a brief description of many issues that students and their families may be experiencing: elder care that disrupts sleep and causes worry, friendships that require mutual support, undiagnosed learning differences that affect the emotional investment students can make in their education, and several other scenarios that will distract students from the task being presented. I refer to these distractions as 'shadows' and encourage teachers and parents together to shed some light on the shadows, and dispel some of the distractions.

"Morning Meeting, Part One: The People" introduces the reader to three significant people in a student's life. Three people must come to the table with the student's best interest in mind, and in hand. The teacher, the guidance counselor, and the parent all come to the table with their own histories, and their own perspectives. Before the age of fourteen, students are not considered equal partners in an educational team meeting. Nevertheless, the student is the one who will be most impacted by the decisions of this team. 

"Morning Meeting, Part Two: The Time" is the description of how time and "the times" play into an educational meeting. Looking back to the middle of the twentieth century similarities and differences are easy to spot. Homework then and homework now ... book bags then and now ... grading and accountability then and now ... each of these and more are considered within this chapter of Teaching: Education and Academics at the Turn of the Century. 

I'll give brief summaries of more from this book in the blog later this week. But if what I've shared so far nudges you to buy the book, you'll want to go the CreateSpace and be ready to enter the discount code 6W3N3BW2 to receive a 40% discount of the book. And if you have a kindle and want instead to download the e-book, you'll find that the kindle edition is also at a reduced price at Amazon.com

Thanks for reading here ... think about people you know who are teachers ... or who are recent graduates considering teaching as a career ... or people who are retiring from this career ... and give them a copy of this book. They will find it valuable, affirming, and very, very real.

Another Guest Blog: Writer Madison Johns

This is my third invitation to "guest blog" on another writer's space ... and I am happy to do so! Each one is different: my first invitation, to join and introduce myself at Spunky Seniors, was just that. The second invitation, to Peace love and all that other hippie crap was an invitation to talk about my book, and so I did. This third invitation is one where I give an introduction and then an excerpt to the book, focusing on something that changed me dramatically. It's at the site of Writer Madison Johns, and I'm inviting you there to read!.

Here is a part of that blog entry:

I am a school teacher. Though I retired last year, I still can’t say I ‘was’ a school teacher. It defined me for the past thirty years – almost half my lifespan to date. I took it very seriously, and loved every year. My hair was long, and I most often wore it pulled back or twisted up. When, at forty, eyeglasses completed the look, friends teased me about being the stereotypical school teacher. As I liked being a teacher, that suited me just fine.
One year, I had a student skilled as a sketch artist, and she came to ask me after school if I would let her sketch me. I said yes, and as she worked, she told me that she was intrigued with my hair, twisted up and into a bun each day. She said, with the coloring of gray streaks amid brown with occasional reddish-blond strands, it reminded her of a cinnamon bun. I liked that description, and liked the sketch she finished. She liked it, too, and submitted it to the school’s monthly newspaper. I can’t put my hand on it now, but know I saved it for several years afterward, flattered that my schoolteacher stereotypical look had made an impression on a student.
The teacher across the hall from me just a few years ago was a young man, and we shared many conversations about government and politics, amazingly in sync with each other’s perspectives. People would expect that we would have disagreed, coming from different genders and generations; rather, we would share our views and have fun trying to impose today’s national challenges on our leaders from centuries before. It was my privilege to teach nineteenth century history, with all of the excitement about abolition and westward expansion, and we would discuss immigration and women’s rights today with equanimity. The little old lady with the bun in her hair and the tall handsome young man were a pair to see, heads together sharing historical pictures, and laughs that brought other heads up to see what was so funny.

To read the full guest blog entry, be sure to visit Madison's blog by clicking here. 

And Wow~ A Fourth Guest Blog Invitation!

This one is at a site called Inspirations  and it was an interview style, similar to Peace love and all that hippie crap!  Here are a few of my favorite questions and answers:

Fiona: Did you learn anything from writing your book and what was it? Oh yes, I always learn something by writing the truth! I learn how I came to a decision, or who was in my way, or how I managed to go around an obstacle, or deal with an issue. Most of what I learn is that I am a strong person, that I have dealt with much in life so far, and that I can handle whatever is ahead.


Fiona: Do you have any advice for other writers? Read, read, read. Pay attention to what you are reading. Listen to the flow of words in a sentence. Pay attention to punctuation and use it sparingly but accurately.


Fiona: Do you have anything specific that you want to say to your readers? Thank you for reading. Remember why I said I write: I have a message to share in each of my books. It is my message, and if you agree with it, or have an Aha moment, please tell me. And if you disagree with it, write for yourself my message and yours, and then share your results with others. With today's technology we can self-publish quickly and easily, but it will not do much for your self esteem if you don't edit carefully.


Fiona: If you were not a writer what else would you like to have done ? I have done so many things already, before becoming a teacher, while being a teacher, but if I could start over as a young person, I wouldn't do anything differently. I've only begun publishing my writing, and I have so much more to write ... what I write today is different than what I might have written younger, but if I were writing younger, I wouldn't have all the memories to write about that I have.

Four guest blog spots ... I wonder if that qualifies as a Blog Tour?

Remember, if you are looking for the February Birthday Discount on Multiple Sclerosis an Enigma, visit Create Space and enter this discount code ND67VUCJ to receive 50% off.