tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47185146506347399312024-03-09T21:46:15.695-05:00Mr. B-G's BlogTales from a high school English and journalism teacherMr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.comBlogger232125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-46862036100665950242020-03-28T23:54:00.001-04:002020-04-02T20:09:17.074-04:00Third dispatch from home - The Office basketball game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: large;">S</span>o, this video showed up in my YouTube recommendations last night. Being a NBA fan who bleeds Green (yes, I followed the Celtics religiously during their 22-year championship drought from 1986-2008), watching The Ringer's analysis of the classic Office basketball game is about as much hoops as I'm going to get during the 2020 corona closure.<br />
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The analysis is spot on, the game footage is captivating, and the dry humor just adds to the overall enjoyment of the viewing experience.<br />
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The Office television show premiered in the spring of 2005, during my first year as a high school English and journalism teacher. Suffice it to say, I was pretty consumed by the demands of the job, and had little time to watch TV. Things didn't change much over the next few years, and The Office just ended up being one of those shows that passed me by.<br />
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About a year ago, my wife and I started watching Office episodes on Netflix. We still have a few seasons to go, but should have no problem finishing them before the show is removed from Netflix by the end of the year. I will say, the characters have grown on me, and are always good for a laugh - even when I'm not in the most amiable mood. To see them engaged in their warehouse game of roundball brought a smile - and more than a few laughs - to my face. Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-33775512538341222502020-03-28T23:18:00.003-04:002020-03-28T23:57:16.474-04:00Second dispatch from home - Trail maintenance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXnzgy7celSR2IOYUeUAnC3QUTQbYrAYXwxU7jnd-V47guQkNtDUZzI0RB52EVzZX0vnIk8TNKU4z3sG8bEHNAjSuLKLvPlmh_4CrFMECBxYI9B0Rv2Z6Nn-frxge4fI7BlZs6-erq0BW6/s1600/IMG_20200322_170646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXnzgy7celSR2IOYUeUAnC3QUTQbYrAYXwxU7jnd-V47guQkNtDUZzI0RB52EVzZX0vnIk8TNKU4z3sG8bEHNAjSuLKLvPlmh_4CrFMECBxYI9B0Rv2Z6Nn-frxge4fI7BlZs6-erq0BW6/s400/IMG_20200322_170646.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">I </span>spent about five hours today outside in the woods behind our house clearing and refining a series of trails that stretch for about two miles and connect with the Belchertown High School complex. I used a pair of clippers to trim small trees, shrubs, and branches along the route. I then took to the trail with my electric leaf blower and cleared off all the leaves and debris. This photo shows the trail before I hit it with the leaf blower. It's pretty well defined now.<br />
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It felt good to be outside, creating something. I know that getting outdoors is going to be essential for getting through this with my sanity intact. Fortunately, we have this fantastic wooded resource right outside our back door. I eventually plan to build a campsite with a firepit, wooden stools, tent sites, and a picnic table. Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-24966157656932902012020-03-26T12:49:00.000-04:002020-03-31T20:20:13.057-04:00First dispatch from home - Coronavirus closes schools and changes life as we know it<div style="text-align: left;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donning protective gear before going shopping.</td></tr>
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It's been 11 days since all schools in Massachusetts were closed by Governor Charlie Baker, as a new form of a virus called COVID-19 made its way to the U.S. from China, infecting nearly half a million known people as of this writing.<br />
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In an effort to slow the spread of the highly contagious virus, the governor issued a stay-at-home advisory and closed all non-essential businesses.<br />
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As a high school teacher and parent of two girls under six, my days have been spent trying to provide enrichment activities for my students while also trying to fill the role of my daughters' teachers. And this is in addition to performing our normal household tasks. As my wife is also a teacher, she's in a similar boat, feeling the pull and tug between our kids, her students, and our regular roles as parents. It's been a challenge.<br />
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As we work to deal with this new conception of domestic life, folks in the medical field are taking on the Herculean task of helping those afflicted with the virus amidst a shortage of basic protective gear and necessary medical equipment. And a host of people, ranging from police and firefighters to grocery store clerks, postal deliverers, restaurant employees, and utility workers are trying to keep the basic tenants of civilization going despite the ever-growing risk of infection.<br />
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Given that we'll be out of school until at least May, I figured it would be a good idea to start documenting my thoughts and experiences during this unprecedented time in some kind of formalized way. I plan to invite my students to do the same.<br />
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Fellow educators like Kelly Gallagher and Kevin Hodgson have created some suggestions for journaling <a href="http://www.kellygallagher.org/s/Coronavirus-lesson-plans_rev.pdf" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1KPXpc4Y-GWMeosksbBwizFXo3dJV4tEa8R9cEVkItt0/edit?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a>. With schools unsure of how to proceed with remote instruction, I can think of nothing better than encouraging students to create written records of this time which could serve as primary source documents for the future. In my opinion, this is not the time to be doing packet work or trying to do what we normally do virtually. Nothing about this time is normal, and we should lean into that, rather than grasp vainly at old paradigms in hope they'll give us the meaning and structure we're looking for.<br />
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A friend posted the following list of questions on her Facebook page today. I feel they speak to what's important at the moment.<br />
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<br />Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-35726152670716831502015-02-20T14:26:00.001-05:002015-05-02T16:12:52.937-04:00A brief winter post<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the rail trail behind my house.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-size: large;">F</span>or anyone who reads this blog from time-to-time, it's not hard to notice the decline in postings over the years. Marriage, a second graduate program, a CAGS program, and then the birth of my daughter last July are where I've been investing my time.<br />
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Given that I do enjoy writing in this space, I hope to carve out little niches here and there to post updates and reflections over the coming months. Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-47727771207474367872014-04-06T13:14:00.000-04:002014-04-06T13:15:34.574-04:00Sprout<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Buds sprout in soil<br />
Seasonal shift upon us<br />
Bring on the sunshine!Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-27710126646039106292013-11-20T22:52:00.000-05:002013-11-20T22:52:00.187-05:00Presenting at NCTE<span style="font-size: large;">T</span>omorrow I head into Boston for the 103rd National Council of Teachers of English conference. This will be my first time attending NCTE's national conference, and I'm looking forward to meeting some fantastic teachers and taking back great ideas to engage and enrich my students. On Friday I'll be participating in a poster session with other high school and college teachers. More to come!<br />
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<a href="http://center.uoregon.edu/NCTE/2013AnnualConvention/fliers/participation.php?ac=W1672257" target="_blank"><img alt="http://center.uoregon.edu/NCTE/2013AnnualConvention/fliers/participation.php?ac=W1672257" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDMNhQUHNulFkqeEScj5jBMogOAmN9zVqAYu6MDgmExalnkhJaEoEs-VTelyCDz7-ag68TiU15hlWhh7GY7Op4AMg_3TF4awmzZ09OE3VVmCGJCqh1GFHnQYot_ovk014CS5fQUyCMj29b/s640/PBG+speak.jpg" width="508" /></a></div>
<br />Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-28623209616700084972013-05-22T21:18:00.003-04:002013-05-22T21:22:34.770-04:00A meditation on student engagement<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<![endif]--><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>t is our challenge to get students – and their parents and guardians – to bite from the apple of knowledge so as to savor its sweet, nourishing offerings. Too many of our neediest students think the tree of education is not for them, and instead gravitate toward the rooted vegetables of ignorance. We must become stewards of the orchard, and let all of our population know its gates are open for them.<br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><i>Flickr Creative Commons Image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/emoeby/" target="_blank">emoeby</a></i></span></span>Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-67302703356839162582013-03-24T17:42:00.002-04:002013-03-24T18:16:15.673-04:00Poetry ReadingIn celebration of National Poetry Month, here's my reading of "Hemingway Never Did This" by Charles Bukowski.<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="600" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ve6jiJU7pY8" width="800"></iframe>Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-74336954206029984562013-01-28T14:25:00.000-05:002013-01-28T14:29:45.201-05:00Screencast videos and FETC 2013<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.nextvista.org/images/fetc_2013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.nextvista.org/images/fetc_2013.jpg" height="131" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">Well, I'm here in Orlando, FL, putting the finishng touches on my presentation at the <a href="http://fetc.org/Events/Florida-Educational-Technology-Conference/Home.aspx" target="_blank">2013 Florida Educational Tehnology Conference</a>. FETC is the nation's most comprehensive edtech conference, and I'm excited to be a part of it. I'll be making a presentation on how I've used a free screen recording program, <a href="http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/" target="_blank">Screencast-O-Matic</a>, to create tutorial videos for my students, which I've uploaded to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/BGtechnology" target="_blank">BGtechnology</a>, my YouTube channel.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I first learned of Screencast-O-Matic through my <a href="http://edtech.boisestate.edu/programs/masters-edtech/" target="_blank">Master of Educational Technology</a> degree with Boise State University's <a href="http://edtech.boisestate.edu/" target="_blank">EDTECH</a> <span style="font-family: inherit;">department. </span>It's a simple and free way to create video tutorials on almost any topic. By using YouTube as my delivery vehicle, any student with an Internet connection can view the videos. Most of the videos I make are three minutes or under. I find that brevity is essential, as it's easy to tune out anything that isn't concise or straightforward.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">I'll sometimes play a video at the beginning of class when I'm introducing a new skill, task, or concept, and then have students to refer back to the video on their own as needed. This helps eliminate unnecessary repetition, as students who got it the first time can begin their work, while others who need the information or steps repeated can cue up the video and watch at their own pace. Of course, if there's something they don't understand in the video, I am there in class to answer their questions.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">To be clear, I am not assigning videos to students to watch at home, a la the flipped classroom. Rather, these videos aid me when giving direct instruction in the classroom.</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br />
I hope to blog regularly this week about both my presentation and some of the session highlights I attend. In particular, I'm excited about hearing Google's <a href="https://twitter.com/jcasap" target="_blank">Jaime Casap</a> and </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: large;">New Jersey high school principal <a href="http://ericsheninger.com/esheninger" target="_blank">Eric Sheninger</a>.</span> </span></span>Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-39652248000712428152013-01-17T19:38:00.000-05:002013-01-17T20:11:02.621-05:00Proffed outAfter sitting through a full day of professional development where I literally sat in a chair and read pages and pages of evaluator rubrics, it was nice to get out and take the dog for a walk. I decided to bring along my camera, as since reading Seth Godin's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Linchpin-Are-Indispensable-Seth-Godin/dp/1591844096" target="_blank">Linchpin</a>, I've been feeling the need to "create art and ship," in Godin parlance.<br />
<br />
Godin's book is inspiring and affirming. It speaks to our inner artist, and empowers us to stifle the lizard brain, put ourselves out there, and create something unique and important. I suppose it follows that in order to best help my students discover and cultivate their passions, I need to nourish and sustain my own.<br />
<br />
I already do this by reading and writing. It's been a while, though, since I've picked up the camera and shot on a consistent basis. Taking pictures is something I love to do, and have for more than 20 years. It was in high school that I learned the basics of photographic composition, and first encountered a darkroom. There were few things I enjoyed more than using the enlargers to create photos from a fresh roll of film. There was something magical about the way the image burned onto the paper, made all the more special by the fact that I controlled the final product.<br />
<br />
The photo below was taken at the end of our walk, just after the sun had set behind the horizon. I like the colors of the toys, and the warm glow from the Christmas lights in the background.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfChio-b6fALHeVMXUXC0kRYylWYz5Dn50KqLV6kY0JYbylVoK_qOFmVah993FdSGTKBanh5W149K_JvlgQN-YpU59C35A4RqynjtFzr1lc41xLN6EZrhx5WiLEJWwaH7-PyN46N4GXX2p/s1600/Doggie+Toys.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfChio-b6fALHeVMXUXC0kRYylWYz5Dn50KqLV6kY0JYbylVoK_qOFmVah993FdSGTKBanh5W149K_JvlgQN-YpU59C35A4RqynjtFzr1lc41xLN6EZrhx5WiLEJWwaH7-PyN46N4GXX2p/s1600/Doggie+Toys.jpg" width="432" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Doggie toy bucket" f/2, 1/30, ISO 1000, 20mm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here are a few others:<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_KxYmy3vn9vcQXOwp5sttGlV1F4p4exSXdvuYqlI0iHwXmk188zUAgnZ_L5p6j2-XTiN_6n8mGXsqkXUxfZ7aZR40nSe0XpM2pNPsF8Hf7AjYFfxuu2oZHlzUEWKcRu5H5eYmIssUTPg/s1600/Toboggan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6_KxYmy3vn9vcQXOwp5sttGlV1F4p4exSXdvuYqlI0iHwXmk188zUAgnZ_L5p6j2-XTiN_6n8mGXsqkXUxfZ7aZR40nSe0XpM2pNPsF8Hf7AjYFfxuu2oZHlzUEWKcRu5H5eYmIssUTPg/s640/Toboggan.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Toboggan" f/2, 1/30, ISO 1000, 20mm </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6K5XnwhTJPH7JbbMft-J0W22TNFgD4iO1sqNIubQsrfD4Yo-MZppVphnLaIYRw2ty6W44YhZODyNYPcIMLa3zLZOAXoj9ZCvlD_TA0TeyMOQA7EzbWhtFiNzV4N1Ew8qYaibbmDXMsRz/s1600/Bridge.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij6K5XnwhTJPH7JbbMft-J0W22TNFgD4iO1sqNIubQsrfD4Yo-MZppVphnLaIYRw2ty6W44YhZODyNYPcIMLa3zLZOAXoj9ZCvlD_TA0TeyMOQA7EzbWhtFiNzV4N1Ew8qYaibbmDXMsRz/s640/Bridge.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Bridge" f/2.5, 1/30, ISO 640, 20mm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlqEwmiccJFshGLQWoqV3hiEUC18aKeiysASyDoAUZ_KxKxLUKFpp21m9siQChcB2LtVje83POFGqe03R6hRy3GyTS9EhtfEXJy-5Ou-rP9k_zpx290uCDn8QKkZ05-aGJ8f1RHJAWEfx/s1600/Smile+Fence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJlqEwmiccJFshGLQWoqV3hiEUC18aKeiysASyDoAUZ_KxKxLUKFpp21m9siQChcB2LtVje83POFGqe03R6hRy3GyTS9EhtfEXJy-5Ou-rP9k_zpx290uCDn8QKkZ05-aGJ8f1RHJAWEfx/s640/Smile+Fence.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Mr. Fence Post" f/1.7, 1/30, ISO 100, 20mm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-88920841609259693622013-01-16T21:40:00.002-05:002013-01-16T22:17:38.547-05:00Snow day<span style="font-size: large;">T</span>oday we had a snow day. I got to catch up on some
sleep, do some chores around the house, and take our dog for an
extended woodland walk through the fresh snow. I was also able
to take this picture and post it to the blog, two things (taking photos
and writing in this space) I look forward to doing more of.<br />
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidMytT9WwXAOHf8gsPLDRsPCS5Ya76BOaAC1vFm2qIINTgxFrgaOh2gGAbpsHr5Y0eJoZ31VloK2Yxws-dTBWreIYLIdZXI7ZOfpleGD-gBZcLER6bcJasjWTheoRFNJcQIF1r1msv0WZE/s1600/SnowDay.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidMytT9WwXAOHf8gsPLDRsPCS5Ya76BOaAC1vFm2qIINTgxFrgaOh2gGAbpsHr5Y0eJoZ31VloK2Yxws-dTBWreIYLIdZXI7ZOfpleGD-gBZcLER6bcJasjWTheoRFNJcQIF1r1msv0WZE/s1600/SnowDay.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Snow laurel" f/1.7, 1/250, ISO 100, 20mm</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-9653125920569580762012-10-29T23:01:00.002-04:002012-10-29T23:04:34.713-04:00Surviving Sandy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjetzozTg25tyu93q4fOeZoWTAJaaC1M4gD4KGup8czq9jPM1DmUmICQdfBkWZ8CbitrmwyTDSYdUo73viVVfmZjxp7WG8-xahivUvROOIg5NtHRelVnVVLyDrksyB79f1ufQ9mLjJEN5dc/s1600/Flume.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjetzozTg25tyu93q4fOeZoWTAJaaC1M4gD4KGup8czq9jPM1DmUmICQdfBkWZ8CbitrmwyTDSYdUo73viVVfmZjxp7WG8-xahivUvROOIg5NtHRelVnVVLyDrksyB79f1ufQ9mLjJEN5dc/s400/Flume.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
At this time one year ago, a freak snowstorm caused massive damage to Western Massachusetts, resulting in the loss of power for an entire week. We've been much more fortunate this time around, maintaining electricity (and Internet) during the brunt of Sandy's blow.<br />
<br />
Strong winds downed trees and sent debris everywhere, yet the electricity still flowed even as gusts approached 60 mph. Well-deserved props to the folks at National Grid for keeping the juice on during the turbulence.<br />
<br />
The jury's still out on if we'll have school tomorrow. A handful of districts have cancelled, while a number of others have signaled it's all systems go. With college recommendation letters, an upcoming workshop at the <a href="http://neate.org/" target="_blank">New England Association of Teachers of English</a> conference this Friday, and pieces to still pick up after being out two days last week to attend the 30th <a href="http://www.masscue.org/pages/MassCUE" target="_blank">Massachusetts Computer Using Educators</a> conference, I could certainly use another day "off" to make headway.<br />
<br />
In addition, on Tuesday (or Wednesday) I'll resume control of my three ninth grade college prep English classes, as my practicum student from a nearby <a href="http://www.westfield.ma.edu/" target="_blank">university</a> concluded her placement in my classroom last Friday. She did a wonderful job introducing the students to <a href="http://www.sixtraitspeaking.com/The_PVLEGS_Story.html" target="_blank">PVLEGS</a>, the acronym developed by educator <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Well-Spoken-Teaching-Speaking-Students/dp/1571108815/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1351564331&sr=8-1&keywords=eric+palmer+well" target="_blank">Eric Palmer</a> to help students remember the keys to speaking effectively: poise, voice, life, eye contact, gestures, and speed. After reading Laurie Halse Anderson's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Speak-Laurie-Halse-Anderson/dp/0312674392/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351564407&sr=1-1&keywords=laurie+halse+anderson" target="_blank">Speak</a>, the students gave speeches where they made connections between events in their lives and the book. My practicum student was able to explicitly show the students how the PVLEGS skills can really make a difference when it comes to speaking effectively, and the students bought in.<br />
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The image at the top of this post was obviously not taken today; it was snapped up at <a href="http://www.nhstateparks.org/explore/state-parks/flume-gorge.aspx" target="_blank">The Flume</a> in Lincoln, NH, over Columbus Day weekend. Rather than post an image of destruction, I prefer to remember this month for the gorgeous foliage and temperate afternoons, not the carnage from Sandy.<br />
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My studies through Boise State University's <a href="http://edtech.boisestate.edu/" target="_blank">EDTECH</a> program have kept me quite busy as I've made progress on my <a href="http://edtech.boisestate.edu/programs/masters-edtech/" target="_blank">Master of Educational Technology</a> degree. The coursework requires reflection and journal writing, much of which I've done on a <a href="http://bgedtech.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">separate blog</a> just for graduate school. I am halfway through one of the two final classes I need to complete before I earn my degree this May. Once my coursework concludes, I look forward to bringing my voice back to the blogosphere. In the meantime, I've still been active on my <a href="https://twitter.com/mrbg" target="_blank">Twitter account</a>, although I don't read nearly as many tweets from the folks I'm following as I'd like to. For my friends on the East Coast, I hope you stayed safe during Sandy's passing.Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-26249642269509223012012-01-08T21:49:00.000-05:002012-01-20T16:27:51.421-05:00Using Creative Commons Images from FlickrI recently began using the screen capture program <a href="http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/">Screencast-O-Matic</a> to create video tutorials for my students. Below is one I made about using Creative Commons images from Flickr. Enjoy!<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YsCvWoE-bTM" width="640"></iframe>Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-52301690567988448432011-12-31T20:03:00.001-05:002011-12-31T20:09:38.366-05:00Happy New Year<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vzkTXMbwoSoIV2tn3e4ps6repJUCSrH2g1bztmowwQZU3LedfqW9ngPSFb7HxYnexAS_FAOsMmnIUCV-CRvEX71cL3993GF2euiIh2r7Sm_gIM1x3lro68grGPHJ3MQHscf8rphRyLfh/s1600/5312254977_f8e0ebc42d_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7vzkTXMbwoSoIV2tn3e4ps6repJUCSrH2g1bztmowwQZU3LedfqW9ngPSFb7HxYnexAS_FAOsMmnIUCV-CRvEX71cL3993GF2euiIh2r7Sm_gIM1x3lro68grGPHJ3MQHscf8rphRyLfh/s320/5312254977_f8e0ebc42d_b.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
In a few hours, the clock will strike midnight and we'll bid adieu to 2011.<br />
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After a two-month hiatus, I hope to blog with greater frequency in 2012. While life has a way of keeping us busy, there's real value in finding the time to record and reflect on events - both in and out of the classroom.<br />
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Catch you on the flip side.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Fireworks image by Flickr user <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/marfuzii/">martin.linkov</a></i></span>Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-91946220545121259342011-10-20T21:51:00.000-04:002011-12-31T20:06:26.085-05:00A good walk<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6EamqlO0Es8uEpW1hozcTbrQBCNE_0zcj2pamL1gab-338StdZMvWdCCZ7k9kPR2tVCPqHC3KBqrH0Wci7CDnHp-UeMBLb2iT5_BpuRRw00ClmlFpWBdv-fRYTyxWjBW6CVM_LNXUdZk/s1600/ForestWalk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV6EamqlO0Es8uEpW1hozcTbrQBCNE_0zcj2pamL1gab-338StdZMvWdCCZ7k9kPR2tVCPqHC3KBqrH0Wci7CDnHp-UeMBLb2iT5_BpuRRw00ClmlFpWBdv-fRYTyxWjBW6CVM_LNXUdZk/s320/ForestWalk.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">R</span>ecently, I went for a walk with one of my 9th grade classes. It was an impromptu, unscripted jaunt, and in total took less than five minutes.<br />
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It was the last period of the day and it was gorgeous outside. My students were about to work on major essays. What I would be asking of them would require focus, concentration, and attention to detail.<br />
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As soon as the bell rang and they were seated, I made an announcement that we would be going outside for a walk.<br />
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Their faces beamed. Smiles and grins filled the room. "Really?" "Outside?"<br />
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"Yup."<br />
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And outside we went. I had charted the route a few minutes earlier during the end of my prep period, leaving one of the side doors to the school ajar with a rock. I told the students I knew they had a lot to do that period, I knew it had already been a long day, and that I thought a little fresh air might help them focus. They all agreed.<br />
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"We should do this every day." "How far are we going?" "Can we go all the way around the school?"<br />
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We went about one quarter of the way around the building before turning in a side door and returning to the classroom. Once inside, students pulled up their essays on the computers and netbooks and began making revisions. Once done, they copied their work from Google Docs to Blogger, where they posted their essays for classmates to comment on.<br />
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Most of them did a nice job focusing on their work and being productive. I was able to circulate through the room, offering feedback and answering questions during mini writing consultations. It was a positive ending to the day, set in motion by a gut judgement about what the students needed most at that time.<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Forest path photo by my sister-in-law, <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mindwhisperings/">mindwhisperings</a> at Flickr</i></span>Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-87369036367379649132011-10-06T19:10:00.002-04:002011-10-06T19:14:20.920-04:00Vocabulary Video - Ebullient<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-7scMbdW3Pw" width="640"></iframe><br />
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As I wrote about <a href="http://bgenglish.blogspot.com/2011/08/vocabulary-videos.html">earlier</a>, one of my goals this year was to create vocabulary videos with my students. The above is an example video I created and shared with my classes. By early next week, my seniors will have made their first videos. The freshmen will follow suit. I'm excited about the possibilities of this new teaching tool.Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-75802563220131645792011-09-18T19:09:00.001-04:002011-09-18T22:19:32.239-04:00Keeping my jog on<span style="font-size: large;">I </span>just got back from a 3.5 mile jog. One of my personal goals this year is to maintain - and eventually improve - my current level of fitness. Part of being a public high school teacher is coming to terms with the fact that there is always going to be an inordinate number of things to do, and never quite enough time to do them.<br />
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This means that when I go to complete a task - be it grading an essay, crafting a lesson plan, writing a letter of recommendation, or researching an idea for a new lesson - I need to be at the top of my game. In order to maximize my time and efficiency, I need to be taking care of myself.<br />
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This year, that means adding a banana and yogurt to my regular breakfast of an English muffin or bagel. It means getting seven hours of sleep at least five of the seven days of the week. And it means working out five of those days as well.<br />
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I've found it's easy to pay lip service to the idea of working out, eating better, and sleeping more. It's quite another to actually live those ideas. I will say that since my wife and I got a dog this past summer, we've both been more active, and a little less self involved. Having something else to care for besides ourselves has helped expand our sense of what home life is like. It's allowed us a bit more perspective, and given us more opportunities to live in the moment, something our dog Alyza is able to do quite well.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_S0zPVRFp_rbFfAytSAL7Wd0_JHeSZPiaFJsynMOqH1GAZR34B4Dv4BD0rKfW2tU_-EchGbgWKJGmxJ6Zv-eCGAB7SUYdNesOPQBRmF5pXX9u4eFlUvjNZdoxT121sDRQ-w_INOW1aN-v/s1600/So+cute.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_S0zPVRFp_rbFfAytSAL7Wd0_JHeSZPiaFJsynMOqH1GAZR34B4Dv4BD0rKfW2tU_-EchGbgWKJGmxJ6Zv-eCGAB7SUYdNesOPQBRmF5pXX9u4eFlUvjNZdoxT121sDRQ-w_INOW1aN-v/s400/So+cute.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-47268735659409898172011-09-11T14:26:00.001-04:002011-10-17T12:28:38.893-04:00Inside a Honda Accord<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtjsL5n6MP0wrw8PN3Kd37_87ut14HyvHtvoR7kiY7OuHTtRMDIZHPjTMDTW9SHd7qnFicYvY25u5zv16sEWlCyNvwsPjIJSFH-WO7LjjQJzDCIIfsOSkhcqOaYxNgf4e1l_WbGRoNIR1H/s1600/honda+accord.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtjsL5n6MP0wrw8PN3Kd37_87ut14HyvHtvoR7kiY7OuHTtRMDIZHPjTMDTW9SHd7qnFicYvY25u5zv16sEWlCyNvwsPjIJSFH-WO7LjjQJzDCIIfsOSkhcqOaYxNgf4e1l_WbGRoNIR1H/s320/honda+accord.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: large;">T</span>hat's where I was, driving to my first education-related interview, when I learned of the attacks on the World Trade Center. It was a picturesque September morning. I was listening to <a href="http://www.npr.org/">NPR</a>, when all of a sudden they switched from local to national coverage to give us minute-by-minute updates of what was happening.<br />
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It was a true juxtaposition of images and sound, my eyes taking in the morning sun as it bounced off leaves and was absorbed by the grassy fields that marked my way to a local nature reserve. The sound, the voice of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vRfdgU2Q4E">Peter Jennings</a> and other correspondents working to make sense of the chaos unfolding in real time in New York City. It was bizarre and frightening. I remember trying to explain it to the man I was meeting with, the director of a wildlife sanctuary where I was trying to land a gig as a volunteer tour guide.<br />
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Fresh from hiking 1,000 miles of the <a href="http://www.appalachiantrail.org/">Appalachian Trail</a> after quitting my job as a newspaper reporter, I was looking to gain entrance into the field of education, hoping to parlay my affinity for nature and my abilities as a journalist into something new. Fortunately, the director of the reserve decided to give me a shot. I was paired with a veteran staffer, taken on a tour of the grounds, and given the green light to welcome school groups to the sanctuary.<br />
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I used my experience there to land a paying job at a local YWCA, working with kindergarten and early elementary school children. My gig at the "Y" helped me get some substitute teaching work at area middle and high schools. Eventually, I was hired as a full-time building substitute at a middle school, where I spent time as a sub and special-ed paraprofessional.<br />
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Later that year I worked as a journalism and creative writing teacher at a <a href="http://74.123.152.63/summer/Default.asp?bhcp=1">summer arts camp</a>, then went on to <a href="http://www.plymouth.edu/graduate/">graduate school</a>, where I studied English education. After earning a degree and passing the state's teacher test, I landed a job teaching English and journalism to high school students in Massachusetts. I'm now in my eighth year working at the secondary level. <br />
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In addition to being linked to 9/11, my ascension from volunteer tour guide to full-time classroom teacher also has parallels with the meteoric rise of a certain New England Patriots quarterback. Tom Brady, a 2001 sixth-round draft choice, went from being a bench-riding rookie to Super Bowl MVP. While I don't have any trophies to boast of, I do have an excellence in teaching award, bestowed upon me by one of the members of my high school's 2010 graduating class. While the award is nice recognition for the hard work I've put in, even more meaningful is the personalized message that accompanied the award, written by one of my former students.<br />
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Just as I hope that Tom Brady's best days as a quarterback are not behind him, the same goes for myself as an educator. Currently enrolled in a <a href="http://edtech.boisestate.edu/web/masters_et.htm">second master's degree program</a>, I hope to continue to learn about ways I can be an effective teacher and make a positive difference in the lives of my students. On this day, 10 years after my journey as an educator began, I am thankful to those who have helped me grow from a young man uncertain about his place in the world to a (slightly older) man who, while still seeking, has landed on a path that's proven to be both personally and professionally rewarding.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: small;">The Honda Accord image above, while identical to the car I used to drive, came from <a href="http://www.vadriven.com/forums/showthread.php?t=312974">here</a>.</span></i>Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-22732682063189685522011-09-05T17:14:00.000-04:002011-09-05T17:17:22.520-04:00Google Docs and student blogs<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjur8YfVgmTUoGgtN1jl3KnmBpauUHPAZA9uKoVEzf_PP7wFyR8IdNpgnOG9GDXZfLRYpMZNSMupz-kBpwPWhsoNemS47T1mg43gweObVFK3v4uD4isWyu73-4MVGm9I0oz7OT-WvJsSeUp/s1600/g+docs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjur8YfVgmTUoGgtN1jl3KnmBpauUHPAZA9uKoVEzf_PP7wFyR8IdNpgnOG9GDXZfLRYpMZNSMupz-kBpwPWhsoNemS47T1mg43gweObVFK3v4uD4isWyu73-4MVGm9I0oz7OT-WvJsSeUp/s200/g+docs.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>omorrow begins week two of the 2011-2012 school year. One of the tasks students will be expected to complete for Tuesday is the creation of a Gmail account. While the majority of my seniors already had Gmail accounts, the same cannot be said for my freshmen. And, for those students who did use Gmail, very few of them had ever used <a href="http://googledocs.blogspot.com/">Google Docs</a>, the free office suit that allows you to create text documents, spreadsheets, presentations, surveys, and pictures, in addition to providing users with online storage for their documents.<br />
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One of the greatest benefits of Google Docs is, aside from the cost (free), its ease of use. All one needs to create a document is an Internet browser and an Internet connection. Work is saved automatically to the cloud, which is a huge benefit for students who are working on assignments both in school and at home. Google Docs also allows for easy collaboration, as multiple users may access and edit the same document in real time.<br />
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For the past three years, my school has placed emphasis on helping students transition from 8th to 9th grade. Aside from teaching content, all freshmen teachers are asked to explicitly teach organizational and study skills, as <i>how </i>students study is almost as important as <i>what </i>they study. Google Docs, I believe, is a crucial tool that will help students stay organized as they further develop their academic personas.<br />
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While Google Docs is a tool that students can use for all of their classes, <a href="http://www.blogger.com/create-blog.g?hca=true">Blogger</a> is a tool that, at least initially, can be best utilized for English class. Because Blogger is run by Google, once students have a Gmail account, they're ready to create their own blogs. In 2007 I began using blogs as a way for students to share writing and provide each other with feedback. When you're writing for an audience beyond just your teacher, there's a little bit more incentive to see that your words accurately convey your ideas.<br />
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As a student, I certainly cared about grades, but I think I cared more about what my friends thought of me and my ideas. As a writer, having a real audience to read your work and provide you with feedback is invaluable. My role as a teacher is to model for students how to constructively respond to their classmates' writing. If I am successful, they will begin to look for the kinds of things that I would look for. And eventually, they'll be able to turn that critical eye on their own work. <br />
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Depending on students' previous exposure to the writing workshop model, this can either go smoothly or be quite arduous. Either way, we'll eventually get to a place where we feel comfortable sharing constructive feedback aimed at helping each other see how well our intentions for a piece measure up with reality. <br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Google Docs image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/43587933@N07/">Lucia Agut</a></i></span>Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-87490613305059581642011-08-30T20:55:00.005-04:002011-08-30T21:11:58.190-04:00The new year<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb4N755sLbnzlwtRXnfvDtm7i-rUpVaa0zfYsnxLjat7939RdjIsoiAbSAgyoLVfSEvPeF7_9abdlAaBxMqx6ztHMm01hy-HvbxJ7eqS0jP7pyvrxrMQcY1kOLGWfnQNSBdQA5E7NTa7k9/s1600/2761939237_9e861679aa_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb4N755sLbnzlwtRXnfvDtm7i-rUpVaa0zfYsnxLjat7939RdjIsoiAbSAgyoLVfSEvPeF7_9abdlAaBxMqx6ztHMm01hy-HvbxJ7eqS0jP7pyvrxrMQcY1kOLGWfnQNSBdQA5E7NTa7k9/s200/2761939237_9e861679aa_b.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>omorrow marks the start of the new school year, my seventh at my current school. My room's set up, handouts for the first day are copied, seating chart's done, and the tissues/hand sanitizer/lotion station's resupplied and ready to go.<br />
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I've made a few tweaks to my grading system, and clarified a couple of initial lessons. I still want to tweak my <a href="http://bgenglish.blogspot.com/2008/09/blogging-into-summer-reading.html?showComment=1236409860000">summer reading essay assignment</a>, revise a quote of the day analysis activity I've used as a warm up in previous years (which will serve as my "<a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3920333/S.Hadley/General%20Teaching%20Stuff/BBC%20Documents/BBC%20Tutorial.doc">Do Now</a>" on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday), and create a "non fiction reading log" type of assignment that students can use on Tuesdays and Thursdays when we read the newspaper.<br />
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One of my goals this year is to incorporate regular reading of the newspaper into all my classes, not just Journalism. There's a lot of value in knowing about what's going on in the world. There's also something to be said for the element of choice that comes into play when one picks up a newspaper. Helping students to better read non-fiction texts while simultaneously fostering a positive association with reading are two great things. To this day, there are few things I enjoy more than Sunday mornings with a fresh cup of coffee and the latest Boston Sunday Globe.<br />
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Aside from getting kids to read the paper, I'm going to want them all to have Gmail accounts, so they can become familiar with Google Docs. Almost all of my students who have used it in the past love it, as it's user-friendly and makes it easy to work on assignments at home and at school without having to worry about USB drives, e-mail attachments, and the like.<br />
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This weekend I hope to create my first <a href="http://bgenglish.blogspot.com/2011/08/vocabulary-videos.html">vocabulary video</a>, which I can model for the kids. I'm excited about the potential this idea has, but like anything new, it needs to be explicitly taught. And before I can explicitly teach it, I need to be sure I know what I'm doing and why I'm doing it!<br />
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While it can be easy to let the weight of local, state, and federal mandates sink our spirits as educators, we're also buoyed by the opportunities to create and help our students make meaning of this amazing and complex world.<br />
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Happy First Day!<br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Buoy image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpblackwood/">jouste</a></i></span>Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-91542879405598636132011-08-28T21:39:00.008-04:002011-09-02T23:49:12.677-04:00A delayed return<span style="font-size: large;">D</span>ue to Tropical Storm Irene's touchdown in Massachusetts this morning, my district's opening day for teachers has been pushed back to Tuesday. While this means that technically my summer vacation is one more day, the reality is I have one more of "my own" days to work and prepare for the new year before doing so in official capacity.<br />
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My district, like my wife's, only requires teachers to come in one day before the students arrive. As you likely know if you are or have been a teacher, one day is grossly insufficient to prepare for a new academic year. Aside from the literal logistics of unpacking items from storage and setting up the classroom, there's mental setup to do as well.<br />
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For me, that means reviewing the various notes I've made to myself from the previous year about what didn't work so well and what needs to change. It's also incorporating ideas from various journal articles, newspapers, and pedagogical texts that I think will engage the students and help me be a more effective teacher. Sometimes I'll scrap something I'm bored with, or try a different approach just because I'm curious about the results.<br />
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In no particular order, here are some of the things that I've either been doing or need to get done for the start of school:<br />
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- Print class rosters<br />
- Create seating charts<br />
- Review my syllabus and make changes to my "teacher expectations"<br />
- Revise the interview activity I typically do on the first or second day<br />
- Make any changes to my grading system I feel are necessary and put them in writing<br />
- Revise my list of staff descriptions for the newspaper students<br />
- Decide how I am going to assign and assess outside reading books this year<br />
- Create a new non-fiction writing assignment that incorporates research<br />
- Decide how I want to integrate the reading of newspapers into my classes<br />
- Figure out what I want to do for the "<a href="http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3920333/S.Hadley/General%20Teaching%20Stuff/BBC%20Documents/BBC%20Tutorial.doc">Do Nows</a>" mandated by administration for all 9th grade teachers<br />
- Rethink how I teach vocabulary, and possibly introduce <a href="http://bgenglish.blogspot.com/2011/08/vocabulary-videos.html">vocabulary videos</a>.<br />
- Revise the summer reading essay assignment I plan to give students on the second or third day of school<br />
- Create a survey to administer to my students about their previous experiences reading, writing, and speaking, both in and outside of school<br />
- Decide exactly how I want to blog with students this year. Will we use Blogger? Something else?<br />
- Tweak/create my permission forms for parents to sign (movies, blogging, YouTube)<br />
- Remember to collect parent e-mail addresses<br />
- Install the Smartboard software onto my computer<br />
- Create new class folders<br />
- Decide where on my boards I want to place the agendas for each class<br />
- Think about how (if) I want to use Twitter this year to <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/bgassignments">post assignments</a><br />
- Finish updating my netbooks and classroom computers<br />
- Write a letter to parents and students explaining my educational philosophy<br />
- Place students' names on Post-It notes on my classroom desks so students know where to sit on the first day<br />
- Put up a couple of labels describing the various parts of <a href="http://bgenglish.blogspot.com/2009/12/my-classroom.html">my classroom</a> and where things are<br />
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And these are just <i>some </i>the things <i>I</i> want to do. My department chair will have other things, and so will my principal. Now, I enjoy my job. It's meaningful, important, and allows me to be creative and work with some great people and students. It also is a job. It's a lot of work. People who think teachers have it easy, or are overpaid, really don't understand what we do. And again, this is an incomplete list of things I need to do, notwithstanding creating engaging lesson plans, executing said lesson plans, designing assessments, delivering assessments, evaluating assessments, communicating with students, communicating with parents, communicating with colleagues and administrators, studying and implementing special ed accommodations and modifications, filling out administrator-mandated rubrics, deciding how I want to run a new mandated advisory group, overseeing production of the school newspaper, taking classes for a <a href="http://bgenglish.blogspot.com/2010/04/online-education.html">second master's degree</a>...<br />
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The purpose here is not to devolve this post into a rant, but rather to illustrate some of the things teachers must do and consider before the school year commences.<br />
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Having one extra day to work on them is nice.Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-85129250483074716872011-08-13T15:00:00.001-04:002011-08-13T15:00:23.988-04:00Principal encourages social media in the classroom<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAMhOVBWG6XGp5MRNNLmvKHYu-1kJLkfMqBIVOfS4TwlAmFPSAVOqa3rOm0V8-Vq_D4i7Jy-j2Y1u4R0xfulmx4ocrY8Akg8GuYqLvV2Fngc0x8x-kQQI3MmkP7XsbeHVjWt_u_jb2yAz/s1600/social-media-keywords-image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnAMhOVBWG6XGp5MRNNLmvKHYu-1kJLkfMqBIVOfS4TwlAmFPSAVOqa3rOm0V8-Vq_D4i7Jy-j2Y1u4R0xfulmx4ocrY8Akg8GuYqLvV2Fngc0x8x-kQQI3MmkP7XsbeHVjWt_u_jb2yAz/s200/social-media-keywords-image.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>t's nice to know that educators like Eric Sheninger are getting recognized for their sensible approach to technology and learning. Sheninger, principal of a high school in New Jersey, believes in tapping the power of social media to engage students.<br />
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"The Internet as we know it <i>is</i> the 21st century," Sheninger says in a recent article from <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2011-07-24-schools-social-media_n.htm">USA Today</a>. "It is what these students have known their whole lives. They're connected, they're creating, they're discussing, they're collaborating." <br />
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I have been very fortunate to have worked for a principal who embraced technology and supported my efforts to use digital tools and social media in the classroom. While he retired last year, his replacement seems equally interested in using Web 2.0 tools, and has plans to start a blog in order to allow him to communicate with students, parents, and faculty. I think it's a wonderful idea.<br />
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If you're an educator, and you aren't blogging, you should, according to <a href="http://www.wirededucator.com/blog/2011/05/18/seven-reasons-why-every-educator-should-blog/">Wired Educator's Kelly Croy</a>. Click <a href="http://www.blogger.com/tour_start.g">here</a> to get started and join the conversation!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Social media image by <a href="http://www.straversie.com/archives/author/travy18/" title="Posts by Stephen Traversie">Stephen Traversie</a></i></span>Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-69008412331844785302011-08-13T00:34:00.005-04:002011-08-13T00:45:36.485-04:00Creativity on the decline<span style="font-size: large;">U</span>niversity of Oregon educational psychologist Ron Beghetto observed the following about the effect NCLB and Race to the Top are having on America's students in a recent <a href="http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44122383/ns/today-parenting/t/not-your-imagination-kids-today-really-are-less-creative-study-says/?ocid=twitter#.TkXxT4LoBfZ">study on creativity</a>: <br />
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<blockquote>"The current focus on testing in schools, and the idea that there is only one right answer to a question, may be hampering development of creativity among kids. There's not much room for unexpected, novel, divergent thought."</blockquote><br />
What a sad commentary on the state of our schools, which seem to be rewarding regurgitated factology and uniform verbiage. And just what are the repercussions of this creative drain caused by the beauro-corporate testing squeeze? Research scientist Kyung Hee Kim of the College of William and Mary:<br />
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<blockquote>"If we just focus on just No Child Left Behind — testing, testing, testing — then how can creative students survive? If this trend continues then students who look different, nonconformists, will suffer, because they are not accepted."</blockquote><br />
We are a culture obsessed with being "right." We've got to get the right car and the right house in the right neighborhood. We need the right music and the right phone. We need the right dress and the right style and the right attitude. <br />
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Students need the right answer, with the right bubble filled in the right way in the right amount of time. Teachers need to be giving students the right (corporately sanctioned) education in the right (one-dimensional) way, with the right (jargon-filled, administrator-approved) agenda and the right (factual, memorizable, testable) skills in the right (curriculum-dictated) order on the right (scripted) day.<br />
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Well, maybe right <i>now </i><i></i>is the time to <a href="http://www.saveourschoolsmarch.org/about/guiding-principles/">call an end to this nonsense</a>. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/_435AYGBwSQ" width="640"></iframe>Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-12984443463996906182011-08-11T11:46:00.014-04:002011-08-11T19:39:53.156-04:00A review of Fish!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXa_euJ0qIDJQztyrOBrcaxtn9dyYL5UVoNKU31jsU87scw0o-GyxQBTgHyZS1dC-3WQaFxIW3Cfms2-r5eylv4LqdoAcwgHaJdd_C30_1G1h5yM9HFd8ShMA9JmLNOEJCzu3iliX5Sl3o/s1600/fish.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXa_euJ0qIDJQztyrOBrcaxtn9dyYL5UVoNKU31jsU87scw0o-GyxQBTgHyZS1dC-3WQaFxIW3Cfms2-r5eylv4LqdoAcwgHaJdd_C30_1G1h5yM9HFd8ShMA9JmLNOEJCzu3iliX5Sl3o/s200/fish.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">B</span>ased on a recommendation from a fellow journalism teacher, I picked up and read the book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Remarkable-Boost-Morale-Improve-Results/dp/0786866020">Fish! - A Remarkable Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results</a>. It was a quick read with a simple parable about how the qualities of a <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TbtsfyrEF_c">successful fish market</a> in Seattle can be applied to any business or organization to make it a more productive and enjoyable place to work.<br />
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As the advisor to my high school's newspaper, I am interested in ways to make the staff more productive and engaged in their task of creating a quality scholastic publication. Fish! gives its readers a glimpse of the inner-workings of <a href="http://www.pikeplacefish.com/">Pike Place Fish</a>, analyzing the business for the qualities that make it a world-renowned market.<br />
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The authors found that the market's employees demonstrate the following: 1) they live in the present moment, 2) they aim to truly make their customer's day, 3) they infuse elements of play with their work, and 4) they're aware that they have the power to choose their own attitude each day. <br />
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That last concept is the most important. <i>While we can't always choose the work that we do, we can choose the way we do it.</i> By bringing positive energy to what we do, and by doing it to the best of our ability, we can transform mundane tasks into meaningful ones.<br />
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I am currently on vacation at the beach. A couple of miles down the road from where I am staying is a small <a href="http://www.udine4less.com/capeanncoffees/">coffee shop</a>. Its ice coffee is flavorful, its breakfast sandwiches are hearty, and its wraps are a delectable balance of meat and accoutrement. What makes it special, though, are the employees who work there. The last time I was in, the woman behind the counter engaged me from the moment I placed my order until the second the door closed behind me on my way out.<br />
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The server spoke to me with energy and passion, excited about her culinary offerings and invested in making sure I got everything I wanted, in as pleasant and joyful a manner as possible. She referred to me as "honey" and "sweetie," and asked her coworker if he could "be a doll" and get her an iced coffee. The fancy chicken wrap sandwich I ordered not only had the word "fancy" written on it, it also had a picture of a bow, as if it had been wrapped up all nice and special, just for me.<br />
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These actions are those of employees who are engaged, living in the moment, and bringing energy to what some might consider the basic, even menial task of working food service in a small coffee shop. The way these people approach their job makes for an enjoyable customer experience. It also leads me to believe that their attitude helps make <a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/205/827951/restaurant/Massachusetts/Cape-Ann-Coffees-Gloucester">Cape Ann Coffees</a> a fun place to work.<br />
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If you're looking for insights on how to boost the productivity of your workers and cheer up your workplace, I'd recommend this book. Its effectiveness lies not in the depth or profundity of its message, but rather on the few simple truths it manages to capture clearly and convey earnestly.Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-3499911843152343432011-08-09T22:49:00.003-04:002011-08-10T16:28:18.903-04:00Vocabulary Videos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxrH30XwCSrYvVjlNJBOxfcbFJ6Ilf_ZdPRY_HNqv0ny0dTfCClPsNHDXNeho43TIqvg6Jn_8O2IW8KWV3V3dnCN0Tad4fuTBZfzsnEXDXqGDxWc-0Hrrh732MdsDtlJC0y43KTnOQkDk/s1600/video+camera.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQxrH30XwCSrYvVjlNJBOxfcbFJ6Ilf_ZdPRY_HNqv0ny0dTfCClPsNHDXNeho43TIqvg6Jn_8O2IW8KWV3V3dnCN0Tad4fuTBZfzsnEXDXqGDxWc-0Hrrh732MdsDtlJC0y43KTnOQkDk/s320/video+camera.jpg" width="214" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;">O</span>ne new idea for this coming school year involves having my students create vocabulary videos. While I have yet to formally think everything through, the gist is that every week or so, students - working in groups of two to four - would create a one-minute video on a given vocabulary word, Latin or Greek root, or literary term.<br />
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Each video would contain certain ingredients (a brief history of the word, its usage, parts of speech, synonyms, antonyms, appropriate background music, use of props) and would be uploaded to a private YouTube account which only students in the class could view.<br />
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Students would be given one or two class periods to do research on their word, strategize for their video, film, and edit. What they didn't accomplish in class would be homework. Then, on "viewing days," I would pull up the class's YouTube page, provide each group with a critique sheet, and we would watch the videos. Each group would be assigned to assess another's video. The assessment sheets would ask students to think about the required video "ingredients" and ask them to observe if they were absent, present, or exceptional (or something like that).<br />
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The idea is that if the video had all of the required pieces and conveyed the meaning of the word in an accurate, entertaining, and creative way, the group would get an "A" for the video. Points would be deducted accordingly for videos that didn't meet the various criteria. Students would be shown sample videos and given an opportunity to assess them before actually grading each other's. This way, students would hopefully be "calibrated" and have a grasp of what constitutes a complete and well-crafted project.<br />
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After all the videos were viewed, students would share their rating sheets with the respective groups whose videos they evaluated. This would give students an opportunity to discuss with each other the strengths and merits as they saw them. In the event a disagreement arose about a group's rating, I would step in as mediator and help the students work things out. In the end, I will have the final say about what each group gets for a grade, but I'm optimistic that the students will be fair and accurate evaluators of each other's work. When I've done peer assessments in the past, I've found students to be as - if not more - critical than I. The key is getting students to look for strengths as well as weaknesses. <br />
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The creation of these videos will serve as a substitute to more traditional vocabulary quizzes. Too often I've seen students cram for vocabulary quizzes, get the necessary information into their short-term memory, do well on a quiz, and then fail to use the words later on in their speech or writing. My theory is that by producing something and being actively engaged in "meaning-making," they'll retain the words and their meanings better (and hopefully use them more frequently).<br />
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The nice thing about uploading the videos to YouTube is that they'll be available for viewing later on. Then, maybe every four or five weeks, I'll have some kind of written assessment where students have to use the words in sentences or fill in the blank or match or write an antonym or something. In order to review for the written assessment, they'll be able to cue up the YouTube page and peruse the videos of the words they don't know.<br />
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While I'm sure there will be some kinks to work out and quirks I won't have planned for, I'm confident we'll be able to overcome them.<br />
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As for the technological end of things, I've been able to acquire a number of computers for my classroom over the years, and, thanks to websites offering educators steep discounts, I have a handful of Flip video cameras I can lend to students. They'll also, of course, be able to use their own devices to create and edit the videos should they so choose.<br />
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Look for me to post my own vocabulary video(s) in the coming weeks. Also, if you've ever done something like this before, or know of any possibly helpful resources, feel free to drop a note in the comments section. Thanks! <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Video camera image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/chelzd/">chelzdd</a></i></span>Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.com2