tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post1298444346399690618..comments2023-08-29T11:00:10.512-04:00Comments on Mr. B-G's Blog: A review of Fish!Mr. B-Ghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-66632554788932187542011-08-14T10:57:08.941-04:002011-08-14T10:57:08.941-04:00It may be that I am not living up to choosing a go...It may be that I am not living up to choosing a good attitude. :)<br /><br />I believe that all classrooms experience tensions between "living in the moment" and preparing students for the future outside of school. That tension is compounded by "the test." Some boss folk may believe the latter should take precedence. (I notice you use "higher ups"; I must have watched to many cop shows.)<br /><br />The customer analogy has always troubled me. Schools have students, parents, post-secondary institutions, and employers who all claim to be customers. The latter two "customers" seem to view students as a product. Some administrators also seem to see students that way; therefore, making the students day is on the back burner. To these administrators, the customers whose day must be made are like Elvis: they have left the building.<br /><br />As far as play goes, I believe that some boss folk support play that they would have done in the classroom and little else. Again, I may need to adjust my own attitude on this one.Kal Lishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04509909460813851274noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-52624601118878042582011-08-12T20:30:05.469-04:002011-08-12T20:30:05.469-04:00Thanks for stopping by LK. One day I'd like to...Thanks for stopping by LK. One day I'd like to visit the market (and the northwest coast) in person.<br /><br />I've got to say I'm pretty deliberate with my attempts at fun and humor. Sometimes it's hard to tell if my failed attempts at humor are actually funnier than the (few?) times when I succeed in landing a joke...<br /><br />As for your last question, I would have to say that I've encountered no resistance from the higher-ups in my attempts to implement the "fish way." <br /><br />In fact, I can't imagine working in a school where, on a basic level, the fish way wasn't encouraged by the administration.<br /><br />I think we can agree that the most effective teachers are there, in the present moment, with their students. In turn, good teachers are able to capture the attention and interest of their students so that they too are in the present.<br /><br />What teacher wouldn't want to make a student's day? Isn't it great to hear students tell you they look forward to your class, or they wish it were longer? This is one way the students let us know they appreciate what we do, which, in turn, makes us want to do the best we can.<br /><br />Research shows that humans learn through play and exploration. Directed play can stimulate our imagination, feed our curiosity, and develop our creativity.<br /><br />One of the ways I am hoping to infuse "play" into my classroom this year involves having students create vocabulary videos, where they will produce 60-second informative skits which will serve as primers for the various words, roots, and literary terms we'll encounter this year.<br /><br />In the past, I've had students write vocabulary story quizzes, where the most creative and captivating are used as actual assessments.<br /><br />I remember my 6th grade language arts teacher, Mrs. Reinstein, asking us to create our own gods during a Greek mythology unit, or to reenact scenes from Macbeth (yes, Macbeth in 6th grade!) with cardboard swords and crowns.<br /><br />One of the reasons I recall Mrs. Reinstein's class so fondly was because she infused elements of play into her activities. She engaged us and put us in situations where we had to live in the present moment and be creative and innovative in order to have success. Because she was able to make the work fun helped us want to engage and be an active part of her class's culture.<br /><br />LK, I am curious to know what your administration would find questionable or problematic regarding steps 1-3 of the fish way. Why would your (or other) administrators not want to see teachers implement the fish way in their classrooms?Mr. B-Ghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00628569059610320379noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4718514650634739931.post-56078002147981409962011-08-12T18:05:36.431-04:002011-08-12T18:05:36.431-04:00I've seen video about that fish market a coupl...I've seen video about that fish market a couple of times. I agree with the underlying theory/attitude.<br /><br />I may be getting a bit old and cantankerous, however, because I seem to have to insert fun into the classroom surreptitiously.<br /><br />I realize that step 4 is always possible, but steps 1-3 do need some support from the bosses<br /><br />Do you work in a school that allows you to openly implement the "fish way"?<br /><br />Just curiousKal Lishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04509909460813851274noreply@blogger.com