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November 2007 - Posts

Does teaching make you happy?

It's six fifty-six and I have no idea what I'm teaching first hour. It has to do with the sixties and the counter-culture, but I'm still undecided about how it will flesh out. I'm sure I have something typed up in the lesson plan binder (the one where Read More...
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2007 11 30

John Spencer

4 Comments

what Charlie Brown taught me about teaching

Sometimes on a rough day, when I'm feeling more insecure than usual, I play a little game. It's so subtly manipulative that it seems benevolent. Unlike the more obvious put-downs or the fishing for compliments, I almost subconciously try and build a mini-monument Read More...
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2007 11 28

John Spencer

3 Comments

a whole new vocabulary

For the current unit relating to Civil Rights, students have to choose four of the ten homework options. I deliberately use academic language and a higher vocabulary so that they can grow accustomed to the "grown up world" and because academic language Read More...
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2007 11 28

John Spencer

11 Comments

stale stone monuments

What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others. -Percicles Sometimes when I check my to-do list, I feel like this quote embodies what I believe. It's not that the to-do list is filled with Read More...

2007 11 27

John Spencer's Blog

9 Comments

reach for the stars

Reach for the stars and you'll be dissapointed. Or, you'll die before you even hit the sun. Or, if you get there in warp-speed, you'll spend your life reaching for the stars only burn out and end up in flames thinking the good life was back at home on Read More...

2007 11 21

John Spencer's Blog

12 Comments

It's Not Turkey Day

Tomorrow is not Turkey Day. It's Thanksgiving. There's a big difference. Now, I understand why people would not want to celebrate Thanksgiving. After all the Europeans did commit genocide with biological warfare, the burning of homes and the torture of Read More...

2007 11 21

John Spencer

15 Comments

what a dirty job can teach us

Recently, while lounging around my in-law's house, I stumbled across a t.v. show about the "dirtiest jobs." I'm not sure what it's called. Perhaps "America's Dirtiest Jobs." If I wasn't feeling lazy, I'd open up a new tab and search on google. Anyway, Read More...
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2007 11 20

John Spencer

18 Comments

changing priorities

Last night, we showed a video of the IMPACT program to our school board. To my surprise, allowing the children to tell their viewpoint on the program was the most powerful feature of the presentation. One of the board members was in tears and the audience's Read More...
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2007 11 15

John Spencer

6 Comments

the "F-word" that really does have power

Our school is like a prison. From the uniforms to the bland walls to the security cameras and the cafeteria food. The average student is told what to do at all times - when to eat, when to pee, when to play (but not too rough), what to say, when to speak, Read More...
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2007 11 13

John Spencer

5 Comments

should we give partial credit?

"Mr. Spencer, why does my progress report show a zero for the five paragraph Social Voice article?" a student asks me before class begins. "You never turned in a five paragraph article," I answer, slightly confused. "I did. I sent it to you the day it Read More...

2007 11 8

John Spencer

7 Comments

sprinting through my education

Third Blog Entry - NAU One of my favorite children's movies is "Cars." The main character, Lightening McQueen is a hotshot rookie with a great deal of confidence and a can-do attitude. He nearly wins the Piston Cup, but his own hubris leads to a three-way Read More...
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2007 11 4

John Spencer

1 Comments

why districts should visit Costco

Everyone hates Wal-Mart. It's the trendy thing to hate - along with global warming, Osama bin Ladin and the New England Patriots. Yet, I can see why people hate the happy-faced giant. Wal-Mart employees often have no health care and, when they qualify, Read More...

2007 11 4

John Spencer

3 Comments