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August 2009 - Posts

the horcrux

So, I allowed the students to create their Metaphor of Technology a day early if they had finished their first Social Voice article. To me, metaphors capture what a child thinks about an abstract concept in a way that I can't get in a concept map or an Read More...
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2009 08 31

John Spencer

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Ants, God and the Constitution

In the category of "what topic would you like me to write about?" someone posted, "God, ants, and the Constitution." So, I'll take that as a challenge and run with it. I know the animation isn't fantastic and Woody Allen's voice is a bit like rusty nails Read More...
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2009 08 31

John Spencer

0 Comments

yet another paradox

A high-minded pundit sat on NPR awhile back and told the radio audience that, in a global economy, it's all about differentiation. He said that companies don't want vanilla. They want creative flavors. At first, I smiled. It was rare to have someone talk Read More...
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2009 08 29

John Spencer

5 Comments

If you read this blog . . .

Hey, if you read this blog regularly, would you be willing to fill out the following survey? Loading... Read More...
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2009 08 29

John Spencer

2 Comments

philosophy and food

I walk into a classroom yesterday to fix a computer. A student says to his friend, "That's the teacher I have for the fast food class." "You guys eat food in there?" "No, we're learning about fast food. Today we talked about why other countries hate us Read More...
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2009 08 28

John Spencer

2 Comments

a really short post

I just finished making small talk with the lady who cleans my classroom. She's dusting the cabinets right now. It's hard not to feel guilty. By accident of language and culture and geography, she sweeps my floors and I teach her children. By sheer military Read More...
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2009 08 26

John Spencer

3 Comments

changing your blog

#1. Change the background for your blog. You're going to need a place to host your images (I use photobucket, but I would recommend flickr). If you use the minima template, you'll need to find the code: body { background: and change it to body { background:$bgcolor Read More...

2009 08 25

John Spencer

2 Comments

chain saws and pulaskis

one of the world's most under-rated tools - the mighty pulaski (not to be confused with the Revolutionary War Hero) There is something exhilirating in wielding a chainsaw. It's machine against nature and for once I'm on the winning side. So, I smile too Read More...
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2009 08 24

John Spencer

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blowing in the wind

how many bubbles must a child fill out before he sees there’s no choice? yes and how many walls will be painted white before they silence our voice? an extra lined I added to a classic when I drove past the freshly painted white space that used to house Read More...
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2009 08 22

John Spencer

4 Comments

on faith and sex and God and staff lounge conversations

The staff lounge isn't exactly a bastion of theological inquiry. We mostly talk about our classes, occasionally our families and often Fantasy Football. About a year ago a side conversation broke out in the midst of a discussion about The Office. "Where Read More...
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2009 08 21

John Spencer

2 Comments

what we can learn from PE teachers

this is used to be my image of PE, but I've changed my mind this wee k Someone recently posted an angry comment on one of my earliest blog posts. In this comment, the anonymous writer asked me if I was a PE teacher. I wish I was. It's not because they Read More...
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2009 08 21

John Spencer

1 Comments

what if we taught intellectual humility?

I understand that it's important for students to learn information. I get the need for students to go to college, think well about life, apply concepts to their world. I understand why we have high expectations and why we challenge students to work hard. Read More...
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2009 08 19

John Spencer

0 Comments

health care shouting matches and teaching humility

I heard a clip from a town hall meeting. An army officer shouted down a Congressman with a diatribte about how he fought for freedom and how he loves our country and he refuses to see us turn into a socialist nation. I take issue with this man, not because Read More...
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2009 08 19

John Spencer

21 Comments

semi-functional family

I once sat around a table with three stay-at-home moms who all chose to home school their children. Knowing that I was a teacher, they used the moment as a chance for the proslytizing of "unschooling." They offered anecdotal stories of children learning Read More...
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2009 08 17

John Spencer

0 Comments

what's going on with the book?

A few people have asked me why my book is on sale in the Kindle form, but not in the print format. Here's the deal: I ran into some snags in getting my proof. Then, when I got my proof, I noticed some big errors in spelling and grammar and realized that Read More...
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2009 08 16

John Spencer

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a class schools should teach

Joel tells me that he's cold, so I explain that he should run around. I dance and jump to demonstrate what I'm trying to get him to comprehend. So, he runs around the house, does a dance and says, "I feel warmer, Daddy." "Why does that make me hot?" "I Read More...
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2009 08 16

John Spencer

5 Comments

the artist-administrator

I still cringe when I hear teachers refer to our vocation as the "business of education." It conjures memories of the executive teachers who employed the token economy, dressed in a suit, acted as a bully-boss and constantly talked about "the corporate Read More...
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2009 08 14

John Spencer

0 Comments

Does it change how we live?

Sometimes I wonder if the book I should have written is Tutored by Toddlers. Joel and Micah continue to challenge and transform my beliefs about education and school and humanity. When I write about my kids I wonder if it sounds trite, like a Chicken Read More...
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2009 08 13

John Spencer

1 Comments

my absolutely unnecessary ranking system of coffee

This is how I spent the lecture portion of today's professional development. It's not that I don't pay attention, but just that I sometimes need a creative outlet if I'm going to listen intently. I can tell you, almost verbatim, everything discussed in Read More...
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2009 08 11

John Spencer

8 Comments

why George Soros shouldn't buy kids school supplies

I heard an interview with multibillionaire George Soros today. Apparently, he's passing out two-hundred dollar checks to families in the ghetto so that they can buy school supplies. It's a nice gesture, really. It's probably compassionate, too. Still, Read More...
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2009 08 11

John Spencer

2 Comments

Race to the Top

I'm one of four Libertarians nationwide who voted for Obama. I knew I would disagree with his policies on the bailout and on health care reform. However, I thought he might push back No Child Left Behind and I hoped he'd be pro-immigration. Apparently, Read More...
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2009 08 10

John Spencer

4 Comments

adding a few things

I have another blog that's linked to all these musings. It's my "visual musings ." I'm adding all my visual musings to this blog and still keeping that blog as well. Here's the first: Read More...
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2009 08 9

John Spencer

0 Comments

social media venn diagram

One of the funniest things I've seen in a long time: Photo Credit http://www.despair.com/somevedi.html Disclaimer: I'm not in any way paid or reimbursed by despair.com, though I'd love to be one of their spokesmen. Read More...
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2009 08 8

John Spencer

2 Comments

Roman Rulers and the Ladies in Black

I had a friend in high school who attended a parochial school. It wasn't parochial in the sense of belonging to the community. In fact, it was as transient and gated as the suburban neighborhoods of my high school. He told me that it was "more Roman than Read More...
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2009 08 8

John Spencer

0 Comments

why we need political parties

I'm probably one of four libertarians in America who voted for Obama in the last election. I believed he was the only shot at getting rid of No Child Left Behind. Besides, I had hope that he'd pass a temporary worker visa program and I had a gut feeling Read More...

2009 08 8

John Spencer

2 Comments

the upside of pessimism

I don't believe we are inherently good. Beautiful, yes. Capable of great things, absolutely. But good, no. Motives are always muddled and confusing. The most altruistic moments seem to contain a tinge of selfishness. I see this in small moments, like Read More...
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2009 08 7

John Spencer

5 Comments

playing Icharus

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2009 08 7

John Spencer

0 Comments

Sages and Lunatics

It should have been ready for approval by tomorrow, but the process is a little longer than I had hoped. So, look for my blog post about the arrival of the print version. (Incidentally, you can already upload it on a Kindle.) Print Version $9.50 Available Read More...
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2009 08 6

John Spencer

15 Comments

student video

A video created by our students for the introduction to our documentary. They had some real creative ideas and we ran with them. Read More...
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2009 08 6

John Spencer

8 Comments

fresh start

I'm a big fan of fresh starts. I love how Apple reinvented itself by selling all that cool iCrap. I love how Bill Gates reinvented himself as a philanthropist (though I think he should stay out of educational reform). I'm a fan of second chances and redemption Read More...
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2009 08 6

John Spencer

3 Comments

shame with a smile

I could list many reasons for failing to appreciate the musical quality of Celine Dion. However, my negative reaction has less to do with my propensity to enjoy anti-pop folk artists and more to do with a few negative experiences. Case in point, I'm at Read More...
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2009 08 6

John Spencer

1 Comments

amateur author

It's sometimes hard for me to explain to somebody why I chose to self-publish a book. I sometimes worry about being judged for "vanity publishing." Occasionally someone will say, "You know that they let anyone publish." So, that's me. I'm anyone. I'm Read More...
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2009 08 5

John Spencer

6 Comments

what if "old" doesn't mean inaccessible?

I'm reading a fresh translation of an older work. I'm convinced that Tolstoy is a genius in analyzing the human psyche and so, despite the daunting appearance of a massive text, I plunge into book with reckless abandon. The book is deep on a personal, Read More...
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2009 08 5

John Spencer

0 Comments

the attention span myth

A well-intentioned teacher (whom I respect greatly) comments at a training, "We have fifteen seconds. In a digital culture, that's all you get. They are the point and click video game generation." I've heard this before. It's the idea that the medium Read More...
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2009 08 4

John Spencer

4 Comments

metaphor monday is back

The weekly schedule is back! Here's the first Metaphor Monday. My dad is, in many ways, a traditional Midwestern man - socially conservative, a perpetual risk manager, a generally honest guy, uncomfortable with messy emotions or extroverted displays of Read More...
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2009 08 3

John Spencer

2 Comments

advice for new edu-bloggers

Okay, so this time my blog post doesn't have a creepy John Travolta picture. I half-wondered if that would cause me to lose my blog subscribers. I guess today might be the determining factor. I began this blog a few years back as a way to communicate Read More...

2009 08 2

John Spencer

3 Comments

the body

Perhaps the creepiest thing I've seen in years. Even scarier than Trovolta in drag in Hair Spray. Yet, a random example of an eighties kid's memories of the obsession with bodily perfection. Micah started singing a song he learned in Sunday school. "I Read More...
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2009 08 1

John Spencer

3 Comments