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book should make you feel uncomfortable

I first read To Kill a Mockingbird in high school and felt bored with the dialog, annoyed by the flat (and always either entirely good or entirely bad) characters and unsure about why we had to read it. Later, while working in a chaotic non-profit and Read More...
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2010 02 4

John Spencer

14 Comments

developing an escape world

I'm talking to a friend and I share some ideas of what I want to do next year. After awhile, I cut myself off and say, "I feel like I'm starting to slip into that dangerous place where I say 'It will be better when . . .' and then I miss out on what's Read More...
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2010 01 21

John Spencer

5 Comments

why the test makes me so angry

A kid raises his hand during the drill-and-kill test. "I'm supposed to find the main idea of a book that is about the desert, but the options are Cactus Heat, By the Ocean and Mountain Drought and Shrinking Ice Caps. All of these will work. Chile has Read More...
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2009 12 17

John Spencer

7 Comments

we want heroes without alter-egos

My friend Sam thinks that colleges should have an "Alumni We Aren't Proud of" section on their websites. As he puts it, "Rod Blagojevich went to Pepperdine. Think they're proud?" I'd love to see Ivy League colleges with the names of the men (yes, they Read More...
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2009 12 3

John Spencer

9 Comments

five random thoughts

My friend Dan used to do this - bullet point updates. So here are some random thoughts: When I asked Joel what he wanted for breakfast, he said, "Candy, candy canes, candy corn and syrup." I have a student named Brandy in first hour and Mandy in second Read More...
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2009 11 19

John Spencer

5 Comments

idiot at the top

The State Department has announced that teacher contracts will not be due by May 15th any longer. In addition, districts no longer need to consider seniority, but will focus on "achievement" (read test scores). I respect Tom Horne. After all, the guy Read More...
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2009 11 12

John Spencer

0 Comments

video: marathons and sprints

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2009 11 5

John Spencer

0 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

Thursday Thoughts: Great is Over-Rated

In a well-intentioned gesture, someone once gave me this poem called “Pretty Good,” by Charles Osgood. The main premise was that America is falling behind as a superpower, because we let “pretty good” pass instead of striving for excellence. Ironically, Read More...
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2009 05 7

John Spencer

9 Comments

hunger

Yesterday was the day to blog about hunger, so this is actually a day late. I posted this on my other blog, but then pressed SAVE NOW instead of PUBLISH POST So, I'm in the midst of filming a video with my summer school group. I'm not supposed to make Read More...
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2009 04 30

John Spencer

0 Comments

Thursday Thoughts: People and Projects

a girl in my first hour wrote the play and some students finger painted this poster It is a deeply human need to know and be known, to love and be loved, to speak and to listen. It's also a deeply human need to create and to plan and to design. What happens Read More...
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2009 04 23

John Spencer

8 Comments

Thursday Thoughts: What no one ever tells you about classroom management

Sometimes windpower is not such a great thing I'm posting this a day early. It began as a comment on another teacher's blog and now I'm expanding it. Today the kids were edgy. In my seventh hour, they were constantly engaged in side conversations. A few Read More...
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2009 04 15

John Spencer

8 Comments

Thursday Thoughts: Mr. Jones and Me

For PLC training, we cram together in an empty classroom (an empty shell remaining from the days before the sherrif's immigration raids and the collapsing housing market) to watch Fred Jones teach us to manage behaviors. I roll my eyes at most of his Read More...
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2009 03 12

John Spencer

3 Comments

Thursday Thoughts: My Approach

I caught a girl tagging on one of my chairs. Let me restate that. I noticed tagging on my chairs, matched it to the tagging this student has done in the classroom and then determined that it had to be her. It felt like a punch in the gut. After going Read More...
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2009 03 5

John Spencer

6 Comments

Thursday Thoughts: Cutting

A girl walks in wearing wrist bands for the first time. She's a top student, quiet, unable to qualify for the honors class, but she finishes all her work and leads her small group with energy and passion. Like many of the eighth-grade girls, she realizes Read More...
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2009 02 26

John Spencer

5 Comments

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