Educational Discourse

Well, for those of you who have been waiting for some inspiration to get moving with the A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink, it is here. The book club is up and running with a few of the senses having chapter leaders and some discussion posts already going. I’ve been over at Classroom2.0 to see what is happening. I’m going to do some more looking and thinking before I make my first post. I am going to start a discussion there and send people to the wiki and mention that people who want to join the conversation can look there to see how things are going.

A Whole New Mind

This book really has me thinking about many different things, not just the 6 senses that Pink describes. As I was reflecting on the book, I realized that someone at a different point in their life/career/education might see things differently than me which had me thinking that these topics would be great to discuss with my classes which then led me to think about how I might work them into my class for discussion. By this time I had way too many things running around in my head so I began to make notes about what I was doing. I then remembered that Dave Truss had posted a mindmap on the wiki so off I went to look at it. This mindmap helped me as it creates a visual representation of the book’s main parts, allowing me to think about how I might be able to use this as a teacher/principal.

For me, the section of the book that really “touched” me was the final section on “Meaning”. I’m not at the point where I can put into words why or how but it spoke to me about how we all are looking for meaning and that school needs to help students with this.

So, if you’re interested in joining the discussion, wander on over to the wiki and join us in the discussions. If you’re so inclined, volunteer to be a chapter leader or just begin a discussion. Let’s see where things will go.

I thought I’d keep everyone up to date on the book club that we are trying to formulate via the web. The club wiki can be viewed here. We have had a number of people show interest in what we are doing. At this point, Dave Truss is the only one who has contributed to one of the reading sections but I’m sure many readers are ready to jump in. I know that I will finally get to finish the book and be able to contribute and begin discussions.  For my part, I’m trying to encourage people to dive in and explore the different sections and then add to the discussions or the sections with their interpretations and information. If you have questions or comments, don’t hesitate to leave a message in the message board area.

For those who think I’ve started back to my workout program, you will be very disappointed, just like my wife! This is really about that euphoric state that teachers briefly enter when their marks are done and in.
I’m finished. It’s late, or early, depending on how you look at it. I’ve finally finished my marks and sent them in. As a teacher I was always burning the midnight oil the week before report cards trying to get as much done as I could. I always flop between planning and putting together new ideas, assignments and assessment and actually going through the assessment, especially of projects. The day-to-day things I’m not bad at but the projects tend to sit a bit.

Now, I haven’t really had time to reflect on this process but I do know that it was easier to go through their blogs/journals and provide feedback and a mark than a notebook or anything else I’ve used. Maybe because I am comfortable with a computer but I did this at various times during the day, three or four at a time, getting them done, with feedback in a day or two after each entry without really any trouble. I’ve been able to check their wiki work just as easily and, seeing what is happening, been able to pinpoint a few pairs who are having difficulty and a few that are having management problems and one that just is too busy with the dirtbike game. It’s the projects where I faulter. I’m still using all paper for these as they include maps, drawings, reports, scrapbooks, photoshoots and other such work. The oral reports are done because I have to do them right away.

Now, I don’t mind reading and marking. Once I get started, I enjoy reading what the students have written, looking at their drawings or pictures or comics or whatever they have decided to use and providing comments. However, I find that I’m always lugging around these papers and disks which sometimes end up being left at home on my desk or left at school on my desk. With the electronic media, I can read, comment and return them without worrying about them getting too beat up or worse (coffee stains are hard to explain!) I’ve been looking at YouRock to use instead of the posters and presentations and I’m definitely going to use podcasts for students to do oral presentations. I’m exploring a few video options so that students can use that format if they wish. These are much easier to handle plus students really do prepare much better for these than for our “Oral Reports” although when we do the “Daily News Cast” with _____________ the students seem to really get into it. Maybe it’s the cool coat and the funky glasses!

Because I am an administrator and I don’t have a regular classroom and I do like working from the lab, we have almost adopted it as our room. I am working on having our SmartBoard reconfigured so that I can begin using it again - we’ve had cord issues.
Yes, I’m rambling. I’m experiencing that euphoric feeling of completing my marking, finishing my marks and comments and for a short period of time, at least being nearly caught up with my classes. Of course, I’m a good two weeks behind on filing and other admin processes having had to arrange my To Do’s by: I’ll lose my job, Will be in trouble but employed, Will be in trouble if I ask when, Won’t be noticed unless I ask, Won’t be noticed and, my favourite, Someone actually has a job for this! I’ve done all the first category. I’ll get to work on the second and thrid this weekend.
Book Club Brief