Below is every nugget and quote I wrote down at the Changing the Odds conference on October 1-2, 2015. I'm sorry it took me more than two weeks to put it up, but I wanted to get it all down. Enjoy! Dan Pink"In school, we don't want compliant kids, and we don't want defiant kids. ...we want ENGAGED kids."There is a theme emerging in successful, creative companies. These companies are encouraging employees to use a portion of their time doing non-commissioned creative work. This type of work drives employees to think outside the box and work on new ideas. Non-commissioned creative work has many names:
Supervisors at some workplaces have had to get creative just with what they call this special work time, because often their superiors do not approve of the idea initially; they want their employees at their desks when they're supposed to be there. Genius Hour was developed as a result of one manager encouraging her employees to use their lunch hour to think of creative ways to improve the company. Teachers have begun to jump on board with the non-commissioned creative work movement! This article I found at Edutopia details how 20% time is used effectively in the classroom. Check out the following videos on Genius Hour and Innovation Days.
Sir Ken Robinson
Imagination is the seat of empathy. |
Life is Organic | No one can anticipate the path you're going to take. It's not linear. You create the path as you take it. |
Attitude is feeling that you're entitled to do this (whatever "this" is, whether it's a life goal, a career, etc.), and creating the opportunities to do it along the way. | Attitude |
Michael Sorrell | 1. Leave places better than you found them. |
Momentous Institute Fab Four:
Jessica Trudeau, Rhonda Vincent, Matt Leahy, Karen Dumas
Flash Focus on Trauma
The Bad News: Trauma2700 babies are born into poverty every day. High school dropouts will qualify for just 10% of available jobs by 2018 Toxic Stress is poisonous to the brain and gives children hair-trigger access to emotional memories. Poor parents are disproportionately young and find it harder to provide the emotional support children need. Poor kids are 6x more likely to be hit by a car. 1 million children are estimated to be misdiagnosed with mental illness, when they really may be dealing with something else, like toxic stress as a result of home conditions. | The Good News: PLAY"It's not what's wrong with you. It's what's happened to you." Adults put their trauma into words. Children put their trauma into PLAY. Play is fun. Play is safe. Play is EMPOWERING. Plato: "You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." My thoughts: we can change the dynamic in the classroom and with our students by changing the way with think of those we label as "problem kids" and by incorporating more play into our day. We must make time for play, even for the older students. Remember, they are kids, too. |
Jessica Lahey"When we tell kids how smart/talented/gifted/etc. they are, we're setting them up. And they'll protect it at all costs." | Intrinsic Motivation:In order to be intrinsically motivated, one must feel:
|
Glennon Doyle Melton
The first thing I learned about being a grown up: "Relationship is all that matters." "Stop being afraid of pain, and start being afraid of the 'easy buttons.'"Some of us are made more sensitive than others. They are the canaries in the coal mines, and we should listen to them, because they are a gift. They identify the "toxins in the air." | "Addiction is a box, where we protect ourselves. It's a glass wall we use to separate ourselves from the ones we love."Therapists want the hurt child/adult to come out. BUT...we've already been out there. We know what it's like. It hurts and we don't want to be thrown out into that chaos. | "Shame is the kiss of death." You can either be perfect and admired, or you can be real and loved.Regarding mental illness/sensitivity: We are afraid of what heals us. We have a suspicion that what is making us sick is also what's making us special. That's why we're afraid of our medicine. We need ART. |
"We must create
a smaller world for them
within which they can feel safe."
David Isay: | "It's impossible not to love someone whose story you've heard." |
Lou Cozolino
Learning is an outward expression of how experience has affected the brain. In traumatized patients, everywhere they go is where they've already been.In other words, a child who's been traumatized is constantly reliving that trauma everywhere he goes. Especially if the child is having to function in a place where the trauma took place. So if the trauma is unresolved, and she can't stop thinking about it, how is a girl in middle school supposed to concentrate and function normally? Relationship may be the key driver of social emotional change.Students do better with teachers they love. | Learning does NOT happen in the presence of fear, stress, trauma, or anxiety."LOVE is the antidote to stress." |
Attachment is like discovering a piece of your heart in another person's body. | Attachment = Survival Abandonment = Death Education in small scale societies is not a separate activity. Old people want to tell stories, and children want to hear stories. OVER AND OVER AGAIN. Tribal education was embedded in relationships, directly tied to survival, and geared toward the abilities of the individual. |
Kevin CarrollChildren can deal with some really heavy things by tapping into their imaginations.Dedication Responsibility Education Attitude (you get what you give) Motivation 3 Things:
| He started us off with a poem..."Work for a cause, not for applause. Live life to express, not to impress. Don't strive to make your presence noticed. Just make your absence felt." Circumstances don't dictate destiny.
|
Books/Titles Mentioned
"Does He Take Sugar?" radio program in Britain about a person in a wheelchair
The Geography of Thought
The Element
"From Fish to Infinity"
Make it Stick
The Geography of Thought
The Element
"From Fish to Infinity"
Make it Stick
Yesterday, I had the great joy of hosting a training session for a cool group of PK-2 after school teaching artists with the non-profit organization I work for, Big Thought. My goal as facilitator was to isolate the challenges the teachers are facing in their classrooms, and then lend my own advice and solicit the advice of the group to find solutions to the issues they are facing. The teaching artists named the following as the main challenges: |
- Disengagement
- "Spazzing Out" in class
- ADHD (diagnosed or undiagnosed)
- Abuse - verbal or physical
- Shutting Down (not working, communicating, hiding in a corner, being unresponsive, etc.)
We then set about coming up with strategies to combat these issues in the classroom. I wrote down all ideas on the board:
When you have a room packed with stressed-out kids, your lesson must be highly engaging and fun! | One thing we discussed was the need to write all lessons from the child's perspective. NEVER start writing a lesson thinking, "I need to teach x, y, and z." DO start writing lessons thinking "the kids would LOVE to learn about a, b, and c...and then I can work in x, y, and z while we're at it!" |
For example, in my music class, I usually start with a really great song that I know the kids will love and ask me later, "WHAT was that song? Who was that singer??" In the process, I can also drive home beat processing or certain rhythm patterns, or melody lines, syncopation, or any number of musical terms and concepts. I post the name of the song and the artist on my school music website, so the kids can look it up when they get home. So immediately as soon as they walk in the door, they are "hooked" into my lesson. Do I have engagement problems? Never. Because every single part of my lesson is written from the perspective of the child.
Tips for Getting Kids to Drive Questioning: | One of my personal goals for the group was to get the lessons to be a bit more student-driven. To that end, the teaching artists came up with the following list of ideas to get the kids to drive questioning and critique:
This last one is kind of funny but totally works. It's like when someone can't think of a word, and you desperately want to help them so you try to finish their sentence for them. Do that to the kids. Just leave the question hanging! |
Look at this piece of artwork, for instance:
"Do you wonder how he painted it?"
"Ooooh George, that's a great question!
What do you think of George's question, guys?
How DO you think he painted it?"
BOOM! A 1st grader just drove the questioning.
"Does anyone else want to ask a question? Like...How would............"
"HOW WOULD IT LOOK IN THE DAYTIME?!"
"WHOA, Maria, that's a cool question, I totally never would have thought of that!"
...and just keep going. See how many kids can keep it up.
"HOW WOULD IT LOOK IN THE DAYTIME?!"
"WHOA, Maria, that's a cool question, I totally never would have thought of that!"
...and just keep going. See how many kids can keep it up.
Settling Your Glitter: A tool for calming down
So...glitter bottles! This is the single most useful tool our kids can have in the classroom for calming down. As the video above describes, the glitter represents the child's thoughts and feelings, swirling around inside their mind and body. The child should breathe in a slow and controlled manner as he watches the glitter settle to the bottom. By the time the glitter has settled completely, usually the child is also much more settled and can think more clearly, just as the water in the bottle is clear and easier to see through.
It's important to talk through this process with the children. Ideally, every child should have his/her own glitter bottle to keep in the classroom and use as a tool for calming down. This can be used whenever the child is feeling overwhelmed in any capacity: angry, sad, frustrated, or even overly excited. If the child's emotions are clouding her ability to think clearly, work effectively, find solutions, solve problems, work out conflicts with others, etc., the glitter bottle can help! Eventually, she can learn to recognize when she is feeling overwhelmed and simply walk over to where her glitter bottle is kept, take it to a quiet area of the classroom, settle her glitter, and when she is focused again, put the bottle away and move on about her work day. (Right about now some of your brains are exploding and you're ready to run out for glitter supplies, aren't you?)
Here is the recipe:
It's important to talk through this process with the children. Ideally, every child should have his/her own glitter bottle to keep in the classroom and use as a tool for calming down. This can be used whenever the child is feeling overwhelmed in any capacity: angry, sad, frustrated, or even overly excited. If the child's emotions are clouding her ability to think clearly, work effectively, find solutions, solve problems, work out conflicts with others, etc., the glitter bottle can help! Eventually, she can learn to recognize when she is feeling overwhelmed and simply walk over to where her glitter bottle is kept, take it to a quiet area of the classroom, settle her glitter, and when she is focused again, put the bottle away and move on about her work day. (Right about now some of your brains are exploding and you're ready to run out for glitter supplies, aren't you?)
Here is the recipe:
- A small water bottle
- Glitter glue
- Glitter
- Paper cone cups (get from a doctor's office or buy on Amazon)
- Have the kids open remove the label from their bottle
- Take the cap off the bottle
- Take a sip of water, to make room for the glitter glue and glitter to go in
- Squeeze glitter glue into the water bottle hard for about 4 seconds
- Cut the end off the cone cup, to make a funnel
- Insert the funnel into the water bottle
- Shake glitter into the funnel for about 6 seconds (about 2 tablespoons)
- Put a little glitter glue into the edge of the cap, and screw it back on, to glue it in place
- Shake it up really well!
Abuse and Shutting DownSo what do you see in Michael's picture? Many of us teach in schools where the children are victims of extreme violence in their homes. They may be neglected. They may be malnourished. They may be forced to move from place to place, and that is of course completely out of their control, and frustrating. This can cause anger. | |
At my first school, many years ago, a fifth grade boy and two of his siblings arrived around February, and he had already lived in 14 states in his 11 short years. He had other siblings living in Florida, and he rarely saw them. He was a very, very angry boy and was very beautiful; I used to say he looked like a cougar. He had the same type of fierceness about him. He was sent to the principal's office on his first day, for fighting. He had immense trust issues but was surprisingly advanced in some subjects, given how often he had moved. | He was forced to move again by April, just when he was finally making progress. He had begun to settle in and stop fighting with his classmates. He was actually making some friends and beginning to trust us. I cried bitterly when I discovered he was gone. Many of our students are angry, and they have a right to be. We have to be understanding of that. When they lash out, we must see past the immediate "wrongdoing" and look through, into their eyes, into their soul, address what we perceive they might be feeling, and ask the right question, which is not: |
"WHY DID YOU DO THAT?!" | but rather: | "how can I help?" |
When I look at Michael, I see distrust and sadness, and a bit of a plea for help.
A child who lashes out can benefit from multiple strategies: a more engaging lesson (yes, don't fight it...an engaged person is not a bored person and therefore has no time to think of how irritated/frustrated/angry she is); a glitter bottle; an opportunity to draw or talk about what is upsetting her; or simply some quiet time with a stuffed animal. Seriously. Sometimes even an older child can benefit from that.
A child who lashes out can benefit from multiple strategies: a more engaging lesson (yes, don't fight it...an engaged person is not a bored person and therefore has no time to think of how irritated/frustrated/angry she is); a glitter bottle; an opportunity to draw or talk about what is upsetting her; or simply some quiet time with a stuffed animal. Seriously. Sometimes even an older child can benefit from that.
I am totally serious about this. These things work. I have had Black male 6th grade students taller than me, forget to be badasses in the hallway, to run up and hug me, because they feel cared about. In summer school! Where they're NOT happy to be. Jumping all over each other wanting to be called to spend the afternoon with me again. Because I made glitter bottles with them, treated them like colleagues, talked to them about what it's like to feel real feelings and didn't sugar-coat life. Because I look them in the eye and I see them, and they feel it, and I open myself up and share my own experiences and feelings with them, and you know something? THAT floors them more than anything else.
Let me know in the comments below if any of these strategies, or others, work for you.
xox jkh
Let me know in the comments below if any of these strategies, or others, work for you.
xox jkh
Take a very close look at this picture.
It says a lot, doesn't it? The most powerful statement is in what it doesn't say:
"Girls are withering little princesses who love pink and ruffles and Barbie dolls and play the flute."
We see the impact of social stigma as girls grow up and enter the work force. Tech companies like Google struggle to find women to join their ranks, despite promoting programs like the Women in Tech movement. While the graphic at the left shows that women make up just 30% of the work force at Google, it is even more disappointing when we look at tech jobs. |
Women account for just 18% of tech jobs at Google.
How does growing up with gender-specific clothing and toys translate to jobs, you might ask? Studies suggest they do. This article posted on BBC.com cited a study that found certain toys seem to send the message that "boys should be making things and problems solving, and girls should be caring and nurturing."
Courtney Hartmann is a mom who has launched two lines of gender neutral clothing, designed to give kids a way to express themselves free from gender stereotypes. You can read more about her story in this article on Style.Mic. She decided to launch her brands because of an experience she had shopping for pajamas for her son. She found penguin PJs with very different penguins for the boys than for the girls. The girl penguins had long eyelashes, rosy cheeks, and bows on their heads. The boy penguins were fatter, wore sunglasses and a scarf. |
Think of the message those penguins were sending:
So...girls should wear makeup and have long eyelashes and dress up?! And it's ok for boys to be overweight, as long as they are cool and wear sunglasses. Yay! Is that the basic message we are sending to CHILDREN? Trust me, I'm not overthinking this. It's a very basic, subliminal message that kids take in. They don't even process it. It just...IS. Just like all parents are straight in some (read: most) parts of our country. And most people are white. Right? Because that's what I watch on TV, or see in my neighborhood....? So, if I grow up to be a woman who makes lots of mistakes and can't find her keys and says "like" a lot and talks in a high-pitched voice and moves back in with mom and dad and is a total basket case and speaks in run-on sentences and like, like, like drinks a lot of coffee and can't get her life together, but kind of does, but kind of doesn't, that's like, totally ok, right??? Or maybe I become a doctor. But I can still be obsessed with, like, another doctor and have that, like, ALMOST ruin my career...but that's like, ok, right, because, like, I can like, take time and have a baby....and like, talk to all my basket case nurse and intern friends about it because they like, all nearly lost their jobs over guys too. Right????
Unfortunately, the message a lot of girls get
from our society is that
they have to act like basket cases.
A lot.
And the message a lot of boys get
is that they shouldn't express themselves. Ever.
(Unless it's anger. Anger's OK.)
Kids need a pathway out.
Girls need to see that they have realistic choices and control over their lives, and BOYS...well boys need to stop being judged so harshly for being less-than-burly. I wish I had been given the option of gender neutral clothing when I was a kid. I was SO outside the box, and I was ridiculed for being there, but I didn't really know what to do with myself for a long time. And my hair! OMG. I have crazy curly hair that I didn't cut until I was 21. That really wasn't an option when I was a kid. Girls had long hair. | I am so excited for this next journey for kids. I'm hoping things become easier, at least socially and emotionally. Now to conquer the racial divides we have. I'm hoping that if we can overcome the gender identity issues, maybe the racial thing won't be as daunting as it seems. If you look back up at the Google chart, you'll notice that only 2% (1% tech) of Googlers are Black, and 3% (2% tech) are Hispanic. We have so much work to do. I've got my heart set on Berkeley so I can study Critical Race Theory and put that to use and make a difference. Wish me luck... |
xox jkh
Already we're hearing buzz about what Sir Ken had to say yesterday on the topic of Creativity in education.
http://keranews.org/post/ted-talk-star-says-creativity-key-student-achievement
http://keranews.org/post/ted-talk-star-says-creativity-key-student-achievement
For the last two days, I have had my soul stirred.
I attended the Changing the Odds professional development conference put on by the Momentous Institute in Dallas, and it was a really wonderful experience. While the speakers were presenting, two artists from ImageThink illustrated their ideas:
.I think my favorite speaker, besides Sir Ken (whom I was the most excited about), was Glennon Doyle Melton. I didn't even know who she was until today. Glennon is the founder of Momastery (pronounced like "monastery"), a blog about her experiences being a mom and her struggles with mental illness. She is also an author...but more importantly to me, she is a TRUTHTELLER.
Those of you who truly know me will attest that truth is above all things most cherished to me. I so appreciate the honesty with which Glennon approaches her life! She is the most open person, and it is refreshing. I feel like I haven't met anyone that open and honest and forthright in so long, and I just wanted to run up to her and say, "will you please be my best friend?"
But alas, she is Glennon Doyle Melton and she doesn't even live here, and she also shared that she is an introvert who has a hard time letting people in. At the same time, she was so gregarious and beautiful and seemed so extroverted, and I realized that's how a lot of people see me when I tell them that I feel dark, and introverted, and I have trust issues and I don't like to let people in, and there are times when I'm having a great conversation and I just feel like ending it right then and there and walking out of the room. People look at me funny and tell me they don't believe me when I say that. When she expressed those things today on that stage, I was like, "YES!!! THAT'S ME TOO!"
The talk with Glennon was conducted like an inteview, with Momentous E.D. Michelle Kinder asking the questions. Michelle asked Glennon how we can use what Glennon has learned from her own life struggles with mental illness, to help our children.
Those of you who truly know me will attest that truth is above all things most cherished to me. I so appreciate the honesty with which Glennon approaches her life! She is the most open person, and it is refreshing. I feel like I haven't met anyone that open and honest and forthright in so long, and I just wanted to run up to her and say, "will you please be my best friend?"
But alas, she is Glennon Doyle Melton and she doesn't even live here, and she also shared that she is an introvert who has a hard time letting people in. At the same time, she was so gregarious and beautiful and seemed so extroverted, and I realized that's how a lot of people see me when I tell them that I feel dark, and introverted, and I have trust issues and I don't like to let people in, and there are times when I'm having a great conversation and I just feel like ending it right then and there and walking out of the room. People look at me funny and tell me they don't believe me when I say that. When she expressed those things today on that stage, I was like, "YES!!! THAT'S ME TOO!"
The talk with Glennon was conducted like an inteview, with Momentous E.D. Michelle Kinder asking the questions. Michelle asked Glennon how we can use what Glennon has learned from her own life struggles with mental illness, to help our children.
This would be a signal for the miners to hurry up and get out of the mine.
What Glennon said in the next few minutes absolutely floored me. She said she believes some people are simply born more sensitive to their environment than others.
"Some people are CANARIES. They are more sensitive to the toxins in the air, and they react.
Sometimes they shut down. They stop singing. Sometimes they freak out, and they cry.
In the past, our reaction was to lock them away.
To shut them up. To label them as different,
or crazy, or strange, or 'other.'
But now we are starting to recognize them as 'canaries.' They are the ones who sense the toxins in the air and alert us to something that is actually damaging to all of us;
it's just they're the only ones that know it."
Glennon went on to say that she is a canary. She didn't realize it until much later in life. She covered it up with bulimia and alcoholism and drug addiction and all sorts of things, because she is so sensitive to life that it is painful. Her youngest daughter is also a canary, and she said it makes it very difficult, because canaries like to be the only canary in the room. They are very dramatic. She said it's important to recognize and nurture the canaries and understand that they are simply sensing and reacting to things that are very toxic in the environment, that we all should be reacting and responding to. We need to show them that we value what they are sensitive to and help them to respond in positive, healthy ways.
I am a canary. I love this analogy. I think I have been looking for a description that could capture this extreme sensitivity I feel, which leaves me feeling like a constantly open wound, for a very long time. It's interesting, because my dad calls me "songbird" and that's a great reference, because I feel that my song has often been silenced, and more than once by him. There is also a Dixie Chicks song titled "Top of the World" that refers to a songbird, written from the perspective of a father, that I have always loved.
I think I have an idea for my next tattoo.
One of the last things Glennon said - and it's a conclusion I've come to recently as well - is that she is kind of glad that she has the mental illness she has, because the sensitivity she has is a GIFT. I am very glad I have the sensitivity I have. It drives me to WANT to do what I do every day. It fuels me to work with the children I work with, and not want to work with privileged kids who don't really need me as much. When I go home and cry and fret over the state of a child's life, or the way his mother treats him, I know that I will find a way to make that child's life better. And I know that I will have compassion for the child who comes to class angry as hell and throwing a fit...
I am a canary. I love this analogy. I think I have been looking for a description that could capture this extreme sensitivity I feel, which leaves me feeling like a constantly open wound, for a very long time. It's interesting, because my dad calls me "songbird" and that's a great reference, because I feel that my song has often been silenced, and more than once by him. There is also a Dixie Chicks song titled "Top of the World" that refers to a songbird, written from the perspective of a father, that I have always loved.
I think I have an idea for my next tattoo.
One of the last things Glennon said - and it's a conclusion I've come to recently as well - is that she is kind of glad that she has the mental illness she has, because the sensitivity she has is a GIFT. I am very glad I have the sensitivity I have. It drives me to WANT to do what I do every day. It fuels me to work with the children I work with, and not want to work with privileged kids who don't really need me as much. When I go home and cry and fret over the state of a child's life, or the way his mother treats him, I know that I will find a way to make that child's life better. And I know that I will have compassion for the child who comes to class angry as hell and throwing a fit...
If the air became too toxic, the canary would die.
Just as I was finishing up my last blog post, I received a call from Big Thought asking if I could get to the State Fair in an hour to be interviewed for the local CBS news station about the Curriculum!
Here's the link to the story they aired.
Here's the link to the story they aired.
Why yes, this IS a fried ice cream burger with pickles and bacon. Why do you ask...? | I completely forgot to announce... THE CURRICULUM LAUNCHED!Click here to visit the State Fair of Texas Curriculum site. We worked very hard on it. After writing the Curriculum, I went back through and included a list of Career Connections, based on all the jobs we found or could think of that were related to our four Fair Themes: |
The Cupcake Wars Sessions...So yeeeaaahhh, I'm not ashamed to admit that I developed a bit of a Cupcake Wars obsession while writing the State Fair Curriculum. I would launch Hulu (or was it Netflix?) and just watch season after season and write all night. After about a week and a half, I lost my resolve and needed to actually EAT A CUPCAKE. |
I'm totally not kidding. I can say this: I consumed no more than 7 Sprinkles cupcakes in total, writing the State Fair lessons. Now please go use them so those calories did not go to waste!
The purpose of school is to prepare children for life - and more specifically, work - in the real world. Some people (ok yes, it's me, but I'm not the only one) might argue, however, that school does anything but give kids an experience that comes remotely close to the real deal.
There are so many items on the above graphic that I love and use in conversations about education often, but I think my favorite one here is "Collaborating is not cheating."
Oh, that one is so beautiful. I have always kind of had a problem with the whole busting-the-cheaters thing. I mean, if the cheater cheats off someone who doesn't have the right answer, they're kind of stupid for not finding the right person to cheat off of...so hopefully, lesson learned, right?
But conversely, if the cheater cheats off someone who has the right answer...she just learned something. Like, she sort of collaborated...didn't she? Just in a back-door kind of way.
Oh, that one is so beautiful. I have always kind of had a problem with the whole busting-the-cheaters thing. I mean, if the cheater cheats off someone who doesn't have the right answer, they're kind of stupid for not finding the right person to cheat off of...so hopefully, lesson learned, right?
But conversely, if the cheater cheats off someone who has the right answer...she just learned something. Like, she sort of collaborated...didn't she? Just in a back-door kind of way.
Soooooooo...would it not make more sense to ENCOURAGE collaboration so that EVERYONE learns?
Well, that's exactly what I started doing in the last year I taught elementary music full-time in public school. I started making all my music tests group tests. Kids got in groups of four and collaborated on the answers. There was music reading, writing (notation), dictation, music history, listening, and even singing (that was individual: each kid came up and sang back the notes that were written, after agreeing as a group what they were supposed to sound like).
And you know what? They loved it! And they did well! And you know who else loved it?
And you know what? They loved it! And they did well! And you know who else loved it?
The principal.
He came to observe and thought it was one of the best things he'd ever seen. During an evaluation, he said he loved how it got the kids working collaboratively (what was that, a 21st Century Skill, did you say?) and defending their answers to the group. He gave an example of one student saying to the rest, "No, that can't be Chopin, didn't you hear the violins??? It's not a piano piece, it's an orchestra piece!" The rest of the kids said, "Oh yeah!" and they changed their answer.
Not cheating. Learning.
I'm curious: what if you were to give a test that looked like this:
Use Google to find the answers to the following questions. You are not allowed to copy and paste your answers. Please answer in your own words.
1. How many udders does a cow have?
a. 12
b. 4
c. 5
d. too many to count. Haha, this is the wrong answer. Don't choose this one. JULIO, DO NOT CHOOSE THIS ONE. Seriously, dude.
2. Describe why a cow chews its cud.
3. Tell a joke about why a cow didn't really ever go to Chik-Fil-A.
4. Describe the process of milking a cow, in your own words.
5. Name three differences between a Holstein and a Texas Longhorn.
6. Find something you think is VERY interesting about cows, that you learned from searching Google. Tell me WHY it's interesting. It has to be something you really think is interesting! If I don't believe you, I'll send it back. Convince me. I'm talking to YOU, BERTA.
Use Google to find the answers to the following questions. You are not allowed to copy and paste your answers. Please answer in your own words.
1. How many udders does a cow have?
a. 12
b. 4
c. 5
d. too many to count. Haha, this is the wrong answer. Don't choose this one. JULIO, DO NOT CHOOSE THIS ONE. Seriously, dude.
2. Describe why a cow chews its cud.
3. Tell a joke about why a cow didn't really ever go to Chik-Fil-A.
4. Describe the process of milking a cow, in your own words.
5. Name three differences between a Holstein and a Texas Longhorn.
6. Find something you think is VERY interesting about cows, that you learned from searching Google. Tell me WHY it's interesting. It has to be something you really think is interesting! If I don't believe you, I'll send it back. Convince me. I'm talking to YOU, BERTA.
Wouldn't that be a funny test?! But tell, me honestly: if all your tests were like that, and you had to invest in finding the answers, don't you think you would remember the information you found?
HERE'S HOW WE LEARN IN THE REAL WORLD:
Those of use who are highly functional have one big skill that we have honed expertly. It's called:
"looking stuff up"
Don't know something? Look it up. Usually on Google.
WANT to know something? Look it up! Usually on Google.
Want to learn how to do something? YouTube. Pinterest. Bam, I know how to install a faucet and build a fence.
I use the "Fruit Bat Scenario" a lot to describe our current public education system's obsession with what I view as random content (such as standards like "2nd grade students will identify the habits and habitats of fruit bats"), and a very light-to-nonexistent emphasis on actual skills. I ask you: when were YOU last asked on a job interview - or in a job-related task - about your depth of knowledge of fruit bats?
WANT to know something? Look it up! Usually on Google.
Want to learn how to do something? YouTube. Pinterest. Bam, I know how to install a faucet and build a fence.
I use the "Fruit Bat Scenario" a lot to describe our current public education system's obsession with what I view as random content (such as standards like "2nd grade students will identify the habits and habitats of fruit bats"), and a very light-to-nonexistent emphasis on actual skills. I ask you: when were YOU last asked on a job interview - or in a job-related task - about your depth of knowledge of fruit bats?
"Gee, I'm glad I learned about
the Battle of Waterloo in 7th grade...
I would have been screwed in the last staff meeting!"
NOT.
Jadyn Harris
I am an educator in Dallas. I work with urban public school children and their teachers as a teacher mentor, curriculum writer, and part time music teacher. I have been teaching for 10 years. Click here to learn more.
I earned my MM in Music Education from SMU in 2015 and hope to begin PhD studies in Education in the 2016, with a concentration in Critical Race Theory, Social and Emotional Learning, and Arts Integration in Curriculum & Instruction.
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