What makes a good teacher? and...
Friday, January 2, 2009 at 07:11AM 
Sunrise on the Mayan Coast near Xcalak, Mexico
I am having a tough time getting my mind back to work after it's had a dozen days away. (Why don't they give us Swedes coffee breaks? It takes to long to retrain us.)
This is the first time I can remember feeling that I needed just a couple more days vacation before getting back in the saddle. I am blaming my malaise on upcoming budget cuts, icy roads, sub-zero temps and just having had a really relaxing time in Mexico where I spent less than 20 minutes a day online and sent only 2 e-mails during entire week. And didn't wear a sweater even once. Paradisio...
A few odds and ends...
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The best reason for putting a Creative Commons license on one's work is to see the terrific transformative pieces that derive from it - much that is better than the original. I loved how Mr. McGuire tweaked my post, What Makes a Good Boss into What Makes a Good Teacher. Some interesting parallels.
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I don't think this violates the Blue Skunk Endorsement Policy...
Hi Doug,
... I am working on a community service project @ MIT university. We want to get kids to make videos about SAT vocabulary and create a free and more fun way to prep for the big test. You can view some sample videos at the website we're using http://www.BrainyFlix.com.
To encourage participation, we are going to run a contest and give out a small cash prize to the video that receives the most number of votes from viewers. We'll start accepting video submissions on January 1, 2009.
I was wondering if you would be willing to write a short post about our charity event. The more videos we receive, the more helpful we think we can be! We'd be especially excited to get more representation from Minnesota.
Please let me know. If you have any hangups about doing so, I'd love the chance to address them. I can be reached at jack.yu.is (at) gmail.com.
Thank you and have a happy new year!Jack
Looks like a simple and worthwhile project.
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Jeffrey Cole of the University of Southern California Annenberg School’s Center for the Digital Future found in a 2007 survey that young people 12 to 25 will “never read a newspaper.” Never. from BuzzMachine
Of the LWW's and my four children, only one - the 35-year-old - subscribes to a daily newspaper. And one child is even married to a newpaper editor. How can one start the day without a cup of coffee and newsprint? The LCD display is just NOT the same...
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My 7-year-old grandson Paul is a reader. He pretty much finished an entire Goosebumps novel (Monster Blood for Breakfast, a sensitive memoir of nutrition and the role it plays in personality development, I believe) on Saturday, between swimming, movies and McDonalds stops.
He was about to start his second novel of the day when he discovered Grandpa's iPod had the Spore and CroMag Rally games on it. Pffftttt - reading moved to the back burner. A number of things really surprised me about Paul, technology, and his gaming:
- He remembered my four number iPod password from last Thanksgiving.
- He got my spore Bob through three levels in about 15 minutes, including one that I'd spent the last month working on.
- He was highly articulate about how he made choices in the games he played. He very thoughtfully and patiently explained to Grandpa the logic behind his conclusions. Metacognition of inductive/deductive learning, I believe the professors would call that... And yes, skillful game playing requires intelligence.
- He was a good sport when I whooped him at the board game Sorry which primarily relies on dumb luck.
Comparing me with my grandson ought to be as much proof as anyone needs of evolution.
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Back to more serious matters in future posts.
Remind me again why anyone lives in a cold, cold part of the world.
Reader Comments (6)
Great to get the Johnson fix again. Also your Mayan shot fills me with longing!
I've always wonder if where one lives have to do with their level of creativity. If one lives somewhere beautiful does it help one to be more creative. Or does living in the barren frozen upper midwest make one out of necessity have to be more creative in an attempt to escape the chilly reality? I've heard it argued that concrete makes atheists and you won't find non-believers on islands. I'm curious though.
Stop your whining Johnson. Last week there were 2 days when Saskatchewan was the coldest place on the planet. ON THE PLANET! Besides I also went south over the holidays......to Minneapolis. Kept looking for this but me thinks it's a hoax.
http://descy.50megs.com/Emankato/mankato.html
Happy New Year.
I impressed at the grandson's ability to breeze through the ipod and levels of the game. WOW. News--Myrtle Beach has been b/w 60-75 most days since we got out for Christmas break. I've only worn a turtleneck/sweater twice, and that was well before the break. Contemplating sandals tomorrow for a 75 degree day. Just 3 hours up the road here thought (towards Charlotte, NC) there was a mention of frozen precip, which for us no matter what kind will deplete the grocery store shelves and paralyze most citizens into staying HOME for rest and relaxation. My Mom will crank out soups and stews by the gallons only to have to freeze them in the freezer when our warm clime returns. GLad to see your return to the blog. DID NOTICE the holiday themed banners, so you ventured into this space at least briefly during those wonderful warm holidays you had.
At six this morning my hub and I were discussing how many days were left in the school year. Not a good sign.
Hi Paul,
The Costa Maya shot fills me with longing too - longing to be back there!
Doug
Hi Charlie,
I’ve always thought cold climates bred hard workers for the simple reason that without income, you might freeze to death!
Thankfully our state is beautiful much of the year.
Doug
Hi Dean,
Oh, I still want to whine. It’s the only thing keeping me warm.
Yup, Professor Don Descy’s old Mankato website is one of the oldest hoax sites on the web. Had I only known it was a hoax before I moved here ;-)
Doug
Sure, Cathy, rub it in about the temps.
We are looking at a possible snow day tomorrow, however. I’ll think about you at 6AM when I roll over and go back to sleep if we do.
Nope, didn’t ding at all with the blog from Dec 25 to Jan 1. A record?
Doug
Hi Nancy,
Better, I suppose, than counting down the days until retirement!
Doug