topham's attic: tgif again

Friday, November 14, 2008

tgif again

And so we come to the end of another week!

And tonight's forecast includes...ugh...snow. (Is it too late to move to Hawaii?)

Clarification for E3H:

About the prospectus for tech portfolios: If you have ideas that you want to try out, first see me about them and let's talk for a bit to find out if they are tenable. Then you may proceed to writing the prospectus, which should be an essay of about two pages that clearly outlines both what you plan to do and how it will cover all of the portfolio requirements. You should then email me the essay.

and while i'm at it...

E3H:

OK, we're going to be in Asher Lev until it's done, so bring your books on Monday. As for this weekend, I'm putting some information on the E3H page for you to peruse. (It is under "Asher Lev info.") Use it as you will to enhance discussions on the board, which at this point need to become a lot more focused. Also, go onto the WW boards and continue the thread started by Arnett that has different writers telling a continuous story. And while you're at it: start a few more! Also, go to the Wikicab board and the Official List Playground: start playing with the official list words. Use them! Build songs, poems, rhymes, stories, games, puzzles, etc. around them. Be creative!

E2H:

We will be in Our Town until it is done, so bring your books on Monday. Go to the E2H page to find a categorized list of lines from the play; use these to enhance and focus your online discussions. Also, go to the Writing Workshop board and someone begin the thread in the new board I have created called "class story." Write a paragraph of a story. Set it up. Be descriptive and careful. Then let it go so someone else can continue it! (Be careful! Someone could be writing at the same time you are!) Also, go to the Wikicab board and the Official List Playground: start playing with the official list words. Use them! Build songs, poems, rhymes, stories, games, puzzles, etc. around them. Be creative!

CW:

Working on revisions, working on getting conferences, working online on the continued stories that we discussed in class today. Have a great weekend!

before i go, here's the most famous song from melanie, the one she wrote at and about woodstock:

j: if the spirit moves
music: gathering of spirits--carrie newcomer
silly 70's: brand new key--melanie

--kt

Notes to Parents

8/24/14

Hi, everyone, and welcome back to another (or your first) year at LFHS.

What you have heard is true. The English teacher has lost her ever-loving mind and is not going to be giving any grades at all in her classes this year. Not. One.

There will be no percentages, no numbers, no scores, no letters, no anything that will count toward anything that will end up being averaged for a final grade. But before you call in the men with the white coats, let me explain:

As I hope you have read in the doc your son or daughter (I have always hated the phrase "your student" when addressed to a parent) should have showed you, there is a wealth of research that indicates that grades--or the need to achieve them--are the single greatest thing that stand in the way of a great education. Studies show that the most influential thing a teacher can do to help a student grow academically is to allow him or her to self-grade. Most teachers would rather climb Mt. Everest dressed only in a swimsuit.

But the thing is: our academic system is severely broken. We say that our goal is to get our students to master Common Core Standards, and that is all well and good. But if that is truly the goal, then why do we care how long it takes them to master them? I'm serious. Think about it this way:

Try to remember back to when you were learning how to ride a bike. Oh, it was scary. You needed all kinds of support at first, lots of help from Daddy or Mommy. Then they let go and you were very, very wobbly. Probably you fell off, maybe several times. It took quite a while before you completely mastered the skill. But when you had...you had it down perfectly for the rest of your life.

Now imagine if you were being graded on that learning experience the way schools grade you. We would not score those first scaffolding attempts with Mommy and Daddy, but then...oh, you failed those quizzes when you fell off. And those wobbly rides? C's at best. Then a bunch of B's probably before you finally settled into 100% forever. But if we graded you right at that point, you'd probably average, oh, 83% or so. Why? You've mastered the skill perfectly. So why do you not get 100% if that is what we say we care about? Why on earth do we care about all those earlier times when you didn't have it down yet?

That will be what we go for here. Students will know what the goals are. They will understand what an "A" student looks like. And they will know when they have mastered an objective. Those who do so earlier than others will become tutors to those who have not yet done it: everyone gains from this and the newly learned skills, instead of being quickly forgotten as things studied for a test usually are, will continue being applied as masters tutor their classmates.

That is an awful lot to imagine will happen because I don't give grades this year, but what the heck: if you don't dream big, you never win big, right? The research is behind this, as is the school administration. I'm happy--well, actually I am excited--to pilot this concept at LFHS. As always, I'm glad to discuss this or anything else with you.

Karen

Feel free to email me any time at ktopham@lfschools.net.

topham's attic

Friday, November 14, 2008

tgif again

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