topham's attic: workin' for the weekend...

Friday, March 7, 2008

workin' for the weekend...

I think I've never read a story faster in my life than I read Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge today in E2H...if I was not wiped out before that, I certainly am now...

OK...what to do, what to do...

This weekend it's all about the boards:

E3H: the key questions have to do with theme: what is the ultimate message of Oedipus the King? Sophocles probably didn't even believe in the gods, but he created a world view in which trying to avoid their prophecy constituted the height of hubris. You should not/cannot place yourself above the gods, right? Yet we know too (and so did Sophocles) that Oedipud at every step of the way had decisions to make that could have and should have altered the outcome of this play. So in the Great Throw-Down between Fate and Free Will, who wins here? What does this play argue? (Also check the poll in the "Oedipus the King Speech" thread; I'd like your opinion.) Finally, read the play Antigone for Wednesday.

E2H: re-read Ambrose Bierce's An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge in your Short Fiction book. On the Short Stories board, discuss issues you find within that story, but especially talk about foreshadowing and mood. Then read Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher and explore it for the same factors.

Drama: secret spy selection has been moved to Tuesday! We will be discussing and sharing observations on Monday as well as seeing the start of a new project. Next stop after that: Stanislavski. Please note: if anyone has suggestions about the play we'll be dong, let me know (or better yet: bring me a copy of what you have in mind!)...

random thought of the day: There is nothing new under the sun but there are lots of old things we don't know. (A. Bierce)

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, March 7, 2008

workin' for the weekend...

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