What an Odd/Sad Piece of EC Ning History
28-Nov-09
That guy with the student who died in a car crash her senior year was me.
Last night a few of the folks from Jim Burke’s English Companion Ning met. In person.
Donalyn and I arrived early. A few folks were there ahead of us. By the time Jim arrived, there were about 50 people. There were a lot of “so-great-to-meet-you” hugs going around. Jim thanked everyone for helping to grow the Ning. He shared a few stories of teachers connecting online—the funny ones (“help, the stack of papers on my desk has been sitting there for months…ungraded”) to the not-so-funny ones (“a student of mine was killed in a car wreck and I need support”). He also said that publishers are loving the ECN book club. (Hmmm…wonder why?)
via The Book Whisperer.
I’m thinking here about Bill Gates’ idea that he could tape the most skillful teachers’ “lectures” (Bill’s word) and use them to teach large groups of kids–or show other teachers how to improve their practice.
There are lots of things wrong with that concept, of course. What’s missing is the active, dynamic relationship between teacher, student and material. While we share ideas, strategies, materials, prompts and techniques, we don’t really share lesson plans, because we don’t really know each other’s students. And that’s something you can’t buy and sell.
via TLN Teacher Voices: Should a “Lesson Plan Marketplace” Concern Us?.
Cesar Millan as Child Discipline Hero
26-Nov-09
Why don’t parents just exert the amount of authority they need to make sure kids can be successful in a world occupied by other people? Treating kids like dogs is appealing, but only if you want your kids to be submissive, compliant, affectionate, selfless, and a little stupid.
“When we started watching his shows, we had intended to apply his advice toward our dogs,” said Amy Twomey, a blogger on parenthood for The Dallas Morning News who is raising three children under 10 with her husband, Matt. “But we realized a lot of ideas can be used on our kids.”
via Parents Are Borrowing From Cesar Millan, the Dog Whisperer – NYTimes.com.
“Third Places” Defined
25-Nov-09
Characteristic Definition
Neutral Ground Third places are neutral grounds where individuals are free to come and go as they please with little obligation or entanglements with other participants.
Leveler Third places are spaces in which an individual’s rank and status in the workplace or society at large are of no import. Acceptance and participation is not contingent on any prerequisites, requirements, roles, duties, or proof of membership.
Conversation is Main Activity In third places, conversation is a main focus of activity in which playfulness and wit are collectively valued.
Accessibility & Accommodation Third places must be easy to access and are accommodating to those who frequent them.
The Regulars Third places include a cadre of regulars who attract newcomers and give the space its characteristic mood.
A Low Profile Third places are characteristically homely and without pretension.
The Mood is Playful The general mood in third places is playful and marked by frivolity, verbal word play, and wit.
A Home Away from Home Third places are home-like in terms of Seamon’s (1979) five defining traits: rootedness, feelings of possession, spiritual regeneration, feelings of being at ease, and warmth.
Table 1. Oldenburg’s (1999) eight characteristics of “third places”
via Where Everybody Knows Your (Screen) Name: Online Games as “Third Places”.
I hate this cultural literacy crap that does not take into account discourse communities. This is just a way to shame parents and students.
“The words we suggest,” says senior editor Steven Kleinedler, “are not meant to be exhaustive but are a benchmark against which graduates and their parents can measure themselves. If you are able to use these words correctly, you are likely to have a superior command of the language.”
100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
File this under “I Should have Known.”
Prescription is typically contrasted with description, which observes and records how language is used in practice, and which is the basis of all linguistic research. Serious scholarly descriptive work is usually based on text or corpus analysis, or on field studies, but the term “description” includes each individual’s observations of their own language usage. Unlike prescription, descriptive linguistics eschews value judgments and makes no recommendations.Prescription and description are often seen as opposites, in the sense that one declares how language should be while the other declares how language is. But they can also be complementary, and usually exist in dynamic tension. Many commentators on language show elements of both prescription and description in their thinking, and popular debate on language issues frequently revolves around the question of how to balance these.
via Linguistic prescription – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Tweckle twekul vt. to abuse a speaker only to Twitter followers in the audience while he/she is speaking.