tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775Wed, 28 Dec 2011 17:03:52 +0000OPACClarence FisherTom BrokawChinaDr_Chris_Moerschhigh-stakes testingSticklerpollAppleposterousmiddle schoolISTEchimpRay SchroederJon BeckerMr. RogersINFJESLE-School NewsDavid WarlickmyspaceDavid WeinbergertalentfacebookSonicsKSUdefeatRobert Newton PeckJay McTigheKen RobinsonNECC2008scott adamsPurdyNumaNumaGEN_YESinterviewSeth GodiniTunescoachingSamantha BrownbloggingconferencesgoogleChieftechnologyGilbert HghetGoogleDocsmedia centerSteve HargadonLCDMartin Luther King Jr.courosagenocidesubject headingscensorshipClay ShirkySteven RahnMcTighecreativityRobert MagerlibrarianshahloSticklersmedia specialistmultitaskWebQuestGoogleSitespodcastsNECCgangsteachingsocial networkSocial StudiesNegroponteNYTHeroLynn HieronymusimaginationEdutopiaquestionVicki DavisnetworksmetacognitionValdosta StateLarryFerlazzofreerice.comcowbelledtechtwitterGhandiTrackfearwritingTracey UllmanTravel ChannelgmailfilteringmobileJeff UtechtRoom 755San AntonioSheryl Nussbaum BeachStandardsWith HonorsGoogle DocshypocracyRicMurrygiftMARClibraryDiscoveryAdministrationMary FrostPhotoshopviral videoSylviaMartinezClusterMapELLWoodland Park High SchoolLearning is Messyweb 2.0iPodTeacherTubeteacherThink_DifferentcynicprofessionalEducon2.0Dan RoamClintonConstitutionChris PirilloZohofireworkscameraCarl ChewBusheconomyFaculty Loungewater rocketsfilterteacher prepbullyingWes FryerMrs. DurffTerra CottaKathy SierraFlip VideoMaster GolfMichaelWeschLessigJoe PescidifferentiationVSUMarch MadnessMcCainSNLpersuasionLincoln Christian CollegeTrack and FieldITcritical thinkingchangeeinsteinskypeGary StagerETTCAl Uptonad4dcssSeattleinstructional technologywordleBitStripKarl FischBitStripsNingMiguel GuhlinEducatorBlogShakespearePresidentArthusback to schooljuly 4InternetDigital immigrantvisionDid You KnowMalcolm GladwellGeorgia StandardsYouTube21st Centurygift cardTeam Hoyteducational changelifeHigh MuseumHistory ChannelMarshall McLuhanDENchattanoogaRick ScheibnerPhilMickelsonethicsCann Hall Primary SchoolcellphoneearthMyers-BriggsbooksaccountabilitycollaborationdeathimmigrationelectionsshoppingJordan MurryRobert Langthinking routinesresolutionNetShareNBAJohn MayeryearbookcrocodilemotivationJane NichollsWASLBrian CrosbyProfessor MarvelvideoPete ReillyoutsourceLoTItraining2008dinosaurreadinginformationholidaypublic educationMarkCubanClayShirkyESOLmemoryDarfurcomputersMLKteaching as a subversive activityiPhoneinternet safetyDarrenKuropatwapodcastingScottLehmanSylvia MartinezKen BlanchardeducationTED Conference 2008cogdogblogPatricia DonaghyThanksgivingMayaQuestflockBlooms taxonomyinspirationpaloozaheadinclusioninauguration speechplanningCelestMarc PrenskyGrantDavidPogueRoger Skankstandardized testinglearningClay BurreliPod TouchJim ValvanoRoom755Stephen DownesmathvodcastingDean Shareskicell phoneiSquintiRovrComicsChris HarbeckGaryStagerTom_MarchWill RichardsonSex-edPlatoLiz KolbOLPCDilbertScottMcLeodSheryl Nussbaum-BeachTEDBernie DodgeMarchMadnessIllinibasketballWesley FryerRic MurryLiteracy CollaborativeComicDr. Jane ZahnerGASStephen RahnWilliam CranshawUnderstanding by DesignemotionsportsAbileneChristian Universityorigamiblogshumoreducation technologydogsstorytellingautismWhale DoneWesFryerBloggerPink FloydClayBurelleducation reformcatalogingGADOEsocial networksUbDScott McLeodJohn F. Kennedydigital nativeKevin HoneycuttBarak ObamaWillRichardsonGrant WigginsDan MeyerSocratesfunintegritytestingedublogger surveyAl FrankenconstructivismChris LehmanChensimplicityMacBookCRCTTEDTalkPSAwikiodepersonality profileSlashdotbrain developmentNCLBcinquainRaphaelevolutionWhite Men Can't Jumpshamescience vs. artonline safetylesson planspedagogyelementary schoolwikisglobalwarmingClay BurrellscienceteachersnetiquetteJonathan BeckerDaniel PinkIMAPe-rateDoug JohnsoncommunicationblogSimpsonsNew YorkerDarren KuropatwaIranAristotlehigh stakes testtaggingrevolutionSherylNussbaum BeachTim HoltprogressT-MobileAnne SullivanmoneyFrom asking questions that require an answer To asking questions that require a conversation.http://ydouask.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)Blogger477125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-2371712597096977826Sat, 14 Aug 2010 21:42:00 +00002010-08-14T16:42:42.931-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'>Friday the 13th of August was our first day of school.  It was a 1/2 day.  And frankly, it was a little messy.  Oh well.  As long as students got my invitation letter to their class&#39;s Parent Night, I&#39;ll be happy...and if they have their supplies on Monday.<p /> Here&#39;s what coming this week.<p /><b>Monday</b> - I&#39;ll be introducing the class and some procedures for class.  They will also set up their Composition Books for the year.  <p />I always do something to demonstrate how I run my class.  I am gong to introduce the clip below - &quot;It&#39;s the hard that makes it great&quot; from Tom Hanks&#39;s speech to Geena Davis in A League of Their Own.  Teaching 7th grade (for 15 years now) I am seeing how important it is for students to understand that it does get more difficult to do well (or it should) in school.  But it is the hard work, the struggle, that will separate my students from the crowd (not just in our building, but in our region, state, and country).  I do expect my students to be different and behave differently.  So here&#39;s Tom Hanks to help.  <p /> <object height="417" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ndL7y0MIRE4&hl=en&fs=1" /></param><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ndL7y0MIRE4&hl=en&fs=1" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="417" width="500"></embed></object><p /><b>Tuesday</b> - We&#39;ll begin looking at our connecting themes for the year.  The first one, and the one I come back to nearly every day, is Conflict leads to Change.  And generally speaking, change is what starts the conflict, so it is a cycle.  I do introduce a bigger hook, that it is their world to make a difference.  My generation messed it up, and their generation will have to clean it up.  Odd thing: I think they will do it.  I think our young generation will see through the stupidity of my generation (consumerism, status, environmental disregard, and testing to determine value) and change it.  If they don&#39;t...<p /> Today, I&#39;ll let Adam Sandler help me introduce the concept of conflict.<p /><object height="417" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_ZpDnXYIFjo&hl=en&fs=1" /></param><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_ZpDnXYIFjo&hl=en&fs=1" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="417" width="500"></embed></object><p /><b>Wednesday</b> - Our second theme is Culture; what it is, what difference it makes in society.  This is always fun for me, because our school has had students who were born in over 50 countries around the world.  Traditions, religion, customs, cuisine, and language is something our students naturally understand.  We have a good time comparing the beauty and weirdness of our cultures and families.<p /> I use Fools Rush In and My Big Fat Greek Wedding to compare and contrast cultures.<p /><a href="http://dms7ss.pbworks.com/Culture+-+Video+of+Mexican+and+Greek+Culture" target="_blank">http://dms7ss.pbworks.com/Culture+-+Video+of+Mexican+and+Greek+Culture</a><p /> <b>Thursday</b> - Students have an assignment early in the week to find out as much as they can about where their family is from (heritage), why they live in Dalton, and what brought their families to the region.  Today we look at Human-Environment Interaction, Location, and Movement as themes for the year.  This introduces them to the idea that people live where they live for a reason, at least when they have the freedom of movement.  This becomes a great hook when we look at Darfur, apartheid, Mao&#39;s China, and other times of closed societies.  No videos today.  I introduce rules for class discussions and reflections today.<p /> <b>Friday</b> - The concept today is Governance.  We look at the wording of the Declaration of Independence and discuss why governance is important in society.  We learn throughout the year that when there is no governance chaos ensues.  People create chaos because the see opportunities for power.  Eventually, the citizens get tired of the fighting, killing, and unrest and (in the countries we study) generally cave in to tyrants. <p /> I&#39;ll draw something like I did in this video.<p /><object height="417" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WIl73NMoaek&hl=en&fs=1" /></param><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WIl73NMoaek&hl=en&fs=1" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="417" width="500"></embed></object><p />That should make for a busy and rewarding first week.<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://room755.posterous.com/coming-up-this-week-in-room-755">Room 755</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-2371712597096977826?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/08/coming-up-this-week-in-room-755_14.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-6478936996565903308Sat, 14 Aug 2010 21:19:00 +00002010-08-14T16:19:01.606-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'>Friday the 13th of August was our first day of school.  It was a 1/2 day.  And frankly, it was a little messy.  Oh well.  As long as students got my invitation letter to their class&#39;s Parent Night, I&#39;ll be happy...and if they have their supplies on Monday.<p /> Here&#39;s what coming this week.<p /><b>Monday</b> - I&#39;ll be introducing the class and some procedures for class.  They will also set up their Composition Books for the year.  <p />I always do something to demonstrate how I run my class.  I am gong to introduce the clip below - &quot;It&#39;s the hard that makes it great&quot; from Tom Hanks&#39;s speech to Geena Davis in A League of Their Own.  Teaching 7th grade (for 15 years now) I am seeing how important it is for students to understand that it does get more difficult to do well (or it should) in school.  But it is the hard work, the struggle, that will separate my students from the crowd (not just in our building, but in our region, state, and country).  I do expect my students to be different and behave differently.  So here&#39;s Tom Hanks to help.  <p /> <object height="417" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/ndL7y0MIRE4&hl=en&fs=1" /></param><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/ndL7y0MIRE4&hl=en&fs=1" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="417" width="500"></embed></object><p /><b>Tuesday</b> - We&#39;ll begin looking at our connecting themes for the year.  The first one, and the one I come back to nearly every day, is Conflict leads to Change.  And generally speaking, change is what starts the conflict, so it is a cycle.  I do introduce a bigger hook, that it is their world to make a difference.  My generation messed it up, and their generation will have to clean it up.  Odd thing: I think they will do it.  I think our young generation will see through the stupidity of my generation (consumerism, status, environmental disregard, and testing to determine value) and change it.  If they don&#39;t...<p /> Today, I&#39;ll let Adam Sandler help me introduce the concept of conflict.<p /><object height="417" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_ZpDnXYIFjo&hl=en&fs=1" /></param><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_ZpDnXYIFjo&hl=en&fs=1" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="417" width="500"></embed></object><p /><b>Wednesday</b> - Our second theme is Culture; what it is, what difference it makes in society.  This is always fun for me, because our school has had students who were born in over 50 countries around the world.  Traditions, religion, customs, cuisine, and language is something our students naturally understand.  We have a good time comparing the beauty and weirdness of our cultures and families.<p /> I use Fools Rush In and My Big Fat Greek Wedding to compare and contrast cultures.<p /><a href="http://dms7ss.pbworks.com/Culture+-+Video+of+Mexican+and+Greek+Culture">http://dms7ss.pbworks.com/Culture+-+Video+of+Mexican+and+Greek+Culture</a><p /> <b>Thursday</b> - Students have an assignment early in the week to find out as much as they can about where their family is from (heritage), why they live in Dalton, and what brought their families to the region.  Today we look at Human-Environment Interaction, Location, and Movement as themes for the year.  This introduces them to the idea that people live where they live for a reason, at least when they have the freedom of movement.  This becomes a great hook when we look at Darfur, apartheid, Mao&#39;s China, and other times of closed societies.  No videos today.  I introduce rules for class discussions and reflections today.<p /> <b>Friday</b> - The concept today is Governance.  We look at the wording of the Declaration of Independence and discuss why governance is important in society.  We learn throughout the year that when there is no governance chaos ensues.  People create chaos because the see opportunities for power.  Eventually, the citizens get tired of the fighting, killing, and unrest and (in the countries we study) generally cave in to tyrants. <p /> I&#39;ll draw something like I did in this video.<p /><object height="417" width="500"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/WIl73NMoaek&hl=en&fs=1" /></param><param name="wmode" value="window" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/WIl73NMoaek&hl=en&fs=1" allowfullscreen="true" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" wmode="window" height="417" width="500"></embed></object><p />That should make for a busy and rewarding first week.<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/coming-up-this-week-in-room-755">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-6478936996565903308?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/08/coming-up-this-week-in-room-755.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-4877059749501414257Sat, 07 Aug 2010 18:09:00 +00002010-08-07T13:09:15.848-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'>When I put together my lessons, I try to put myself in the students&#39; chair.  So a couple years ago I approached each lesson with the following flow:<br /><ol><li><b>What&#39;s Up?</b> - What is the issue, situation, circumstance about which we are learning?</li> <li><b>Who Cares?</b> - Finding articles, pictures, information resources that will capture, keep, or expand the attention of a 13-year-old.</li><li><b>So What?</b> - What difference does it make that I now have this information as part of who I am?</li> <li><b>Now What?</b> - What, in your life will be changed because of what you now know?  If it doesn&#39;t change a life, why teach it?<br /></li></ol>I will continue to use these Guiding Questions, because they work - when I do it right.<p /> I have been working for over two years, though, to create an approach for <b>ELL students</b> to cover their needed <b>Read/Write/Listen/Speak</b> opportunities (which I also think are necessary for most students.  I have categorized reading and listening as <b>Input</b> and writing and speaking as <b>Output</b>.  <p /> This year, I am concentrating on making a <b>transition from a focus Teaching Practice to a focus Learning Practices</b>. I have developed my personal <b>Three Rs</b> for my students.  Learning, as I see it for an adolescent student, is based on Daniel Willingham&#39;s research that says (in effect):<br /> <ol><li><b>The brain</b> is not designed to think, it <b>is</b> <b>designed to remember</b>.  <br /></li><li>Learning Styles may account for 2% of differing brain preferences, but <b>98% of all brains learn in the same manner</b>.</li> <li>The <b>material</b> (not the student) should <b>determine the method the teacher uses to provide Input opportunities</b> (my words) for students.<br /></li></ol><b>My Three Rs</b> - with activities to bolster the learning process:<br /> <ol><li><b>Reception</b> - Reading, Listening, Watching, Observing</li><li><b>Reflection</b> - Thinking, Diagramming, Doodling, Discussing, Questioning</li><li><b>Response</b> - Writing, Speaking, Drawing, Publishing, Creating, Building, Modeling</li> </ol>My personal process of learning includes these activities.  For me, and many of the edubloggers I have read for years, this sums up their process as well.  I spend the majority of my time in the Reflection phase.  <b>For a middle school student (not exclusively) I believe Reception, the building-up of knowledge and experience is needed most</b>.  <p /> Response is something most people never do.  I would like to think this will change, because it is easy to make happen now with blogs, YouTube, Facebook.  People obviously want a &quot;voice&quot; but too often they have nothing really important to contribute.  <p /> So, in text format, I see the following process for learning:<p /><b>Input = Reception<br />Churning = Reflection<br />Output = Response</b><p />Over the past two years, I have learned our new curriculum and standards.  I have tested my teaching practice.  This year, the focus will be on helping students develop their voice about things in life that matter.  Students will Receive much of the same information, in the same or similar ways as in the past two years, only more concentrated.  Students will have more time in class to Reflect.  Homework will be time for Reflection as well; I used to call it ThinkWork (and still might).  Homework and classwork will include much more time for Response than in the previous two years.<p /> Any thoughts?  Please share.<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/my-new-three-rs">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-4877059749501414257?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-new-three-rs.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-4958821095690756861Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:23:00 +00002010-08-05T12:23:43.742-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'>On January 18, 2010 I posted <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/why-teachers-should-friend-students-online">Why Teachers Should &#39;Friend&#39; Students on Facebook</a>.<p />It has had over 10,000 visits, counting my Posterous and two Blogspot blogs.  It started (or continued) a conversation about the relationships between teachers and students.<p /> Yesterday, was the third anniversary of John&#39;s untimely death.  His friends, and yes me too, miss him.  When I saw some of his friends (my son was one of them) post remembrances on the Facebook status, I had to take a break, a deep breath, wipe away a tear, and say a prayer for his mom and dad as well as his sister and brother (both of whom I taught).<p /> As I prepare for the new school year, I have asked former students to help me as I am doing something for the first time.  I am having Parent Nights for each of my five classes; kind of a private open house.  I will need translators to communicate with many of the parents.  I went to Facebook, asked for help in my status update, then sent Private Messages to a few former students.  The response is overwhelming.  Remember, I teach middle school, so there are a few years that separate my time with the ones I have asked. So, I wasn&#39;t sure anyone would be willing to help a teacher they haven&#39;t seen in 5-10 years.<p /> Students who have graduated college are coming to help me.  Students are helping before they go back to college.  Students are willing to drive from over an hour away to help me too.  Then I had two high school seniors who asked what they could do to help.<p /> When we as teachers see that our students are people who will contribute now, and stop with the &quot;they have potential&quot; sentiment, then we will make the differences we hope to see in our schools.  Thanks Facebook, for helping me (daily) recall that education is about relationships, not just curriculum.<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://room755.posterous.com/my-biggest-post-ever-why-teachers-should-frie">Room 755</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-4958821095690756861?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-biggest-post-ever-why-teachers_05.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-6660222187189681628Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:23:00 +00002010-08-05T12:23:27.522-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'>On January 18, 2010 I posted <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/why-teachers-should-friend-students-online">Why Teachers Should &#39;Friend&#39; Students on Facebook</a>.<p />It has had over 10,000 visits, counting my Posterous and two Blogspot blogs.  It started (or continued) a conversation about the relationships between teachers and students.<p /> Yesterday, was the third anniversary of John&#39;s untimely death.  His friends, and yes me too, miss him.  When I saw some of his friends (my son was one of them) post remembrances on the Facebook status, I had to take a break, a deep breath, wipe away a tear, and say a prayer for his mom and dad as well as his sister and brother (both of whom I taught).<p /> As I prepare for the new school year, I have asked former students to help me as I am doing something for the first time.  I am having Parent Nights for each of my five classes; kind of a private open house.  I will need translators to communicate with many of the parents.  I went to Facebook, asked for help in my status update, then sent Private Messages to a few former students.  The response is overwhelming.  Remember, I teach middle school, so there are a few years that separate my time with the ones I have asked. So, I wasn&#39;t sure anyone would be willing to help a teacher they haven&#39;t seen in 5-10 years.<p /> Students who have graduated college are coming to help me.  Students are helping before they go back to college.  Students are willing to drive from over an hour away to help me too.  Then I had two high school seniors who asked what they could do to help.<p /> When we as teachers see that our students are people who will contribute now, and stop with the &quot;they have potential&quot; sentiment, then we will make the differences we hope to see in our schools.  Thanks Facebook, for helping me (daily) recall that education is about relationships, not just curriculum.<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/my-biggest-post-ever-why-teachers-should-frie">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-6660222187189681628?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/08/my-biggest-post-ever-why-teachers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-6977625192327242199Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:32:00 +00002010-08-04T14:32:43.683-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'>only<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://room755.posterous.com/test-to-class-page">Room 755</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-6977625192327242199?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/08/test-to-class-page.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-8379604509429808968Wed, 28 Jul 2010 23:12:00 +00002010-07-28T18:12:47.602-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'>Here&#39;s the article.  It sounds wonderful.  Elementary school teachers who teach kids more than preparing for the &quot;TEST&quot; and teach them &quot;patience, discipline, manners, perseverance&quot; have students who grow up to make $320,000 more than kids who don&#39;t learn these traits.  Further, the study show that test scores have very little effect on the amount of money the kids make in their future.  <p /> Sounds great in light of the Test &#39;Em Till They Drop (Out) mentality our government has been proposing.<p />BEWARE!  This is a smokescreen!  The article is <b>not about paying teachers $320,000</b>, it is <b>about how most teachers won&#39;t need to be paid more than minimum wage</b>.  The governments can then save millions of dollars on what currently takes up at least 50% of most state budgets (public school budgets).<p />DON&#39;T BE FOOLED HERE!<p />Hidden in the final sentences (where readers likely will not continue to read), you will read this:<p /><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"> <i><b>They can pay their best teachers more, as <a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=11pacgq8a/**http%3A//www.post-gazette.com/pg/10166/1065651-298.stm">Pittsburgh soon will</a>, and give them the support they deserve. Administrators can fire more of their worst teachers, as Michelle Rhee, the Washington schools chancellor, <a href="http://us.lrd.yahoo.com/SIG=12ptvhftr/**http%3A//www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/23/AR2010072303093.html">did last week</a>. Schools can also make sure standardized tests are measuring real student skills and teacher quality, as teachers’ unions have urged.<br /></b></i></blockquote><div><br />Here&#39;s what I see as a stage-setting:  <br /><ul><li><b>Wholesale firings</b> will become the norm.  <br /></li><li>Student <b>test results</b> will be used even more <b>to assess teacher</b> performance.</li> <li><b>National standards</b> will be required by states in order <b>to receive</b> any significant <b>federal funding</b> (extortion).</li><li>A <b>national standards-based test</b> will become the instrument of assessment.</li> <li>THEN, <b>national scope and sequencing of curriculum</b> will enter the picture.  All schools, grade levels, and disciplines will be on the <b>same calendar</b> regardless of the location in the country.<br /></li><li>The &quot;<b>effective teachers&quot; will record</b> their lessons. &quot;Teachers&quot; (paid barely minimum wage) will push play in their classrooms and provide tutoring to their students, based on the recorded presentation (probably in a Microsoft program - so Gates can make his money).</li> <li>The &quot;teacher as curator&quot; (as <a href="http://www.buzzmachine.com/2010/03/08/tedxnyed-this-is-bullshit/">Jeff Jarvis predicted</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rTOLkm5hNNU">hoped for</a> at TEDxNYED 2010) will make it so the income of a para-pro is what teachers will make, and the teacher/creators will make a living wage, and likely not have a classroom of kids as the record their lessons for national consumption.</li> <li>Teaching will not be, or even need to be, a profession.  Perhaps an associates degree might be required, because teachers won&#39;t need to think.<br /></li></ul>I hope I&#39;m wrong.  But one of my strengths according to personality inventories and skill inventories is that I can take information from a wide variety of sources and find the connections that make it all make sense.  <p /> I hope I&#39;m wrong.  This is a very pessimistic view of where we are heading.  As George Will said, &quot;<b>The nice part about being a pessimist is that you are constantly being either proven right or pleasantly surprised.</b>&quot;<p />I hope to be pleasantly surprised.<i><br /></i></div><p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/the-320000-teacher-lie">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-8379604509429808968?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/07/320000-teacher-lie.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-9183896396342997343Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:59:00 +00002010-07-26T15:59:39.872-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'><a href="http://interacc.typepad.com/.a/6a01053596fb28970c011571241546970b-400wi">http://interacc.typepad.com/.a/6a01053596fb28970c011571241546970b-400wi</a><p />Let me start with some things I think we must come to grips with:<br /> <ol><li>Testing isn&#39;t going anywhere, and is likely going to increase.</li><li>There will always be an unfair advantage for some students when all students are tested with the same measurement instrument.</li><li>There will always be those who use test results for purposes the tests were never intended to measure.</li> <li>The arguments for and against testing in education (like many things in education) sway too far to the extremes.</li></ol>My Situation:<br /><ul><li>I teach in a school whose city at one time had the distinction of having the most millionaires per capita in the United States.  We also led the nation in divorce rate and Coca Cola consumption at that time.  We (Dalton, GA) are the Carpet Capital of the World.  We no longer hold any of those &quot;honors.</li> <li>When the flooring industry was growing, the need for workers increased (basic economics and human capital). This created a dilemma for the community.  There were young people available to do the jobs (according to one of the wealthiest men in the business), but because the young people came from millionaire families, the jobs were &quot;beneath them.&quot;  Therefore, workers from outside the area were needed.</li> <li>The decision was made to recruit people with textile skills.  They came from Mexico.  There was also a rather large poultry industry in our area, which made it more appealing for Mexican families to migrate to our community.</li> <li>When I began teaching in Dalton in 1996, and did my student teaching in the Spring of 1995.  During my student teaching the Hispanic population was listed as &quot;other&quot; meaning it was less than 2% of the total population</li> <li>I received my rosters for the upcoming school year, and at the time of this writing I have 126 total students.  80% are Hispanic, 11% are White, 5% are African American, and 4% are Asian.  I teach on the ELL team, so I realize my numbers are skewed, but not much.  We are a school system of about 68%-70% Hispanic, and we are growing because we are a city district, and in hard economic times people move into the cities (not to the suburbs or surrounding counties).</li> </ul>My Dilemma:<br /><ul><li>I love my students.  I have taught over 5000 students in my 15 years (spent 5 years teaching an Exploratory Computer class and taught nearly every student in the school for those years).  I am teaching little brothers and sisters of earlier students.  I actually will be teaching a child of one of my first students in a year.  <br /> </li><li>I want the best for my students, and I want them to gain those &quot;unfair advantages&quot; when it comes to opportunities.  I want them ready for college (if they choose to attend).  I feel bad for my students who want to become mechanics or home construction workers (contractors), and other high level &quot;service&quot; careers because most of these classes have been removed from our offerings.  So I believe I have the obligation to begin preparing my 7th graders for the likelihood they will need to attend technical college to get the job they want.</li> <li>I also want my students to enjoy their school experiences.  I like school.  I liked school, though not everything about high school was good for me, it was still a good experience.  I want my students to enjoy learning, and to get that opportunity they need to get in classes with the better teachers.  It&#39;s a reality anywhere. I suppose that&#39;s the argument for firing &quot;bad teachers&quot; that is all the rage among the Michelle Rhee types.</li> <li>It would be naive to think that student test scores do not influence scheduling, and in order to decrease drop-out rates I have to do what I can to get my kids&#39; scores as high as possible.</li><li>It would be a derelict of duty to neglect the task of preparing my students to take tests (not just the 7th grade CRCT) but their future tests that will determine their opportunity to get into college.</li> <li>So I have to prepare my students for testing.  I have to be sure that they possess the necessary skills and knowledge to score well.  I have to motivate students, not by test scores, but by helping them see that without high test scores they will be systematically and intentionally denied opportunities to pursue their personal happiness in life.</li> </ul>My Approach:<br /><ul><li>In order for me to accomplish my goal of preparing my students for the best they can attain in life, I have to prepare them for tests I don&#39;t believe in.  I have to get beyond this fact.<br /> </li><li>I have to get my students to believe and understand that in order to win they have to play the game better than the ones who created the rules. To me, that is the sad state of education in America.</li></ul>My Hope:<br /> <ul><li>I hope that one of my students will one day have the influence on policymakers, or become a policymaker who will have the outlook and sense enough to know we are working with children, and we are stealing their innocence and love of learning because of what adults think education is.<br /> </li></ul><p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/reality-check-to-test-or-not-to-test-or-what">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-9183896396342997343?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/07/reality-check-to-test-or-not-to-test-or.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-7682124077952412556Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:54:00 +00002010-07-26T13:54:24.592-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'><a href="http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2010/07/race_to_top_finalists_unveiled.html">http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2010/07/race_to_top_finalists_unveiled.html</a><p />The Race To The Top (RTTT), or as I like to consider it, the Sell You Soul for the Almighty Dollar Grant finalists for Round 2 of the competition.  I&#39;m sure my state (Georgia) will be a finalist, and likely be awarded because our government leadership (another oxymoron?) has little in the form of good ideas for anything, and since education is so far down their list of true concern, we have all but surrendered to the power of the national leadership (another oxymoron?).<p /> Seems that the prefix &quot;oxy-&quot; should mean &quot;many.&quot;<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/announcement-tomorrow-from-daddy-duncan">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-7682124077952412556?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/07/announcement-tomorrow-from-daddy-duncan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-7344832937239653582Sat, 24 Jul 2010 18:26:00 +00002010-07-24T13:26:41.534-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/0tHDAtqFEWeARdC31O0LU9LY6MnHGoFuDqrqCwV5VvPS82KzzEGMlLXbf8Yi/photo.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/zLimDMAAni91posFGrM948FjOKWLgqJ9bxo3Fi7W8wT7eF9XbHMR5ViYCjrD/photo.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <p>iPhoned <br /> From R. Murry</p><p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/quote-from-martin-buber-at-the-bodies-exhibit">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-7344832937239653582?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/07/quote-from-martin-buber-at-bodies.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-392686540878961384Sat, 24 Jul 2010 17:48:00 +00002010-07-24T12:48:18.118-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/tj6vmFAYekLFZJzpIvqmSl5Cqu8Km370rESsCtAHKNAOTub1fi5RDl1xBF5x/photo.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/mW8NXiwwaLgkQUa1oIPGUYCkW1psdlIvZhAvwPwFduAfb31VmiTuktZ6oYid/photo.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="667"/></a> <p>iPhoned <br /> From R. Murry</p><p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/standing-in-100-degree-heat-to-see-this-exhib">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-392686540878961384?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/07/standing-in-100-degree-heat-to-see-this.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-382847930391043316Wed, 07 Jul 2010 18:17:00 +00002010-07-07T13:17:00.764-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'>Very interesting proposition, especially for college level. But it is happening in these "poorly conceived" online courses we are seeing in offerings from most states. Their purpose is wrong, the design is benign, and the classes I've seen are unimpressive. <p /> <br /><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jodi-beggs/how-video-will-likely-cre_b_636114.html">http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jodi-beggs/how-video-will-likely-cre_b_636114.html</a> <p /> <br />iPhoned <br /> From R. Murry<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/jodi-beggs-how-video-will-likely-create-rathe">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-382847930391043316?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/07/jodi-beggs-how-video-will-likely-create.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-3950714110465347211Sun, 04 Jul 2010 03:30:00 +00002010-07-03T22:30:30.143-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'><p><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/wxHlGnEaJfcrbxfCtrBnbftlyFljjjlsunzBpwtFisnAbradbvEzdaoDjqHa/IMG_0139.jpg.scaled1000.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/wxHlGnEaJfcrbxfCtrBnbftlyFljjjlsunzBpwtFisnAbradbvEzdaoDjqHa/IMG_0139.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="500" height="667"/></a> </p><p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/fireworks-2010-pops-in-the-park-chattanooga">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-3950714110465347211?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/07/fireworks-2010-pops-in-park-chattanooga.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-3515752611706352757Sun, 04 Jul 2010 01:12:00 +00002010-07-03T20:12:41.053-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/XXV01GNdJjRPcmjAQMhuLACkiIMPHZoFE5CPzdj3gBziV9pzjqEVos3izFKG/photo.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/gdAchjSSzXQZexQWFmzW2sG3dcpGkWsMTVh5PWupwoN5eHpSbIo6p5QUhWya/photo.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <p>iPhoned <br /> From R. Murry</p><p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/about-30-minutes-until-fireworks">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-3515752611706352757?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/07/about-30-minutes-until-fireworks.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-7914834761755009503Sat, 03 Jul 2010 23:34:00 +00002010-07-03T18:34:26.104-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/kzOG9scrTIe6qNCdV0p9MvxXqEYkVSp8yfnsRmX4NWsIGW6GmPeuVFwToE9n/photo.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/EJwMW4qwGbZQRFcdAS00MsFU6CJAdfnKpew8sIsEmZdjoffUuEOoMmFWIviL/photo.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="667"/></a> <p>iPhoned <br /> From R. Murry</p><p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/sitting-on-the-walking-bridge-in-chattanooga">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-7914834761755009503?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/07/sitting-on-walking-bridge-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-3863563783809619554Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:34:00 +00002010-07-01T10:34:53.183-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'>Okay, I&#39;m just playing here.  But...<p />Revelation 8 (The trumpets of the Apocalypse):<p /> <sup class="versenum">10</sup>The third angel sounded his trumpet, and <b>a great star</b>, <b>blazing like a torch</b>, <b>fell from the sky</b> on a third of the rivers and on the springs of water— <sup class="versenum">11</sup>the name of the star is Wormwood.<sup class="footnote" value="[&lt;a href=&quot;#fen-NIV-30823a&quot; title=&quot;See footnote a&quot;&gt;a&lt;/a&gt;]">[<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Revelation%208&amp;version=NIV#fen-NIV-30823a" title="See footnote a">a</a>]</sup> A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter. <p /><br /><a href="http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-461896">An article from iCNN</a><p />Scientists say:<p /><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"> Gulf of Mexico sea floor has been fractured “beyond all repair” and our World should begin preparing for an ecological disaster “beyond comprehension” unless “extraordinary measures” are undertaken to stop the massive flow of oil into our Planet’s eleventh largest body of water.<br /></blockquote><br />Then:<p />A great star:<br /><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/bbtjgHrcFqxzmcekqEeulBFavwyEpzhfGrpifuxBCjHfAsgmHFngbsszfuIf/media_httpthebsreport_xrHhr.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="320" height="420"/> <p /> Blazing like a torch:<br /><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/puEnHstuqnIBysBlErnvhqhsHoDivprIuoodaluogFowBxFgrEkmACkwBHpC/media_httpwwwtreehugg_xAlbc.jpg.scaled500.jpg" width="468" height="351"/> <p />Fell from the sky:<br />BP&#39;s stock has gone from a year high of $60/share in late April to the mid $20/share range this week-the low for the year. (You have to trust me on the picture below.  Taken from <a href="http://www.marketwatch.com/investing/stock/BP">Market Watch</a> site)<br /> <img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/IlCbFuaAEisvInaIetyCJDJvcdGiHGcrzkHrCwxvlFwgzsvsgcxcucjnozil/media_httplh5ggphtcom_rgqoh.png.scaled500.png" width="325" height="180"/> <p />I&#39;ve never mixed crude oil into my water, but bitter sounds about right.<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/gulf-of-mexico-bp-and-bitter-water">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-3863563783809619554?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/07/gulf-of-mexico-bp-and-bitter-water.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-4437567872676633339Thu, 01 Jul 2010 14:17:00 +00002010-07-01T09:17:48.619-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'><a href="http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2010/06/23/36assessment.h29.html?tkn=PVPFjRXbVqeo2BSmw1NUtmgXaNMr2ut50v%2FI&amp;cmp=clp-edweek">Education Week</a> reported the contest for testing companies has begun, and $350 million is up for grabs in the &quot;How much can we exploit from the lives of our young people&quot; challenge.<p /> In an effort to make it sound as if they are going to make changes in the way students are assessed, the competing &quot;consortia&quot; (new buzz word that sounds really smart) claim that there will be components<p /> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"> ...to provide participating states with formative-assessment tools and data-management systems to help administrators and parents access student-performance information over the course of the year and to help teachers intervene and adjust instruction as it occurs.<br /></blockquote><br />They will then have a culminating &quot;computer-adaptive&quot; assessment at the end of the year.  Oooohhhh.  Using computers instead of bubble sheets is such a great advancement in assessment measures.<p /> Here&#39;s my favorite part:<br /><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"><p>And although both consortia would use some form of selected-response questions on their year-end accountability measures, they underscored that their states would explore the use of “technology enhanced” items that gauge higher-order critical-thinking abilities, rather than rely solely on multiple-choice questions that don’t lend themselves to measuring those skills. </p><p>Such abilities might be measured, for instance, by using items that require students to interact with on-screen features, such as a graph.</p></blockquote> NO WAY - You mean all I have to do is teach my kids to read a GRAPH and that&#39;s considered &quot;higher-order critical-thinking abilities!? I&#39;ve been working way too hard, if &quot;interacting with an on-screen graph&quot; is considered &quot;high and critical&quot;  That&#39;s all we&#39;re getting for $320 million dollars of federal grant money!?  <p /> Oh, my bad...It&#39;s going to be shown on a computer screen.  Now I understand the difference.<p />My second favorite part of the article:<br /><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;"> <p><i>Education Week</i> obtained the three proposals from the consortia in advance of the application deadline, after officials at the Education Department said they could not make the applications immediately available online. The education department also received a fourth application, from a Texas-based organization called Free to Be, but that application listed no states as consortium members, a required eligibility criterion for the competition.</p><p>Experts familiar with the applications noted the similarities between the two larger consortia’s submissions.</p><p>“They look a whole lot alike,” said Scott Marion, the associate director of the Dover, N.H.-based Center for Assessment and a consultant to officials in both the SMARTER Balanced and PARCC groups. “They started with very different visions and ended up converging.” <br /></p></blockquote> <p>Let me translate, if I may be indulged...There are three companies who want this money (a fourth, from Texas, who can&#39;t get other states to buy-in). To get the money, they must show how they would do things differently.  So what did they end up with, the same ideas, that are really no different than what we are already doing, except it is on a computer instead of paper.  Now that&#39;s reform we can all believe in.<br /> </p>Mr. Marion consulted with the competing consortia, and wonders why there is converging ideas. I want to know more about Scott Marion.  I know nothing of him, but I wonder what connections he already had to Harvard University, Arne Duncan, Bill Gates, The Walton Foundation, The Broad Foundation, and others trying to take over public education for personal gain.<p /> <a href="http://www.dianeravitch.com/">Diane Ravitch</a> explains the <a href="http://www.schoolsmatter.info/2010/03/ravitch-on-nclb-corruption-charters-and.html">Billionaire Boys Club</a> and the fraud that is occurring in public education.<p /> Have we forgotten the sage advice - Follow The Money?  It&#39;s the paradox of public education.  For years educators have argued that they are underpaid, yet other are getting wealthy off the business of public education in America. <p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/the-reason-behind-common-core">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-4437567872676633339?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/07/reason-behind-common-core.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-5371508966888513231Sat, 26 Jun 2010 20:27:00 +00002010-06-26T15:27:02.728-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'><object height="541" classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" width="500"><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="src" value="http://www.personalizemedia.com/media/socmedcounter.swf" /><param name="name" value="myMovieName" /><embed name="myMovieName" src="http://www.personalizemedia.com/media/socmedcounter.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="541" quality="high" width="500"></embed></object><p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/how-much-is-happening-on-the-web">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-5371508966888513231?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/06/how-much-is-happening-on-web.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-3442571978634292989Fri, 25 Jun 2010 15:54:00 +00002010-06-25T10:54:19.643-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'>It&#39;s difficult to give full meaning (and there complete understanding) in the 140 character limit of Twitter.  But I&#39;ve been giving it a go on this concept of &quot;achievement gap&quot; as it has been defined (and therefore limited) in the context of educating young people.<p /> <blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); padding-left: 1ex;">From Wikipedia - <i><b>Achievement gap</b> refers to the observed disparity on a number of educational measures between the performance of groups of students, especially groups defined by gender, race/ethnicity, ability, and socioeconomic status.<br /></i></blockquote><br /><b>Etymology</b> - The word <i><b>achieve</b></i> comes from the Latin, <i><b>caput</b></i> (meaning <i>head</i>) and then Old French - <i><b>chief</b></i> (<i>end, head</i>).  <p /> <b>Definition</b> - The meaning is To carry on to a final close; to bring out into a perfected state; to accomplish; to perform...<p /><b>My disdain for the use of Achievement Gap in k-12 education</b>:<p />Before I list my reasons, let me pose this question: <b>When should anything in K-12 be at a point of &quot;a perfected state?&quot;</b><p /> <b>First</b>, these &quot;measures&quot; are almost exclusively standardized tests.  When you see the plural, it really means more than one test has been given to &quot;demonstrate&quot; that some kids do not score as well as others, and there is consistency in the kids who do not do well.  Written (and circle-coloring) testing is too narrow a measurement for something as important as our children.<p /> <b>Second</b>, these tests are given to children.  This, in my mind, is where I have the problem with the term &quot;achievement&quot; in describing the discrepancy of the test results among kids.  With no disrespect intended, we are talking about kids; kids who have had no opportunity to ACHIEVE anything in life because...well, they are kids.  Sure, some young people will accomplish some extraordinary feats, but that is why they are considered &quot;extra&quot;ordinary.<p /> How many possible extraordinary actions have we missed because our kids were too busy worrying about scoring in the upper 5th percentile of a test that will not dictate personal success in actually accomplishing anything of substance?<p /> Sadly, when kids see their results and they do not do well, this is not as much of an indication of what the kid has done in the past as much as it affects what the child will do in the future...they will BELIEVE THEY CANNOT ACHIEVE in their future.  This &quot;self-fulfilled,&quot; &quot;other-induced&quot; prophecy is what disturbs me.  Students give up when there is no reason to do so.  The emphasis (and blind, religious zealousy) on testing is crippling the potential of people before they are even teenagers!  <p /> Kids are <b>attending</b> school, but they have <b>dropped out by the 5th or 6th grade</b>, because they have been told they are not &quot;achieving&quot; at the same level of their peers.<p /><b>Third</b>, adults who are concerned with the education of children usually have good intentions, but they know not what they do when they use the words they use.  In this case, the use of the word &quot;achievement gap&quot; is used to say some kids do not perform as well as others on a test.  As adults we think we know what all kids at a given age should know...because we are adults with an education, the ones on the good side of the achievement gap.  Yes, I am implying a level of pomposity in the process of creating tests which the educated believe to be &quot;fair to all kids.&quot;  Call it what it really is - <b>TESTING GAP</b> - then I&#39;ll be quiet about this issue.  We are ripping the hearts and spirits out of our kids!  If you don&#39;t see it or believe it, I have an open invitation to spend two days with me in my class.<p /> <b>Fourth</b>, by segregating the data, we think that we can identify the children who need more help.  Here&#39;s what is really happening. We have created categories of children based on gender, race, and economics so we can maintain their rightful societal places, secure stereotypes, and create a permanent underclass.  <p /> Yes, more kids are &quot;passing&quot; the tests, but the students are not fooled.  They still know if they can read and understand what they read.  The students know if they really understand Algebra at the age of 13.  <p /> Further, I have a futuristic concern for the kids who are coming out on the positive side of the testing.  I have watched tests get easier and easier in order for schools to meet &quot;Annual Yearly Progress.&quot;  <p /> Some students are not working very hard at all, but they are testing at very high levels.  They are forming a false sense of accomplishment and &quot;achievement.&quot;  They have yet to achieve anything of substance in life.  Although they will now be given opportunities that others will not be awarded, as if tests demonstrate ability, value, or contribution to humanity.<p /><b>Fifth</b>, Adults are fooling themselves into believing our kids are prepared for their next level of life and school, when they see test results.  Why do kids drop-out?  All kinds of reasons, but my guess is that the students who drop out are smart enough to know they are playing a game adults call school, and they are tired of the game.  These &quot;false negatives&quot; we call test results are not revealing the cancer that permeates the lives of our nation&#39;s kids.  <p /> So what is my approach to help my 7th grade students prepare to succeed in life (and on tests)?<br /><ol><li>I know my material.</li><li>I get to know my students and what motivates them. <br /></li><li>In general, middle schoolers are rebels and like to prove others wrong.  They are competitive. So I set my kids up against the enemy - adults who make them take these tests (politicians, testing companies, future teachers and admins).  I&#39;ll explain this below.</li> <li>I do whatever it takes, as long as it is ethical, to get my kids to know the content.  I will not cheat for them or cheat them out of a real education.</li></ol>EXPLANATION: Item #3 can easily be misinterpreted, so here is what I let my kids know.  <b><p /> Politicians</b> are using kids to get elected.  Test scores can be used either way.  Incumbents use good score to show that they are responsible for better schools.  Challengers use bad test scores to show they will do something different (like Obama did).  Either way, nothing really changes, except that kids will be used to get politicians elected. <p /> <b>Testing Companies</b> must create tests that politicians will use in their states to get elected.  This means that in order for tests to be considered valid and reliable, not every student can pass (or meet the standard).  If every child passes, then the test is too easy, and politicians will not contract with that testing company.  A certain number of students are not meant to pass.  It is intentional.  So they will use words that make them sound smart, that kids will not know: not content words, but words or idioms in the question.  <p /> For example, &quot;What conclusion can you draw from this photograph?&quot;  There is no Spanish equivalent for this idiomatic phrase, so ELL students from Mexico are looking to literally draw a something.  Is that considered &quot;racially biased?&quot;<p /> <b>Future Teachers and Administrators</b> do not know the kids they will have, so many of them make judgments based on test scores and punitive records (I also don&#39;t like the term &quot;discipline&quot; when it is punishment, but that&#39;s another post for another time).  The scores you get from tests will determine which classes (and which teachers) you will get in the future.  If students want the good teachers, the fun teachers, the teachers who will care about them, then getting good test scores is necessary.  It is the game of school they must play.  It&#39;s a shame, really, but we are all human, and we have been conditioned to judge students on their scores.<p /> Final thought: To borrow from, and update Dr. King:  I have a dream that one day my students will be judged not on the results of their test scores but on the resolve of their commitment to personal excellence.<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/achievement-gap-discussion-better-explanation">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-3442571978634292989?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/06/achievement-gap-discussion-better.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-5691818874795307814Thu, 24 Jun 2010 19:35:00 +00002010-06-24T14:35:29.443-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'>You can read his article <a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109896/5-big-blemishes-for-the-apple-iphone-4">here</a>.<p />Here are my reasons for not buying an iPhone.<p />1.<br />2.<br />3.<br />4.<br />5.<p /> There you have it.<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/response-to-scott-moritzs-article-on-why-not">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-5691818874795307814?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/06/response-to-scott-moritz-article-on-why.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-6510213286589636551Mon, 14 Jun 2010 02:09:00 +00002010-06-13T21:09:42.267-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'>I had to get this down so I wouldn&#39;t forget.<p />I&#39;ve been to <a href="http://www.riverbendfestival.com/">Riverbend</a> to see Sheryl Crow and Alison Krauss, and other bands on the side stages.  I love music...nearly any kind of music.  <p /> My wife and I talked about how some musicians really work hard to bring the crowd into their show.  <p />Sometimes they play popular songs...like Alison Krauss and Union Station played for nearly an hour before playing &quot;Man of Constant Sorrow&quot; from the movie Oh Brother, Where Art Thou.  The crowd, since they a) weren&#39;t familiar with Krauss&#39;s songs, b) have grown up with no appreciation of the work that others do, and c) have little respect for those around them, was too loud and disruptive until the familiar song was played.  Then, everyone sang along, as if they were lifelong fans.  [Hypocrites.]<p /> A couple years ago, The Steve Miller Band was at Riverbend.  They were great.  The crowd was singing nearly every song they played.<p />It made me wonder a few things about teaching and the interaction between a teacher and students.<br /> <ol><li>Why doesn&#39;t a teacher record everything done in class, post it online as an &quot;albums&quot; based on their units of instruction?</li><li>Why do many teachers believe they have to change things from year to year to keep the material fresh, when an audience in a concert prefers (and is more engaged in) the stuff that is familiar to them?  How can we make our content somewhat familiar to our students?  I know...<br /> </li><li>Why don&#39;t schools offer &quot;summertime school&quot; for kids to watch the videos of the upcoming year to get an idea of what is coming their way.  Like downloading songs of the artist you are going to hear in a month?</li> <li>Why don&#39;t we make homework a viewing or listening of the material that is coming in the near future to introduce students to the content before it is formally presented to them in the &lt;strike&gt; concert &lt;/strike&gt;classroom?</li> </ol>I know many teachers do not want to be considered &quot;entertainers&quot; in their classrooms, but it was sure amazing to me how many people KNOW the lyrics to songs from 20-30 years ago.  That seems more like something that was <b>learned</b> <b>and not just memorized.</b><p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/teachers-working-like-musicians">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-6510213286589636551?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/06/teachers-working-like-musicians.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-7587746171549839187Mon, 14 Jun 2010 01:27:00 +00002010-06-13T20:27:48.567-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'><a href="http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100613/ap_on_re_us/us_grading_teachers">Colorado takes bold move in education reform</a>....who are we kidding....nothing bold, nothing earth-shattering, nothing will change, except the amount of government expenditures as high quality teachers leave the classrooms, and are replaced with entry-level government automatons.<p /> Teachers, like any profession, are comprised of great ones, good ones, temporarily unproductive ones, and incompetent ones. I have no problem with saying that.  It&#39;s true of lawyers, doctors, politicians, salespeople, athletes, etc.<p /> Here&#39;s my problem with all the garbage in reform talk for schools.<p /><b>For years teachers have no say in <i>what</i> they can teach and decreasing say in <i>how</i> they can teach, and it will get much worse before anyone realizes it&#39;s mediocrity the current reformers are aiming to achieve.</b><p /> A modest, yet serious proposal.<p />Give <b>me</b> a say in what I (the trained professional teacher, who is serious about teaching and learning, and hasn&#39;t run away from the job) think is important for my students to learn.  By &quot;give me a say&quot; I do not mean gather a hand-selected representation (which usually does not represent me anyway) to develop wimpy, underclassed standards.  <p /> Let <b>me</b> provide the state with what I will teach.  Let <b>me</b> decide the most appropriate form of assessment for my students.  Then <b>stay out of my way</b> while I prove that my kids can learn, will learn, and will be motivated to do things way beyond the silliness of the weak standards (sometimes even incorrect ones) and election-gimmick test scores.<p /> For teachers who are learning the craft of teaching, give them some government-provided, indoctrination-driven curriculum until the new teachers decide if the career of teaching is even something they care about doing for more than the three-year average.  Once they prove they can teach that junk, then allow tenure to mean that they can write their own curriculum, complete with assessment tools, for approval.<p /> For teachers who do not want to work on their own, and have no problem with government drivel, they can continue to use the standardized approach to education.<p />For those of us with the gumption to disagree publicly with where our country is headed in the arena of education, let us prove that we can take public education students and make them as competitive as the private-school politicians and their kids.  Competitive is the correct word, right? It is a race, right?<p /> Oh, wait...perhaps that&#39;s why our government is trying to ruin public education...it is a race, and we provide too big a threat to our politicians&#39; and big business&#39; children and grandchildren in the mart of competitive commerce and politics.  <p /> Can you tell I&#39;m getting tired of it all?<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/heres-a-problem-with-school-reform-efforts">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-7587746171549839187?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/06/here-problem-with-school-reform-efforts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-2702251373029638509Sun, 13 Jun 2010 01:02:00 +00002010-06-12T20:02:54.579-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/81BqubqI8Ch2zY6ZLFp6ZAQmFeMoSSROl1GLhlT4haBjX5qpvtNfnVvLLr0O/photo.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/eoAFXJ50EWa2RidS84rrkAW6WPsjzG8OO8E2RCEriNVIdUrt4XXs7JUc0Var/photo.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="375"/></a> <p>iPhoned <br /> From R. Murry</p><p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/sky-before-alison-krauss-concert-at-riverbend">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-2702251373029638509?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/06/sky-before-alison-krauss-concert-at.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-4932381347280808211Sat, 12 Jun 2010 02:55:00 +00002010-06-11T21:55:54.363-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'>Especially when it obvious. Sheryl Crow loves what she does. She gets better as her concert goes on. There is pleasure on her voice and her face when she sings and plays. Simply amazing! <p /> iPhoned <br /> From R. Murry<p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/it-is-always-a-pleasure-to-see-someone-do-wha">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-4932381347280808211?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/06/it-is-always-pleasure-to-see-someone-do.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30878775.post-7488120097759169740Sat, 12 Jun 2010 00:55:00 +00002010-06-11T19:55:02.941-05:00<div class='posterous_autopost'>On the riverfront for Riverbend 2010 in Chattanooga. Found a guy who sells/makes African drums. Planning to buy one tomorrow for my classroom.<p><a href='http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/dzcIE7j1LOQWFHqtM94tugGe6dxIm5MWv5tKKm4QTm5TIB5jhOyNC5bVk0CP/photo.jpg'><img src="http://posterous.com/getfile/files.posterous.com/rrmurry/fQ9nnus7CvoE6ADKCGPrdfUatSBaZEBKXt1lZyOn4q8jwjywLcxGmP9lbtsi/photo.jpg.scaled.500.jpg" width="500" height="667"/></a> </p><p>iPhoned <br /> From R. Murry</p><p style="font-size: 10px;"> <a href="http://posterous.com">Posted via email</a> from <a href="http://rrmurry.posterous.com/seats-for-sheryl-crow">Murry's World</a> </p></div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><img width='1' height='1' src='https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/tracker/30878775-7488120097759169740?l=ydouask.blogspot.com' alt='' /></div>http://ydouask.blogspot.com/2010/06/seats-for-sheryl-crow.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Ric Murry)0