We are going to need to expand the NFL, NBA, NL, AL and MLS.
This is the result of an unscientific, random poll of middle school students who do not think they need an education. They are all going to be professional athletes of some brand. The world will bow down at their feet and call them All Star.
At least that is what they tell me.
The poll goes something like this:
“Get to work.”
“I don’t need an education.”
“Get out your book.”
“I don’t need an education.”
“You are going to fail.”
“I don’t need an education.”
“What makes you think you don’t need an education?”
“I am going to be a professional ________________.”
With this many 13 year olds who are already ready to replace the current stars, my suggestion is that we expand all the leagues to make room for their talent.
homo unius libri
Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship
Welcome to Varied Expressions of Worship
This blog will be written from an orthodox Christian point of view. There may be some topic that is out of bounds, but at present I don't know what it will be. Politics is a part of life. Theology and philosophy are disciplines that we all participate in even if we don't think so. The Bible has a lot to say about economics. How about self defense? Is war ethical? Think of all the things that someone tells you we should not touch and let's give it a try. Everything that is a part of life should be an expression of worship.
Keep it courteous and be kind to those less blessed than you, but by all means don't worry about agreeing. We learn more when we get backed into a corner.
This blog will be written from an orthodox Christian point of view. There may be some topic that is out of bounds, but at present I don't know what it will be. Politics is a part of life. Theology and philosophy are disciplines that we all participate in even if we don't think so. The Bible has a lot to say about economics. How about self defense? Is war ethical? Think of all the things that someone tells you we should not touch and let's give it a try. Everything that is a part of life should be an expression of worship.
Keep it courteous and be kind to those less blessed than you, but by all means don't worry about agreeing. We learn more when we get backed into a corner.
Opus 2015-6: Election 2016: Jeb on Education, part 3 of 3
We hear a lot of talk about standards. Everyone likes to have standards but what do they mean? In history we have gone to many meetings to write standards. The results? We took the old standards and listed them by priority. Instead of having a list of weekly expectations we divided the year up into quarters and had general material to cover. Smoke and Mirrors.
The priorities we already had. I have the standards listed as A, B, C and *. I have had that for years. The quarter approach is the one that we threw out fifteen years ago in the last attempt at “reform.” As far as rigor goes, you be the judge. I have my students write a 5-10 page term paper. I teach research techniques, note taking, outlining and the final product. I have them give an oral report. The new standards want me to have them do travel brochures. Which do you think is designed to challenge and which is designed to dumb down? So far I have been able to ignore the lower expectations.
States already have standards. We have scope and sequence. We have been doing it for years. When I started teaching I was handed an inch thick document that had everything I needed to know in order to teach the subject. They had them for every subject. The problem is not the written standards. The problem is the lack of applied standards. Educators talk about rigor and raising the bar. At an assembly early in the year our students were told that the official school board policy for middle school would be that a student could fail two out of their four core subjects in the last semester and still be eligible for promotion and all the activities. This is their idea of rigor.
Talk is cheap. I am a history teacher. I know that after the Civil War, freed slaves flocked to classrooms to learn and get ahead. It didn’t matter if the class met under a tree. They learned to read. They learned to write. They did it with lots of talk from the Federal government and no financial help. In the one room school house days children learned to read and write in small rooms with little equipment. They did it without long lists of standards and Project Based Learning. The problem is not that we don’t have standards, the problem is we keep making excuses and refusing to enforce those standards.
So in regard to education, Jeb Bush is on the liberal plantation. On other issues? Time will tell.
homo unius libri
The priorities we already had. I have the standards listed as A, B, C and *. I have had that for years. The quarter approach is the one that we threw out fifteen years ago in the last attempt at “reform.” As far as rigor goes, you be the judge. I have my students write a 5-10 page term paper. I teach research techniques, note taking, outlining and the final product. I have them give an oral report. The new standards want me to have them do travel brochures. Which do you think is designed to challenge and which is designed to dumb down? So far I have been able to ignore the lower expectations.
States already have standards. We have scope and sequence. We have been doing it for years. When I started teaching I was handed an inch thick document that had everything I needed to know in order to teach the subject. They had them for every subject. The problem is not the written standards. The problem is the lack of applied standards. Educators talk about rigor and raising the bar. At an assembly early in the year our students were told that the official school board policy for middle school would be that a student could fail two out of their four core subjects in the last semester and still be eligible for promotion and all the activities. This is their idea of rigor.
Talk is cheap. I am a history teacher. I know that after the Civil War, freed slaves flocked to classrooms to learn and get ahead. It didn’t matter if the class met under a tree. They learned to read. They learned to write. They did it with lots of talk from the Federal government and no financial help. In the one room school house days children learned to read and write in small rooms with little equipment. They did it without long lists of standards and Project Based Learning. The problem is not that we don’t have standards, the problem is we keep making excuses and refusing to enforce those standards.
So in regard to education, Jeb Bush is on the liberal plantation. On other issues? Time will tell.
homo unius libri
Opus 2015-5: Election 2016: Jeb on Education, part 2 of 3
Jeb Bush likes merit pay. He is also a diehard supporter of Common Core Curriculum (CCC). The Washington Times examines this in its weekend, print version, November 24, 2014, page 3. It is also on-line. They have different titles. The print versions is, “Jeb Bush maintains support for Common Core.” The on-line proclaims “Jeb Bush doubles down on Common Core, risking conservative ire.” They are different, but you get the point.
As a public school teacher who has been to the indoctrination and meetings, read some of the material and listened to other teachers, I can tell you that Jeb Bush does not know what he is talking about. He speaks as someone who listens to the gurus and consultants in education and shelters himself from the people in the trenches.
He is quoted as saying,
The article shares a half truth.
To be continued...
homo unius libri
As a public school teacher who has been to the indoctrination and meetings, read some of the material and listened to other teachers, I can tell you that Jeb Bush does not know what he is talking about. He speaks as someone who listens to the gurus and consultants in education and shelters himself from the people in the trenches.
He is quoted as saying,
“...they are vital to improving the quality of education and, by extension, improving children’s chances to succeed in today’s economy.”The biggest problem I see with the Common Core Standards is that they are nothing new. They are simply a repackaging of the goal that public education has had for years. I saw it when I started in 1987. I have seen it repeatedly brought back with new smoke, mirrors and jargon. Since most people ignore history and don’t look at the big picture they always think it is new and shiny. Ultimately it is the battle to move from content to process. The big quote you always hear is about rote learning, memorization and repetition not helping people to think. The gurus of education keep up the mantra that it is more important to be able to think than to know the facts.
The article shares a half truth.
“The standards do not constitute a national curriculum; instead, they lay out basic facts and principles that students are expected to master by the end of each grade level.”The half truth is that the entire thrust is on the principles, not the facts. The statement acts like they get equal billing but that is not true. Homework becomes group projects in class. Spelling is unimportant. They are developing software so computers can grade the students writing. Most of what I have seen emphasizes group work. If you are a group of high paid professionals, group work might have a use. I emphasize “might”. Even there it does not always work. For young people it is just a way to pool your ignorance and try to get someone else to get the work.
To be continued...
homo unius libri
Opus 2015-4: Election 2016: Jeb on Education, part 1 of 3
The 2016 election is already in the news. Certain moderate Republicans are being pushed by the media. You hear them constantly referring to Mitt Romney, Chris Christie and Jeb Bush. While I would concede that any of them will be better than Hillary they have areas that make them “hold your nose and vote” candidates for me.
Today I want to look at Jeb Bush in light of his commitment to education. Florida under his watch was one of the few states to see improved test scores. I will give him that. He supported some types of school choice and was in favor of raising standards. I am on board that ship.
We parted company on the issue of merit pay for teachers. He is in favor of merit pay. I think it would be a disaster. This is from memory, so it may not be exact but Jeb Bush has been a long time advocate of merit pay in education. It is one of those ideas which seems good but when you look at the entire picture it falls apart. The big issue is, how do you decide a teacher is doing a good job? Do you let the students decide? They tend to like the teachers that give them parties and lots of fun. Administrators? They are on the upward career path and want teachers that will do what they are told and make them look good.
Some people come down to testing as a means of determining how good a job a teacher is doing. Again, it sounds good, but doesn’t work. How do you measure improvement and compare students and classes? I have five classes. All are different. Most of my failing students are in one class. I have another class in which most are getting “A’s”. When I give a quiz, the class of failing students have large numbers of students who either miss every question or leave the paper totally blank. Is it the teacher’s fault that a student walks in the first day with no ability to read and write and no interest in learning? How do you measure the “improvement” of that class with a group that have their eyes on college? In large schools the better students tend to be given to certain teachers. Of course they look well.
Merit pay does not work.
To be continued...
homo unius libri
Today I want to look at Jeb Bush in light of his commitment to education. Florida under his watch was one of the few states to see improved test scores. I will give him that. He supported some types of school choice and was in favor of raising standards. I am on board that ship.
We parted company on the issue of merit pay for teachers. He is in favor of merit pay. I think it would be a disaster. This is from memory, so it may not be exact but Jeb Bush has been a long time advocate of merit pay in education. It is one of those ideas which seems good but when you look at the entire picture it falls apart. The big issue is, how do you decide a teacher is doing a good job? Do you let the students decide? They tend to like the teachers that give them parties and lots of fun. Administrators? They are on the upward career path and want teachers that will do what they are told and make them look good.
Some people come down to testing as a means of determining how good a job a teacher is doing. Again, it sounds good, but doesn’t work. How do you measure improvement and compare students and classes? I have five classes. All are different. Most of my failing students are in one class. I have another class in which most are getting “A’s”. When I give a quiz, the class of failing students have large numbers of students who either miss every question or leave the paper totally blank. Is it the teacher’s fault that a student walks in the first day with no ability to read and write and no interest in learning? How do you measure the “improvement” of that class with a group that have their eyes on college? In large schools the better students tend to be given to certain teachers. Of course they look well.
Merit pay does not work.
To be continued...
homo unius libri
Opus 2015-3: Links: Scary Info on Taxes
Most people who read my posts have already read what Gorges has to say. Just in case you have not and are concerned about taxes, check out what he has posted. He links it from a Facebook page and since I avoid Facebook I will just give you his.
Scary stuff.
homo unius libri
Scary stuff.
homo unius libri
Opus 2015-2: A Dirty Story
I have never been overly bothered by dirt. My wife calls me a “messy”. She stole the term from a book she read. It seems to fit.
A good example comes from school. I arrived early, entered my room, sat down at my desk and got to work. Later another teacher came in and the first words out of his mouth were, “What happened to your wall?” I was mystified so I walked across to see what he was talking about.
The janitors used my room to park an electrical cart and charge it over night. That usually was no problem but it seems that last night someone’s foot got stuck on the accelerator and the cart had bounced of the side wall, rushed across the room and hit on the other side. Whoever was driving did not clean up the mess. The two holes were matched by piles of rubble on the floor. I had stepped across one as I came through the door. I had no clue. When they were pointed out, they were obvious. I had not noticed them. Why the custodians had not cleaned them up, I have no idea.
You see my problem.
I am also beginning to wonder if part of my problem with dirt is that I can’t see it. I have always worn glasses and am a bit color blind. Today I suddenly noticed what looked like spots on the clock by my chair. It was a trick of lighting that made them stand out. When I brought the clock within range I noticed that it was a mess. I dug out my lens cleaning materials and made it shine. It had obviously been a long time since it had been tended to. I look at it many times a day and saw nothing.
My wife gripes about mold in the shower. I have found that if I look before I shower I can see spots to scrub at. If I wait until I take off my glasses and get in, I see no problem. Even when I know it is there I have a hard time seeing it.
As I get older and my wife gets less inclined to clean up after me I am getting more involved with the problem. I am not sure which is more a problem, caring or seeing. I am part of that group of men who ask, “Why make the bed, I am just going to get in again tonight.” Or, “Why fold my underwear, I am just going to use it again.”
Pray for my wife. She is a neatnik.
homo unius libri
A good example comes from school. I arrived early, entered my room, sat down at my desk and got to work. Later another teacher came in and the first words out of his mouth were, “What happened to your wall?” I was mystified so I walked across to see what he was talking about.
The janitors used my room to park an electrical cart and charge it over night. That usually was no problem but it seems that last night someone’s foot got stuck on the accelerator and the cart had bounced of the side wall, rushed across the room and hit on the other side. Whoever was driving did not clean up the mess. The two holes were matched by piles of rubble on the floor. I had stepped across one as I came through the door. I had no clue. When they were pointed out, they were obvious. I had not noticed them. Why the custodians had not cleaned them up, I have no idea.
You see my problem.
I am also beginning to wonder if part of my problem with dirt is that I can’t see it. I have always worn glasses and am a bit color blind. Today I suddenly noticed what looked like spots on the clock by my chair. It was a trick of lighting that made them stand out. When I brought the clock within range I noticed that it was a mess. I dug out my lens cleaning materials and made it shine. It had obviously been a long time since it had been tended to. I look at it many times a day and saw nothing.
My wife gripes about mold in the shower. I have found that if I look before I shower I can see spots to scrub at. If I wait until I take off my glasses and get in, I see no problem. Even when I know it is there I have a hard time seeing it.
As I get older and my wife gets less inclined to clean up after me I am getting more involved with the problem. I am not sure which is more a problem, caring or seeing. I am part of that group of men who ask, “Why make the bed, I am just going to get in again tonight.” Or, “Why fold my underwear, I am just going to use it again.”
Pray for my wife. She is a neatnik.
homo unius libri
Opus 2015-1: Switching from Santa Claus to Father Time
Father Time is a kind of Santa Claus for New Years. Instead of giving him a list of presents desired, we make a list of resolutions targeted.
As I was reading in Proverbs a few days ago, I came across a passage that I want to be my theme for the year.
It is so easy to live in extremes. That is why I think it is easier to be a recovering alcoholic than to be a recovering glutton. You can live without alcohol. You cannot live without food. With alcohol it is total. You always say “No.” With food it is a matter of knowing when to stop. In politics it is easy to take an extreme stand. On occasion that is warranted. Often it is not.
So my goal for the year is to be extreme in my obedience to the Living God and use that obedience to give me balance in other areas.
Have a happy, blessed and balanced New Year.
homo unius libri
As I was reading in Proverbs a few days ago, I came across a passage that I want to be my theme for the year.
(Proverbs 30:7-9 NAS77) Two things I asked of Thee, Do not refuse me before I die: Keep deception and lies far from me, Give me neither poverty nor riches; Feed me with the food that is my portion, Lest I be full and deny Thee and say, "Who is the LORD?" Or lest I be in want and steal, And profane the name of my God.The Bible teaches balance in so many areas of life. Here is it summed up in “Give me neither poverty nor riches.”
It is so easy to live in extremes. That is why I think it is easier to be a recovering alcoholic than to be a recovering glutton. You can live without alcohol. You cannot live without food. With alcohol it is total. You always say “No.” With food it is a matter of knowing when to stop. In politics it is easy to take an extreme stand. On occasion that is warranted. Often it is not.
So my goal for the year is to be extreme in my obedience to the Living God and use that obedience to give me balance in other areas.
Have a happy, blessed and balanced New Year.
homo unius libri
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