Science in Pictures: 2010

Popsci has put together "The Most Amazing Science Images of 2010."  Take a look through and tell me which one you find most amazing.

Pressure in high school

The New York Times, prompted by the documentary "Race to Nowhere," looks at the mounting pressure high school students face to accomplish more in order to achieve "academic" success and recognition.  In their section Room for Debate, they have invited a number of people to weigh in on the issue.  Please link to their section Stress and the High School Student and read at least two of the essays presented.  When done, please choose one to post a comment to.  When finished we will discuss in class.

How Does America Rank?

In an article from the December issue of Atlantic Monthly, Amanda Ripley looks at the growing gap between the U.S. and other nations in academic excellence.  In her article, Your Child Left Behind, Ripley looks at the results from the Programme for International Student Assessment where America scored far below a number of Asian and European nations. 

 In the past these types of results have been explained away by differences in who gets tested and the types of tests administered.  However, this article shows that the PISA not only is a more accurate measure of critical thinking and reasoning, but she goes on to break down the comparisons state by state.  Please take the time to look at the interactive graph that is included with the article.  The conclusions are troubling to me as an educator and I would welcome your thoughts on how it relates to you as students. 

When finished reading her piece, please offer your comments and we will also discuss in class.

Lincloln and Pericles

Over the weekend students in the English III class were to read Abraham Lincoln's The Gettysburg Address.  While hopefully being familiar with this document from History class, we will be analyzing it rhetorically.  Obviously it is historically significant, but we also recognize it as Lincoln's greatest speech.  In looking at his oration we should note the tone of the speaker as well as the cadence of the words and phrasings.  In addition, the power of the wording should be recognized, and students should look for particularly strong imagery, juxtapositions, repetitions, antitheses, and parallelisms.


While in class please read Pericles's funeral oration, recounted in The Pelopnnesian War by Thucydides (Good luck pronouncing that name).  That speech was given  more than 2,000 years before Lincoln's.  Questions you will answer in class include:

How does the tone of the speakers compare?

How does the language contribute to the sense of authority?

How are the shifts in tone and subject executed?*

In addition you may choose to look at Lincoln's Second Inaugural Address for further comparison.


*Ideas for discussion and questions for comparison taken from Teaching Non-Fiction in AP English by Renee H. Shea and Lawrence Scanlon

College versus career?

From The New York Times comes an interesting discussion on the value of a college degree in China.

If you are in my English III classes, please read the four articles included in the Room for Debate section entitled What is a College Degree Worth in China?  When finished reading choose one to post a comment about.

You might have to create an account to access this section, but I don't think being able to read The New York Times online is such a bad thing.

Workers at a toy factory in China

Running For His Life

From Texas Monthly: "Ten years ago, before he came to Texas and established himself as a world-class marathoner, Gilbert Tuhabonye cheated death at the hands of tribal warriors by running for his life. Now he wants you to run for yours."

For my English III classes, please read the article Running For His Life by Michael Hall.  Originally published in August of 2003, it provides an account of the genocide in Rwanda as seen through the experience of Gilber Tuhabonye.  Please read and be ready to discuss.  I would like you to focus on appeals to pathos and logos, narrative pacing, and organization.  Please feel free to add any comments before class.

Amazing 11 year old

From Ted.com, 11year old Birke Baehr gives a five minute presentation that amazes me for several reasons. 

Birke Baehr

First, he provides an amazing commentary on the problems with industrialized farms, challenging our views on food production. 

Second, I find it remarkable that someone at his age shows such passion and knowledge about a complex subject that escapes the grasp of most people. 

Third, he goes beyond just pointing out the problems and provides a vision of what agriculture should look like.

In teaching students on how to do persuasive speeches and problem speeches I am confronted with presentations that are lacking energy or creativity.  Its not a question of modeling as students know and have seen what effective speeches look like.  They have had practice that familiarizes them with being in front of an audience.  They get to choose their topics and can find any number of subjects that are of interest to them.  Yet, seldom do students demonstrate the passion that Birke shows in his talk.  What makes him so passionate and insightful, even at what we might consider a young age?

The potential resides in each student to do amazing things, but often the people I teach are hesitant and even resistant to extending outside their comfort zone.  It strikes me that inherently they avoid being creative and passionate regardless of the prodding and encouragement I give.  I would welcome any thoughts for what creates a disparity in, not abilities, but personal expectations among students.

Do we have free will?

From Open Culture I came across this excerpted video about neuroscience research and what it tells us about the choices we make.  In discussing Existentialism and Kafka's The Metamorphosis, this video segment provides a counterargument to the belief that we are free as individuals to make choices separate from religious, cultural, and environmental factors.

Regardless of your beliefs, the video entitled Neuroscience and Free Will will provide information that you may find useful as we generate essay topics over The Metamorphosis.  Please take a look and be ready to discuss.  From the Open Culture website you can access the entire video “Unconscious determinants of free decisions in the human brain.”

Technology's Effect On Your Brain

Students have any number of electronic and digital distractions in their lives on a daily basis.  The discussion among educators and parents seems to center around how to best balance what is clearly embedded in our kids and student's lives (texting, video games, facebook). 

In an in-depth article by the New York Times titled Growing Up Digital, Wired For Distraction, Matt Richtel shows the struggle parents and educators have in confronting the use of technology by children, and most importantly for me, the effects on their brains.  I think this will prove worthwhile reading for anyone with children or who works with children.   For me personally, we will be using the TV much less in the days to come.

And just for fun, any students who happen to read this article and comment on it before the end of Thanksgiving break will find a nice surprise in their  lives when we return.

English Teachers For Harry Potter

Much discussion has been had by English teachers over the worth of the Harry Potter series.  Many of my colleagues feel the series has had too much of an effect on our youth for the past several years.  Mainly, their arguments center around its lack of serious literary merit and its pull away from what we in the business call "The Classics."

For my part, I have been thrilled with the interest the series has generated in some of my students.  Specifically, and most importantly, students are READING!  If they love this book, I know they will look for others to read.  Also, I now have a link to much of the literary terminology that I discuss with my classes; It is much easier  to talk in terms of symbolism, plot constructs, and allusions.  In the same way that the original Star Wars connected to Joseph Campbell's The Power of Myth, so now Harry Potter allows me to discuss overriding archetypes in other pieces of "classical literature."

With that, I'm including The New York Times review of the film.

Interesting Site For Thursday

Here is Jasmine's link for class tomorrow.  Please take a look and explore.

Teaching Meets Technology

Recently in staff discussions at Manitou Springs High School, teachers have been weighing the best ways to either incorporate or discourage the use of new technologies in their classrooms.  Specifically, social networking sites and the use of cell phones seems to be predominant areas of concern as arguments center around effective use of class time and engaging students interest.  In this New York Time's article by Jaques Stienberg, a Northwestern University professor has found a creative way to use technology to make class time more effective and relevant.

Tips For Effective Learing

Daniel Coyle, author of The Talent Code, continually studies successful people in all fields: music, sports, entertainment, business, etc.  He finds that there are certain underlying habits among those who have reached the top of their careers.  For students he has included three helpful tips on his site that will be of benefit to all of us.  I would encourage you to look at these three practices that he titles "Cliff Notes To A Faster Brain," and ask which ones you currently do and how easy it would be to incorporate the ones you don't.

Tuesday Site

Here is the link to Zeb's site that he would like us to look at for class discussion on Tuesday.  Enjoy.

English III Honors: Kafka's The Metamorphosis

For English III Honors, over Thanksgiving break you are to read Kafka's The Metamorphosis.  If you click on the title of the novella, or here, it will take you to an online version of the text.  Also, click this link to access a Pdf version of the story. If you are feeling old-fashioned you could also check a copy out of the library or just head over to your local book store.  It should not take you long to get through the book, but you may run into problems with the allegory itself.

Before, during, or after reading you will want to explore the concept of Existentialism.  Stanford University has a plethora of information that will probably make you dizzy, but the web site All About Philosophy has a truncated version you may like better.   Feel free to also do your own search as well.

After break we will discuss the novel and the writing assignment to go along with your reading.

Leah's Topic for Monday

For English III Honors, here is Leah's site that she would like us to look at for discussion on Monday.  Please take the time to browse through and have some thoughts for discussion.  Have a great weekend. 

John Waters on Contemporary Art

For you English III Honors students, here is a short video clip of John Waters talking about the purpose of  Contemporary Art.  It runs about four minutes but provides an interesting perspective that might be helpful for your essays that are due on Tuesday. 

Books, Books, and more Books

Again from Open Culture, a time lapse film that celebrates books.  Very creative and at under three minutes its a quick and thoughtful look at the effects the printed word can have on us.

Creating Kindness In Schools

With the recent awareness about the bullying that occurs in schools, I thought this article from The New York Times added a great and easy tool that could help combat the problem.  I especially enjoyed its focus on empathy and compassion, two traits necessary for a better society.

Interactive Documentary

Found this great link to an online, interactive documentary called Out My Window.  The stories being told are thought provoking, which only adds to the creativity of the project.  It comes from Open Culture which is one of the most thoughtful sites I have come across.  Recommend you check out both sites.