aha moment 2-28-2011

When I was reading through chapter fourteen, Use of Visuals in Schools, from our text book I really began to think abou the images I have placed in my classroom. Why did I choose the images that are here. I have a small sign on my wall in Japanese writing that is translated to mean teacher Steinfadt. I have the required notices about room rules and expectataions and lunch menus and all that busy stuff that no one really looks at unless they are bored. I also have a large poster of Einstein with several of his quotes and lastly I have a small poster of rock climbers at sunset that says, "I can because I think I can." I have shelves full of books and several computers.  I choose to have books in my room because I am comfortable  surrounded by books and it shows that I value reading. I have my positive message poster because it is a message that I repeat often to my students, that when you say that you can't you have already defeated yourself. You have to believe in yourself before anyone else will. I have Einstein because I liked it and really no other reason.

Reading this chapter has made me think of how I use visuals when I teach second grade reading and how can I use them more often.  I have a group this year that has a hard time focusing and I think that if I tried to use a visuals more maybe it would help them.  They like to talk and have some great background information that could be promted by visuals. I don't teach in my own room so I will have to find the items I want to use and bring them with me. The room they are in now is very steril, nothing extra. It has exactly what is expected and not one thing more. As I read the chapter I found myself pictureing this room and how it would look different if it were mine. I think that I will be working harder to find visuals to add to my lessons that have a purpose and will teach students how to use and view them with a critical eye.

I do find it interesting that no  matter what I put on my walls the one thing that always catches the attention of students more than anything else is only about 3 inches wide and 5 inches tall. It is a bright yellow box with black capital letters that spell out "DIASTER." In the middle of this bright yellow box there is a red circle with white capital letters that spell out "PUSH". Every student that comes into my room no matter what grade level K-12 asks what would happen if I pushed this? It is like it is screaming "PUSH ME" to all that enter.

cool site to create on

http://sketch.odopod.com/
This is an awesome site if you like to doodle and sketch.  It is amazing what some people have created. I spend about 20 minutes playing with it and sketching.  If you want to save you have to have an account.  I didn't go that far because then I know that I would be on there all the time. I would like to see what some of my students could do on a site like this. I suppose that is the art teacher training coming out in me, but creative outlets seem be becoming rather rare in schools.  As we push for higher accademic standards we are getting rid of the creative elements of education. We expect teachers to incorporate creative art elements into the classwork but do not give them any training on how to do this. I will get down off my soap box now. Have fun with this site I had a great time playing.

Movies: Crash, Higher Learning

These were two very different movies. I liked Crash, it really made you look at your own personal biases and predjudices. We all have them even if we do not want to admit to them. Just like Sandra Bullock's reaction when she was walking down the street at night with her husband and she saw the two black males dressed in the baggy clothes and corn rows and she took hold of her husbands arm. She was reacting to a situation where she perceived a danger because of personal experiance or background. In this situation she was correct in being on the defensive but that will not always be the case but this experience will just reinforce what she already perceives to be the truth. We make up our minds about people by our own personal experiences and by what we have been taught either from our parents, our friends or even by what we are told in the news each day. The store keeper thought that everyone was out to cheat him and reacted negatively in every situation they played out in the movie. In the end he let his own prejuices lead him to get revenge on the locksmith who had tried to guide him in what was best for his store.  He would have shot the little girl if his daughter had not bought the blanks for his gun. We will hope that he learned his lesson from the experience since he says that the girl is his guardian angel. Our perceptions and past experiences guide how we react in a given situation. I know I try not to judge people before I get to know them or have all the facts in a situation but sometimes it is hard not to follow your insticts and gut reactions. How people dress and act will determine what you perceive of them. If Sandra Bullock had seen two well dressed black men on the street her reaction would not have been the same.
In Higher Learning it really dealt more with the tension that is created by peoples racist tendancies. This was a very intense movie and kept you waiting for the big blow up that you knew was coming at some point.  It was a huge build up all the way through the movie. I was a little disappointed in Remy, letting himself be led by others, he started out trying to get along with everyone but just didn't quite fit in. Then he was so easily a targer for the Nazi group who then fed off of his insecurities. I don't think he would have gone as far as he did if he would have found others that accepted him when he first arrived at school. He felt accepted in this new group of friends and they made all of the rejections he suffered in the beginning were all because of the minorities taking everything from him that should have been his. Building his anger and fueling his hatred, but all the way through you could see his conflict,  his hesitations in the final shooting and then dropping the gun like it was something offensive and running away.
Racism is so often viewed as a white against black thing but these two movies really show that it comes from all directions not just one. That not ALL of any one group is racist. That no matter who or what you are you have predjuices.

2-21 AHA moment!

I watched this video and thought of how cool all these things would be to have in a classroom.  We have access to so many great things through the internet, but we block so much of it from our students. Why do we limit thier access to the world? We give them assignments that require they do research and then take away the very tools they need to complete the task, making it twice as difficult to be successful.  If the student does not have a computer or the internet at home and we limit their access at school how are they to be successful? This video confirmed my beliefs that we are cheating our students of valuable experiences by blocking internet content. We deprive them of the chance to learn how to use the internet responsibly. We take away the opportunity to learn to be discriminate about what they read and see on line. We are limiting their education under the idea that we are protecting them from the dangers that lurk through their computers.
By not allowing them to see what is out there, by not teaching them what is real and what is not, by not guiding them in their explorations we cheat them of exceptional learning opportunities.

Design Standards Manual for the Nazi Party - aha moment

http://observatory.designobserver.com/entry.html?entry=24358&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Tputh+%28TPUTH+-+Breaking+News+With+The+Social+Hammer%29

Some things  you just don't think about, such as design standards for a political party.  This is an interesting piece of history and speaks to visual literacy.  My daughter was looking through her google reader files and this site came up.  The cover of the book caught my attention right away because I had been reading about the Nazi party for my presentation. So I found this to be an interesting read on a little bit of the history of the symbology for the Nazi party. It would be interesting to know if our military has a design standards manual.  I am sure that there is something similar to regulate the usage of the logos for our different branches of the military. So many things that we see each day and take in without really thinking about them. When do we begin to look deeper into what we see, when it strikes an emotional chord, makes us laugh, makes us cry, or makes us angry. How would our advertising change is we reacted to more of it in a negative way when we are offended. Would the companies change their design standards if the public at large showed disapproval. Interesting concept when you really start to think about it. So do we continue to say, "oh yeah, that is terrible, but it doesn't really have anything to do with me personally so who cares". OR do we stand up and make noise to help make change happen?

Are you a teacher or an Educator?

I saw this video today and really liked it and thought I would share. The music and pictures are beautiful and the message is awesome if you are planning to work in education. I liked how he compared the definitions of teacher and educator, so simple and yet very clear in it's message. The use of the word FIRE becomes clear in the end and you have one of those AHA!! moments, Now I get it, that's cool.

 I believe I am an EDUCATOR, at least that is my goal and my hope that I do more than JUST teach. I did have a student tell me the other day that I am one of their favorite High School teachers, not sure if it is for the reasons that I had hoped but it is still nice to hear. My classroom is very unconventional and sometimes vary laid back and for many students it is a safe and comfortable place to be. I guess we all need that sometimes. This video is one that makes you look at what you do in the classroom and how you do it and decide is this the best way for these students to learn what I am wanting them to learn. We should all do this on occasion instead of thinking is this the best way for ME to teach.

Super Bowl Commercials

I spent some time on Monday watching the commercials that had aired the night before. I didn't get the opportunity to watch them first hand. I must admit I was a little disappointed by them this year.  Usually they are much funnier. There were a couple that stood out, the mini Darth Vader was awesome, cracked me up. I also like the bud light dogs, just because they included so many cliches in such a small shot, you just knew that there had to be dogs playing poker and yep there they were in the end.
I was most offended by the Pepsi Max ads, I don't get why they thought hitting a person in the head with a soda can and then running away was funny, not even slapstick funny. I really believe they missed the mark this year.
I was listening to Bob and Tom on Tuesday and they were talking about the ads as well, they had a guest on that was analysing them. It was interesting to hear the point of view of someone from the advertising industry. They were talking about how well the ads promote the products they are trying to sell and how most people will remember the ad but have no idea what it was selling. I kind of thought then what is the point in spending millions on this ad that no one remembers your product from.  I suppose that you get company name recognition even if you don't get product recognition.
Someone asked what is the  most memorable super bowl ad, the first one that came to my mind was the Apple one with the 1984 reference. That was also the one that he mentioned first. Second was the Mean Joe Green Coke ad. I don't think there will be any this year that stand out as memorable.
I did find that I was looking at the ads differently when I watched them this time.  I looked for hidden meaning or subtext. Camera angles and focal points. I watch a few of them more than once to look for different aspects.

Movies

Watched both Malcom X and Amistad over the past couple of days. Both movies that I have never seen before. I had heard of Malcom X and knew that there was a movie about him. I knew that he was an activist in the sixties and that he was thought to promote violence and black supremacy but not really much more than that. It was interesting to watch the movie and learn about his background and his life. He had courage to stand up for what he believed. I thought it was interesting that they made him out to be almost nieve and gullable, he was told by the guy in prison that he shouldn't just believe what he is told but to look for the truth then he took every thing they told him at face value and again just believed what he was told and didn't see the truth until it was too late. Then his fight became not only with white oppression but with the very people that saved him. I know he was thought of as promoting violence but his words were more asking for the violence to stop against his people and when it does he will tell them to quit fighting to protect themselves and their freedoms.
Amistad was a good movie as well, not one I would have chosen to watch on my own but I am glad that I now have. It was very hard to watch how these people were treated, especially when he was telling the story of the voyage to Cuba. The horrendous disregaurd for human life was very disturbing. The contrasts in the movie were very well shown with out being extremely in your face. The darkness of the cells and the ship and the lighness of the capitol scenes and John Adams home. This was an intense movie, it kept you waiting to see what was going to happen next. I was surprised that they won in the end, I really didn't expect them to. I thought for sure that evil would win because of the time period that the movie was set. In hindsite the movie was a little predicable, the down trodden average man who under extreme circumstances does great things and becomes a hero. But all that aside it was a good story and very thought provoking.

Friday, Feb. 4, 2011

Our principal today attached the following video to a teacher news letter.  I thought it was very interesting and spoke to the topic of using social type networks in our schools and how they are used by society at large. I thought I would share it with you all and see what you think of this. It is about 18 minutes long. I found it very interesting that he sent us this as it talks about not filtering the internet for students and our internet is SO filtered that it is almost worthless for the students to use.

Killing Me Softly 3 - Feb. 2, 2011

This video was very powerful and eye opening. I thought at the beginning she was going to be way over the top and really push a feminsit agenda with her examples.  But as I started watching, these we mostly ads that I have seen in magazines and on television. If not exactly at least very similar. I never really thought about the message that women should be silent and how she says that is shown by all the photos with hands over the mouth and text that in many different ways tells us to be silent. Many of the things she showed didn't seem so bad when you were only looking at one ad, you thought that one is not so bad, then she would flash several more and the pattern would become obvious. I think that may be one reason why it goes on as it does, because we don't see them all together, we view them one at a time. And at times when we don't really give ads our full attention so the impact is so gradual that we don't notice it. Kind of like when you buy a car and the color you choose is one that you think is not real common, then you drive it off the lot and you see that color everywhere. Now that I have been made aware I will now SEE these ads.
We are not going to change advertising overnight or maybe ever, but we can reduce the impact of the ads on our children by educating them to be more visually literate. Teach them to look with understanding and be aware of hidden messages and false messages. They all know that photos can be manipulated and many of them have played with the programs that can do this, but when they are looking at images in other contexts they don't always apply that knowlege. Maybe if we make them aware we will begin to turn the tide.
This video also focused mainly on the impact on women and what it is teaching men about women. The other trend I have seen in media lately is the stupid male. Maybe it isn't as harmful, but what does it tell young women, that they will never find a smart, loving man to share their lives with, that they will have to put up with incompetance for their entire married life. Shows like Ray Romano's show, where no matter what he did he was wrong, she was always right and he was always stupid. I got to the point where I couldn't even watch it anymore because that attitude bothered me. Now you see it in commercials, in movies and on TV shows that stupid and obnoxious is funny and acceptable. I see this attitude carried over in to classrooms, that obnoxious is funny and cute, then they can't understand why the other kids don't want to be around them. This does not help with the fragile self esteem of teen males. We like to think that these things don't bother boys this age but there are many studies that show male teens are just as swayed by the images they see in magazines and on television as females. The difference is that they internalize it more, don't talk about it and the more insecure they feel the more confident they try to appear because they don't want anyone to know. Bravado is many times a coping mechanism to coverup insecurity.