Trevor's Blog

BEFORE THE TRIP: Students will overview the history of attempted control of the Mississippi River inlet and valley by various world powers. The students will be asked to recognize why the River was so important geographically and economically to various powers. They will use their text book to fill out a worksheet on these and other historically important aspects of the Mississippi River.

AT THE TUNICA RIVER PARK MUSEUM: The students will view the various museum exhibits listing at least two specific positive forces of the Mississippi River (i.e. Commerce and Trade, fishing, hydroelectric power), two negative forces of the Mississippi River (Flooding death/damage and sunken vessels/lost goods due to debris) and two mixed aspects of the Mississippi River (Deep rich fertile soil deposits/caused by often damaging floods. Access to trade routes/often targeted territory during conflict). This list will be used in after trip activity and assessment.

ATER THE TRIP: Students will take their newly acquired knowledge of the Mississippi River to create a detailed comparison venn diagram of the positive, negative and mixed forces and influences of the Mighty Mississippi River. The students will be required to explain why their listed items fit under a specific category detailing how these forces have affected Mississippi's history, economy and culture. Students will be required to cite specific examples from the trip including exhibits, videos, artifacts, historical figures, music, etc.

ASSESSMENT:  Students will be assessed by their creation of River Park Work Portfolio based upon the following ruberic:

_______/10 pts. Pre-Assessment Worksheet on the history of sought control and other major historically significant people and events tied to the Mississippi River using the text and other in-class sources.

_______/30 pts.Field trip Assignment.  Students will be required to identify two aspects for each category of influnces/forces of the Mississippi River: Positive, Negative and Mixed with an explanation as to why that force should be categorized thus.  6 aspects required.  5pts for each aspect totaling 30 pts.

_______/60 pts. After trip culminating project.  Students will be required to create a detailed comparison/contrast venn diagram using the information they obtained from the River Park Museum and pre-assessment worksheet.  They will be required to correctly categorize and support their diagram citing specific museum exhibits, videos, artifacts, music, etc and the text.  Each sphere of their Venn diagram will require two examples and be worth a total of 20pts 3x20=60pts  (2 examples, 5 pts per examlple, 5 pts for supporting evidence=20pts per sphere)

As a roving Business Computerations teacher, I have enjoyed some unique challenges this first year.  This has also presented me with the opportunity to enjoy some unique successes.  

Without the support of parents in the home, homework seems to be a punishment by default for eager-to-please students who likely already mastered the objective during class.  For students who don't have support at home and who are struggling in your class even with proper teaching and intervention, homework will not get finished and will likely hurt their already discouraging grade. 

What I most liked about this blog read was the attached letter from a principal who had decided to have a "no homework" policy.  Pointing to lack of supportive research behind aggressive homework and after school work, he had ultimately penned a policy against homework at his school.  What I really liked however was that he had encouraged what I believe to be more effective "HOMEWORK" with the following list:

The research is telling us that if we want to improve attitudes, mental and physical health and academic performance, we as parents need to promote the following 5 things:

• Children need to play outside for at least an hour after the school day. They should be at the point where they are almost sweating.
• Dinner with your family every night or at least 4 times a week. This is shown to decrease eating disorders in females, decrease smoking and drug abuse rates in males and recent research suggests it teaches life-long good eating habits—more fruits and vegetables.
• Early to bed. Research suggests that children need 10-12 hours of sleep a day to be ready to learn.
• Limited television, video games and computer time, especially an hour before bed time.
• Reading time every evening. This is a great time for the whole family to sit and read together.

Homework seems to punish both the students who are able and willing to do it through extra work and those who cannot and thus will not complete homework by discouraging them. Though some assignments requiring them to do some work outside of the classroom can be effective and appropriate, I rarely give out homework just to give them extra indpendant practice just to push them harder.  It's unfortunate that there is not more of the "HOMEwork" recommended by this wyoming principal occuring.   

Rubinstein's blog entry on the pitfall of "High Expectations" was a well needed read.  Between hearing the behavioral horror stories from veteran teachers in our program to my own desire to blow these kids mind with amazingly creative lessons and demanding objectives, I entered the classroom with a lot of misplaced "expectations".  

I however found quickly that Rubenstein's comment "When you make things too complicated, students don’t rise to your ‘high expectations,’ they lose confidence in themselves"  to be the unfortunate reality to my early lesson plans.  I suppose that even after the rather dismal performance on my early basic skills check, I still was in awe regarding my student's lack of basic math skills.  I wanted so desperately to help them grasp the big stuff that I ended up trying to force them to drink from a fire hose of information.  Again he was right when he said, "‘Low expectations,’ it’s true, are a self-fulfilling prophecy, but ‘high expectations’ generally are not" 

It reminded me of the words often given to us by Ben during Summer Training of removing yourself from any expectations.  Ultimately I talked to some math teachers at our school and decided to adjust my Business Math class to be in part a remediation class using basic math skills in applied real life situations.  It has helped push them in areas they have weaknesses while simultaneously keeping things (semi) interesting. 

I learned that it's not simply about having "high" expectations, it's about having the "right" expectations.  Now I just have to figure out where that line is.

I didn't know before starting that I would be a roving teacher and so that has definitely presented some unique challenges that I had not intended when I created my classroom management plan.  Whereas I am not often able to transfer to classes before students arrive, I initially struggled to calm students down and get attention at the first of class.  As a result I created the following policies with the help and advice of a great mentor teacher Patrick Lasseter.

John Darnel, his wife (poor thing) and I had a really great talk about this book over some Mexican food in Batesville tonight.  It was really great to refer this book to our own situations and talk out our own new perspectives and strategies. 

There was one chapter that talked about Humans creating three internal voices during their early development: A child's voice, a Parent's voice and an adult's voice.  For many children who grow up in poverty situations, often lacking the stable role of dual or even a single full-time parent, they must become parent unto themselves and thus lack the adequate development of the Adult Voice: the voice that is responsible for mature negotiation of situations and abstract tiered memory. 

So in a way, children that have grown up in poverty without actively involved parents tend to only here the voice of a child unable to maturely express their thoughts or control disruptive behavior or that of a parent who is not used to being told what to do by anyone and sets their own rules and boundaries (or lack of). 

In addition to lacking the  adult voice that helps to negotiate maturely situations with others, they also lack the ability to lack procedural and abstract memory.  I find this incredibly true as I find myself going over and over directions for activities and projects only to find myself repeating those steps again and again.....EVEN to those students who were clearly paying attention and attempting to follow instructions. 

This book definitely helped me to think in better terms of understanding their situation as opposed to simply reacting to their behavior.  I needed to read this book right now i think. 

Social Studies-

Reflect on the summer training...

What did you think about the intern presentations?  What impressed you the most?  What questions do you still have?

WHAT IS YOUR REACTION TO THE LESSON?