Slitherine

quote:

ORIGINAL: JW

Rhonda

A couple of random comments about things I've seen in the thread:

ADHD etc. One thing I note is that kids today in general seem less focused and more distracted and with shorter attention spans and less social maturity than in the past. And I have noticed this even in the 13 years I've been teaching. I don't know what to make of it, except that it is likely cultural, meaning US mass culture. Maybe it is the influence of technology. I don't know.

I taught 12.5 years at a nearly 100% rural poor minority school, and even among that demographic, I noted a decrease in the social maturity level and focus of the kids in those 12 years. Now I'm teaching in a more upscale school, with a mix of upper class to very poor white and black kids with a sprinkling of a very few other ethnic groups, yet I notice the same lack of social maturity and focus.

Again, when I was in HS, granted many years ago, we did not think about getting up from our desks w/o permission, and we did not put our heads down on our desks to go to sleep, and we did not ask to go to the bathroom during class, etc. We just did not do it. And I am sure that we had kids who were ADHD. In fact people tell me I am probably ADHD.

But today kids lack all focus. Earlier this week a girl asked me a question. I was standing right beside her. Even as I started to answer her question, she turned and started talking to a girl next to her. And she did not do it on purpose. She was avery apologetic when I corrected her. But her attention span was like 5 seconds. And this is not unusual.

Well, enough of that.

Computers. I understand what you mean about technology in the classroom. People may think we have lots of computers when we don't. At my school, in one of the most successful and affluent districts in the state, we just got win xp computers, one per teacher. Two weeks ago. Now I am fortunate as the yearbook adviser to have a small lab with about a dozen old win 98 computers, but they are on their last legs, and I allow no one to use them except the yearbook staff. They barely have enough ram and memory to use Pagemaker to do yearbook pages. And we are going to need new ones when our company upgrades its software in a couple of years.

I am also fortunate to have a big screen tv and one old win 98 computer with the proper hookup, so a lot of my notes and instructions to the class are done on powerpoint. But that computer also has problems, and it locks up if not rebooted frequently.

I recall going to a workshop once on 'the one-computer classroom.' The state was pushing the use of technology in the classroom and insisting that you could do wonderful things with one computer in the classroom. The very first thing the consultant said was, 'Get a big screen tv,' which provoked a mixture of laughter and anger from the participants.

And when letting students use the computer, you have the problem of having to watch them constantly. They will change the settings. Some will sabotage their computers. And most are far more interested in their own sites than in researching Edgar Allen Poe online, lol.

As far as current events, I also note that many kids today have no desire at all to keep track of current events. Once again, when I was in HS (class of 71), we kept up with current events. I remember a friend who was kicked out of American history class for arguing with the teacher about the Soviets putting down the democratic revolution in Czechoslovakia. He was right. She was wrong, not that it mattered, lol.

But I see very few kids who have an interest in current events today.

Enough rambling.

Have a good day.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Cap Mandrake

Rhonda...fantastic pictures. I have always wanted to visit Canyon de Chelly.

Check out he entire "4-corners" area, including Monument Valley and Mesa Verde Nat Park. Zion is also sublime.

Also you can try "canyoneering". It is unbelievable fun. There are literally thousands of slot canyons in the Southwest and you dont need climing gear if you pick the right ones..just waterproof boots, but do go with a hiking buddy and if it starts raining run like Hell




West Butler cyn North of Lake Powell


PS..good luck on your teaching thing.

quote:

ORIGINAL: JW

Rhonda, I understand. Working for the last 12 years with very poor minority kids in a poor rural area, I heard lots of those stories. Fortunately for me, though, I did not live in that area and drove 25 miles a day from my nice suburban home to teach there. But I know all about the way some kids will do.

I learned real quick that I could not leave anything of value unsecured in the classroom. It would be gone in a second. And we had some interesting discussions on stealing, with some students absolutely claiming they had a right to take things from people who had more, essentially from 'the man.'

Now I teach at a more diverse school with everything from rich to poor kids, about half white and half black with some Latinos and Asians. But I still have to be extra careful about leaving anything unsecure.

So I feel for you, having to deal with this with your home. Do you have any protection besides the dogs? Like a pistol (or if you don't like firearms, pepper spray) or something?

Thanks for sharing all this.

Things are going fine at my school. I'm off for the entire week of Thanksgiving, something traditional in most Louisiana schools. But I spent two solid days, Saturday and Sunday, and part of Monday doing final checks on yearbook pages for a Monday deadline and then submitting them online. And then a day doing lesson plans for the period up to the Christmas holiday. Lol, we teachers have it easy. I enjoy the work, though. And I always remind myself that the hours are so much better than during my Army career.

We have settled down since Katrina. I still have five Katrina refugees in my classes. One family tried to go home a couple of weeks ago but came back, saying there just weren't enough facilities open for them, and the school opening had been delayed. Looks like some of them will be leaving over Christmas holiday though.

quote:

ORIGINAL: JW

I understand your feelings and your motives. You're a pretty good person based on what I've read. Just be careful out there. And remember what Reagan said: Trust but verify.

I've done some favors for kids, driving them all manner of places, etc., where you wonder where you are going to end up. Driving down some gravel road along a bayou in the dark can be interesting, especially when you hear a kid asking whether or not a carjack would be appropriate.

quote:

ORIGINAL: rhondabrwn

A special plea... I would appreciate your recommendations on favorite historical movies, especially the older ones that may not come to mind. I don't always show the whole movie so feel free to recommend titles that contain a few scenes that would be enlightening for an American History class. I can pull out clips and embed them into a PowerPoint.

The other part of my philosophy is to try and use wargames to demonstrate battles. This has been problematic for several reasons (but I shall overcome!).

quote:

ORIGINAL: wesy

Hi Rhonda,

Well this is a Japanese film from the 50's but the themes are universal and transcend race with no political bent on blame for the war. It's a movie from the Japanese perspective - which is so different that what most people see - ie stereotyped images, the Mr. Mayagi's etc. - It was nominated for a best foreign film in '57. I saw this back in college and it really affected in a very positive way.


Biruma no tategoto (1956)
aka "The Burmese Harp"
Directed by
Kon Ichikawa

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0049012/
Burmese Harp on IMDB.COM

Plot Summary:

July, 1945: Japan's army is on the run, a weary Japanese regiment is sent on a military campaign to Burma. Far from zealous, determined career soldiers, the troop consists of ordinary, dutiful civilians led by a thoughtful music teacher named Captain Inouye (Rentaro Mikune). In order to improve morale and build camaraderie, Captain Inouye has taught the soldiers to sing as they make their way through the arduous Burmese jungle. One soldier, Corporal Mizushima (Shoji Yasui), has naturally taken to playing his handcrafted harp and provides the haunting melody. Arriving at a peasant village, the soldiers welcome the tranquility and hospitality of the community, only to realize that British soldiers have been surreptitiously observing them. In order to disguise their combat preparations, the soldiers sing "Home Sweet Home" while donning their military equipment. But during a brief pause, they realize that the British soldiers have joined in their melancholic, universal harmony. The war is over. The Japanese have surrendered. The British soldiers have come to escort the troop to a Prisoner of War camp in Mudon. However, Mizushima is asked to perform a final mission: to persuade a group of Japanese soldiers hiding in the mountains to surrender. The task proves to be impossible, and the fortress is attacked. Mizushima is critically wounded, but is nursed back to health by a Buddhist priest. Now clad in a monastic robe instead of a military uniform, Mizushima sets out to reunite with his regiment, only to find a solemn, urgent personal calling that leads him further away from his friends and beloved homeland.

The Burmese Harp is a haunting, poignant and serenely indelible examination of the aftermath of war. The film opens with the spare, enigmatic words: In Burma, soil is red, so are rocks. Using landscape as a metaphor for the isolation and suffering of the soul, Kon Ichikawa contrasts the chaotic, harsh realities of war with the tranquil expanse of nature: the mountain fortress attack; the discovery of a body leaning against a tree in the jungle; the mass burial of soldiers along the shoreline. Symbolically, Mizushima's spiritual transformation is reflected in a scene where the troop assembles for choral practice at a religious site, as Mizushima rests inside the hull (the figurative soul) of a Buddha statue. It is a reflection of his own enlightenment and sense of purpose after witnessing a great and senseless tragedy - a transcendence beyond his spiritual captivity - towards a lonely, indefinite journey, guided solely by humanity and personal conscience.

(Taken fron "Strictly Film School")

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lt. Calley

quote:

ORIGINAL: rhondabrwn

A special plea... I would appreciate your recommendations on favorite historical movies, especially the older ones that may not come to mind. I don't always show the whole movie so feel free to recommend titles that contain a few scenes that would be enlightening for an American History class. I can pull out clips and embed them into a PowerPoint.

The other part of my philosophy is to try and use wargames to demonstrate battles. This has been problematic for several reasons (but I shall overcome!).

Frank Capra's "Why We Fight" series would have lots of useful stuff although since it was produced for the US government during WW2 it does not have any negative references to Stalin and basically ignores the negative effects upon Germany of the Treaty of Versailles.

When I was in ROTC in the mid-1970's I remember my class played a wargame using hand-drawn maps with the instructor as referee and 'die roller'. The class was divided into 2 teams of 4 or 5 people each, with one team playing the Union and the other the Confederacy. Each side commanded the the forces that were available along the Mississsippi river in early 1863. I was on the Confederate team. The main objective of my team was to hold on to Vicksburg, but if we could somehow manage to take the main Union base (Memphis?) we would also win. I convinced my team to adopt my plan of leaving Vicksburg temporarily weak and sending the rest of the Confederate forces to try to destroy the Union army near New Orleans. My plan worked primarily because of the timidity of the opposing team. Nevertheless the instructor chewed me out for forgetting the foremost principle of war, namely 'objective' because I took too much of a risk in leaving Vicksburg open while going off essentially on a wild goose chase. Maybe you could do something similar using Grigsby's World at War -- divide the class into 5 teams, each of them taking one of the 5 major powers, and have them write down their orders on a piece of paper which you would enter into the computer using your best judgement. I have only looked at the demo of GGWAW so I don't really know how well that would work.

quote:

ORIGINAL: rhondabrwn


I'll be hitting WWII with my 8th grade sections next semester. I just added the whole Capra series to my Netflix queue, it should come in handy.

quote:

ORIGINAL: Lt. Calley

quote:

ORIGINAL: rhondabrwn


I'll be hitting WWII with my 8th grade sections next semester. I just added the whole Capra series to my Netflix queue, it should come in handy.

I found a website that has some of those "Why We Fight" Capra films available, including some that might not be available from Netflix:
http://www.archive.org/details/cinemocracy

quote:

ORIGINAL: rhondabrwn

What a powerhouse of a resource!

quote:

ORIGINAL: JW

About three weeks ago a girl at my high school, a cheerleader, a senior, died in a one-car accident. She lost control on a road on a Sunday afternoon, hit a culvert, wearing her seatbelt, died at the scene. Very sad. No drugs. No alcohol. She just seemed to take a curve too fast and overcorrected. It seems so very sad any time a young person dies. And it can happen any time.