My Philosophy of Education

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Some time back I came across an beaten up old contra bass at an auction. I was able to buy it for less than $50 presumably because most people looked at the wood coming away from the body and thought that the bass was useless. However, stringed instruments like this are glued together by hide glue, which is used because it allows for the instrument to split at a seam, in order to be repaired, rather than the instrument just breaking or snapping at a place where a repair would be very difficult, and or expensive. The pressures placed on a contra bass when tuned are enormous, so inevitably if an instrument is stored incorrectly it will come apart. The good news is that they can be repaired. So at this particular auction, where most saw junk, I was able to see opportunity.

This is not unlike my philosophy of teaching. When I start a school year I have a simple choice to make. Am I going to fall into the trap of deficit thinking, and look at a class of students carrying a vast inventory of justifiable reasons why they could have difficulty passing my class? Or do I look at a roomful of opportunity? I am always going to choose the latter. In my view, with a little patience, and some hard work all students can pass m class.

I thought that the story of my contra bass restoration would be a good way for me to explain my philosophy of education via digital storytelling. It is important that my students understand from the start of the school year that my expectations are that they are all going to pass my class. And that I, as their instructor am committed to that shared goal.

Please check out my digital story.

20th Century Fakebook Page

Here is a project straight out of Dr. Who wherein we attempt to combine a historical personality from the 20th Century and present them in a 21st Century format. All without the need for time travel or a Tardis. For this project each student will select a personality from the 20th Century and create a Social media presence for them via Fakebook. Fakebook is an application from classtools.net that mimics the Facebook template and removes many of the distractions that make Facebook unsuitable for the classroom. In order to complete this assignment, each student will create a Fakebook page of a historically significant individual, complete with biographical information, accomplishments, friends list, and 10 posts written from the perspective of the selected figure. The completed page should also contain a minimum of 10 images, (photos or illustrations) included. Essentially students will need to research their chosen individual, and then create an online presence for them in 2014. The Fakebook post must be written from the historical perspective of the selected individual but students are encouraged to present their own interpretation of how their personality might react to present day events. For example, how might FDR feel about some of the issues that exist today. Would he support or oppose the Affordable Care Act? On what do you base your assumptions? What type of comment or post might he have made during the recent economic downturn and banking crisis? The Fakebook page should also include a minimum of 3 links to YouTube videos that are also relevant. If appropriate, viral video can be inserted. Once all Fakebook profiles have been completed, we will spend time in class examining each submission, and students may well be challenged by their peers to support any or all assumptions made in their profile. Although unlikely it is indeed a possibility that some students may not be familiar with how to post on Facebook (Fakebook). Please link to this screencast if that is the case.

The Power of Music

This post is a class assignment on protest music. I imagine that the poor souls who constructed the pyramids, or dragged the massive stones to Stonehenge probably sang a song or two to vent a little about their unfortunate plight. Singing ones problems away has been a tried and true strategy for hundreds of years. However, along with providing a sense of communal relief through song, music has also embraced protest songs as a medium for change. Most people will think of a protest song as a folk song sang by Bob Dylan or Woody Guthrie. However, the world of music paints out slogans for resistance with a much broader brush. Louis Armstrong sang against racism as early as 1929, Rebels in Ireland were creating their own musical soundtrack with their rebel songs rallying against English oppression. The Vietnam War became a focal point for songwriters, and the Civil Rights movement became another source of lyrical emancipation. Please visit my Podcast to hear a brief overview of some examples of the power of protest music. After listening to the podcast I would like each member of my history class to review auditory resources to find a protest song that you find particularly compelling. After listening to the song several times, I would like you to complete a 2 page article explaining why the particular song was selected by you. Your article should include the following information. Who was the original artist? What was their background? What was the focus of their song, was it war, poverty, racism, freedom? You should also research to see if the song was effective in its goals. Finally, if there was one thing that you would write a protest song about today, what would your song be about? There is an option to answer this assignment in the form  of a podcast.

DJ Butt.

I came across this article about DJ Butt on the BBC News website the other day. I will often use a current event topic as a starter to begin a lesson. Sometimes it can be linked to the lesson plan, sometimes not. I also like to help students understand the links that exist between the arts, activism and the power to change. All too often I will have a conversation with a high school student who is only a year or so away from being old enough to vote, only to discover how removed from the political process they actually feel. When I ask them if they plan to vote when they are eligible to do so very few answer yes, and even fewer answer with a sense of conviction. The BBC news piece is an example of how a DJ uses his artistry to encourage political change at the cost of being arrested for playing music at a political rally.

A DJ can make a difference.

And get arrested for it.

War Poetry?

My About Me sections mentions the poet Wilfred Owen whose poetry was introduced to me during an English lesson at secondary school. I remember my English teacher, who was blessed with a heavy Yorkshire accent, giving us a very dramatic reading of Dulce et decorum est. Said teacher had apparently dabbled in the dark arts of thespian technique as his rendering of the poem was really good;

” Bent double. like old beggars under sacks, Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge, Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs…….”

By the second stanza my teacher really began to strut his stuff as he prowled the classroom reading aloud. I recollect being startled with the enthusiasm, and the volume, with which he continued into his performance, after an overly long pause at the end of the first verse, …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………  .” Gas! GAS! Quick, boys!”

I instinctively ducked for cover, not from the gas, but from the spittle that was by now flying in all directions from my teachers mouth. While his exuberance and enthusiasm may have been a little too much to win him an Oscar, it was just right to make him a great teacher.

War poetry reaches people in a number of different ways. Some object to the canonization of war poets such as Owen and Sasoon. I find it helps to look at history from as many points of view as possible. For me, having students reading some war poems is a great way to animate a lesson plan on the Great War.

A New World: A Life of Thomas Paine

I admit to being one of those individuals who likes to be “ahead of the curve”, someone who prefers to discover a new band or artist before everyone else jumps on the bandwagon, a point at which I have already jumped off. Does that make me a bit of a culture snob? Probably. Does it make me a bit of a git? Absolutely. That being said, I thought I should share about a play I stumbled upon,  before it becomes a four-part HBO historical series starring Paul Giamatti and Eddie Redmayne.  A New World: A Life of Thomas Paine is a biographical play by Trevor Griffiths, that was commissioned by the late Richard Attenborough,. The reviews (The Guardian) would suggest that the play could be a great resource for the exploration of not one, but two revolutions that are part of the world history TEKS. At this point I should be telling you about how great it is, but I have to admit that I have yet to read it. The reason being that when I did a search for the play at my preferred bookseller, BetterWorldBooks.com, I was aghast to discover a new copy goes for around $155. I shopped around on eBay and found that the play can be picked up in the UK for about $25. So…… with a house guest crossing the pond for a visit this Thanksgiving, I have asked that a copy be hand delivered to me in November. Please check back in December, at which point I hope to be able to give a first hand account on how this play might be used to animate my lesson plan.