“History shows us that the people who end up changing the world – the great political, social, scientific, technological, artistic, even sports revolutionaries – are always nuts, until they are right, and then they are geniuses.” – John Eliot
Utopia Posters: Finished Products
Over all, one thing I kept noticing in each group as they were creating their utopian societies was that they each seemed to have an "ah-ha" moment or revelation in which they suddenly realized how complex the differences and options in our society and world are, and then how they could possibly fit everything necessary in it. Through frustration, brainstorms, large and small discussions, and a lot of playing the what-if game each group seemed to finalize their plan, put it into action and then begin to reflect on the bigger task of applying the idea of utopia to today . Students discussed and wrote about whether or not a utopian society could exist today or ever. Overall, the majority kept coming back to the idea that the word utopia comes from a word that means "no place" for a reason, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't try to create it. (beautiful right?) It was so interesting (and really cool) to hear their conversations about what should be included, what should not, what is most important, what can be taken out, etc. I was continually trying to bring them back to today, our world, THEIR WORLD, and how this idea of creating a Utopia can be applied to our government, society and world. Overall, the project set up the themes of growth, confrontation, and most importantly change. It got the students both talking about and applying these big ideas to then, now, and hopefully the future. This idea of change is a constant, whether being applied to Italy in 1519, America in 2008, or Egypt in 2011; and the ultimate purpose of the utopia project which was getting students talking, working with, thinking about, and applying their ideas and connecting them to today. From the above pictures and recall I think it is safe to say they are well on their way...
Block- Renaissance and Reformation i-movie viewings are in full swing this week, will be posting some to view later in the week. 11th Grade- videos/pictures of Imperialism debates to come 9th- Enlightenment to Revolution reflections. Tomorrow we will be comparing and contrasting the Egyptian Revolution and the American Revolution, cannot wait!
Now on to the fun...using the weird weather as a PBS strategy and motivation! Both block, and 6th period were rewarded with a 10 minute snow ball tag game for focusing and working hard throughout the week. I refereed, and will say that 6th period got way more into it than block, (who just wanted to pose for pictures) haha. Thus why there are plenty pictures of block, and none of 6th period's awesome game (because it was way too entertaining, and being a ref is harder than it looks!). How crazy is all this snow anyways?? This Nebraskan isn't complaining! :o)
and now 6th period on picture day :o) and most of the freshman class! Class of 2014!
and now... Jefferson County Government Day Fieldtrip. 2-14-2011 the American Legion of Jefferson County sponsored a day for students to learn about various aspects of Jefferson County's government. Students heard from several different judges, city commissioners, city planners, and various local government officials, as well as, toured several different government buildings downtown...including the county jail, wowzers! Needless to say we all have plenty of stories! We were jam packed with information, met some very nice, educated, and dedicated Birmingham citizens, had a great lunch, and surely made Tarrant City proud with the representation of our intuitive students!
....and lastly, I am excited to report that i-touches are in full effect! The schoology app has by far been the most beneficial for multiple reasons but mostly by using the discussion feature, formative assessment is highly effective, engaging and quick! The discussion conversations allow for timely feedback and create a conversation between both teacher and student, as well as, student and student! photos and more to come soon...Meeting tomorrow night with parents, 6pm THS media center.
ok, for real.... lastly, if you have not had the time please rent Waiting for Superman. Understanding and involvement are key to creating and maintaining lasting, positive change for our education system.
Snowpocalypse 2k11 tried its best to stop 2nd semester from beginning but I am happy to report that we are back in full effect! Say hello to the spring block class, some new art work, and 6th period's American Dream wordles. (the word collages you see above can be created at wordle.net) In honor of MLK Jr. we decided to focus on one of the best things he left with us that will carry on forever, his words. Each student chose a quote by MLK that connected with them and posted it around the poster you see above, as well as posted a blog on their schoology (pretty much facebook for school, and amazing) what the words meant to them, and our world today. We also got into several great discussions about whether or not Dr. King's dream has been realized, some of the most intriguing responses were but are not limited to:
"Not everyone wants to see it, but change is happening"
"Maybe, we are living for him, we could be the dream realized"
"I think we need to get up and yell come on people, let's do something, let's get this dream moving!" "or, something like that..."
"Yes we can. Yes, we did. Yes, we will keep on doing it."
I can't even really begin to comment on the above statements and how beautiful and raw they each are, because if that is not getting IT then I don't know what getting IT is! And, if you don't get that those words, coming from the youth of today, are the IT then I can't imagine what you think the IT is! (this is what my students would call a Ms. Sanders rant) ("Ms. Sanders you are rantin!")
In other news, block is in between creating Renaissance and Reformation i-movies and building their own Utopian communities. Utopia in greek means "no place" and was used by Thomas More in 1516 to describe his imaginary world/society thus giving the word its more commonly known meaning of a "perfect, ideal place". After students have created their Utopian communities they will argue whether or not a utopian society can exist in real life. They have come up with some pretty amazing things so far, I'll let you know what the end results are soon.
11th grade is currently trudging through Imperialism in the US...you know...that one time in the early 1900s when America tried to take over the world in pursuit of monetary gain and military control. Oh wait, that sounds familiar...eh hem...Anways, students have been defining what exactly words like expansionism, nationalism, militarism, etc. mean and how these ideas effected American society both then, and wait for it, wait for it, now! Tomorrow we will be learning about the buffalo soldiers (African American soldiers who were just as, if not more crucial to the battle at San Jaun hill as ole Teddy Roosevelt's rough riders during the Spanish American war, not to mention their role in the Civil War and Indian Wars) via Bob Marley. We be jammin, and learnin' and quickly moving onto WWI, ohhh the trenches.
Utopian Communities, WWI trench reenactments, and black history month celebrations coming soon...until then have a great rest of January and all that jazz...
"If you know your history
Then you would know where you're coming from
Then you wouldn't have to ask me
Who the 'eck do I think I am!"
New years resolution in review per Ms. Sanders, room 104, and ohhh if only the world. I was both enlightened and awe struck at how this statement entered my life earlier this week. While watching a youtube video of a close friend's 4 year old niece and her father my new years resolution became clear in an unlikely happening. The father asked his daughter "Now, what does Dad expect of you?" and she replies "In a world of talkers be a thinker and a doer." She was firm and secure and appeared to both believe and understand what she was saying. I was to say the least impressed and inspired. I couldn't help but allow my mind to divert to application of this statement to my own life because if you know me in the slightest talking is one of my most loud and obvious attributes. Words in general ARE MY THING I obsess over language, quotes, lyrics, underlying meanings, conversations upon conversations, and could talk about whatever subject I am currently enthralled in until forced to stop. In accordance with my love for speech, those who know me best would most likely define my nature as over analytical to the tenth degree.(since I am a history teacher I have no idea what the tenth degree is but it sounds big) But hey, I am a history teacher, we are supposed to be talkers right!?!(this is sarcastic, if you believe in lecturing as a way to teach effectively this is probably not the blog for you) This awesome but deadly combination of an over analytical, talking champ, history teacher can easily equate to something that is exactly what I so often speak against...the creation of a person that talks a big game, but does little to act on it. The whole idea of change is wrapped in the actual action of creating change. Change does not come from speech it comes from thought and then movement on that thought. So for the new year this idea of being a thinker and doer in a world of talkers will be in full application in my own life as well as my classroom, thanks in large part to a four year old in a helmet cam and a Dad who is getting it right the first time. The seemingly impossible cannot become possible until action is taken. The first step is important, however it is those steps, strides, leaps that are taken after the first step that are really creating something powerful and lasting. Upon return to class tomorrow room 104 will get down to it on how we can as a classroom, school, city, and society be forever in the pursuit of acting on our speech and thoughts. So as I enter into my second semester of teaching and my students embark on imperialism, the french revolution, the renaissance and world wars we will be on a journey to discover those that did not just speak but acted on what they believed in and fought for. One of the most beautiful things in history is seeing someone's ACTIONS create lasting CHANGE. We, as a society, must help in creating a world of citizens who can not only speak and think with passion, but ACT on those words and thoughts.I may have to get the statement action/doer/all things moving tattooed on my forehead to not forget the passion in which these words hit me with today but my hope is that my belief in these words will passover to my students who then become thinkers and doers, not just talkers. My only true hope for 2011 is that all of us,will not just speak on change, but act on it and only then may we be creating a world in which positive change can actually occur and be maintained...a world in which I will be proud to be a part of and happy to send my students into. So here is to 2011, and the hope that my students leave my room ready to act, not just ready to talk and that I'll also be able to do the same, or at least take that so important second step.
Belated Happy Holidays from all of us in 104!
The thinker/doer/hillarious/adorable/inspiring child...
This is the New Year! "Say everything you've always wanted, be not afraid of who you really are! Because in the end we have each other, and that's at least one thing worth living for!"
Today, as the last 9th grader in 4th/5th block finished presenting his i movie, a student from the back yelled "Ms. Sanders can I PLEASEEEE (for added dramatic effect) show my i movie again, a lot of people were gone yesterday and I need to express myself!" I was so taken back from his passion to want to show his project again and the way he chose to make his case (that he NEEDED to EXPRESS HIMSELF) that all I could reply with was, what did you just say?? Now, normally when I say this in class they know that someone has said something negative like "I can't do this" or "this is boring" because they know that can't is not an optional word in 104 and that being bored is relative...because I have repeated that phrase over and over daily... I am trying a little positive reverse psychology with this statement...I'll let you how it goes...anddd OK back to the need for expression story...I quickly recovered from my "what did you just say" statement and replied with," well if you have to express yourself then I guess we need to watch it again!" Now, did this get us slightly off of our time schedule yes, but was it worth it...without a doubt. This story is relevant for several reasons in my life and class right now for which I will now list. #1 Anytime any student wants to re-present anything this has got to be a good sign and even though my porcelain Buddha flew off my desk this week and broke this one moment made the whole week seem to shine. It was obvious the student was proud of his work and wanted to bask in the glory of his hard work, so hooray students being proud of what they are doing! #2 This particular student also went from being disruptive and uninterested to engaged and focused in a matter of a day. Once he realized he had full autonomy over his project he quickly learned how to navigate through building his movie, and would continually help other students who were stuck on photo transitions, or changing their music, etc. The pride I felt when he came to my desk after the first showing of his movie and said "I did good didn't I Ms. Sanders" not in the form of a question, but in the form of a statement because he knew he worked hard and it turned out well was enough for me to be a believer in the idea that as long as students are engaged and understand what they are doing they will be successful. His eagerness to express himself yet again only further solidifies this truth. Do I think that technology, music and photography helped?? Most definitely, they are the generation of all things bright, loud, and fast so it is no wonder that this project has become such a success but I still believe as long as a classroom is constantly working and knows WHY they are working and HOW it is going to help them in their lives, the need to express themselves will still be felt. What are our students, children, and future if they aren't a beautiful bunch of expressions?
...And since we are on this expression kick, the rest of this post will be devoted to the proud Mexican population at our school. Today, September 16, 2010, is the 200th anniversary of Mexico's independence from Spain or "Biecentenario Mexico." So happy El Grito de Independencia de Mexico and enjoy the awesome expression of these THS students today, imagine if we all had this pride for our school and nation!
Our Quote of the Week: "Be a Possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilites- always see them, for they are always there." - Norman Vincent Peale
