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i just finished reading andrew solomon's astonishingly big book, far from the tree, and was particularly interested in a chapter about juvenile criminals that focuses a lot on Hennepin County Home School in Minnesota. one inmate complained, "they want you to think all day. I'd rather be breaking up rocks or shit." there were two other passages in that chapter that i want to share (meaning, of course, that i'd be interested in discussing them!) with you all:

"The relationship between kids in the justice system and their parents usually follows one of four tracks. The parents may abandon the child when he goes to prison, which may lead the child to feel lonely, lost, isolated, an desperate. The parents may abandon the child, which may prompt the child to take responsibility for himself or herself. The parents may remain or become deeply involved with the child, making the child feel that a bright future is possible. The parents may remain or become deeply involved with the child, reinforcing antisocil behavior by creating a permissive atmosphere of denial."

Bryn Mawr College will be hosting the second annual Blended Learning in the Liberal Arts Conference on May 20-21. This conference was designed as an opportunity for faculty and instructional technology staff who are experimenting with blended learning to share resources, techniques, and findings -- with a particular focus on how blended learning might work in a liberal arts college setting. Our definition of "blended learning" is quite broad, encompassing in which: 1) students get feedback on their learning outside the classroom through computer-based materials or activities, and 2) the classroom component informs or alters how an instructor uses class time. Advance registration is required, the conference fee will be waived for affliliates of colleges that were partners on the NGLC Blended Learning grant study. See the conference website for more information or follow us on Twitter at #blendLAC. 

my inquiry project .. inspired by comunity tensions between African Americans and Latino immigrants in my placement .. originally began as a curriculum design .. then evolved in to a personal reflection of myself as facilitator and an exploration in to larger issues of identity, race, and power, and belonging 

My last day at my placement was surprisingly calm. The students had a short day at school, so they'd had a full 3 hours to relax before coming to Wordsmiths. What a difference that made in attitude and atmosphere! We were so much more effective; everyone was in a good mindset for working. I think that, by itself, was really telling of what students need in their daily routine: time to relax.

The student that I worked with, Bianca, said that she spent all 3 hours on her kindle, playing games. And when I think about it, I sometimes need a few hours to unwind--and I end up watching videos on Hulu or talking with friends. And that time is not "wasted"--though it's hard for me to think about it as useful, since so often, we talk about relaxation time as "unproductive."

In fact, I think those hours of "non-productivity" contribute to a sense of balance and, with reflection, internally-driven motivation to get things done when you do sit down to work. You need to hibernate, in order to create. It's unfair to expect students to produce constantly. I, personally, prefer intense work interspersed with calm/relaxation/physical activity. Longer days, working without pausing to relax, seem somehow less productive and more like busy work. I sense that some of the students at my placement feel the same way.

Educational clearinghouses with massive databases of resources provide access to different types of OERs covering multiple subjects and using multiple. This Blended Learning group is created to currate resources which we consider particularly useful for approaching specific problems, but there are thousands of other resources available. This post will direct instructors and students to two of the more comprehensive sites.

Resources covered:
OER Commons
Open.Michigan

OER Commons tracks down and currates resources which they consider to be the best OERs available. They currently have over 44,000 available. Their resources include labs and activities, video lectures, and readings. OER COmmons also features a section called "Teaching and Learning Strategies" which help instructors new to OERs how to find the right resources and implement them. In addition to some of the more complicated browsing structures, those looking for something in particular can search by subject areas, grade levels, and material types.

During this week, Ms. Morrow was beginning to work on more life skills, rather than the standardized tests she had been forced to focus on for a long period of time. When I was observing her during this process, I realized that I never thought about these life skills as something that a teacher would have to dedicate time to.

Personally, I always found it to be something you learn as you go through the cycles of life but for these students, they may never be given the opportunity to learn how to fill out various different application forms. 

What I found most interesting about this activity was how Ms. Morrow’s plan in a small span of time. Initially, she was having her group of four students, whom are all on the same or similar reading levels, doing the forms. As she was going over the forms with them she decided to have all of her students fill out these “fake” applications.

One of the biggest objectives of this activity was to see if the students could follow the different directions on different forms and formats asking for the same information.  In an attempt to make them be more independent about it, Ms. Morrow decided to walk away from them and allow them to do it on their own. This decision lasted about 30 seconds, which really shows a lot about her as a teacher and as someone who cares for her students.

Today is Ms. Presley's birthday. (She is turning 30.) She is wearing a brightly colored spring dress which draws lots of compliments as we walk through the hallways, but she gets even more attention for the occasion of her birthday. One teacher bought her a gluten-free cake from a fancy bakery; a student (I think) brought her a box of 4 cupcakes from another fancy bakery (no SuperFresh cupcakes from these people, apparently!) which are not gluten-free so Ms. Presley offers them to me to take home. (I am appreciative, but then as I am leaving I realize I forgot them and wasn't sure if it would be polite to go back and bother her for them, so I don't. I hope she found someone else to take them.) Meanwhile, both sections of fifth-graders sing happy birthday when they enter the room, apparently people also sang to her at lunch, and near the end of the first section Mr. Baker comes by to accompany students on the piano singing to her again (he didn't know they already had sang, of course.) One section of fifth grade brought a card that everyone signed. I like that teacher's birthdays are taken as seriously (maybe more) than children's here; it suggests that colleagues pay attention to one another and care about each other.