If you're in LCHE US History, you've come to the right place.
Every week I will post my notes on this blog, then open it up for comments. I will also try to embed as many links as I can in the notes if you want to read further on any given topic.
At the end of the notes there will be three discussion questions to be discussed in the comments section.
What I expect of you:
1. Answer at least one of the DQ's each week. Answers should be at least 100 words, but no longer than the capacity of the comment box to hold.
2. If your comment generates a response or a question (from me or anybody else), post a response.
Three rules on this: 1 -- The original post should be the longest post in the discussion. 2 -- The original poster gets the last word. 3 -- Disagree without being disagreeable. Anybody who has seen cable news knows that meanness is the last refuge of the wrong-headed. Play nice, and don't stab.
OK, 3a. -- Don't freak out if you find out you hold a minority position. Disagreeing with me will get you bonus points, provided you can make a coherent case.
3. Post at least one response to something somebody else says. Indicate who you are addressing with an @ sign followed by the person's name, as in @JabbatheHut07. Keep your responses to a sentence or two, and phrase them in the form of a question the original poster can answer.
Your grade in the class will be 1/3 what we cover in class, and 2/3 what happens online. If you want extra credit, talk to me privately.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Friday, March 19, 2010
Trebekistan Step 1 -- Pay Attention to the Obvious
{C-Span Nerd}
Self: Request unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks.
Chair: Without objection, so ordered.
{/C-Span Nerd}
Learning stuff is not that hard.
Really, it's not.
You may be studying for a test in school, trying to do well on a game show, or simply expanding your horizons. Whatever the reason, or even if you don't really know the reason, you want this information to get into your head and stay there until you need it later.
The good news is you have help.
Anytime there is communication, there are two parties at work -- the one listening, and the one talking. And in normal communication, both parties have the same goal, namely to transfer information from one person to another. We both want the same result. So the communicator -- the teacher, the author, the movie director, the artist, whoever they might be -- has a vested interest in your learning what they want you to know. So, there are certain steps they are going to take to make sure that you get what they want you to have.
Unless their name is J. J. Abrams, in which case all bets are off. "Lost" is, after all, an apt description of what it's like to try to understand what's happening on that island.
As a student then, if you know what the teacher is trying to do and how they are trying to do it, you can pick up on certain clues the teacher is giving you about what she wants you to know. A capable teacher knows how to make the most important parts of the lesson the easiest to learn, and how to put them in front of the student over and over and over again.
It may seem blatantly obvious that that which is most important is what is going to be most frequently emphasized. It's also human nature. Placing a higher priority on something calls it to mind more often. As teachers, we just can't help ourselves.
But that's the point. The important stuff is supposed to be the easiest, because later on when we talk about connections we'll see how to use the obvious to teach us what is harder to see. But that's Step 6. We're not there yet.
Students, then, can make themselves "smarter" simply by noticing what comes up most frequently. Pay attention not only to what is said, but how and how often. Put yourself in the teacher's shoes and try to figure out what is front and center in his mind. If you're willing to be on the receiving end of the communication and simply pay attention, even if you don't understand or follow 95% of what's being, you'll get what the teacher thinks is important.
As a student, if you will make your education a team effort and cooperate with those who are trying to teach you, you can be smarter than you think.
Self: Request unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks.
Chair: Without objection, so ordered.
{/C-Span Nerd}
Learning stuff is not that hard.
Really, it's not.
You may be studying for a test in school, trying to do well on a game show, or simply expanding your horizons. Whatever the reason, or even if you don't really know the reason, you want this information to get into your head and stay there until you need it later.
The good news is you have help.
Anytime there is communication, there are two parties at work -- the one listening, and the one talking. And in normal communication, both parties have the same goal, namely to transfer information from one person to another. We both want the same result. So the communicator -- the teacher, the author, the movie director, the artist, whoever they might be -- has a vested interest in your learning what they want you to know. So, there are certain steps they are going to take to make sure that you get what they want you to have.
Unless their name is J. J. Abrams, in which case all bets are off. "Lost" is, after all, an apt description of what it's like to try to understand what's happening on that island.
As a student then, if you know what the teacher is trying to do and how they are trying to do it, you can pick up on certain clues the teacher is giving you about what she wants you to know. A capable teacher knows how to make the most important parts of the lesson the easiest to learn, and how to put them in front of the student over and over and over again.
It may seem blatantly obvious that that which is most important is what is going to be most frequently emphasized. It's also human nature. Placing a higher priority on something calls it to mind more often. As teachers, we just can't help ourselves.
But that's the point. The important stuff is supposed to be the easiest, because later on when we talk about connections we'll see how to use the obvious to teach us what is harder to see. But that's Step 6. We're not there yet.
Students, then, can make themselves "smarter" simply by noticing what comes up most frequently. Pay attention not only to what is said, but how and how often. Put yourself in the teacher's shoes and try to figure out what is front and center in his mind. If you're willing to be on the receiving end of the communication and simply pay attention, even if you don't understand or follow 95% of what's being, you'll get what the teacher thinks is important.
As a student, if you will make your education a team effort and cooperate with those who are trying to teach you, you can be smarter than you think.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Introduction to Trebekistan
In 2005, Bob Harris wrote a groundbreaking book on learning theory called Prisoner of Trebekistan.
OK, the learning theory part is only a few chapters early on. The rest of the book is how he used what he learned on Jeopardy. And some of the language is . . . well . . . let's say not what you'd want repeated at your church-based co-op. Millard Fillmore's middle name is especially colorful.
But it's also especially memorable. And that's exactly the point.
The Trebekistan method teaches how the mind prioritizes information and how to use that knowledge to make what you want to remember memorable. It's useful for test-taking, studying, and especially quick recall in high-pressure situations.
There are eight steps to the process. I'll treat each step as a separate blog post as I have a chance to write them.
OK, the learning theory part is only a few chapters early on. The rest of the book is how he used what he learned on Jeopardy. And some of the language is . . . well . . . let's say not what you'd want repeated at your church-based co-op. Millard Fillmore's middle name is especially colorful.
But it's also especially memorable. And that's exactly the point.
The Trebekistan method teaches how the mind prioritizes information and how to use that knowledge to make what you want to remember memorable. It's useful for test-taking, studying, and especially quick recall in high-pressure situations.
There are eight steps to the process. I'll treat each step as a separate blog post as I have a chance to write them.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
PowerPoint
Tonight, a personal first.
I have never in my life constructed a PowerPoint presentation. Honestly, I've never had a reason to. True, I'm a preacher. But my preaching style is more literary than didactic, so it doesn't really lend itself to visuals. My theory is that preaching is oratory, and should uplift and inspire. If PowerPoint could make a message resonate more deeply with an audience, politicians and Presidential campaigns would have been using it already. The best orators in the world intentionally avoid PowerPoint, and I suspect for good reason.
And yes, I teach quiz bowl. I suppose there might be a use for it there. After all, I am not averse to showing music videos or projecting a crossword puzzle onto the screen for the class to solve together. But the lessons I've taught so far just haven't called for PowerPoint.
Tonight, though, the LCHE Christmas Party is featuring end-of-semester presentations. The Quiz Bowl class has been learning how to write questions. (After all, the best way to get good at answering questions is to get good at writing them.) So tonight we show off our work in a game of Parent Jeopardy.
The kids have some good stuff. The only question remaining is whether or not I can put a presentation together to properly show it off.
Wish me luck.
I have never in my life constructed a PowerPoint presentation. Honestly, I've never had a reason to. True, I'm a preacher. But my preaching style is more literary than didactic, so it doesn't really lend itself to visuals. My theory is that preaching is oratory, and should uplift and inspire. If PowerPoint could make a message resonate more deeply with an audience, politicians and Presidential campaigns would have been using it already. The best orators in the world intentionally avoid PowerPoint, and I suspect for good reason.
And yes, I teach quiz bowl. I suppose there might be a use for it there. After all, I am not averse to showing music videos or projecting a crossword puzzle onto the screen for the class to solve together. But the lessons I've taught so far just haven't called for PowerPoint.
Tonight, though, the LCHE Christmas Party is featuring end-of-semester presentations. The Quiz Bowl class has been learning how to write questions. (After all, the best way to get good at answering questions is to get good at writing them.) So tonight we show off our work in a game of Parent Jeopardy.
The kids have some good stuff. The only question remaining is whether or not I can put a presentation together to properly show it off.
Wish me luck.
Friday, November 20, 2009
Music To Homeschool By
I am not the least bit shy about my love for They Might Be Giants. John Linell? Genius.
Here's another taste for you science types:
Blood Moblie
(One of these days I'm going to learn how to embed Youtube videos. Until then, we'll just have to click on links the old-fashioned way. :-) )
Here's another taste for you science types:
Blood Moblie
(One of these days I'm going to learn how to embed Youtube videos. Until then, we'll just have to click on links the old-fashioned way. :-) )
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Flex Days
One lesson we learned last year is that it's unreasonable for us to expect that every week will be a five-day home-school-a-thon and go by uninterrupted. Sometimes stuff happens that gets in the way. People get sick, schedules get changed at the last minute, emergencies arise.
This happens in public schools, too, but with their class sizes and institutional safeguards in place, the school calendar is pretty much what it is.
But there's no substitute for a home schooling Mom. If she goes down, the day is lost.
Our pipe dream last year was to run school from the middle of August to the second week of May. Our plan was to go only take time off for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and a week-long trip to Grandma's house in the spring. The only other scheduled days off would be for birthdays.
As it turned out, we needed until June 3rd to get the state-required number of days completed.
Sure, there were emergencies. We missed nine days in January because of my grandmother's funeral. We started back from Christmas break a couples of days later than we intended to. We decided to take the Friday after Thanksgiving as a day off.
But what really pushed us late in the year were sick days. There were days when Laura just couldn't go, and we had no real plan for what to do when that happened. (Occasionally we would have a make-up day on Saturday, but what fun is that?)
This year, we have a plan for days (like today) when Laura isn't well. We call them "flex days."
We decided that instead of rushing through the school year, we would take our time. We started on August 11th and plan to wrap up on May 29th. We still have the same holidays planned (2 days at Thanksgiving, 2 weeks at Christmas, a week of Spring Break.) We still give the girls a day off for their birthday, Laura's birthday, and my birthday. We were able to count four of the days of our summer vacation as school days since we visited the Space & Rocket Center, the Chattanooga Aquarium, the Creative Discovery museum, and the Chattanooga Zoo.
But this year we have also built "flex days" into the school calendar. Every other Thursday, Laura gets a day off. If she feels good and wants to teach that day, the flex day goes in to the "bank" for her to use when she needs it. She promises not to "overdraw" her flex day account, I promise not to freak out about the school year running three weeks longer than it's supposed to, and the girls get nine days of school every two weeks. Everybody's happy.
So, homeschool veterans: How long does it take you to get through the state-required number of school days? How flexible are you about whether or not to have school on a given day? And what do you do when Mom gets sick?
This happens in public schools, too, but with their class sizes and institutional safeguards in place, the school calendar is pretty much what it is.
But there's no substitute for a home schooling Mom. If she goes down, the day is lost.
Our pipe dream last year was to run school from the middle of August to the second week of May. Our plan was to go only take time off for Christmas, Thanksgiving, and a week-long trip to Grandma's house in the spring. The only other scheduled days off would be for birthdays.
As it turned out, we needed until June 3rd to get the state-required number of days completed.
Sure, there were emergencies. We missed nine days in January because of my grandmother's funeral. We started back from Christmas break a couples of days later than we intended to. We decided to take the Friday after Thanksgiving as a day off.
But what really pushed us late in the year were sick days. There were days when Laura just couldn't go, and we had no real plan for what to do when that happened. (Occasionally we would have a make-up day on Saturday, but what fun is that?)
This year, we have a plan for days (like today) when Laura isn't well. We call them "flex days."
We decided that instead of rushing through the school year, we would take our time. We started on August 11th and plan to wrap up on May 29th. We still have the same holidays planned (2 days at Thanksgiving, 2 weeks at Christmas, a week of Spring Break.) We still give the girls a day off for their birthday, Laura's birthday, and my birthday. We were able to count four of the days of our summer vacation as school days since we visited the Space & Rocket Center, the Chattanooga Aquarium, the Creative Discovery museum, and the Chattanooga Zoo.
But this year we have also built "flex days" into the school calendar. Every other Thursday, Laura gets a day off. If she feels good and wants to teach that day, the flex day goes in to the "bank" for her to use when she needs it. She promises not to "overdraw" her flex day account, I promise not to freak out about the school year running three weeks longer than it's supposed to, and the girls get nine days of school every two weeks. Everybody's happy.
So, homeschool veterans: How long does it take you to get through the state-required number of school days? How flexible are you about whether or not to have school on a given day? And what do you do when Mom gets sick?
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Co-Ops
Last year was our first as home schoolers. Having no idea what we were doing, we spent three months reading everything we could get our hands on. We found good curriculum, set up a classroom in a spare bedroom, the whole works.
We did make one significant mistake, though. We didn't join the local co-op.
That was not a mistake we repeated.
The support groups in this area are great. But the best thing they've got going for them is on Tuesdays, when all the kids come to a local church for a day of enrichment classes. This fall, the girls are taking biology, art, history, and PE, all from veteran home school parents (and Laura, but still). Even better: there are other kids in the classes. We're trying to break them of the "clingies," and having other kids they're comfortable with helps.
Of course, they call it a co-op because everybody is expected to contribute -- and not just financially. I teach high school quiz bowl, and Laura teaches elementary art. So there is a little bit of extra work involved.
The icing on the co-op cake is the socialization -- and not just for the kids. Being a preacher's wife living in the middle of nowhere makes it hard for Laura to make friends. Now she has a group of other moms doing what she is doing, people she can relate to. What's more, most of them are experienced home school parents, so they can help her when something comes up she hasn't seen before.
Are you part of a co-op? Are you trying to start one? What are the plusses and minuses you have experienced?
We did make one significant mistake, though. We didn't join the local co-op.
That was not a mistake we repeated.
The support groups in this area are great. But the best thing they've got going for them is on Tuesdays, when all the kids come to a local church for a day of enrichment classes. This fall, the girls are taking biology, art, history, and PE, all from veteran home school parents (and Laura, but still). Even better: there are other kids in the classes. We're trying to break them of the "clingies," and having other kids they're comfortable with helps.
Of course, they call it a co-op because everybody is expected to contribute -- and not just financially. I teach high school quiz bowl, and Laura teaches elementary art. So there is a little bit of extra work involved.
The icing on the co-op cake is the socialization -- and not just for the kids. Being a preacher's wife living in the middle of nowhere makes it hard for Laura to make friends. Now she has a group of other moms doing what she is doing, people she can relate to. What's more, most of them are experienced home school parents, so they can help her when something comes up she hasn't seen before.
Are you part of a co-op? Are you trying to start one? What are the plusses and minuses you have experienced?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
