What an interesting and dense book. I am now on my second reading. Did I mention that it was dense? While I appreciate the difficulty in translating from the original Russian, I have a feeling that even if my Russian were still passable, I had a Russian Grandfather, I would still be struggling. It is a fascinating set of … assumptions about how children develop. I can understand the idea of language as a tool, or how pointing at first is a child reaching out and only later develops into actual pointing. A realization that a physical act can become something symbolic. Or how a child's mind begins to replace objects with symbols.

What I most appreciate though is the manner in which Dr. V. managed to break down the thought process into the most basic of components. The comparison to animal behavior, well, at least that of the great apes, really highlighted the difficulty in actually being able to differentiate the minute differences between animal and human behavior. It is an extraordinary look at how the mind works, how we move from the physical to the symbolic world … and just how dense this book is. Even after reading it a second time I have to admit that I am a bit fuzzy minded.

However, it also shows that the third design principle can be applied here. The simple steps towards understanding, of moving from the physical to the symbolic stage of tools is something that appeals to the workings of my mind. I know that I handicap myself by jumping from A-B -->Q, but after reading this I think I can work on that.

In my class I have taken to discussing the Reasons we Do what we Do in class with my students. By actually sitting down and thinking about the work I ask them to complete, and getting them to move from the concrete (doing the work because it was assigned) to the symbolic use of the work as a tool (understanding the reasoning behind the assignment and how it can be used in other classes and situations) has been immensely rewarding to both me and my kids. We have had a number of very intense discussions about the use of skimming and scanning, or the reasoning behind answering certain questions in the order in which we do (The students answer Reading Check questions before they take book notes and for that matter, before they have actually read a section of the chapter). Students have actually had AHA moments where they have actually said … "AHA. I get it now."

While I am sure this isn't a world breaking idea, it has turned on a lightbulb for both me and those I am working with in school, and that alone makes it worth the ride through NVA traffic every Thursday.

Good learning designs engage students in social play
activities at the edge of their knowledge and
understanding using symbolic tools to develop and
internalize meaningful thought . [Learning Principle #3]

Well, I have finally have a minute, albeit a late one, to sit down and write about The Victorian Internet. Interestingly, I felt as if I were reading something I had already taught. I have long used the idea of relating inventions of the past and communication into my lessons. In fact, one of the assignments I give my students towards the end of the year is to come up with a flow chart showing how some inventions lead to others, the impact they had on society, etc.

I often use the Telegraph to lead to the telephone, the idea of a telephone in every house, which I could say leads to fax machines, or computers, the internet, the cell phone, and on and on and on. I'm sure you get the idea. I really enjoyed the book, and I can see that reading it opens up questions relating to the second principle:

• Good learning designs reflect thoughtful considerations of technology(ies) chosen and consider cognitive, social, and societal consequences (The Means Principle).

If one considers the progress of the telegraph, from opening windows to the use of electricity, wires, etc., one can see the development of an idea that follows a thoughtful, although not always successful, approach. The idea that one can just sit down and design a thoughtful and consequential Education design just like that is rather foolish. It comes in fits and starts, it works sometimes, it doesn't others, and is surely frustrating. However, it also has its rewards. 

I get frustrated when I don't see immediate results in whatever it is I do. I don't necessarily think linearly and that is a handicap here. There is a necessity to slow down, think things out, and while trial and error is a laudable approach, one has to understand the impact of what one does. That said, just because you think something through does not mean that it is a finished product or that the results you assume will come about. There are a lot of factors to consider here, and where one may be served, another may be ignored. Is that acceptable? I suppose so, but one has to look at the consequences on both society and the individual, in this case the class and the student I suppose, and work forward from there. 

InfoGraphic Success

I'm always looking to try something new … immediately and before I quite know what I'm doing. In any event, I assigned infoGraphics to my students this week. And all in all, it was FANTASTIC. There was also a stark difference between my Freshman and Juniors and Seniors. The older kids immediately understood what they were doing, sat down, did some research, sketched out their plans, and produced a fairly thought out product.

The freshman … oh the freshman. A colleague pointed out that according to Piaget, they are concrete thinkers. I agree. They are as thick as a brick at times. But, after awhile, I was able to explain what I wanted and they actually did some nice stuff.

In addition to their infographic, they had to present it to the class in order to work on their public speaking skills. I asked them to write a narrative. It's still a work in progress.

While the presentations were being made, students had to take notes and then write a question for discussion that either followed changes over time or the Essential Question (How did Western Expansion fulfill and solidify the idea of American Exceptionalsim for USH and How does Egyptian society impact society today for World History). They turned in their questions at the end of the lesson.

The students really enjoyed the challenge of using images and were able to explain the purpose of their work to me (as I had explained it to them).

1. A person sees a visual and hears you speaking. They connect the visual to wha you said. 
2. They are taking notes, another way to learn, another part of the brain being used, and a way to remember stuff.
3. They are writing and then discussing two types of questions that allow them to expand the though process.

All in all, it has been a really good exercise for students. 

Blog #1 Saber Tooth Curriculum

Saber Tooth Curriculum

So … what did I learn? I learned that in not paying close enough attention to the publication date—I thought the book was published in 1971—it colored my understanding of what was written. Upon learning that the book was actually written in 1938 I perused it again. And while I saw some of the allusions to the Nazis and what was going on in Germany, I don’t believe that I really appreciated it as much as if I had seen it from the beginning. 

What concerns me is that the very same things we rail against today were evident in the 30’s. How sad is that? The line about the Teacher’s Union was particularly galling because the DCPS version has been a useless organization in terms of pushing forward education. I also see that while I have always tried to stand up to the ridiculous and foolish demands of whatever administration is in charge at the time, in the end, just as it was before, a hopeless fight.

Those who are in charge, then as now, were not teachers. They were concerned with all matter of ideas that were colored by concerns that did not include actually doing things that benefitted students. The demands that tradition was paramount, that Fish Catching, Horse Dubbing, and Tiger Scaring must be taught without thought of real world consequences still pervades the thinking of people in charge today. However, they now are adopting “forward thinking approaches” that don’t take into consideration the realities of our student’s lives. 

This information in and of itself is nothing new. The question that I have to ask myself is what should I do about it. And the answer seems to be fairly obvious. Close the door to my classroom and do what is best for my students. The notion that I should continue with Poor Design Decisions by my bosses seems ridiculous. In our discussions and Burma Shave Ads, it has become clear to me that there is a necessity to work from the inside out, to do what needs to be done and to help other teachers develop better Design practices. I really like the idea of Learn what you live and live what you learn. It is something that I would like to use as a guiding principle in all that I do. 

I have always prided myself in never assigning any busy work. In fact, I have told my students that if they question my assignments, they should challenge my reasons for assigning them the work. If I cannot give them a satisfactory reason to do the assignment, they do not have to do it. Neither does anyone else in the class. Now I see that perhaps I need to revise my expectations. While I could always justify my assignments, perhaps I haven’t designed them as well as I could. I need to make sure that what I am teaching has more value than this is what happened and this is why. It has to be something they can use. If it isn’t, why bother?