Learn about readings by Neil Postman, Lois Hetland, Howard Gardner, Dennis Yuzenas, Abe Fischler, Dan Pink, Thomas Friedman, John Corlette, Will Sutherland, Tom vander Ark, Marshall Thurber and other innovative educators.
Click here to get the story from Dr. Fischler (how he became a teacher.) SoundCloud I took a lot of science but nobody taught me to "not jump to conclusions." I happened to see a goldfish in a tank. I anesthetized the fish and put the wires from a battery into the tank. I made it look like the fish was electrocuted. The lesson gets across something ...and maybe they will suspend their judgment.
The examiners didn't understand until they had an explanation from me. We don't do what we say we are going to do. We teach in a way that is convenient for us.
I wish to introduce this list of invitees to the invited speakers.
I encourage you to click below so you get a flavor of each of the presenters. For some of them I've included email and mobile contacts in case you want to discuss some of the ideas before you meet them or hear their presentations.
(This presentation is from an interview with Jeff Hutt, a founder of a school in the Bahamas, and Dr. Fischler)
Principal Tammy Lara describes the work of the school. Fischler uses the phrase "Time is a variable"
Found at "fischler lara naukana" on youtube
Jaime Torres is a math instructor in Miami at Miami Arts Charter School... he plans to bring some of the constructions that his students have made as part of their projects in a "time-variable classroom" ... students are encouraged to re-submit their work so that they can improve their product and in the end their understanding.
R. Rodriguez is a dance instructor at Miami Arts Charter and has a unique program that uses a timeline and the study of a dancer's biography to help students place and identify trends in dance history. The use of a timeline is helpful.
There is more information and there is a possibility that we will have more presenters...
People who are not teachers are sometimes find the most eye-catching videos. Look at these remarkable images from videos found by a nurse.
This is real life... Here is the "money shot"... you can see the insect in the ear.
Happy ending. The insect crawled out of the patient's ear
There is a happy ending to the video: The cockroach crawls out of the patient's ear.
inside the ear...
Guidelines for selecting a video for distributing to partents: Someone is going to be offended. (2) for future medical professionals, show the video one-on-one and let THEM distribute the video to their friends and classmates. Send your suggestions to VisualAndActive@gmail.com. I want to see more "strange bodies"...
She also underlined the importance of asking a student, "How can I help?" She sent us an article that emphasized that our job as teacher is not "what can I teach today."... it's "How can I help you today?" A child who is hungry doesn't need a bold new worksheet. The article also emphasized global skills.
So it might mean more opportunities to talk to students about how they can use Skype in their homes to practice being BIB Penpals. Students can go on www.BIBPenpals.com and learn how to become conversation assistants over Skype for Jair da Silva Filho, a teacher in Brazil. Here's a sample video.
If you don't have time to read his book, at least look at the Ebony article (written 20 years after his autobiography was published in 1994).
If you have an opportunity to meet Mr. McCall, what questions would you ask him?
What does he see as the way ahead for young black men?
I read some of the reviews of Mr. McCall's book on Amazon. Here is one review that hit me in the solar plexus: As hideous as some parts of this book, I still gave this book to my nieces, daughters and other young Black impressionable females who seem to mindlessly believe anything a Black man tells them. Some months after my adolescent niece read McCall's works, she confessed that she completely broke ties with a young man she had been dating because he showed a lot of Mc Call's tendencies. Some years later, this same young man has impregnated several different women, 3 of which gave birth to his children in the same week (while he was unemployed). Today, he is doing a life sentence in prison for violent crimes. As disturbing as Mc Call's work is, I have used it for good. Every mother should know where her son is at night. Also, blaming white people for your problems is no reason for McCall commiting the same sins (color casting, rape and robbery). Finally, if Mc Call committed all the crimes he claims, he should now publish a NEW novel covering his efforts at some form of victim restitution to the individuals, businesses and others he has violated in his past. Well, how about it, Mr McCall? I read much of McCall's autobiography. Some parts were difficult to read, particularly his struggles with his mind while he was in prison and how he escaped from reality with drug trips. Some of his tales could be told by some young males who live in my county, who have spent time in jail or who have roughed up people, treated women like furniture or worse.
His new novel
His lack of skill as an entrepreneur reminded me of my lack of initiative and follow-through. I saw his description of shifting form nonfiction to fiction and learning along the way. I would like him to be a mentor to my students. Even his video is a way to show students how a man presents himself. I hope my students will take time to look at this video and to hear his voice ... and perhaps take time to read his third chapter where he writes about what his experience was like in Key West watching TV. http://www.celebritynetworth.com/video/meet-author-nathan-mccall-499906117/
I am a taxpayer and I believe that teachers, students, principals and parents need descriptions of a new way of teaching. I wake up every morning with Dr. Fischler's question in my head: "How do you become a visible change agent in this environment?" and "Time is a variable" and "The Student is the Class." The words of Daniel H. Pink, Will Sutherland, John Corlette, Eliot Levine, Elliot Washor, Charles Mojkowski and Dennis Littky inform my daily work.
Click here to get the story from Dr. Fischler (how he became a teacher.)
