Garbage
"I think the Democrats have got more crazies than the Republicans do," Liz Cheney said. "But setting that aside, one of the reasons you see people so concerned about this ... people are uncomfortable with having for the first time ever, I think, a president who seems so reluctant to defend the nation overseas."
Could that be perhaps, because we've been arrogant and obnoxious and in order to repair our relationships with the rest of the countries, we have to be a little more quiet and humble and apologetic? Do you think running around, still talking about how amazing we are and how right we are is going to fix anything? ESPECIALLY with the state of things?
ARGH. I never thought that a group of people could infuriate me so much.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Quick Questioning Strategies
Last year, I typed these strategies up for the school. Most of them we all learned in college, but some are easy to forget. For all the new teachers out there, here's one more resource!
1. Engagement: Questioning & Movement
a. Time: When you ask a question, don’t forget to give the kids some wait time before you call on a student—some need a few more seconds to process, and rapid fire won’t always work. 5 seconds feels like forever for us, but really helps them.
b. Sometimes re-prompting will help—if the same few kids are always eager to answer, restate the question in another way to get more kids involved, or to lead them to a smaller piece of the puzzle before building back up to the big question.
c. Don’t forget to call on the kids who don’t answer or never raise their hands.
d. Pepper this in! Tell a student that he or she will be answering the following question, pause, give the question, and give the student a bit of time to think, then answer.
e. Hold other students accountable when they’re not answering by calling on them to REPEAT what the last student said. You shouldn’t have to repeat what the student says!
f. Echo back like they do in the elementary grades.
g. Throw a Koosh-ball, or one of those inflatable cubes and don’t let the kids leave until everyone’s participated.
h. Post answers around the room and have the kids write the questions, or give them the questions and have them use the posted answers as a scavenger hunt. This works well introducing or reviewing a unit.
i. Have the kids move around as much as possible. Use carousel, four corners, or jigsaw techniques to have them go to different stations. Have students play charades or act out scenarios to answer your question.
j. Pull sticks or do some sort of random call so they know that each one will be accountable at some time during the lesson.
k. Try to steer clear of “yes/no” questions, or questions with really obvious answers—sometimes they’ll just tell you what they think you want to hear. If I ask one of these questions and they respond too quickly, I give them a disturbed look like “really?”….even if they’re right. I make them think about it again, talk with a neighbor, and this time, give me a complete sentence with justification. This helps! (Because let’s face it… we can’t always ask amazing questions off the top of their heads AND its fun to mess with them a little!)
l. Play games! Fuentes’s Hot Seat game is great for vocab. (E-mail me if you want more on that)
2. Engagement: Look Who’s Talking?
a. The people talking are the people that are learning. Don’t go longer than 2-3 minutes without having some sort of interaction with the kids—questioning counts!
b. Use a timer to stop your lectures! If your PowerPoint/presentation is interactive, try not to make the teacher led time longer than 8 minutes without giving them a significant break to work with the material.
c. Don’t forget to give the kids process time when lecturing—they may get it as you’re going but they’ll quickly forget if they don’t DO something with it. Let them explain to a neighbor, summarize it, get clarification, etc. before you continue on.
d. Ask basic questions, but also try to ask questions that don’t have yes or no answers. Kids will be more courageous, and will use their imaginations more to answer. Yay for higher participation.
3. Motivation & Connections
a. Try to get to know the kids as much as you can. The more you know them, the more you’ll gain mutual respect and will be able to cater to them and their interests. Doing lots of centers and group work makes this easy—as you rotate around, you build better rapport.
b. Remember that their world isn’t the one we grew up in. Even having story problems written about them helps.
c. If you can’t explain to them why they’re learning something, or why it’s important, it’ll be hard for them to care. Be prepared to answer the question “What’s in it for me?”
4. Background & Common Ground
a. Good teachers use an “attention getter” (also known in obnoxious teacher jargon as an “anticipatory set.”) to get the kids excited about the lesson and to turn their brains on. If you’re not a melodramatic type and don’t like the idea, try thinking of it as a shared experience—it doesn’t necessarily have to be something crazy-exciting. Do something together that serves as an analogy for the concept, then link it to the academic idea. (See attached notebook presentation as an example—the teacher page is at the end)
b. Give the kids a chart, a book, or something else to look at and have them write observations, predictions, and then any questions they still have. Then share with a partner. After they’ve already familiarized themselves, dig in!
c. Don’t tell them the answers! Plan lessons that let them observe and predict/hypothesize/infer and don’t them depend on you. Every time they question you, fire a question back; lead them off to a wrong direction, or to another idea. Let them finish a sort/categorization (and give their reasoning for why they put together what they did) and have incorrect answers. Then, get another classmate from another class write them a letter and give their own ideas—what’s incorrect and why; what their grade would be and why. This fosters more independence and creativity on their part, plus you can incorporate debate/discussion, reading and writing!
1. Engagement: Questioning & Movement
a. Time: When you ask a question, don’t forget to give the kids some wait time before you call on a student—some need a few more seconds to process, and rapid fire won’t always work. 5 seconds feels like forever for us, but really helps them.
b. Sometimes re-prompting will help—if the same few kids are always eager to answer, restate the question in another way to get more kids involved, or to lead them to a smaller piece of the puzzle before building back up to the big question.
c. Don’t forget to call on the kids who don’t answer or never raise their hands.
d. Pepper this in! Tell a student that he or she will be answering the following question, pause, give the question, and give the student a bit of time to think, then answer.
e. Hold other students accountable when they’re not answering by calling on them to REPEAT what the last student said. You shouldn’t have to repeat what the student says!
f. Echo back like they do in the elementary grades.
g. Throw a Koosh-ball, or one of those inflatable cubes and don’t let the kids leave until everyone’s participated.
h. Post answers around the room and have the kids write the questions, or give them the questions and have them use the posted answers as a scavenger hunt. This works well introducing or reviewing a unit.
i. Have the kids move around as much as possible. Use carousel, four corners, or jigsaw techniques to have them go to different stations. Have students play charades or act out scenarios to answer your question.
j. Pull sticks or do some sort of random call so they know that each one will be accountable at some time during the lesson.
k. Try to steer clear of “yes/no” questions, or questions with really obvious answers—sometimes they’ll just tell you what they think you want to hear. If I ask one of these questions and they respond too quickly, I give them a disturbed look like “really?”….even if they’re right. I make them think about it again, talk with a neighbor, and this time, give me a complete sentence with justification. This helps! (Because let’s face it… we can’t always ask amazing questions off the top of their heads AND its fun to mess with them a little!)
l. Play games! Fuentes’s Hot Seat game is great for vocab. (E-mail me if you want more on that)
2. Engagement: Look Who’s Talking?
a. The people talking are the people that are learning. Don’t go longer than 2-3 minutes without having some sort of interaction with the kids—questioning counts!
b. Use a timer to stop your lectures! If your PowerPoint/presentation is interactive, try not to make the teacher led time longer than 8 minutes without giving them a significant break to work with the material.
c. Don’t forget to give the kids process time when lecturing—they may get it as you’re going but they’ll quickly forget if they don’t DO something with it. Let them explain to a neighbor, summarize it, get clarification, etc. before you continue on.
d. Ask basic questions, but also try to ask questions that don’t have yes or no answers. Kids will be more courageous, and will use their imaginations more to answer. Yay for higher participation.
3. Motivation & Connections
a. Try to get to know the kids as much as you can. The more you know them, the more you’ll gain mutual respect and will be able to cater to them and their interests. Doing lots of centers and group work makes this easy—as you rotate around, you build better rapport.
b. Remember that their world isn’t the one we grew up in. Even having story problems written about them helps.
c. If you can’t explain to them why they’re learning something, or why it’s important, it’ll be hard for them to care. Be prepared to answer the question “What’s in it for me?”
4. Background & Common Ground
a. Good teachers use an “attention getter” (also known in obnoxious teacher jargon as an “anticipatory set.”) to get the kids excited about the lesson and to turn their brains on. If you’re not a melodramatic type and don’t like the idea, try thinking of it as a shared experience—it doesn’t necessarily have to be something crazy-exciting. Do something together that serves as an analogy for the concept, then link it to the academic idea. (See attached notebook presentation as an example—the teacher page is at the end)
b. Give the kids a chart, a book, or something else to look at and have them write observations, predictions, and then any questions they still have. Then share with a partner. After they’ve already familiarized themselves, dig in!
c. Don’t tell them the answers! Plan lessons that let them observe and predict/hypothesize/infer and don’t them depend on you. Every time they question you, fire a question back; lead them off to a wrong direction, or to another idea. Let them finish a sort/categorization (and give their reasoning for why they put together what they did) and have incorrect answers. Then, get another classmate from another class write them a letter and give their own ideas—what’s incorrect and why; what their grade would be and why. This fosters more independence and creativity on their part, plus you can incorporate debate/discussion, reading and writing!
Friday, July 03, 2009
Tom Horne: Devil Incarnate?
This is a short article.
Read it.
Then be furious with me.
I will rant later.
Why AZ is 50th in the Nation.
Read it.
Then be furious with me.
I will rant later.
Why AZ is 50th in the Nation.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Not Just a Cute Phrase
Just about every Saturday, Mr. B and Mr. X, my hunka burnin' love, (that's gross, right? Tee hee!) drive the 15-20 minutes to the park that sits behind our school. There, they stomp around like maniacs and attempt (sometimes even succeed!) at beating whatever boys show up for a round or two of basketball. In the 95+ degree heat. Because they're insane. And incredibly good role models. But that's beside the point.
This Saturday, Mr. B was off baiting sharks with his own blood (true story) so he could not throw his arms up in either victory or indignation, so I thought I'd tag along. Not to play basketball, mind you (Me? Basketball? Let's take this whole 'becoming athletic' idea one thing at a time here....), but to be a picture-taking cheerleader. So, giant Nikon in hand, I skipped out to the court.
As Rey (soft spoken, always smiling, gentleman) and Jesus ( cookie-lovin', question-askin' jumping bean) plus the fearless teacher took on a couple other lads, I got myself situated in the meager shade of a palm tree. The temperature was perhaps a balmy 95, slight breeze, and some deliciously puffy clouds lounged in the air. All in all, a beautiful day. Hot, but bearable.
My shutter clicked over and over, capturing the boys' mad leaps and the ball's wicked flight... and then, I started to itch.
You know how sometimes when you get sweaty, you get itchy? Yes, I thought. That's what it was. My lower back was just kind of uncomfortable. Hmm. My butt was kind of itchy. This is weird. My upper back is now getting itchy.
I removed my eye from the camera for a second, took a look at my legs....and saw 4 giant, quarter-size welts.
And realized....
I had ants in my pants, ladies and gentlemen.
Ants.
In my pants.
The little demons bit me just about everywhere.
My mother's voice came back to haunt me from my childhood "Brittany, you've got ants in your pants. Will you calm down?" My father's voice echoed along side. "Get bit!" his voice echoed every time I was naughty. My childhood. Summed up in two phrases.
Was Nike (goddess of peaceful competition and victory) furious because I refused to play sports and instead wanted to lounge on my butt?
Or was this the Sandman's revenge for waking up earlier than I'd planned?
Is this karmic retribution for making fun of my sister for so many years (because mosquitoes LOVE her, but never bite me)?
I may never know the answer. But know this folks-- ants in the pants? Not just a cute little phrase after all. I would not recommend it to anyone.
This Saturday, Mr. B was off baiting sharks with his own blood (true story) so he could not throw his arms up in either victory or indignation, so I thought I'd tag along. Not to play basketball, mind you (Me? Basketball? Let's take this whole 'becoming athletic' idea one thing at a time here....), but to be a picture-taking cheerleader. So, giant Nikon in hand, I skipped out to the court.
As Rey (soft spoken, always smiling, gentleman) and Jesus ( cookie-lovin', question-askin' jumping bean) plus the fearless teacher took on a couple other lads, I got myself situated in the meager shade of a palm tree. The temperature was perhaps a balmy 95, slight breeze, and some deliciously puffy clouds lounged in the air. All in all, a beautiful day. Hot, but bearable.
My shutter clicked over and over, capturing the boys' mad leaps and the ball's wicked flight... and then, I started to itch.
You know how sometimes when you get sweaty, you get itchy? Yes, I thought. That's what it was. My lower back was just kind of uncomfortable. Hmm. My butt was kind of itchy. This is weird. My upper back is now getting itchy.
I removed my eye from the camera for a second, took a look at my legs....and saw 4 giant, quarter-size welts.
And realized....
I had ants in my pants, ladies and gentlemen.
Ants.
In my pants.
The little demons bit me just about everywhere.
My mother's voice came back to haunt me from my childhood "Brittany, you've got ants in your pants. Will you calm down?" My father's voice echoed along side. "Get bit!" his voice echoed every time I was naughty. My childhood. Summed up in two phrases.
Was Nike (goddess of peaceful competition and victory) furious because I refused to play sports and instead wanted to lounge on my butt?
Or was this the Sandman's revenge for waking up earlier than I'd planned?
Is this karmic retribution for making fun of my sister for so many years (because mosquitoes LOVE her, but never bite me)?
I may never know the answer. But know this folks-- ants in the pants? Not just a cute little phrase after all. I would not recommend it to anyone.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Empty Nest
I'm a mess.
My "babies" had their 8th grade graduation ceremony today. They started walking into the cafeteria, and from my vantage point of the stage I could see them all-- nervous and excited-- and started to get a bit misty. Then, one of my girls from 6th grade caught my eye. Her lip quivered. I lost it. Then. Professor Juan (the adorable dimple-festooned student who would say "coooookie?" to me and cheer me up my first year) gave a speech.
"Juanito" talked about how hard it was to make it in this country, and how he came here knowing no English. After having teachers and parents who trusted him, he trusted them back and mastered the language, and moved into advanced classes-- all before 8th grade. He said something about being excited for the future because if he could accomplish this.... well, what else could he do? What else could he master? And that little cute voice of his, and those dimples, and the message of hope and hard work and the thanks and credit he gave to US? .... I lost it again.
And then they walked out. More sentimental music. I walked out, stared at the sky and kept saying "Don't talk to me! Don't talk to me! I can't look at you, I'm going to cry!"
"You're ALREADY crying, Miss J!" they said. And dozens of hugs (and pictures) soon followed. And then? They went home. 11:00 and my babies were gone. My chicos and chicas had flown the coop.
After school, Ms. C (their math teacher) and I were invited to a graduation party, but not long after we arrived it was clear that this party wasn't for Janneth. Yes, a handful of her friends where there. Yes, a few family members were there. But SHE'D made the dinner. She'd made the appetizers and the dessert. She bought flowers.
For us.
And of course, I lost it again.
I don't care how many mothers argue with me. This is worse. You know when you send your babies off to high school or college that they are and always will be your babies. You will know how to get in touch with them. You know their phone numbers and where they're living. You can keep in touch with them easily and feel assured that they will call you if they need you.
But I have no idea what will happen to my kids. Kids who have dealt with parents who have been shot to death or sent to jail, the pressures of drugs and gangs. Unimaginable things. And they stand above it. Or, thus far, they have.
Dealing with apathy is hard. Trying to make everything creative is hard. But the hardest thing of all is letting go of them. Instead, I know I'll sit here and wonder: Are they safe? Are they healthy? Are they happy? Are they successful? Do they need help? Do they need someone to listen? Do they need someone to egg them on?
It's only been a couple hours and I miss them already.
My "babies" had their 8th grade graduation ceremony today. They started walking into the cafeteria, and from my vantage point of the stage I could see them all-- nervous and excited-- and started to get a bit misty. Then, one of my girls from 6th grade caught my eye. Her lip quivered. I lost it. Then. Professor Juan (the adorable dimple-festooned student who would say "coooookie?" to me and cheer me up my first year) gave a speech.
"Juanito" talked about how hard it was to make it in this country, and how he came here knowing no English. After having teachers and parents who trusted him, he trusted them back and mastered the language, and moved into advanced classes-- all before 8th grade. He said something about being excited for the future because if he could accomplish this.... well, what else could he do? What else could he master? And that little cute voice of his, and those dimples, and the message of hope and hard work and the thanks and credit he gave to US? .... I lost it again.
And then they walked out. More sentimental music. I walked out, stared at the sky and kept saying "Don't talk to me! Don't talk to me! I can't look at you, I'm going to cry!"
"You're ALREADY crying, Miss J!" they said. And dozens of hugs (and pictures) soon followed. And then? They went home. 11:00 and my babies were gone. My chicos and chicas had flown the coop.
After school, Ms. C (their math teacher) and I were invited to a graduation party, but not long after we arrived it was clear that this party wasn't for Janneth. Yes, a handful of her friends where there. Yes, a few family members were there. But SHE'D made the dinner. She'd made the appetizers and the dessert. She bought flowers.
For us.
And of course, I lost it again.
I don't care how many mothers argue with me. This is worse. You know when you send your babies off to high school or college that they are and always will be your babies. You will know how to get in touch with them. You know their phone numbers and where they're living. You can keep in touch with them easily and feel assured that they will call you if they need you.
But I have no idea what will happen to my kids. Kids who have dealt with parents who have been shot to death or sent to jail, the pressures of drugs and gangs. Unimaginable things. And they stand above it. Or, thus far, they have.
Dealing with apathy is hard. Trying to make everything creative is hard. But the hardest thing of all is letting go of them. Instead, I know I'll sit here and wonder: Are they safe? Are they healthy? Are they happy? Are they successful? Do they need help? Do they need someone to listen? Do they need someone to egg them on?
It's only been a couple hours and I miss them already.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Hope
A sound I've been longing to hear. For months.
Thunder.
The heavens are cracking. Wind whistles. And oh-- the rain.
I'd rather hear the sound of impending rain than any "Miss J, you're RIGHT."
Thunder.
The heavens are cracking. Wind whistles. And oh-- the rain.
I'd rather hear the sound of impending rain than any "Miss J, you're RIGHT."
Friday, May 15, 2009
I love tormenting them.
Jesus: (in cute Mexican accent) Meez Jaaaay, do you have cee-zars?
Me: Seizures? No, I'm not epilleptic.
Jesus: No! No! Big teacher cee-zars! Big nice ones!
Me: Like a salad? I don't have a Cesar salad either. I had a sandwich for lunch and that was hours ago.
Jesus: MISS J!
Me: What? Tee hee hee!
Girl: K, so, Miss J--
Me: Dude. Did you just call me queso Miss J? I mean, I know I'm from Wisconsin and all, but I don't appreciate being called cheese.
Girl: What?!
Me: I know, my jokes... sometimes awful. Maybe even cheesy. But it's not nice. I don't call you carne asada girl.
Girl: Oh my god.
Me: Pablo, what are you doing?
Pablo: NOTHING!
Me: Seriously?
Pablo: Yes!
Me: Did everyone hear that?
(Everyone nods) Pablo totally just said he's doing NOTHING in my class. How is that acceptable?
Pablo: MISS J!
Me: What?
Me: Adrian. You're out of line. Why? Do you think you're special?
Adrian: NO!
Me: No? Really? That's kinda sad, cuz I always thought you were kind of special. Interesting. Good kid. I mean, you beat box and everything. But now that I know you're not special..... I mean, not special at all....
Adrian: NO! I am! I am special!
Me: Didn't you guys hear that? You heard him say it right? I mean, I'm not going crazy.....
Adrian: (stomping up and down) I AM SPECIAL! I AM!
Tee hee hee!
Me: Seizures? No, I'm not epilleptic.
Jesus: No! No! Big teacher cee-zars! Big nice ones!
Me: Like a salad? I don't have a Cesar salad either. I had a sandwich for lunch and that was hours ago.
Jesus: MISS J!
Me: What? Tee hee hee!
Girl: K, so, Miss J--
Me: Dude. Did you just call me queso Miss J? I mean, I know I'm from Wisconsin and all, but I don't appreciate being called cheese.
Girl: What?!
Me: I know, my jokes... sometimes awful. Maybe even cheesy. But it's not nice. I don't call you carne asada girl.
Girl: Oh my god.
Me: Pablo, what are you doing?
Pablo: NOTHING!
Me: Seriously?
Pablo: Yes!
Me: Did everyone hear that?
(Everyone nods) Pablo totally just said he's doing NOTHING in my class. How is that acceptable?
Pablo: MISS J!
Me: What?
Me: Adrian. You're out of line. Why? Do you think you're special?
Adrian: NO!
Me: No? Really? That's kinda sad, cuz I always thought you were kind of special. Interesting. Good kid. I mean, you beat box and everything. But now that I know you're not special..... I mean, not special at all....
Adrian: NO! I am! I am special!
Me: Didn't you guys hear that? You heard him say it right? I mean, I'm not going crazy.....
Adrian: (stomping up and down) I AM SPECIAL! I AM!
Tee hee hee!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Monday, May 04, 2009
Highlighter
Did you know that kids have been known to yank out a highlighter's guts and stick WEED in the empty cavity? SO THEY CAN sneak their repulsive contraband to school and SMOKE a JOINT IN THE BATHROOM?!
My initial emotion was that of annoyance (You're KIDDING! Who's selling them this crap?! What the hell are they thinking?!?!), and then I was struck by the Brutal Gavel of Irony.
.... Highlighter.
My initial emotion was that of annoyance (You're KIDDING! Who's selling them this crap?! What the hell are they thinking?!?!), and then I was struck by the Brutal Gavel of Irony.
.... Highlighter.
Friday, April 24, 2009
8th Grade Standards are Crap
8th Grade Standards are garbage.
Take Strand 4, Concept 2: Reproduction and Heredity.
PO 1: Explain the purposes of cell division (growth and repair, reproduction)
PO 2: Explain the basic principles of heredity using the human examples of: eye color, widow's peak, blood type.
PO 3: Distinguish between the nature of dominant and recessive traits in humans
And that's it. I can't just teach that! That's! Garbage! And not interesting! Yawn!
So instead, we talked about:
1. DNA and its location, shape, function, and how it fixes itself. Ligase, telomerase and all. The sugar phosphate backbone. The bases--adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine. Histones. The discovery. Watson, Crick, Wilkins, Franklin and even Pauling. X-ray crystallography.
2. Genes. Their location. Sickle Cell Anemia. Mutations.
3. Chromosomes. Their location, number, variation in species, trisomy, male vs. female, how parents pass on different genes to their children. Chromosomal disorders.
4. Proteins. RNA's job. Ribosome's job. Receptor proteins. Structural proteins. Enzymes. The similarities and differences between RNA and DNA. mRNA, tRNA. Codons. Translation. Transcription. Replication.
5. Heredity. Zygotes. Sperm and Egg. The endless possibilities. In vitro and the crazy octuplet mom. Fraternal vs. Identical twins. Conjoined twins.
6. Traits. Acquired vs. Inherited. Physical. Behavioral. Gene-linked medical conditions. The impact of the environment and choices on us. Medical predispositions. Alleles. Dominant. Recessive. Homozygous versus heterozygous. Incomplete dominance. How much we have in common. Mendel. Punnet squares. Genotype vs. Phenotype. Tongue rolling to widow's peaks to hitch hiker thumbs.
7. Crazy shit. The spider goat. The human genome project. Cloning. Genetic engineering.
AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN COMPLAIN.
Of course, I'm sure all of it didn't stick. But that's okay!!!
Because.
Look at the.
HS Standards:
PO 1: Analyze the relationships among nucleic acids (DNA, RNA) genes and chromosomes.
PO 2: Describe the molecular basis of heredity, in viruses and living things, including DNA replication and protein synthesis.
PO 3: Explain how genotypic variation occurs and results in phenotypic diversity.
PO 4: Describe how meiosis and fertilization maintain genetic variation.
They will thank me later.
Take Strand 4, Concept 2: Reproduction and Heredity.
PO 1: Explain the purposes of cell division (growth and repair, reproduction)
PO 2: Explain the basic principles of heredity using the human examples of: eye color, widow's peak, blood type.
PO 3: Distinguish between the nature of dominant and recessive traits in humans
And that's it. I can't just teach that! That's! Garbage! And not interesting! Yawn!
So instead, we talked about:
1. DNA and its location, shape, function, and how it fixes itself. Ligase, telomerase and all. The sugar phosphate backbone. The bases--adenine, thymine, guanine and cytosine. Histones. The discovery. Watson, Crick, Wilkins, Franklin and even Pauling. X-ray crystallography.
2. Genes. Their location. Sickle Cell Anemia. Mutations.
3. Chromosomes. Their location, number, variation in species, trisomy, male vs. female, how parents pass on different genes to their children. Chromosomal disorders.
4. Proteins. RNA's job. Ribosome's job. Receptor proteins. Structural proteins. Enzymes. The similarities and differences between RNA and DNA. mRNA, tRNA. Codons. Translation. Transcription. Replication.
5. Heredity. Zygotes. Sperm and Egg. The endless possibilities. In vitro and the crazy octuplet mom. Fraternal vs. Identical twins. Conjoined twins.
6. Traits. Acquired vs. Inherited. Physical. Behavioral. Gene-linked medical conditions. The impact of the environment and choices on us. Medical predispositions. Alleles. Dominant. Recessive. Homozygous versus heterozygous. Incomplete dominance. How much we have in common. Mendel. Punnet squares. Genotype vs. Phenotype. Tongue rolling to widow's peaks to hitch hiker thumbs.
7. Crazy shit. The spider goat. The human genome project. Cloning. Genetic engineering.
AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN COMPLAIN.
Of course, I'm sure all of it didn't stick. But that's okay!!!
Because.
Look at the.
HS Standards:
PO 1: Analyze the relationships among nucleic acids (DNA, RNA) genes and chromosomes.
PO 2: Describe the molecular basis of heredity, in viruses and living things, including DNA replication and protein synthesis.
PO 3: Explain how genotypic variation occurs and results in phenotypic diversity.
PO 4: Describe how meiosis and fertilization maintain genetic variation.
They will thank me later.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Minds Gone to Pot
On 4/20.
Several 7th graders were in the park.
Smoking pot.
And then they brought it to school.
Smart.
IS ANYONE PARENTING THESE CHILDREN!?
Several 7th graders were in the park.
Smoking pot.
And then they brought it to school.
Smart.
IS ANYONE PARENTING THESE CHILDREN!?
I didn't know a forest could golf.
"Okay, coniferous forest would be one name of this biome, but what else is it called?"
Crickets.
"Also the boreal forest or the.... come on people, Russia. Canada. Starts with a T. Not tundra."
"T-A-I...."
Bayron looks at me. Grins. Sparkles.
"Taiga Woods. Heh heh heh."
Crickets.
"Also the boreal forest or the.... come on people, Russia. Canada. Starts with a T. Not tundra."
"T-A-I...."
Bayron looks at me. Grins. Sparkles.
"Taiga Woods. Heh heh heh."
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Jorge! And an apology.
Jorge came back!
And the Sexual Harassment Kid apologized!
What a day. More later.
And the Sexual Harassment Kid apologized!
What a day. More later.
Invasive J
Today, I had them look at two phrases and jot down anything and everything that came to mind. The two phrases:
Alien Invasion.
Illegal Alien.
They had three minutes to work with their tables, laugh and share (all of them were terrified to write "Mexicans" under illegal alien which made me laugh-- Mexicans worried being racist TO Mexicans is somehow hilarious). Then, I took their suggestions at the board. World domination. Adaptations, senses or skills we don't have. They look harmless but aren't. They shouldn't be here. Foreigners. Immigration. Dangerous. Destruction. Using all our resources and leaving....
As we are going over this, and I'm reiterating points, I see that one of my girls is collapsing into a heap of giggles. Her notebook is over her face and she's shuddering. I ask her what the joke is. She just points to the girl next to her.
"What?" Marissa just says. "All I said was, I didn't think it was cool that PEOPLE had to have papers but ANIMALS don't have papers. And they can cause all KINDS of trouble."
"Funny you say that Marissa.... because that's JUST where I'm going."
Dawning look. "Have.... have you been getting at invasive species this whole time without us knowing it?"
I grin.
"Damn, Miss J. You are sneaky." Indeed.
Alien Invasion.
Illegal Alien.
They had three minutes to work with their tables, laugh and share (all of them were terrified to write "Mexicans" under illegal alien which made me laugh-- Mexicans worried being racist TO Mexicans is somehow hilarious). Then, I took their suggestions at the board. World domination. Adaptations, senses or skills we don't have. They look harmless but aren't. They shouldn't be here. Foreigners. Immigration. Dangerous. Destruction. Using all our resources and leaving....
As we are going over this, and I'm reiterating points, I see that one of my girls is collapsing into a heap of giggles. Her notebook is over her face and she's shuddering. I ask her what the joke is. She just points to the girl next to her.
"What?" Marissa just says. "All I said was, I didn't think it was cool that PEOPLE had to have papers but ANIMALS don't have papers. And they can cause all KINDS of trouble."
"Funny you say that Marissa.... because that's JUST where I'm going."
Dawning look. "Have.... have you been getting at invasive species this whole time without us knowing it?"
I grin.
"Damn, Miss J. You are sneaky." Indeed.
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