Blogs

Our discussion of Leonardo da Vinci last week started a great dialog about how to create well-rounded students who are willing and motivated to learn in all different subject areas. I think Kelly Tenkely stated it perfectly in her blog, Dreams of Education, “True learners are multidimensional, they are passionately curious about the world around them.” As we shift gears this week to discuss physics resources, we want to be sure the resources we present are in line with this goal of creating passionate, curious learners throughout the grades.

Every once in a while, the topic of American dependence on oil rears its head, is hotly discussed and debated by politicians and the media, and then recedes into the background. The current civil unrest in Egypt has once again prompted discussion as to the grave economic, political, and environmental challenges caused by the U.S.’s reliance on oil and other fossil fuels. Despite the warning bells that have been sounding for decades, the U.S. has been slow to rigorously explore and fund alternative sources of energy. Perhaps the recent increased attention to global warming and the high costs of petroleum-based energies will further spur development of other types of fuel sources.

Do you have a polymath in any of your classes? A what?? A polymath is defined as a very learned person with encyclopedic knowledge. A polymath is a person who thinks, explores, and experiments to become an expert in many fields. These are the kind of people who treasure lifelong learning (and people you definitely don’t want to go up against in Jeopardy!). I know I don’t quite fit into this group of experts, although I wish I could say I do. To create a thinker of this caliber is the ultimate goal of many educators.

Scientist. Inventor. Painter. Sculptor. Architect. Cartographer. Mathematician. Maverick.

The list of attributes goes on and on. If I wasn’t referring to Leonardo da Vinci, this type of person surely seems too good to be true. Mythical, in fact. Really, who can excel in all of these subjects, and more?

"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically... Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Every year in the weeks between Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Black History Month, teachers produce lesson plans and activities on the subject of race and racism. It’s an important topic, and one that is hopefully addressed throughout the school year as needed, rather than relegated to a six-week period each year. Still, the subject of race can present a challenge to many teachers, especially in a racially diverse classroom where misunderstandings can easily bloom.

A 7th grade teacher assigns her class a 2-week research project on art history. She challenges her students to use a variety of sources in their research. As she explains the project to her students, she is met with 30 blank stares. One student gasps, “You mean we have to look up the books at a library?” Another one asks if it’s okay to do all of his research online. A girl in the back raises her hand and asks, “Can I interview my Dad for the project? He works at the art museum.”

What do Coldplay, historian Stephen Ambrose, and Beatle George Harrison all have in common? They’ve all, at one time or another, been accused of plagiarism. Despite this dubious distinction and the scandal it brings, plagiarism is alive and thriving in our society, thank you very much. A recent Education Week survey found that 54% of students surveyed admitted to plagiarizing from the Internet for class assignments, while 47% of students believed that their teachers sometimes turned a blind eye to evidence that their students were cheating. In 1989, another survey found that 97.5% of American high school students admitted to allowing other students to copy their work.

Although classes are divided by grade level to ensure that the students are as similar as possible, there is often a challenging variety of ability levels, learning styles, and personalities in each classroom. Some students may come into your classroom with labels, IEP’s, and even instructional aids that are intended to help teachers best serve their needs. Other students will need special teaching techniques for their optimal learning, even though they haven’t been identified as a special education student. As I researched resources for special education, it got me thinking about the goal of this type of education. Successful special education is individualized for each learner’s needs.

In 1975, the U.S. Congress enacted Public Law 94-142, or the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. This landmark law required all publicly-funded schools to provide evaluations and equal access to education to physically and mentally disabled children. The Act was revised and renamed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) in 1990. Other countries, such as Sweden, had already recognized the importance of promoting educational equality among students of varying intellectual capabilities, and soon other nations began to follow suit with new legislation to address special education.