Curious David in CARROLL LAND

The Poetry of Teaching and Learning

I am blessed here at school with the opportunity to interact with a number of bright, creative, and fun to be with colleagues. Those interactions, whether in person or via social media, invariably both humble me and enrich me and my teaching. Today I shared with my students a poem written by Antler which my poet/author/Lego-fanatic/musician colleague BJ Best had shared on his Face Book page not long ago when his son entered Kindergarten.

Antler (from his Selected Poems)

“Raising My Hand
One of the first things we learn in school is
if we know the answer to a question
We must raise our hand and be called on
before we can speak.
How strange it seemed to me then,
raising my hand to be called on,
How at first I just blurted out,
but that was not permitted.

How often I knew the answer
And the teacher (knowing I knew)
Called on others I knew (and she knew)
had it wrong!
How I’d stretch out my arm
as if it would break free
and shoot through the roof
like a rocket!
How I’d wave and groan and sigh,
Even hold my aching arm
with my other hand
Begging to be called on.
Please, me, I know the answer!
Almost leaping from my seat
hoping to hear my name.
Twenty-nine now, alone in the wilds,
Seated on some rocky outcrop
under all the stars,
I find myself raising my hand
as I did in first grade
Mimicking the excitement
and expectancy felt then.
No one calls on me
but the wind.”
My first week of teaching has been rewarding. Time to load the car before heading to North Lake for a swim.
I wish everyone in the USA an enjoyable Labor Day holiday.

Razing the Bars (Wordplay continued)…

~~Shoveling~~ Cleaning my office today I came across this history of the spell checker poem “Candidate for a Pullet Surprise:”
“I have a spelling checker,
It came with my PC.
It plane lee marks four my revue
Miss steaks aye can knot sea…”
I sometimes use it as a “screen” for hiring student assistants who can proofread carefully, spell, and have a good sense of humor. Sometimes I have them read it aloud or dictate it to a computer.

School Tools (Revisited): or Razing the Bars

I confess that I am addicted to buying office and school supplies and have been since I was a first-grader. With the beginning of classes imminent (and the deadline for Jane Hart’s top tools for learning survey on the horizon), it’s time to go to revisit my ~~school~~ toolbox. See Profhacker (and do a search for “tools”) for the preferred tools of younger and more digitally oriented colleagues.

Here are my top 10 tools NONTECHNOLOGY learning tools for razing the bars (homophone intended—in fact I toyed with the idea of writing this blog piece entirely in homophones AND publishing an audio version!)—i.e. for liberating the potential of students and of me from barriers that impede learning:

An assortment of number two pencils, plenty of erasers and some G2 bold thickness pens. (Yes, I COULD use a stylus with my Ipads).
An assortment of high lighters. Yes, I am aware of the research about the efficacy of highlighting for studying.
Moleskin-like notebooks. (Yes, I am aware of the online capabilities.)
Small legal pads at each of my desks at home and at school.
My Ipod nano and my Loksak splashsak fanny pack (like to listen to NPR and podcasts)
A Dymo label maker and an assortment of paper file folders.
A rolodex for keeping track of my myriad different web page and email logins
Printed copies of books. See my PsycCRITIQUES review “Lego ergo sum”.
Time protected against distractions, interruptions, and distractions. I prefer to use self-discipline to using electronic defenses against distractions.
My mind (whose thinking ability is always in need of sharpening). Fortunately I have frequent stimulating interactions with faculty colleagues, trustee friends, alumni, and students—and you, my non RSS reader.

Ten Resources for Contextualizing My Academic Institution's Well Being

I am sitting in front of my Mac in the office listening to the hammering of destruction construction outside while I do the homework to ask intelligent, informed questions of President Hastad and our invited speaker. I am delighted to have just received a “check-in” from my research assistant Tia. Right now preparation for playing soccer (and staying healthy) should be her priority.

Just quickly reviewed this week’s Chronicle of Higher Education with particular focus on articles dealing with “discount rates” and enrollment trends. Usually the updated figures occur around October 1. Here are resources I draw upon to give me a context for trends in higher education. Several of them allow me to create my own comparison group data bases (e.g. for salaries and endowments).
Ten Resources for Putting Into Context My Academic Institution’s Well Being

Oberlin Strategic Plan Reading List: Source: Web Page shared by David Simpson’s alma mater Oberlin College
College and University Endowments: Source: Chronicle of Higher Education
Tuition and Fees: Source: Chronicle of Higher Education
AAUP Salary Data: Source: Chronicle of Higher Education
Money Raised by Colleges, 2014 Fiscal Year: Source: Chronicle of Higher Education
Almanac of Higher Education: Source: Chronicle of Higher Education
Student Data: Enrollment Trends: Source: Chronicle of Higher Education
Executive Compensation at Private Colleges: Source: Chronicle of Higher Education
IPEDS (individual institutions and comparisons)
CUPA Surveys

Adieu Summer Reading Time

Tomorrow I’ll doff my invisibility cloak for a few hours while listening to President Hastad’s opening remarks. Then I’ll attend a talk about changes in the higher education market and trends in strategic enrollment management. It is always good to reconnect with colleagues and other members of the Carroll community after a rejuvenating summer.
I read a number of interesting books this summer (As always, I hope to give them away to those who love to read).

Ann Morgan’s The World Between Two Covers: Reading the Globe could easily be a foundation for some of our global education courses. My bibliophile friends might enjoy her thoughtful reflections about books, reading, publishing, and the role of global/international literature. She writes well, thinks clearly, and raises important questions. (See also her marvelous blog documenting her ambitious project to read a book translated into English from each of 196+ countries in a year).
Naomi S. Baron’s Words Onscreen: The Fate of Reading in a Digital World. I published a PsycCritiques review of this marvelous book this summer.
Neal Stephenson’s seveneves.
Emily St. John Mandel’s Station Eleven.
Anthony Doerr’s All the Light We Cannot See.
Kazuo Ishhiguro’s The Buried Giant.
Cixin Liu’s first two translated books The Three Body Problem and
The Dark Forest of his three part science fiction trilogy.
Sian Beilock’s How the Body Knows Its Mind: The Surprising Power of the Physical Environment to Influence How You Think and Feel. I have a review of this interesting book scheduled for publication in PsycCritiques later this year.