NFL Picks ~ Week Six

I'm back on a Thursday to bring you my weekly NFL picks. It was a rough 5-9 week five that cancelled out my modest win streak and set me way below .500 for the year. I’m riding some trends this week in hopes of climbing back to a winning record.

As I've done every week for over twenty years, here are my picks against the spread for the NFL:

Tennessee getting 6 from Pittsburgh
WIN
Tennessee 26 - Pittsburgh 23

Cincinnati giving 2 to Cleveland
LOSS
Cleveland 34 - Cincinnati 24

NY Jets giving 3.5 to Indianapolis
WIN
NY Jets 35 - Indianapolis 9

Kansas City getting 4.5 from Tampa Bay
LOSS
Tampa Bay 38 - Kansas City 10

Atlanta giving 9 to Oakland
LOSS
Atlanta 23 - Oakland 20

Baltimore giving 3.5 to Dallas
LOSS
Baltimore 31 - Dallas 29

Philadelphia giving 3.5 to Detroit
LOSS
Detroit 26 - Philadelphia 23

St. Louis getting 4 from Miami  
WIN
Miami 17 - St. Louis 14

New England giving 3.5 to Seattle
LOSS
Seattle 24 - New England 23

Arizona giving 4.5 to Buffalo 
LOSS
Buffalo 19 - Arizona 16

Minnesota getting 2 from Washington                
LOSS
Washington 38 - Minnesota 26

San Francisco giving 6.5 to NY Giants
LOSS
NY Giants 26 - San Francisco 3

Green Bay getting 3.5 from Houston   
WIN
Green Bay 42 - Houston 24

San Diego giving 1.5 to Denver 
LOSS
Denver 35 - San Diego 24
 

WEEK SIX RECORD: 4-10-0

2012 - 2013 Record: 38-52-1
2011 - 2012 Record: 129-126-11
2010 - 2011 Record: 130-130-7
2009 - 2010 Record: 138-125-4
2008 - 2009 Record: 139-120-8

Tech-able Moments

I was inspired by a post I read today on a blog I follow, A Teacher's Thoughts. Go ahead, read it. I'll wait right here. :)

Some of my 10th grade World Literature students are currently reading The Joy Luck Club in class right now, and we are fortunate enough to have laptops for every student, as well as a copy of the book.

This week I was thinking about how readers circles or groups once existed, in the days before mass production of books, to read aloud to each other and share in the experience. Before the printing press, this would have been the norm. Today, however, reading is a very individual experience, mad emore so by technological advances such as e-readers.

Along with our relatively new ability to read virtually anything to ourselves virtually anytime is an unfortunate consequence of increased rigor and high standards -- a busy curriculum that often leaves no time for reading together in the classroom.

I wanted to make the shared reading experience a priority, so I have shuffled around other assignments and flipped some activities to the home, and now my students and I are reading this novel together, aloud, in class.

With the laptops on, and novels in hand, there is so much we can do that I think I have only scratched the surface of its potential. So far, we have students participating in various roles, each comprised of anywhere from one to four students. Below the list of roles we have thought of so far (we are only a few days into our shared reading of Joy Luck), please comment and share any other roles that would enhance our learning.

• Timekeeper – notify the teacher when there are 10 minutes and 2 minutes left in each class

• Master of Pronunciation – look up pronunciations of names, places, foods, and Chinese words as we read (play an audio clip of the spoken word whenever possible)

• The Answer Finder – keep a search engine open and help find answers to other questions that arise as we read, including historical references

• Note takers – record the major plot points, background information, and class discussions while we read. Share your notes to the wiki editor to post online.

• Wiki editor – upload the notes from the note takers to the wiki page and keep it updated so we all have access to good notes

• Readers – take turns reading out loud in class as we read the story together - your teacher's voice can't handle reading it all!

• Chinese food expert– research and bring in to class information about the food items discussed in the book -- this will help with your menu-creating project

• Chinese culture expert– research and bring in to class information about the cultural events and traditions discussed in the book

• Artists – draw pictures, write poems, craft song lyrics, make videos, or use any other visual/creative means to express and represent the images and themes of the book as we read -- these visual and auditory cues will help with your retention for the final exams

So far, we are off to a great start. I am no expert in Chinese language or culture, but I do not have to be. When I (or any of my students) stumble over a word, a student volunteer quickly plays the pronunciation he or she finds online (within a matter of seconds!) and we learn together. When we stop to discuss, the note taker types what we learn. Later, the notes are posted to the class wiki. The experience is so much more engaging for multiple learning styles than we could ever hope to achieve reading in isolation. And we still do a lot of independent reading, too. What we don't finish in class must be completed at home. It has been going very well this week, but what are we missing?  What else is out there in terms of student roles that could enable everyone to participate at the same time while we read? Please leave suggestions in the comments below. Thanks! See you next Tuesday!

NFL Picks ~ Week Five

I'm back on a Thursday to bring you my weekly NFL picks. It took a 10-5 week four to start to dig my way out of a huge hole from the first few weeks, but I'm climbing back to .500 with an overall record of 29-33-1. This week's picks will hopefully get me back on the positive side.

As I've done every week for over twenty years, here are my picks against the spread for the NFL:

St. Louis getting 1 from Arizona
WIN
St. Louis 17 - Arizona 3

Atlanta giving  3 to Washington
WIN
Atlanta 24 - Washington 17

Philadelphia getting 3.5 from Pittsburgh
WIN
Pittsburgh 16 - Philadelphia 14

Green Bay  giving 7 to Indianapolis
LOSS
Indianapolis 30 - Green Bay 27

Cleveland getting 8.5 from NY Giants
LOSS
NY Giants 41 - Cleveland 27

Minnesota giving 5.5 to Tennessee
WIN
Minnesota 30 - Tennessee 7

Cincinnati giving 3.5 to Miami
LOSS
Miami 17 - Cincinnati 13

Baltimore giving 6 to Kansas City
LOSS
Baltimore 9 - Kansas City 6

Carolina giving 3 to Seattle    
LOSS
Seattle 16 - Carolina 12

Chicago giving 4.5 to Jacksonville     
WIN
Chicago 41 - Jacksonville 3

Denver getting 6.5 from New England             
LOSS
New England 31 - Denver 21

Buffalo getting 9.5 from San Francisco            
LOSS
San Francisco 45 - Buffalo 3

San Diego getting 3.5 from New Orleans
LOSS
New Orleans 31 - San Diego 24

Houston giving 8 to NY Jets
LOSS
Houston 23 - NY Jets 17

WEEK FIVE RECORD: 5-9-0

2012 - 2013 Record: 34-42-1
2011 - 2012 Record: 129-126-11
2010 - 2011 Record: 130-130-7
2009 - 2010 Record: 138-125-4
2008 - 2009 Record: 139-120-8

Education and the Presidential Debate

Watching this year's first Presidential debate on October 3, I was more than a little surprised at the lack of decorum and respect for moderator Jim Lehrer the two candidates showed. For example, when Lehrer tried ending the first segment to move to another topic, Romney interrupted with a brazen, “I get the last word of this segment.”

Later in the debate, Lehrer told the president,“Two minutes is up, sir,” to which he snapped back, “No, I think I had five seconds before you interrupted me,” and went on to finish an answer that took well over five additional seconds.

It seemed clear to me that Jim Lehrer had lost control over the debate, and I was very put off by the behavior of both candidates. I was not alone. Social networks like Twitter and Facebook blew up with similar sentiments being expressed about Lehrer being bullied by the two politicians. One person in my network liked Lehrer to the character Milton from Office Space, changing his "Excuse me, I believe you have my stapler" quotation to "I believe you have taken my debate."

ABC news also ran a political blog calling Jim Lehrer the biggest loser in the debate.

I disagree. To me, the biggest loser was public education.

In a debate where every segment ran over its allotted time, it seemed that the one and only time Lehrer made a stand to continue to the next topic without letting the two men continue with their last words was when the candidates were discussing education.

There had been so much discussion of health care, jobs and the economy that there was simply no time for education. That's right, the one factor that impacts all those other important topics and how they will play out in our nation's future, that was the topic that could be glossed over and pushed aside!

I was saddened, but not surprised to see education cast aside. We have widespread confusion about the issues in education in our nation, caused by some who wish to label our public educational system as failing, others who believe they know everything about education because they have been to school (I've been to the doctor's office, but that doesn't make me qualified to treat illness...), and still others who want to help, but do so with misguided attempts to overhaul an already stressed system and set teachers and students further behind, with less time to learn content.

Whenever I hear someone label our schools as "failing," I read between the lines, "There is a lot of money to be made by privatizing our public schools, so let's make sure the public thinks they are doing poorly."

I would have liked to hear the candidates talk about providing teachers more time to help students master the content and less time teaching to standardized tests. I would have liked to hear how Paul Ryan's education overhaul in Wisconsin would look on a national scale. I would have liked to hear how Barack Obama would change our system of assessment for schools and teachers. I wanted to hear more than a few brief sounds bites.

There simply wasn't enough time.

NFL Picks ~ Week Four

As I've done every week for over twenty years, here are my picks against the spread for the NFL:

Cleveland getting 11.5 from Baltimore
WIN
Baltimore 23 - Cleveland 16
        
New England giving 4 to Buffalo
WIN
New England 52 - Buffalo 28

Detroit giving 5 to Minnesota
LOSS
Minnesota 20 - Detroit 13

Atlanta giving 7 to Carolina
LOSS
Atlanta 30 - Carolina 28

San Francisco giving 4 to NY Jets
WIN
San Francisco 34 - NY Jets 0

San Diego getting 1 from Kansas City
WIN
San Diego 37 - Kansas City 20

Houston giving 12 to Tennessee
WIN
Houston 38 - Tennessee 14

Seattle giving 2.5 to St. Louis
LOSS
St. Louis 19 - Seattle 13

Arizona giving 5.5 to Miami
LOSS
Arizona 24 - Miami 21

Denver giving 6.5 to Oakland
WIN
Denver 37 - Oakland 6

Cincinnati giving 2.5 to Jacksonville
WIN
Cincinnati 27 - Jacksonville 10

Green Bay giving 7.5 to New Orleans
LOSS
Green Bay 28 - New Orleans 27

Washington getting 2.5 from Tampa Bay
WIN
Washington 24 - Tampa Bay 22

Philadelphia giving 1.5 to NY Giants
WIN
Philadelphia 19 - NY Giants 17

Chicago getting 3.5 from Dallas
WIN
Chicago 34 - Dallas 18

WEEK FOUR RECORD: 10-5-0

2012 - 2013 Record: 29-33-1
2011 - 2012 Record: 129-126-11
2010 - 2011 Record: 130-130-7
2009 - 2010 Record: 138-125-4
2008 - 2009 Record: 139-120-8

Back to School Night

I just came from my first back to school night in five years.

After five years out of the classroom as a teacher on special assignment, I found it was a major adjustment going from running professional development sessions, where I typically have two hours to get my point across, to trying to say everything I want to say about education in a matter of six minutes.

Whew!

I think I managed to get the key information out there. Here's how:

I spent several days ahead of time posting on my web page all the links to web sites that explain my philosophies (SBG, the flipped classroom, PBL, paper-free classroom, etc.) and provide examples of what we're doing in class, how parents can reach me, where to find our assignments, etc.

I covered as many of them as I could in my few brief moments with each class' parents this evening, hoping to pique their interest and show them where they could learn more.

On their way out, I gave them a single handout -- with the address for my web page.

The year is off to a great start. The students are on board, their parents seem on board, I'm already buried under a mountain of (electronic) papers to grade... we're rolling along!

NFL Picks ~ Week Three

As I've done every week for over twenty years, here are my picks against the spread for the NFL:

NY Giants getting 1 from Carolina
WIN
NY Giants 36 - Carolina 7

Chicago giving 7.5 to St. Louis
WIN
Chicago 23 - St. Louis 6

Tampa Bay  getting 8 from Dallas
WIN
Dallas 16 - Tampa Bay 10

San Francisco giving 6.5 to Minnesota
LOSS
Minnesota 24 - San Francisco 13

Detroit giving 3.5 to Tennessee
LOSS
Tennessee 44 - Detroit 41

Cincinnati getting 3 from Washington
WIN
Cincinnati 38 - Washington 31
 

NY Jets giving 2.5 to Miami
WIN
NY Jets 23 - Miami 20

New Orleans giving 9 to Kansas City
LOSS
Kansas City 27 - New Orleans 24

Buffalo giving 3 to Cleveland
WIN
Buffalo 24 - Cleveland 14

Indianapolis giving 3 to Jacksonville       
LOSS
Jacksonville 22 - Indianapolis 17

Philadelphia giving 3.5 at Arizona
LOSS
Arizona 27 - Philadelphia 6

Atlanta getting 3 from San Diego
WIN
Atlanta 27 - San Diego 3

Denver getting 2 from Houston
LOSS
Houston 31 - Denver 25

Pittsburgh giving 4 to Oakland
LOSS
Oakland 34 - Pittsburgh 31
 

New England getting 3 from Baltimore
WIN
Baltimore 31 - New England 30
    

Green Bay giving 3 to Seattle
LOSS
Seattle 14 - Green Bay 12

WEEK THREE RECORD: 8-8-0

2012 - 2013 Record: 19-28-1
2011 - 2012 Record: 129-126-11
2010 - 2011 Record: 130-130-7
2009 - 2010 Record: 138-125-4
2008 - 2009 Record: 139-120-8