Social Bookmarking

Social Bookmarking:

Netiquette Home Page -- A Service of Albion.com

Surprisingly, I received a 90% on the quiz. I guessed at two answers concerning chat room protocols as I’ve never been in an actual chat room; I figured that brb stood for be right back. A few of the questions were simple common sense; however, there were a few of which I was unfamiliar. The question about the conditions in which a forward could be done was a bit tricky. The answer “Remember the human” will stick with me.

Students should know the rules of Netiquette ranging from common courtesy to outright breaking the law. I don’t know that ignorance of the law would hold up these days with kids as technically savvy as they are. From what I understand in the educational community, text messaging and visuals of a sexual nature are quite common and subsequently damaging. Since computer classes are not a requirement for graduation (at least in my district) where they can be presented usage guidelines for their parents to sign), there must be informational document in a mass mailing which explains the provisions of computer usage for incoming students. There simply exists too many ways for computer misuse and there’s no room for pleading ignorant.

Ed Change:

I failed that quiz miserably; wow, so much for thinking I had some semblance of social awareness. Ironically, one of the few that I did get right I was actually hoping would be wrong:

“According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the median annual income for the U.S. white men (25 and over) who have earned graduate degrees is $80,000. What are the median annual incomes for Latina/Native American women who have earned graduate degrees?”
Although aware that the pay is far from commensurate with minority women, I was astonished that Native American women receive a mere $40,000 compared to the white male with the same degree at $80,000. Now, that’s both gender and race discrimination and I find myself wondering agencies that advocate for both Latinas and Native women. Certainly this is blatantly unconscionable and I would be interested in ascertaining what La Raza or the Indian Rights councils are doing to address such an injustice. Out of curiosity, I can’t help but be curious about the discrepancy between white men and white women. Sometimes I feel as if I just crawled out from under a rock. I had no idea that the gap was this huge, and it definitely is disturbing news.

Another mind blower: “What portion of the U.S. budget goes to welfare and Social Security?

The less than one percent answer was shocking. Welfare recipients abound – at least, that’s my take, and honestly, sometimes I resent that their perks represent my tax dollar hard work. With a full blown budget crisis in full swing, it certainly seems plausible that some of the bleeding heart liberals of yesteryear were too generous and subsequently, states such as California are flat busted broke. With this new reality check that the actual figures for Welfare and SS represent less than 1% of the U.S. budget, I have fewer objections to Welfare; however, I feel that elderly citizens who have worked all of their lives deserve much more compensation. I’m also left wondering what other U.S. budget surprises are in store, especially in the wake of today’s American financial plight.

Teaching Tolerance Lesson Idea

This site provides an excellent week-long lesson for teenagers via the National Youth Violence Prevention Campaign. Upon first sight, it reminds me of something Vista High School utilizes during Breaking Down the Walls week in which we guest speakers and facilitators.

Day 1: Promote Respect and Tolerance
Day 2: Manage Your Anger
Day 3: Resolve Conflicts Peacefully
Day 4: Support Safety
Day 5: United in Action

The following are also excellent lessons for high school age kids and they strongly supplement the Vista High Character Counts curriculum. They can be used in grades 9-12. Subjects include: No Name Calling, No Sticks, No Stones, No Dissing video and subsequent lesson plan activities An American Dream video by Martin Luther King and speech contest We Can Live Together video and writing assignments.

Multiple Intelligences:

Contrary to the last decade, there are now eight areas of Multiple Intelligences compared to 7. They include the interpersonal, intrapersonal, body-kinesthetic, spatial, musical, logical-mathematical, musical, and most recently, the naturalistic. Evidence shows that the eight areas, when carefully integrated into content, reflects success across the board. Multiple assessments and collaboration within staff are an important component of M.I. success. Wistfully, the writer wishes that resources were available for M.I. professional development and subsequent implementation in Vista Unified.

Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators - Home Page - Kathy Schrock's Guide ...
Under the category Literature and English Language Assessment, the link to Chico High School English Language and Literature Resources provided novels and short stories for English Language Learners

KidsClick!
My students are secondary English Language Learners with learning challenges recommended sites under Reading, Writing, and Speaking: ESL Café, The Problem with Listening: English as a Second Language. Chances are, they would not appreciate
Some of the child-like visuals and graphics; however, anything can be changed to accommodate older students.

NEA-Achievement Gap:

Multi ethnic groups, English Language Learners, students with learning disabilities, and youngsters who come from low income families are most at risk to be placed in achievement gaps and they are frequently the population I work with.

For starters, the guideline that most struck me is “Determine the diverse groups at your school by considering cultural, linguistic, racial, and ethnic diversity and find out the degree to which students in these groups are accessing available school resources.” Since I am a special education teacher, I have a bit of an edge as most of that data comes from feeder school IEPS. Those who are English Language Learners or Migrants are usually receiving commensurate services; however, the CELDT scores drive placement. It’s helpful to know that it’s against the law to test students of African American ethnicity unless the parents ask for it. Knowing the socio-economic status is a plus because I can then discern a student’s language needs if they speak BIC (Basic Interpersonal Skills) or if they’re closer to proficient. Having access to the IEP and the cume files are huge pieces when ascertaining specific student needs.

Another guideline that supplements my classroom style is “Engage school staff in discussions and activities that offers an opportunity to explore attitudes, beliefs, and values related to cultural diversity and cultural competence.” My first full lesson of the year entails positive co-existence in class and on campus. It’s based on conflict resolution techniques and an exercise entitled “Home Court. (La Meres, The Winner’s Circle)Vista High offers the Renaissance and Character Counts programs in which I encourage the kids to join. Renaissance rewards students who ordinarily would be unnoticed, and Character Counts wields the Six Pillars: Respect, Trustworthiness, Caring, Fairness,Citizenship and Responsibility. Since I was fortunate enough to attend the Character Counts seminar, I have a wealth of materials that I incorporate with my lesson plans. For example, my classes are just finishing To Kill a Mocking Bird and hence, doing a character study on Artifices Finch. As in the other major literary works we covered, students are asked to identify which Pillars the protagonist reveals and how those character traits affect plot development.

Finally, “gathering and organizing resource materials related to culturally diverse groups for use by school staff” fits my teaching style because I am a known collaborator and a multi modality instructor. One need not apply for a SPED position if they are not because I am only one of an IEP Team and only one of both English and ELD departments. From the many in-services I have attended district wide, via BTSA, or my SPED Level II program, I have so many gems to share – short story units for SDC/ELDs, Character Counts, Breaking Down the Wall Activities, Lindamood-Bell Reading Strategies, Lesson Plan by Design, Quantum Learning, Holt, and CLAD courses have left me with resource materials which address culturally diverse students. There simply is not reason to re-invent the wheel when there are so many resources with which to collaborate.

National Archives: The Charters of Freedom
I choose to view the online exhibit “The Charters of Freedom” which showcases the actual creating of The Charters, the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights. The site’s visuals, for either sale or download, are off the chart in color and detail. I can’t help but remember how I, as a teen, found history so dull, but this site clearly depicts, in color and detail, what I bypassed so long ago. If I taught history, my room would clearly reflect the artistic artifacts the site showcases.

One could easily write an epistle on the importance of primary resource importance as primary resources generally reflect a more specific or authentic piece of content. A strong primary resource shows evidence (the big buzz word in this day and age) that the student did an extensive search for pertinent text, visuals, or even an artifact of sort.Primary sources strengthen a research paper and the subsequent hypothesis; and in so doing, create an interactive and aesthetically pleasing project in a multi-modality way.