Work at Home vs. Homework

Homework might not be the topic du jour for homeschooling families, but it is becoming a rather hot issue in education circles. Two fairly recent books, The Case Against Homework: How Homework is Hurting our Kids and What We Can Do About It by Sara Bennett and Nancy Kalish and The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing by Alfie Kohn address what these authors feel is a real crisis in public and private schools; that is, too many kids are doing too much school work after the school day is done. Homeschooling families, of course, control the amount and content of their children's education, but the topic might still be of interest. A discussion about homework really is a discussion about what, when, and why our children are learning...whatever it is they are learning! You might want to explore "Voices in the Family" with Dan Gottlieb on WHYY Radio in Philadelphia and the episode titled: The Homework Debate as well as Sara Bennett's blog, stophomework.com for more food for thought. PS...I know, this post is clearly biased. I'm not a big fan of homework but I am a big fan of reasonable amounts of intellectual school work done at home!

Embrace the Robot

Along the highway from San Ignacio to Belize City, we passed a rather jaunty, hand-painted sign with the phrase, “More Tomorrow”. Our driver told us that More Tomorrow was the name of the village down the dusty lane and was the last community in Belize to be without electricity. This small, but hopeful, town is looking forward to having More, of what everyone else has, Tomorrow.

Once the citizens of More Tomorrow do get electricity, their petite, tidy homes will be bathed in a light-bulb yellow glow, they will be able to cool down their Fantas with ice cubes and they will be able to…log on. If you don’t mind, I’d like to interrupt my own narrative and ask you to watch the following YouTube video: Did You Know? Well…that video scares the heck out of me. I am very overwhelmed by the pace of technological change, rather bereft at how so much of our day to day life is different from when I was young, and quite worried about us losing our collective human minds. In short, I am afraid of robots taking over the world.

Yet…without Google, Stumbleupon, RSS feeds, or even Facebook, I have just recently come to terms with our future. And it’s looking much more rosy. How? Literature has saved the day. See below:

Recently my mother took some time to sort through her books. She sifted through her Books-I-Have-To-Read and Books-I-Think-I-Want-To Read and Books-I-Know-I-Don’t-Want-To-Read (maybe) and gave me a huge box of dusty, slightly moldy British mysteries. At the very bottom was an equally musty copy of Ray Bradbury’s collection of short stories, “I Sing the Body Electric!” written in 1969. I decided to read the story with the same title.

In a nutshell, three siblings—Tim, Agatha, Tom—living in a sci-fi future (one of those futures that feels like the past) are desolate because their mother has died. Very soon their father decides that what they really, really need is an electronic grandmother. This information is received with some incredulity, but they are open to the idea. The family makes the trip to the robot factory (where Fantoccini Ltd. “has perfected the first humanoid-genre minicircuited, rechargeable AC-DC Mark V Electrical Grandmother…”) and put in their order.

Soon Grandmother arrives via helicopter. Curiously, she is encased in a sarcophagus complete with hieroglyphics. But the creature that emerges from her mummy linens isn’t just a plump grandma-shaped Roomba. She is the keeper of the children’s past, present, and future; she bears witness to their loves, joys and sorrows. In short, she is the repository of their souls.

“Grandma, O dear and wondrous electric dream…

When storm lightnings rove the sky making circuitries amidst the clouds, her name flashes on my inner lid. Sometimes still I hear her ticking, humming above our beds in the gentle dark. She passes like a clock-ghost in the long halls of memory, like a hive of intellectual bees swarming after the Spirit of Summers Lost. Sometimes still I feel the smile I learned from her, printed on my cheeks at three in the deep morn…”

They love her because she is them; she loves them because they are her.

The Robots are coming. But take heart technophobes and embrace the robot, for as the Fantoccini brochure says, “This human being, for human she seems, this embodiment in electro-intelligent facsimile of the humanities, will listen, know, tell, react and love your children…” even when we are gone.

Thoughtful Links

Soul Shelter/”Remarkable Handheld Devices Transport Users Far Beyond Computing”: This is a very funny, timely post from a blog called “Soul Shelter”. In the post, the blogger talks about a very simple device that helps you record your thoughts and ideas…

Steven Spielburg’s/AI (Artificial Intelligence): Spielburg must have read Bradbury’s story. Same theme, heartbreaking plot, you’ll cry your eyes out.

Honoring Individuality: A Holistic Approach to Student Success by Jo Prockop, Director of the Center for Learning at the Pennington School: This essay explains quite clearly why technology is a good thing.

Walt Whitman/”I Sing the Body Electric”: It’s quite interesting that Bradbury picked this poem from Leaves of Grass to be the title of his short story about an electric grandmother. “I Sing the Body Electric” by Whitman is a very detailed and rather explicit homage to the beauty of the human body. The electricity in his poem refers to the pulse of life found all through our human selves. But…Whitman does ponder this: “And if the body were not the soul, what is the soul?” It’s a beautiful, very American poem.

In Praise of Graphica

In Praise of Graphica

When I was young, in the 1970’s, our family went to Cornish, New Hampshire every summer.  We did not have any television all summer long.  So, instead of eating pretzels and WisPride while watching the ABC Afterschool Special, I nibbled maple sugar and read…and read…and read some more. 

I was not told how to read, when to read, or what to read.  And so I consumed:  countless Reader’s Digest’s, Seventeen Magazine and Cosmo, National Geographics from the 1920’s through the 1950’s, novels for adults that appealed to children, like Anna and the King of Siam, thick tomes of “Condensed Books”, children’s novels published and printed in the 1900’s (this was an old house that came with a small library) and best of all, comic books.  Batman, Superman, Spiderman, Archie, Wonder Woman, Super Girl, Cracked, Mad Magazine…I read them cover to teeny tiny cartoons in the margin to cover.

Looking back, with my teacher perspective, I realize that there is much to appreciate about those comic books strewn about the coffee table.  They had clear, suspenseful and archetypal story lines.  They included many strong, heroic female characters.  They were written with a lot of high-level vocabulary, easily understood because of the graphic context.  There was lots of dialogue, of course--terrific background for future fiction writing.  In addition, I had to attend closely to all of the text on the page so as not to miss the plot.  And finally--simply--by reading them I added to my repertoire of books and became an even better reader.

And now, lucky for me, graphica--as comic books and graphic novels are known--isn’t only found in comic book shops.  It’s…everywhere!  You can choose from adult classics of the genre such as Mause:  A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman or Persepolis:  The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi.  Along with Superman or Calvin and Hobbes, your children can read titles like Amelias’ Notebook, Captain Underpants, Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and many more.  You will find graphica in public libraries, school libraries, kid’s backpacks, kid’s school desks, highbrow bookshelves, lowbrow bookshelves, bookstores, and professional books.  The only place where it remains a bit scarce is during classroom reading instruction…

Children become fluent readers by reading, reading and reading.  It’s that simple.  I am a fluent reader because I had huge chunks of time when I wasn’t told how, when, or what to read.  I read it all and comic books were an extremely important part of my literary upbringing—not to mention my summer memories.

And Wonder Woman and Super Girl were just SO cool!

Thoughtful Links

Adventures in Graphica, Using Comics and Graphic Novels to Teach Comprehension, 2-6, by Terry Thompson: “Literacy coach Terry Thompson helps teachers navigate this medium, and shows how it fits into literacy frameworks and correlates with best practices in comprehension, vocabulary, and fluency instruction.”  I haven’t read this book yet, published by one of my favorite professional development publishers, Stenhouse, but I will buy it right after posting this blog.

Boy Writers, Reclaiming Their Voices by Ralph Fletcher:  This book is fun to read and is a great resource for teachers.  Fletcher presents writing from a boy’s perspective and offers specific steps, ideas and insights into how to develop a writing classroom which truly nurtures their talents.

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, by Michael Chabon:  This is one of my favorite books of all time.  Really!  During the 1930’s, two cousins—one American, one from Eastern Europe--create what becomes an incredibly popular comic book hero, the Escapist.  This book is beautifully written and wonderfully fun to read.  You will have a renewed respect for the comic book genre and how it has shaped our shared American experience.

 

 

 

A Very Simple Teaching Tool

The typical public school teacher’s day is outrageously busy:  individual student needs, parent concerns, emails, paperwork, meetings, articulation with other educators, curriculum design, lesson planning, mandated professional development, personal professional development, phone calls, the needs of the class, grading, assessment, scheduling, field trips…

It’s time to take a deep breath and remember that very often what is simple is best. 

The Writer’s Notebook is a very simple, yet very powerful, tool to help your students become more effective readers, writers and thinkers.  It’s easy! 

1. The children get a notebook and write in it several times a day. 
2. Feel free to assign it for homework.
3. Don’t panic if they lose it.
4. Never, ever grade the Writer’s Notebook.

Your students can use the Writer’s Notebook to…think about how they feel about a topic, a character, or an issue.  It can be used to…jot down the answer to a question before a small group or whole class discussion.  It’s a safe place in which to…practice those new reading and writing strategies.  In the Writer’s Notebook students will…respond to a poem, an idea, or an image.  It’s a perfect place to…do the pre-writing and/or rough draft of their essay, letter, or story.  It’s a personal space in which to…collect images and thoughts for their next poem or news story.  The Writer’s Notebook is powerfully simple:  it lets your students write their way through Language Arts instruction.

Let’s be honest with ourselves.  The end result of our writing instruction—despite all of our modeling, scaffolding, writing processing, collaborating, sharing, peer editing, rubric & criteria using—is that the students’ writing pieces will be graded.  The writing we do in the classroom is almost always high stakes.  The Writer’s Notebook is a place for students to write meaningfully and with purpose in a safe, non-judgmental environment.  It is high purpose, low stakes writing. 

And it only takes minutes a day!

Thoughtful Links and Ideas

A Writer’s Notebook, Unlocking the Writer Within You by Ralph Fletcher:  Ralph Fletcher is one of my favorite educators/authors at the moment.  He really knows what children need in order to become more successful readers and writers—especially boys.  This book is a terrific introduction to the Writer’s Notebook and a great resource as well.  It was written for the middle-school student and so it goes quite quickly.  Please note:  Ralph Fletcher has a terrific interview on New Hampshire Public Radio and will be visiting our area for the Spring Tri-County Reading Conference on March 26, 2009.  Check out his website for all the details.

Notebook Know How, Strategies for the Writer’s Notebook by Aimee Buckner:  This in-depth resource offers the intermediate and middle-school teacher both the rationale for the Writer’s Notebook as well as a myriad of tips, mini-lessons, and samples of student writings.  Ms. Buckner’s book will support your Writer’s Notebook endeavors indefinitely.

Soul Shelter Blog/”Remarkable Handheld Devices Transport Users Far Beyond Computing”:  This is a very funny, timely post from a blog called “Soul Shelter”.  In the post, the blogger talks about a device that helps you record your thoughts and ideas…It’s a perfect—and simple--tool to accompany the Writer’s Notebook! 

 

 

Go Outside!

“It is not half so important to know as to feel when introducing a young child to the natural world.” --Rachel Carson

By the time she was seven, my mother was an excellent swimmer.  All the summer children on Fire Island, New York, were expected to understand the power of the water that surrounded them.  When she was eight, she could expertly manage the surf and ride the waves to shore.  My father, also a child of the 1930’s, was allowed to roller skate from 8^th street up to Central Park South in New York City.  Can you imagine parents of today allowing their young children such freedom and independence?  Can you imagine what my parents gained by being able to navigate the outdoors on their own?

Last Child in the Woods:  Saving Our Children from Nature Deficit Disorder by Richard Louv is an important and necessary book.  His message is clear:  allow our children to connect and interact with the natural environment beginning right now.  Children are the future stewards of our planet and they need to connect with and learn about nature in order to truly care for it well.

Richard Louv gave a presentation about his book at a local high school, and his talk was both passionate and positive.  Reading about nature, watching television shows and movies about nature, and hearing about what will befall us if “we don’t take care of the rain forest” is not going to help children save the environment.  He firmly believes that children can become environmental caretakers and grow as human beings only if they are given the opportunity to explore, rearrange, interact with, directly observe and bear witness to our natural world.

As educators and parents, we need to start incorporating environmental education into our curriculum beginning… right now.  As Richard Louv says, “When we deny our children nature, we deny them beauty.”

Thoughtful Links and Ideas

Books

A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel:  This superbly written book shows the true resiliency of childhood.  After reading this, you will worry much less about giving your children too much freedom.

Sharing Nature with Children and Sharing the Joy of Nature by Joseph Cornell:  These are environmental education classics, offering the reader numerous truly fun and creative nature games and activities for children and adults.

Sunflower Houses and Holly Hock Days by Sharon Lovejoy:  These beautifully illustrated books are packed with growing-a-garden tips, nature lore, poems, garden projects and more.

Local People

Pam Newitt:  Pam is a local naturalist and founder of Nature by the Yard.  She provides high quality, very hands-on nature programs for children, schools and communities.  Her excellent book, Nature Inside Out, shows educators how to use their backyard, schoolyard and neighborhood to engage children with nature.  This book is an incredible resource for parents, home educators and schools who want to begin to share the outdoors with children.

Jeff Hoagland:  Jeff is the Environmental Education Director of the Buttinger Nature Center at the Stony-Brook Millstone Watershed Association.  He has a very thoughtful blog in which he shares his in-depth knowledge of the natural world around us and muses on the importance of incorporating that world into our lives.  He gives talks on environmental education issues and, through the Watershed, conducts guided nature walks in central New Jersey.

More Ideas

Free Range Kids:  “Let’s Give Our Kids the Freedom We Had!”

No Child Left Inside Coalition:  “Healthier Kids, A Healthier World - No Child Left Inside!”

Great Back Yard Bird Count:  “The Great Backyard Bird Count is an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent.  Anyone can participate, from beginning bird watchers to experts.  It takes as little as 15 minutes on one day, or you can count for as long as you like each day of the event.  It’s free, fun, and easy—and it helps the birds.”

 

 

 

 

Stuff

This post reviews a classic children’s book and explores how people—past and present—manage the things that fill our lives.

I just finished reading All-of-A-Kind Family by Sidney Taylor.  Published in 1951, it features an immigrant Jewish family living on the Lower East Side of New York City in 1912.  It’s a lovely story—perfect for 8-10 year-old girls—chronicling the gentle adventures of five sisters and their hard-working parents.  While the action might be too tame for today’s children, the characters have lots of personality and the plot is quite engaging.

A few things about life in 1912 really stand out…how much time and work it took for Mama to care for a large family and small apartment without modern appliances, how much candy you really could get for a penny, and how little “stuff” they all had.  This is in direct contrast to our lives here in central New Jersey.  As I write, my daughter is playing Club Penguin on the internet, where she gives life to a virtual penguin who spends a lot of time playing games and buying…homes, furniture, clothes, accessories, pets, art, musical instruments and more.  My son is listening to his brand-new iPod nano, where if he was so inclined, he could store and then listen to 2000 songs.  (The iPod classic can store up to 40,000 songs!)  I of course have access to the Internet with its infinite amount of things—both portable and informative.  I find it all overwhelming at times and question whether it’s ok to be with all this stuff.  And yet…are we really so different from those in 1912?

Which brings me back to Taylor’s very refreshing historical novel.  When it’s time for Papa’s birthday, the all-of-a-kind girls plan and plot, save their pennies (literally), and finally scour Mr. Pincus’s bargain store for just the right gift.  It takes them a while, but they do indeed find something wonderful for their father:  a cup and saucer with raised gold lettering spelling out FATHER, including…a narrow ledge on which to rest his moustache!  Talk about stuff! 

 Every generation finds ways to appreciate and manage its material goods, so perhaps I shouldn’t be so worried about “things.”  After all, our daughter paid for six months of Club Penguin with her own money and our son’s iPod was a special gift from his grandparents, aunt and uncle.  The message in All-of-A-Kind-Family is beautifully simple:  Enjoy what you have; love and care for the people around you.

Thoughtful Links NJ Digital Highway  njdigitalhighway.org  This is terrific resource for exploring the immigration experience in New Jersey and finding out about New Jersey’s past. The New York City Tenement Museum   tenement.org  This museum, located in New York’s lower east side, is one of the most engaging and worthwhile educational experiences in the area.  The website is a good resource as well. 'Parenting Inc.':  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89434940  This is an article on npr.org exploring the high price of parenting today.  It asks, again, do we really need so much stuff to be good parents?  And who/what makes us feel that way?