Saturday, November 29, 2008

Did Plato have a crystal ball?

Image credits: atarimagazines.com

Someday, in the distant future, our grandchildren's grandchildren will develop a new equivalent of our classrooms. They will spend many hours in front of boxes with fires glowing within. May they have the wisdom to know the difference between light and knowledge.

- Plato 427-347 B.C.

Indeed!

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Tuesday, November 18, 2008

How do you extend a lesson on simple machines

... and go beyond load, fulcrum, resistance etc.?

Get the learner to try compound machines.

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Monday, November 17, 2008

Legislating giftedness

I got an email from my sister pointing to an online resource on Intellectual Giftedness. Here's the link.

Now I've seen this and that about giftedness but I was intrigued by a "legal definition" from Texas, to wit, (legalese momentarily used here):

[The phrase] "gifted and talented student" means a child or youth who performs at or shows the potential for performing at a remarkably high level of accomplishment when compared to others of the same age, experience, or environment, and who

(snipped)
  • excels in a specific academic field." (74th legislature of the State of Texas, Chapter 29, Subchapter D, Section 29.121)
Nice to know that government extends formal recognition to children who could perhaps contribute immensely to human development and the national economy. And I'd like to believe that the giftedness label could be useful for allocating educational budgets to congressional districts. But I wonder if this would really promote meritocracy. For example, how would students with both giftedness and learning disabilities fit in. Perhaps insights from this book could help?

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Saturday, November 15, 2008

Used any interesting flashcard utility lately?

... try Quizlet.



Useful for collaborative reviewing of subject matter glossary. Don't overdo it though, or your kids will resent it.

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Wednesday, November 5, 2008

If you do not embrace your past...

... how do you expect to control your future?

Here's a quick trip back to one episode in Obama's life as a third grade boy, via todayonline.com.

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