Eighth Grade, here’s an opportunity to get some of your work published for all the world to see! The folks at Flocabulary, who produce the weekly hip-hop summary of the news that we watch on Fridays, have joined with the New York Times to sponsor a “Year in Rap” contest. Go here for more information, and be sure to read the Contest Rules and the Rubric. Also, the Lesson Plan might give you some really good ideas.
Sign your rap with only your first name and last initial, followed by “MMS-Avoca37″. If you work in a team, include the first names and last initials of all contributors.
The deadline is January 6, so start rappin’!
(P.S. Let Ms. Stewart or me know if you would like us to read your rap before you submit it–we’ll be happy to do so!)
I’m writing this post on the eve of presenting a new Social Studies curriculum to the Board of Education. A committee of hardworking D37 faculty and parents has been working all year long on revising the social sciences program to be more coherent and challenging and to have a broader, more global scope. There are many excellent improvements and changes in the new curriculum, which will replace one that was adopted about half a dozen years ago.
I won’t go into more more detail until the proposal is adopted by the Board of Education, but I will tell you that I’m very excited about adding a unit in 8th grade called “20th Century: Societies in Change.” Our students have traditionally demonstrated a good understanding of colonial America and the pre-Federal period, but I am always dismayed at their lack of awareness about the meaning of some of the great changes that occurred in the last century. Here, I’m talking about the changes in American foreign policy that resulted in the rise of the U.S. as a world power at the turn of the 20th Century; the social and political changes wrought by two World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War and the Women’s Movement; the impact of Watergate (a topic the students perennially ask to study); and much more. I’ve always believed that any social studies curriculum should be flexible enough to respond to emerging trends and interests, so I will definitely devote some time to examining the near-term and long-term implications of the continuing challenges to traditionally autocratic governments in the Middle East and North Africa. We live in interesting times!
Stay tuned for a more thorough explanation of the new D37 social studies curriculum as soon as it is adopted by the Board. In the meantime, please share your ideas by leaving a comment about anything I’ve written above. I’d love to hear from you.
This post is a private message to you, our 8th grade students, who are nervously preparing to take the Constitution Test tomorrow. First of all: Don’t worry–you are well-prepared for the test, and we are confident that you’ll surprise yourself with how much you actually know.
You will be asked to provide a thoughtful written response to one of several prompts that will appear on tomorrow’s test. Here is a list of the themes that comprise those questions. Keep in mind that the questions themselves will appear only on the test, so you won’t be able to pre-write your answers before class. However, you should be able to use this list below to select a topic and use your notes and other sources to strengthen your already well-developed understanding of the topic. Thinking about your chosen topic before you sit down to take the test will help you write a thoughtful and thorough essay rich in details and evidence to support your opinions on the topic. I hope you take advantage of this opportunity.
Topic 1: African American History. Where does the story of African Americans appear in our founding documents? What is the meaning of that history? What lessons can be learned?
Topic 2: The Executive. What are the powers of the President? How does he or she relate to other parts of the government?
Topic 3: Preventing Tyranny. Understand the meaning of federalism and power sharing, republican form of government, separation of powers, bicameral legislature and judicial review.
Did you ever think: What would I do without Congress? Here is a 1947 “short” about the powers of Congress. Watch it prior to the upcoming Constitution Test as a good review of Article I, Section 8.
By the way, did you know that this was made before most people had televisions? Shorts like this one were regularly shown at movie theaters before the “feature” film. Movie-goers would have seen this educational short about Congress before such popular 1947 movies as “Miracle on 34th Street” or “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”–two of my favorites. (Not! I wasn’t even born yet!)
Another interesting aspect to this short is how similar it is to “It’s a Wonderful Life”, the famous feel-good film by Frank Capra. In fact, don’t you think that the lead character in this short film about Congress looks an awfully lot like Jimmy Stewart? And if you’re a fan of German Expressionism, this is right up your alley. It’s pretty weird. Turn your speakers on and take a look…
I have sensed an ominous undercurrent of growing intolerance in the U.S. in the past few weeks. A month ago, the pastor of a non-denominational church in Gainesville, FL, announced that his members would host a “Burn a Qur’an Day” on September 11. A controversy has been boiling about whether to build a mosque near Ground Zero in lower Manhattan. Two weeks ago today, Ahmed Sharif, a New York City cab driver, was brutally attacked and wounded by a knife-wielding assailant for no other reason than he is a Muslim.
And now, I’ve learned just hours ago that my own synagogue has been notified that members of the hate-group Westboro Baptist Church (not affiliated with any American Baptist associations or conventions) will be present outside our place of worship for a demonstration tomorrow evening just as the Jewish New Year begins. If their past disruptions of soldiers’ funerals, flag-burning, and homophobic rhetoric are precursors of what their presence will mean tomorrow night, I will be happy to find sanctuary in the sanctuary. The difficulty I feel most acutely right now is how to get from here to there.
What I mean by “here to there” is the emotional distance I must travel from my current state of rage and helplessness to the place of equanimity and hope for the future that I know I will find in the company of my family and fellow congregants during the holidays.
But by “here to there” I also mean that the usual challenge of being a middle school social studies teacher lately has been made even more difficult. The “here” now includes the events mentioned above, and “there” is starting to look like it’s farther and farther away. How can I educate early adolescents to become informed and engaged citizens in our democracy without scaring them to death with information about our current economic weakness, war in Afghanistan, tension over the development of nuclear weapons in Iran, arguments over whether to build a mosque near the former site of the World trade center, and more? And now a fringe group wants to use my religious observance as a forum to broadcast their message of hate and intolerance. Isn’t my job to instill a sense of security and hope for the future in the young people who are my students?
An assignment I collected yesterday from my 8th graders is a set of essays based on a discussion in our textbook about the three basic American values of equality, freedom and justice. I had asked the students to reflect on their understanding of these values and to relate any personal anecdote about a time in their lives when they felt that one or more of these values had been compromised or denied to them. I expected some stories about how older siblings had been granted privileges that they themselves didn’t receive and similar kinds of unequal treatment. I think I also expected to hear some stories of discrimination from some of the braver students who have moved here from other regions of the world.
The very first essay I read was from a Pakistani American student who used the first part of her essay to explain her understanding of these important values, to proclaim her absolute support for the U.S. and the opportunities is affords her family, etc. But then she wrote about how awful it is that a taxi driver was assaulted simply because he is a Muslim. And now she worries about her father every day that he goes to work, because it happens that he, too, is a taxi driver who is a Muslim. Implicit in her paper is the question, “Will the American values of equality, freedom and justice protect my father better than they protected that poor cab driver in New York?” And I would add: Are they strong enough to protect any of us?
If you were her teacher, how would you respond?
As always, feel free to let me know what you think about these ideas, especially if you are a District 37 student, parent or resident. The address is katzr(at)avoca37.org–or leave a comment below.
I mean right now. You’re reading this, of course. But are you also responding to a friend in an open chat window? On the phone? Texting? Cooking dinner? Is the TV on? I ask because these are the tasks that our kids do almost every day of their lives (with the probable exception of cooking dinner!), and they do them simultaneously—with some potentially disastrous results.
I’ve been reading about what’s called the “plastic brain”, i.e., the ability of the brain to develop in response to experience and outside stimuli. Simply put: Kids’ brains are getting wired differently because of where they are and what they do. The adult brain developed the same way—through experience and stimuli—but there is a fundamental reason way the young brain and the old brain look and behave so differently. Those of us over the age of 35 grew up on a steady diet of stimuli delivered nearly sequentially. We did one thing, then we moved on to another. We had fewer demands competing for access to our brains through a limited number of available inputs. We could listen, look, touch, taste and smell. Kids still have only those few routes of access to the brain. But the explosion of “listen” and “look” opportunities offered by an ever-expanding media-centric world that is powered by ever more robust electronics and communication networks has caused a fundamental change in the way our kids’ brains develop. And it’s not all for the good, according to Nicholas Carr, author of The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.
The writer who reviewed Carr’s book in The Economist summarizes Carr thus:
Neurological research has demolished the myth of the static brain. Neural networks can be rapidly reorganised in response to new experiences such as going on the web. Mr Carr surveys current knowledge about the effects on thinking of “hypermedia”— in particular clicking, skipping, skimming—and especially on working and deep memory. He draws some chilling inferences. There is evidence, he says, that digital technology is already damaging the long-term memory consolidation that is the basis for true intelligence.
Wow, that’s pretty heavy. And yet, I’ve seen evidence of just what he’s talking about. For years, I’ve told my students that I can almost always tell when they’ve been doing their homework while watching TV or chatting on IM. Their sentences become shorter and are structured more simply; evidence of their ability to draw inferences and connections is absent; and their conclusions are weak and often are nothing more than a disjointed summary of what they’ve read.
What’s the result? The author continues:
Only by combining data stored deep within our brains can we forge new ideas. No amount of magpie assemblage can compensate for this slow, synthetic creativity. Hyperlinks and overstimulation mean the brain must give most of its attention to short-term decisions. Little makes it through the fragile transfer into deeper processing. Clearly, argues Mr Carr, this is a radical upending of the “literate mind” that has been the hallmark of civilisation for more than 1,000 years. From a society that valued the creation of a unique storehouse of ideas in each individual, man is moving to a socially constructed mind that values speed and group approval over originality and creativity.
And tell your kids to turn off their cell phones and stop texting while they do their homework!
As always, feel free to let me know what you think about these ideas, especially if you are a District 37 student, parent or resident. The address is katzr(at)avoca37.org–or leave a comment below.
Yesterday’s debates were terrific. Students on the affirmative side made cogent arguments about why, in its next relevant case, the Supreme Court should overturn its decision in Korematsu v. United States (1944) because of the potential for future violation of minorities’ due process and equal protection rights guaranteed in the 14th Amendment. On the other side, the teams arguing for the negative presented strong cases for retaining Korematsu as a precedent to allow the use of broad executive power in situations that are contextually similar to those that led to the incarceration of Japanese Americans during WWII.
In an interesting split, the judge of one of yesterday’s debates voted for the AFF (Elizabeth and Amanda), and the judge in the other debate voted for the NEG (Jamie and Kathryn). Unfortunately, some unavoidable personal circumstances prevented these two teams from meeting in today’s debate. Much to everybody’s delight, however, Mel and Hannah took the AFF side and Jamie and Kathryn reprised their NEG arguments after school today in a very exciting debate on the same topic. A 3-judge panel consisting of members of New Trier’s debate team awarded the debate to the NEG, so congratulations to Jamie and Kathryn.
I’m sorry that Michael, Marina, Adam, Elizabeth and Amanda weren’t able to debate another round today–they were prepped and ready to go, and I would love to have been able to see their performances.
All five judges in yesterday and today’s debates were highly complimentary of our students’ debate skills and encouraged them to pursue the activity in high school. Thanks to Linda Oddo, chair of New Trier’s speech and debate department, for facilitating the availability of the judges.
Congratulations to all the members of the MMJHS 8th grade debate squad!
I’m very excited to invite you to a program of competitive policy debate that will take place between teams of 8th grade students at Marie Murphy this week. The students have been working hard to prepare for this competition, which will be judged by members of the varsity debate team at New Trier High School and their coach.
Our debate teams are:
Team 1–Hannah A. & Mel R.
Team 2–Marina C., Adam E. & Michael G.
Team 3–Elizabeth L. & Amanda N
Team 4–Kathryn M. & Jamie S.
The first two debates will run simultaneously beginning at 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 26; they should conclude around 5:30 p.m. On Thursday, the first round will begin at 3:30 p.m., and the second round will start about 5:00 p.m., concluding about 6:15 p.m. After these final debates, we will hear a short critique by the judges and then hold a brief awards ceremony.
In deference to the debaters, guests will not be permitted in the debate rooms. However, you can watch the debates live in the Community Room and in Room 135. You are very welcome to watch the debates and then to attend both the critique and the awards ceremony.
If you are unable to attend, you can still watch the debates via live Internet streaming by going to the first debate room for one and to the second debate room for the other. If you are looking for a specific debater, you might have to switch between the two locations. Up-to-the-minute pairings with locations will be posted on this website 30 minutes before the debates begin.
As always, thanks for your support of our students!
Our active study of the Constitution has been completed, the “Big Test” is behind us, and well over 100 projects are in the process of being graded. But before I begin writing about our upcoming debate unit, I want to share a very cool project with you.
Thanks to the phenomenal technology support this district gives its students and teachers, the 8th grade is learning how to use VoiceThread for on-line collaboration and learning. This new Web-based software was introduced to the faculty several months ago, and it immediately caught my attention as something that can be a powerful tool to help students acquire a deeper understanding of social studies concepts.
I spent some time learning the basics of VoiceThread–just enough to get started–and then enlisted the aid of a small group of students to help me become more familiar with it and to learn the best way to implement it in whole-class settings. With their help, I learned a lot, especially how to recover from early mistakes and avoid them in the future! It was truly a collaborative experience, because I was learning right alongside the kids. In my opinion, this is the best kind of learning.
I decided to use VoiceThread to refresh and re-imagine a Preamble project that I had been doing for a number of years. In the process, it morphed from a current events project about the Preamble into one in which the students had to find representative photos about each section of the Preamble, comment on the connections between their photos and the respective sections of the Preamble, and invite others to offer their ideas and opinions. To me, this represented a perfect integration of technology, hands-on learning, research and critical thinking.
Here is our very first published VoiceThread:
I’d love to know what you think about it–and so would the students. Please leave your comments by clicking on the link below that says, “No Comments” (very counter-intuitive, I know), or write to me: katzr(at)Avoca37.org.
