Adventure Quest's legacy

Experiencing and witnessing the affects of low self esteem and students who have very little resources or support at home.

--Geoffrey Canada, "Our Schools failing: Enough is Enough" TED Talks

Schools need to change

banks, technology have all grown and changed, why haven't schools. banks decided to open up after people get home from work, opened up on Saturdays.

State tests, give great data, but don't get scores back in time to do anything.  Lets have the continual calendar for schools to decrease the amount of time students have off away from academic stimulus and gain more time to actually put the Testing data to use.

Schools have to innovate and take risks.

yes you will have failure, but keep on creating. charter schools are good risks.

--bill gates said simply 5 billion on education could make huge impact on leveling the playing field in education.

- help us be teachers and parents. Elizabeth warren study.

Knowing how much a few kind words and someone's encouragement actually helps-7th grade Mr. Scarborro encouraging me to teach a lesson on the Heart in 7th grade science class. Turned my whole life around to focus on Academic Success

This set me on a career path to make sure I'm involved with teaching at schools where there is a diverse population with a high ratio with Socio economic needs. I want to make sure that I can help and encourage teachers to not only work hard but Show students they Love hard too.

I spent 15 years working in LA and SS- I consistently had above average performances (Meets &/or Exceeds) from most of my students. Teachers from other schools would observe me and say that they are teaching in a very similar fashion, and all I could add is that I take time to learn about my students and I tell them that i love them and appreciate them. That is really all I do. I eventually got into PE and now I have my own class that I've been able to really create new units for team building, leadership training, trust activities and overall just encouraging everyone to be the best themselves that they can be and teach acceptance and awareness of each other.

I believe that my class is very important with all my students. Maslow's Hierarchy of needs states level one physiological air, food, level two safety, level 3 love and belonging, 4 self esteem,, 5 self actualization. Before students can truly see their potential in life and have that moment of self actualization, they have to be loved, feel that they belong, and develop some self esteem. Adventure Quest does that. They practice speaking in front of their peers, they catch each other in Trust activities, they post work and art in my room so they know they belong, only positive comments are allowed, and they are taught how to perform turn taking conversations. Listening to each other shows you care and accept.  

 I teach students who raise and ride horses and students who do not eat dinner regularly. I bring them together to find commonalities and form friendships that cross social and economic lines. My job is to reach all my students and have them grow stronger, more trusting, more accepting, tolerant, confident leaders, encouragers, and positive role models.

Notes on Ted Talk and Podcast

Stephen Bezruchka Universithy of Washington

on "The Effects of Health and Poverty on Education"


individual behavior change can effect life span, compared to whether or not you spent the 1st life in poverty, mother wellfare when pregnant, experiences of grandparnets

health is intergenerationally

instit of medicine shorter lives and poorer health report

die younger than other rich countries cigarette smoking in japan ih higher but their death rate is lower Japan has the best life expectancy

educational outcome has a lot to do with chance, parent support for example,

elisabeth Warren Massachusetts senator researched-

1970 2 parent 2 child home had more disposible income wiht 1 parent working than today with 2 parents working

since both parents are working, we have no time to parent,

john bolks studied orphans after wwII

kids need the same 2 people in front of their eyes for the first 2 years, if theres more they are insecure

90 percent of moms breast feed in Sri Lanka, but in our country we are less than 10% a 15 year old girl has a higher chance of reaching age 60 here than in US

Jack SHarkoff of harvard said if you are exposed to poverty in 1st year in life it's like you have a neurotoxin in you brain that affects your whole life.

stess of feeling behind,

profiles of

biomarkers

cortasol

blood pressure

hemoglobiin a1c

stratisfy by socio ecoonomic stattus

poorer people have more of these stressors

this starts very early life

poorer recipients of heart transplants reject the new heart more often and richer recipients

our country has the most poor for any of the rich countries- being poor is bad for your health and all of our countries overall health

US spends a lot of money on Health care (1/2 of all world money)

so much inequality in US that is harms us all,- inequality hinders economic growth- world bank- inequality = poorer health

2009 harvard study

If we had less inequality = to the inequality in other rich countries we would reduce deaths by 1/3

Japah had a 20 year finicial recession and while we layed of 1000's their bosses, managers,and ceos took pay cuts to allow workers to keep jobs, take care of each other, decrease inequality,

how much do we care for others, teller gosher ucberkely

Rich have little empathy, sharing is decreasing,

income gap related to education gap=inequlity

the spirit level by richard wilkinson and kate pickett

inequality destroys societies

1 in 9 black men in prison

we house 1/4 of all prisoners in world

we have some of the worlds highest rates in life expectency, math, literacy, homicides, prisonment, trust,drugs, social mobiltiy AND The highest income inequality

I got mine, you get yours, is killing our country

we got to: tell the people that we are dying off faster than other countries: learn from other countries Swaziland, Liberia, NewGuinea, and US (all no paid maternity leave, lack of parenting time)

Sweden= Full year of maternity leave at full pay, father gets 30 months, 2nd year is optional at 80% pay, 3rd year child gets inroled in Swedish operated daycare, where workers must have an advanced degree in PLAY- experts in socialization, US=no sex abuse and minimum wage,

The measure of a Nation by Howard Friedman

US has the most schooling 12.5 years, We spend the most $12,000 per student annually and have very low outcomes,

we pay teachers .94 % of GDP, general teachers were bottom 3rd of graduating class,

Sweden =teacher and surgeon get paid similarly



classroom activities

-ask students to graph top 25 countries in HEALTH OLYMPICS with events = various life expectencies issues

US is not in top 25

go to institute of Health matrix and evalutation web site

see maps on county maps, life expectency of women going down in 1/3 of us counties, students could rank states or counties for men, women, people of color, immagrents - figure out reasons for discrepencies

-show on a map

international students succeed here because of their very nurturing environments growing up in their first 1000 days of life.

　

Geoffrey Canada

Our Schools failing: Enough is Enough
TED Talks

banks, technology have all grown and changed, why haven't schools. banks decided to open up after people get home from work, opened up on Saturdays.

Why can't schools do this, have summer time classes since science says poor kids fall behind in the summer

first 3 years of brain development in infants so critical.

all kids need preschool, but not all places offer it.

state tests, give great data, but don't get scores back in time to do anything. all great data is null and void since it's too late to use it.

year round schooling would help us be more reactive and helpful

it's high stakes, today, all these kids we are loosing.

have to innovate

yes you will have failure, but keep on creating. charter schools are good grounds to be creative, not all will work,

we cannot wait another 50 years to get this right,

we have to spend money now as if our lives and safety and liberty is at stake. We spend trillions on war, but merely millions on education.

bill gates said simply 5 billion on education could make huge impact on leveling the playing field in education. Help schools be teachers, parents, and mentors, coaches.

you have to let kids know you refuse to let them fail.

support systems in place, and encouragement from many different sources.

　
　

Podcast

Here is my first Podcast on my topic of interest, Poverty and its affect on Education.

 

https://www.spreaker.com/embed/player/standard?episode_id=8341271&autoplay=false

 

Four-Leaf Clover Hunt

This is a post I sent out to my faculty on St. Patrick's Day this year, so I thought I would share it here too. 

St. Patrick's Day 4-leaf clover hunt

 

 

 

If you're looking for something to do in class for the last 10 minutes of class, then I have a great and worthwhile activity. 

 

Send them outside to search through the newly grown clover all around our building.  Here's why this is not a waste of time.  First, of all, kids need to get outside more than they do.  This is also a great way to talk about the change of the seasons and discuss why it is broadly accepted that finding a 4 leaf clover equates to being lucky.  Also, I had 6 classes do this and before 2 classes I did very little explanation or preparation through questioning.  Those were actually my 1st and last classes.  All my classes have around 25-30 students.  Those classes found less than 10 four-leaf clovers as a whole class.  Three other classes I explained what we were doing and told a story of myself finding my first one at camp and making a wish that came true.   These all found about 20 four-leaf clovers.  Then something really weird happened.  I asked my second-to-last class if any of them believe in anything that they cannot see or haven't seen or if they have ever gained strength through belief in something.  The entire class except one student raised their hands.   In this class of 27, every single student who raised their hands found at least one and some found as many as 5 four-leaf clovers!   The one student who did not raise her hand searched and searched but did not find one.  Several students gave her one of theirs though.  Still, isn't that a bizarre??!!  

Now, to the WHY.

The level of excitement when the first student finds one and shows it off is so exhilarating and contagious, it is awe inspiring.  Just think about how we could make educating our students about grammar or math this exciting and designed for discovery in the midst of doubt.  Wow, this is duplicable and meaningful.   Brainstorming time :)  Also, the determination and competition that is generated in students once they see that someone else has achieved the goal and found a four-leaf clover is palpable.  Watching the faces of students who were frustrated, doubtful, and about give up change when someone else finds one and proves that they exist, and that they can do it too, makes this activity well worth it.   For the student, when they realize that they can find a renewed dedication to a cause and learn that just because something is hard to do or find does not mean is in undoable or can never be found.  This is a life lesson that will be used so much, hopefully, that it will become second nature.  The practice of "Keep On Keeping On" and the precedent this establishes can now transform into other areas of their life and schooling. 

 

Also, one more neat find I gleaned from this experience.  Watching the students walk around the grass is just downright humorous.   This is the same plot of grass that they have run all over, slid and chased each other over and yet on this day, they are avoiding crushing any clover and tip toeing around the school-yard.  All of a sudden certain plots of green are off limits and are now shielded and protected from all others.    I heard kids say, "You Shall not PASS." quoting Gandalf and other warnings to watch where they are walking.  I realized that by simply placing a value on something often overlooked changes students' approach, behavior, and thoughts about that newly valued something.    That is insightful and fun to watch.  I think that is where the Project Based Learning garners its strength.  Once an assignment has real world implications and once they know that community members and experts are going to be reviewing their work, that work becomes really valuable and the learning process becomes much more connected to each of the learners.  They have genuine buy-in and will have experiences in school that they will never forget. 

 

In review, here are a couple metaphors tied to real-life lessons that hunting a four-leaf clover aligns with. 

1. Just because something is hard to do, does not make it impossible.

2. Even if you don't see what you need at first doesn't mean it's not already there.

3. Seek and you shall find.   It just might take longer than you wish.

4. You can't find what you don't look for.

5. If someone else can do it, so can you. 

6. Success takes effort and time.

7. If you think you have found your answer, investigate first, then make your claim.

8. If at first you don't succeed, Try and Try again.

9. Finding the answers to some of life's challenges may require you getting on your knees.

10. Encouragement to keep trying often leads to success.

11. Placing value on something or someone changes everything even the way you walk.

 

Here is a fun read about the topic that shows you can also enhance math and science standard by hunting for four-leaf clovers.   

 

http://blog.minitab.com/blog/adventures-in-statistics/the-odds-of-finding-a-four-leaf-clover-revisited-how-do-some-people-find-so-many

 

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Reflections for my 2nd time using Screencast-O-Matic - Personal choice PPT presentation

Well, the new skill set I learned by using the Screencast-O-Matic online tool came in handy again.  This tool captures and records what you do on a computer and your voice as you talk about what your doing or showing.   We were meant to use Jing which does the same thing for the most part.  Jing is a program that you can have on any of your devices and with just a couple clicks of your button you can record your voice and what you're doing on the computer.  My problem is that my primary computer that I use is my school computer.   Everything that needs downloading onto my computer must be requested, approved, and then installed.  For whatever reason, Jing was never successfully downloaded, so I just reverted to using Screencast-O-Matic.com.   Like I said earlier, I was lucky enough to have learned this method of recording already. 
Now, as usual, I also bit off more than I could chew.  I really wanted to do a meaningful presentation that showed off some of the things I learned during this course. 

I really liked the Office 365 tools I learned about in my Virtual Team Assignment.  Also, since I presenting my faculty with a survey about  Technology use and confidence.   This lead us to presenting about Office 365.  When I shared this on-line professional development, my findings from my faculty is that they wanted to learn more about the Office 365 tool,  the Office Notebook and One Note.  So, my thought process was to do a brief introduction to both.  Once I finished explaining the One Note, I saw the need to explain how to use it and how it is similar to the "Snipping tool" found on most of our computers already.   Finally, I wanted to share how to hyperlink projects or images.

Basically, I was willing to go against one of the primary rules to PPT presentations.  Keep it simple.  I really decided to speedily cover 4 subjects for personal reasons.  I wanted to make sure I documented some tricks so I wouldn't forget them:)    I also knew that this presentation would probably be shared with my staff, but my staff knows me and to be frank, they expect it.  By it, I mean, something a bit much, over the top, or on a scale of 1-10...an eleven:)

http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cDfXYr1AHo

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Reflections on my first experiences with Screencast-O-Matic (Virtual Team Assignment)

The way I have always lead my life and especially my teaching career is that I would volunteer when to do what was new and unknown.  Back in Denver, I worked in an Experiential Education school that was always pushing the teachers to try new and different strategies in our classrooms.  Back when iMovie was first introduced, I volunteered to learn and use it, when Skype was first introduced, I learned and used it to speak with friends' from Virginia and California who were teachers and their classrooms, and time and time again I would jump into new ventures with both fee. If it was a project or a committee that was created around new teaching concepts or technology, I wanted to be involved.

When being the voice around the Virtual Team's Assignment about implementing training in a new technology, I jumped at it.   I wanted to learn a new skill and knew that I'd need to use it again anyway. So, the first thing I did was send out a request for anyone in my faculty who had experience with Screencasts.  I found my Media Specialist was an avid user and even gave me his account and password so that my group could use some of the features that only come with a yearly subscription like playing video attachments embedded into our slides.  I ended up recording what I wanted to say for each slide in a rough form and then listened to it as a whole made some notes for revising and then recorded the whole screencast in one take.   My notes included examples to use, areas to add humor to break up monotony, and to remember to smile as I read to increase a positive tone.

The experience making this Virtual Team Screencast was a good one.  I feel I represented my team and myself in a professional, effective, and entertaining way.  I got very good feedback from my faculty and my teammates. 

https://fultonk12.sharepoint.com/sites/elkinspointeteachers/_layouts/15/guestaccess.aspx?guestaccesstoken=ZRbd%2fahUrkxlWdt74zYu%2f63nHOzCuv0I%2bby9tdU9fOg%3d&docid=2_1932b40686ac14270a2376c62f48cf147


 1.  What did you know about Office 365 or how have you used it prior to this presentation?

 2. How can you see using Office 365 in your classrooms in the future?

 3. What aspects of this presentation need more clarification or what Office 365 tools would you want to know more about?

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Virtual team project

Working in teams is always a challenge.  I actually spend a majority of my time in the class that I teach, Adventure Quest, emphasizing appropriate team work. A lot of what I do is expressing the importance to getting off on the right foot with positive body language and welcoming introductions.

When you have a team meeting over the internet in a virtual meeting space, you have a whole new set of challenges.  One member might not be as vocal in the awkward conversations at first, the technology has a learning curve before all members are able to utilize and access the meetings in the first place, another member may not be devoting their complete attention to the conversation, and personal or situational interruptions can impede some members from attending the meetings.

We had all of these examples of possible negative interruptions in our many online Skype meetings; however, we never allowed that to get in the way of our progress.  We had positive members who were more than understanding with each other, we had hard working competent members, we had effective time management due to Matthew Short, and we had varied strengths in all of our members that lead to a comfortable and effective division of responsibilities throughout the process of our project.

I am really impressed as to how well this experience went and will actually miss following up with my fellow members of Group #4.      I wish them all the best in their future both personally and professionally.  They have all inspired me in one way or another and in the every-present salutation from Renee Shackleford, when we finish up a session, I hope they all "Stay Blessed!" #KSU-­‐EDL7510,
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