Student Voice and Participation in Teacher Project Tuning Session

As our building continues to push forward with Project Based Learning (PBL) and striving to challenge our students and ourselves I have reflected on the many key areas we need to work and develop to make the necessary steps to achievement.

As an instructional coach I have noticed that one of the key elements to developing a quality project for learning that is missing is project tuning.

Project Tuning is a systemic approach to helping a teacher tackle a question or mental block that they have in their development of their project. It is an approach that is very powerful and allows the staff to bond and offer insight. It allows the teacher who is tuning to hear perspectives from outside of their department and/or grade level.

Project Tuning is awesome and is something that we have continued to improve upon as we do more and more of these. The issue is that we don't have enough teachers using this key piece. As we work to provide a structure and schedule for teachers to tune I also started working on another key element to project tuning: STUDENT VOICE

This first semester we had 8th graders work on a Choose2Matter project that we titled #BettPassion. One of the groups, Iowa High Five, is focusing on Student Voice. I brought them in last week to discuss the possibility of branching out student voice to a "behind the scenes" element of project tuning.

Last week we met with them and the principle to discuss this idea. They were excited at the opportunity. We talked about the system and things that need to be worked out.

I typed up two documents for them as well as the teachers to provide them with some structure.

Wednesday we were able to pull four of the girls into my room to do an actual project tuning and give them some practice. We had the opportunity to tune a project for a teacher that has an idea and is able to put his guard down to allow these students to practice.

It was amazing! We had one other teacher show up along with our principle and myself. The students jumped right in and nailed it. They provided some great insight that we don't always think about as teachers and adults. They were open and honest and really provided a lot of great ideas. I was quite impressed by their maturity and honesty. I know it can be tough to really open up as a student to teachers and admin.

We are going to continue to find ways to include at least two students in each project tuning session from here on out. We will have to work on developing a pool of students to use. It really needs to be thought through because you need students who are honest and willing to speak the truth while also having a maturity level to handle this opportunity.

I am so excited to continue this journey and help enhance the power of student voice in our building. I will continue to provide documents, reflections, and hopefully a few video sessions to show how these project tunings operate.

Why Thinking About Design in Education is Vital Part 2 #coffeechugPLN

I scribbled a bit on one of the interview titles and share this on Instagram a few weeks back, but I think it raises a very valid point.

How do we get students to take the leap of faith? I should add to this How do we get TEACHERS to take the leap of faith? We need to challenge the boundaries of how things are currently being done. It scares people. There is comfort with staying the course. This is needed to a certain extent, but we have many students and kids that we are losing because they are pushing the envelope and we are losing ground more and more every year.

The first thing that has to happen is to "engender trust"(page 94). This is nothing new, but we have to connect to the emotions of people(students and teachers) and bridge in a quality product(lesson or project). As we push the boundaries we have cannot lose sight of keeping things simple and the focus of the goal. It is easy to fall off the course and make things more complicated than what it needs to be.

As we try out new ideas and push the boundaries we cannot be so narrow in our vision. We must look big picture and figure out how all the "different pieces of the experience need to be fused into a cohesive whole?"(page 97) With this thought I think of staffing. Each educator brings some unique and different to the landscape of education. Not every teacher can be the same. Educators need to make up several different roles. We must learn and figure out how to blend these educators into "Design Teams" that create an experience for each student to gain maximum learning opportunities.

You can read Part 1 here

Part 3 drops tomorrow.

Passion Is Key To Education

Here I am in the summer. School has been out for over 3 weeks and I am super excited about the learning taking place.

Earlier in the year starting in April I had some students work with Angela Maiers on her Choose2Matter project which is all about students pursuing their passions in life.

As I have time to help out with my Storytelling team for this project I am so impressed by the students who are still working throughout the summer. It is not all of them who were working during the school year, but to see any student in the summer still working is so exciting to me! It gives me great hope to continue to push down the path of PASSION! I am reading the books of Angela and through my own various projects I continue to see how powerful passion can really be when it comes to education.

Over on the site you can see the projects submitted by students from all over the world including the awesome Bettendorf students(sorry, had to put a plug in for my school and students!)

Talking with some educators the other night I was thinking about how awesome this project has been for me. It has helped to reshape my focus on education. It opened up my eyes to how amazing students are no matter their background, intelligence, or grades. I have kids as young as 6th grade working social media like they have been doing it for 15 years. I have a 7th grader creating videos along with his very own published music showcasing his talents in multimedia. I have several students whose projects showcase a side of them that schools have never allowed them to showcase before. Going through the projects in the link above and working with the students who are part of the Dream Team behind the scenes making this project happen has ignited my PASSION for learning and teaching.

As I pursue a new job in the fall, one of the key benefits will be my scope and reach with so many students. I will be able to expand beyond just the gifted population and help all students find their passion and purpose along with teachers. I look forward to the opportunity. I look even more forward to where this Choose2Matter project will lead next. I really believe it has just begun.

Angela Maiers energy and passion is contagious. I have yet to meet her in person, but just through social media her energy and excitement permeates through the computer screen. She along with others has been a great breathe of fresh air to me this past year and summer. She has helped me find a new path in my educational platform and helped to fine tune my thoughts and ideas.

I really hope to continue to work with Choose2Matter because through working with this project my own passion has increased and my own project of expanding my reach to many students of all shapes, sizes, ages, and backgrounds has just begun.

Please take time to check out the project links. They are really amazing!

Here are my prior posts about this project

1. Email to teachers
2. Teacher Reflection #2
3. Teacher Reflection #1
4. Crowdsource Video
5. What Am I Teaching?

Powerful Quote on Gifted Children

"It is surprising that very highly gifted children do not rebel more frequently against the inappropriate educational provision which is generally made for them. Studies have repeatedly found that the great majority of highly gifted students are required to work, in class, at levels several years below their tested achievement. Underachievement may be imposed on the exceptionally gifted child through the constraints of an inappropriate and undemanding educational program or, as often happens, the child may deliberately underachieve in an attempt to seek peer-group acceptance".

� Miraca U.M. Gross₄

Quail Project: Updates 3 Alive and 2 Dead

Way back in the fall we started up a quail project where my 4th and 5th grade ELP students incubated and hatched quail eggs. This project has continued and we now have four mating pairs. From these pairs we have plenty of eggs and one of our 7th grade homerooms has taken on the challenge of hatching the eggs of our original quail.

This entire quail project has been quite interesting to follow. We are all in this together learning and figuring things out. We have quail all over in various cages at student homes, teacher homes, and school.

Recently we attempted to release some quail in a courtyard at one of our schools. It was an experiment because we were not sure if they would fly away or remain. We are happy to report that after a few weeks the quail have found the courtyard to be a place called home. We have lost only one baby quail so far, but still have a mating pair laying eggs daily and two younger quail.

This whole piece is interesting. The courtyard was created to remember a student who died. Nicole was a student at Hoover Elementary School. Nicole Wooldridge, 9, died in May 2001 after battling neuroblastoma cancer for most of her life.

A cool thing emerged from the courtyard and that was a pair of ducks who mated and raised ducklings in the courtyard each year. This year was the first time that the ducks did not return. We find it only ironic that we had a successful year of hatching quail and found it fitting to continue the tradition of nature and the life cycle.

While we are working through this whole experiment I had a 7th grade homeroom class take on the challenge of hatching quail. They would come in the morning, lunch, and after school to check the temperature and rotate the eggs. This past Wednesday, May 15th, was the 23rd day of incubation. We were not sure if any eggs would hatch because often times the first eggs quail lay are not the strongest and it takes time to develop good quality eggs.

We were thrilled to have three quail hatch. We then added a fourth on that Thursday and Friday we had to help one guy hatch giving us a total of five.

Three are doing quite well. One of the original quail that hatched died Friday. He had a serious neck problem. Saturday morning my son and I found the quail that needed help hatching had died also. This is part of nature and somethings that we can talk about and learn from as a class.

So, with one week left of school what are we going to do with the quail? My son wants to help raise them so with only three quail we will be building a cage to help take care of them at my house over the summer. This should be one interesting story to unfold.

During the week we do livestream the quail via Google Hangout and YouTube so be sure to tune in. We run it live starting around 8 - 8:30 am Central time.

The quail are now 5 days old and it is amazing how much stronger and bigger they have become in such a short amount of time.

Here are several videos and images from our quail adventures in the past few weeks. I will be adding to this set every couple of days.




And last a short video documenting the hatching of our quail named Oreo

What is the purpose of education? We want to hear from you!

I posed this question to some of my students for an assignment the last week and I think you will be intrigued by their answers. I have created a Padlet where all their submissions are posted

http://padlet.com/wall/purposeofed

I would love it if you would check out their answers to this question. Please leave a comment or two here on this blog post for them. Pick their brains more. Ask them more questions, tell them what you agree/disagree with, etc. They want more discussion on this and they only can handle so much from this teacher.

Even better, craft your own answer and share. We would love to have others to compare answers to and even better from other educators. Leave your answer on the page. It is open for others to post and share.

Are educators and students on the same page or are we off?

What really is "education"? Are we stuck in old ways of thinking or is that the right way?

Let us know.

We will be uploading throughout the rest of the day.

Please share and spread the word to help my students gain some active thinking.

Bald Eagle Student Showcase: Video of Presentations and Link to Visuals

Here is a video link to some of the student projects from our ALCOA Eagle Eye to the World Showcase. 30 students from the Bettendorf ELP program in grades 4 and 5 presented an independent study project on one aspect of bald eagles.

Here is a link to the video - http://youtu.be/3PxDIW19g0I

This is the link to our bald eagle global project page as well as all things we have done with the eagles - http://eagleeyecamera.wikispaces.com/Final+Showcase

Feel free to check out all the things on the site above.

Bald Eagle Project - Classroom Work From Around the World

In case you have not had time to check out the wiki, Theresa Trevino and her class are doing amazing things in their school. They just uploaded a ton of podcasts that the students have created. Check them out and give them a listen.

Donna Roman and her students in Geneva, Illinois are doing amazing things as well. You have to check out the pictures of the students and their displays. I love the window idea. I just wish I had windows to decorate like that! 

 Very cool! This is what global collaboration is all about. It is fun to talk and connect with other schools while working on the project, but what I love even more is how teachers take an idea and make it their own. So many cool things happening in all the classrooms. I just love it!

Check out the work and pictures here - http://eagleeyecamera.wikispaces.com/Classroom+Projects

Remember, if you are doing something cool, then please post it on the wiki for others to see.

Thanks to Donna and Theresa for sharing the amazing things happening in their schools

Teaching Ideas: Eric Collard, Nikola Tesla, and Controlling The Weather

Here is an incredible inspiration for students who might like to be challenged to make a difference.

Eric Dollard has been working on recreating the inventions of Nikola Tesla - who was way ahead of his time.

It is alleged that Tesla was killed at the request of Thomas Edison. http://listverse.com/2012/06/07/10-ways-edison-treated-tesla-like-a-jerk/

Dollard forces us to dig out of the thinking ruts that we all get into.

Here is Dollard's fascinating story:

http://www.jinnwe.com/quest.php?id=1002

Here is Dollard's indiegogo presentation:

http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tesla-round-2-the-mission-of-eric-dollard

Tesla himself can be incredibly inspirational and gifted beyond words.

http://www.kerryr.net/pioneers/tesla.htm

http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/tesla/esp_tesla_2.htm

http://www.pbs.org/tesla/ll/ll_mispapers.html

Inventions and the inventive process have been suppressed:

http://listverse.com/2009/07/31/top-10-amazing-lost-or-suppressed-inventions/

http://usahitman.com/18msie/

Can our weather be controlled?

One of the members of our Innovation Initiative Co-operative inventors group claims to be able to control the weather using radionics devices. While discussing this with him, I suggested that if could do what he says then he could divert a typhoon that I had read about away from Taiwan. I followed the satellite weather images and sure enough the typhoon was diverted. Peter also claimed that he arranged to have a bright sunny day for his niece's wedding. The forecast had been for rain that Saturday. He has a team of people that he works with.

Other claims: the central west USA was in drought situation last summer. He and his team brought rain clouds down the Rocky Mountains to give rain. He and his team have diverted many hurricanes that approached the US from the Atlantic including the big one that was supposed to hit New Orleans again.

CHALLENGE : Come up with a way or experiment to try to prove that he is actually controlling the weather.

Can

http://pesn.com/2005/09/06/9600160_Weather_Modification/

More Teaching Ideas To Add To Toolbox

Here are a couple of interesting exercises for children:

Car Parking Studies

1. Research in a large parking lot to find out how much time and gas people spend looking for parking spots in busy times. How many hours, days, years, etc. is that if x number of cars in the city are doing the same thing? How much gas is wasted doing this?

2. How can we get people to enjoy paying for parking? e.g. have signs that indicate that the money will be used to develop and enhance the immediate street and area.

3. What are the alternatives to parking as it exists today? Is there a better way?

4. How much money could be saved if roads, streets, etc. were not designed to include parking lanes? Where would you put the parked cars instead?

5. How much should people really be paying for parking? Work out the math to find the optimal price of parking that fills the spots except for just a few empty emergency spaces but still keeps people parking. This should establish the fine balance between supply and demand.

http://business.time.com/2013/02/08/why-parking-in-cities-should-be-way-more-expensive/

Don't miss this! Wonderful man! Wonderful study! MANY ARTICLES ON THE TOPIC!

http://shoup.bol.ucla.edu/

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PARAPROSDOKIANS (invent your own)

"Figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected; frequently used in a humorous situation."

"Where there's a will, I want to be in it," is a type of paraprosdokian.

1. Do not argue with an idiot. He will drag you down to his level and beat you with experience.

2. The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still on my list.

3. Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

4. If I agreed with you, we'd both be wrong.

5. We never really grow up, we only learn how to act in public.

6. War does not determine who is right - only who is left.

7. Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

8. Evening news is where they begin with 'Good Evening,' and then proceed to tell you why it isn't.

9. To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal from many is research.

10. A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station.

11. I thought I wanted a career. Turns out I just wanted paychecks.

12. Whenever I fill out an application, in the part that says, 'In case of emergency, notify:' I put 'DOCTOR.'

13. I didn't say it was your fault, I said I was blaming you.

14. Women will never be equal to men until they can walk down the street with a bald head and a beer gut, and still think they are sexy.

15. Behind every successful man is his woman.. Behind the fall of a successful man is usually another woman.

16. A clear conscience is the sign of a fuzzy memory.

17. I asked God for a bike, but I know God doesn't work that way. So I stole a bike and asked for forgiveness.

18. You do not need a parachute to skydive. You only need a parachute to skydive twice.

19. Money can't buy happiness, but it sure makes misery easier to live with.

20. There's a fine line between cuddling and holding someone down so they can't get away.

21. I used to be indecisive. Now I'm not so sure.

22. You're never too old to learn something stupid.

23. To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.

24. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be.

25. Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine.

26. Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car.

27. A diplomat is someone who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you look forward to the trip.

28. Hospitality is making your guests feel at home even when you wish they were.

29. I always take life with a grain of salt. Plus a slice of lemon, and a shot of tequila.

30. When tempted to fight fire with fire, remember that the Fire Department usually uses water.

Words of Wisdom "The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese." ~ Jon Hammond

More of these zany things! http://www.paraprosdokianfun.com/

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Gas Drips Study (get students tuned in to the small but important things in life)

When people fill their cars with gas, notice that there are always a few drops that land on the ground on your shoe. If that happens to pretty well everybody that fills up, how much gasoline is wasted in this way?

(DON'T MISS THIS! you will be amazed and astounded.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WK8VQ3thkk


Thanks Otto Schmidt, Gifted Programming Consultant, Toronto, Canada www.AccentonSkills.com, www.InventorsCollege.org, www.EdGO.ca

Some Teaching Ideas For Gifted, Social Studies, Humanities, or Anyone Wanting to Think!

Here are a couple of ideas that can be good discussion generators and studies. Thank you to Otto for always sharing great things!

The Words We Use

Many newspapers call the revolutions in the Middle East the "Arab Spring". The people of Tunisia, where it all started, don't take too kindly to this label. They would prefer to call it "Dignity Revolution". If it is a "spring" then what do people think was happening during the "winter"? Was there an "Arab Winter" from which the people emerged?

Discussion:

Why would we just accept the "Arab Spring" term so readily and easily without thought of the meaning? What impression do the words leave with us? Should we be more critical of the term.

http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2012/10/11/the-key-to-understanding-the-arab-spring/

How do perhaps pompous, somewhat over-exaggerated titles affect people who read or hear the words?

5 Ways to Fool People:

http://www.onepowerfulword.com/2010/11/5-ways-people-conceal-their-intentions.html

Former US President George W. Bush once called the invasion of Iraq an attempt to produce "shock and awe". Definition of awe: A feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder:

Is that the reaction that anybody wants from people whose lives and countries are destroyed? Is that a fair response to expect of the people being bombed and killed?

Operation Wrath of God (Would God, if asked, really condone people taking over the role of providing retribution for Him?)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Wrath_of_God

Preemption and "Just" War

http://www.carlisle.army.mil/USAWC/parameters/Articles/04winter/wester.pdf

Names of World Military Operations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_military_operations

News Items explaining the name change of an operation

http://www.defensenews.com/article/20100218/DEFSECT04/2180309/Name-Change-Iraq-War-Operation-New-Dawn-

http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2010-02-19/world/36833404_1_troop-levels-combat-role-operation-new-dawn

The Laws of War

What the Bible says about War

http://www.christianbiblereference.org/faq_war.htm#JustWar

Just War Theory

http://www.iep.utm.edu/justwar/

http://people.howstuffworks.com/rules-of-war.htm

Educational Challenges and Opportunities for Gifted Students

Free online university level courses

http://www.onlinecourses.com/mix/

Brainstorming Power Needed!

We have a cool showcase night in the works to broadcast our students knowledge and expertise of their independent study projects. We are working on a way to to bridge all 30 of our projects together. Our current idea is to have each student provide us(teachers) one fact/question that they want each person who visits their station to walk away with as the most important fact. Our current plan is to take these 30 facts and create a handout mystery/scavenger hunt paper to give each person who attends our showcase. Our theme is bald eagles so each presentation is focused on bald eagles in some capacity.

What we need are some ideas to create cool interactive approach to the community finding answers to these 30 questions. We want it to be more than just a piece of paper with questions.

Any thoughts?

Learning Creative Learning: MIT Online Class Week 1 Thoughts

I came across this awesome online class that MIT is experimenting with called Learning Creative Learning. You can find the link here

I missed the registration, but am participating in Google+ and still trying to stay current with discussions, blog posts, readings, videos, etc.

Today I had a chance to watch the introduction video and read the reading for week 1

The reading was All I Really Need to Know (about Creative Thinking) I Learned (by Studying How Children Learn) in Kindergarten, by Mitchel Resnick of the MIT Media lab. This was the suggested reading for the first session of the Learning Creative Learning online course.

I won't give a summary as you can read it for yourself, but here are some of my take aways from the reading.

• I like the idea of the spiral learning of Imagine, Create, Play, Share, Reflect, and back to imagine that they lay out in the article when discussing kindergarten. This whole idea is intriguing and one that I need to reflect upon more and see if it exists in my classroom enough throughout the days, weeks, and months and more importantly how to chart and analyze while working to create a better learning environment.
• I agree that kindergarten is losing out on the essentials. So weird to read this as I just made comments like this to other people about my daughter. Kindergarten is no longer just a place to learn to be creative and work with others. There is more emphasis on reading, writing, math, etc. I don't think this is a bad thing, but it has shifted the way these classrooms look and operate. I am quite glad that my daughter does not have homework. My son had homework in kindergarten and that drove me nuts. 5 and 6 year olds should not have homework. 
• "In a society characterized by uncertainty and rapid change, the ability to think creatively is becoming the key to success and satisfaction, both professionally and personally." AMEN! Wake up schools as this is why we need to rethink how we operate in certain aspects.
• Kindergarten repeats the whole spiral learning process over and over and I cannot help but think of my son playing Minecraft. I know video games get a bad rap(still not sure why, but that is another discussion), but my son does Imagine, Create, Play, Share, Reflect, and back to Imagine in Minecraft several times a day. When he explains his world it is amazing to hear his articulation and thinking. If only I could get that incorporate into his sentence writing in school we would be set. The transfer or should I say passion is not quite there yet.
• Another line that really stood out to me - "..."little c" creativity - that is, creativity within one's personal life - not big "C".........The goal is not to nurture the next Mozart or Einstein, but to help everyone become more creative in ways they deal with everyday problems."
• This next one has me thinking about the general idea in terms of education. "I am sure that designers and engineers at the toy companies learn a great deal while creating these toys, but I doubt that children learn very much while interacting with the toys." Applying this notion to education I think about how much I loop ideas in my brain to create the next great lesson or unit. I mean I work like mad to perfect the teaching moment. I sometimes wonder if the students use their brains as much as I did to prepare the unit. I don't know how to measure the levels of thinking, but if I can create environments of learning that generate as much thought and reflection as I do into my lessons, then I have something good!

Those are my thoughts which are plenty for one day!

Liberty and Justice - 2 Eggs!!! We have another Egg!

2.10.13 Sunday night around 6 pm the world was given another great surprise as Liberty and Justice brought us another egg. That brings us up to two eggs in the nest.

The eggs are about 4 days apart. Eagles will produce anywhere from 1-3 eggs so there is still a chance of one more egg, but no more after that.

Last night I took a picture around 10 pm showing how the eagles were burying their faces to stay warm and trying to get some sleep. They are not nocturnal so sleep at night is a must just like us humans. I don't know how they sleep in this wind. The wind has been crazy lately with the nest swaying all over the place.

Sunday also brought us a ton of rain. The eagles were soaking wet and had to endure the rain and wind all day.

As the day went on the camera was blurry from rain so it was hard to track the eagles for a few hours.

Monday, 2.11.13 I was finally able to see both eggs. How exciting! This is just too cool and these eagles are slowly taking over all my free time!

The wind is giving them a bad hair day!

Here they are exchanging egg warming duties. It is always a quick transition. One flies in, they do a little shifting around and off they go their separate ways doing whatever it is eagles do when they don't sit on the eggs.

First Lego League: Global Innovation Award - PLEASE VOTE FOR US!

Who: Bettendorf Robodogs #7473

What: First Lego League Global Innovation Award- The Tongue Lift

Where: http://fllinnovation.firstlegoleague.org/tongue-lift

When: Monday, Feb. 11- Friday, March 1 starting @ 11:00 Central Time

Vote Every Day! Vote Often! Vote for Bettendorf Robodogs!
Thanks for your help! 

Here is our Robodog website where you can learn more about the team - http://robodogs.wikispaces.com/

Liberty Lays First Egg of the Season

http://eagleeyecamera.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/liberty-lays-first-egg-of-the-season/

Can You Identify This Bird?

http://eagleeyecamera.wordpress.com/2013/02/07/2-7-13-can-you-identify-this-bird/

A Future Problem of Public Education

If schools today are struggling to keep up with meeting the needs and ways of learning for this current generation of students, then how will we ever catch up with the next generation who will be moving along at an even faster rate?

When my daughter can operate an iPad to meet her needs before she can speak a full sentence, then we are really going to have our hands full as educators.

What is the answer? I am not sure there is one at this point in time.

Bettendorf, Iowa Students Eagle Learning Updates

http://eagleeyecamera.wordpress.com/2013/01/25/bettendorf-iowa-students-eagle-learning-updates/

Some Ideas For Gifted Education, Schools, and Clasrooms

I received some great stuff lately through some networks that I am part of and thought I would just go ahead and share the wealth. There are so many amazing ideas and teachers around the world and without them sharing we cannot get better ourselves. I feel like I need to help share ideas when I can.

Please enjoy! If you find any good use of this information please let me know. I always love hear how we are using new ideas.

Here are some projects, studies, independent and group challenges:

For Educators:

School System of Finland (one of the top systems in the world)

What the World Can Learn from Finnish Schools

http://www.amazon.com/Finnish-Lessons-Educational-Change-Finland/dp/1470826151

Slow and Steady Reform

http://www.oecd.org/pisa/pisaproducts/46581035.pdf

System and School Organization

http://www.ncee.org/programs-affiliates/center-on-international-education-benchmarking/top-performing-countries/finland-overview/finland-system-and-school-organization/

Why Are Finland's Schools Successful?

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/Why-Are-Finlands-Schools-Successful.html

http://www.english-online.at/news-articles/education/finlands-school-system-is-successful.htm

26 Amazing Facts About Finland's Unorthodox Education system

http://www.businessinsider.com/finland-education-school-2011-12?op=1

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Studying History Through Jokes

History classes can be dry and heavily information laden. Here is an idea for injecting some life into them. Have students determine what the life was like for people of specific cultures by studying their humor.

What was important to the people based on the topics that were the focus of their jokes?

Who did the poke fun at that we still poke fun at today e.g. politicians? What deserved the jokes?

What buildings, institutions were important enough at the time to have jokes created in their "honor"?

Can you get a feel for their political system based on the jokes?

What people got a lot of attention and had jokes told on them?

Do the jokes tell us anything about how sophisticated the society was?

What would aliens from outer space determine about our society and culture if they studied jokes about our modern day?

- police

- politicians

- farms and businesses

- young people, old people

- teenagers

- animals

- jobs (lawyers, doctors)

- interpersonal relationships

- criminals

Roman Jokes -http://www.hadrians.com/rome/romans/emperors/ancient_rome_history_jokes.html

African Jokes - http://jokesafrica.blogspot.ca/

Australian Jokes - http://stuffucanuse.com/all_jokes/jokes%20Aussie.htm

Chinese Jokes - http://www.chinesejokes.net/

Latin American Jokes - http://www.lol-jokes.com/international/latin-american

Icelandic Volcano Jokes - http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/iceland-volcano-jokes-top-10-215869

http://www.thepilot.com/news/2010/apr/25/icelandic-humor-is-an-acquired-taste/

Find jokes of other cultures and build a library of them and the summaries of the cultures based on analyzing the jokes.

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Human Library Day - Jan. 26, 2013

This event can be the catalyst for developing a human library in your own home-family, school, district, province, state, etc.

Approaches

Have students create an audio records "book" of:

- their family members and especially their oldest relatives

- the living legends in their city/neighborhood

- residents of local seniors homes

Human Library Organization

http://humanlibrary.org/national-human-library-day-in-canada.html