Wednesday - WikiLeaks

Have you been following the big wikileak's story this week? (Releasing thousands of secret US diplomatic reports / messages). Do you know what Wikileaks is?

Check out this link to find out a little more about wikileaks ...

Check out this link for a lot more info about the current massive leak that is being shared with the world.

The US and other world governments are outraged and are highly motivated to stop wikileaks from releasing these secret memos. On the other hand, shouldn't the dealings of government agencies that are bankrolled by us, the people, be transparent to us, the people?

Where do you stand on this?

Tuesday - Thanksgiving Week!

Obvious question for this week ... what are some things you are thankful for? (Besides getting the rest of the week off from school! ;-)

Wednesday - Good Samaritan

Check out this article from a few weeks back about a Good Samaritan ... what do you think about the bravery he showed? Do you think you would have gotten involved like he did?

Monday - Sound and You!

Check out this article about sound from CNN ...

I was interested by numbers 5, 9 and 10 especially. What do you think about the sound level at Eastern High? In the halls? In your classes?

Monday - Eastern's Future

So we're getting a half day today - do you know why? It's so we can spend the afternoon discussing a plan to help transform Eastern next year. A few highlights from the plan so far:

Make each class a little shorter (55 minutes) and add an extra class at the end of the day - Advisory Class. During Advisory we'll so a variety of things - basically provide students with both social and academic support.

Have 17 half days (to make up for the slightly longer day).

Schedule more students into a 7th hour class when they fail a class so they can get back on track to graduate ASAP.

Implement a system of positive behavior supports (teach students how to behave in a civilized manner and reward those who do, re-teach those who don't).

What do you think? What does Eastern need to do to help with our 3 main problems (increase our math and reading scores, increase our graduation rate and create a more positive environment)?

Monday - Homecoming Week

Student senate is looking for feedback on what you thought of our homecoming week activities, especially the tailgate (if you went to it). Share some of the positives and any suggestions you have to improve on it for next time. Thanks!

Friday

Find a funny / interesting / crazy news article from the last couple days ... copy a link to it. Why did you chose this article?

Richter's Random Thoughts on Your Recent Posts

I finally got around to reading everyone's posts from the last few blogs ... I really enjoyed reading all of them - a lot of humorous ones, some serious and thought provoking ones, some passionate ones and of course a few silly ones!

It was great to read about some of your favorite class activities (last Friday's post) - I encourage you let your teachers know when you do something that you really enjoy in class .. we love positive feedback! (Also, if you have a reputation of letting them know about the good lessons you can safely tell them about the occasional bad ones.)

The vast majority of you were against computers taking over the role of teachers ... a few of my favorite posts:

"i think all kids should go through the old fashion way where they shut up & listen to the teacher"

"no body needs to teach any one ... getter done"

"Hell no cuz if u get lost u wont know what to do."

"So yea...i believe with the right set of kids teachers could be replaced by computers...they have to want to lear and they couldnt be students that wont payattention and slck off every chacne they get."

"I think that it can but only in some countries.It would be hard in the US because they're use to having teachers.But some part of the world its hard for people to get education and if you place a computer there they could really learn alot from that."

... Finally, Wednesday's Topic - favorite quotes - was low in quantity by high in quality! I highly recommend you take a minute and read through the quotes and reactions - some really good ones. A few of my favorites:

"The difference between school and life? In school, you're taught a lesson and then given a test. In life, you're given a test that teaches you a lesson."

"this quote made me think not to follow the path where you know everyone is taking, take the path where you see less have attempted to trail and make it into something worth while, make the path and yourself a success:)"

"No thought needed here, I shouldn't complain so much. I'm not dead in a feudal war for no real reason and I have a home, a family, no draft, food, and no impending painful death."

"A patriot must always be ready to defend his country against his government." - this one kinda scares me :-0

"A pair of powerful spectacles has sometimes sufficed to cure a person in love." -Friedrich Nietzsche ... LOL

Wednesday - Peace Work and Quotes

Thich Nhat Hanh says, "If in our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work."

Mr. Jason shared the above quote as his signature in a recent email he sent out to staff. It made me pause and think for a minute - am I doing enough peace work right her in my little corner of the world each day? Are other's profiting from my efforts?

Can you find a quote online that gives you pause, that makes you think for a minute about how you can make a small change to improve your life? Share your quote and why you chose it.

Monday - Can computers take the place of teachers?

Check out this article on CNN:

Can computers take the place of teachers?

Do you agree with the article - just give kids free access to the internet and they'll organize themselves into a learning community?

TGIF! Favorite Activity of the Week

We made it to another Friday ... Three weeks have already flown by - can you believe it? What thing that makes time fly is doing interesting activities in class.

Write about one of the more interesting things you did in one of your classes this week.

Wednesday - A Child is Dead .. Who is Responsible?

Check out this tragic article about an 11 year old Georgia baby sitter who is being charged in the death of the two year old she was watching:

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/09/21/georgia.baby.sitter/index.html?hpt=T2

Should a parent entrust an 11 year old to watch over a 2 year old? Should the parent be held responsible for the death? Should they both share responsibility? What do you think about this preventable tragedy?

Network is Down - Favorite Sites to Kill Time

What are some of your favorite sites to kill time on? Why?

After the Weekend

So how was your first weekend of the school year? Did you have a lot of hmw? Do anything fun? I went to a rock party (literally, a party all about rocks) and also went to an outside dinner at MSU in the middle of their gardens ... it was pretty cool.

First Impressions

What are some of your first impressions of your classes / school so far?

IB Learner Profile Warm Up

Please take a minute and review the IB Learner Profile here:
Learner Profile

Pick any one of the traits and that interests you and write a little about why. (For example you could pick the trait that you think you are weakest in and write about why you want to improve in it, or write about the trait that you think teachers do the worst (or best) job of developing in class, or ... etc.

ADV WEB ONLY - Monday

Watch the video and respond with your first thoughts!

Tuesday - Is the Earth Striking Back?

Check out this article and write what you think? Is this science or does it sound more like science fiction?

Thursday - A Little Feedback

Looking back ... take a few minutes to revisit all of the assignments you've done so far ...

1. Which assignment(s) have been your favorite so far? Why?

2. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 on how much you are enjoying the class so far. Feel free to add a comment.

1 = not feeling it at all ... sick and tired of working so much on a computer!

10 = enjoying all aspects of it

ADV. WEB ONLY - Thursday - MANDATORY Q

Looking back ... take a few minutes to revisit all of the scripts you've made so far by hitting the links on your index page ... then answer the following questions:

1. What was your favorite script(s) so far? Why?

2. On a scale of 1-10, how do you rate yourself on how well you understand the scripts you've done so far? Feel free to add a comment.

1 = I have no clue what I'm doing - just watching videos and copying what I see
10 = I feel confident and in command, I'm gaining momentum as we go

3. Rate yourself again 1-10 .. this time on how much you are enjoying computer programming so far. Feel free to add a comment.

1 = not feeling it at all ... will probably never attempt computer programming as long as I live

10 = enjoying all aspects of it - the challenge of solving the logic of the problem, the challenge of using correct syntax, the challenge of debugging my inevitable errors

... tomorrow - looking forward ...

ADV WEB ONLY - Wednesday - MANDATORY Q

Wait for a few minutes .. we'll try something a little different today ...

Why can't we use F12 to test our PHP scripts?

ADV WEB ONLY - Tuesday - MANDATORY Q

This post is for Advanced Web Students only.

Mandatory Question(s) of the day ...

The "if - then - else" structure plays a fundamental role in all computer languages. Please write the PHP code that is syntactically correct (no errors in in it) that will execute the following:

Check to see if the variable $test_score1 is greater than or equal to 90, and if it is, makes $test_grade1 equal to "A" ... and if it isn't, assigns $test_grade1 to "B".

Monday - Wisdom

I LOVE this article on money, happiness, and rampant consumerism - Jeff Yeager and I must be twins separated at birth! Check it out and then I encourage you to consider committing to finding happiness through this philosophy of "less is more." What do you think?

ADV. WEB ONLY - Monday - MANDATORY Q

This post is for Advanced Web Students only.

Mandatory Question(s) of the day ...

During the last week I spent quite a bit of time helping many of you troubleshoot errors in your scripts. During our debugging efforts, I would try to informally gauge your overall understanding of some "big picture" things.

Variables are a "big picture" thing; making html forms are "big picture" ...

Q: By now you've probably seen a line of code like the one below scores of times:

$guess = $_POST['guess'];

Break this line of code down - explain each part and how they connect to each other.

(i.e. How is $guess related to 'guess' ... why did we need to type in $_POST? Do we usually see this line of code on a form page or on a handle_form page?)

Friday - Movies Anyone?

Yahoo just published a list of the 100 Movies to See Before You Die: The Modern Classics (movies from 1990 - 2009) ... check it out here ... Are you like me and love watching good films? Which movie(s) on the list are your favorites? What did you like about them? Your favorite film not on the list - what is it?

---

Favorite comment from the Dreams Post yesterday: A lot of great comments - I think the dreams topic was definitely popular! My favorite came from Natalie because I looove going to Mexico ... I'm going to go for 3 weeks this summer - can't wait!

natalie estrada said...

i remember the last dream i had i was in mexico!!!!!!! omg but i really don't wanna go!!
=/

Thursday - Dreams w/ Meanings(?)

I woke up this morning in the middle of a dream. I was backing my car up in a crowded gas station trying to put myself in position to get the next open pump. I was in a hurry and not driving very cautiously. Of course you can guess what happened next - I backed right into a Caprice Classic (the car my family drove when I was growing up) that was in my blind spot. Then the clock alarm went off.

When I woke up, I had the feeling I was trying to tell myself something through the dream.

Today's topic - what was the last dream you had that you think had a message in it for you to follow? (Extra topic .. do you think messages in dreams come from yourself, or another, more supernatural, place?)

Wednesday - Free Write Day!

What's on your mind today? Maybe a headline in the news catch your eye? Maybe you're fired up about something ... take a couple minutes and write about it!

Tuesday - The Importance of Silence

I read a great excerpt the other day from a soon to be released book, In Pursuit of Silence: Listening for Meaning in a World of Noise. The author, George Prochnik, reminds us of what we all innately must know; silence is indeed golden, and for many reasons.

Check out this simple web site titled the Importance of Silence ... the author lists 5 things that make silence important ... What would you add to the list? Why and when is silence important to you?

---

My Favorite comment from yesterday ... (it's my favorite because of what she learned - paying it forward ... great topic for a future blog post ... also would be a good weekly wrap up story!

"Courtney said...

Over spring break I had a very productive week in Flordia! On the ride down and back i finished all my homewrok, and while i was there i learned about paying it forward!"

Monday - First Day Back

Take a minute and think back to last week ... hopefully you didn't spend the WHOLE week doing nothing productive ... write about something positive you did over break.

For me, it was coming into school for a few days and working on all the computers in the room. We did a ton of cleaning (opening up every computer) and upgrading! Many thanks to those who helped out!

Estefania H. | Katie K. | Farid S. | Dylan D. | Anna R. | Rafael | David R. | Dorothy B.

Thursday - Spring Break!

So are you excited or what? Over a week off from school! What are some of the things you're most looking forward to over spring break?

Monday - Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

Check out this article listing six traits that many millionaires possess. Of the six traits, which one do you think is your strongest? Which is your weakest?

BTW - do you even care about making lots of money, or are you more focused on other things?

Thursday - Sleeping

Do you get enough sleep each night? Or are you like my teenage son and stay up a little too late each night and then (barely) drag yourself to school each morning? What tips do you have to getting a good nights sleep?

Check out this article on foods that can help/hurt your sleeping.

Tuesday - Town Hall 2.0

If you saw the town hall meeting, what did you think? What were some of the best points?

Friday - March Madness (?)

Do you get caught up in the madness? Or could you really care less?

If you follow the tournament, what are some of the games you're looking forward to and who are some of your cinderella teams? Who do you think will win it all?

Even though I'm a Michigan alum, I do have to admit that I find myself rooting for MSU at this time of the year ... so I'm hoping MSU goes all the way! ;-)

Thursday - Sweating the Small Stuff

There's been quite a few comments this week about the "new" rules that teachers have been emphasizing this week (like no headphones, no cell phones, etc.) When teachers met this past Monday morning and agreed to recommit ourselves to enforcing the district policies, several of us argued that it was important to "sweat the small stuff, so we won't have as much big stuff" to deal with.

This argument is essentially the broken window effect - click here for details.

What do you think? Do you think it's a good idea for us to "sweat the small stuff?"

Wednesday - Sub day!

Without dropping any names, share one of your favorite memories about having a substitute teacher!

Tuesday - Town Hall Meeting II (?)

I've heard quite a few comments about our live town hall meeting we did last week. Some of the comments were from adults who were concerned about negative things that were said, but for the most part the people I've heard from thought it was a very positive event. More than a few of you have suggested we do another one.

That leads to today's question - if we did another town hall meeting what topic, or topics, do you think we should focus on? Who should come to the meeting? Should we try to organize follow up activities that classes can do after watching the event?

---

Favorite comment from yesterday ... gotta give it to our parent who weighed:

"As a parent, I feel that the diversity, the IB, and the wonderfully talented staff is what drew me to send my child to Eastern as a school of choice. I think that these things should be advertised more.

The negative for me is the disrespect of some of the kids and the lack of choices to remove them from the building. I feel that too much time is spent on approx 15-20 kids in each grade level and that takes away from the kids who want to be at school.

Mary Fuhrman"

Monday - Quaker Highs and Lows

---

Check out the Blog that helped push us on down the road to 95% - click here!

Wednesday - Listening Project, day 1

Please take a few minutes to reflect on the film, The Listening Project, and respond to the following questions:

1. Of all the places our narrators visited (China, Canada, India, United Kingdom, Palestine/Israel, Japan, Mexico, Tanzania, South Africa, France, Russia, Brasil, Afghanistan), which one (or ones) made the biggest impression on you? Why?

2. What are some of the main feelings that others have about the US (as portrayed in the film)? Are they justified?

3. Do you think there is anything 'we' should do to address some of the perceptions others have about us?

Friday - A Quote About Practice

"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going." - Beverly Sills

What place have you been heading towards by way of the long and hard road (in other words what's something that you do that you care about and you put a lot of practice/hard work into it)?

Thursday - Fav Posts

Check out my favorite posts from yesterday ... take a few minutes to read back old posts from the past - what has been on of your favorite posts from the past?

---

Favorite post from Wednesday:

"Nicholas Moccia said...

I personally believe that every person should have an arsenal, once an apocalyptic event occurs, the survivors will need to defend themselves from raiders, any left over wild animals, and possibly even zombies.

"Ray Graham said...

I think the world would be a safer place if everyone was carrying loaded M-16's"

Obada Ejoh said...

This country would definitely not be safer if everyone had easy access to guns. If guns are already a problem, it would be soooo much better for everyone to have one or two or five. Heck, why not give every child a gun as well? Surely, they, too, need protection, no?

Bad idea.

Wednesday - Guns, guns, guns

Check out this article on gun control - the Supreme Court might "strike down U.S. cities' outright bans on handguns, a ruling that could establish a nationwide ownership right..."

Where do you weigh in? Would this country be a safer place if we had stricter controls of guns, or would it be safer if everybody had the right to pack heat?

---

My favorite post from Tuesday ... too many to pick just one - lots of funny ones (like only losers need an incentive to do what is obviously right and lots of hate on the after party with all the references to its "lameness", and of course I love all the comments along the lines of - "free food, count me in!" (that last one is one of the core values that I live my life by - no joking).

"If I were a junior I wouldn't need any motivation because I would go anyway, so that I can graduate. ~~Morgan McCoy"

"Jac Erickson said...

Depends what they got at this after party, I dont play that cookies and punch stuff. Maybe a lil disco ball action and potato skins XD"

"Jose Silva said...

Maybe it will motivare me but it depends on what is at the "after party". If there is food then im there."

"Valerie Forrest said...

Last year when I was a junior, the fact that the MME was a graduation requirement was enough motivation for me, not some fancy partyy. I think that it is a good idea though for the juniors because students this year don't seem to care as much about graduating on time."

(i.e. "Us Seniors were tough winners, you juniors are soft bums" lol)

"i will attend all 3 days just to get my pizza"

-Zach VanAmber"

Tuesday - MME Party!

Last night at the joint PTSA/SIT meeting we finalized plans for the MME days next week. Our goal can be simply stated: Every Junior, each day, testing to the best of his/her abilities! Our main strategy is simple as well -we'll give each student who tests all three days a "Golden Ticket" at the end of the test on Thursday. Students with Golden Tickets will be allowed entrance into the MME "after party" sponsored by our PTSA and hosted by our NHS. The after party will last from 10:15 am on Thursday until the end of the school day.

So that leads to the question of the day: If you were/are a Junior, will this motivate you to attend all three days, in rain or shine, in sickness and in health?

---

My Favorite Post from Monday ... Why? Because I'm from Rochester, NY! (also - much love to everyone who is planning on studying computers/video in the future):

"Hmm Well First I Wanna Graduate From Highschool And Im Planning On Goin To A University In Rochester, NY I Really Dont KNo What I Want To Be Yet Maybe A Nurse :)

~Fatma Osman"

Monday - What Comes Next?

---

My Favorite post from Friday - sounds like Kevin has a simple, easy to follow recipe for happiness ...

"Kevin Kent said...

im looking forward to late nights of anything and hanging with the people that are awesome. going to places that i cant wait to be at."

TGIF - What's Happening?

What are you looking forward to this weekend?

My son is going to visit Hope College today for an overnight visit with the tennis team - so I'm (not) looking forward to driving to Hope on Saturday to pick him up. I'm (not) looking forward to doing my weekend chores (like laundry, wash the bathroom, vacuum, etc.) I am looking forward to playing a little (not too much) of Modern Warfare. I'm am looking forward to getting the agendas ready for next week's classes. And of course I'm always looking forward to being able to stay up late if I want to and sleep in if I want to!

Thursday - Killer Whale

You've probably heard by now about the Sea World trainer who was killed by an orca (if not - check out this article).

So that begs a broader question - should humans keep large and powerful animals in captivity, and then use them as entertainers?

Wednesday - Most Beautiful PSA Ever (?)

Some are calling this "Embrace Life" PSA (public service announcement) about seat belts the most beautiful PSA ever. What do you think? Will it cause you to be more mindful about wearing a seatbelt and encouraging those you ride with to as well?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-8PBx7isoM

Monday/Tuesday - Pep Rally

Wednesday - Place at the Table

After watching the film today, please respond to the following questions:

Do all groups of people fell comfortable at EHS?

What can we do to help people fell comfortable & respected at EHS?
Are you doing your part?

Tuesday - Dry Run

Did you know we are having our MME dry run tomorrow morning? Do you know where you are supposed to go for first hour?

TGIF - 6 Traits

Check out this short article on Yahoo - 6 Personality traits to admire and acquire. The six traits the author lists are: Selflessness, Tolerance, Genuineness, Sensitivity, Integrity, and Humility.

Which of these traits do you think is your strongest? Which is your weakest? Can you think of another great trait to add to this list?

Have an awesome 3 day weekend!

Thursday - Snow Day!

One of the best feelings in the world - snow day! Feels great whether you're 14 or 40. What did you do on your day off?

(I made a few more video lessons for Advanced Web, did 3 loads of laundry, cleaned house a little, shoveled, emailed a bit, played some Modern Warfare, made a pretty good Mexican dinner and (somewhat unsuccessfully) tried to get my son to do some school work! )

Tuesday: E-Voting

So did you vote online for homecoming court yet? (If not, the link is: http://eastern.lansingschools.net/scripts/survey/court_vote/). What do you think about our little experiment in a more direct, and efficient, form of democracy? Do you think it is a good idea and we should use it for more things - or do you think too many students aren't online and won't take any steps to vote at school (like in the library)?

Monday - Super Ads (?)

Did you watch the game last night? Did you catch the commercials? Follow http://www.hulu.com/adzone to see some of the best .. which ad was your favorite and why?

Monday - ADV WEB ONLY!

A few discussion questions to get us warmed up this morning ...

1. Why did god make variables (what is their purpose)?

2. What special character is needed to give birth to a variable?

3. When you set a variable equal to something, do you always have to use quotes? (like, is it ok to type $name = mike .. or do I have to use $name = "mike" .. what about $name = 'mike' )

4. What is the difference between single and double quotes when we use the print (or echo) command?

Fri - Super Bowl ... Super Bore?

Which side do you fall on ... is it the Super Bowl or the Super Bore? What will you be doing on Sunday evening?

Thursday - Web Design / Video

Check out this article about Avatar and the possibilities of "Avatar technologies" becoming real.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/02/03/avatar.technology.science/index.html

If you could control your own Avatar, what kind of Avatar would you want? What would you do with it?

Thursday - ADV. WEB ONLY

Just about everyone is through Chpt. 1 (or will be by the end of the hour) ... let's take a minute to review a couple of "big ideas." Answer the following questions (start out on your own, and if you are confident, then post - if you are not sure, wait a minute and we will discuss them briefly as a class) ... please do not post incomplete answers - you will be graded based on the quality of your response!

Q1: What are two fundamental things that all PHP pages must have to function correctly (hint - filename and a very important command (in the code))

Q2: PHP is a "server-side" scripting language - what does this mean in simple terms?

Q3: PHP is a "server-side" scripting language - how does this impact the way you tell if your scripts work or not?

Q4: The "print" command in PHP DOES NOT cause whatever is in the quotes to print out on the screen (even though it seems like that is what it does) .. what does it REALLY do? .... (for ex: what does the command Print "Hello, World" do?)

Wednesday - Literature Appreciation

Name a recent a book / article (online or print) that you read that was interesting to you. What was interesting/enjoyable about it?

Tuesday - Interviews

Two weekends ago, we took our son to Alma College for a scholarship interview. One of the questions the professors asked him was, "If you could have one super power, what would it be and why?" So, that's today's topic.

(BTW - he choose mind reading - I don't know why.)

Monday - How Was Your Weekend?

How did your weekend go? What were some of the fun things you did?

(I liked watching Federer win the Australian Open and I also really liked going to see "Crazy Heart" at NCG on Friday night.)

Friday - 1 Week Down ...

As we close out our first week of the second semester, and we suffer through biting cold winds, and Seniors start counting down their last 17 weeks until freedom (and responsibility); take a moment and think warm, summer thoughts ... What are some of the things that you look forward to the most about the summer?

Wednesday - Silicon Valley

I got into a brief discussion with my Advanced Web Design class yesterday about computer programming which led to a discussion about binary numbers and the "epicenter" of all things computing (which no one knew), which led to a discussion about how binary numbers are represented "inside" of a computer, which led to a discussion about electrons and semi-conductors which eventually got us back to the start - the epicenter of all things computing ... Silicon Valley!

Spend a few minutes learning more about Silicon Valley (wikipedia anyone?) Share a few interesting things you learn (for starters, check out all of the computer company heavyweights that are located there!)

Tuesday - First Impressions

What were some of your first impressions from the first day of the new semester.

Monday - Survey for Video Production

The purpose of the Worst Video Ever was to really drive home all of the common mistakes that we make when we're shooting videos "from the hip" (without having a plan). What are some of the ingredients that go into Great Videos? List some of the common things, but also try to think of some of the "intangible ingredients."

Monday - Survey Questions for Web Designers

For both Advanced Web and Web Design students.

Please answer the following three survey questions - don't forget to sign your post with your full name so you can get credit!

1. What are some of your favorite sites on the web and why?

2. Estimate about how much time are you spending online each week.

3. Do you think the growth of the web will ultimately lead to a "better world" (i.e. more peaceful, safer, less poverty, more freedoms)? In other words, as we all become more connected in the virtual world, will that cause transformations in the real world?

Friday - VIDEO CLASSES ONLY - Suggestions for Improvement

Now that the semester is almost over, I am interested in reading some of your thoughts on anything that I could do to improve the class for next semester. Please take a few minutes to think about the different aspects of the class and give me some feedback / constructive criticism. (Some aspects to consider: the working environment, the assignments, the grading, the agendas, the online videos, etc.)

Video students please consider what my two main goals are in the class and come up with ideas that we can try next semester to help us make more progress on these goals:

1. Establish and maintain a "professional working environment"
2. Students take pride in their work and pursue Quality in both their video projects and in their studio work

Please feel free to leave your post anonymous ... and if you are concerned about getting the point you can just tell me that you posted something today :-)

Friday - Suggestions for Improvement

Now that the semester is almost over, I am interested in reading some of your thoughts on anything that I could do to improve the class for next semester. Please take a few minutes to think about the different aspects of the class and give me some feedback / constructive criticism. (Some aspects to consider: the working environment, the assignments, the grading, the agendas, the online videos, etc.)

Please feel free to leave your post anonymous ... and if you are concerned about getting the point you can just tell me that you posted something today :-)

Thursday - Google vs. China

Did you read what's up between Google and China? For years, Google has been censoring the searches that go through its Chinese site (google.cn). (So, for example, Chinese citizens could not access any controversial information about something like Tiananman Square from Google.)

Google announced the other day that they've uncovered sophisticated cyber attacks coming from the Chinese government that attempted to uncover the identity of Google users from around the world who were critical of the Chinese Government. In response, Google is announcing that is scaling back on the self censorship it was doing for the Chinese Government. This will likely lead to the shutdown of Google in China.

This situation brings up a variety of issues like ... Should companies be more concerned with ethics than profits? (Will following ethics actually lead to greater profits?) Should companies negotiate directly with governments, as if they were equal in some ways? Are countries and companies equals? etc.

What do you think about some aspect of this?

more info: http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/01/13/google.china.exit/index.html

Wednesday - Current Events

Are you like me and do you surf a major news site often during the day to stay up on the news? Did you notice that Yahoo now posts national news stories and local news stories on the front page?

Take a minute and visit a news site (like CNN.com or Yahoo or even LSJ.com) and find one article that interests you. Write why the article captured your interest.

Tuesday - Caught Up?

From my observations, the strict tardy policy seems to be 'working.' (That is the hard core truant students are making repeat appearances in the Social Room, many of the borderline students are now getting to class on time, and the rest of you have been largely unaffected.

As representatives of the "rest of you" do you agree - have you been basically unaffected? Or have some of you been 15 - 40 seconds late and then had to sit in the social room all hour. If so, what did it look like down there?

Monday - Snow Day!

Allow yourself to travel back to last Friday for a few minutes. Enjoy the happy feelings that bubble up in you as you recall getting that phone call saying that we had a snow day. Briefly share what you did on our bonus day off.

To see what I did, check out my Snow Day youtube video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zcv8iyJqpF0 (WARNING - video is an example of a project we will be working on in video class, Worst Video Ever, so it is full of mistakes).

Thursday - Making AYP

There were many great ideas posted this week about some of the "real issues" that we should be addressing at Eastern, including:

• better food at lunch
• more interesting classroom experiences - teachers improve their instruction
• better equipped classrooms (basic supplies, books and upgraded furniture)
• motivating students to achieve their full potential, get good grades and graduate on time!
• doing more to help the students who do come and do care

and, of course, Making AYP!

Please write an idea or two that you think we should use to make sure we get 95% of our Juniors to take the MME all three days this March.

Wednesday - Fighting the "Uphill" Battle

Quote from yesterday - The tardies are an effect, not a cause. They are a symptom of a school that is going downhill.

We all might not agree that this statement is true, but I'm sure we would all agree that this perception is widely held in our community (constant talk/press about failing to make AYP, about our tardy problems, about our high suspension rate, etc.)

Given that, what is one (or two) simple, concrete thing that YOU (students) or I (teachers) can do to help reverse this perception and help get our school moving uphill instead of downhill.

Tuesday Topic - The Real Issues

Tuesday: An interesting blog from yesterday that more than a few of you seemed to agree with -

"It was never a big issue, and if kids want to skip kids will skip. If we put as much energy, time, and concearn in real issues we could actually make this school a better place. I for one am rarely late and if i ever am late i now have to worry about some idiodic policy that virtually no students are in favor for ..."

Respond to this statement - agree / disagree? If you agree, what are some of the "real issues" that we should be more focused on?