LEQ Rewards - Comments, Experiences, etc.

Hey Quakers,

What do you think of the Rewards Project so far this year? Do you like the BONUS round of getting 5 rewards for being in class in 4 minutes? What about tracking by student number as well as class?

AND .. share what you did to earn your reward!

Advisory - Informed Opinions

Ok, so now you all have been going to Advisory for about 7 weeks and you should have a pretty good feel for it. Please weigh in on whether you think it is beneficial or not. is it going to help you / other students be more successful? Do you have any suggestions to improve it?

The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions

Consider the following three comments from the last blog ....

Jocelyn Manchester said...

A terrorist is a terrorist, and if it takes one life to save many then go right ahead.

Mike Smith said...

One person's freedom fighter is another person's terrorist.

Chris Pfeifer said...

I think this whole idea has good intentions but is not a good idea. They said he was deemed a threat, so what is considered a threat? I think now its not so bad but over time, the criteria needed to be considered a threat will be less and less.

... now consider this recent article - our Killer Drone program has a VIRUS!

Any new thoughts on this road our government is walking down?

Life and Death Power of the State, part II

A couple weeks back many of you weighed in on the death penalty - should we give our government the right to take the life of its own citizens? That question was based on the assumption that the citizen had been charged with a crime, had gone through a trial, lost and had been sentenced to death.

Now consider this recent case - U.S. drone killing of American al-Awlaki prompts legal, moral debate

In summary: our government executed a hit on a US citizen who it deemed to be a threat to our security. Instead of arresting this individual, bringing him to court and going through a trial, we decided to kill him. (Of course it is much easier and presents no direct threat to our law enforcement to launch a drone missile strike on an individual rather than arresting him and bringing him back to the US to stand trial.)

Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul stated,

"If the American people accept this blindly and casually, that we now have an accepted practice of the president assassinating people who he thinks are bad guys. I think it's sad," Paul told reporters after a speech in Manchester, New Hampshire, Friday.

But U.S. Rep. Peter King, R-New York, said,

"It was entirely legal. If a citizen takes up arms against his own country, he becomes an enemy of the country. The president was acting entirely within his rights and I fully support the president," King said.

Where do you stand on this?

It's the Freakin' Weekend ...

What are looking forward to this weekend? (Besides no school ;-) Me? I'm looking forward to attending the wedding of two of my former students (class of '02 I think) ... they became friends in my humble little computer class and a romance bloomed later ... :-)

'Racist' Bake Sale?!

You probably have not heard about the 'racist' bake sale that was held yesterday on the campus of Berkeley, CA ... you should check this article out real quick ... pretty crazy, but obviously since they got national news coverage pretty effective too ....

So what do you think. Do the organizers make a valid point - or have they gone just too far in trying to simplify a complex issue?

Thursday - Death Penalty

Maybe you have been following the recent high profile death penalty case of Troy Davis - well he was executed last night ... How do you feel about the death penalty - should the government have the right to execute its own citizens under certain circumstances? Where do you stand on the death penalty and why.

20 questions that could change your life!?

Check out this link to an article entitled, "20 questions that could change your life." Spend a few minutes reading through the questions and see if any resonate with you.

Which question (or questions) did you find to be the most useful to you and why.

Constitution Day!

So today is Constitution Day (What is the Constitution?) ... and many of you probably know that the first 10 Amendments to the Constitution are called the Bill of Rights .. check out this article about the connection between teenagers using social media (like facebook) and their appreciation of the first amendment (free speech) ...

In the article, the author writes:

I’m afraid many teachers actually are a drag on First Amendment learning.

The survey says most teachers do not support free expression rights in a school context. They don’t think the school newspaper should print controversial articles. They don’t think students should post things about school on their Facebook pages. And they mostly think social media hurt teaching.

What is your reaction to this? Use your right to free speech to voice your opinion - Do we need to do more to teach the importance of free speech?

Week 2 - Advisory First Impressions

We're into our second week of school now ... so what are some of your early impressions of the new Advisory Class? What's something positive? What's something that needs to improve?

To receive credit please write several sentences, with, like, you know periods and grammer and stuff ;-)

First Week ... Least Favorite Things

What have been some of your least favorite things you've had to deal with this first week?

First Days of School!

What's one of the best things about school so far for you and why? :-)

LEQ Rewards Project - What Do You Think?

Students, staff and parents:

Share your thoughts on the LEQ Rewards project. Do you think it is working? Are more staff focusing on positive behavior and are more students acting positively?

If you've received a Reward, what did you do to get it?

Any suggestions for changes for next year?

Eastern Transformational Plan

Working to Transform Eastern for the 2011-12 School Year

Short summary of the transformation plan:

1. A longer day for students that are behind in credits, enabling them to get back on track in time for graduation.

2. A 30 minute “advisory” period during the school day, which is not an academic class, but a period to support achievement in all the students’ courses, as well as a time that can be used in new ways to try and build a positive school culture.

3. Half days throughout the school year (about two per month) which will be used by teachers for workshop time, as well as by students for extracurricular activities and events.

4. More literacy and numeracy strategies in all the subject areas to help students become better readers, writers, and interpreters of information.

So here’s where you, the students come in:

What would you want from an “advisory” period? What would it look like, and how would it work?

Advisory is meant to be a time to help students with their academic needs, prepare them for life outside of and after high school, and to create a more positive climate at Eastern.

With that in mind, what are your recommendations for advisory?

Friday - Or is it Monday? lol

What did you do with your bonus "weekend," or two snow days off? Watch my video to see what I was up to:

Friday, the First Week in a Blink

*Blink* - there goes our first week of the new semester. What are some of your first impressions of Web Design so far?

[For a fascinating look at "the kind of thinking that happens in a blink of an eye" follow this link to read more about a book called "Blink", by Malcolm Gladwell.]

20 questions that could change your life!?

Check out the link below to an article entitled, "20 questions that could change your life." Spedn a few minutes reading through the questions and see if any resonate with you


http://www.cnn.com/2011/LIVING/01/26/o.questions.change.your.life/index.html?hpt=T2

Favorite Posts from First Day

I slacked off at the end of the semester and should have done better. Now i can focus on a new semester and hopefully get a 4.0. ... YES - start strong AND finish strong!

I plan to pass all my classes so I could graduate. ... Not good enough - you can pass with all 'D's' - aim higher!

i need good grades to try to get out of here no more E's ... good attendance + good attitude + good work ethic = ALMOST impossible to get an 'E'

well I spent too much, way too much time skipping in the hallway with the wrong friends...my new resolution is to go to class and do my work and get out ... YES!!

I mean I had good grades but not good enough. I want to push myself and see how far I can go. ... reminds me of a joke: "I had a teacher who was very rude. He said, 'Kristyn, the sky's the limit!' Sure it sounds nice, but I had just told him I wanted to be an astronaut."

do all my homework at once and then eat and go to sleep on my king size tempurpedic bed ... excellent plan!

im just gonna try i guess.. ... "There is no 'try.' Either do or do not." - Master Yoda

DO my work, try to not fail any classes, pass. ... see above quote

stop skippin ... YES!

It doesn't matter what I do, it won't be good enough for my parents. All I want to do is pass so I can graduate on time and get out of this place ASAP. ... this sounds kind of discouraging - us parents just want you kids to do your best!

Monday - First Day Resolutions!

We're half way home now, fist day of the second semester. Make a resolution about something you want to improve on from the first semester. (For example - you might want to resolve to procrastinate less with your homework assignments because you spent too much time up late at night finishing work that you should have finished earlier.)