Category Archives: Experiences
Windows 8 can be fixed (and made better than Windows 7) for a mere $10
In an earlier post, I discussed my initial skepticism regarding Windows 8, but I decided to reserve judgment until I had a reasonable amount of time to play with the much-maligned new operating system. So, after five months, I’ve come to this general conclusion: the “under the hood” changes are excellent, but the default user [...]
Reflections on a 21st Century School
I recently had the opportunity to spend a day at Thomas Haney Secondary School in Maple Ridge, BC. The school is known for its commitment to flexible, individualized, learn-at-your-own-pace education, and is touted by many as an exemplar of progressive pedagogy. As a teacher cautiously interested in the phenomenon of “21st century learning”, but also a [...]
Let’s Hope High School Won’t Be Your “Glory Days”
After another day of classes, and another round of adolescent glowering and truculence, I am reminded of Springsteen’s classic, “Glory Days”. Nobody said it so well: let’s hope your years in high school won’t be your glory days. If they are, then the rest of your life will be a big disappointment! One of the most [...]
The Rip Van Winkle Effect: Back in the Classroom after Eight Years
Last September I knew I had to make a change, and so I took the plunge and moved back into the classroom after eight years in distance learning. I decided to leave DL because I really missed the classroom. I wanted to work face-to-face with students again, and embrace the challenges and rewards that come [...]
Same Coin, Two Sides: Resurrecting the Liberal Arts Ideal
There are truths on this side of the Pyranees, which are falsehoods on the other. ~Blaise Pascal ————- Have you noticed that the same behaviour can be described in diametrically opposed ways, depending on different people’s perspectives? For example, if you were taught, “If you have nothing good to say, then don’t say anything at [...]
Personalized Learning = Pre-Packaged Learning
Last year, when the notion of “personalized learning” started to become a popular topic here in British Columbia, I questioned its practicality. I asked how a secondary teacher could possibly create, supervise and assess 200 or so separate learning programs for his or her students. I concluded that teachers couldn’t possibly pull off such a [...]
“Trades vs. Academics” is Obsolete
One of the most common dichotomies in modern education is “trades vs. academics”. Supporters of one (often the trades) will decry the predominance of the other, and demand equal consideration from educators, government and society as a whole. I think the dualism is clichéd and obsolete. And here’s why… One of the noticeable trends I [...]
Students Consider the Future of Education
One of the more useful educational tools on the Web, especially for teachers of language arts, is the blog. As a platform for authentic communication, the blog offers students a relatively simple and convenient way to express their thoughts, archive those thoughts for the future, and, if desired, converse with others over issues that matter [...]
Back to the Future with Technology
One of the personal ironies of the current push to “21st century learning” is that I would be happy to return to the technology of the 1990’s. Back in those halcyon days, when I lived and worked in a small community along the Alaska border, our tiny rural school had one bookable computer lab fitted [...]
A Lament for the Provincial Exams
I’ll be honest: I’m a dinosaur. Or at least that’s what I’m labeled by the progressives who make so much noise in the field of education. To them, teachers like me are throwbacks, anachronisms, conservative reactionaries, Sisypheans who roll the rock of futility up (and, like me, over) the hill. I also suspect we might [...]
