no footballer left behind

stewart had sent this around via email, wanted to share:

"All teams must make the state playoffs and all MUST win the championship. If a team does not win the championship, they will be on probation until they are the champions, and coaches will be held accountable. If, after two years, they have not won the championship their footballs and equipment will be taken away UNTIL they do win the championship.
All students will be expected to have the same football skills at the same time even if they do not have the same conditions or opportunities to practice on their own. NO exceptions will be made for lack of interest in football, a desire to perform athletically, or genetic abilities or disabilities of themselves or their parents.

ALL STUDENTS WILL PLAY FOOTBALL AT A PROFICIENT LEVEL!

Talented players will be asked to workout on their own, without instruction. This is because the coaches will be using all their instructional time with the athletes who aren't interested in football, have limited athletic ability or whose parents do not like football.

Games will be played year round, but statistics will only be kept in the 4th, 8th, and 11th game. It will create a New Age of Sports where every school is expected to have the same level of talent and all teams will reach the same minimum goals. If no child gets ahead, then no child gets left behind. If parent do not like this new law, they are encouraged to support private schools that can screen out the non-athletes and prevent their children from having to go to school with bad football players."

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i like that taking it out of context, you see that no child left behind just doesn't make sense! i mean, i already knew that, but i liked the way that this illustrated it so simply.

but what i really wanted to comment on was how, in addition to blogging, the email list that we use for the MAC group (and sub-groups, as we set off to do some projects) has become another kind of community for us, as well. i have gotten to know c-tools by wading through it and asking my classmates for help/clarification. it is really exciting that we are already teaching each other from our own specific backrgrounds, and moreso, that we are all open to learning from each other. i feel that there are so many ways to connect with one another, and organically, opportunities are opening up as people learn each others' hobbies, interests and extra-curriculars. i suggest that everyone gets involved with some sort of outside of class activity -- i have a feeling that we will need something else to think about, something to provide balance and a break.

just some saturday thoughts...

xo
lo

vicodin-induced introduction

welcome to the land of lolo, i hope that you enjoy your stay.

i am incredibly excited about this class, as i feel that there is a great expanse of innovative and interesting resources that i can learn and live in my future classrooms. unfortunately, i got a tooth pulled over the lunch break today, so i wasn't able to participate fully in the class today, though i am quite sure that i will be all up in it quite soon.

revolving around blogging, here
is my myspace blog, which i write in a few times a week and which will probably also be heavily school focused in the next year.... i see blogging as a great tool for building community in the classroom in a new way, connecting learnings to one another in a space that they have a really direct impact on. blogs also touch and reach students whose speaking skills aren't as strong, or shy kids. it gives students another medium in which to participate, in addition to strengthening their cognition of the subject material, ability to respond to others' writing, and building their own writing skills.

i have to say that i am intrigued by the use of blogs in the classroom, and reminiscing to my own experiences of creating the online community. people say things on the internet that they will not say in real life. people admit, have the discussions that they wouldn't dare to if you were sitting across the table. and i think it's a great addendum to a classroom environment.... though personally, i think it's important to address wholly different styles of learning and yes, in class participation in addition to extra-curricular or online input is crucial.

i think blogs are useful tools to expand upon, clarify and further the class discussion, but certainly not a replacement. i love technology and want to integrate it into my classroom as much as possible, but i worry about its effects and making people lazy enough that they don't interact, don't explore in person and save it for the "safe" classroom.

online space is never safe, folks. when you put it out there, it is no longer yours and the audience is able to do with your writing what they want. your intention only goes so far. and really, i think that the quality of in-person discussion can be stellar if the real-time classroom is fostered and created with expectations for quality, respect, confidentiality.

anyhoo, as someone who has blogged for 8 or 9 years now in many different venues, i think that the level of conversation and community building is crucial to understanding the language of the students we work with, however i don't see entirely online classrooms as effective as a combination of media with a real discussion. having the ability to say it aloud, to argue a point on the spot and not hiding behind the screen... it still holds value with me.

anyway, more very soon!! looking forward to all that we explore in this class.

xo
lauren (or lolo, as i'm known outside of class)