US History Film Series

A group of US History teachers at the high school recently joined forces to promote a film series that complements class discussions and content. This after school program takes place in our high school library from 5:00pm to 7:30pm and students are extra credit options after viewing the film.

Our debur film "Glory" provided students with an opportunity to see an award winning film about the 54th Massachusetts to complement our student of the Civil War. We had about 35 students show up for the early evening showing.

Our most recent undertaking "Dances with Wolves" has a much lighter turn out because it had to be rescheduled twice and finally landed on a mid term week. We also had to fast forward through some of the scenes to keep the feature under 3 1/2 hours.

The next films slated for our series include:

"The Wizard of Oz" ( 3/8/2006) as a parable for the Populist movement and "Cinderella Man" (4/25/2006) for our study of the Great Depression.

Gearing Up for AP

After 12 years of teaching Global History, Participation in Government, Economics, Sociology, and United States History I have been presented with an opportunity to take on a couple of AP United States History classes for the 2006-2007 academic year. I decided to begin my prep work for rigors of an Advance placement course by attending a local AP forum at Colonie High School on October 28th. It was a nice chance to get together with AP teachers to discuss how they approach the course and exchange resources. I also put together a hotlist of books I wanted to examine further. As of today I have read or listened to (via www.audible.com ) the following books (in order)

1. Founding Brothers by Joseph Ellis
2. John Adams by David McCullough
3. 1776 by David McCullough
4. Andrew Jackson by HW Brands
5. Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
6. War, Terrible War by Joy Hakim
7. Nothing Like it in the World by Stephen Ambrose
8. Teacher Man by Frank McCourt


Next Up: Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris

I put together a list of comments and lesson ideas, but that is for another post.

Reflections from 2006 Campus Tour

STOP #3 University at Albany 1/24/2006
Our latest stop on the 2006 Campus tour took our team (three strong - Myself, John DeGuardi, and Mark Trazskos) to the SUNY Albany for the latest installment of the visiting writers series featuring Frank McCourt. Mr. McCourt was here to speak about the third installment of his memoirs - "Teacher Man." His book tour will be tasking him around the planet, including stops in New Zealand and Austrialia, so we were exicited to hear him speak at UAlbany. Mr. McCourt spoke for about 40 minutes to a standing room only crowd of teachers, students, teachers, professors, retirees and other interested townsfolk. He poked fun at his meteoric rise into the world of literary celebrity and how being on TV changes everything. After reading "Teacher Man" I found myself reflecting on my first decade as an educator. More on this in a later post.

During the Q and A, Mr. McCourt spun some humorous tales and passed on words of wisdom drawn from his time as a writing teacher in the NYC schools system. Stories about endless encounters with former students drew the loudest laughs, but his advice to teachers new to the profession is worth repeating. First and foremost, Mr. McCourt told the audience to "love what you do." We all know everyday is not going to be whistle while you work (no job is), but love and passion for your profession can pull you through many of the inevitable dark days. He also stated that high school teachers "are dead without a sense of humor." I couldn't agree more with that one. I try to surround myself with people who take their job seriously, but can laugh off some of the daily non-sense we inevitably encounter. I will leave you with a quote John DeGuardi, our Social Studies department chair, pulled out of the Albany Times Union in an article about Frank McCourt:

"Teaching isn't clear cut like being a doctor, where you operate and the patient gets better or worse. Or a lawyer, where you win or lose the case... As a teacher, you just do your best, keep poking away at it and hope."


STOP #2 Siena College 1/18/2006
We had fantastic opportunity to see a Civil Rights Icon when John Lewis spoke as part of Siena College's Martin Luther King, Jr Lecture series. I was joined for this adventure by social studies department members Dan Hornick, Ray Toohey, John DeGuardi, and Roger Bubel. Mr Lewis spoke of his early years in the Civil Rights movement, his relationship with Dr. King and how leaders combined the teachings of Christ and tools of Gandhi to usher in an era of sit-ins, freedom rides and protest marches. As he spoke I was constantly thinking that Mr. Lewis was center stage in the Civil Rights movement at 23!! Food for thought...a quote from a unknown source: "What we do for ourselves dies with us. What we do for others is, and remains for eternity."


STOP #1 University at Albany 11/21/2005
Including our most recent visit with Mr. McCourt, our traveling road show heard Doris Kearns Goodwin speak about her latest book "Team of Rivals." As a teacher of 11th grade American history, the November 21st tour date was a must! I have always been a fan of Lincoln and can read just about anything about him, but Doris humanizes Lincoln while capturing his political instincts that led him to build his cabinet from his political rivals for the 1860 presidential nomination.

Thinkwave.com

Some Will, Some Won't, So What

I have been posting my grades on-line through using a program called Thinkwave. For a small fee ($7.95 per month) you can post your grade book on a secure internet site and create individual student and parent access codes in minutes. I asked my principal if he would fund this experiment and he agreed, purchasing the program and a two year subscription. It took me a nine inning Red Sox game to figure out the software import my rosters and publish to the web.

Some quick observations:

1. I have my gradebook linked to my webpage www.historyshack.com to increase traffic to both. Truth be told, your thinkwave site can serve as a class webpage full of links, announcements and handouts. That is a pretty simple and powerful web presence.

2. The program allows you to include comments next to the recorded grades. This is a great feature!! I leave individualized notes, reminders, or additional directions for each student. When students or parents access the grade book, they see both the grade and my comments. After awhile patterns begin to emerge.

3. As a teacher mentor at the high school, I try to make sure all of my mentees are aware of the different types of grade programs out there. One of my mentees ran with my Thinkwave suggestion. Garry Preece (HS MATH) loved the idea and took the time to experiment with the program. By the end of the 2005 academic year he was up and running on the web. He was so jazzed up about the program he convinced five other math teachers to follow suit. He also has taken the lead in establishing a web presence for the entire Math department at Ballston. Check it out http://www.bscsd.org/teachers/hsmath/ Nice work G-Unit.

I showed several staff members the program and gave them a brief overview of the software. Some smiled politely and moved on. Some were interested, but were intimidated by the thought of learning another software program. Some flat out told me there was no need for such a grade program because half of our student body doesn't have access to computers.

My thoughts...

I listened to a podcast from Edutopia.org http://www.edutopia.org/php/radio.php that featured Marco Torres and info on"Student run film festivals." When asked how he responded to teachers who weren't as eager as he was to implement new technologies he repeated the words of a teacher mentor he had crossed paths with.. "some will, some won't, so what. " Nicely stated. I decided to repeat that phrase whenever I get a negative reaction to a suggestion. Here is a funny aside. A teacher who had no interest in my five minute tutorial last spring recently asked me If I had heard about the new on-line grade program the Math department was using. She was setting up a meeting with a member of the department to discuss the program. I asked if I could tag along, because I am always interested in learning about cutting edge software :)


One of my goals as a classroom teacher is to promote accountability. I have worked hard on creating an on-line environment where students have access to materials whenever they feel the need. I like the fact that I do not have to hold their hands on this. I have it plastered all over my classroom..."Do the work, pass the course" Some will pass with flying colors, others will make it by the skin of their teeth. I know at the end of the day, they all have access to the same resources. The number of students that do not have access to a computer at home, have access to nearly 400 computers at the high school. Where there is a will, there is a way.

One interesting thing that has happened since I have been posting grades on-line is the increased foot traffic into my office to make-up quizzes and tests. If a student is absent I record and zero and make a small note about scheduling a make-up, and then I usually forget about it until they show up for their make-up. This has cut down on my chasing down students and it has put the responsibility on them. Win, Win.

Downside: Slight learning curve, subscription fee, potential pesty parents

I'll be back

Why I Blog (and why you are reading this)

When the opportunity presents itself I blog. When the opportunity presents itself if read edublogs. When the opportunity presents itself I contact fellow bloggers for collaborative purposes. So far the opportunity has only presented it self around school breaks and long weekends. Husband to Stacey, father to Jackson and Alex, teacher to students at Ballston Spa HS, blogger to an unknown audience. However...

In the year 2006 (news years resolutions coming Feb 1st) I will be able to collaborate with teachers all over the planet by virtue of this small piece of real estate in cyberspace. To understand and appreciate why I enjoy the "process" let me illustrate the power of collaboration before the proliferation of the blogosphere...


In the fall of 2002 I was invited to participate in The Points of VIEW project, a collaborative partnership of Time Warner Cable, Albany Division, C-SPAN Cable Network, Project VIEW of the Schenectady City School District and the National Council for Social Studies. Four local school districts (Ballston Spa, Amsterdam, Scotia-Glenville, and Schenectady) created a model for standards based social studies curriculum that utilized advanced broadband capabilities and state-of-the-art interactive videoconferencing technology. Cool geek talk for two of the hallmarks of education - creativity and collaboration.

As a partner in this project I met with the team at least a half a dozen times (subs were covered by the project) at the Schenectady Project View lab to sift through resources and give the project shape and substance. These brainstorming sessions were a rare opportunity to gather a group of social studies teachers to share their content knowledge and create vision for the projects ultimate outcome - a prototype program that focused on the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. I often looked forward to these sessions because this team of seasoned educators all possessed a passion History and infectious love of teaching.

Most of us have someone in our buildings who is "cut from the same cloth." They are a sounding board for new and innovative ideas and rarely dismiss your far out visions designed to engage your students. Well for this project I was lucky to be part of this team of collaborators who were truly excited to be fortunate enough to participate in the process.

In addition to our work at the project lab site we went on two fact finding trips - one to TR's Sagamore Hill in Oyster Bay New York and the other was to Washington D.C. to visit the National Archives and the CSPAN headquarters. Imagine that - a group of social studies teachers on a guided tour of Washington DC!!!

After the project was complete and the resources were made available on the web, our team began to promoted the goods. We presented a program at the New York State Council for the Social Studies convention in Rochester, NY to discuss our role in the creation and implementation of the TR project. The team is pictured to the left ( L-R) Peter Sheridan, Scotia Glenville School District, John DeGuardi, Ballston Spa School District, Rick Hengsterman, Ballston Spa School District,Nick Petraccione, Schenectady City School District, Douglas Kaufman, Greater Amsterdam School District, Nick Sheldon, Schenectady City School District, Louis Schiavone, Scotia Glenville School District and Stuart Palczak, Greater Amsterdam School District. Great bunch to work with!!

I think Peggy O'Brien, executive director of Cable in the Classroom, said it best -
"When teachers invest themselves in creating what they teach and the way they will teach it, the dividends it pays is student performance exceeds all expectations."

Spotlight on Jo McCleay - Melbourne, Australia

I spent some time this morning enjoying some caffeine and blog hopping through several teacher blogs. I ventured into The Open Classroom a blog maintained by Jo McCleay an educator from Melbourne, Australia. Two observations:

First and foremost, I am in awe of the number of educators who take the time and effort to publish their observations, frustrations, and pontifications to a growing of audience of teachers around the world.

Secondly, I wish more teachers new to the profession would take advantage of the "reservoir of wisdom" to counteract some of the infectious lunch room negativity that can consumes teachers young and old. Jo included thoughts from Bernard Percy found in the June 2002 edition of Converge. I thought were worth passing on. Simply stated ...

WHAT MAKES A GREAT TEACHER?
1. They have high standards and expectations that they won't compromise.
2. They dare to dream of truly making a difference in their students' lives.
3. They're the "restless" individuals, innovative thinkers. They don't want to adapt or conform to the world around them, when that world has limited expectations of what a teacher can do or achieve.
4. They challenge students to think differently, innovatively, and not merely adjust to their environment.
5. They're comfortable in a space with motion, action and innovative thinking.
6. They help students find their true purposes; develop their unique, special talents; and ensure they develop certainty in their ability to overcome obstacles and achieve their dreams.
7. They create space for students to find and develop belief in their own potential.
8. They create special, positive moments where a student has a realization or experience that positively affects his or her life, forever.
9. They seek the real barriers that prevent students from learning, i.e., helping students learn the skills, gain the knowledge, and develop their abilities to be problem solvers.
10. They never see the child only as a statistic or number, but as worthy of the recognition of his or her own individuality.
11. They strive to put and keep the joy in learning.
12. They're willing to find the magic residing in each child.
13. They're dream makers, not dream breakers.

Jo's blog has all the things I am looking for as I bloghop. Insightful content, valuable links, and sources of inspiration. Nicely done Jo!

University Opportunities

As a department we have started to explore a variety of local workshops, presentations, and professional development opportunities for the 2005-2006 academic year. Since we are located in the Capital Region of NY State just north of Albany, we have several colleges and universities within a 20 minute drive of our high school campus.

Our first adventure was to the SUNY Albany Campus on November 21st to see Doris Kearns Goodwin speak as part of the visiting writers series (http://www.albany.edu/writers-inst/vws.html). As a group we decided to read her latest book "Team of Rivals" before attending her 90 minute talk. She provided an interesting collection of insights and anecdotes about her ten years with Lincoln. Many of us were able to use stories from the book and lecture series in class discussion.

Our next adventure will take us to Siena college January 19th for The Martin Luther King, Jr. And Lecture Series http://www.siena.edu/mlk/2006Speaker/Lewis102005.asp on Civil Rights in the 21st Century with Congressman and Civil Rights icon John Lewis.

After Mr. Lewis we will be returning to SUNY Albany January 24th to hear Frank McCourt about his new book "Teacher Man" and his 30 years as an educator in the NYC school system.

As a group we have been meeting after each field to discuss how we could use some of the information and observations in our classes. I hope to package some of these sessions into a podcast before the end of this academic year.

Onward...