National Constitution Center visit

For a second day, I made my way to a museum, childless! When we take students on trips, the primary focus, especially today, is on their safety. If we as teachers are fortunate enough, we can get a chance to enjoy the class trips and learn a thing or two as well.

Today's visit took me to the National Constitution Center, where I was able to spend a couple of hours in a relatively quiet museum, listening and learning about the U.S. Constitution.

During two of the three years that I taught 6th grade Social Studies, each class session began with our quoting the preamble to the constitution. We've also taken two different groups of 6th graders to the
Constitution Center.

In preparing to teach 5th grade Social Studies, I wanted to learn a little more about our history as a nation. The museum totally dedicated to the U.S. Constitution is a great place to start!

http://constitutioncenter.org/

Insectarium visit

A visit to Philadelphia's Insectarium will enahnce any elementary life science unit!! I've known about it for years. When running summer camps for the YMCA years ago, I've sent groups there for field trips. But today is the first day, I actually took the time to visit.

I enjoyed the experience. A fine compilation of living and dead species of insects, I observed quite a bit.

To make the experience a meaningful one for my students and not just a quick run-through of "OMG it's ALIVE and moving," I would prepare a list of questions for them to answer as they tour the relatively small museum on Frankford Avenue.
There's  a gift shop and, ironically enough, an exterminating company on the same premises. How about that for an "LOL"!

Enjoy!

http://www.myinsectarium.com/index.php

Silly Me! The arts were CUT!!

As I was excitedly posting tweets and posts about the high school kid, Sean, who is talented beyond his years playing his violin, a colleague reminded me of something. Instrumental music was cut in Philadelphia!!!!

The School Reform Commission recently took a chain saw to the school district budget, cutting personnel and programs to balance the budget. This included instrumental music teachers, thus cutting the instrumental music programs that exist(ed) in many of our schools!

More than 3800 teachers, counselors, secretaries, librarians, et al were laid off. This, in addition to the nearly 130 assistant principals that were also let go!

Unless Pennsylvania and this nation are serious about funding its public schools, we'll see an entire generation of robots, capable of filling in bubbles and choosing "c" (click the link).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY2mRM4i6tY&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Suburban Station Violinists---Sean is his name!! That's right!

Young, black, male, and plays classical!!

Anyone who frequents SEPTA's Suburban Station in downtown Philadelphia would undoubtedly happen upon a young man who plays his violin with such skill and finesse, that you could easily miss your train listening to him go!!

There are many performers stationed throughout SEPTA's underground market place and main regional rail train station which spans several city blocks, but this kid takes the cake!
I briefly engaged him in a short conversation once in between performances. He goes to the High School for Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) in South Philly. Note: CAPA is a PUBLIC high school!!!!

Though he goes to CAPA, he doesn't necessarily attribute his love of classical music and violin playing to CAPA. The environment, however, nurtures and promotes arts love with majors such as: Creative Writing, Instrumental Music, Visual Arts, Theater, Dance, and Vocal Music.

When I asked him what his gaols were, where he sees himself in the future, he responded that he definitely saw himself with a career in classical music.
Every single opportunity I get, including the one I had this past weekend, I drop a few dollars in the violin case that he has out.

There are times when he is accompanied by other youth who are also skillful with their instruments. But he is the constant.

What I really like is that this is an alternative image that hundreds, if not thousands, are getting of a young black male. His presence at Suburban Station is strategic! White collars pass through the station in droves and hear him play!! His pants don't sag, he doesn't wear a snap back and he is well spoken. The inverse of the aforementioned have their place somewhere, but the image that he portrays, gives many a reason to pause and reassess the first thing that comes to mind when "young black male" is mentioned!

I forget his name, unfortunately, but I'm sure a google or youtube search would assist with that. If I see it, it'll strike a "chord" and I'll post a follow-up!

The Nike Shirt Mix up!

So, Nike put out a shirt that placed an outline of the state of South Carolina, labeled as North Carolina with a pic of the symbol for the NFL's Carolina Panthers on it.

Some "radical" and "ideological" teachers could make the case that we should be teaching more than just reading and math. Perhaps, umm, I don't know, uhhh, maybe SOCIAL STUDIES!!!!!!!!

Here's the story
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/16/nike-carolina-shirt_n_3606417.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

World Famous........teacher?

Yes. Valerie Strauss writes of teacher, Rafe Esquith in the Washington Post recently as "the world's most famous teacher." You can read the interview for yourself and the title of his most recently published book.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/answer-sheet/wp/2013/07/16/the-worlds-most-famous-teacher-blasts-school-reform/

The quote that I loved the most came after Strauss asked Esquith about the new common core standards:

"In my classroom, you still put a period at the end of a sentence....I don't need a new set of standards to make that clear to me."

And let the teachers' church say.......AMEN!