It's Times Like These ...

Jones Reads Othello at the White House

2009-10-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

This is pure genius:
OTHELLO
Most potent, grave, and reverend signiors,
My very noble and approved good masters,
That I have ta'en away this old man's daughter,
It is most true; true, I have married her:
The very head and front of my offending
Hath this extent, no more. Rude am I in my speech,
And little bless'd with the soft phrase of peace:
For since these arms of mine had seven years' pith,
Till now some nine moons wasted, they have used
Their dearest action in the tented field,
And little of this great world can I speak,
More than pertains to feats of broil and battle,
And therefore little shall I grace my cause
In speaking for myself. Yet, by your gracious patience,
I will a round unvarnish'd tale deliver
Of my whole course of love; what drugs, what charms,
What conjuration and what mighty magic,
For such proceeding I am charged withal,
I won his daughter.
Her father loved me; oft invited me;
Still question'd me the story of my life,
From year to year, the battles, sieges, fortunes,
That I have passed.
I ran it through, even from my boyish days,
To the very moment that he bade me tell it;
Wherein I spake of most disastrous chances,
Of moving accidents by flood and field
Of hair-breadth scapes i' the imminent deadly breach,
Of being taken by the insolent foe And sold to slavery, of my redemption thence
And portance in my travels' history:
Wherein of antres vast and deserts idle,
Rough quarries, rocks and hills whose heads touch heaven
It was my hint to speak,--such was the process;
And of the Cannibals that each other eat,
The Anthropophagi and men whose heads
Do grow beneath their shoulders. This to hear
Would Desdemona seriously incline:
But still the house-affairs would draw her thence:
Which ever as she could with haste dispatch,
She'ld come again, and with a greedy ear
Devour up my discourse: which I observing,
Took once a pliant hour, and found good means
To draw from her a prayer of earnest heart
That I would all my pilgrimage dilate,
Whereof by parcels she had something heard,
But not intentively: I did consent,
And often did beguile her of her tears,
When I did speak of some distressful stroke
That my youth suffer'd. My story being done,
She gave me for my pains a world of sighs:
She swore, in faith, twas strange, 'twas passing strange,
'Twas pitiful, 'twas wondrous pitiful:
She wish'd she had not heard it, yet she wish'd
That heaven had made her such a man: she thank'd me,
And bade me, if I had a friend that loved her,
I should but teach him how to tell my story.
And that would woo her. Upon this hint I spake:
She loved me for the dangers I had pass'd,
And I loved her that she did pity them.
This only is the witchcraft I have used:

Wounded Warrior Project

2009-09-02T06:04:00.001-07:00

This is the time of year when everything is fresh and new in the world of education. School supplies are being purchased, new books are emerging from packaging, old ideas are being made new, and, of course, all of the myriad school activities and clubs are beginning.

Here's where my idea, my pitch comes in ... Who would like to join me in starting a new club at Staples?

If you are interested, I would be willing to advise a club focused on supporting the Wounded Warrior Project.
According to the Project's website: "The mission of the Wounded Warrior Project is to honor and empower wounded warriors."

My hope is to begin creating EVENTS that would not only support the WWP but also be exciting and fun for the community.

If you are interested, please let me know. --Geraghty

NECC 2009: Day 3

2009-06-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

Writing in the 21st Century …NCTE:
How can we help teachers and students understand what’s different about writing in the 21st Century—21st Century schools?
Invitation: Council of National Day on Writing, October 20, 2009. NCTE will be partnered with the National Writing Project and National Geographic.The link: www.galleryofwriting.org

Create groups, a gallery, affiliate and create your own galleries. DO THIS. Any genre, anything!

“All the World’s a …. Writing Space: Observations on Writing in the 21st Century” ... (Workshop Title)
Historical Context since the 60s …
60s writing as protest; "Letter from ... Jail" (MLK); graffiti; …..
70s, era of writing process, the moves needed to get t a final product. Situationally dependent. Not one universal processes—ex. narrative versus a lab report. The STEPS don’t lead to success; the key is energy and the ability to go back and change.
80s … writing process became digitized. Old-school CPUs, IBM. Publication possibilities were opening up
90s … Powerpoint, visual media coupled with writing. Images are important to writing. Connection is the word of the 90s … the Internet
2000+ … CONNECTION as part of the process … think collaboration, synergy, … Web 2.0

Assignments:
1. Blogging from school to the world. “Into the Wild”—blogs about decisions you’ve made, thematic essential questions. Not about doing the HW, it’s about communicating with the community. Responding is the KEY to success. Other behaviors are taught. Active reading, active listening, appropriate responses.
2. “Becoming Jane Austen” … create a back story to a character you read about. Blog as the character … become Holden Caulfield. Assume a persona … and write.
3. Create a map, bread crumbs, of the research process you followed. “Web” the process, the “intentional wandering” you followed.
4. Make the connection between in school and outside of school.How is blogging an important tool for greeting your voice heard?

Now, here's a tool for you: www.visualthesaurus.com

NECC 2009: Day 2

2009-06-30T08:08:00.001-07:00

Leslie Fisher (Leslie Fisher.com) “Gadgets for Everyone!”

http://www.lesliefisher.com/handouts/handouts/gadgets_2008.htm NECC 2009

The place wss packed!!!! Packed … people sat two deep against the walls. (Luckily I found an open outlet for power.)

Leslie creates websites for school districts.

OK . .. here's where it got very cool:

Sites:

www.tripit.com …. plans@tripit.com … creates online itineraries. Syncs with GoogleCal and iCal

www.yelp.com … online reviews of food. Community-driven reviews

www.twitter.com … mini-blogs … the “back channel”

www.jott.com … personal 800 number where you can call in your "to do" lists. The list is then generated for you to print out.

www.evernote.com … application. Web-based app. Notes … OCR text recognition … evernote server … find them

www.ustream.tv … cpu with a camera. Broadcast a live video feed.

www.adium.com … (missed the details)

www.mozy.com … 2 Gigs free … back up your information remotely. OR ...

Time Machine for Mac …

Mac “undercover” … prevent theft

iStockphoto.com …

www.theflip.com … $229 in 1080p HD

Scan Disk Extreme IV … faster card. And Lexar Professional … fast card for fast camers

Card Readers … www.lexar.com … www.scandisk.com

www.Smugmug.com … tax exempt ID … get a free professional account

Harmon “sound sticks”--great speakers for the CPU.

iTV, Sling Box

Netflix Roku

Logitech “Harmony” (a "clicker")… can control all of your stuff. USB port will download a complete guide for your setup at home. WOOO HOOO! Harmony 1110 (Touch Screen)

Cellular Portability:

iPhone … “Drink the punch and join our clan” (Leslie).

3.0 Software. Tethering … search “tethering iPhone hack”

APPS ... for iPhone/iTouch:

Saisuke google cal … easy to understand

Shazam

Smug mug

Twitterfon

Beejive

Yelp

Around me

POWER:

Inflightpower.com

Soulio.com ... Solar Energy Battery Back Up ... SO COOL, Campers! This company gave free solar power adapters to victims of Katrina. Heroic.

www.kensington.com … charge

Mophie Juice Pack

www.cradlepoint.com

www.thinkgeek.com

Keyspan presenter plus remote www.keyspan.com

CPU Bags …

Highest Rec: The NorthFace "Surge" Backpack.

NECC 2009: Day 1

2009-06-28T20:43:00.000-07:00

NECC 2009 ... soon to be ISTE 2010
The conference began for me after an all-day ttrain trip. I raced from Union Station to the 4 Points Sheraton to the opening keynote delivered by Malcolm Gladwell. From his website:
Malcolm Gladwell has been a staff writer with The New Yorker magazine since 1996.... [I]n 2005 he was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People. He is the author of three books, "The Tipping Point: How Little Things Make a Big Difference," (2000) , "Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking" (2005), and "Outliers: The Story of Success" (2008) all of which were number one New York Times bestsellers. (http://www.gladwell.com/bio.html)

Two themes stand out to me: 1, Learning requires effort. When it comes to learning … you must put in the time to get anything out; and 2, Feedback is a crucial part of the learning equation. Direct feedback allows the learner to know that s/he is getting closer to his or her goal.

Malcolm mentioned the "10,000-Hour Rule” – it takes 10 years of learning at 4 hours per day--time on task, time on the content being mastered--at a minimum, to become a master.
How do these two themes apply to technology ... and to the study of language in the English classroom? Well, bottom line ... don't expect to master every new learning point after one lesson. Learning takes time; and, students require direct feedback to help guide them to grow as learners.

Craig Mullaney SKYPE Interview Videos

2009-06-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Jon Karmen and Bill Derry for all of your help capturing and editing and posting these videos. Thank you, Craig M. Mullaney, for educating all of us.

Part 1: The Unforgiving Minute: A Soldier's Education and The Things They Carried

Part 2: THEMES

Part 3: EDUCATION

Reading Survey

2009-05-07T07:47:00.000-07:00

Answering these questions is NOT required, but your feedback will be greatly appreciated. If you could respond to these questions in the comments box, your answers will help guide decisions made regarding the teaching of reading.

Please answer the following questions as honestly as you can. Thanks for your help!

At some levels of schooling, we’ve found, students in their classes tend mainly to read books they choose for themselves, and at other levels, students tend to read books as a class together.

1. What are your thoughts about the two ways books are chosen for you to read?
Some considerations:
In the classroom, do you prefer picking your own book or reading a book together as a class?
What makes you enjoy reading more, picking your own book or reading together a book as a class?
What causes you to learn more/to think more deeply, reading a book you’ve chosen or reading a book together as a class?
Would any of your ideas change depending on whether you’re talking about elementary, middle school, or high school?

2. From your experiences at all three levels of schools, what is the purpose of reading at each level? And what are books you best remember; what were your experiences with them?

3. How would you describe the experience of reading a longer, more difficult book in class over a period of a month or so? (examples: To Kill a Mockingbird in the eighth grade or The Odyssey in ninth grade)

2009-04-27T19:43:00.000-07:00

Craig Mullaney's book trailer.

Inklings News has featured our Skype session with Craig. Soon, there will be Youtube videos of the event.

The session was powerful on many levels; however, Craig's honesty when relating his most difficult moments stands out to me. For a person to be so completely honest and reflective with a group of students amazes me. I am proud to know Craig will be a major player speaking with the Obama Administration regarding policy in Afghanistan. I thought I "knew" "The Things They Carried" on many levels, but Craig just added about 15 more, for me.

Can you share some of your thoughts on hearing Craig and how his experiences are influencing your reading of Tim O'Brien's "The Things They Carried"?

______________________________________________

Video related to The Things They Carried and The Unforgiving Minute. MLK's "Unforgiving Minute" is captured, metaphorically, through the word "sneeze." To listen and read the full text of the speech, go to American Rhetoric.

Above is MLK's final speech.

A "Found Essay" ....

2009-04-24T05:20:00.001-07:00

As a way to engage the essence of a text, readers often highlight, annotate, write quotes, dog-ear pages, tear out pages (!), and myriad other actions. Well, when I read Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried, my highlighter began to dry up from too much use.

I began to capture the stories in "Found Essays" ... a name I learned from a workshop at Bard College. My original goal was just to simply capture what the story meant to me, but the idea at Bard made me think of my students. So ... here we go ...

Read “How to Tell a True War Story” closely. Scan the text for specific “rules” for telling—both in delivery and recognition—a true war story. Once you have finished, quote the 10 essential sentences you found and put them into a paragraph. This culling of key textual evidence will help you form a “found essay”—a precise thought capturing the essence of O’Brien’s work. Below is one example:

“How to tell a True War Story”

This is true (67). [A True war story] does not instruct, nor encourage virtue, nor suggest models of proper human behavior, nor restrain men from doing the things men have always done (68). You can tell a true war story if it embarrasses you (69). In many cases a true war story cannot be believed (71). You can tell a true war story by the questions you ask. Somebody tells a story, let’s say, and afterward you ask, “Is it true?” and if the answer matters, you’ve got your answer (83). All you can do is tell it one more time, patiently, adding and subtracting, making up a few things to get at the real truth (85). It’s all exactly true (70). In any war story, but especially a true one, it’s difficult to separate what happened from what seemed to happen (71). In many cases a true war story cannot be believed (71). Sometimes it’s just beyond telling (71). This is true (67).

In essence, O’Brien’s short speculative essay suggests that all truth is subjective; therefore, a model truth does not exist when discussing war. Capturing emotional truth is the only manner in which one can further an understanding of the nature of war.

I would love to read your responses ... and just read your thoughts on this idea.