| Double Moon Shot was described on a TV interview with Thomas Friedman. Mr. Friedman's comments appear on a web site called www.WhatShouldStudentsLearn.com. A search on google.com of "double moon shot" revealed that Thomas Friedman might be the first person to use the phrase to mean "attempt two feats simultaneously as bold as the Space Race." It is in appreciation to Mr. Friedman that this web site is maintained to support the proposal made by Mr. Friedman: the USA needs two national efforts (as described below). This effort will pull the best out of each of us. Friedman's comments in the interview with Tim Russert form the spine or backbone of this web site. An open letter to parents In Praise of Small Schools By Steve McCrea, Teacher Dear Parent: In February 2005, Bill Gates gave a landmark speech at a conference of governors praising small schools. I missed it, and chances are that you did, too, because the speech was overwhelmed by the media’s focus on the Michael Jackson trial and Terri Schiavo. Here’s the essence of what Gates said: “Successful schools are built on principles that can be applied anywhere. These are the new three Rs, the basic building blocks of better high schools: The first R is Rigor – making sure all students are given a challenging curriculum that prepares them for college or work. The second R is Relevance – making sure kids have courses and projects that clearly relate to their lives and their goals. The third R is Relationships – making sure kids have a number of adults who know them, look out for them, and push them to achieve.” Small Schools “The three Rs are almost always easier to promote in smaller schools. The smaller size gives teachers and staff the chance to create an environment where students achieve at a higher level and rarely fall through the cracks. Students in smaller schools are more motivated, have higher attendance rates, feel safer, and graduate and attend college in higher numbers.” If I were a parent, I would look around for a small school that receives public money. Charter schools have an agreement (a “charter”) with state government to operate as a nonprofit organization with fewer of the constraints of a public school. There’s no union, it’s easier to hire and fire teachers, and the school can respond flexibly to new situations. I’ve heard scores of complaints about charter schools: - "they don't have a football team" - "they don't have enough students" - "the students have to eat lunch in the classroom." - "they don't have a media center." - “they aren’t in a real building” (some charter schools are in shopping centers or churches) - "the students have to take a bus to get to a playground or recess area." ”And what does Bill Gates know about education and schools? He didn’t graduate from college. Has he ever operated a school?” Parents, you can find many reasons to “remain loyal” to the large school that your child currently attends. People will warn you to avoid underfunded charter schools. However, if you agree with Gates, then join the charter school movement. “Vote” for a smaller school -- where everyone knows your child's name. I know of a charter school that needs 130 students to have enough funds to hire two extra assistants and afford buses for field trips. The school currently has just over 90 students. Each student is “worth” about $400 a month or about $3000 a year in public money (that would otherwise go to a large public school). With 35 more students, the charter school would receive about $100,000 for much-appreciated additional resources. If you want to help reshape education while getting more attention for your child, consider the size of your child’s school. Your “vote” for a small school will use public money more effectively and send a message to state officials and the school district: Gates is right. We need more small schools. If you’re curious about how a small school operates, visit BigPicture.org and watch the videos online. The Met, a school in Providence, Rhode Island, is where the three Rs were developed. What to do with large schools? If I were a principal at a large school, I would learn how large schools in New York, L.A. and Chicago are being divided into several smaller schools. Why not apply that same effort to large schools here in your city? For parents wanting to heed Mr. Gates’ advice, however, switching to a small school is quicker than waiting for the transformation of large schools. A publicly funded charter school is an affordable way for your child to benefit from rigor, relevance and relationships. To find a charter school in your area, go to your school district’s web site and click on “School Information.” Then select Charters. Good searching. Steve McCrea is a teacher at a charter school in Fort Lauderdale. Steve McCrea Box 30555 Fort Lauderdale, FL 33303 954.646.8246 analyst@comcast.net www.teachersTOteachers.com www.LookForPatterns.com www.newFCAT.com I am a teacher who “discovered” that working with a family therapist leads to better learning conditions in a classroom. I’ve encouraged my friend and family therapist, Pat Harris, to create a series of columns based on her 10 points for “extending your child’s education.” If you would like to run this series in your newspaper, please contact me at 954 646 8246 or by email to mistermath@comcast.net |
| Take the FLAT CHALLENGE-- How much do you know about the 10 forces behind outsourcing of jobs to CHINA and INDIA? And where is Bangalore anyway? |
| HOME Visit India Visit China About Thomas Friedman FAQ Democracy Bonds Tasks Building Bridges (BIBBI) Contact us The FLAT Challenge How to earn a FLAT Certificate Gifted Children (LookForPatterns.com) VisualAndActive Letter to Congress (see below) Teacher's Lesson Plan: How to include Friedman's message ("The World Is Flat") in your curriculum REPLIES FROM CONGRESS (excerpts below) |
| The "Double Moon Shot" workshop about "Putting more technology into classrooms." DoubleMoonShot.com (see below) See videos about Building International Bridges and SAT Videos What should students learn? See what Bill Gates says about schools |
| DoubleMoonShot.com proposed by Thomas Friedman Author of The World is Flat 1) re-invigorate education and 2) reduce dependence on oil |
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| The workshop mentions Daniel Pink's work with "looking for shapes between letters." These are exercises that an analytical mind or style of thinking finds difficult. |
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| Comments by Thomas Friedman Presented here as an educational exercise Why are people in India taking jobs from people in the USA? What could inspire students to study harder? What is the proposed “Double Moon Shot?” The following is a transcription of comments by NY Times columnist Thomas Friedman from an interview with Tim Russert, April 2005 Friedman: A certain Democratic presidential hopeful named John Kerry came out with a blast against executives who outsource, calling them Benedict Arnold CEOs. So I decided to go to Bangalore, India, the capital of outsourcing. While I had been sleeping, covering the 9/11 story, I had missed the creation of a global flat economic platform where anyone can plug and play. That's why I call the book The World Is Flat. Russert: You were told that the world is a level playing field, and Americans are not ready for it. Friedman: Nandan Nilekani, the head of Infosys, told me, "The global playing field is being leveled, and you Americans are not ready. You are best when you are challenged, and you are being challenged.” If we don't get our own population up to speed when this tide rises, it's going to wash over us. Russert: What sort of challenge is outsourcing? Friedman: The first thing to understand is get the word OUTSOURCING out of your mind. Think of SOURCING. When the world is flat, you can source the work to the most efficient person in the world, either in India or North Dakota or San Francisco. Not everything is going to be outsourced. But there are more and more jobs that can fit into this category. Many jobs are outsourced to the past. The ticket agent at some airports has been replaced with an automatic ticket machine and that job has been outsourced to the past. The cameramen in the TV studio could be replaced by a robot camera. What's really scary is that more and more jobs at the high end will be outsourced to India and they won't be outsourced because of the wage difference. We're not producing enough cutting-edge talented people to fill these jobs in the US. That's the secret of outsourcing. Executives don't want to say this out loud. When they outsource a job, they don't just get a cheaper employee, they get a big boost in productivity. That's a very bad thing. Russert: Executives will say we get a highly skilled, highly motivated, highly disciplined English-speaking work force in India or Ireland and why shouldn't we go there? In the inner cities in the US, every other child doesn't graduate from high school. Friedman: Our leading industrial innovator, a guy named Bill Gates, told us that the high school education in America is obsolete. You probably didn't hear that, it might have slipped in between Terry Schiavo and Michael Jackson. This is something we should be talking about. Bill Gates said that this country is not producing enough skilled young people to fill the job vacancies. This is worthy of a national discussion. We need to focus on making more Americans employable and able to be educated for a flat world. Russert: What is the ambition gap? Friedman: The ambition gap is what you alluded to, Tim. There's one entitlement that we have to get rid of: We are NOT entitled to any job we want. I'm sorry to say this, there is no such thing as an American job. Finish your homework because people in India are working for your job. We have to up the ambition level. Young people are waiting for inspiration. Young women are not being inspired to go into science. There is such an analog to the moon shot waiting for our president to seize. A great national project: We need young people to be reenergized about going into science and engineering. It's the moon shot of our generation. It's to make America energy independent. Imagine if our president said, “This is going to be our national goal. I want every young person to go into math and science and make their contribution for hybrid vehicles and alternative energies.” You could energize a whole generation. George Bush could do it. It would be his Richard Nixon to China. Is there anything more important than delinking the connection to oil and Saudi Arabia, which gives money to madrasas, the religious schools? Maybe in a real world, we can't be totally energy independent. But we can reduce our dependence on oil. I would be happy if the President would read the book. I would love nothing more than to see the President of the United States taking up the agenda of making America energy independent and its young people economically skilled, empowered and enabled. We don't have three-and-a-half years to wait to maybe get a President who will pick up this agenda. I would love to be George Bush's biggest booster on an agenda to make America strong in a flat world. (This interview appeared on the CNBC cable television network. This flyer is distributed to encourage students to learn more about outsourcing. Where is Bangalore?) Activities: Please share this page with a teacher and a student. Ask the teacher, “Do you mention India in your classes?” Ask the student, “Have you written to the President to ask for a Moon Shot effort?” and “What part of your teacher’s job can be outsourced? 10%? 20%?” What can you do to prepare for an innovative world? 1. Read books by Daniel Pink. Free Agent Nation and A Whole New Mind describe how we can all become designers and innovators, not just producers and managers. BigPicture.org (an innovative school) 2. Participate in the discussion about “what happens in the new economy?” LookForPatterns.com Send your answers to these questions: newFCAT.com a. What does a worker in a U.S. car factory do if the factory cuts costs by cutting jobs? Can a factory worker become an owner of a bed-and-breakfast inn? Sell real estate? Teach? b. What jobs are currently in demand? c. What jobs will be in demand in the future? d. What skills do those jobs require? DoubleMoonShot.com e. How can you help retrain an out-of-work factory worker? (Everyone can teach something – what skill do you know?) Associated Web sites: WhatDoYaKnow.com Pat-Harris.com MathForArtists.com Learn about “Wet Math” and learning styles BuildingInternationalBridges.com Learn a new language via email and teach an international student about your culture. WhatShouldStudentsLearn.com You are invited to suggest topics that will help students move ahead in the Flat World. DemocracyBonds.com Winning the hearts and minds of people who are in zones of conflict. Take the “Flat Challenge” (10 questions). Send suggestions and comments to mistermath@comcast.net |
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| Incomplete proof that Thomas Friedman may have introduced the phrase "double moon shot" into the US English language Here are the Google results Double Exposures with a Digicam: Image Techniques: Learn: Digital ... When you add two images together with a double exposure, all the light from the first image is overlaid ... My preference for the moon shot looks like this. ... www.dpreview.com/learn/?/ Image_Techniques/Double_Exposures_01.htm - 18k - Cached - Similar pages Photo This is way better "framing" for a moon shot than some mountain! ... I guess you can only see this double moon after drinking some illegal stuff brewed by ... www.photoblink.com/imageView.asp?ImageID=93732 - 95k - Cached - Similar pages Apollo 17 Last Moon Shot Apollo 17 Last Moon Shot. n 1865 Jules Verne predicted the invention of a space ... XL Premium Framed & Double Matted = $225.20, Maxisize Framed no mat ... www.skyimagelab.com/last-moonshot.html - 12k - Cached - Similar pages Dan Heller's Tutorial Series: Photographing the Moon Digital cameras don't do double-exposures, which are necessary for the ... Remember, the aspect ratio of the moon in a wide angle shot is such that it will ... www.danheller.com/moon.html - 64k - Aug 8, 2005 - Cached - Similar pages Apogee Photo Magazine: A Different Kind of Moon Shot. First, you can get pictures with the moon in the shot and light in the sky, ... Another approach you can take with full moon shots is to take double ... www.apogeephoto.com/mag4-6/mag4-6fullmoon.shtml - 12k - Cached - Similar pages Photo Tip: Moon Shot Hints -- ACD Digital Imaging Community Moon Shot Hints. Kris Butler. 06-21-03 ... Double Exposures: This traditional film technique as well as the digital double exposures you can do on your ... www.acdsystems.com/English/Community/ ColumnsArticles/PhotoTips/photo-2003-06-21.htm - 14k - Cached - Similar pages Surveyor6 The Lunascan Project Moon Shot Series ... On 10 November 1967 (GMT) it finally broke the double jinx by landing safely in Central Bay, next to a mare ridge. ... www.astrosurf.com/lunascan/Surveyor6.htm - 5k - Cached - Similar pages CastleJB Moon Shot page double blue vertical rule. Moon Shot. One August evening, around dusk, I noticed my husband setting up his 10 inch Newtonian telescope in our backyard. ... www.castlejb.com/jbpages/jbmoon.html - 8k - Cached - Similar pages Rays: Rookie's moon shot ends skid The Rays used their speed, a two-run two-out double by Carl Crawford and, ... Rookie's moon shot ends skid • Making news for all the wrong reasons ... www.sptimes.com/2005/07/ 10/Rays/Rookie_s_moon_shot_en.shtml - 30k - Cached - Similar pages |
| HOME Visit India Visit China About Thomas Friedman FAQ Democracy Bonds Tasks Building Bridges (BIBBI) Contact us The FLAT Challenge How to earn a FLAT Certificate Gifted Children (LookForPatterns.com) VisualAndActive Letter to Congress (see below) Teacher's Lesson Plan: How to include Friedman's message ("The World Is Flat") in your curriculum REPLIES FROM CONGRESS (excerpts below) |
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| Key Points about lower cost labor in Asia. 1. The USA and Europe can put up trade barriers or respond by innovating and creating new designs. (Barriers don't protect jobs in the long run.) 2. What can communities do? (a) get involved with schools (mentoring and creating many small schools) (b) insist on greater interaction with other cultures (c) insist on more use of technology (see the outline below) NEWSPAPER COLUMN |
| If you want to help reshape education while getting more attention for your child, consider the size of your child’s school. Your “vote” for a small school will use public money more effectively and send a message to state officials and the school district: Gates is right. We need more small schools.
If you’re curious about how a small school operates, visit BigPicture.org and watch the videos online. The Met, a school in Providence, Rhode Island, is where the new three Rs (rigor, relationships ane relevance) were developed. (see below) |
| What Is the DOUBLE MOON SHOT? OUTLINE |
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Who said this? “Successful schools are built on the new three Rs: Rigor – making sure all students are give a challenging curriculum that prepares them for college or work. Relevance – making sure kids have courses and projects that clearly relate to their lives and their goals. Relationships – making sure kids have a number of adults who know them, look out for them, and push them to achieve.”
Small Schools “The three Rs are almost always easier to promote in smaller schools. The smaller size gives teachers and staff the chance to create an environment where students achieve at a higher level and rarely fall through the cracks. Students in smaller schools are more motivated, have higher attendance rates, feel safer, and graduate and attend college in higher numbers.” (answer: see below) |
| There is no charge for the presentation. It is part of a national effort to re-focus communities on the opportunities that we have to respond to globalization. SEE THE OUTLINE |
| The Double Moon Shot is inspired by the writings and interviews of Thomas L. Friedman, NY Times columnist. He quotes some of the following: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Nandan Nilekani, the head of Infosys Clyde Prestowitz (3 Billion New Capitalists) Topics related to "reinventing education" and "reducing dependence on oil" are found in the writings of these authors: Ivan Illich Dan Pink (Free Agent Nation, A Whole New Mind), Dennis Littky (BigPicture.org), Can you perform your understanding of outsourcing, multiple learning styles and free market economics to 8th graders? Students need relationships and relevance and you, the adult in the workplace, can provide what many teachers can't provide: experience in the free market. |
| Welcome: This page will inspire you to become a mentor and to reduce your dependence on oil. What is the DOUBLE MOON SHOT? |
| We need more small schools.
If you’re curious about how a small school operates, visit BigPicture.org and watch the videos online. |
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| Yes, you can invite Mr. Mac to present his 15-minute talk... |
| What Is the DOUBLE MOON SHOT? OUTLINE |
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| What Is the DOUBLE MOON SHOT? OUTLINE |
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| Author Dan Pink describes the two parts of the brain as follows: The left brain is sequential and linear. The right brain is simultaneous, judging in an instant, and non-linear. >>>>>>>>>>>>> |
| The question is: Do you want an artistic, interconnected approach? Do you want to read a web page created for and by the integrating right brain? If so, click HERE Do you want a left-brained linear approach? If so, continue reading. |
| Do you want an artistic, interconnected approach? Do you want to read a web page created for and by the integrating right brain? If so, click HERE |
| Additional materials See below. Scroll all the way down! |
The text of "Three Tips" Three tips from a tutor It’s a free day No school. The student is ill and at home. Or your child has finished her homework… Good. Don’t let schooling get in the way of your education. This is an emphatic message to parents from a tutor. You have an opportunity to extend your child’s education. Homework is finished!? Terrific. Ten more minutes with the extension program. 1. Challenging problems in math. Go to www.MathForArtists.com 2. Words on your kitchen wall and on the bathroom wall. Get the words from an SAT practice page on newFCAT.com 3. continuing education… do a Google search on Littky, Dan Pink, Thomas Friedman, double moon shot, Nancy Snyderman, Rob Becker and what should students learn. That’s enough… If you want more, the program continues… ================= I’m a former math teacher and I currently tutor. I’ve read a lot about learning styles and this DVD will equip you with information to try new web sites and new techniques for your children. Let’s start by giving you the techniques and then I’ll explain the items by going step by step. FIRST Here are some cool web sites for math. Math.com Look for the homework section and look for the puzzles. Bring the WONDER of math alive for your child. MathForArtists.com is my web site for explaining learning styles. Algebra.com Sosmath.com These are fabulous sites. But the most important information is this: your child should be asked to do challenging problems, not repetitive boring work. At some point, the benefits of math are learning to enjoy the mathematical thinking. These tips come from a course that I took to become a better math teacher. Dr. Sally Robison suggested many of these links. I’m a better teacher because of her work. How do Chinese, Japanese and German kids study a new math course? They do one or two really interesting problems in 45 minutes. The teacher asks for multiple ways of solving an interesting problem. That’s the critical issue here. Every learning style should be given a chance to express how they arrived at an answer, even if the answer is wrong. Then the teacher shows the way out of the forest. If you don’t have the patience to sit with your child to talk about challenging problems, find a tutor or create a math club. I will personally visit any child or school that has printed out and worked out the answers to the challenging problems. But the answers are given! Yes, and the children should explain how they got the answers. If you hear nothing else on this DVD, please listen carefully. Go to MATH FOR ARTISTS.com and click on CHALLENGING problems at the top of the page. Try this now. You will bring new life into the math life of your child. This box of candy for any child or group of children who can demonstrate to me at least three of five problems that I select. Mr. Mac, you sound desperate. You sound deranged, unhinged and frenetic. Are you a lunatic? Why are you giving away candy? Because Thomas Friedman scared me. We need to up the ante, increase the stakes, invest in the next generation and raise the bar. We need to focus on a moon shot effort to improve schools and our standards. I repeat. A box of delicious Turkish delight Florida Style candies to any child or group of kids who can meet this high standard. Call me at 954 646 8246 954 OH MUCHO if you complete the 75 challenging problems on the nctm.org web site. The second breakthrough that you will carry away from this DVD lesson is called “Print and Post”. You will print the SAT words that you find at this web site. Go to www.newfcat.com http://www.oocities.org/ teachers2teachers/vocab.html Print that list, post those words in the bathroom and kitchen and read from it. Did your teacher exalt your work today? Okay, now we can relax and talk about the theories behind these two exercises… 1. Brain Research 2. Learning Styles and Howard Gardner 3. Thomas Friedman globalization 4. Dan Pink and a whole new mind 5. The Big Picture and Dennis Littky 6. John Stossel and the recent 20/20 report on education 7. Emotional intelligence 8. Math standards, the National Council for Teachers of Math 9. Cooperative teaching methods 10. Portfolios and exhibitions instead of written test Stand and deliver 11. Words to your cell phone Let’s begin with brain research. There’s a structure in the brain called the Corpus Callosum. It connects the emotions and the ability to verbalize. Ask a boy, “How are you today?” FINE. Ask a girl, “How are you today?” OKAY, I GUESS, BUT I’M WORRIED ABOUT my friend Minnie and my mom is kind of not in the best mood, and… The difference is the connection between feelings and words. Most girls can tell you what they are feeling. This difference impacts how math can be taught. Let’s look at how we create memories. If you feel or experience the new item, you will remember it longer. Memorize Bukra Bukra – tomorrow. Remember that. The more connections that I make between the new word and what I already know, the longer I will remember the item. Pink = wardi War between Diana and Charles that’s the war di. She wanted pink. If I show you pink and Princess Di, you will remember it more. Don’t think of pink elephants. We remember with humor, with emotion, with something that is out of place – the extreme of imagination. How did you learn stationery and stationary? Stand still A A Letter ends in ER station ER y store. I created Math for Artists.com to reach girls and artistic people who don’t like math. You will learn about learning styles. Go to ldpride.net and take their learning styles web questionnaire. I’m a teacher. I’m not a marketing genius. I have 25 CDs and DVDs for a variety of subjects. You can benefit from these DVDs by getting the packet which is advertised at resolvetoheal.com but otherwise, you are getting the tips right here. Everything you need to improve a score on the SAT by 200 points has been mentioned here. I have fabulous teaching methods, but if the child doesn’t want to learn or hates the subject, some anger management might be needed. That’s why the kit includes “For Teens” an audio CD about anger management. “I’m not angry at the teacher, I’m just bored.” Then don’t use that audio CD, just jump right in with the videos … There’s a hunter DVD where I talk about preparing for the SAT – and kids can start preparing in middle school. There’s social math and Leslie math. You’ll see. The purpose of this DVD is to give you the information you need to ask the right questions, such as “how do I get to look at those DVDs, Mr. Mac?” and “how do I persuade my child’s teacher that performance of understanding can be done in more than one way? Just as there are many learning and teaching styles, there are also several ways to assess learning.” freeVocabulary.com – print the list. Boys and Math Visual and Active math We boys need something new. Action. If your boys need special attention, it’s because of brain structure. Demand attention. Math teachers are particularly insistent that students should know algebra before the end of 8th grade or 9th grade. Who cares when as long as it’s before 12th grade? Some kids pick this stuff up later. Girls and Math Start with a google search and know that there are differences in brain structure so there should be differences in how the math is presented to most girls. These are trends, there are exceptions and the purpose here is to say there are a variety of ways to learn math. Look for teachers who use cooperative and social methods. SOMEONE WHO TALKS A LOT can often help girls learn more math. We started with these principles. a) brains are different b) teaching styles need to adapt to learning styles c) any teacher who fears math or fears writing should be open about the fear AND should openly ask for help from another teacher. “I hated math at school and I hope I never see another quadratic equation.” DON’T allow that to be said … it’s a bad example to kids. d) Dennis Littky has a remarkable school because he puts relevance and relationships on the same level as academic rigor. If there is nothing else that you do today, at least pick up the phone and call me to ask for the Small Schools booklet. Or go to my web site doublemoonshot.com and click on Small School Booklet. d) written tests are important AND there are ways to prepare students for life. Exhibitions should be emphasized over writing. If you want to debate this point with me, let’s meet for coffee. I’m buying. 954 646 8246. I find that the strongest opponents to Bill Gates’ new Three Rs turn into the strongest advocates. e) students need more than teachers to teach. They need mentors. Get more adults to volunteer in schools. f) Videos should be taken of classes. Then kids could watch the video and get the main idea. Who needs notetaking when there is a video available to doublecheck the notes? g) We need more languages in school. We need teachers enseignant en francais and mentioning words now and then in Hindi and Chinese. Where is Bangalore? Guangzhou? Okay, let’s start talking about the sources of my information: 2. seven Learning Styles and Howard Gardner Parents: if a teacher tells you that there’s only one way to teach and that’s out of the textbook, please invite the teacher to visit a workshop by Dawn Elrad at 754 321 4000 Dawn gives a great workshop on 7 learning styles 3. Thomas Friedman globalization The world is flat is a fascinating book. Go to doublemoonshot.com and learn more. 4. Dan Pink and a whole new mind The right brain sees the big picture. The left brain focuses on procedures and obvious details. Guess which provides the great insights…. We have two half brains. 5. The Big Picture and Dennis Littky Exhibitions and portfolios are more accurate and better at inspiring learning than written tests. Written two page narratives are better than letter grades. If you want to know what else Dennis Littky suggests, go to bigpicture.org Ask to hear the Bigpicture.org audio CD 6. John Stossel and the recent 20/20 report on education Small schools could be the answer 7. Emotional intelligence 65% of success is not related to test taking and grades in school. Can your child recite William Blake and explain the purpose of education? Education helps us see a microscopic world in a drop of water and genetics in plants. We can see trillions of cells on our body and we can divide time into billionths of a second. Here’s how Blake put it… To see a world in a grain of sand and a heaven in a wild flower Hold infinity in the palm of the hand and eternity in an hour. 8. Math standards, the National Council for Teachers of Math Take a deep breath. Not everything is necessary. 9. Cooperative teaching methods Work together, not solo… except if you are an intrapersonal learner… 10. Portfolios and exhibitions instead of written tests Stand and deliver Build a track record, not a series of 25 problems for homework. Work on truly interesting problems. Build a portfolio of challenges. 11. Words to your cell phone Send the email address of the phone… let me text your word for today. I hope I will see you bukra. Remember… book RA I will look at a book tomorrow. Bukra = tomorrow. That’s the power of learning on the edge. Learning in the instant. Now you just need 5 or 6 more exposures and you will know bukra. Remember what the Belgian boy said on 20/20, in the John Stossel report: Guten tag, allo, bon jour, ciao, sabah el kheir, hello. Try that, American kids. If you like this style of outreach, please note that you received this DVD without cost. You can help pay for more of these outreaches by hiring me to tutor your kid or by buying the Mr. Mac series of math and language tips. See my web site to get prices. Resolve To Heal.com has one set of items. Does your child complain that “I don’t understand the teacher” or “My friends understand but I don’t”? Does the teacher say that your child is just lazy or the teacher doesn’t know how your child will learn to sit still or just follow the problems step by step? There are different learning styles. www Know YOUR TYPE.com http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm Learning Styles on line go to ldpride.net ============= BONUS What should you expect a substitute teacher to provide? I used to teach in a classroom. I sometimes work as a substitute teacher. I have some suggestions The substitute teacher list Anyone who has to be a substitute teacher or anyone who wants to help the substitute have a better experience, go through these ten tips 1. what is hydroplaning? What happens when it’s stopped raining and the highway is just a little wet? 2. about.com for languages. Chinese.about.com 3. ipods for garrison keillor and science www.scienceFriday.com , www.onthemedia.org and other shows on national public radio. If you are using an ipod, here are some things to put on your ipod. Download some files for students to listen to. Subscribe to gophercentral.com for history http://www.gophercentral.com/sub/history.html 4. show a mentor on video. Get the free mentorsonvideo.com segments from talkinternational@yahoo.com or call 954 OH mucho 5. when on vacation, a day off, go to snopes.com, bibbi building international bridges.com or go to the great challenge for a candy box. Find it by going to mathforartists.com and click on challenging problems 6. collect bad driving videos. Come on kids, what is the worst example of bad driving that you saw? Describe it. Make sure you get it on video next time 7. explain a musical song or poem. The gambler, the coward of the county. 1776 is anybody there? Does anybody care? Does anybody see what I see? Put those questions in google and see what great lyrics appear. Explain the star spangled banner. Recite the words to the national anthem and to America the beautiful. Explain those lyrics 8. recite the “I can” poem. Call me when you are ready to recite it. I’ll come to your doorstep and if you state it clearly you get a dollar. 9. Snopes. Yes I mentioned it before, but visit it again. You have a day off, go there. Read every article that you find interesting in wikipedia.org 10. don’t hurt your ears. Ipods are fun but protect the little ear hairs. Do a search on Dan Pink, Thomas Friedman, double moon shot, Dennis Littky and see if there What should students learn? Just ask that one question. I bet your students will have an opinion. That will make a good day as a substitute teacher. |
| “These are the new three Rs, the basic building blocks of better high schools:
The first R is Rigor – making sure all students are given a challenging curriculum that prepares them for college or work. The second R is Relevance – making sure kids have courses and projects that clearly relate to their lives and their goals. The third R is Relationships – making sure kids have a number of adults who know them, look out for them, and push them to achieve. The three Rs are almost always easier to promote in smaller schools. The smaller size gives teachers and staff the chance to create an environment where students achieve at a higher level and rarely fall through the cracks. Students in smaller schools are more motivated, have higher attendance rates, feel safer, and graduate and attend college in higher numbers.” Bill Gates February 26, 2005 National Education Summit on High Schools What can each of us do to turn big schools into small schools? What can each of us do to help small schools become stronger? In praise of small schools “Education is everybody’s business.” -- Dennis Littky In Praise of Small Schools With boardwork by students at Downtown Academy of Technology and Arts, Fort Lauderdale, Florida (Answers at the end of the booklet) An open letter to parents and other potential mentors The New Three “R”s By Steve McCrea, Tutor and Mentor I’m a tutor for middle school students, so I often get asked: “What should my child be studying?” “Can you recommend a good web site to help him get ahead?” “My child has difficulty reading—can you tutor him?” Parents could present other questions to a teacher: “What should parents be learning?” I would answer, “Did you catch that important speech given by Bill Gates?” In February 2005, Bill Gates gave a landmark speech at a conference of governors praising small schools. I missed it, and chances are that you did, too, because the speech was overwhelmed by the media’s focus on the Michael Jackson trial and Terri Schiavo. Here’s the essence of what Gates said: “Successful schools are built on principles that can be applied anywhere. These are the new three Rs, the basic building blocks of better high schools: The first R is Rigor – making sure all students are given a challenging curriculum that prepares them for college or work. The second R is Relevance – making sure kids have courses and projects that clearly relate to their lives and their goals. The third R is Relationships – making sure kids have a number of adults who know them, look out for them, and push them to achieve.” The three Rs are almost always easier to promote in smaller schools. The smaller size gives teachers and staff the chance to create an environment where students achieve at a higher level and rarely fall through the cracks. Students in smaller schools are more motivated, have higher attendance rates, feel safer, and graduate and attend college in higher numbers.” Bill Gates February 26, 2005 National Education Summit on High Schools Contents of This Booklet 1 The Size of the School 2 The Role of Adults 3 What is the Secret Behind the Met Center in Rhode Island? 4 Questions 5 What is Next? 1 The Size of the School Dear Parent: Let’s think of an example of a small school that receives public money... Hmm... That middle school has 700 or 1,000 students. Most public high schools are over 1,000 students (the big three in my city are all over 1,400 students). Oh, charter schools -- those hybrid entities that have an agreement with the state (a “charter”) to operate as a nonprofit organization with less of the constraints of a public school (no union, so it’s easier to hire and fire teachers). There are scores of complaints about charters: - "They don't have a football team" - "They don't have enough students" - "They have to eat lunch in the classroom." - "They don't have a media center." - "The principal of that charter school is from another country and he doesn't understand kids in the USA." - "They have to take a bus to get to a playground or recess area." - “They are underfunded because they don’t have enough students, so they don’t have enough money.” - “They don’t have enough students so my child doesn’t have enough friends.” - “They score lower than the public schools in the standardized tests. I want my kid to be in the big school where the test scores are higher.” - "They ..." (add to the list) Parents, you can find many reasons to stick with the large school that your child currently attends. People will give you many reasons to avoid underfunded and mismanaged small schools. However, if you agree with Gates, then join the charter school movement and “vote” for a smaller school -- where everyone knows your child's name. I know of a charter school that needs 130 students to have enough funds to hire two extra assistants and afford buses for field trips. The school has just over 90 students. Each student is “worth” about $400 a month or $3,000 a year in public money (that would otherwise go to a large public school). With 35 more students, that's over $100,000 that the charter school could use for "additional resources." Would you like a school that has an expensive building and cafeteria? Or do you want a school that has fewer than 400 students (and the principal knows every student)? Most parents at nearby large schools didn't hear Mr. Gates and his speech. They currently send their kids to one of the large schools in the area with over 1000 students. I wonder if the parents would change their minds if they knew what Bill Gates said.... If you’re looking for a way to have an impact, there’s nothing more remarkable or effective as the choice of school. Voting has a chance for changing the outcome of an election (if you join with 10,000 or so other voters). Writing a letter or attending a city commission meeting might make a difference, if you and another five hundred people show up. Volunteering for a beach clean up might make you feel good, but your child could be one percent of a school. Your child, your “vote,” could shift funding to a small school and send a message to the school district: Gates is right. We need small schools. What should happen to larger schools? The Gates foundation has funded the division of large schools in New York, L.A. and Chicago into several smaller schools. Why not apply that same effort in large schools everywhere? For parents wanting to heed Mr. Gates’ advice, however, switching to a small school is immediate. While we petition our school boards to partition large schools, at least some students can be placed immediately in smaller learning environments. In short, a charter school is an affordable way for your child to get rigor, relevance and relationships in a small school. To find a charter school in your area, go to your school district’s web site and look for “Charter.” In Broward County: www.BrowardSchools.com and click on “School Info.” Then select Charters. In Dade County, www.dadeschools.net, click on “Schools,” then “School Information” and select Charters. In Palm Beach County, www.palmbeach.k12.fl.us, then click on the “School Info” button on the horizontal bar, then click on “Charter Schools.” Good searching. 2 The Role of Adults Mentors If I were a parent, I would look around for adults to volunteer to come into my child’s school. What is Gates really saying? “Education is everyone’s business” (even his business). If you want to help reshape education while getting more attention for your child, make an effort to become a mentor. You don’t have to be a parent to provide this valuable service (to yourself as well as to the community). Guidelines 1. Stay focused. Yes, school administrators need volunteers to help with photocopying, newspaper recycling, reorganizing closets. Ask to work as a teacher’s assistant. Get in contact with students. 2. Listen. The usual use of a visitor in a school is to stand the adult at the front of the classroom and ask for a speech. Instead, the teacher could give you a small group of students and you could spend time in a corner of the room finding out if there’s any “click” or connection. Ask the students, “What is your passion? What do you like to read about?” Many kids just need a chance to talk in order to discover their interests. 3. Return. Often. Frequent contact makes a difference. It takes seven exposures for most people to learn a new concept and many kids need to see an adult several times before your “message” gets through. Promise to return, then follow through. Be anticipated. 4. You don’t need a speech or special talent. Your presence is a present to students who see the same adults in the same profession (teachers). If you aren’t a teacher, that’s good. Remember what Gates said: “Make sure kids have a number of adults who know them, look out for them, and push them to achieve.” If you’re curious about how a school engages mentors, visit BigPicture.org and watch the videos online. The Met, a Big Picture school in Providence, Rhode Island, is where the new three “R”s were developed. The formula mentioned by Gates appeared in Dennis Littky’s book, The Big Picture: Education Is Everyone’s Business. Well, I could write more, but I’ve got to go. You see, I’m a mentor, too, and a student is waiting for me. Steve McCrea is a tutor in Fort Lauderdale. 954.646.8246 mistermath@comcast.net www.teachersTOteachers.com www.LookForPatterns.com www.newFCAT.com Why not take a moment, right now, and visit BigPicture.org? 3 What is the Secret Behind the Met Center in Rhode Island? Hmm. It sounds like any other school. “High Standards” for most of us means “We use expensive textbooks and expect our students to do onerous homework.” At the Met, the standards are for rigorous work in the student’s area of passion. “Advisory” for most schools might mean “we have a guidance department” and “we help students find possible careers.” In the Met, the advisory is the class and the classroom. The advisory appears to be the heart of the program. The advisory system links one adult to 15 students and that adult (the “advisor,” but most of us would call that adult the “teacher”) builds a three- or four-year relationship with the student. There are other teachers, but one advisor guides the student through a mix of subjects. The students look at issues in the advisory, focusing on quantitative reasoning (math), empirical evidence (the scientific process) and communication (language arts). Confused? I was when I first heard of this system. I thought, “How can one teacher teach all subjects?” That’s the wrong question. We should be asking, “In my school, how can a student get a sense of direction when he or she has to deal with at least 5 different teachers each year, 20 teachers through high school? Where is the common thread binding all of these subjects in the student?” That’s the secret behind the Met. One adult cares about (focuses on) one student at a time. I know at least one school district that claims to teach “one student at a time.” The Met Center actually practices this. Five pillars of Big Picture Schools (as interpreted by a math teacher who visited The Met in Providence, RI, part of the Big Picture schools association) 1 Multi-year relationships -- The teacher stays with the same students for three or four years. The teacher teaches more than one subject. In the case of the Met, a high school in Providence, RI, the teacher stays with the students for all four years of high school. 2 The teacher is a facilitator. Teacher = Advisor = “how can I help you?” The teacher coaches the student to choose activities to cover skill areas (language skills, quantitative reasoning, etc.) rather than special subjects, like trigonometry, algebra or chemistry. One of the teacher’s prime activities is finding suitable mentors for the students. 3 Tests are by exhibition. A “stand up” demonstration of understanding is valued above a written test. The students take the state’s standardized tests and other written tests, but the school focuses on the exhibition, which is the product of at least nine weeks of work. 4 Learning through interests – the internships (set up with the teacher) are selected by the student. Academic learning is filtered through the student’s interests. 5 “I’m more than a letter in the alphabet.” Evaluations are made by narratives, not by a letter grade. The teacher can afford time to write two pages of narrative about each student during the grading period because the teacher has only 15 to 20 students to meet with over a nine-week period. (I observed an “advisor” who met with students throughout the class day, asking for updates on on-going projects. This sort of focus can come from a narrow focus of one adult on a small group of students.) 4 Questions A COMMON OBJECTION to SMALL SCHOOLS: “Our schools are focusing on reducing class size, not school size. We seek to provide a student-centered environment.” RESPONSE: Let us emphasize the difference between being a student in a small school and being a student in a small class in a large school. Bill Gates hammers the point of small schools, where kids feel safer and everyone knows your name. It doesn’t matter what size the “student-centered environment” is – when I walk out that classroom door, if I can dissolve into 800 or 1000 other bodies, then I’m not in a small school. I don’t get the small-school benefit that Dennis Littky writes about and that Bill Gates is pursuing with his foundation. In short 1) Howard Gardner says that assessing actual understanding will cost a lot more that we currently spend on written tests. 2) Littky says that mentors, exhibitions and learning through interests are needed to supplement the typical school textbook and testing 3) Robert Reich does not have much complimentary to say about standardized tests (see page 17 of this booklet). How can this “Met Center” model be applied to middle schools? Or to traditional high schools? > more hands-on learning > more interaction with outside mentors > introduce grading by narrative > “one classroom schools” – one teacher for several subjects. (See WARNING below.) > less emphasis on performance on a written test > expand the standardized test to allow alternative ways of “performing understanding.” Howard Gardner, developer of the Multiple Intelligences theory, makes it clear that there are many ways of learning, so there should be more than one way to assess a person’s mastery of a subject. Some people are inspired speakers and actors, but have a difficult time writing. Some people are good at building teams but do poorly when acting alone. In the real world, these people are called “managers” (because they know how to delegate). They don’t have to know how to do everything well. However, schools test students in a way that guarantees that most people who are good in one area are going to feel terrible about themselves because they can’t perform up to a standard in another area. In the work place, employees don’t have to perform in a well-rounded way. That’s why there is division of labor in an organization. As a math teacher, I’m impressed with the Big Picture’s philosophy and how the philosophy is put into action through the five pillars. The interview with National Public Radio (in April 2005) is particularly compelling and I recommend close listening to Dennis Littky. You can find this interview on the NPR web site, npr.org, and enter “Dennis Littky” in the search box. The links will take you to the April 25, 2005 interview. I used to “believe in” schools as large boxes that efficiently take in 1000 students and churn out young adults. Now I see that I learned because I was with an adult who spoke to me and a few other people who were also interested in what I was hooked on. As a tutor, I see students “get it” after three or four sessions because I take the time to find out what the student is interested in and we shift the tutoring sessions toward those interests. What if schools were “places to explore my interests”? Dennis Littky describes one path to making a classroom that facilitates discovery. The Big Picture: Education is Everyone’s Business. I hope you will take time to connect with this remarkable organizationà (401) 781-1873 Here’s a quote from Littky’s book: There is no “one set of knowledge.” In 2000, former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich wrote an article for the New York Times called “One Education Does Not Fit All.” In it, he railed against the use of standardized tests and courses as inconsistent with the new economy. I literally jumped out of my seat with joy when I read this part: Yes, people need to be able to read, write and speak clearly. And they have to know how to add, subtract, multiply and divide. But given the widening array of possibilities, there ‘s no reason that every child must master the sciences, algebra, geometry, biology or any of the rest of the standard high school curriculum that has barely changed in half a century. (Robert Reich) There’s no reason to put education in standardized packages when our kids don’t come in those packages. Who wants a standardized kid, anyway? As a society, we embrace individualism and yet we seem to be OK with our schools becoming more and more standardized. (Littky, Pages 34-35) WARNING: I have mentioned one of the key aspects of the Big Picture school to several teachers: “The advisor teaches all of the subjects.” I rejected this idea at first and I have grown to accept it. The reactions of other teachers are consistent: “How can one person teach math, history, a foreign language, chemistry, biology, physics, and English Literature? Where is the rigor?” “How can one teacher be good at all of those subjects?” “I was terrible at (math, history, whatever). I would make a terrible advisor in that system.” Two suggestions: a) Is it so terrible for the student to sit with an adult who has a fear of math or a history of negative results with science? If the student lacks a knack for algebra, who better to teach flexibility and optimism than an adult who failed algebra in 9th grade? b) Let this idea sit with you for a while. It might appear impossible to convince a teacher’s union to encourage members to teach a spectrum of subjects instead of “their favorite” or “their special gift.” For some students, an English teacher who hates math might be the perfect adult to guide the student toward understanding quantitative reasoning. A science teacher who can barely write an essay might be the best writing coach for some students. Students needing additional rigor can be assigned to other teachers/advisors for specific needs. In short, The Big Picture method has pushed me to look at alternatives to “how I was taught.” See Daniel Pink’s discussion of changes in education in his book, Free Agent Nation, chapter 15: Whenever I walk into a public school, I'm nearly toppled by a wave of nostalgia. Most schools I've visited in the 21st century look and feel exactly like the public schools I attended in the 1970s. The classrooms are the same size. The desks stand in those same rows. Bulletin boards preview the next national holiday. The hallways even smell the same. Sure, some classrooms might have a computer or two. But in most respects, the schools American children attend today seem indistinguishable from the ones their parents and grandparents attended. At first, such déjà vu warmed my soul. But then I thought about it. How many other places look and feel exactly as they did 20, 30, or 40 years ago? Banks don't. Hospitals don't. Grocery stores don't. Maybe the sweet nostalgia I sniffed on those classroom visits was really the odor of stagnation. Since most other institutions in American society have changed dramatically in the past half-century, the stasis of schools is strange. (Pink goes on to discuss the history of mass education. He ends with the following points.) In the future, expect teens and their families to force an end to high school as we know it. Look for some of these changes to replace and augment traditional high schools with free-agent-style learning -- and to unschool the American teenager: * A renaissance of apprenticeships. For centuries, young people learned a craft or profession under the guidance of an experienced master. This method will revive and expand to include skills like computer programming and graphic design. Imagine a 14-year-old taking two or three academic courses each week, and spending the rest of her time apprenticing as a commercial artist. Traditional high schools tend to separate learning and doing. Free agency makes them indistinguishable. * A flowering of teenage entrepreneurship. Young people may become free agents even before they get their driver's licenses -- and teen entrepreneurs will become more common. Indeed, most teens have the two crucial traits of a successful entrepreneur: a fresh way of looking at the world and a passionate intensity for what they do. In San Diego County, 8 percent of high school students already run their own online business. That will increasingly become the norm and perhaps even become a teenage rite of passage. * A greater diversity of academic courses. Only 16 states offer basic economics in high school. That's hardly a sound foundation for the free agent workplace. Expect a surge of new kinds of "home economics" courses that teach numeracy, accounting, and basic business. * A boom in national service. Some teenagers will seek greater direction than others and may want to spend a few years serving in the military or participating in a domestic service program. Today, many young people don't consider these choices because of the pressure to go directly to college. Getting people out of high school earlier might get them into service sooner. * A backlash against standards. A high school diploma was once the gold standard of American education. No more. Yet politicians seem determined to make the diploma meaningful again by erecting all sorts of hurdles kids must leap to attain one -- standardized subjects each student must study, standardized tests each student must pass. In some schools, students are already staging sit-ins to protest these tests. This could be American youth's new cause célèbre. ("Hey hey, ho ho. Standardized testing's got to go.") Most politicians think the answer to the problems of high schools is to exert more control. But the real answer is less control. In the free agent future, our teens will learn by less schooling and more doing. (Dan Pink, Free Agent Nation.) What would Ben Franklin say about the opportunity that Littky offers each of us? On the final day, as the last delegates were signing the document, Franklin pointed toward the sun on the back of the Convention president's chair. Observing that painters had found it difficult to distinguish in their art a rising sun from a setting sun, he went on to say: "I have often ... in the course of the session ... looked at that sun behind the President without being able to tell whether it was rising or setting. But now at length I have the happiness to know it is a rising and not a setting sun." http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/GOV/frankln.htm Answers to the board work: sand box, long underwear, reading between the lines, man overboard! Anyone familiar with middle school students will recognize the joyous love of humor. How can school be reformatted to keep the humor and build relevance and relationships? 5 What is Next? What can each of us do to turn big schools into small schools? What can each of us do to help small schools become stronger? Just keep asking those two questions. The answer will come. Then act on what you believe is correct. We might each start by visiting these web sites: www.BigPicture.org www.MetCenter.org Become a mentor: www.MentorsOnVideos.com www.BuildingInternationalBridges.com The key to their success is you. Become a mentor. Small schools need adults to come into the school and to listen to questions from students. As a mentor, your role is easy: Make sure the students you talk with are given something unconventional. Give them a role model. What Can We Do? (Wouldn’t it be nice if change happened instantly after everyone read these quotes? Wouldn’t it be an efficient world if we could implement change just by asking every teacher, parent and student to read the facts?) 1. Visit a middle school. There is one task that a teacher can’t do or pay for: getting an adult to speak SINCERELY to a class and to answer their questions. Your time will spark something in the brains of the kids. A teacher can’t always make that happen. You can. You are a mentor. 2. Record yourself and send the video to Box 30555, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33303, MentorsOnVideo.com. Let students hear your answers to: What do you remember from school? What did you do to learn to read? What did you like to read? What books or articles or magazines do you recommend others to read? What did you learn in school that you really value today? What did you learn outside school that you use in your life today? Do you remember a teacher’s name? Tell the camera the name of that teacher and why that teacher sticks out in your memory. 3. Become a phone mentor. One phone call per day. Just five or six calls each week. 4. Ask to become a mentor to a class. The best teacher is a facilitator who allows mentors (adults who are not teachers) to talk with students.. 5. Read some of these books: A Whole New Mind by Dan Pink Free Agent Nation by Dan Pink The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman See the book list at www.VisualAndActive.com You can be a mentor. Just visit a school and ask to sit with a class. Tell students how school is related to your work. MentorsOnVideo.com LookForPatterns.com MathForArtists.com Pat-Harris.com ResolveToHeal.com DoubleMoonShot.com Snopes.com Check out a rumor before passing on something that you heard. “Let’s all boycott one gasoline company and that will force the company to reduce prices.” (Oh, yeah?) In short, Littky’s work is not a “revolutionary” method. Littky copies what tutors have been doing for millennia --- know the student, shape the curriculum to match the student’s strengths, find experts to train the student, push the child with rigorous material that makes sense to the student. Why not call Dennis Littky’s office? 401 781 1873 Ask why a “student centered environment” must be in a small school to achieve the results that we are all seeking. “Education is everybody’s business.” Dennis Littky |
| Here is the question in January 2006: Thomas Friedman warned the USA about the coming decline of manufacturing in the USA. What will happen to the people who have manufacturing jobs? Will a worker on the assembly line at Ford eventually need to find a new career in services? Selling land and a vacation home to wealthy Asian entrepreneurs? Maybe the son of the factory |
| Vinnie asks: Is the worker willing to start a business? Is the worker willing to go abroad to train workers in China? There will always be something happening in any location. The USA is lucky to have survived 50 years of prosperity... but we have become soft. We are not flexible at this time. How about small businesses? How about making high-value cars made in Detroit in small quantities I'm sure that US people would like to live in Brazil. It's 9 hour sfrom Detroit What is the best way to convince US people to live and come to Brazil. What prevents Is it language, climate, a security issue? Is there uncertainty about the laws. We have a large florida, we have Pantanal, nice people,, I'm sure that we could create work sharing program where You can live at the cost of one third of the cost of living in the USA. Canadians go down to florida US people can fly down to Brazil and live for $1,000 a month food, shelter and a car. Desperate workers are worried. How can I survive on $500,000 of assets? I will use it up in 8 years of retirement. But that money will go farther when you live in Brazil. |